I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Tell me more about this person..."

The old woman didn't care much about whether Sieg lived or died; instead, she was quite concerned about someone else.

..........

"Sieg has disappeared?"

"Perhaps a new era is about to begin."

Upon hearing the news, World Destroyer Wald couldn't help but recall his two previous encounters with Sieg.

The first time was on Thor's Island, when Sig was still King Sig.

The second time was in Water Seven, during the Fifty-Six Emperors Alliance.

On both occasions, Sieg used a striking red lightsaber that left a deep impression on him.

That lightsaber seems to be somewhat similar to Seastone; Wald's Momo-Momo Fruit power was once stripped away.

"If it were Whitebeard, even if he were temporarily stripped of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's power, he wouldn't be so easily defeated by Higuma, would he?"

This thought crossed Wald's mind.

In the old days, he once competed with Whitebeard, Roger, and others, but he relied more on the explosive power and speed amplification brought to him by the Momo-Momo Fruit to achieve this level.

The explosive power of the Momo-Momo Fruit is as extraordinary as Barrett's Armament Haki. In this aspect alone, neither Roger nor Whitebeard could surpass them.

"Perhaps I've relied too much on the power of the Momo Fruit."

"If I can reach Whitebeard's level through my own strength, then I'll have no weaknesses left. Then, with the amplification from the Momo-Momo Fruit..."

"Even if I face Sig's lightsaber again in the future, I won't have to worry."

Wald thought to himself.

The Flame Laser Sword's advantage lay in catching him off guard, essentially a unique weapon that could kill on first sight, and it was particularly effective against those who overly relied on their abilities.

This kind of trick can be used once or twice, but it's different the third time.

But what if you're mentally prepared beforehand... what if you're temporarily stripped of your abilities?

There is no shortage of strong people who lack ability in this world.

Pirate King Roger, Red-Haired Shanks, Iron Fist Garp... many powerful figures have also been able to reach the pinnacle of this world solely through their own strength.

"Those prisoners of Infinite Hell who were forced to kneel before Sieg that day... I'm afraid they still yearn for revenge, aren't they?"

"One failure doesn't mean you're a loser forever..."

"Heh... If Sig had returned any later, I wonder what kind of enemies he would have encountered?"

Wald chuckled.

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

The Sky Islands of Vermeer, the territory of the Golden Lion.

"Some say Sieg died in the Shattered Void event on Scarborough Island; others say he didn't die, he just disappeared, vanished, and he'll return someday..."

Upon hearing the intelligence from his subordinates, the Golden Lion was slightly dazed and subconsciously reached up to touch the top of his head.

The sensation coming from my palm was not the cold, hard rudder, but fine strands of hair.

His ship's rudder was long gone, and even his baldness was cured by a bottle of wine from Sieg.

"He died at the hands of the navy? Ha, what a joke."

The golden lion sneered.

Despite having been defeated and captured by the Navy, Golden Lion still doesn't think much of the Navy.

In his eyes, there were only a few great pirates standing at the top of the sea from beginning to end; everyone else was beneath his notice.

After his cold laugh, he remained silent for quite a while.

The golden lion stood facing the wind, its golden hair reaching the ground being blown by the fierce wind high in the sky.

He raised his hand and sent two bottles flying from afar, landing in his palm.

He gave himself a bottle of wine and gulped it down.

The other bottle of wine was poured into the mud at his feet.

"Is this guy just using this opportunity to get out of the public eye again, secretly plotting his scheme somewhere?"

"I'd rather die by my hand than by the navy."

Speaking of the navy... Golden Lion suddenly remembered something.

"Is that Marine named Higuma still alive? Investigate, immediately," he ordered.

A few days later, the Flying Pirates' informant delivered new intelligence.

"Higuma is still alive. He has now become a naval captain in the Navy's NEO New Army Corps. There are no abnormalities. He should be receiving training at headquarters at present."

"Hehehehe... This is interesting."

The golden lion's loud laughter suddenly rang out.

