"Dad? Really? But... Mom said... he's handsome..."
William stared at Sig in shock, then with a hint of doubt. As for Blackbeard, who was still drinking with his back to Sig, a glint of Blackbeard flashed in his eyes.
"The most handsome man is the one his lover sees. Your Mom only said that because she likes me... Besides, is there anyone more handsome than me in the Whitebeard Pirates?" Sig resisted the urge to pick him up and ask, "What are you questioning?"
William thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Uncle Izo."
Sig:???
"William, your aesthetic sense should be more masculine..."
"And what about the gentle, refined, and Justice one?" William still looked at Sig with suspicion.
"Yes, Dad is... super polite, everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates knows that." Sig finished speaking and added, "And Dad is also a really good singer, that's why he's called the Prince of the Music Kingdom!"
Blackbeard was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol getting stronger; he could drink rum all day without getting drunk...
William finally remembered him and quickly asked, "Teach, is he really my father?"
Teach quickly put down his drink and nodded repeatedly, saying, "That's right, hiccup... He is your father, Siegfried."
"Siegfried?" William repeated.
Sig looked at William with a gentle smile when he heard him address him by his first name.
However, William wasn't being mischievous on purpose; rather, he suddenly exclaimed as if he had just remembered something, "Ah! It's Siegfried! Siegfried, the Sea King!"
At this point, Sig also realized something was wrong—if Whitey Bay hadn't specifically mentioned it to William, a child of this age shouldn't recognize "Siegfried."
After all, he's been "missing" for four years. Given the cruelty of this sea, even a once-renowned Great Pirate wouldn't attract much attention if he disappeared for a year, let alone four years...
But...
"I just saw it in the newspaper, the latest news! Great Pirate with a bounty of 2.27 billion, the Navigator and third-in- Red-Hair Pirates!" William said excitedly.
It was just past midnight, and the newspapers had probably just come out; Sig and Blackbeard hadn't seen them yet.
It seems that the news of Sig's "escape" from the research institute has been released, and naturally, the bounty has been reopened.
As for the slight increase in the bounty, Sig wasn't too surprised—after all, his bounty had already reached 1.99 billion after Sig the Golden Lion, and now it was just a matter of pushing it past 2 billion!
In fact, the increase was quite "conservative" in terms of magnitude.
If Sig hadn't been captured when he met Garp four years ago, his bounty would likely have been higher immediately afterward.
After all, when facing Garp, Sig had advanced to Sequence 5, and his strength had improved significantly.
However, since that happened four years ago, it's no longer a basis for increasing the bounty. Similarly, "Shiryu" hasn't been linked to Sig yet, so Sig's bounty has only increased slightly because he "escaped"!
Even so, they are already in the absolute top tier below the "Four Emperors".
Among the pirates still active today, besides the Four Emperors, only Ben Beckman has a higher bounty than Sieg—a staggering 3.5 billion... Shanks only has 4 billion!
Beckman is undoubtedly the highest-paid non-captain among the Captain, comparable to the combined bounty of the Three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates or the All-Stars commander of the Beasts Pirates.
Sig was initially surprised by Beckman's Big Fool bounty, but upon reflection, it made sense. After all, Beckman's strength and intelligence were essential components of the Red-Hair Pirates...
Furthermore, in terms of status, Beckman is the only "first Captain" among the Four Emperors' pirate crews—the others like Marco, King, Katakuri... although they constantly call themselves No. 2, in reality, the other Emperors' crews don't have an actual "first Captain," only Sweet Commander, All-Stars, or Squad Leaders...
From Beckman onwards, and before the Red-Hair Pirates, there were no other pirates with a bounty exceeding one billion.
It wasn't a lack of strength; Sig knew perfectly well that Lucky Roo, Yasopp, Dego... their combat power was no less than that of any top executive of an Emperor Pirate Crew. It was just that their danger level wasn't high enough, so their bounties were relatively low.
It can be said that purely because of their strength, they all raised the bounty to nearly one billion!
In terms of crew size, the Red-Hair Pirates, yet their total bounty is the highest, and even... now that Sig's bounty has been reinstated, it's become exceptionally high!
Beckman's bounty is high because, as the vice- Captain and the "brain," he, like Shanks, shares the deterrent and destructive power of the "Red-Hair Pirates" as a group.
Shanks and Beckman are like the Sun and the Moon of the Red-Hair Pirates. The latter plays the role of a second Captain, so in the bounty setting mechanism, the two of them share the "team points".
As for Sig...
Four years ago, due to the Enies Lobby incident, Sig was believed to have used a feint with Shanks, so he was once considered the number two of the Red-Hair Pirates, and the kind of number two leader who often acted independently. Therefore, his bounty also included the "Red-Hair Pirates" group score.
It was only after Sig's arrest that the bounty was dropped, and that this portion of the "group reward" was then given to Beckman.
Now that Sig's bounty has been reinstated, the amount won't decrease just because of the prison break; it will only increase. Similarly, Beckman's bounty won't decrease for no reason, so...
The total bounty of the Red-Hair Pirates is currently so high it's practically a bug!
"As expected of the Sea King! So Sig, you've already escaped. That's great! Big Sister was thinking of rescuing you..." Blackbeard began to ingratiate himself with the situation.
"Old Man, Old Man, tell me quickly, how did your bounty increase so much?" William asked excitedly.
He was the quickest to accept Sig's identity, but... the way he accepted it made Sig feel a little awkward!
After glancing at Blackbeard, Sig chuckled dryly and said, "Silly boy, what's so great about a high bounty? It only looks impressive for a moment... There's another level to this world called 'great evil without a name,' like this Teach... That's a true master. Even my Old Man, the Captain, has been injured by him, and he often tells us that on this high seas, more worthy of our attention than Whitebeard or Big Mom is Marshall D. Teach!"
"Huh? Teach, you're that good?" William looked at Teach with a questioning expression.
Sig realized that although William had picked up many of Blackbeard's "bad habits," he hadn't grasped Blackbeard's true strength, much less his essence...
Blackbeard, scratching his head and bowing obsequiously, said, "Not at all, Captain Shanks is too vengeful... It was only when we were both thirteen or fourteen years old. I was a year Captain than Shanks then, so of course I was stronger, hahaha..."
Upon hearing Teach's explanation, William predictably pursed his lips, giving a dismissive look. However, Sig kept staring at Blackbeard, making Teach inwardly worry...