The sound of a shattering bottle echoed through the tavern, and the murky liquid spilled across the floor, creating a mess.
The once noisy tavern fell silent.
Numerous hostile gazes turned toward the drunken pirate, Pig.
"This is Loguetown, the territory of the Shipping King. How dare someone cause trouble here?"
Behind the bar, the tavern owner coldly glanced at the troublemaking pirate, not taking it too seriously.
"Pig? That 50 million berry pirate who just entered the Grand Line from the North Blue?"
"For a rookie who just entered the Grand Line, he's quite impressive. But to cause trouble here..."
The tavern owner whispered something to an employee, who then retreated to the back, preparing to contact the Shipping King's manager using a Den Den Mushi.
Pig, however, paid no attention to the stares. His gaze remained fixed on the two newspapers lying on the bar.
One was the gossip newspaper backed by Doflamingo.
The other was the latest issue of the Tieba Tabloid.
"Who dares slander Doflamingo-sama as a lolicon..."
He was a pirate from the North Blue, and his goal in entering the Grand Line was to join the Donquixote family, his dream crew.
But as soon as he arrived in Loguetown, he saw his idol being slandered.
"The title of lolicon belongs only to Sig! Doflamingo-sama would never be like that!"
Pig's face was cold as he stood up from his chair, his expression a mix of drunkenness and anger.
"Let's go. We'll plaster this newspaper about Sig all over the streets. We can't let Doflamingo-sama be tainted by such a scandal..."
"Huh? But Captain, what does this have to do with Doflamingo-sama?"
Several of his crewmates tried to argue as they helped him out of the tavern, but Pig glared at them, silencing their protests.
"Guess it's pointless to reason with a drunk captain..."
After the group of pirates left the bar, the tavern quickly returned to its lively atmosphere.
However, the tavern owner was deep in thought, staring at Pig's retreating figure.
"A pirate is planning to cause trouble? And they're targeting Sig?"
The Shipping King, Umit, laughed when he heard the news.
"Are they trying to use this as a way to join the Donquixote family? Too bad they've kicked a steel plate."
"Although Sig has left Loguetown, he left his trusted subordinates behind. This 50 million berry pirate is done for..."
"Umit-sama, what should we do? Should we help Sig by dealing with these troublemaking pirates?"
"You're underestimating Sig. His trusted subordinates can't possibly be weak."
Umit laughed heartily, his eyes glinting with intrigue:
"Although the outcome is already decided, this is a good opportunity to observe how Sig's subordinates operate."
"Gilman will be your future partner and competitor. You need to watch closely."
"With Sig gone, I should have left too. But now, there's some entertainment to be had."
Umit stood up, clearly interested in observing the situation from the shadows.
The Shipping King, Umit, was a ruler of the underworld. With Sig and Stussy gone, no one in Loguetown could stand on equal footing with him. His status far surpassed that of the other faction leaders.
His actions caught the attention of the other factions, who began to follow suit.
"Umit's actions have deeper meaning. Gilman, Sig's subordinate, is definitely worth paying attention to."
"Let's go observe as well. For now, let's not intervene with that pirate..."
Thanks to the tacit agreement among the various factions, the 50 million berry pirate Pig caused quite a stir as he paraded through the streets.
Gilman, the mountain bandit, sat solemnly in the main hall.
The building, located near the Pleasure District and the World Economic Times branch, had been sold to Sig by Stussy at a friendly price.
Gilman was a towering man, standing over two meters tall, with a burly build and golden hair flowing down his back. At first glance, he looked imposing.
But at this moment, Gilman couldn't help but sigh, feeling the weight of anxiety and pressure.
"All this time, it was the boss who silently bore this pressure for us, carrying the burden alone."
"I've only been spouting pretty words about becoming the Mountain Bandit King of the East Blue... I was too naive."
"After all, when I first faced the boss, I didn't even have the courage to swing my sword..."
Gilman sighed softly.
He looked up at the massive portrait hanging on the wall, feeling slightly more at ease.
Since Sig's departure, Gilman had been lost in confusion and anxiety.
Over the past few days, he had done only one thing.
He had hired an artist to create a giant portrait of Sig, based on his bounty poster, and had it framed in the main hall.
Anyone who entered the hall would feel Sig's gaze.
Whenever Gilman felt lost, he would look up at the portrait of Sig on the wall, and it would calm him down.
The giant portrait, with some artistic exaggeration, differed slightly from the original photo.
In the portrait, Sig's chin was slightly raised, his lips curved into a faint smile, and his eyes seemed to look down upon the world.
At first glance, it seemed unremarkable.
But if one stared at the portrait for more than ten seconds, they would gradually sense the overwhelming majesty and authority hidden behind Sig's calm smile.
"Whether facing an Emperor or the world's greatest swordsman, Boss Sig always remains so calm and domineering..."
"When will I ever be as great as the boss?"
Gilman's heart stirred. He looked into the mirror and tried to mimic Sig's expression, slightly raising his chin.
But for some reason, it didn't feel quite right. It lacked the same aura.
"Is it because I lack the heart of a true warrior? Boss Sig has so many real achievements to his name..."
Lost in his thoughts, a mountain bandit rushed in, panicked.
"Big Brother Gilman, something's happened!"
Gilman's heart skipped a beat, and he tensed up.
"Someone's posting that newspaper about Boss Sig confessing to a 12-year-old girl, shouting that Boss Sig is a lolicon!"
"Oh. What's wrong with that?" Gilman blurted out.
The two stared at each other for several seconds before Gilman's pupils shrank, and he slammed the table, standing up.
"Outrageous! How dare they insult the boss's reputation!"
"Where is he? Let's go! We'll cut him down!"
Gilman led the mountain bandits out the door, their momentum fierce.