I the King of bandits of the East Sea

"Roger mentioned this to you?"

Garp's expression changed.

"Roger really told you so many things about this?"

Garp had initially harbored doubts, but the old events Sig revealed were just too detailed.

Some of it, even Garp, who had personally lived through the old era, didn't remember so vividly.

Especially the matter of God Valley.

That incident had long been deliberately erased from history, and there were only a handful of people in the world who truly knew the truth!

Just as Garp's mind wavered, Sig suddenly shifted the conversation from Roger's recounting of old events to his own personal experiences.

"...I originally wanted to go to sea like Roger, but knowing my strength was far too weak, I realized I couldn't become a pirate. After the Great Pirate Era began... I came to the Goa Kingdom and became a bandit."

These words jolted Garp, who had just been lost in reminiscing about the past.

"Wait a second. Why the Goa Kingdom?"

"And why did you come to Foosha Village to approach my grandson and Shanks?"

Garp glared, his eyes sharp.

Sig's heart skipped a beat as he looked deeply at Garp.

This time, Sig didn't use his Conqueror's Engine; he was relying entirely on his acting skills and the script to maneuver through the situation.

Even though it was Garp in front of him, Sig felt it was a near-impossible tightrope walk, teetering on the edge of failure.

"If it's already like drinking poison to quench thirst, I might as well make it even stronger..."

With this thought, Sig opened his mouth to explain further:

"I came to the Goa Kingdom for one reason: because of a person."

"That person's name is... Portgas D. Ace!"

The moment the name "Ace" was spoken, Garp's massive body visibly trembled, revealing shock for the first time.

"How do you know that name?"

Garp shot up from his chair, his instincts driving him to clench his fists. For the first time, he truly couldn't stay calm.

As the one entrusted with Roger's secret, Garp had carried this burden alone for a long time. He had never imagined that another person could know about Ace.

Sig didn't respond immediately; he simply stared at Garp quietly. After a brief silence, Garp slightly relaxed his tightly clenched fists and asked:

"Did Roger tell you this too?"

Sig nodded subtly.

Garp stood frozen for a while, then finally loosened his fists as if a weight had been lifted, and sat back down.

Seeing this, Sig internally sighed in relief and continued to explain:

"I'm not a pirate. I'm not like the members of Roger's crew who entered the World Government's radar. Perhaps that's why Roger chose to tell me these things..."

"However, I don't know much. I could only deduce things based on you, Garp."

"After Roger's execution, I spent a long time being hunted down before finally finding my way here, to the Goa Kingdom."

As Sig spoke, he pulled a wanted poster from his pocket. The poster depicted none other than Sig himself.

He chuckled lightly.

"My identity as a bandit was only to make it easier to move around."

"My purpose has always been to find Ace and secretly protect his growth."

This explanation left Garp silent again because it aligned with his own reasoning.

In this world, bandits had never been mainstream.

Bandits lived deep in the mountains, far from ordinary people, as well as the World Government and the Navy's reach.

In normal circumstances, a bandit might never interact with the Navy in their lifetime.

Garp had chosen Dadan's group of bandits precisely because of their identity and his familiarity with them, ultimately deciding to entrust Ace to Dadan's care.

That had been Garp's thought process back then.

Seeing Garp lost in thought, Sig felt a stir in his heart and continued with the argument he had prepared in advance:

"In truth, the recent expansion of our Sig Bandit Group wasn't due to any great ambition of mine, nor was it to loot the Goa Kingdom's capital."

"Only to expand manpower and better achieve the goal of finding and protecting Ace."

"And recently, we finally found Roger's orphan." Sig continued to explain.

"That is, the bandits of Dadan's group on Mount Colbo."

"You even know about Dadan's group?"

Garp's expression grew serious.

He had entrusted Ace and Luffy to Dadan, believing he had pulled off a flawless plan, deceiving the World Government. Yet, to his surprise, this man before him had discovered it.

Even though Sig was one of the few who knew, it still made Garp extremely uneasy.

If Sig could uncover his actions, could it be possible that one day, the existence of Ace or Luffy might also be exposed to the World Government?

For one of the few times in his life, Garp fell into deep thought.

Seeing this, Sig let out a long sigh of relief.

Life is a stage, and it's all about the acting.

For now, it seemed that he had relied on his performance to get through Garp's test.

But just at that moment—

The gaze of Garp, who stood before him, suddenly turned sharp again!

"Something's not right!"

"You're lying to me!"

Sig's heart skipped a beat. Clutching his chest, he stared directly at Garp, his heart racing while he desperately tried to maintain a calm expression.

What went wrong?

Or was Garp testing him on purpose, trying to catch him off guard?

Sig's mind was a mess.

Garp stood up once more, towering over Sig, his deep voice ringing out:

"That guy Roger wasn't the type to talk too much when drunk!"

"Why would he reveal so many secrets to someone who was just a drinking buddy?"

"This..."

Sig was already struggling to maintain his composure, but his expression still involuntarily changed.

That was indeed a point he had overlooked.

He had pinned everything on the late Roger, but that was also the problem.

What kind of person Roger was—his character, his tendencies—was barely described in the original story. Sig had no way of knowing!

Seeing Sig's shifting expression, Garp became even more certain in his mind.

With a stern look, he reached out his hand towards Sig—and then... patted him on the shoulder.

Sig was bewildered.

"So, you're not just an ordinary drinking buddy of Roger's... you're his close friend!" Garp said gravely.

Sig's eyes widened.

"After Roger's execution, the World Government started hunting down anyone connected to him all over the world..."

"Of course, the members of Roger's pirate crew were criminals, deserving of death!"

"But other people... like Roger's child Ace, and you, Sig, who never became a pirate—these non-criminals are truly innocent."

"The World Government's actions at the time were indeed overboard. I can understand why you wouldn't dare admit your close friendship with Roger in front of me..."

At this point, Garp let out a long sigh.

Sig blinked.

For a moment, he wondered if he'd forgotten to deactivate the KING character card.

He even opened the system interface to double-check.

But no, he hadn't.

To this, Sig could only say:

"As expected of you, Garp."