I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

He genuinely didn't want to escape from prison.

Impel Down under normal circumstances poses little threat to him because he is unaffected by Seastone and, like Shiki, can fly.

But now the entire Infinite Hell only has a few big cats and little cats left, and even if you include them all, it won't make much difference.

After being imprisoned, Sigurd made two backup plans: first, to give the Door-Door Fruit to Stussy, and second, to give the Armament Haki Gloves to Vegapunk for repair.

It's unclear when Stussy will be able to develop his Devil Fruit to the point of "opening doors in the air," while there's still no news from Vegapunk, who probably hasn't finished repairing it yet.

Without the protection of Armament Haki gloves, Sieg didn't want to take Garp's iron fist head-on.

Of course, if there's no other choice, you still have to break out of prison.

But after listening to the Navy's overall plan, Sieg had another option at hand.

Chapter 1129 The Strongest Ability User Puzzle

The first option is to jailbreak, so the second option is obviously not to jailbreak.

With complete insight into the Navy's plans, any act such as premature escape would lead to changes in the Navy's operational plans, thus creating greater uncertainty.

From this perspective, allowing the navy to maintain its original plan is also an option.

The Navy's execution plan was a trap set for Roger and Whitebeard.

However, if he has insight into the traps, this becomes an advantage for Sieg.

Thinking of this, Sieg suddenly recalled the whispered conversation he had with Tyrant Bear.

Bartholomew Kuma clearly has a certain understanding of each member of the Straw Hat crew. The places he sent flying were basically places where the Straw Hat crew members could train and become stronger.

In the original work, the place where Luffy was sent flying was Amazon Lily, where the Pirate Empress Hancock lived.

The warriors who protect Amazon Lily all possess Armament Haki. Located in the Calm Belt, their only way out is to board Empress Hancock's pirate ship, which is towed by sea serpents.

Bartholomew Kuma certainly never imagined that Luffy could ignore Boa Hancock's petrification and win her over in a short time.

Therefore, his original plan should have been to let Luffy master Haki in Kuja, train diligently, and isolate himself from the outside world in the Calm Belt, so as to prevent Luffy, who was not strong enough at the time, from participating in the Marineford War.

Perhaps in a year or two, when Luffy's power is strong enough to defeat Boa Hancock, he will naturally be able to set sail.

This is what Sigmund guessed was Bartholomew Kuma's intention: to keep Luffy away from war and allow him to focus on training his Haki.

However... the plot has undergone a fundamental change.

Not only Empress Hancock, but also the Sky Dragon Hoof behind the three Empress sisters were all photoshopped out by Siegfried.

The Dragon's Hoof is a crucial element in the Amazon Lily storyline: Luffy's anger was triggered when he broke into the Empress's bathhouse and saw the brand, and it was also because he protected his sister's brand that the Empress took notice of him.

Without the mark, the single-minded Luffy might still be able to win over the Empress even if it takes longer, but it's unlikely he'll succeed in a short time. Luffy will be trapped on that island.

Therefore, what Siguru whispered at the time, the so-called "better solution," was to suggest that Bartholomew Kuma send Luffy flying to another island.

This island is meant to fulfill Bartholomew Kuma's intention: to keep Luffy away from war and allow him to diligently train in Haki.

Sieg's proposed solution was Baltimore, the island of white soil.

This island is the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army and the location of the revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon.

Dragon is Luffy's father, so he probably wouldn't let Luffy participate in the Marineford War too early at this time. Whether this is true or not is not important; all Higuma needs to do is convince Bartholomew Kuma of this.

···············

On this day, the Navy announced that it would hold a public execution of the bandit king Higuma and Fire Fist Ace at Marineford, just like the execution in Loguetown many years ago.

This news shocked and stunned countless people.

However... this time the execution took place at Marine Headquarters, unlike Loguetown back then, which is not a place where civilians could witness the execution.

The public execution will be broadcast live in the Sabaody Archipelago via video Den Den Mushi (snail phone).

On a vast ocean in the Grand Line, amidst the endless blue waves, a huge wooden raft encountered a warship sent by the Navy to inform Blackbeard.

This huge wooden raft has a simple design, made up of several large logs pieced together. The black canvas is painted with the pirate crew's logo: a strange three-headed skull symbol, with one skull in the center and the other two skulls on the left and right sides.

At this time, the Blackbeard Pirates were still a small pirate crew with only a few members.

"Hahahaha... Has it finally come to this?"

Blackbeard burst into laughter:

"There are only half a month left. Just as I predicted, the Navy intends to use Fire Fist Ace as a bargaining chip to force Whitebeard into a trap!"

"The Navy's objective is to eliminate Whitebeard!"

After laughing for a while, Blackbeard couldn't help but press his chest, his expression suddenly becoming complicated, a mixture of resentment and anticipation.

"A spot was taken up by an ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruit..."

"The Dark Fruit, which was recently acquired from John's treasure, is the second spot."

"Perhaps there should be a third spot..."

Blackbeard muttered to himself, but he was also heartbroken and couldn't help but grit his teeth.

It shouldn't have been like this!

