"Huh? Who... are you?" Blackbeard was sweating profusely, his turban soaked through, but he still pretended to have just discovered Sig, asking with an innocent and harmless expression.
Even though he had already reacted, the other Whitebeard Pirates passersby around him remained oblivious, drinking, bragging, chatting, and joking, completely unaware of Sig or even that "Teach" was talking to someone.
"The person who bought you a drink." Sig smiled slightly from his hooded profile.
Blackbeard forced a smile, then said, "Thank you so much... Aside from Whitebeard and my brothers and sisters, this is the first time someone has ever treated me to a drink. From now on Old Man, we're brothers!"
Meanwhile, William, who had been "invisible" to the side, was already tiptoeing away.
He hadn't initially noticed Sig, but after Sig's communication with Blackbeard, William, who possessed a fragmented Paths of the Divine authority, immediately became aware of Sig's presence, and so...
Sig:!!!
So you're abandoning your "comrades" and trying to run away?
Blackbeard didn't raise him to be a "good kid" at all!
Gurgling--
Blackbeard gritted his teeth and drank the wine—clearly realizing he was no match for him, and no longer caring whether it was poisoned or not.
Just then, Blackbeard suddenly heard someone shout, "Ah! It's William!"
"Stop!"
"Wait... don't run away, it's not safe here..."
William had no idea what was happening; his invisibility suddenly failed, and then... he was pinned down by a group of burly pirates.
Because of his "invisibility" ability, the pirates dared not be careless at all. After they were completely stunned, they discussed among themselves, asking their brothers below if they had sensed William, fearing that he would disappear again.
However, in reality, William couldn't become invisible again, or rather... even though he was already invisible, how could others still see him?
He was naturally unaware that Sig had already "marked" him, placing him in the most obvious position in other people's minds, so that even if he were to blend into the shadows, he would still be noticed!
The boss was startled, but seeing that there was no fierce fighting, he remained silent and did not call for help—this was Big Mom's island, where order was naturally maintained!
The only two people still sitting in the room are Blackbeard and Sig...
Seeing this, Teach gritted his teeth and said, "William was just joking with you guys, why are you all so nervous? Let him go, let him keep hiding, we'll look for him again tomorrow!"
"Eh? But... Teach, this is..."
"No buts!"
From a third-party perspective, Teach was truly "loyal and righteous," as he made a point of letting William escape even when threatened by the "mysterious man."
But...
Sig, however, could guess that Blackbeard had most likely already figured out his identity! And he was putting on an act here...
Although Sig is currently wearing a hood, and due to Psychological Suggestion, outsiders cannot see the upper half of his face at all, Blackbeard has already vaguely guessed what's going on.
If Sig hadn't been "missing" for so long, Blackbeard would have guessed it from the start.
"I'm going to hide now, you can come find me later!" William emerged from under the "mountain of people," shouting as he ran away.
However, after running for a while, he found that not only was it pitch black outside, but he also seemed to be lost in a maze, constantly running back to the tavern entrance.
William stomped his foot angrily, then... rubbed his face with both hands, trying to imitate "Teach's silly grin. jpg", before slowly walking back to the tavern. He found that everyone else was gone, except for Teach and the mysterious man still sitting at the bar.
"The cherry pie is delicious, would you like some?"
"Oh, the ocean... I long to be embraced by the ocean again, but alas, I am still more like a human being."
"Little William is a good boy, and his Old Man has always doted on him..."
Blackbeard's seemingly casual remarks, seemingly nonchalant, were actually all preludes to his later pleas for mercy and to save his life!
"Teach, who's this? Your friend?" William asked, pretending to be passing by and having just noticed Sig.
And this kid is really rude, he actually called Teach by his first name without even calling him "uncle".
Furthermore, seeing the kid's feigned innocent grin, Sig felt a headache coming on—it seemed that even though William didn't fully know Teach's true nature, he had already learned some of his cunning!
"This..."
Before Teach could finish speaking, Zig interrupted Sig, saying, "Are you looking down on me by not drinking the wine I offered you?"
Teach broke out in a sweat upon hearing this, but continued chugging—not finished? For some reason, Teach kept drinking this glass of rum, but he just couldn't finish it!
Ignoring Blackbeard for now, Sig stood up and turned to face William.
Seeing that William had already grasped three-tenths of Blackbeard's essence, and was now smiling and seemingly without any hostility, Sig's eyebrows twitched.
"Are you called William? Is that the name your Mom gave you?" Sig asked William to confirm.
"No, it was Grandpa who named him Edward William!" William said, head held high.
Sig:...
Sig then took off his hood, and it was at this moment that William was able to "see" Sig's face clearly. Before, even when he was facing him directly, as long as the hood was on, the upper half of his face was naturally not visible.
"Did your Mom tell you anything about your father?" Sig, now appearing completely human.
Because he did not inherit the power through the "Tyrant Path," William was not only physically weaker, but also lacked the "scales."
"Is he... a handsome, gentle, and Justice prince from the music kingdom?" William said to himself, seemingly not quite believing it.
Sig:...
What's wrong with Whitey Bay... what kind of persona has she created?
William himself didn't quite believe it, realizing it was his mother's wishful thinking. However, when he asked his other uncles about his father's identity, they all remained tight-lipped!
Whitey Bay wasn't entirely crazy; mainly because William knew that when he asked "Where's Daddy?", Sig had already been arrested by Garp and then "disappeared." So Whitey Bay made up a Lie that made him feel comfortable, and also to prevent the fearless William from suddenly having the idea to rescue his father.
As for the others...
On one hand, that's what he thought, and he didn't want William to worry, so he went along with Whitey Bay's words. On the other hand... "Siegfried" was a taboo name in the Whitebeard Pirates, especially for Jozu, who absolutely didn't want to hear it!