Sig carried the boat away overnight...
Once he was sure Big Mom wouldn't catch up, Sig sat on the small boat and drifted slowly with a sigh of relief.
Once outside of Whole Cake Island, it won't be easy for BigMom to lock herself in.
After a sigh of relief, Sig prepared to head to Giant Island to reunite with Shanks and the others...
Although Sig trusted BigMom's reputation, times had changed. Back then, neither he nor BigMom knew there was such a huge problem!
Relieved, Sig finally had the time to check on the situation at sea.
Sig had initially thought that the great war that would engulf the entire New World would occur soon...
After all, Big Mom's mindset changed after Carmel's death, and her desire to have children decreased significantly.
However, now... although Big Mom has lost a few children, Sig estimates that the number of the Charlotte Family's children is probably no less than in the original story, and may even be more...
More importantly, Sig had previously deduced that Big Mom would likely begin aggressive expansion immediately—since there was no pressure to reproduce, she would naturally be eager to fight; Big Mom's domineering nature had not diminished at all!
However, Sig now has to reassess...
This major battle may not be far off!
After all, BigMom is currently in good shape, but its executives are going to be "reduced" quite a bit, and it is estimated that they will not be restored this year.
They don't have Big Mom's physique; they can't possibly run and jump just a day or two after giving birth, especially since they still have children to care for afterwards—in such a large Whole Cake Island, surely there should be maternity leave and breastfeeding leave?
All things considered, Sig managed to avoid causing trouble for others...
Although this means Big Mom will have two fewer children, neither the size of the Charlotte Family nor the timing of the war will change significantly!
Meanwhile, Sig, who finally had some free time, drifted at sea while keeping an eye on the "Hypnotist".
After entering BigMom's Dream Infiltration, the conditions for the "ritual" have been perfectly fulfilled.
However, the "Hypnotist" did not get promoted as hoped, indicating that even with the "ritual," there is still no way to advance through a single Pathway.
Furthermore, the requirements for the "Rose Bishop" ceremony remain unchanged—clearly, it's not enough to simply complete one ceremony!
Of course, the Rose Bishop has already completed her role and fully digested it...
This is very important, as it means that Sig can now completely control whether he "hits the target" or not, instead of relying on the opponent's Armament Haki.
On January 22, 1511, Sig arrived at Elbaf, the island of giants.
Thanks to his status as a member of Shanks' crew, Sig was treated with great courtesy and even met King Fárbauti, however...
"What? You... didn't see Shanks and the others? They set off a few days ago, and they want us to continue pretending to be working on the Red Voss. They must be planning to rescue you secretly, right?" Fárbauti was also taken aback when he saw Sig.
Sig:...
That's right, the Red Voss currently docked in the port of Elbaf is just an "empty shell".
The real Red Fosse, after being equipped with diving capabilities, was taken away!
Sig estimated that Shanks should have already arrived at Whole Cake Island by now—provided there were no other delays along the way.
There shouldn't be any delays, since most of Whole Cake Island's key personnel are probably concentrated on Whole Cake Island.
Sig was a little worried that if Shanks charged headfirst into the hole, would Big Mom take her anger out on them?
"Huh? You're going back too?" Fárbauti, seeing that Sig was saying goodbye, and wanted to persuade him to stay and wait.
After all, Shanks might have found out along the way that Sig had escaped and would probably return later.
"No, I'm just... taking a walk. If the Big Mom Pirates come after me, I'll just tell them I'm not here." Sig had no intention of returning to Whole Cake Island.
If BigMom saw herself, her anger level would probably rise even Marineford!
On the contrary, Shanks and the others might be safer if he didn't go, since theoretically Big Mom had released Sig on her own initiative, and he had only run away beforehand.
Although Sig was also frustrated—they were all adult pirates, just having normal social interactions, it was consensual, and it was clearly their "defense" that wasn't adequate, being too superstitious about Armament Haki —Big Mom probably wouldn't think that way.
Giant Island was not safe at all. Sig originally thought that since Shanks others were still there, they could set off immediately without worrying that Big Mom would catch up with them right away.
But now...
Sig decided to lay low for a while.
We definitely can't go into Kaido's territory, Sig won't get involved in their father-son conflict.
It's best not to approach Whitebeard's territory; considering our previous meeting... it might not be very safe.
Sig plans to travel around the New World on his own first, avoiding the territories of Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard to avoid trouble.
We'll reunite when we hear news of the Red-Hair Pirates.
Anyway, given Shanks' ability to stir up trouble, the Red-Hair crew is never short of Big News Morgans.
I just hope that the latest news won't be about Big Mom, in a fit of rage, forcibly marrying Shanks as revenge...
At this time, Kaido was not particularly prominent among the warlords, especially since Kaido Wano Country, which he mainly controlled, was geographically hidden.
However, once you exclude Big Mom and Whitebeard's spheres of influence, the options in the New World become limited!
After a moment's hesitation, Sig decided to go and see the few remaining areas under the Navy's control in the New World.
At this time, the Navy had not completely withdrawn from the New World, but Sig estimated that the World Government would withdraw from the New World within the next year, or at the latest within two years.
The reason for such a specific time point is not only because the New World will have been engulfed by the Great War by then, but also because the following year, 1512, is the time for the quadrennial "Reverie".
Several years later in the original work, the World Government almost completely abandoned the New World for two reasons: first, Big Mom launched a war in the New World, reshuffling the New World, and the World Government needed to invest more military force to maintain its influence in the New World; second, the World Government also had a new goal at this time!
It is known that at a certain Reverie, the Revolutionary Army became the World Government's primary target. The World Government's attention shifted from the chaotic seas to the Revolutionary Army, who could truly dig their graves. At the same conference, the young Princess Vivi was deliberately bumped into by the spineless Wapol, and even apologized to avoid a diplomatic incident...
Based on Vivi's age, it's very likely that this meeting took place in 1512, when Vivi was eight years old.
In other words, once a major war breaks out, the biggest prize might be the area currently occupied by the navy.
This will also be the most intense battleground, Sig plans to familiarize himself with it first, and also see if there are any key figures worth hypnotizing.
If the Sengoku period needed advisors or strategists, Sig might be a viable option...