[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.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
[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.