Higuma listened blankly as the bald bandit finished explaining what they'd been up to these past few days, and for a moment his feelings were… complicated.
He was a little shut down.
How the hell had things developed into this?
Going by the bald guy and the other subordinates' description, the Higuma Bandit Crew had ballooned by several times over, swelling to more than two hundred men.
And among them were a few figures like Gillman—people who already had bounties as high as six or seven million.
By now, the Higuma Bandit Crew's combined bounty had broken twenty million berries.
"I don't even know how they managed to rope in this many people… A total bounty of twenty million—forget this tiny Goa Kingdom, even in the East Blue that's already enough to have a name."
The East Blue was the weakest sea, and the Goa Kingdom was only one island nation within it.
With the strength Higuma's crew now had, in the lawless zone they were basically unmatched.
"I'm such an idiot… I really am."
The light in Higuma's eyes gradually drained away.
"I only knew that after getting the Teiō Enjin (Emperor Engine), no matter what I did, people would overthink it and make up all kinds of nonsense."
"What I didn't know was… even if I did nothing, they'd still overthink it anyway."
Higuma was breaking down on the inside.
To keep a low profile, he'd already fled deep into the mountains.
And these idiots still somehow staged a full-on "put the yellow robe on him" coronation.
Bandit King? Who the hell wants to be Bandit King?
I just want to hole up in the mountains and be a deadbeat shut-in!
And the bald bandit standing in front of him was so moved he was on the verge of tears.
With all eyes on them—especially with Dragon and the others present—Higuma couldn't exactly go around "buffing" the bald guy even if he wanted to.
No matter how violently his emotions churned inside, Higuma still kept a poker face, expressionless.
"You really are a treasure. Seriously… I picked up a damn ghost."
In the end, that was all he said, flat as ice.
Who knew the bald bandit would look even more pleased, his glossy egghead blooming with a grin like a chrysanthemum.
"As your subordinate, that's what I should do."
"Boss, actually… I used to be a Navy recruit instructor…"
"What? He was in the Navy?"
The hundred-odd bandits all jolted, staring at the bald guy in shock.
Dragon and the others exchanged a look too, seeing the same surprise in each other's eyes.
"As expected—Higuma wasn't just messing around. They even have an insider in the Navy!"
"And now the Higuma Bandit Crew has learned Navy training methods—he was even leading chants just now!"
With so many stares on him, the bald guy's blood surged with excitement. Thinking of his winding past, he lowered his voice and began slowly:
"A few years ago, I was a Navy instructor. Then something happened…"
Before he could get another word out, Higuma cut him off coldly.
"Shut up. I don't want to hear your story."
"And tell these bandits to find somewhere to cool off. Don't bother me…"
Higuma looked at the crowd of bandits and felt a headache coming on.
"Okay, Boss. No problem, Boss."
The bald bandit didn't look discouraged at all—he answered with a cheerful smile.
Higuma sighed, then turned to the people behind him.
"Sorry you had to see that. Come in. Let's talk inside."
That sentence instantly lit up the hundred-odd bandits' eyes as they all looked toward Dragon and his group.
"Those people are Boss's guests?"
"I thought they were some new recruits Boss was trying to bring in…"
"I'm really curious what kind of big shot has the right to be Boss's guest…"
More than a hundred curious eyes locked onto Dragon and the others.
And right then, a mountain gust swept through—catching the edge of the leader's hood and flipping it up just enough to reveal half his face, the dark red tattoo on his cheek glaringly obvious.
The bandits erupted into immediate commotion.
"That—! I know him. I've seen him on bounty posters!"
"Monkey D. Dragon… the world's worst criminal…"
In an instant, everyone went rigid, their eyes glued to Dragon behind Higuma.
"It really is him—Monkey D. Dragon?"
"Isn't that the Revolutionary Army's leader?"
"Then the others… don't tell me they're Revolutionary Army too…"
The hundred-odd bandits fell into collective silence. Dragon's appearance had completely blown their minds.
This was a real heavyweight—an enemy the World Government considered a mortal threat.
So here was the question.
Why was the Revolutionary Army's leader, Dragon, standing in the mountains of the Goa Kingdom?
The sharper bandits had already shifted their gaze—toward that man.
Their boss.
Bandit King Higuma.
They'd heard it with their own ears—Higuma had invited Dragon and the others inside to talk.
The implication behind that made cold sweat break out on a lot of faces.
"Does that mean our Higuma Bandit Crew has ties to the Revolutionary Army… or even cooperation?"
A lot of bandits immediately thought of how rapidly the Higuma Bandit Crew had expanded lately.
They'd heard the rumors—expanding the crew wasn't Higuma's true goal, it was only a means to reach it.
His real objective was to become the uncrowned king of the lawless zone… and loot the Goa Kingdom's capital.
When that rumor first spread, the lawless zone's bandits and criminals had scoffed at it—no one believed it.
The Goa Kingdom enforced isolationism, separated by high walls inside and out. Ordinary bandits couldn't even get over those walls, so how could they possibly raid the royal city?
Still, the Higuma Bandit Crew was strong, and plenty of people had only attached themselves out of pressure.
Almost no one truly believed a mere bandit crew could loot the royal city.
But now, they suddenly realized their long-held assumptions might be wrong.
"Boss Higuma is personally talking with the Revolutionary Army's leader!"
"Then Boss Higuma's goal… probably isn't something as simple as looting the Goa Kingdom's capital…"
"Maybe he's planning to join hands with the Revolutionary Army and overthrow this country!"
Dragon and the others stopped as well.
Higuma turned his head back, silently looking at the hundred-odd bandits in front of him, his heart lurching.
Dragon's identity had been exposed.
So then what was he—someone about to hold a private talk with Dragon?
In the world of pirates, the World Government's greatest enemy wasn't the Four Emperors.
It was the Revolutionary Army.
Anyone who got tangled up with the Revolutionary Army would be taken seriously by the World Government—treated as a major criminal.
"What do I do? I don't even recognize all these hundred-plus guys… If news that I made contact with the Revolutionary Army leaks from one of them, who knows if I'll get labeled as one of the Revolutionaries!"
Higuma didn't believe these fresh recruits had much loyalty at all.
The fact those unruly bastards could be trained in a few days to shout slogans in unison was already impressive.
Thinking that far, Higuma felt like his head was about to explode.
He couldn't refuse Dragon's visit—but if he got branded a criminal cooperating with the Revolutionary Army, that was something he absolutely couldn't afford either.
(End of Chapter)
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