I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Kizaru had changed into clean clothes, but he still had some bandages wrapped around his body.

However, Zephyr, sitting opposite him, was not faring any better. He was also covered in bandages, and his injuries were even more severe than Kizaru's.

The injuries to these two admirals were caused by the same person.

The two stared at each other expressionlessly for a long time before Zephyr finally spoke with a serious expression:

"Borusalino, I warned you long ago that you relied too much on your Devil Fruit power."

Both were Marine Admirals of equal standing, but in front of Kizaru, Zephyr subconsciously reverted to his former role as an instructor.

"Professor Zephyr, it's been so long, you're still the same, always bringing up such serious topics..."

Kizaru appeared nonchalant, but his gaze fell on the wounds on his body.

"But in the end, the injuries I sustained have little to do with whether or not I rely on the fruit."

"Mainly because Sig's abilities are too strange."

The injuries on his body were actually caused by those strange black flames.

The pitch-black flames, like strong acid, were highly corrosive to his elemental body, seemingly slowly eroding him.

Fortunately, Kizaru reacted in time and forced his way out of the black sea of ​​fire; otherwise, his injuries would have been much more severe.

But while the black flames were indeed strange, what amazed Kizaru even more was Higuma's other ability.

“Za Warudo… that’s what Higuma called him back then. Zephyr-sensei, do you have any clue?” Kizaru repeated Higuma’s lines and stroked his chin.

He was quite interested in that peculiar ability, and after the battle, he specifically inquired about it with other navy personnel in the vicinity.

However... those naval personnel watching the battle didn't notice anything at all.

Zephyr frowned as well. He had extensive combat experience, but he had never actually heard of similar abilities.

"I heard that Sigurd is a Devil Fruit user with multiple abilities, and the way a Devil Fruit is used depends on the user's own development strategy... Perhaps this is an ability he has just developed."

"From your description, this is a technique that can disrupt the body's sensory abilities, has a range limitation, and can even obscure Observation Haki... It is indeed very troublesome."

After being analyzed by Zephyr, Kizaru suddenly remembered someone, stood up, went outside, and made a phone call.

On the other end of the phone was Chief Scientist Vegapunk.

After listening to Kizaru's description, Vegapunk remained silent for a long time.

When he spoke again, his tone carried a hint of excitement:

"This ability is probably not as simple as just disrupting human senses... It seems to be able to influence... the flow of time?"

"After Sieg used his strange technique, time, which had been flowing smoothly, seemed to become intermittent and discontinuous points in time..."

"General Borsalino, our previous guess was correct. That strange spatial distortion phenomenon is most likely related to Sig."

"...What?" Kizaru was stunned for a moment; he didn't understand.

"Sigurd's Devil Fruit ability caused a strange distortion of time, as if the brief moments between two instants had been erased."

“In other words…” Vegapunk paused for a moment on the other end of the phone before continuing:

"The time interval between the two moments has been deleted..."

Chapter 476 Another Piece: The Third Treasure

"Time erasure?" Kizaru was stunned. He originally thought that Sigurd's ability would affect a person's sensory abilities and Observation Haki, but if it could even affect time, then the troublesome nature of the ability was far beyond his imagination.

"Space and time are one. Sieg's ability can cause a very brief, continuous pause in spacetime, which in turn causes a person's sense of space and time to become disordered."

"Admiral Borsalino, Sig's abilities are related to time, so the previous spatial distortion phenomenon is very likely related to him as well."

Vegapunk did not mention the seven black figures carrying a coffin in space.

But just what he said was enough to make Kizaru take it seriously, and he reiterated:

"Admiral Borsalino, Sig's abilities are very strange. If I can go to Sword Mountain Island to study the spatial distortion phenomenon, I hope to figure out the nature of Sig's abilities."

"At the same time, this kind of Devil Fruit ability involving space and time is also an important research direction..."

After some more persuasion, Vegapunk hung up the phone, his expression still very strange.

"Sig's abilities are very strange."

"If time itself is an infinitely long, continuous, one-way line, then during the period when Sigur's ability is in effect, time becomes a dotted line composed of countless discontinuous points..."

After some thought, Vegapunk's brow furrowed deeper and deeper. Sig's abilities had left a question lingering in his mind.

Why does Sieg's ability cause time to present a strange sense of continuous pauses and breaks?

Is time continuous or discontinuous?

.............

Mary Geoise.

The Five Elders, the world government's highest-ranking officials, gathered once again in the hall to discuss matters.

This time, what brought them together was the ghost that had come back from the dead.

"Resurrection? It sounds absurd, but it's not actually impossible."

