I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Hmm? Don't you want to see your grandfather?" Shanks retorted.

Little Luffy looked terrified.

"It's not that I don't want to... but Grandpa is definitely going to make me undergo naval training this time."

"No way! I really want to be a pirate!"

"But you'll never be able to swim again, and you're too young."

Shanks refused once again.

Little Luffy hesitated for a moment, then shifted his gaze from Shanks to Sigurd standing to the side.

Hey... why are you looking at me like that? Your pirate mentor is Shanks...

Sieg's heart skipped a beat.

"Even if I had to become a bandit, I would never want to join the navy..."

Little Luffy said defiantly.

Sig: "..."

He got so into character earlier that it seems he really made Luffy misunderstand the bandits.

What if Garp really targets me because of this?

Sig started to panic.

The Red-Haired Pirates can be fooled because they only have one foot in the old era and have only a superficial understanding of what happened in Roger's time.

If Garp comes, I'm afraid he'll be exposed in no time...

Thinking of this, Sieg's breathing became slightly heavier.

Bang, bang, bang...

The sound of my heartbeat, like a war drum, rose uncontrollably, sounding exceptionally loud in the quiet of the night.

"Emperor...Emperor Engine?"

Sig's eyes widened; he was startled by the sound of his own heartbeat.

Due to nervousness, the Emperor Engine was started uncontrollably?

"Hey, this must be a negative effect from KING's character card!"

"I can't be that cowardly. The moment I heard Garp was coming, I activated my Emperor Engine..."

"That's right, that must be it!"

Sig's heart pounded.

"Ok?"

First mate Beckman, who had been chatting with others, paused slightly and looked over in surprise.

Although the sound was not as dense and powerful as before, a subtle sense of oppression arose.

obviously.

The man in front of them had once again entered a fighting stance.

But...why?

Sig and the others were having a perfectly good conversation just a moment ago, and now they're about to turn on each other?

As Beckman pondered this question, someone among the bandits spoke up.

"As expected of the boss."

The bald bandit looked at Sig with shining eyes and exclaimed in admiration:

"Just hearing the news that the naval hero Garp is coming, you immediately have such a strong fighting spirit?"

Garp's name is known even to the most remote mountain bandits in the East Blue.

Upon hearing this, all the bandits once again showed great respect for Sig.

Sieg's eye twitched slightly, and he glanced around discreetly.

As he expected, Beckman and the other red-haired members also showed expressions of sudden realization, and some even expressed their admiration:

"It's a pity that our pirate crew is setting sail tomorrow, so we won't have the chance to witness the battle between Senior Higuma and Iron Fist Garp."

"This is bound to be a battle that is rare in the world. It is a real pity that we cannot witness it in person."

"What a pity, what a pity..." someone said, patting their chest in distress.

Sig gave the bald bandit a deep look.

It's him again...

He denied it outright:

"No, I didn't, don't talk nonsense..."

Sig's voice remained deep and penetrating. In the darkness, it sounded like the growl of a wild beast—not loud, but enough to send chills down one's spine.

"We understand."

First mate Beckman nodded slightly and said with a smile:

"Unfortunately, our business is urgent, and we really have to leave."

"You understand? What the hell do you understand...?"

Sieg was internally devastated, but he still wore a happy expression on his face.

There's no way around it; the "big shot" persona can't be ruined.

"System, is there any way to temporarily stop KING's Emperor Engine?"

Sig asked himself.

"The host can choose to remove the equipment character card, and all effects attached to the character card KING will be eliminated."

"Immediately remove the KING character card from the equipment!"

The heartbeat, like a war drum, vanished instantly.

Beckman paused slightly, looking at Sieg with some suspicion.

The moment the character card was removed, the drum-like sound and immense pressure vanished without warning, as if everything that had just happened was merely their illusion.

The image of Sieg in front of me has also undergone a somewhat inexplicable change.

His facial features are no longer as sharp as before, and he has basically returned to the original bandit style, looking like an ordinary passerby.

It's exactly the same as when Sigurd first appeared and smashed Shanks' head with a bottle.

"He can control his fighting spirit at will, and even instantly disguise himself as an ordinary person?"

"Is this the secret to Mr. Sieg's ability to remain in seclusion until now?"

Beckman became even more curious about Sieg.

The Red-Haired Pirates can roam freely in the New World, but in all their years of pirate experience, they have never encountered such a strange person.

"Or perhaps we should advise the captain not to go to sea yet, and wait until he has finished watching the battle between Mr. Sieg and Vice Admiral Garp before leaving?"

Chapter 9 Mr. King might be incredibly strong.

The next day, at the Windmill Village Wharf.

On the pirate ship Red, which flies the double-sword skull flag, most of the pirate crew members have already gone up to the deck.

However, instead of urging them to set sail, they leaned against the ship's railing and looked at the two people at the dock.

"You can keep this hat for now."

"This is my most cherished hat. You must return it to me when you become a great pirate."

Shanks took off his straw hat, gently knelt down, and placed the hat on Luffy's head.

This should have been a touching scene, but everyone, including Shanks, subconsciously recalled a similar scene from the tavern yesterday.

"I remember Mr. Sieg also thought highly of this kid, but he left in a hurry early this morning..."

First mate Beckman leaned against the ship's railing and chatted with the crew about Sieg.

"The sea is truly vast; even in the remote areas of the East China Sea, such a great predecessor from an ancient era dwells in seclusion..."

"Speaking of which, Senior Sig looks much younger than Senior Rayleigh. It's a bit of a pity that he retired so early."

"Seclusion?"

Beckman chuckled and countered with a question:

"If he really did take action in the old era and killed...more than fifty great pirates, would such an active figure really stay on a remote island in the East Blue forever?"

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

at the same time.

In the mountains outside Windmill Village, Sig was leading his bandits along the mountain path at a rapid pace.

"Boss, why are we in such a hurry to get back to the mountain stronghold?"

One of the bandits couldn't help but complain.

I drank quite a bit of alcohol yesterday, and this morning I trekked a long way through the mountains. Even for these mountain bandits who are familiar with the terrain, it wasn't easy.

"Shut up, listen to me, there's no need to ask any more questions."

Sig silenced the bandit who had just been asking a question with a single sentence.

After what happened this afternoon, Sieg's standing in their hearts has risen many times over.

"The boss is a powerful figure who once stood shoulder to shoulder with the Pirate King, so there must be a deeper meaning behind this."

"Are you in such a hurry to get back to the stronghold? Does the boss have some new plan, like... raiding the capital of the Goa Kingdom?"

"I recently heard that pirates have appeared in the vicinity of the Unknown Terminal. Didn't the boss personally hunt down many great pirates? I wonder if we'll have a chance to see the boss take action this time."

The bandits secretly speculated.