I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

"Oh? It seems to be a rather precious wine..." The Golden Lion immediately became interested.

"I'm saying you've drunk quite a bit of my wine, so you should at least share a glass with me, right?"

“No, you can’t drink this.” Sieg refused resolutely, but took the bottle in his hand, pulled out the cork, and was about to bring it to his lips.

"You won't even share a cup, Sieg, that's going too far. Then give me half a bottle, I'll go first!"

The Golden Lion laughed twice, then quietly floated over, snatched the bottle from Sieg's hand, and poured it into his own mouth.

When it was poured out, nothing actually came out.

Just as the golden lion was wondering what was going on, a small, pale purple flame shot out from the mouth of the bottle and into the golden lion's mouth.

In an instant, he trembled, his entire body enveloped in a faint light.

"Sig, you set a trap to harm me?"

The golden lion cried out in alarm, roared, and his hair stood on end in fury.

At the same time, his whole body was undergoing dramatic changes... His body, which was originally aging, seemed to spring back to life, like a parched tree receiving rain. Fei suddenly had a lot of vitality, and his arms seemed to regain strength. The wrinkles on his face also gradually faded.

Golden Lion frowned, clenched his fist, looked at the wine bowl in his hand, and examined himself by the reflection in the wine.

He was stunned when he saw himself looking 12 years younger.

Twelve years ago, it was his peak, the year he stormed into the Marine Headquarters and stood up against Garp and Sengoku!

"Is it the power of a Devil Fruit? Have I regained my youth?"

The golden lion was momentarily stunned.

After a moment, he turned his head and looked at the calm-faced Sieg with a complicated expression.

"Was this also part of your calculations, Sieg?"

"I thought the reason I was able to snatch the precious wine from you so easily was because you were drunk..."

"Was this bottle of wine originally prepared for me?"

"Hehehehehe..."

The previous anger dissipated, and the revitalized golden lion floated up, looking down at the sea of ​​clouds below.

Although both his legs are broken, he has not fully recovered to his peak condition 12 years ago.

But that initial ambition remains undiminished, and may even be greater.

Chapter 396 Sieg, You're a Crazy Man

Suddenly feeling more than ten years younger, the Golden Lion was incredibly excited, still savoring the feeling of his revitalized body.

Golden Lion's comeback plan is to acquire a new Devil Fruit ability through the Angel-Angel Fruit, and then attempt to return to his peak.

But even the fruit he wanted couldn't restore Shiki's physical condition to what it was 12 years ago.

This has completely exceeded Golden Lion's expectations.

If he continues to act according to the Golden Lion's previous plan, it won't be as simple as just returning to his peak; he might become even stronger than before.

But the most important thing is...

Whether it's regaining youth or the Angel Fruit, it's all related to the man in front of her!

"Sig's scheming is indeed terrifying."

"This is not a conspiracy, but an open strategy."

"For an ambitious hero like myself, once I've experienced the vitality of youth, how could I be willing to return to old age?"

The Golden Lion was momentarily conflicted.

He was an incredibly proud lion, and he would never submit to anyone. He even challenged Roger to become his subordinate.

But Sigurd's power to regain his youth is clearly a power similar to that of a Devil Fruit.

The power of Devil Fruits is not invincible.

If the user of the ability is defeated, killed, or actively removes the effects of their ability, the Golden Lion's false youthful vitality will be lost once again.

Losing and regaining, gaining and losing again—this is immense torment for a great pirate with such immense ambition as Golden Lion.

"Is this your bargaining chip for talking to me?"

The golden lion sighed inwardly.

He still had the injuries from the battle he had just fought, but he was in high spirits.

His gaze fell on Sieg, his eyes gleaming.

Just now, he and Sieg were discussing heroes, and there was a hint of mutual flattery between them. Golden Lion was trying to lower Sieg's guard and extract more information.

But at this moment, the Golden Lion's mindset was quietly changing.

He and Sieg were undoubtedly enemies and rivals.

Thanks to Sieg, he was still bleeding from his head and experiencing a constant, tearing pain in his brain.

