Traitor

"What's going on? Why has Captain Golden Lion blocked our way?"

"Could it be... that Master and Captain Golden Lion have fallen out?"

"Don't panic! There's no lack of oxygen inside the Tree of Sighs. Organize people to dig these out!"

The members of the Giant Axe Pirates inside the castle were thrown into disarray, showing that this was indeed not part of their plan.

Inside the Tree of Sighs, the light comes from the fruit that grows on the tree, and there are leaves everywhere. Moreover... it can photosynthesize using its own light, so there's no need to worry about lack of oxygen.

Sig was unaware of what was happening outside; he was focused on what only he could do—pretending to be a member of the Giant Axe Pirates while using his Observation Haki to sense the emotions around him... and venturing deeper into the castle.

As soon as he rounded the bend, Sig was bumped into by a pirate wielding a giant axe. The pirate looked at Sig with a puzzled expression and asked, "Huh? Where are you going? Which boss are you with?"

Sig had already spotted him. Although his Observation Haki was mainly used to sense emotions, his hearing was no weaker than that of an ordinary crew member.

Because he walked confidently down the middle of the castle's corridors, no one suspected anything—this was one of the "benefits" of Sig's current lack of fame.

"I was working for the second-in-command..."

Sig uttered the words "Second Boss," and just as the other party was about to show surprise, he stepped forward and delivered a powerful chop to the side of the other party's neck with a hand chop wrapped in water!

After knocking him unconscious, Sig grabbed his chin and initiated "imprisonment," leaving him standing there in his clothes...

Because many of the crew members of Sitoon had seen Sig, and if he were discovered by them, he would likely be recognized immediately, so Sig usually claimed to be a crew member of Sitoon —those who could usually be fooled were the crew members of other leaders.

However, the one who was just detained was clearly an exception. It's unclear whether he was a crew member of Sitoon or for some other reason, but he saw through Sig's lie.

But as soon as his emotions surfaced, Sig noticed and immediately subdued him!

Fortunately, there was no one else around, and the walls were covered only with desperate faces, who clearly didn't care about what was happening...

However, just as Sig was about to walk over, he suddenly turned his head and grinned at one of the seemingly identical, desperate faces!

The seemingly terrifying face froze in shock at Sig's smile. Before he could say anything, Sig raised his hand in a shooting gesture—a water bullet shot from his fingertip, hitting him squarely between the eyebrows.

Sig wouldn't miss the "watcher" hiding behind a face of despair...

The blow didn't kill him, but only knocked him unconscious. Then, Sig grabbed his only remaining head and imprisoned him, leaving a large crater in the tree wall.

Sig's purpose in exploring the castle was to find the heart of the Silver Axe...

However, Silver Axe obviously wouldn't tell anyone about this, much less place it in an easily accessible location.

All Sig could do was hope that Silver Axe would do something discreet, like "protesting too much," and place more "watchers" in his heartland.

In this way, Sig, who could identify the "watcher," could follow the pattern and find suspicious locations.

However, so far, Silver Axe has not made this Error.

Just as Sig was getting a little irritated, he suddenly spotted a "familiar face".

A very ugly face was discovered by Sig.

Upon noticing Sig approaching and recognizing him, a voice rang out from the ugly face. "Sig... save me..."

It was Makoro...

Clearly, his head, which had been transplanted to the Tree of Sighs, was not long ago and still retained a degree of self-awareness.

"It seems the Silver Axe isn't very effective against 'undercover agents' either," Sig said with a grim face.

If it were Arlong, he might have felt compassion for these "compatriots," but Sig clearly didn't have that thought.

"I... I didn't... I just wanted to make some money... I didn't mean to... betray the boss... I didn't even know... it was Giant Axe..." Makoro tried to explain Affliction.

Sig knew he wasn't lying and roughly understood what he was trying to say—he had been selling information about his compatriots who were stranded abroad to slave traders, and he didn't know before that the people he was trading with were actually subordinates of the Giant Axe Pirates.

Before Arlong discovered his deception, Makoro had no intention of betraying Fisher Tiger and Jinbe. It was only after realizing his scheme had been exposed that he decided to go all in...

This is why the Sun Pirates' location wasn't directly pinpointed—if Makoro's limits had been this low from the start, the Sun Pirates wouldn't have been "accidentally" bumped into by the Navy.

At first, Makoro was selective, selling information about Fish-Man or Mermaid he didn't like to slave traders. Later, he started selling information about his fellow fishmen who he considered capable, convincing himself that "they can defeat their opponents." And then...

From the moment he became greedy and used the safety of his compatriots to seek personal gain, there was no turning back!

"For the sake of us being on the same ship... although the Sun Pirates forbid killing, if you want to commit suicide, I can help you."

As he spoke, Sig held his palm above Marco's head, and a layer of seawater condensed from his palm. If Makoro nodded, Sig would give him a quick death.

"Wait... wait... I... I repent! I still want to... see Jinbe and Fisher Tiger..." Makoro hurriedly said.

Sig frowned, realizing that Makoro's mindset had changed and he was stalling for time. He immediately interrupted, "What are you waiting for?"

But just then, Makoro suddenly shouted, "Help! Quick... help!"

Seeing this, Sig grabbed his dreadlocks and "detained" him by the head...

Immediately afterward, Sig heard footsteps approaching—clearly, Makoro had called them over!

Makoro was not a monitor; he was simply used and discarded. After all, once his identity was exposed, he was of no value. Silver Axe probably looked down on such a guy, so he simply took the "material" and put his useless head on a tree.

So when he first discovered Sig, he genuinely wanted to ask for help. However, after finding out that Sig already knew about his evil deeds and was unwilling to save him, he changed his mind—he knew that someone occasionally passed by nearby, and if he could stall for time, he might be able to "do good."

After being exposed by Sig, he could only shout out impatiently—even if he was killed immediately, he would not let this half-blood who refused to save him get away with it!

Just as Sig was about to take cover, the sound of the other person's footsteps changed, indicating that the other person's perception range was greater than Sig's.

Moreover, as soon as the footsteps changed, Sig immediately knew who it was.

Although Sig wasn't familiar enough with the Giant Axe's officers to recognize them by their footsteps, no one else's footsteps would sound like wheels!