At first.

In the incident where he obtained the Angel Fruit, Sig made contact with him under the identity of "Sun Bear".

Golden Lion knew perfectly well that the so-called Navy Sun Bear was actually another identity of Sig.

So here's the question...

Who is the current Rikuma?

"This is really interesting. I'll keep an eye on this navy unit named Higuma from now on."

The golden lion laughed loudly and gave the order.

...........

The incident of the Mountain Bandit King shattering the void has been settled.

Many great pirates were eager to make their move, and a group of people embarked on a treasure hunt on the Red Line.

About a month later, in Wano Country, at the residence of Toki Amatsuki.

In the afternoon, the lazy sunlight shone into the courtyard.

The girl, Yamato, rested her head on Amatsuki Toki's lap, and the two spoke in hushed tones.

"Is old man Sig really dead?" Yamato asked.

Tian Yue paused slightly, her gaze falling on a glass bottle in front of them.

Inside the glass bottle was a pile of ashes.

Tengetsu and Aling are the only two people who possess fragments of Sig's Vivre Card.

But after Sig left, the Vivre Card fragments naturally turned to ashes.

"He just left... Time is a different concept for someone like him."

"Okay, stop talking and go to sleep."

After putting the girl Yamato to sleep, Amatsuki Toki quietly got up.

When she pushed open the door and walked into the courtyard, she saw Ah Ling standing in front of her.

"Long time no see, Bi-----"

Tenzuki paused for a moment, then interrupted impatiently, "My name is Tenzuki."

"Okay, Tianyue Shi, I hope you can do me a favor."

She immediately looked up and stared directly at the moon, then continued:

"You're a user of the Time-Time Fruit, right?"

"Please use your Time-Time Fruit powers to send me to the future."

"Send me to next month's future. If Sig still hasn't appeared by then, then wait until next month..."

Ah Ling's eyes dimmed slightly, and she whispered:

"I don't want to wait any longer."

Tian Yue paused for a moment, looked at A Ling carefully for a few moments, and his eyes suddenly softened.

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

Sword Mountain Island Research Base.

Upon learning of the incident involving the Mountain Bandit King breaking through the void, Vegapunk reacted in the same way as Shiki, immediately trying to find out information about Sunkuguma.

"Disappeared from the Shattered Void? That's an interesting rumor."

Vegapunk doesn't believe rumors.

As the Navy's chief scientist, he held considerable authority and thus managed to learn the full story of what happened from the perspectives of the naval personnel who participated in the battle.

"Wait...you mean, Sig carries a kitten in his pocket?" Vegapunk noticed the key point.

"It is a bit strange...maybe he really likes cats." The Navy didn't take it seriously.

But Vegapunk pondered this for a long time afterward.

The blue and white cat is Vegapunk's artificial experimental subject, and also an experimental product of the artificial time fruit project.

The original purpose of this project was to create a replacement for Sigurd, the user of the Time-Time Fruit.

In this way, as long as Vegapunk cooperates with the cat, he can achieve the combination of the Time-Time Fruit and the Reverse-Time Fruit, freely travel back and forth on the timeline, and arbitrarily change history—a later attempt led him to abandon the project.

However, this does not mean that the blue and white cat is a failed product like the artificial dragon-dragon fruit.

"Sigurd keeps the blue and white cat close to him. Is it one of his trump cards? Could he even be using the blue and white cat's artificial time-time fruit ability?"

The thought crossed Vegapunk's mind.

There seems to be some kind of rule that no two Devil Fruits are exactly alike in the world. Therefore, the artificial Time-Time Fruit created by Vegapunk is a different kind of fruit from the real Time-Time Fruit, only they have similarities in their manifestations.

"If that's the case... then it means that Sigurd's condition on the battlefield is extremely poor, to the point where his stamina is insufficient to support him using the Time-Time Fruit's abilities..."

"He didn't use his own time-traveling ability, but instead used the blue and white cat's ability?"