Suppressing the irritation in his heart, Dragon voiced the question lingering in his mind:
"And then? Did the Mountain Bandit King Sig and Garp fight?"
Not just Dragon—upon hearing this question, all the Revolutionary Army officers subconsciously straightened their postures.
One was the mysterious Mountain Bandit King Sig, and the other, the renowned Navy hero Garp.
The clash between these two powerful figures intrigued everyone. They were all eager to know what exactly had happened.
However, the intelligence officer who had entered looked somewhat peculiar.
"Well… it's hard to say."
"The intelligence is this vague? You can't even tell whether they fought or not?"
The intelligence officer gave a bitter smile and nodded before continuing:
"This is something we cannot determine either."
"Our operatives witnessed that after Garp arrived at the bandit king's base with the child, all the bandits were quickly driven down the mountain…"
"Hmm? That sounds like preparations for a big battle, doesn't it?" The officers were surprised and became even more curious.
"Maybe Sig was worried the aftermath of the fight would affect his subordinates, so he deliberately sent them down the mountain. This shows how confident the Mountain Bandit King Sig is."
"As expected of a man who dares to call himself a king. I thought he'd have his subordinates swarm Garp to wear him down first, especially since his opponent is the Navy hero. But I didn't expect… he's preparing to face Garp one-on-one…"
The officers all nodded in agreement.
Then someone raised a question:
"So the question is, just how strong is this Sig? Could he be of quasi-Admiral le—"
Noticing that the topic was once again veering off track, Dragon shot the officer a glare, restoring silence to the room.
"And what happened next?" Dragon urged.
"What happened next is rather strange."
"There was a loud noise from Sig's wooden cabin, and a large hole appeared in the wall. Logically speaking, it should mean they started fighting. But immediately afterward, there was no sound at all."
"Nearly an hour passed with no movement from the cabin. Only then did the bandits who had been waiting at the foot of the mountain cautiously climb back up."
"About another ten minutes later, our operatives saw Garp leaving."
"On the surface, Garp appeared completely unharmed. But strangely, the child who had accompanied him didn't come out. It seems the child stayed behind at the Mountain Bandit King Sig's base."
"According to follow-up observations by our operatives, Sig showed no signs of injury either. And that child appears to have been left in Sig's care…"
After hearing this, Dragon's eyes widened, his expression filled with astonishment. Even someone as composed as he was couldn't hide the shock he felt at this moment.
He had already thought that his reckless father, Garp, bringing Luffy to visit the dangerous Mountain Bandit King Sig was absurd enough.
But now it seemed he had underestimated his father.
This Navy hero Garp… actually left his own grandson in a bandit's den?
To be honest, it did sound like something Garp would do…
Lowering his eyelids to hide his expression, Dragon murmured softly:
"It seems we've underestimated the Mountain Bandit King Sig."
The other officers didn't overthink it. After some discussion, one of them summarized:
"Based on the current intelligence, it seems Sig and Garp likely engaged in a battle at the base. However, the fight ended quickly, and in the end, neither of them showed any signs of injury."
"It's worth mentioning that the child Garp brought with him remained at the Mountain Bandit King Sig's base, which is very peculiar."
"This suggests that the relationship between Garp and Sig is likely not purely adversarial."
Dragon nodded slightly, deeply agreeing.
No one here understood Garp better than him.
His father might be reckless, but he wasn't stupid. How could he possibly hand over his grandson to an enemy with his own hands?
Regardless of the actual circumstances, the fact was clear—this Mountain Bandit King Sig had earned Garp's trust.
This realization made Dragon feel even more that the situation was shrouded in mystery.
"Finally, let's review all the intelligence the Revolutionary Army has currently gathered about Sig."
A Revolutionary Army officer cleared his throat and began:
"About one or two weeks ago, Sig visited the tavern in Foosha Village and made contact with the Red-Haired Pirates, one of the Four Emperors."
"On the fifth day, the Red-Haired Pirates left Foosha Village, and Red-Haired Shanks lost his iconic straw hat. Sig returned to his mountain base, proclaiming himself the Mountain Bandit King of the East Blue, and began expanding his influence in a high-profile manner."
"In the following days, the Sig Bandit Group grew to over two hundred members, drawing the attention of the Goa Kingdom, which requested support from the local Navy branch to launch a siege against the bandits."
"During this period, Vice Admiral Garp encountered the Red-Haired Pirates at sea and pursued them for a day, delaying his naval journey."
"Subsequently, our Revolutionary Army attempted to establish contact with Sig. From his words, we deduced that his target was likely Vice Admiral Garp."
"A few days later, Vice Admiral Garp's warship arrived at Foosha Village. The rear of the warship appeared to have suffered from high-intensity shelling. Sig was seen observing from a mountaintop, claiming that this was all part of a grand plan."
"The next day, Garp brought no subordinates with him, only a single child, and met with Sig. The encounter seemed to involve a battle, but in the end, Garp left alone…"
The officer's summary of intelligence contained no subjective assumptions; it merely listed all the known facts about Sig. Yet just hearing this systematic account made many unconsciously sit upright.
They felt a faint chill and instinctively adjusted their postures, their expressions growing heavier.
Within all these events, there seemed to be a faint and almost imperceptible thread running through everything.
And the name of this thread was Sig's grand plan.
"Is this Sig's grand plan? The Red-Haired Pirates of the Four Emperors, the Navy hero Garp, the Goa Kingdom—all are part of his plan?"
Dragon's face was as stern as still water, his eyes shining with an unusual light.
This conclusion even shook someone like him—a behind-the-scenes mastermind, a true boss of his era.
"This grand plan began with his contact with Red-Haired Shanks. Afterward, the Red-Haired Pirates immediately left the East Blue, while Sig's bandit group suddenly began its high-profile expansion!"
"Could it be that Sig-boy is collaborating with Red-Haired Shanks?"
Even Ivankov was startled by Dragon's speculation.
"That's just my guess…" Dragon's emotions were gradually becoming more agitated.
"And the truth might be even more astonishing."
"For instance… even the contact with the Red-Haired Pirates could be just one part of Sig's grand plan."
"Sig, the Mountain Bandit King from the old era—what is his true purpose? What is the ultimate goal of this astonishing grand plan?"
As he said this, Dragon's eyes glowed terrifyingly bright.
He envisioned someone similar to himself—or perhaps an even higher-level mastermind—silently weaving a colossal web behind the curtain of the era.
At the peak of the pirates, the Four Emperors, and at the apex of the Navy, Garp—both were enshrouded within this immense web of Sig!