I the King of bandits of the East Sea

"Are you suggesting that the damage to Garp's warship is related to Sig?"

After listening to Ivankov's explanation, Dragon slowly shook his head.

A top-class warship stationed by a Navy Headquarters Vice Admiral encountering a naval battle in the weakest East Blue, and its stern being severely damaged—this situation sounded absurd.

If it had been another naval officer, it might have been attributed to encountering a powerful enemy.

But for Garp, Dragon's scatterbrained old man…

Dragon thought there might be more to this story.

The possibility of encountering a strong enemy couldn't be ruled out entirely… but since this involved Garp, perhaps there was some unusual reason behind it.

Between these two possibilities, Dragon found it highly unlikely that Mountain Bandit King Sig was responsible for the damage to Garp's warship.

The Revolutionary Army's intelligence network had been closely monitoring Sig's movements during this period.

Not to mention Sig himself—even his mountain bandit subordinates had been behaving properly, holed up in the deep mountains without any significant activity.

Dragon then said:

"Sig's appearance doesn't necessarily mean anything. Perhaps, like us in the Revolutionary Army, he has access to timely intelligence and merely came to observe after learning about Garp's arrival."

Ivankov remained silent, and shortly after, a Revolutionary Army officer placed a small Den Den Mushi (transponder snail) on the table.

"We intercepted what Sig said while he was observing the warship."

"Due to the limitations of the eavesdropping distance, we didn't clearly record Sig's full conversation with the other bandits, but we managed to capture his final words."

On the table, the small Den Den Mushi's face mimicked Sig's expression flawlessly—stoic and emotionless.

The next moment, Sig's deep and highly recognizable voice rang out from the Den Den Mushi:

"…This is part of the grand plan. There's no need to ask further."

In the room, the Revolutionary Army officers' expressions all changed.

"This… it really is related to Sig! He admitted it himself!"

"Could it be that Mountain Bandit King Sig is no longer content with merely being a mountain bandit? Has his sphere of influence expanded to the surrounding seas, and does he now possess powerful warships capable of suppressing Garp's warship with firepower?"

"Has his power already grown to such an extent? Could that small mountain bandit group of twenty-some people in the deep mountains just be a façade?"

"But there's still Iron Fist Garp on that Navy warship!"

Someone raised a point of contention.

"Iron Fist Garp isn't just an ordinary Vice Admiral. As a hero of the Navy, he at least has the strength of a quasi-Admiral."

"What are you talking about? Garp has repeatedly declined promotions to Admiral, which proves he fully possesses Admiral-level strength!"

"Nonsense! Iron Fist Garp was the rival of the Pirate King and chased Roger countless times. He should at least have Yonko-level strength!"

"Huh? Are you saying that Yonko-level strength is superior to Admiral-level strength? Come and fight, heretic!"

"Yonko and the current Navy Admirals are evenly matched. Their strengths should be on par!"

"The Navy is the strongest overall power. If Admiral-level strength was stronger than Yonko-level strength, they'd have united forces long ago to take down one of the Yonko crews! So, Admiral strength isn't as strong as Yonko strength!"

As the topic veered further off track, Dragon lightly knocked on the table with a calm but stern expression, bringing the debate to an end.

These Revolutionary Army officers, many of whom originated from the intelligence division, were accustomed to hearing all kinds of unverifiable information and rumors. Sometimes, they ended up engaging in peculiar arguments.

"It seems our intelligence department still has many areas in need of improvement…"

Dragon let out a soft sigh in his heart and refocused his attention on the discussions in the room.

A Revolutionary Army officer from the intelligence department cleared his throat and summarized:

"In short, the Mountain Bandit King Sig might be connected to the unknown damage to Garp's warship."

"Possibility one: Sig commands a vast force, secretly possessing powerful warships capable of suppressing Navy Headquarters vessels with firepower. He may even have forces strong enough to contend with Vice Admiral Garp. This would mean the Mountain Bandit King Sig's influence is far greater than we imagined, with at least one subordinate or ally possessing quasi-Admiral-level strength…"

"I don't want to hear the term 'quasi-Admiral-level strength' again," Dragon said with a dark expression.

"…Possibility two: The damage to the Navy warship isn't directly related to the Mountain Bandit King Sig's forces, but based on prior intelligence obtained by the Revolutionary Army, the target of Sig's so-called grand plan is highly likely to be Vice Admiral Garp."

"Even if the warship's damage wasn't caused by Sig's forces, it might still be part of their grand plan."

After listening to the officer's analysis, Dragon pondered for a moment, feeling a headache coming on.

The first possibility was far too shocking. It would mean that the Revolutionary Army had grossly underestimated Sig's power.

"The Mountain Bandit King Sig… is truly too mysterious. He's been lying low in the Goa Kingdom for so many years—could he really possess such immense strength?"

Dragon frowned. Rationally, he found it hard to believe such an outrageous hypothesis.

He suddenly felt that the Revolutionary Army's intelligence capabilities were still somewhat lacking.

After their face-to-face secret meeting with Sig, the Revolutionary Army had flagged him as a key individual to monitor and had been attempting to investigate his activities.

But up until now, only glimpses of Sig's influence had surfaced, while everything else remained shrouded in a thick fog, with barely a trace of his existence.

At this moment, the sound of chaotic and hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the room, followed by a knock at the door.

A Revolutionary Army officer rushed in, drenched in sweat:

"Firstly, regarding the latest news about the Mountain Bandit King Sig!"

"On the very day Vice Admiral Garp arrived in Foosha Village, he appeared at the Mountain Bandit King Sig's base. And he didn't go alone—he brought along a child around seven or eight years old!"

"What?"

Dragon's expression changed drastically, and he nearly stood up from his chair.

This piece of news was simply too shocking.

The Revolutionary Army had previously concluded that Sig's target was Garp. To this end, Sig might even risk exposure, potentially planning to attack the Goa Kingdom or even assassinate a Celestial Dragon…

However, Garp had apparently arrived in Foosha Village ahead of time. That wasn't all—he even went straight to Sig's base.

Does this mean Sig's grand plan has already succeeded?

He had lured Garp to his base—what would happen next? Was Sig's hidden agenda finally about to be revealed?

A colossal battle? Would dozens of Yonko-level powerhouses emerge from the mountains and beat Garp senseless?

What puzzled Dragon the most was the intelligence indicating that Garp had brought along a seven- or eight-year-old child.

Dragon didn't need to guess—he already knew who the child Garp brought was.

"Bringing Luffy along to approach a dangerous man like the Mountain Bandit King Sig… What is he thinking?"

Dragon held his forehead with one hand, feeling a surge of irritation.

Even as Garp's son, Dragon found it difficult to understand his father's bizarre way of thinking.

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