I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Sig, what you're saying is a lie, isn't it?" Crocus said, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

This wasn't a harsh accusation, but the tone was quite certain, revealing obvious disappointment.

Sig was startled.

He didn't know where he had slipped up, but although he was surprised, he remained outwardly calm.

Sieg was very calm and even drank a glass of wine.

He saw Crocus's somewhat cloudy old eyes still staring directly at him, as he spoke, word by word:

"Because I didn't ask Brooke at all."

"The things about the Yellow Springs are all made up by me based on legends."

Sieg's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment his mind went blank.

Great!

Crocus had been on Sieg's ship for quite some time, and the two were practically acquaintances.

Sieg never expected that Crocus would suddenly set a trap for him and pull such a stunt!

"Something's not right! Something's not right with my mindset!"

Immediately, Sieg realized something was wrong.

One lie requires more lies to cover it up.

Over time, Sieg has become accustomed to lying, and then, in order to cover up his lies, he tells even bigger lies.

However... after going through many things, Crocus and Rayleigh have become "one of us," allies.

Especially Crocus, who has been on board for a long time.

Perhaps because of this, Sieg relaxed his guard and completely lost the cautious and apprehensive attitude he usually had when lying.

So... he crashed?

It seems he was careless and underestimated the low-profile old ship's doctor, Crocus!

A sudden sense of panic arose in Sieg's heart.

Crocus has seen through Sig's lie, so what will he and Rayleigh do next?

Should we part ways because of Sieg's deception? Or should we simply take him down?

Sweat began to bead on Sieg's back. Under the sharp gaze of Crocus, Sieg felt extremely uneasy and could only continue drinking to mask his anxiety.

Crocus smiled, his smile full of understanding.

He glanced at the bald man waiting beside him, a smile playing on his lips, and continued:

“I already understand.”

"When you emerged from that ancient blue-green coffin and returned to this world, you once said something like this."

Crocus stood up from the bar, mimicking Sieg's usual expressionless demeanor.

His eyes were half-closed, his gaze devoid of sorrow or joy, as if he were looking down upon the world.

Crocus murmured:

"This world has become filthy again."

Sig: ......

He got goosebumps all over again...it was absolutely terrifying!

It has to be said that, from an outsider's perspective, watching an old man like Crocus imitate his own speech is incredibly awkward.

Can't we talk this out properly?!

"So what? Just say it."

Sieg urged, wanting to get through this awkward situation as quickly as possible.

Crocus, however, gave a mysterious smile:

"Sigurd, you didn't go to the Underworld at all, but arrived at... another dimension!"

Sig: ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Rayleigh: !!! !!! !!! !

Sieg didn't know what to say for a moment.

He wanted to continue along with Crocus's words, but he was also worried that this was another trap Crocus had set, waiting for him to fall into it.

“I know, Sig…” Crocus continued:

"Knowledge of another dimension is taboo, and it would be meaningless to tell us about it rashly."

“Sieg, I know you have too many secrets. Even if you tell us you can’t tell us, we won’t blame you.”

"But even so, I hope you won't deceive us."

"Is...is that so?" Rayleigh was a little confused by Crocus's train of thought.

"Another dimension?" Sig looked troubled.

He didn't respond immediately, but instead downed the glass of wine in his hand in one gulp.

He seemed to be considering whether or not to tell Crocus and Rayleigh the adventure story from that dimension.

After a long pause, Sieg sighed, as if he had made an important decision, and his eyes gradually hardened.

“I wanted to hide that journey and continue to interact with you as before, but instead I was met with suspicion and testing.”

"Alright, I'm not pretending anymore, I'm coming clean."

Sig's lips curled into a wide, upward grin.

"Crocas, you guessed right, I did indeed arrive in another dimension... hiccup..."

Sieg hiccuped halfway through his sentence, a look of reminiscence in his eyes.

Seeing this, Crocus felt a little excited: "The power of alcohol is indeed strong... Will we finally be able to learn about things from another dimension from Sig?"

Sig remained silent for a long while, not recounting his journey to another world, but instead asking a question:

"Crocas, Rayleigh, do you know... where the Devil Fruits originated?"

"Why do such peculiar things as Devil Fruits exist in this world?"

Rayleigh and Crocus were both slightly taken aback.

They were people who had traveled the world with Roger and were very knowledgeable, but Devil Fruits were common knowledge in this world, and they had never really considered this issue.

Sieg chuckled.

"Long, long ago, in a very faraway land, there was a divine tree that reached the heavens and the earth, and it only bore fruit once every thousand years."

A thousand... a thousand years?

Rayleigh and Crocus were both taken aback.

The history of this world can be traced back to at most 800 years ago. Even if we add the blank 100 years, it only spans a total of 900 years.

And when Sieg opened his mouth, a thousand years had passed?

"There was a woman named Kaguya Ōtsutsuki who ate the fruit of the Divine Tree, which only ripens once every thousand years, and gained power comparable to that of a god, even being called the Goddess of Creation..."

"And this story begins with a person whose face has markings like cat whiskers..."

As Sieg spoke, the black flames on his palm suddenly surged, enveloping his entire body.

The next second when the flames dissipated, Sig's appearance had changed drastically, transforming into a boy with short blond hair and cat-whisker-like markings on his face.

“I’m talking about this person.” Sig pointed to his face.

"Si...Sigur?"

Rayleigh and Shakky, who had been listening quietly behind the bar, suddenly froze, while only Crocus remained relatively calm.

Back at Twin Capes, Sig had already demonstrated his ability to change his appearance in front of Crocus.

Then, Higuma, who had transformed into Naruto, began to tell a story from another world while drinking sake...

Chapter 486 Discovering a Bigger World

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Chapter 487 A Pawn in the Navy

Higuma looked at Shirahoshi, not because he had any particular thoughts about her, but simply because Shirahoshi was too conspicuous.

Princess Shirahoshi is still a child, about four or five years old, but she is already quite large. She can be described as a giant loli, and she is not much smaller than Neptune, who is huge and has a thick waist.

However, Higuma remained serious in his heart.

According to the original story, not long ago, at the scene where Queen Otohime converted the Celestial Dragon Saint Mjosgard, the mermaid princess Shirahoshi awakened her Sea King abilities for the first time, summoning a large number of super-sized Sea Kings.

Shirahoshi is now a very dangerous Neptune.

As Higuma was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a gaze from the side. He looked in the direction of the gaze and saw a fishman soldier holding a trident.

The soldier was a shark-man with curly black hair; it was Hody Jones.

Seeing Sun Bear looking over, Hody Jones didn't look away, but instead nodded secretly at Sun Bear.

"Hody Jones? That makes sense. Is he still a soldier of the Dragon Palace Kingdom? What is he plotting?"

Higuma frowned slightly.

"Colonel Higuma...Colonel Higuma."

At this moment, King Neptune walked over with a smile, interrupting Sun Bear's thoughts.

His massive 12-meter frame cast a shadow. He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, but he had a friendly smile and was quite kind.

"Colonel Higuma, I must thank you for safely escorting Princess Otohime back. I have already prepared a banquet at Ryugu Castle..."

"A banquet is unnecessary; I have important matters to attend to..."