I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

With the addition of the working-class Luo, Sigurd's grand scheme—how to quickly earn money to easily obtain his medication—can also begin...

Then, Klose pushed open the door and entered, bringing a new message:

"The Straw Hat Pirates' recent whereabouts are that they appeared in the desert kingdom of Alabasta a few days ago."

“Oh? It’s gotten to this point already?” Sieg nodded.

"Find me another person."

"Walpo, the former king of Drum Kingdom, was a user of the Gluttony Fruit. He should have been defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates by now and is wandering on an island near Drum Island."

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

Alabasta, a desert country.

“Rain City was once the most prosperous city in our Alabasta, even more prosperous than the Royal City.”

"At that time, Rain City was the territory of a former Shichibukai, and that person was even called a national hero."

"But when the sandstorm that was about to destroy the city arrived, it was another man who stepped forward..."

The tour guide was speaking through a megaphone on the busy street, followed by a group of people.

Luffy and the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates also joined in the fun, listening to the history of this seaside city.

"This statue was erected to commemorate the events of that time."

"In fact, many locals still remember that incident from ten years ago very clearly..."

The crowd looked up in awe at the statue of the man's back in the square before them.

Under the blazing sun, sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell from the sky onto the statue of the man's back, casting a long shadow.

He was tall and imposing, holding a sword in one hand and a young girl in the other, like a god descending to earth to save the world.

"So cool!"

Luffy's eyes lit up, and he quickly ran to the front of the statue, looked up, but was greatly disappointed.

"Why is the statue's face blurry? It's not handsome at all! Is it only its back view that's handsome?"

A soft laugh came from the side.

“That’s not how it is.” In the distance, Robin, shrouded in a long robe, walked over with a group of people in robes. She, too, looked up at the front of the statue, a ripple appearing in her deep eyes.

Not only the man's face, but even the face of the girl in his arms was blurry.

"Because the hero who saved the city is wanted, and Alabasta is, after all, a member state of the World Government, it is not appropriate to erect a statue there."

"Wanted? Is he a pirate? He's so cool!" Luffy's eyes lit up again.

Robin neither confirmed nor denied it, but simply smiled slightly.

Chapter 1038 Get Stronger by Spending Money (3k)

"Hey Luffy, were you talking to some pretty lady just now?"

Sanji's eyes sparkled with red hearts, and his legs transformed into a whirlwind as he charged forward:

"I think I heard the voice of a beautiful older woman with a lot of breasts."

"What are you talking about? Where is that person?" Luffy looked around but couldn't find Robin in the crowd.

Beyond the crowd in the distance.

Robin, draped in a long robe, gazed at the distant statue alongside the giant Saul, and at the Straw Hat Pirates, who were laughing and joking all the way.

After the Buster Call incident in Water 7, the giant Saul joined the Revolutionary Army along with Robin and has remained there ever since.

"Robin, do you remember that man?" The giant Saul gazed at the statue's silhouette in the distance.

Robin chuckled:

“Mr. Long told me before that he was not actually dead, and that he had recently appeared in the East Blue and was secretly active. His appearances were all related to the Straw Hat Pirates.”

"So I'm also quite curious about this pirate crew that can make Mr. Sig look at it differently."

Saul glanced at Robin, then suddenly recalled something from the past and asked:

"Robin, your dream is to uncover the truth behind the Poneglyphs, right? Just like your mother, Olvia..."

Robin was somewhat surprised by Saul's sudden question, but she nodded nonetheless.

Sauro remained silent for a moment.

The path of seeking the truth of historical texts is not aligned with either the navy or the revolutionary army.

Robin's mother, Olvia, wasn't a pirate back then; she was just an archaeologist searching for the truth of history, but she was powerless to protect herself from the World Government's pursuit.

Only by becoming a free-spirited pirate who disregards the World Government's prohibitions can she possibly reach the truth she seeks.

In other words, anyone in this world who can sail freely on the high seas despite the Navy's obstruction and study the Poneglyphs, which are explicitly prohibited... will be a pirate with a bounty on their head by the World Government.

“Then Robin, leave the contact with the Alabasta royal family to us,” Saul suddenly said.

