Chapter 125 another piece!

"If you insist on dueling me, then I have no choice but to..."

"Surrender!"

As soon as these words fell.

The eyes of the entire crowd gradually glazed over.

"What did he say?"

"Surrender?"

"He doesn't dare face Hawkeye? But this is just a duel between swordsmen. It doesn't have to be a fight to the death. Does he not even have the courage to draw his sword?"

"Did I hear that correctly?"

The murmurs of the crowd gradually grew into a roar.

Hawkeye also frowned.

For a moment, he began to doubt Shanks' recommendation of Sig.

But soon, his frown relaxed again.

He could still feel the terrifying aura emanating from Sig, which had never disappeared.

"Sig, I don't know what you've been hesitating about."

Hawkeye looked at Sig seriously and spoke:

"If you truly didn't dare to draw your sword against me, how could you possess such an aura?"

"However... your unspeakable difficulties are none of my concern."

Hawkeye stood solemnly, gripping the black sword Yoru tightly in his hand, and took a step forward.

"Wait!"

Sig's heart raced, and he shouted:

"Fine, if you want a duel, I'll oblige!"

"But before the duel, I have something important to do!"

After saying this, Sig suddenly turned around, his gaze falling on the execution platform at the back of the square.

Hawkeye studied Sig carefully for a moment. Seeing his serious expression, he nodded slightly in agreement.

However, his sharp eyes remained fixed on Sig, not moving away.

Sig was a swordsman highly recommended by Shanks, and Hawkeye had personally witnessed Sig cutting down a Sea King with a single sword strike.

For a swordsman of this caliber, Hawkeye had always been patient.

But his patience was not infinite.

If Sig was just using the excuse of "having something important to do" as a pretext to leave... Hawkeye wouldn't just stand by and let it happen.

At the same time.

Sig's back was already drenched in sweat.

He could still feel that sharp gaze, the sensation of his skin prickling as if being pierced by needles.

This shattered the last sliver of hope in Sig's heart.

Sig's mind was a tangled mess.

He had been trying to convince Hawkeye to abandon the idea of a duel, stalling for time while searching for a way out of this predicament.

But even now, he hadn't come up with a perfect solution.

His opponents were too strong, and the cards in his hand were too few.

Even the most skilled housewife can't cook without rice. Without true strength, it was already a miracle that Sig had made it this far.

However... there was still one last desperate move!

This was a gamble!

Before Sig, a semi-transparent panel quickly unfolded.

This was the mission that had appeared after the naval battle: The Grand Deception!

What do you do when your cards aren't strong enough to clear the stage?

You spend money to draw new cards! Drawing cards can make you stronger!

The reward for this mission was an S-SS tier card, which might just offer a way out of this situation.

Sig, the acting king, made a difficult decision.

The first step was to climb onto Roger's execution platform!

It was the highest point in the entire square. Standing there would make him the center of attention!

Sig gritted his teeth and took the first step toward the execution platform!

And then... half a minute passed, and he still hadn't taken the second step.

"What is Sig doing?"

"Didn't he say he had something important to do? Why did he take one step and then stop?"

"Wait... the aura around him is getting more and more terrifying. What kind of scheme is he planning?"

As the crowd speculated, Sig felt an immense weight in his heart.

He... couldn't move.

Under Hawkeye's deathly stare, Sig felt as if his legs were filled with lead, completely out of his control.

In fact, not having his legs go weak or start trembling was already pushing his limits...

"No! I must climb onto the execution platform! I must do something to suppress the fear in my heart."

Countless thoughts raced through Sig's mind.

Hawkeye's overwhelming presence, the sheer prestige of being the world's greatest swordsman, was too much. Even just standing there, doing nothing, Hawkeye's aura was enough to paralyze Sig.

"Wait, if I can just break through Hawkeye's aura of invincibility and see him as an ordinary person, wouldn't that work?"

A thought struck Sig.

Upon closer consideration, Hawkeye was actually quite a strange person. He sailed the vast seas in a small, coffin-like boat.

If he encountered storms or rain, that tiny boat would have nowhere to hide. He'd probably be drenched like a drowned rat.

And if you thought about it further, that little boat had nothing on it except a single seat.

Even the strongest people need to relieve themselves!

How did Hawkeye handle his physiological needs...? The more you thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

And if you thought even further, that little boat didn't even have oars. How did he cross the Calm Belt?

Glancing at the massive black sword Yoru in Hawkeye's hand, Sig seemed to understand something.

When people were watching, Hawkeye would sit on his boat in a cool pose. But when no one was around, he'd pull out his big black sword Yoru and start rowing like crazy.

.......

After careful consideration and deduction, Sig came to a conclusion.

He finally understood why, ten years later, the Krieg Pirates were chased all the way back to the East Blue by Hawkeye.

They probably ran into Hawkeye while he was rowing with Yoru, which made him furious...

With this thought in mind, the pressure in Sig's heart lightened considerably.

He finally took the second step, then the third... and with a leap, he finally climbed onto the execution platform.

Standing at the highest point in Loguetown's central square, he looked down at the sea of people below.

The news of Hawkeye's duel had spread, and quite a few people had come to watch. Among the crowd were many pirates who had come to Loguetown.

"Is this the last sight Roger saw before his death?"

Sig looked down at the crowd below, took a deep breath, and quietly activated the amplifier in his chest.

"What is Sig planning?"

Momousagi frowned slightly. She couldn't discern Sig's intentions but instinctively felt something was wrong.

Just as she was about to intervene, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Are you planning to interfere in a duel between swordsmen?"

Hawkeye still had his back to her, but his golden eyes glanced back, causing Momousagi to hesitate momentarily.

In that brief moment of delay, Sig on the execution platform began to speak.

The rhythmic thumping of the Emperor's Engine accompanied Sig's deep voice as it echoed from the execution platform, carrying far across the square.

"Before I die, I want to pass on the treasures I've gathered in my lifetime to those who come after me."

Sig's lips curled into a smile as he looked down at the crowd below.

The crowd below stirred, and many people's expressions turned strange.

Didn't this scene feel a bit familiar?

Before they could figure it out, Sig's voice continued to reverberate across the square.

"I've hidden all my accumulated wealth deep within the mountains!"

"You can call this treasure..."

"Another Piece!"