I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

From the very beginning, he was a gambler with great courage, having already staked his entire life on Whitebeard's ship.

Having won one round, of course I want to win a second.

In the end, there are only two outcomes: soaring to great heights or losing everything.

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

Ten thousand meters above the sky, amidst the islands of Vermeer, a long, loud laugh suddenly echoed from the golden lion.

"Hahahaha... Naval hero Higuma rescued slaves in the Sabaody Archipelago? That's hilarious."

The Golden Lion was overjoyed as he read the intelligence he had just gathered.

"For ten years, I have never been able to figure out the significance of Higuma... Now it seems that Sig is indeed a cunning old fox."

The golden lion grinned broadly:

"More than half a month ago, Admiral Higuma arrested the bandit king, Higuma. Higuma used his years of accumulated infamy to enhance the reputation of the naval hero."

"Not long after, Higuma orchestrated the emancipation of slaves in the Sabaody Archipelago!"

"That was a brilliant move. He single-handedly created a rift between the Navy and the World Government. I'm afraid that from now on, there will be many different voices within the Navy."

The golden lion was impressed.

"What an amazing idea! Is this the grand plan that Sieg has been scheming for years?"

He is also a man of great foresight, deep cunning, and great patience.

Similarly, his plan, also prepared in ten-year increments, resulted in the cultivation of only a group of large beasts with decent strength.

And what about Sieg's plan?

He directly created an admiral spy, which plunged the Navy into a situation where it was suspected by the World Government. At the same time, the Navy was secretly splitting up, and the Navy members were even still thinking of him!

The two plans differed greatly in scope and effectiveness; even the Golden Lion, in comparison, seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"Although I hate to admit it, my Strong World Project is no match for Sig's project."

The golden lion muttered:

"In terms of ambitious plans, I admit that Sieg is stronger. The Navy's assessment of him is quite accurate. He may be the world's number one ambitious person."

"I can't wait to see what kind of expressions those Marines will have after Higuma's identity is revealed!"

The golden lion burst into laughter.

Although he had been defeated by the Navy before, the enemies he respected were only a handful, such as Roger, Higash, and Whitebeard; the Navy was not among them.

"I had thought that if even Sieg had forgotten his grand plan, I wouldn't mind taking action to help him recall it carefully..."

Golden Lion chuckled as he recalled his conversation with Sigurd on the Skypiea ten years ago:

"But now it seems I was overthinking it."

..........

Above the mist-shrouded ocean, a massive island ship looms indistinctly.

Inside the central castle of the giant warship Dushan, a gleaming bald man sat at a table, scribbling something in a notebook.

"Boss Sig was right to tell us to hide."

The bald man muttered to himself:

"Not only is the existence of this bandit group unknown to the Navy, but this is also an unexpected surprise force for the Navy."

"And there's also Gecko Moria. Moria just received a notification from the Navy that, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, he must attend a meeting at headquarters to prepare for the upcoming war..."

Several months ago, the bandit king Sig reappeared on the Island of All Things and killed the general Dol with a single sword.

In reality, there were very few eyewitnesses to that battle. The original onlookers had long been frightened away and were unwilling to stand by. No outsiders witnessed Dor being killed; they only vaguely saw the whistling sword light and speculated about it.

Therefore, it is unknown that Gecko Moria's heart was taken by Law and he was brought under Sigurd's command.

According to the Navy's speculation, Gecko Moria had probably experienced a defeat, after which his forces were absorbed by Sig, and he fled in panic. Considering that his opponent was Sig, and even an admiral was killed in battle, Moria's ability to escape did not diminish his reputation.

At least his reputation sounds much better than when he was defeated by Straw Hat Luffy in the original version.

"Gecko Moria? A Shichibukai (one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea) actually became your mole... It's a bit unbelievable..."

Roger sat on the sofa in front of the bald man, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sighed.

Previously, Roger asked Shiki for help but was refused. In order to find other allies, he came to the Isle of All Things and found Sig's band of mountain bandits.

Since both parties shared the same interests, they quickly reached an agreement.

The bald man nodded:

"Hopefully Moria can obtain more intelligence from within the Navy... Unfortunately, the Seven Warlords of the Sea are ultimately outsiders, and the complete Navy plan will not be revealed to them."

The bald man sighed softly.

At that moment, the Den Den Mushi in his arms suddenly rang.

The bald man glanced down, his expression changed slightly, and he stood up, leaving the reception room to answer the phone.

"Bald guy, do you have a way to contact the Whitebeard Pirates?"

