[1] At the mountain base.

  [2] Over a hundred bandits gazed with reverent eyes towards the distant wooden house on the mountain.

  [3] They all waited anxiously.

  [4] Although their boss was strong, his opponent was that [Naval Hero]...

  [5] 『We should have realized this long ago!』

  [6] The bald bandit nearly sobbed until losing his voice:

  [7] 『The opponents Boss needs to face are the world's most top-tier powerhouses!』

  [8] 『And we are nothing but deadweight!』

  [9] 『Yes! We must absolutely become stronger! Become subordinates worthy of Boss!』

  [10] Amidst this emotionally moving atmosphere, movement finally occurred at the distant wooden house.

  [11] BOOM!

  [12] Amidst thunderous noise, half the large wooden house collapsed amidst billowing dust.

  [13] 『Finally... it's begun!』

  [14] 『This rare battle unprecedented in the world!』

  [15] Everyone's spirits lifted as they stared towards the wooden house.

  [16] But what followed left them all confused.

  [17] Several minutes passed.

  [18] Aside from the initial loud noise, there was complete silence.

  [19] 『Could the outcome have been decided in one strike?』

  [20] Everyone froze.

  [21] ......

  [22] [East Blue Bandit King] [Sige], deceased.

  [23] Story complete, congratulations. (Scratch this)

  [24] ......

  [25] Inside the already ruined wooden house.

  [26] [Garp] furrowed his brows, lowering his head to look perplexedly at [Sige] who remained seated.

  [27] His fist stopped before [Sige]'s nose bridge, ultimately not fully delivering the punch.

  [28] Only the fierce wind from the punch had completely blown open the wooden wall behind [Sige], leaving a shocking large hole.

  [29] The [Sige] before him still sat on the chair, completely unresponsive.

  [30] 『Why didn't you dodge?』

  [31] 『Why not stand up and engage this old man in a proper, exhilarating battle?』

  [32] [Garp] slowly retracted his fist and asked solemnly.

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  [33] [Sige], still seated, looked up at [Garp].

  [34] Facing such a terrifying powerhouse, his expression remained calm.

  [35] The sound of the [Emperor Engine] never manifested.

  [36] What [Garp] didn't know was that [Sige] had long made complete preparations.

  [37] 『Everything is under my control.』

  [38] [Sige] thought internally.

  [39] He wasn't someone who awaited death passively.

  [40] Having decided to act according to his heart, [Sige] possessed extreme decisiveness.

  [41] Ever since seeing [Garp]'s warship at [Windmill Village], [Sige] had prepared 10,086 surrender strategies.

  [42] Examples included: instant dogeza (prostration), saying "give me face" to resolve things, bare-chested apology, etc...

  [43] [Garp]'s sudden punch fell under the extremely bad scenarios [Sige] had envisioned, but was actually anticipated.

  [44] Correct.

  [45] The moment [Garp] appeared, [Sige] had already removed the [KING] character card from his system panel at lightning speed.

  [46] Now devoid of [KING]'s demeanor and the [Emperor Engine], there was no worry about being misinterpreted as a strong enemy prompting [Garp]'s attack.

  [47] 『Actually I've grown much stronger since coming to this world.』

  [48] 『I've conversed with [Shanks], negotiated face-to-face with [Revolutionary Army] leader [Dragon]...』

  [49] 『Having experienced all this, my acting skills have improved tremendously.』

  [50] [Sige] mentally applauded himself.

  [51] Clapclapclapclapclap.

  [52] He was extremely satisfied with his performance.

  [53] Even without equipping the [KING] character card, [Sige] could now maintain perfect control of his expressions, keeping a poker face even against [Garp]'s punch.

  [54] [Sige] raised his head to meet [Garp]'s gaze.

  [55] 『I won't stand up.』 [Sige] said softly.

  [56] 『Hmm?』 [Garp] narrowed his eyes.

  [57] 『You think this old man's fists aren't hard enough? That you can deal with me while sitting?』

  [58] [Garp] laughed, fist tightening again as terrifying momentum rebuilt.

  [59] Facing the about-to-attack [Garp], [Sige] merely smiled lightly, calm as clouds.

  [60] 『Apologies. My legs are weak. Can't stand.』

  [61] [Garp] froze completely.

  [62] Then nearly exploded with anger, clenched fist trembling.

  [63] 『Are you mocking this old man? If you don't stand up, I won't hold back!』

  [64] [Garp] shouted loudly, raising his fist again.

  [65] Facing [Garp]'s fury, [Sige] only chuckled internally.

  [66] Heh.

  [67] Since coming to this world, there were always inexplicable people harboring unrealistic fantasies about him.

  [68] Now was finally the time to shatter all their delusions!

  [69] [Sige]'s gaze suddenly turned sharp!

  [70] At this moment, he no longer retreated!

  [71] A tenacious conviction supported him from within!

  [72] 『I'll destroy all your unrealistic delusions!』

  [73] 『I'll prove my weakness to the entire world!』

  [74] An internal roar helped [Sige] barely suppress his fear.

  [75] Gripping the chair's armrests, he arduously stood up!

  [76] At this moment, his legs shook like sieves, yet his eyes remained firm.

  [77] He did it.

  [78] He truly did it.

  [79] At this moment, he finally shed the "big shot" image he'd wanted to escape, facing the world with complete honesty.

  [80] Then the next instant.

  [81] Thud.

  [82] [Sige]'s legs gave out, collapsing back into the chair.

  [83] He clutched his chest in pain, feeling his heart's violent pounding.

  [84] His lips turned pale, face drained of color.

  [85] [Garp] somewhat bewilderedly loosened his fist, then helped reseat [Sige].

  [86] He felt utterly confused.

  [87] [Garp] was 66 years old. Though still burly, his hair had grayed - he belonged to the grandfather generation.

  [88] But this [Sige] before him... though definitely younger, seemed decades older than [Garp], struggling even to stand.

  [89] 『Come! If you want to fight... then fight! I'm not... not... not afraid!』

  [90] Chair-bound [Sige] gasped like broken bellows.

  [91] [Garp] fell silent.

  [92] [Observation Haki] granted him acute perception of others' presence, but [Sige]'s aura... defied description.

  [93] While [Observation Haki] wasn't omnipotent - some formidable experts could conceal their presence - [Garp] initially thought [Sige] might be hiding his power.

  [94] But after testing with attacks and witnessing [Sige]'s struggle to stand, [Garp] deeply frowned.

  [95] This wasn't acting.

  [96] [Sige]'s heart was genuinely weak, his fear real.

  [97] Far from being a worthy opponent, this [Sige] was completely ordinary.

  [98] No... ordinary bandits were stronger - he was just a commoner...

  [99] No, even commoners weren't this cowardly.

  [100] 『A possibly cardiac-diseased, extremely timid weakling.』

  [101] [Garp] sighed helplessly at the sky.

  [102] He'd come excitedly expecting a [Roger]-era powerhouse, never anticipating this outcome.