What the Hell Is This?

Crocodile had already dealt with the Navy and Cobra —the least revealing way was to say nothing, just remain coolly silent... Crocodile understood this perfectly.

Anyway, everyone on the warship was dizzy, and the pirates had already been fed to the fish. Crocodile's ship was some distance away from the warship, and there was a sand wall blocking the view during the previous fight. After the sand wall disappeared, the Sailor only saw a dazzling light.

After that, Siegfried disappeared—in the dream, the time perceived by consciousness is completely different from that in the outside world; Sig's communication with Crocodile was only for a moment.

When the crew awoke on the warship, they found Crocodile still aboard, while Sig and the other pirates were nowhere to be seen. The warship was also covered in horrific "scars." Naturally, some inquired about what had happened to Crocodile, especially Dalmatian...

Crocodile, however, remained silent on the matter, only reiterating that the Alabasta royal family was his spoils of war, and warning them that although he was temporarily letting them go to the Reverie, he would later return to Alabasta to "collect his debts," and that they should remember this.

In response to this attitude, Dalmatian wanted to remind Crocodile of the duties and obligations of the Shichibukai, but... she got punched by Crocodile again.

"I'm in a really bad mood right now. If you want to die, you can do it now," Crocodile threatened Dalmatian, who had been sent flying by the hammer and crashed into the Captain wall.

Well, compared to Crocodile's performance during the Marineford War in "a certain future," speaking to Dalmatian like this now is practically giving him a boost in status.

Crocodile's silence only fueled any suspicions among the crowd.

If Crocodile orchestrated everything, then Siegfried's appearance would be completely superfluous...

Overall, Cobra didn't suspect too much, at most guessing that Crocodile might have suffered a hidden loss at Siegfried's hands, having agreed to some other conditions!

Sig was now deeply puzzled...

Sig:???

What is this?

Through the correspondence between "shadow" and "flesh," Sig could analyze the other person's body even from within the shadow. Thus, in Crocodile, Sig discovered...

Judging from her Lineage Factor, this guy is definitely a woman!

All traits are forcibly stimulated by hormones!

He's definitely a "medicine addict"...

Furthermore, Sig discovered that his hormones in this area were not externally generated, but rather secreted naturally, just like a man's, to maintain the necessary levels for male sexual function.

Sig suspects this is the result of the Hormone-Hormone Fruit's intervention, which would make the "Secret of Crocodile" known to the Okama King in the original work clear.

This explains why Crocodile only became famous at the age of nineteen or twenty—after all, even the Okama King has principles, and he only helps with gender reassignment after the characters reach adulthood.

Otherwise, given his record of going toe-to-toe with Bullet at age 20, he shouldn't have been completely unknown at age 17 or 18.

Sig even discovered a hidden story beyond this!

That's Crocodile's Lineage Factor, which bears a striking resemblance to Whitey Bay...

"Whitey Bay" is an unidentified experimental boy who was injected with an artificial Tremor-Tremor Fruit and lost control on the spot—in some ways, he is no longer the same person he was before.

Vegapunk's Artificial Devil Fruit technology is highly dependent on the donor; it could even be described as an "artificial Whitebeard Fruit."

Crocodile and Whitey Bay share a significant overlap in their Lineage Factor, meaning... it's highly likely that Crocodile is related to Whitebeard!

After all, judging from the original work, it's not hard to see that Crocodile and Whitebeard have some kind of deep-seated grudge, and it doesn't seem like a relationship where they "challenged each other once and failed."

Of course, since Sig only knows about Whitey Bay and not about Whitebeard Lineage Factor, it's only "most likely," with a tiny possibility that Crocodile and the experimental boy have some connection.

Crocodile was unaware that his greatest secret had been seen through by Sig —after all, "ordinary people" had never even heard of Lineage Factor, let alone imagined that someone could see through them!

In this purely scientific field, Crocodile is clearly also considered an "ordinary person".

Back on his ship, Crocodile locked himself in the Captain and then deliberately stubbed out his cigarette in his shadow...

"What principle have you figured out?" Crocodile's tone was seven parts sarcasm and three parts expectation.

Do you... know Miss Ba Jin?

Crocodile:???

[Ahem, never mind, never mind.] Sig sensed that he probably didn't really want to answer, and it was clear from his expression that he didn't have any special feelings for Miss Bakkin. Whitebeard preserved his integrity.

At least...

Not Miss Buckingham.

However, Sig could also sense from his emotions that Crocodile, after his initial moment of surprise, had understood why he had asked that question!

"Get out here, you bastard!" Crocodile hissed at his own shadow.

It was no longer a stern face, but a genuine, agitated rage—if he had known that Sig could even see through this, he would never have agreed to let Sig enter his shadow.

"Calm down. I've always respected and blessed these things." Sig reluctantly emerged from the shadows.

Crocodile:???

What's there to respect or bless about a relationship with that old man? Could it be...?

That transvestite is really unreliable! How could he even see through that?

"You bastard..."

"You can't beat me." Sig sensed that he might want to silence him and reminded him in time.

"Get out..." Crocodile uttered through gritted teeth.

So Sig rolled back into his shadow—he was so busy exclaiming "Good heavens!" about his Lineage Factor that he hadn't even analyzed the Sand-Sand Fruit yet!

To ease tensions with his ally, Sig changed the subject. "[I also knew Whitey Bay... You know Whitey Bay Ice Witch Whitey Bay, right? She wanted to go back and settle scores with Whitebeard back then; that old man really favored boys over girls...]"

"Shut up."

Sig readily shut up, not out of fear of Crocodile, but because he himself remembered the outcome of his drunken attempt to reason with Whitey Bay...

The Eternal Pose are all gone!

Crocodile is now a "medicine maniac," Sig doesn't want to lose any more strange things...

After rescuing the Alabasta royals, Crocodile's Sand Crocodile set sail for the East China Sea—directly crossing the Calm Belt!

As Sig said, Crocodile needs some stepping stones now, and an old guy like Golden Lion is the perfect fit!