"The strongest Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit, plus the strongest Paramecia-type Tremor-Tremor Fruit, if I could get them all, then in the next step I would look for the strongest Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit... That's how it should be!"

"At that time, I will be the strongest Devil Fruit user on this sea..." Blackbeard imagined such a scene:

"No, he's the strongest man in the world!"

But now, a piece of the puzzle is missing forever!

Blackbeard clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead.

He still feels resentful when he recalls what happened many years ago.

"It's all Sieg's fault!" His face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

"If he hadn't created some messed-up Devil Fruit, I wouldn't have been blinded by greed, thinking I could add another Devil Fruit slot to my collection, and then eating a fake one..."

Blackbeard is a man who knows how to be patient, is cunning, and ambitious, but he can't be called a far-sighted strategist.

For the immense benefits of the Dark-Dark Fruit, he was willing to risk betraying the Whitebeard Pirates. To recruit powerful crew members from Level 6, such as the Evil King and giant warships, he was willing to risk infiltrating Impel Down... only to have his entire crew nearly wiped out by Magellan, barely surviving thanks to Shiryu's betrayal, which Magellan himself had released.

Without Shiryu's sudden betrayal and the antidote, Blackbeard would have been poisoned to death long ago and wouldn't have even been able to reach Marineford.

"Captain, the navy is urging us to respond..." Sheriff Lafitte reminded them.

"As a Shichibukai, you need to go to Marine Headquarters for a meeting to discuss how to deal with Whitebeard."

The summons for the Seven Warlords of the Sea is only for the Warlords themselves, not for the entire pirate crew.

Blackbeard had ulterior motives, so he prepared for the entire ship to respond.

"Then, Captain, should we use the privileges of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to enter Impel Down and recruit crew members according to your plan?" Laffitte asked again.

Blackbeard frowned, a pang of regret rising in his heart.

He spent ten years in Impel Down.

He was well aware of the power of the fifty-six emperors of Infinite Hell.

Impel Down now only has a few cats and dogs left.

"hateful!"

"It's all Sig and Shiki's fault!" Blackbeard thought bitterly.

The puzzle of finding the strongest Devil Fruit user is incomplete, so the Blackbeard Pirates' recruitment plan is doomed to fail.

Chapter 1130 I'm Determined to Be the Mountain Bandit King! (4k views)

The fifty-six emperors of Infinite Hell have varying levels of strength.

The colossal warship San Juan Wolf, the Crescent Moon Hunter Katarina, and the Evil King are among the best. Even when Blackbeard was in prison, he held them in high regard.

As for Barrett, Lone Red, and Shiki the Golden Lion, their strength far surpasses that of the other prisoners, and Blackbeard knows he cannot control them, so he doesn't dare to hope for it.

But now it's not a question of whether or not to ask for it, it's that Blackbeard simply has no choice!

The fifty-six emperors have long been released from prison. The giant warships among them were taken under the command of the Golden Lion ten years ago, and the weaker ones have gone their separate ways.

"Imperial City has been a disgrace to its name for over a decade. The entire prison city was breached once, and although it took ten years to rebuild and reinforce, the criminals held inside are not on the same level as before." Blackbeard frowned;

"The risks of moving into or out of the city are too great, but there are no corresponding benefits. There is no need to move into the city anymore."

There are no crew members in Impel Down that he finds acceptable now.

"Didn't we just imprison a bandit king named Sig?" Lafit asked casually.

“Sigurd…” Blackbeard repeated the name, his expression darkening.

"Then he definitely can't go to Impel Down; there's no way he'll join my ranks."

"Furthermore, Higuma is not easy to deal with. If our interference allows him to escape prematurely, that would be problematic, after all, he is an old member of the Whitebeard Pirates..."

Blackbeard remained silent, but his heart sank deeper into despair.

The Navy's plan this time is not only to eliminate Whitebeard, but also to execute Higuma. If either of them survives, he's probably not far from his own demise...

"Heh... So be it. How can you become the strongest without taking risks?" Blackbeard sneered.

Blackbeard is not a shrewd or strategic person. He will pounce on any opportunity that offers enough profit, disregarding his own life. He is more like a gambler who doesn't value his life.

In his early years, he gambled his remaining life on Whitebeard's ship, betting that the Dark-Dark Fruit would be obtained by the Whitebeard Pirates... which was actually a very small probability.

Later, when he stormed Impel Down and entered Marineford, he was nearly killed by Magellan and Whitebeard.

Every step he took was extremely risky; a slight misstep could have resulted in his death on the battlefield. Yet, this very man became the biggest winner in the original Marineford War.

"Regardless of all that, I have obtained the strongest Dark-Dark Fruit, which was the power of the former overlord Rocks."

Blackbeard clenched his fist, and dense darkness gathered from it like wisps of silk.

"I've heard that even Higuma, back in the day, was defeated by the overlord Rocks. And Whitebeard was just one of Rocks' subordinates back then. The Dark-Dark Fruit is the strongest ability!"

"I've already won once, so I'm going to bet again this time!"

"If successful, I will be a dual user of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Dark-Dark Fruit!"

Blackbeard chuckled coldly, gradually gaining confidence.