In the original work, Blackbeard, one of the Four Emperors in the "future," was still a nobody at this point. Even when sitting together, Crocodile looked down on him, thinking, "With so many big shots like us, what makes you think you're hanging around here?"
Teach didn't seem angry, but he also stopped playing dumb like before. Instead, he smiled slightly and said, "Really? I do believe that anyone who can become Shichibukai must have some skill." He seemed oblivious to the fact that Crocodile was staring at him and questioning him.
"Hey, gap-toothed guy..." Crocodile looked like he wanted to challenge him to a fight.
If everyone were present, this wouldn't have been a mere "arrangement"; it would have already escalated into a physical fight!
However, Sig interrupted, saying, "The fact that you are all here means you are all 'helpers' whom I acknowledge. The sea is about to undergo a major change. I have gathered you all here to get to know each other so that we can cooperate in the future... At least we shouldn't undermine each other when a great enemy is at hand."
Crocodile, Tesoro, and Moria exchanged glances, all thinking to themselves, "I didn't expect you to be one of the Shichibukai too..."
Even if the first two had transactions before, they were only relatively superficial. The World Government was not unaware of them, but simply turned a blind eye, unlike what they are doing now, which is so taboo!
As for the other one of the Shichibukai...
Hancock's face flushed, and she thought shyly, "Just now, Mr. Sig... did he say he approved of me? Could this be... love?"
"A dramatic change... Indeed, the situation in the New World has changed drastically. Three of the Four Emperors... no, two of them are not doing well anymore," Tesoro said sarcastically.
However, the trio of traitors all seemed shameless. Sig pretended not to hear, Yamato looked smug, and Blackbeard... seemed to be lamenting... why was his Old Man so unlucky?
Of course, Whitebeard is still "capable," only he's lost one of his four division commanders!
"How is that old man Kaido doing now? He was driven out of Wano Country, which he had occupied for so long. Surely his forces haven't been completely wiped out?" Moria seemed to have misunderstood something.
Perhaps they thought Sig wanted to divide the New World with them, the so-called New Order, which was also the order of the New World?
"Kaido's efforts over the years have all been for our benefit, but..."
"Ah?"
"Hello!"
Sig was halfway through his sentence when he noticed Yamato glaring at him, while Hancock looked completely panicked.
Sig:...
"The wedding dress I mentioned... is a metaphor for the results being exploited by others!" Sig said helplessly.
These pirates are so uncultured!
"That old bastard has been in Wano Country all these years, and he hasn't taken anything with him. In addition, many of his Little Brother have also been lost!" Yamato repeated himself in simple terms.
"But what I'm going to talk about now isn't Kaido or the New World... Soon there will be an opportunity to start an event that will involve the Navy, the Whitebeard Pirates, the World Government behind the Navy, and many more pirate crews! Right... Teach?"
Sig said, glancing at Teach.
Teach contracted slightly upon hearing this, then he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Really... I don't know what Mr. Sig is talking about either."
Indeed, nothing is even close to being done yet, but... Teach is already planning to trick Ace!
During the six months of his escape, Teach also gained a deeper understanding of the power of the Darkness Fruit.
Ace has only been at sea for three years, but Teach knows that this kid, like Joy Boy, is improving extremely quickly. His strength is now second only to Marco among the captains, on par with Jozu, and, thanks to the Flame Fruit's ability, he could even defeat Jozu...
But Teach still felt that he was about to surpass Ace!
Although it's only been half a year since he ate the fruit, Blackbeard has been fantasizing about the development of his Darkness Fruit since he was a child, so his progress is quite fast.
Teach will then devise a plan to capture Ace alive—the unique nature of the Dark- Darkness Fruit allows him to easily capture his opponent or extract the fruit if he can defeat them.
While the Flame Fruit is powerful, it's not Teach wants. Instead... he wants to use Ace, who is still alive, to plan something big!
Teach was undoubtedly more perceptive and meticulous than he had previously shown. He not only realized that Whitebeard had already regarded Ace as his successor, but also knew about Ace's background.
In particular, he was confident that he could use Ace's identity to bribe the World Government, not only to gain advantages for himself, but also to attract Whitebeard to confront the World Government head-on, giving him a chance to snatch chestnuts from the fire!
If Blackbeard could acquire both the Darkness Fruit and the Tremor-Tremor Fruit at the same time, he felt he could take off...
However, what Blackbeard didn't expect was that Sig seemed to have already guessed his plan.
"Oh? Teach, if you're still playing dumb now, you're not being a good friend." Sig's tone became slightly dangerous, Teach immediately became alert.
Faced with Sig's questioning, Blackbeard licked his lips and said, "Compared to what you've done, this is nothing... Hahaha."
"Heh, everyone, there's no need to hide anything. I know you all have your own things to do afterward, and you probably don't want to share them, but... we ultimately have a common goal, and I believe cooperation is in the best interest of all of us!"
"If you're unwilling to share the plan, then so be it for now. But we can agree now that in the future, we'll cooperate with each other in our respective plans, instead of each other having to be wary of others stabbing us in the back," Sig said at this point.
And as they spoke, seven rings appeared out of thin air among the seven people—although it was a dream, these were not real rings, but rather a collection of strong Psychological Suggestion and a notarized contract!
Once you wear it in a dream, you will be bound by the agreement within...
"Of course, pirate agreements rarely last longer than a year, so these rings are only valid for 364 days."
Sig spoke, Hancock seemed about to object, but held back because there were other people around.
This proposal is very attractive, after all, everyone has their own plans afterward. For example, Crocodile wants to find Pluton, Tesoro wants to build the Golden Disintegration Cannon, Yamato wants to open the Wano Country... and Blackbeard's plan!
If everyone can refrain from causing trouble for each other, or even cooperate to a limited extent, it will already benefit everyone. Besides... it's only for one year, so the restrictions aren't that significant.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Sig then had words appear on each of the seven rings...
They are: loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness...
"Then let's call our temporary alliance... Seven Virtues!"