"It's rare that you're interested in the Straw Hat Pirates. Keep observing. We can handle the Revolutionary Army's work for now."

He bid farewell to Robin with his fellow revolutionaries and stood on high ground looking back at the rainy city.

Ten years ago, Rain City was the most prosperous city in Alabasta, a pearl in the desert.

After that sandstorm, the city was partially destroyed and severely damaged, and it has not fully recovered to this day.

In this chaotic era, pirates on the Grand Line all believed they could reach the top, and one after another they flocked in, just like confident leeks in the stock market, one crop after another being harvested.

Desert bandits, coastal pirates... these threats, while not as devastating as the destruction of a nation in the original work, are still significant.

Alabasta can never be a true paradise, and the Straw Hat Pirates will always be surrounded by formidable enemies.

Sauro looked at the desert city and said silently:

"And that's why we're here."

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

Island of All Things.

Inside a room on a high floor of the mansion, Sieg stared blankly at the small medicine bottle in his hand.

"Such a small thing cost a full 100 million. And it took me a lot of effort."

The blue and white cat lay on the table, yawning repeatedly.

As Vegapunk's pet and experimental subject, it did accompany him for quite some time.

Although the blue and white cat can be a bit eccentric at times, it usually serves as Vegapunk's little helper.

Therefore, as instructed by Vegapunk from the parallel world, the important task of operating the equipment to produce the medicine according to the procedure also fell on the cat's shoulders.

"Drink it quickly and see how it works!"

Despite being tired, the blue and white cat still looked at Sig with great interest.

"Hopefully it'll be worth the price." Sieg nodded, tilting his head back to pour the medicine from the bottle into his mouth.

It has a refreshing coolness upon entry, and the coolness is soothing to the soul.

After the cool sensation spread throughout his body, Sieg froze, and his previous relaxed expression vanished.

It felt as if a sharp knife was constantly churning inside his brain. The intense pain made Sieg's breathing quicken, and an invisible telekinetic force spread out, causing his body to float up.

The main hall on the first floor of the mansion.

As usual, Gilman stood in front of the wall, hands behind his back, looking at the huge smiling portrait of the mountain bandit king above his head.

The painting had already been taken away by Sieg, but that didn't stop Gilman from resting here with his eyes closed.

But suddenly.

He opened his eyes and reached out to tap his temple.

"Hmm? A strange burst of thought waves... but there's no complete sound information in them?"

He frowned slightly, then suddenly realized something, his expression changed, and he quickly went upstairs to the door of Sig’s large room.

The room door was tightly closed, and muffled cries of pain could be faintly heard coming from inside.

He hesitated for a moment, then knocked on the door.

No one opened the door; instead, strange noises came from inside.

Boom!Boom!

It sounded like war drums, or the roar of a machine engine, stirring the emotions within one's heart.

Gilman's expression changed slightly.

He naturally knew what the sound was... but the room Sieg was in was a specially designed soundproof room, so the sound inside shouldn't be this loud...

"What happened?" Kro arrived shortly after. He and Gilman hesitated for a moment in front of the door, then nodded at the same time.

Gilman reached out and pushed the door open. The two entered the room and then closed the door tightly. But what happened next stunned them both.

Sig floated in the center of the room with his eyes closed, his breathing slightly rapid, and the Emperor Engine was constantly emanating from his body.

His body was tense, and you could see his muscles spasming unconsciously, with beads of blood seeping from his skin pores.

Half of the surrounding walls were already soaked with sprayed blood.

"Why is there so much blood? Is Boss Sig injured?" Kro asked in surprise.

"Don't worry about it, it's normal. You all need to learn to stay calm." The blue and white cat sat calmly on the table, appearing very composed.

Clooney and the other man were slightly relieved, and then they heard the blue and white cat's next sentence:

"I heard that you two-legged creatures bleed every month, don't you? What's so surprising about that?"

Kro was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening and hesitated, then said:

"...This is different, isn't it?"

"It seems a little different?" the blue and white cat continued.

"That's true, Sig is different. He does it once a week. Isn't that amazing?"

"Shut up!"