The Den Den Mushi's voice was deep and cold, its expression a half-smile, as if it were looking down at the bald man in front of it.

"I don't have their number... but I can give it a try," the bald man replied.

"That's good. I have the Navy's complete operational plan intelligence here. I'll share this intelligence with Whitebeard." On the other end of the phone, Sig, who was at home in headquarters, revealed the Navy's operational plan in its entirety.

The number of naval forces, their deployment, and even the situation of Squard the Great Whirlpool Spider, the person Akainu proposed to turn against them, were all explained clearly.

At first, the bald man was taking notes quickly, but soon sweat beaded on his forehead as he became increasingly shocked.

"This is the complete battle plan... No wonder Boss Sig could still secretly make phone calls even though he was in Impel Down!"

"As expected of Boss Sig, he has secretly planted an inside agent within the Navy! Moreover, this agent must be a high-ranking official of considerable standing! Otherwise, he wouldn't know so much!"

"Have you remembered everything clearly?" Sieg asked on the other end of the phone.

"The Navy deliberately chose to give Whitebeard only half a month. This was just enough time for the Whitebeard Pirates to get from the New World to the battlefield. They also didn't have enough time to devise a more detailed battle plan or to win over more allies."

"If you were to set off from the far reaches of the four seas, half a month would not be enough to reach the battlefield of Marineford."

The two-week period served two purposes: first, to force Whitebeard to arrive as quickly as possible, leaving no time to win over allies.

Secondly, it was to prevent Roger from summoning his old crew, since many of his crew members were living in seclusion around the world and wouldn't be able to get there in half a month.

"I understand, time is crucial for us."

Even after hanging up the phone, the bald man was still in shock.

This intelligence was so detailed that it sent a chill down his spine, even making him doubt the outcome of the Battle of Luoshan Island...

"So that's how it is? The so-called Battle of Luoshan Island is not that simple; it must be part of a larger plan."

Looking at the densely filled notes in his hands, the bald man suddenly felt a pang of shame:

"I actually thought that Boss Sig was arrested by accident. It seems that my heart is not firm enough."

"However, I will not make this mistake again in the future."

Since their reunion, the bandit gang has not encountered any formidable enemies and has remained hidden in the mists of time, unknown to the world.

Even Sig himself had not fully witnessed their current power.

Now, perhaps it's time for the mountain bandit gang to truly emerge.

The bald man clenched his fist secretly.

"Has the time finally come to storm Marine Headquarters?" he muttered to himself.

"I wonder when I will be able to conquer that highest mountain in the world and overthrow that mountain?"

Deep within the mist, a massive black shadow floats on the sea, its crimson light faintly visible.

The bald man didn't have a direct way to contact the Whitebeard Pirates, but he did have indirect ways.

...........

The New World, the Land of Harmony.

Inside the courtyard of the Tenzuki family.

Izo, the 16th division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, listened in astonishment as he heard the information relayed by the bald man.

"Unbelievable... It's hard to believe that they have such clear intelligence."

Izang was filled with doubt and uncertainty. He knew just how rare and precious the intelligence that Sig had sent was, and what its significance was.

Everyone knows that the Navy has now laid a massive net and set a trap in order to deal with Whitebeard, but Whitebeard has no choice but to go to save Ace and will inevitably step into the trap.

However, having a clear understanding of the navy's operational plans and deployments beforehand would undoubtedly be a huge help.

Of course, what shocked Izo the most was the Navy's plan to turn the Great Whirlpool Spider Squard into a defection target.

"Thank you very much. This is extremely important intelligence, and time is of the essence. I must meet up with my father and the others immediately!"

Yizang stood up, bowed, and walked towards the door.

"Izang, I'll go with you."

Just then, someone called out to him. It wasn't Amatsuki Toki who spoke, but Yamato who was beside her.

Ten years have passed, and Yamato is now 26 years old. She has shed her youthful naiveté and grown into a full-fledged adult, carrying a thick, black, and hard spiked club on her back.

"Since my father is to be executed, how can I, as his son, not go?"

"And of course, Ace..."

Yamato's tone was firm.

"Wait a minute." At this moment, Tenzuki Toki finally spoke.

"Mother, are you going to stop me?" Yamato asked without turning around, her back to Tengetsu.

"Do you still want to be Kozuki Oden, Yamato?" Amaterasu Toki asked.

"Kozuki Oden is the guardian deity of Wano Country. If it were him, he wouldn't have set sail recklessly."

“I…” Yamato turned around.

In the original work, she was Kaido's daughter, raised in seclusion, a young prisoner with only Oden's diary for company, but that's not the case now.