So That's How It Is...

Siegfried appeared Sig, stopping the Golden Hook with his foot, while Crocodile swung his arm and retrieved the hook.

Crocodile then realized that the faint gaze he had been receiving earlier must have come from Siegfried, who had probably not arrived yet and had used some kind of long-range observation method to mislead him!

"The last Shichibukai who hasn't been replaced yet..." Sig said, glancing at Crocodile in front of him, looking as if he wanted to help the World Government replace him.

Sig couldn't quite assess Crocodile's strength before they actually made a move.

Based on the original setting and what Sig has heard and seen over the years, he is undoubtedly one of the strongest groups of people on the sea, and at least he should not be weaker than Sieg. Otherwise, he would not have been nominated by the World Government as the first Shichibukai after the other Shichibukai refused the position.

At 19, he fought to a draw with Douglas Bullet, and the following year he challenged Whitebeard...

When Douglas Bullet was with Roger Pirates, he was like a honey badger, not respecting anyone except Roger. It is said that even Rayleigh could only go toe-to-toe with Bullet.

Whitebeard is currently the strongest pirate overlord on the seas. Losing to him wouldn't be a loss of face. Being able to leave alive and not having had his son taken away is already a symbol of strength.

However...

To say how strong Crocodile, Sig really can't convince himself—after all, in the original story, Crocodile was crippled by Luffy's ungeared Luffy seven Turtle Punch eight years later!

Judging from his performance alone, he seems to be at most at the level of Rear Admiral in the Marine Headquarters—at least Rob Lucci was defeated by Luffy after he developed Gear Second.

Along with Gecko Moria, he can be considered the "Sleeping Dragon" and "Young Phoenix" among the Shichibukai, single-handedly lowering the prestige of the other Shichibukai, as well as Bullet, Rayleigh, Whitebeard, and others!

While it's common for villains to be treated exceptionally well by the protagonist, Crocodile's behavior is just too outrageous.

However, just when everyone thought that Crocodile's fame was all built on marketing, Crocodile became arrogant again during the Marineford War.

[How pathetic! Whitebeard, I had no intention of losing to a coward like you!]

[I'm super annoyed right now, you better watch out, Hawk Eyes!]

[I'll take care of that Old Man's not far from death later. Before that, Sengoku... I don't want to see you all looking happy!]

What you want to protect, you must protect to the very end. Don't let these people do as they please anymore!

He woke up Whitebeard when the Whitebeard Pirates' morale was about to collapse, and he confronted Sengoku, Hawk Eyes, and Akainu... He can be called the "Marineford God of Combat of War" and is ranked alongside Akainu and Marco as one of the three hardest-working heroes.

This defies the established notion that "villains joining the protagonist's side will inevitably weaken them," as his strength has increased dramatically, making it seem as if he didn't spend a few months in prison, but rather climbed the Kalin Tower!

He was completely different from when he was in Alabasta —even though, judging from the environment, Alabasta should have been his home ground as a Sandman.

Could it be that he's only good at the jungle role, and can only unleash his full potential when ganking, while showing weakness in the laning phase?

Crocodile, of course, had no idea that Sig was criticizing him in his heart. While Crocodile felt a little envious of this Great Pirate who had also become famous at a young age, he didn't take him too seriously.

It's roughly the feeling of "When I was your age, I had already been challenging Whitebeard for two years."

"Qi... Qi... Lord Sea King! These are the King and Princess of Alabasta, and I am willing to offer them to the Red-Hair Pirates! We know about the Red-Hair Pirates' great deeds, and we are willing to carry the Red-Hair Pirates' flag!" Tumble hurriedly said in a hoarse voice.

His throat was now as dry as a grinding wheel because he had just lost a lot of moisture.

Sig:???

What did the boss and his men do this time?

The still-conscious guards of Alabasta tensed up again—it was truly a series of twists and turns. First, there was the pirate crew with a total bounty of nearly 300 million, then the Shichibukai, and now this kind of vicious thug had appeared!

Although the Shichibukai n't have a good reputation either, they are definitely more reliable now, at least they won't commit violence. If it were the Red-Hair Pirates... well, that's hard to say!

"Tch, are you going to test your mettle against Bullet?" Crocodile said dismissively.

The main reason was his disdain for Thompole; in Crocodile's view, Siegfried was definitely there for him.

Sig:???

After noticing his emotions, Sig became even more puzzled—what gave this guy such an inflated sense of self-importance?

Sig even detected a hint of pride on his face... "Where do you think you are, young lady? Why are you acting so arrogant with me?"

However, there are too many people and too much attention now...

Sig unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, stunning all the bystanders. The shock was so powerful it created ripples in the air.

"Huh?" Sig asked, slightly puzzled.

It's not surprising that Crocodile wasn't stunned; the real problem is that he didn't Awakening Conqueror's Haki.

But...

Sig discovered that the eight-year-old girl hadn't been knocked unconscious either!

Even the weakened Thompson had already fainted...

Sig reacted quickly, immediately casting a hypnotic spell to prevent Crocodile from noticing anything.

Vivi at this moment certainly has no fighting ability whatsoever. If we're talking about royal bearing, Cobra should have more of it, yet he also fainted immediately. Therefore, Sig suspects that Vivi might have the potential to possess Conqueror's Haki.

However, both physically and mentally, she was just an ordinary eight-year-old girl. With a slight change in method, Sig made her fall into a deep sleep.

"Interesting. Want to test the difference between yourself and Bullet?" Crocodile's arrogant expression, as if to say, "You really want to fight me?" left Sig speechless.

Regarding Alabasta...

Crocodile interrupted impatiently, "Let's fight! That Red-Hair brat, wasn't he just Roger's apprentice crew member back then? Who would have thought he'd end up like this... Heh, first he orchestrated the Enies Lobby incident, saving Roger's shipwright, and then he sent you to challenge me, just to prove you're stronger than Bullet from Roger's ship back then? Hahaha, then let me see if you brats can replace Roger!"

Sig:???

Oh, is that how it is?

His attack on Enies Lobby and rescue of Tom were to claim he was the successor to the Roger Pirates; his challenge to Crocodile as Sea King was to rival Crocodile, the honey Bullet of the Roger Pirates...

That's surprisingly reasonable!

"Achoo!" Shanks, thousands of miles away, rubbed his nose, feeling like someone was thinking of him.

Beckman, standing to the side, scratched his tight scalp; lately, his hair ends had been getting less and less nutrition...