Chapter 225 Tragic Hero
At the edge of the city, the two figures stood facing each other once more, both bearing fresh wounds.
Due to Crocodile's earlier move, "Desert La Spada", the onlookers had retreated far away, fearing collateral damage.
Sig and Crocodile's close-quarters exchange had been swift, and from such a distance, no one could clearly see what had truly happened.
All they saw was that while Crocodile had been injured, the wound was only on his arm.
Sig, however, had suffered a grievous wound to his abdomen, bleeding profusely—clearly in far worse shape.
At a glance, it seemed Sig had taken a heavy blow from Crocodile.
"Sig was seriously injured? By Crocodile's hand?"
"But wasn't Sig the great swordsman who split the sandstorm with a single slash? He had the upper hand earlier..."
King Cobra and the others watched the standoff from afar.
They couldn't hear the conversation between the two, nor discern the true state of the battle—only a deep sense of unease gripped them.
"It must be because of that slash that split the storm. His strength is nearly exhausted, which is why he's gradually losing ground..."
Cobra muttered under his breath.
In their eyes, Sig had now taken on the image of a tragic hero—a man who had stepped forward to protect the city and a young girl, only to push himself to the brink of collapse, his power waning as he suffered severe wounds at Crocodile's hands.
"Your Majesty, should I go assist Sig?"
Pell volunteered, his arms transforming into wings as he prepared to take flight.
But before he could rise, King Cobra firmly stopped him:
"It's useless, Pell. Didn't you see how Crocodile attacked that girl earlier?"
"This battle is not one we can interfere in. If we intervene, we'll only hold Sig back!"
Cobra managed to restrain Pell, but in another corner of the battlefield, Fujitora and the others could no longer remain idle.
Fujitora's Observation Haki was exceptionally sharp—even from a distance, he had sensed the moment Sig deliberately wounded himself.
Though he didn't understand why Sig had done so, one thing was clear: Sig had been pushed to a desperate corner, forced to injure himself to keep fighting.
The severity of his wound, the sheer amount of blood loss—it was life-threatening.
"I cannot stand by and watch such a man meet his end here."
Fujitora's voice was resolute as he raised his sword once more.
The seastone restraints on his prison chair were already riddled with cracks.
Observation Haki wasn't clairvoyance—no matter how strong Fujitora's Haki was, he couldn't hear distant conversations or read minds.
Otherwise... he might have swallowed his words.
When Crocodile finally spoke again, Sig—still mentally a minor—was severely shaken.
"That's the real reason?"
His earlier probing words had inadvertently provoked Crocodile's murderous intent.
It was common knowledge that Emporio Ivankov held a major secret about Crocodile.
Back in Impel Down, Ivankov had used this secret to threaten Crocodile, instantly reducing the usually composed warlord to a cold-sweating mess.
It had been one of the few times Crocodile had ever shown such open panic.
But as for what that secret actually was?
Sig had no idea.
"This is what happens when you outsmart yourself."
Sig inwardly sighed.
Crocodile's reasons for attacking him boiled down to two things:
The Celestial Dragons' national treasure.
The secret Ivankov held over him.
And Sig knew neither of them!
He had brought Crocodile's wrath upon himself for nothing!
But now wasn't the time for regrets.
Sig stared at Crocodile, who stood before him with a grave expression, his own gaze complicated.
"Could Crocodile really be about to say... that he used to be a woman?"
Sig froze for a moment.
If that bombshell dropped, even his poker-face acting skills wouldn't be enough to keep his expression neutral.
"Ivankov? You'd risk destroying this city, losing your Warlord title—all for that secret?"
Sig probed carefully.
That slight flicker of unease in Sig's demeanor made Crocodile's eyes narrow.
"Wait... Ivankov didn't actually tell you the secret?"
Crocodile's eyes widened, fury barely contained in his voice.
Sig stayed silent.
Crocodile's remaining fist clenched, veins bulging as his face twisted into something monstrous.
He had taken such a huge risk, confronted Sig head-on—all because of a misunderstanding?
Sig didn't actually know the secret?
Back in Loguetown, he hadn't been trying to blackmail him at all?
Crocodile's expression cycled through a myriad of emotions before finally settling back into cold calm.
"Hmph. At this point, I've made my peace with it."
Crocodile snorted, his tone icy.
"You want to know? As a show of goodwill, I'll tell you."
"But first, we call a truce—and deal with that Marine Vice Admiral."
As he spoke, his gaze flickered subtly toward Sig's wound and the bloodied sword in his hand.
The blood had begun to dry.
Sig hesitated, then nodded.
"My secret..."
Crocodile's eyes darkened.
"Back when I was a rookie pirate, I was defeated by Ivankov."
"Later, when I challenged Whitebeard in the New World and lost, it was Ivankov who saved my life."
His voice grew low, almost introspective.
"The few defeats in my pirate career... all tie back to him. I owe him my life."
"That is my secret."
Crocodile finished solemnly.
And Sig's reaction?
"...That's it?"
Where was the "Ivankov's gender-bending past" story he'd been waiting for?
Who cared about Crocodile's losses and backstory?
"Wait... is Crocodile just making this up? Is the truth actually that he was originally a woman?"
"He just doesn't want to admit it and is stalling for time—that has to be it!"
Sig couldn't help but grumble internally.
"Now then... shall we deal with those hyenas?"
Crocodile's lips curled into a cold smirk as his arm morphed into a massive blade of sand.
In an instant, he shot forward like a cannonball—
But his target wasn't Aokiji, still battling the sandstorm in the distance.
It was Sig, standing right beside him.
By now, the blood on Sig's sword had completely dried.
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