The night gradually deepened.
Both the Kingdom of Goa and the ship belonging to the Celestial Dragons were focused on rescuing Saint Charlos, a Celestial Dragon. After the tragic defeat of the CP0 White Mask, there were no further attempts at pursuit.
The entire fleet of refugee ships continued to move forward steadily.
On the pirate ship led by Sig, aside from a few night watchmen, most of the crew had already gone to sleep.
During this quiet late-night hour, Sig, armed with his sword, walked alone onto the deck.
Having just acquired the Li Jing card and used a single sword strike to force the CP0 White Mask to kneel, Sig felt a bit exhilarated and found it difficult to fall asleep.
As for the White Mask of CP0, he had already been taken away by Ivankov.
Sig imagined the scene.
When the White Mask woke up, he would see Ivankov's massive face looming over him.
'You're awake! The feminization process was a great success.'
Thinking of this, Sig smiled, feeling fulfilled and satisfied.
He had helped a faceless White Mask confront his inner desires and find his true self, which could certainly be considered an act of great kindness.
Walking to an isolated part of the deck, Sig's gaze fell upon his sword. He drew it and inspected it.
His original blade had been a standard katana commonly seen among pirates, but after cutting down the Sea King, he had exchanged it for a long sword from one of his subordinate bandits.
After all, Li Jing was the first swordsman of the Shang Dynasty, and only a Chinese-style sword could fully unleash his true swordsmanship.
'The night is still long; I might as well test the 'Empty-Hand Catching Blade' technique to see how well it works.'
Sig entertained the thought.
If his Empty-Hand Catching Blade could truly be used as a targeted summoning technique, as he imagined, it would be incredibly useful.
Sig's gaze fell on a bandit standing watch in the distance.
This particular bandit was currently dozing off, and Sig had no intention of waking him.
He raised his sword and swung it toward the bandit from afar.
Nothing happened.
'Did it fail?'
Just as Sig frowned slightly, he suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps behind him.
Turning his head, he saw a shiny bald head appear in his field of vision. The figure then knelt halfway at Sig's feet and raised his hands to catch the sword.
'What's going on? Why is it you?'
Sig immediately canceled the Empty-Hand Catching Blade technique, utterly baffled.
The bald man, still half-asleep and bleary-eyed, replied:
"I don't know either, boss. I think I was sleeping, woke up halfway to use the restroom, and somehow ended up here on the deck…"
Hearing the word "restroom," Sig's heart tightened, and his gaze instinctively dropped downward.
Fortunately… his pants were still on.
Otherwise, not only would it have been an eyesore, but if one of the other watchmen had seen it, explaining the situation would have been impossible.
In the dead of night, with two men on the deck—one kneeling halfway with his pants down—it would've looked strange no matter how you thought about it.
Currently, Sig had already become quite well-known among the entire fleet of refugee ships.
After Sig had struck against the Celestial Dragons, he was hailed as a hero by the refugees and the Revolutionary Army.
And after forcing CP0 to kneel with a single sword, even the powerhouses within the Revolutionary Army held deep admiration for him.
With his growing fame, it was likely that by the next day, all sorts of rumors would spread throughout the fleet.
'Shocking! Bandit King Sig was caught doing this to his subordinate in the middle of the night on the deck!'
Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Sig casually dismissed the bald man and sent him back to the cabin.
After the bald man disappeared into the ship's interior, Sig still felt unsatisfied.
'Let's try again!'
He swung his sword a second time, and once again, familiar footsteps echoed from behind him.
Turning his head, he saw that, as expected, the bald man had come back.
This time, the bald man's confusion had entirely vanished. He stared wide-eyed at the long sword caught between his hands and exclaimed:
"Why am I automatically running over here to catch the blade barehanded?"
The corners of Sig's mouth twitched. He quickly canceled the ability, and just as he was thinking of how to explain, the bald man contemplated for a moment and suddenly appeared enlightened.
"I get it now."
"It must be because the sight of you forcing CP0 to kneel earlier was so awe-inspiring. I was so deeply moved and half-asleep that I started hallucinating."
Sig: "….."
Watching as the bald man once again walked off and returned to the cabin, Sig sighed softly in his heart.
'An overactive imagination truly is a blessing.'
Still, not fully testing the ability left Sig feeling a bit unsatisfied.
After waiting a few minutes, Sig swung his sword a third time toward the dozing watchman.
This time, the previously sleepy watchman jogged over and knelt to catch the blade, his face full of fear.
"It's nothing. You were sleepwalking. Don't fall asleep while standing watch," Sig said calmly, sheathing his sword immediately.
Without paying further attention to the bewildered bandit, Sig turned and headed back into the cabin.
Although this attempt had succeeded, it had taken three tries in total.
'Is it because my compatibility rate is still too low? Was my earlier success in controlling the undercover CP0 just a fluke?'
'Perhaps only after increasing the compatibility rate can I fully unlock Li Jing's complete potential…'
Sig sighed inwardly and walked into the cabin.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the refugee fleet, the ship adorned with a dragon coiling around its hull remained brightly lit, even in the dead of night.
Inside the cabin, Dragon and his senior officers were in the middle of a discussion.
"Dragon, I've already brought back the CP0... The sleep hormone I injected should be enough to keep him unconscious for several days," Ivankov said, his tone filled with excitement.
The significance of CP0 to the Revolutionary Army was immense. While dangerous to handle, he was undeniably a valuable asset.
However, Dragon's expression did not show any particular joy.
"Now is not the time to discuss this. Have someone keep a close watch on the unconscious CP0 for now. We're not truly safe yet."
"Just earlier, we received urgent intelligence. The Navy has already reacted to the assassination of Saint Charlos, and they've dispatched Vice Admiral Garp to track us down…"
"Ivankov, you know what this means, don't you?"
Dragon stared meaningfully at Ivankov.
Ivankov's large face went through a series of expressions before he blurted out, "The grand plan!"
"Exactly." Dragon nodded.
Previously, the Revolutionary Army had suspected that Sig had orchestrated the assassination of the Celestial Dragon to lure Iron Fist Garp into action.
But after learning that Garp had visited Sig and entrusted Luffy to him, Dragon and the others thought they might have been mistaken.
"These past few days have been full of unexpected events. The fire at the Terminal, which our Revolutionary Army was supposed to prevent, still happened in the end."
"Sig clearly didn't foresee this either. Otherwise, he wouldn't have led his people into the Terminal, which was about to be set ablaze."
"Afterward, our Revolutionary Army activated the contingency plan, using the refugee ships to evacuate the civilians and also aiding Sig's escape from the Terminal… Ivankov, do you think all these events could have been part of Sig's plan?"
After Dragon finished speaking, not only Ivankov but the other Revolutionary Army officers were stunned.
After some thought, many of them broke out in cold sweat.
"No… no way, right? How could he possibly account for so many unpredictable factors?"
"It's indeed unlikely." To everyone's surprise, Dragon nodded, dismissing the hypothesis he had just raised.
As the group remained bewildered, Dragon shifted his tone again:
"But the terrifying thing is, even with so many unexpected developments, Sig's grand plan is still proceeding as intended."
"The assassination of the Celestial Dragon succeeded."
"The move to draw Iron Fist Garp into action also succeeded."
"So, what happens next? Where will his grand plan lead?"
"The trump card Sig prepared to counter Garp… shouldn't it reveal itself soon?"
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