I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"If I hadn't intervened, things wouldn't be as simple as just the Four Emperors of the New World now."

"It's the Sixty Emperors of the Sea!"

Chapter 5: I'm determined to be the Mountain Bandit King!

After hearing what Sieg said, Bergman and the others looked at each other, their expressions rather subtle.

Sixty Emperors of the Pirates?

Just imagining this scene is simply too beautiful.

"Mr. Sieg seems to be quite drunk..."

Beckman thought so.

But upon closer reflection, he realized that this statement might not have been mere boasting.

The names that Sieg mentioned caught his attention.

Redfield the Lone Red... This was a legendary pirate from Roger's era. He had no crew and relied solely on his own strength to sail the Grand Line alongside Roger, Whitebeard, and others.

But later, this legendary pirate suddenly disappeared.

Barrett, the Devil's Descendant...

Beckman also knew the name, and he glanced at his captain Shanks.

Like Shanks, Barrett was once a crew member on the ship of the Pirate King Roger.

Back then, Barrett's strength was comparable to that of Rayleigh, the right arm of the Pirate King, and she was known as a monster in Roger's crew.

Such a powerful figure disappeared shortly after the Roger Pirates disbanded, and it is said that he was captured by the Navy and imprisoned in Impel Down.

As for the others, such as the colossal warship San Juan Wolf, the Evil King, and the Crescent Moon Hunter...

Although these names are not as famous as the former, they are still extremely dangerous pirates with a great reputation throughout the world.

Several of the pirates were completely unknown to even the well-informed Beckman.

"Were these great pirates really killed by Mr. Sigurd and then sent to Impel Down by the Navy?"

Beckman fell silent.

This possibility was too frightening for him to bear, and he was unwilling to think about it any further.

"What will the captain think? Shanks was once on the Pirate King's ship; he should know more about these secrets than we do, right?"

"Is this Sieg just bragging, or is it really true?"

Beckman's attention was focused on his captain, Shanks, to see how he would react.

But Shanks also chugs down a mouthful of wine and is now arm in arm with Siegfried.

"Mr. Sig is amazing..."

Beckman: "..."

Shanks didn't seem to care at all whether Sieg's words were true or false.

He was wrong; he shouldn't have placed his hopes on this erratic captain.

Beside him, little Luffy also eagerly gathered around, listening to Higuma continue his boasting, his eyes sparkling with excitement:

"Wow, this uncle is so strong!"

"Are these the mountain bandits?"

After drinking, Sieg started spouting off a string of witty remarks, whether true or not.

Not to mention Luffy, the rest of the Red-Haired Pirates listened with great interest.

Many of the secrets of the old era were things they had never heard of before, but this man in front of them spoke of them in great detail.

Nearby, Yasopp, the sniper of the Red-Haired Pirates, saw Luffy staring at Higuma with adoring eyes, and a thought struck him. He teased, "..."

"Luffy, didn't you say you were going to become the Pirate King?"

"Look how amazing Sig is. When you grow up, why don't you be like him and become a bandit king?"

After saying this, Yasopp burst into laughter, and the people around him also laughed.

Only Sieg, standing next to him, was instantly jolted awake, and most of his drunkenness dissipated immediately.

Is this the future bandit king Luffy?

Isn't this joke a bit too far?

The thought of Luffy in the future shouting, "I'm going to be the Mountain Bandit King!" makes Sigurd inexplicably laugh.

"When I was a child, I also thought about whether I should apply to Tsinghua University or Peking University..."

"But there's also a bandit king in One Piece? It's like choosing between Tsinghua University and Peking University's Founder Group."

Sig found it somewhat amusing.

However, what startled Sigir was that Luffy didn't answer for a moment, as if he was seriously considering whether to become the Pirate King or the Mountain Bandit King.

Sieg put down the bottle, his expression turning serious again, and his facial features hardening.

Damn it.

He didn't want to see Luffy go astray and become some kind of bandit king.

Even if Luffy becomes the King of the Marines, it would still be a million times better than becoming the Mountain Bandit King.

Thinking of this, Sigurd looked at Luffy seriously and spoke:

"A man's dream is not something to be joked about."

A deep voice echoed in the tavern, causing the surrounding laughter to pause.

The atmosphere, which had just eased, became serious again.

"A real man's dream..."

Little Luffy's starry eyes shone even brighter.

He's still a child, and even if he says he wants to be the Pirate King, nobody takes him seriously.

Even Shanks and his crew often joke about this.

But now, Luffy has encountered someone who calls him a "man".

Every child longs to be treated as an equal by adults, to be seen as a real man.

In Luffy's short life, Higuma was the first person to call him a "man".

"That's right!"

Higuma looked at Luffy with a meaningful gaze:

"A person's dreams never end. This has nothing to do with age."

At this point, Sieg picked up Shanks' straw hat from the bar. His expression remained relatively calm, only revealing a subtle hint of emotion.

"Roger's straw hat..."

Higuma knelt down in front of Luffy, a smile of encouragement on his lips, and casually placed the straw hat on little Luffy's head.

"Roger's straw hat looks great on you."

"The bandits are just a place where this old man from the old era hides away."

"Every man with a dream should head towards the sea."

Sig's deep voice echoed in the tavern, and also in Luffy's heart.

"Dream...the sea..."

Luffy's mind was completely occupied by these words.

For a moment, Luffy didn't know how to react, and just stared blankly at the straw hat on his head.

“Mr. Sig…”

Shanks and the others standing nearby were also stunned, their gazes toward Higuma and Luffy becoming somewhat subtle.

It was only when he was looked at like that that Sieg truly came to his senses.

At this moment, he was squatting in front of Luffy and putting the straw hat on little Luffy's head.

The straw hat was too big for Luffy; it covered almost half of his face.

The scene seemed to freeze at that moment.

"Hmm? This scene seems to have a strong sense of déjà vu..."

Sig thought for a moment, then was completely taken aback.

This looks just like when Shanks said goodbye to Luffy and entrusted his straw hat to him when he set sail.

However, the person holding the straw hat has changed from Shanks the Red-Haired to Higuma the Mountain Bandit King!

Chapter 6: Bearing the weight of the entire world alone

Many years later, Luffy, who arrives at Laugh Tale and becomes the Pirate King, will recall that distant afternoon when Higuma placed a straw hat on his head in the tavern in Windmill Village.

That afternoon, the legendary bandit king Higuma placed his old friend Roger's straw hat on Luffy's head.

His action changed the course of a young man's life.

This is where dreams begin.

The starting point of a generation of pirate kings, where dreams set sail.

.........

"Wait a minute! What's going on?"

Sig tried his best to banish the image from his mind.

Damn it, he must have drunk too much; he got too into character.

I just wanted to advise Luffy not to go astray... what's going on now?