I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"What if...we're overthinking it? And all these things are just coincidences?"

"You're just hoping for the best. Look at what this Sig has done. How could such a powerful figure, who has been lying low in the East China Sea for so many years, not have any ulterior motives?"

"Moreover, he admitted himself that he had a grand plan!"

Their wishful thinking was shattered, and the expressions on the faces of all the cadres became even more solemn.

"Hey, could it be that all of this is part of Sig's grand plan?"

"Making contact with the Four Emperors of the Sea and the Marine hero Garp is all part of Higuma's plan... He's trying to cooperate with both the Four Emperors of the Sea and the Marines at the same time!"

When someone mentioned this, the entire room immediately changed color again.

This speculation is truly astonishing.

Seeing this, the cadre who had made the initial guess seemed encouraged and boldly continued to make assumptions:

Why did Shanks, one of the Four Emperors of the New World, come to the East Blue and stay in Windmill Village, a remote town in the Goa Kingdom? And why did he leave immediately the day after meeting with Higuma?

"Could his target be Sieg?"

"Garp's situation is also very strange... His identity is special. He is nominally a vice admiral, but his prestige and reputation are no less than that of an admiral. He is enough to represent the Navy without attracting the attention of other external forces..."

"After all, it would be too conspicuous for a Marine Admiral to come to the East Blue... Garp is here representing the Navy, and his target is also Sig!"

“I think we should investigate the child’s identity. He is likely a hostage given to Sieg by the Navy to ensure cooperation between the two sides.”

"This..." All the cadres present were startled by this guess.

If this is true, it proves that the Revolutionary Army still greatly underestimated Sieg...

"wrong."

Long quickly denied this terrifying speculation.

"While Garp isn't truly impartial, it's unlikely he would cooperate with bandits or criminals."

"Moreover, given Garp's style of doing things, he would never be involved in conspiracy or cooperation. Any high-ranking naval officer could negotiate on behalf of the Navy, but Garp would never do that."

Upon hearing Long's words, the cadres all relaxed slightly.

They didn't notice that Long's expression was much more solemn than any of the cadres when he spoke.

Although he didn't believe Garp and Higuma had any conspiracy... it was a fact that Garp had entrusted his grandson Luffy to Higuma.

The situation remains shrouded in mystery.

After another heated discussion, various hypotheses were put forward by the department heads.

But in the end, all the assumptions were either self-contradictory or flawed, and the staff officers of the ** department spoke up to overturn them.

After discussing for almost two hours, Sieg's grand plan remained shrouded in mystery, and no one could guess what it was.

This only intensified the chill in the hearts of the revolutionary army's cadres.

"Sig is actually this terrifying... What kind of operation is this? I don't understand it at all!"

"It doesn't make sense...it doesn't make sense, why is that?!"

"Among so many cadres in our revolutionary army, not a single one could come up with a reasonable hypothesis..."

These revolutionary army cadres all felt a strong sense of frustration and powerlessness.

This colossal net that blots out the sky has begun to emerge, but the Revolutionary Army is completely at a loss, unable to even come up with a plausible guess.

This, on the contrary, made the cadres feel a sense of awe towards the incredibly mysterious Sieg.

The Revolutionary Army's power is now considerable. Although its overt combat strength is still far from enough to directly confront the World Government, it has already taken deep root in countless countries across the four seas and the Grand Line.

The Revolutionary Army is a truly global force, considered the world's greatest enemy by the World Government.

Their greatest skill lies in operating behind the scenes, quietly developing their power, expanding rapidly like wildfire, and eventually rising up in rebellion to overthrow the state.

Logically speaking, no one in the world understands this better than these revolutionaries.

But now, they have discovered a terrifying behemoth that is also lurking in the shadows.

"Our revolutionary army's intelligence system has been investigating Sig's past, but to no avail. For the past few decades, he has been like an invisible ghost, wandering around silently without leaving a trace!"

"If he hadn't suddenly made a high-profile contact with the Red-Haired Pirates, we probably would have remained completely in the dark!"

"Although I don't quite understand his actions, his grand plan must be amazing!"

"Has his wisdom reached a level beyond the comprehension of us mere mortals?"

"Is this the difference between our Revolutionary Army and the bandit king, Sig?"

"We still don't know what Sig's grand plan is..."

"Terrifying, terrifying."

The revolutionary army's staff officers stared blankly, completely convinced.

They had once participated in a conspiracy to overthrow the country, but faced with Sieg's grand plan, everyone was at a loss.

In the end, the room fell into an eerie silence once again, and no one tried to offer any more guesses.

A mixture of frustration and awe left them with inexplicably complex emotions.

"Chief, perhaps we should re-evaluate our relationship with the bandit king, Sig..."

