I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

Barrett also walked over, her gaze falling directly on Shanks, her eyes flickering, and she paused slightly before speaking.

This was the first time he had seen Shanks since his escape from prison.

During the more than ten years that Barrett was imprisoned, this young man, who was a few years younger than him, had surpassed the once-famous Devil's Descendant and become one of the Four Emperors.

Whether it's the Four Emperors, the Admirals, or Roger... all of these people are on Barrett's list.

To become the strongest in the world and surpass the original Pirate King, he has to defeat everyone.

"As long as I use my fusion ability, I can enter the seabed directly without needing a coating," Barrett said confidently.

He looked at the giant ship moored on the shore.

This giant ship was a product of the fusion of the Destroyer Island. It was enormous, and his own submarine, the Catapult, was moored inside the ship.

With a mere thought, Barrett could transform this giant ship into a large submarine, even enveloping Sieg's ship within it.

"A new world?"

Sig suddenly sensed something and glanced at Tengetsu, who was secretly looking at him from not far behind.

He sighed softly.

If you want to go to Wano Country, Roger and Shanks right in front of you are rare and powerful allies.

Kaido is strong, but the title of "the strongest creature in the world" was only given to him after Whitebeard's death.

“Roger, I’ll go with you since I’m going the same way.” Sig paused.

"You must be interested in Wano Country, right?"

...........

"Marshal Sengoku, the pirates have left. They did not stay on the Sabaody Archipelago."

"They destroyed another tracking ship left at sea, and we dared not get too close, lest we lose track of them..."

Hearing his subordinates report this, Zhan Guo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a good thing that the Sabaody Archipelago wasn't looted by pirates because of our retreat."

"but...."

Sengoku's tightly furrowed brows remained unchanged, showing no sign of happiness.

"Warring States Period, this is not your fault."

"The four emperors of the new world are hostile to each other and have never joined forces. But this time, the enemy we are facing is different."

Lieutenant General Tsuru stood beside him and comforted him.

"It's Sig."

"We underestimated him; his plot has succeeded," Zhan Guo sighed.

"I don't know what methods they used to pull off the deception and fake Roger's death..."

"And now, several of Roger's former subordinates have appeared, even Shanks, who has become one of the Four Emperors..."

The Warring States period was marked by a deep frown.

The Four Emperors are irreconcilable enemies. Although Whitebeard, Kaido, and Big Mom share the same background, they have never had any past affection for each other and their relationship is extremely poor.

But the Roger Pirates were clearly different.

"Speaking of which, it was after his contact with the Red-Haired Pirates in Windmill Village in the East Blue that Higuma began to reappear on the seas under the name Higuma..."

As Zhan Guo frowned in thought, a flash of insight struck him, and he seemed to grasp something.

"Could this have started back in the East China Sea?"

"Is this what Sig has been planning all along? He's been secretly contacting Roger's old followers, concealing Roger's existence from the world, only recently revealing the identity of 'King Roger' to the public..."

Chapter 888 Fighting Dog Iron Chrysanthemum

After years of retirement, Sig returns with a new identity, starting with his secret meeting with Shanks in Windmill Village.

Subsequently, he secretly communicated with Roger's former subordinates scattered around the world, which is why Crocus, Rayleigh, and others reappeared in the Navy's sights.

In the year since his comeback, Higuma has orchestrated a series of major events, single-handedly entering the Holy Land, destroying Impel Down, and unleashing the endless hell of pirates that had been accumulating since the Rocks era...

From Sieg to King Sieg, and then to the sudden appearance of King Roger, all these events occurred within a year.

Why did Siegfried choose to make his comeback this year after years of hiding?

Following this line of thought, the Warring States period immediately connected it to the beginning of everything.

"The secret conversation between Sig and Shanks in Windmill Village on the East Blue was the starting point of everything."

"After their secret meeting, Sieg returned to action, while Shanks, who had long resided in the East Blue, finally stirred and returned to his New World..."

What chilled the hearts of the Warring States period was...

Roger's death was concealed from the world for a full 12 years!

As for the navy, they didn't even know that Roger was still alive, let alone that "King Roger" existed.

"Roger, who had been hiding behind the scenes like Sieg, has finally stepped into the limelight."