"For example... the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Fruit of the Underworld)," said the Five Elders wielding swords.

As the highest authorities in the world government, they possess a wealth of information, and naturally, they have seen things like the Devil Fruit encyclopedia.

The Yomi Yomi no Mi (Yellow Spring Fruit), a fruit that grants a second life, left a deep impression on the Five Elders.

“Not necessarily…” Five Old Star with the mustache shook his head. “Only the Yomi Yomi no Mi (Revive-Revive Fruit) has the ability to bring the dead back to life, but other Devil Fruits might also have similar effects.”

The development of Devil Fruit abilities depends entirely on imagination. If other Devil Fruits were to exist and similar effects could be developed, it wouldn't be impossible.

After all... if something as absurd as the Angel Fruit has appeared, what else is impossible?

"Sig is too mysterious."

"Did he really come back from the dead?"

"Who are the seven dark figures carrying his coffin? And who is the Piercing Duke?"

The Five Elders fell silent at the mere mention of the mysterious Piercing Master.

It is true that they possess a great deal of information, but there are still many excessively brutal criminals in this world who have been completely erased from history.

Considering that the Piercing Duke's signature move, the Flying Thunder God Slash... was indeed extremely brutal! It's quite normal that he was erased from history.

If the so-called Piercing Lord was a great pirate who existed before the Five Elders' era, then the Five Elders might not have been able to find out.

"And... that colossal carp-shaped sea king, it can create a tsunami with just a leap... We knew absolutely nothing about sea kings of this size before!"

While they were discussing it...

A world government official in a black suit led Cyborg into the room by knocking on the door.

Kong didn't speak, but instead looked at the official beside him. The official's face showed obvious urgency as he handed over a new intelligence report.

"My Lord Five Elders, it's the latest news about the Anotherpiece treasure!"

"The treasure hidden in the treasure map that Sieg deliberately revealed before his death three months ago has been found!"

"What?" The five elders were all invigorated, sat up straighter, and waited solemnly.

Sig's treasure is truly amazing.

The Angel Fruit alone, one of the treasures, has already caused a huge uproar worldwide and created a Pirate Emperor who is expected to shake the foundations of this era!

This third treasure also piqued the curiosity of the Five Elders.

"What exactly is the third treasure?" The five sword-wielding elders jumped up from their chairs and asked.

“It’s…gold!” the official replied in a trembling voice.

"Gold? Is this the treasure that Sig obtained from the Celestial Dragons' treasury?" The Five Elders with swords were slightly disappointed and sat back down.

"No...."

The official in the black suit shook his head and continued in a trembling voice:

"Treasure hunters discovered a giant gold vein in the uninhabited area where the treasure was located! It is said to be an entire mountain of gold, with vast areas of bare ore that is not difficult to mine, and it stretches all the way to the depths of the Red Earth Continent! The gold reserves are incalculable!"

"Oh?" The Five Elders with swords perked up slightly, glancing at Steelbone Sky who had just arrived:

"Kong, is this why you came here? A gold mine with abundant reserves is certainly no small matter, but don't tell me you, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, can't handle it?"

The old man with the mustache nodded and said jokingly:

"Send troops to occupy the gold mines and drive out the treasure hunters... Do we need to teach you that?"

Kong shook his head.

"That's exactly where the problem lies."

"After the Golden Lion incident, a large number of pirates went to the Red Line to search for treasure... This newly discovered gold mine has also been occupied by pirates."

“Our forces on the Red Earth are insufficient to drive away these pirates.”

"That's what Steelbone Kong said."

The Red Line is a vast continent that divides the entire world in two. It is boundless, sparsely populated, and at its core is naturally the highest peak, Mary Geoise.

Surrounding Mary Geoise were slave cities inhabited by slaves who served the Celestial Dragons.

Further afield are the cities and passes along the land trade routes connecting the four seas, where caravans with land travel permits and kings and nobles of member states can pass after obtaining permission.

The vast majority of the land outside of this area can be considered uninhabited, with sparse population.

Therefore... for many years, the World Government's focus has been on the seas, and its most powerful military force has been its navy.

The army stationed on the Red Line, or the CP organization engaged in espionage, are far inferior to the navy in terms of both manpower and strength.

Therefore, after the great pirates from the Grand Line swarmed into the Red Line, Kong, the supreme commander of the entire army, was suddenly caught in a predicament of insufficient troops.

Chapter 477 The Prelude to a Great Era

Before the appearance of Siegfried's otherpiece...

The Red Line army's duties are simple: to defend the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, suppress slaves, and control the trade routes leading to the four seas.