It's perfectly acceptable to sit down and raise a glass with a formidable enemy who was just fighting each other; even the Golden Lion himself has that kind of spirit.

But... how can you use a calculated scheme to make your greatest enemy young again?

Such magnanimity and spirit made even the Golden Lion look at him with respect.

“Sigurd, you…” The Golden Lion was filled with emotion and was about to speak.

But then he saw Sieg staring blankly at the Golden Lion's youthful face, and then reaching out to touch his own old face:

"It's so good to be young..."

"I really wish I could regain my youthful looks and stay young forever... that would be a dream world."

There was a hint of melancholy in Sieg's eyes, as if he were reminiscing about something.

Judging from his appearance, Sieg was already somewhat drunk.

But the Golden Lion did not let his guard down and continued to listen attentively to Sieg's words.

"Returning to the pinnacle of beauty..."

Golden Lion looked at Sig's face and fell into deep thought.

He recalled the moment when Sieg emerged from the giant cocoon of black flames.

Clearly, Sieg possesses some kind of ability to alter his appearance.

"The amount of information in that sentence... Could it be that Sieg's current face isn't his original appearance?"

The golden lion narrowed its eyes.

Ultimately, the identity of the pirate king Higuma remains shrouded in mystery.

Given Sigurd's strength and charisma, if a figure like Sigurd existed in the old era, Shiki would certainly not be completely unaware of him.

This fueled the Golden Lion's curiosity even more, and he pondered Sig's words carefully once more.

"Always staying young...a dreamlike world...what is he implying?"

After a moment of thought, the golden lion was struck as if by lightning!

Sig's plan is to usher in a high-martial arts era, a world that can be described as a dream.

And always stay young...

"So that's how it is? It turns out that my regaining my youth is just the beginning."

Shiki looked at Sieg in front of him and secretly admired him.

A dreamlike world that remains forever young... coupled with a high-level martial arts era that demands numerous powerful individuals...

Sieg's intentions are now crystal clear!

"Does he want to single-handedly rejuvenate those old guys from the old era like me, and usher in a dreamlike era of high martial arts?"

"I should have thought of that sooner."

"Even if Sigurd reveals the secret to becoming stronger, and with the influence of the Angel Fruit, it's still too exaggerated to create a Sixty Emperors."

"But what if those old guys could turn young again..."

This made the Golden Lion's heart skip a beat.

The Rocks Pirates were once incredibly powerful, a force that could shake the world.

That bygone era was far more cruel than the present!

Of the current Four Emperors of the Sea, three came from the Rocks Pirates and the other came from the Roger Pirates.

There are quite a few legends from the old era, like the Golden Lion, who quietly went into hiding, lay low in the shadows, or were trapped in Impel Down.

The allure of regaining youth could tempt even a golden lion like him, so what about the others?

"No wonder Sieg has been secretly contacting Roger's old men; so that's what he was planning."

"Is the so-called advanced martial arts not just about cultivating strong individuals, but also about bringing back the old era that has already passed?"

"Moreover... according to Sig, this so-called era of advanced martial arts is just one part of the plan..."

The Golden Lion stared blankly at Sieg, a rare sense of defeat suddenly rising in his heart.

He wasn't invincible. At his peak, he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Roger, and he also lost to Garp and Sengoku at Marine Headquarters.

He wasn't immune to setbacks. In his early years, he was one of the pillars of the Rocks Pirates, just like Whitebeard and others.

However, at this banquet ten thousand meters in the air, Shiki felt a sense of defeat he had never experienced before, a sense of being crushed in terms of vision and perspective.

This has nothing to do with strength, but with ambition.

The Golden Lion has been lying dormant for ten years, and is expected to lie dormant for another ten years, spending twenty years cultivating a ferocious beast, which is the so-called Strong World Project.

And Sieg is clearly a cunning and ambitious man, just like Shiki, who is willing to lie low, or even more so.

The Golden Lion's Strongest World Project.

With Sig's global high-tech program.

The difference between the two is simply too obvious.