"And their next plan... after reviving the Roger Pirates, will they revive the Rocks Pirates?"

Standing at the bow of the ship, Zhan Guo muttered to himself, suddenly feeling a headache.

When Chaton revealed Roger's identity, many people on both sides overheard it. Although Sengoku managed to cover it up, the rumors must have been endless...

Moreover, if Roger were determined to make a comeback, the World Government would find it difficult to cover it up.

"Sengoku, I think you're overthinking it. Roger wasn't that kind of person," Garp's voice suddenly rang out.

After the battle, Garp didn't sleep for long before waking up as if nothing had happened.

He was indeed injured; the wound on his back bled quite a bit and was shocking to see. But he acted as if nothing had happened, simply bandaging it up and then he was back to his usual energetic self.

“Garp…” Sengoku pondered for a moment, then suddenly said:

"Weren't you asleep? How would you know about Roger?"

Karp paused, then looked away and said:

"That's what my subordinates told me right after I woke up."

"Really?" Sengoku stared at his old friend, and when he looked away, he casually curled his lip and whistled.

Warring States period:

"But Roger doesn't think so. He made a lot of boastful remarks to me before, saying that he had been lying low for many years in order to cure his terminal illness. Shanks becoming one of the Four Emperors was also a pawn he had placed there."

"Now that the twelve-year period has ended, the Pirate King has returned, and the Four Emperors are under his control... His next step is to re-enter the New World, conquer the Four Emperors, and once again ascend the throne."

"How could that be?" Karp immediately shook his head in rebuttal.

"He clearly said that he would retire and live a peaceful life after being cured of his terminal illness!"

Warring States Period: ......

Garp: ......

"You knew all along that Roger Wang was Roger? When did you start knowing? Before I arrived with my fleet?"

Warring States period: His eyes suddenly lit up.

"Garp, you were hiding something from me after all. What exactly did you talk about with Roger?"

You tricked me, Warring States period! I'm going to replace all the senbei (rice crackers) in your office drawer with wasabi-flavored ones...

Faced with Sengoku's questioning, Garp could no longer pretend to be ignorant.

"That's not important, think about it, Warring States period."

"Didn't Rayleigh also quietly retire for more than ten years? During those ten years, he remained quiet and did nothing to cause any harm."

"After Roger survived by sheer luck, all he wants now is to enjoy his retirement and live a peaceful life, just like Rayleigh did back then."

Sengoku's eye twitched slightly.

To live a peaceful life...

This reminded him of the time before the Impel Down war, when he personally listened to the interrogation of "Arlong the Fishman," who claimed that Sieg's grand plan was to live a peaceful life.

Then, they joined forces with Whitebeard and Shiki to wreak havoc in the Holy Land and Impel Down.

"Now that Roger has returned to the scene, how could he possibly just want to quietly retire?"

The Warring States period scoffed, clearly not agreeing.

“No, he and Sieg are completely different people, they are not the same at all.” Karp shook his head.

"Wasn't Roger living in seclusion more than ten years ago, between disbanding his pirate crew and surrendering himself?"

Warring States narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpening:

"And you know that Roger went into seclusion back then?"

Garp paused slightly and looked away:

"These are things Roger told you before you came, Sengoku."

As the two were talking, they arrived at the Navy Headquarters.

"Forget about these trivial matters now. The most important thing is the matter between Sieg and Roger."

After this battle, the navy's strength became increasingly strained.

"It's too difficult to fill the gap by simply recruiting soldiers in an orderly manner and relying on fresh blood."

“So… perhaps we should look for another way,” Sengoku said.

"Sengoku, you wouldn't be thinking of re-employing those retired generals, would you?" Lieutenant General Tsuru interjected, slightly surprised.

“For example, Iron… I mean Lieutenant General Kowell and his men.” Lieutenant General Tsuru coughed lightly.

The navy and pirates are adversaries. When pirates are powerful, the navy, which is used to suppress them, will also become more powerful.

In a relatively peaceful era with fewer pirates, the World Government would also reduce the size of the navy.

However, due to the recent unrest in Impel Down, the number of great pirates has far exceeded that of the past, and the Navy's strength is stretched thin.