Chapter 229: Sig Sig
The suggestion proposed by the Shock Department was a serialized manga story.
This point, however, made Sig quite interested.
Of course, it wasn't that Sig wanted to become an idol, shouting something like "Sig Sig Si" kind of interest.
After all, Sig, this mountain bandit, had already gone to sea; debuting was too difficult for him...
What Sig wanted to create were serialized manga stories centered around card characters, such as Ling Jing, Daxiong, KING, and others...
(Translator's Note: 大雄 (Dàxióng) is the standard Chinese name for Nobita Nobi from Doraemon. It seems the system includes characters from various sources.)
When Sig changed his appearance in the future and appeared under another identity, perhaps it would help increase compatibility.
Thinking of this, Sig directly discussed the new column for the serialized manga briefly with the chief editor of the news agency.
Although manga artists are not mainstream in this world, they are not too hard to find. For example, the Germa 66 manga serialization is quite popular.
However, this was just a future plan, not the big news Sig wanted.
What Sig needed was big news comparable to "Mountain Bandit King Cuts Open Sandstorm with One Sword." No matter how excellent a serialized manga was, it couldn't possibly shake the world immediately.
"So Mr. Sig wants to attract the attention of the populace..."
The chief editor on the other end chuckled lightly and added:
"Among the several columns of the Tieba Tabloid, the fake news column is actually quite popular right now."
"For example, the previous multiple Devil Fruit user was highly discussed on the seas..."
The chief editor of the news agency gave Sig a somewhat unexpected conclusion.
According to his explanation, interesting news like fake news is often more appealing than serious news.
This is also the reason why the entertainment-oriented serialized manga story Germa 66 could become a big hit in the serious World Economic Journal.
"I see, I probably have a direction now."
Hanging up the phone, Sig began to ponder the topic for the news.
Sig had only done one issue of the fake news column, which were the two news items about multiple fruit users and Doflamingo being a lolicon.
"I heard the news about multiple fruit users is very popular..."
"Right, I can go a step further and do a fake news issue specifically about how users can eat more than one Devil Fruit."
Sig thought it over and began his conception.
...
During the days Sig was sailing towards Alubarna, Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Aokiji finally returned to Marine Headquarters and reported on the events that occurred in Rainbase city.
Fleet Admiral Kong's expression visibly darkened completely.
"Sig cut open a giant sandstorm covering the city with one sword strike, but also exhausted his Haki and energy, falling into a bitter battle with Crocodile?"
"But in the end, Crocodile, who holds the title King of the Desert, was defeated in the desert?"
The power of a sand tornado is actually very difficult to measure. Being able to cut open a sand tornado of this magnitude, it's actually hard to estimate what level Sig's strength has reached.
Among the Marines, only Aokiji arrived at the scene in Rainbase city, and only he himself could make a relatively accurate estimate of the storm's difficulty.
"Just what level has Sig's strength reached...."
Kong sighed slightly, raising a hand to his forehead.
This situation was indeed very serious, not just because of Sig, but also because of Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"Immediately strip Crocodile of his title as one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea and issue a wanted poster for Crocodile!"
Kong said this with a dark face.
In this era, the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea system had just been established, and one Warlord was discovered to have done such an outrageous thing... This was a very bad signal for the recently established Warlord system.
At this moment, a knock sounded on the door, and Admiral Sengoku walked in hastily.
"Sengoku, you've come at the right time."
Kong rubbed his brow somewhat tiredly and instructed Aokiji:
"Kuzan... tell us again what happened after Sig defeated Crocodile, make it clear."
"It happened like this....."
Aokiji also put away his usual laziness and began his description...
"You're saying that after Crocodile was defeated by Sig, he actually still had the strength left to act, trapping you with a quicksand vortex?"
"And the other citizens of Rainbase city, as well as the King of Alabasta, don't know the whereabouts of Sig and Crocodile; they should have gone out to sea?"
Sengoku's expression changed again and again, finally turning into a slight wry smile.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, it seems we still underestimated Crocodile. We originally thought that after his return from the New World, he had settled down quite a bit and was an excellent candidate for the Seven Warlords...."
Sengoku's expression became solemn.
"He indeed is still the Sand Crocodile who charged into the New World like an unstoppable force back then, was evenly matched with the Demon Heir Bullet, and also once challenged Whitebeard."
Crocodile's early battle record was extremely impressive, but after being defeated and retreating from the New World, he became much more low-key and docile.
However, what made Sengoku, an Admiral, change his expression drastically was not the strength Crocodile displayed, but... the natural disaster capable of destroying a city that he personally created!
A natural disaster is called a natural disaster precisely because it is beyond human capability, almost impossible to stop.
This is a level that only a very small number of powerful ability users can reach.
For example, Whitebeard, because he could cause earthquakes and tsunamis capable of destroying islands, was said to possess the power to destroy the world.
What neither Sengoku nor Kong expected was that Crocodile was also among them.
According to intelligence obtained by the Marines afterwards, Crocodile merely released a sand tornado, which could then trigger a city-destroying, disaster-level sandstorm several days later...
This meant that Crocodile could destroy any country with large deserts.
He only needed to infiltrate the country silently, then continuously release sandstorms, and he could easily destroy cities, subvert nations....
"Crocodile is extremely dangerous. His danger level far exceeds his own strength; he possesses the power to destroy nations."
"Speaking of strength..." Sengoku's face also turned very grim.
Crocodile, capable of causing natural disasters, was extremely dangerous.
But Sig, who could forcibly cut apart the sandstorm under such a natural disaster and defeat Crocodile, was even more dangerous.
"Perhaps Sig's strength isn't that great either."
At this moment, Aokiji interjected:
"Sig must have used some kind of technique, exhausting all his Haki in an instant, thus performing above his usual level to cut open the sandstorm in one go. And afterwards, due to overexertion, he suffered extremely severe injuries in the battle with Crocodile. It can only be considered a narrow victory..."
Kong glanced at Aokiji, revealing a thoughtful expression.
As the only person on the Marine side who personally witnessed the events in Rainbase city, Aokiji's judgment indeed held high reference value in their eyes.