One of the cadres wiped his sweat and said:

"We thought our Revolutionary Army had taken Sig seriously enough, but it seems we've greatly underestimated the Mountain Bandit King Sig!"

“I propose that we should contact Sieg again. If we can’t cooperate in the long term, then we should cooperate in the short term. Such a terrifying person should be treated with respect, even if we can’t be allies, we should at least maintain friendly relations and avoid becoming his enemy.”

The cadres nodded in agreement.

"I believe our Revolutionary Army should learn from Sig's advanced experience and learn how to operate stealthily without the World Government's notice..."

At this point, the official who had made the suggestion looked ashamed.

"The fact that the Revolutionary Army is considered the World Government's greatest enemy doesn't mean we're powerful enough to warrant their attention. On the contrary, it shows that our covert operations haven't been done well!"

"The real masterminds should be like the bandit king, Sig... He's operated silently for decades without leaving a trace! If we could learn that technique, lie low for decades, and maybe one day we could overturn the world..."

Chapter 39 Sig Nursery School?

The capital port of the Kingdom of Goa.

The warship belonging to the 73rd detachment of the Navy slowly approached the shore, and dozens of sailors on the deck looked at the shore with surprise on their faces.

Their surprise wasn't due to how clean and beautiful the city was, but rather because they saw banners, red carpets, colorful flags, and other decorations covering most of the port.

The town prepared a particularly grand welcoming ceremony.

Unfortunately, the giant banner spanning the harbor clearly stated this.

"They are not welcoming us, but preparing for the celebration of Saint Chalmarco, the world's nobleman."

"Even though a large bandit group with a total bounty of over 20 million has already emerged, is the entire Goa Kingdom still focused on the celebration to welcome the Celestial Dragons?"

"As this is the first time the Navy has gone to hunt down mountain bandits, I was initially a little nervous, but now I feel completely ignored..."

On deck, the sailors were talking amongst themselves, and their faces were far from pleasant.

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Navy branch colonel Kavin walked out of the cabin with a smile on his face.

"This shows that the target of this operation, 'East Blue Mountain Bandit King' Sig, is not as dangerous as we previously imagined, and is not truly valued by the Goa Kingdom."

"This mission to wipe out the bandits will be relatively easy. After all, Sig's bounty is only 800 million, which is only in this remote country that he can be called the number one wanted criminal."

"The Kingdom of Goa even scheduled the joint bandit suppression operation for the day before welcoming the World Nobles, which means our mission this time must be very easy."

The atmosphere on the warship noticeably relaxed, and the sailors were no longer tense.

Meanwhile, on a distant window sill, another pair of eyes captured the scene through binoculars.

The relaxed atmosphere on the deck of the warship, the city dwellers busy with their celebrations... all exuded peace and tranquility, without a trace of tension.

"How dare they underestimate that bandit king? This country is doomed..."

The revolutionary army's intelligence officer sighed.

...........

"So, what our Revolutionary Army needs to do is similar to last time: proactively reveal this intelligence to Sig in exchange for his favor?"

In the makeshift meeting room at the revolutionary army stronghold, an officer made a suggestion.

The other cadres, however, strongly opposed it.

"What are you thinking? A ruthless figure like Sig, the mere navy and the Kingdom's army are probably not even enough to fill his teeth." Someone sneered.

"This kind of intelligence is completely meaningless to Sig. For Sig to take notice, Vice Admiral Garp will have to handle it himself."

"Are you provoking Sieg? It's as ignorant as telling the top student that 1+1 equals 2 during an exam. Do you think someone like Sieg would thank us for that?"

The cadre who made the suggestion seemed a little confused, and after thinking for a while, he said:

"So... does that mean our Revolutionary Army should take the initiative to help the Sig Mountain Bandits fight against the Allied Forces?"

Upon hearing this, many people frowned slightly.

Snapped!

One of the revolutionary army cadres couldn't help but slam his fist on the table and stand up.

Seeing the surprised looks from the others, the cadre's initially excited expression subsided slightly:

"I'm sorry, I lost my temper... but I really couldn't listen to it anymore."

"This is the worst advice I've ever heard since joining the revolutionary army; it's utterly absurd!"

At this point, the official gradually became agitated:

"Is this a prelude to slap the face of the bandit king, Sig? A strongman like Sig doesn't need our Revolutionary Army's help to deal with that small force."

"A mere naval branch captain leading a team, plus the Goa Kingdom's army, their numbers are at most three or four times that of the Sig Mountain Bandits!"

"To really deal with Sig, we'd need at least three or four hundred times the number of troops, right?"

"With this little force, the bandit king Sig could wipe them out with a flick of his wrist. Do we really need to get involved?"