I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

The Warring States period solemnly declared:

“Karp… I know this isn’t the most humane way, but it’s better than poisoning. This war can’t tolerate any accidents; this is a necessary measure.”

Generally speaking, the strongest people in the world have a stronger metabolism than ordinary people and need more food. For example, Luffy would become haggard and turn into an old man if he didn't eat for a day.

Sig used self-hypnosis in prison and is currently alternating between prisoner fitness and life return exercises, rapidly consuming energy, which naturally requires more food to replenish than normal.

If food supplies are stopped at this time...

Garp frowned, wanting to say something, but in the end he just shook his head and didn't argue with Sengoku.

After all, Sengoku was the marshal, and even if he were to transcend the ordinary, he would only be a lieutenant general.

It's fine for people to make a fuss normally, but if someone thinks they're a naval hero and questions the Admiral's decisions, then the navy will be in chaos.

After the conversation ended, Admiral Akainu boarded the warship and returned to Marine Headquarters with several Shichibukai.

That evening, around dinnertime.

Magellan observed Sieg finishing his workout once again through a surveillance Den Den Mushi (snail phone) in the prison corridor and made a decision.

"Simply stopping eating isn't enough to be safe. Admiral Akainu's words were also a reminder that, to prevent Higuma from escaping, it's best to poison him beforehand."

Magellan muttered to himself.

As the warden of Impel Down, Magellan has extensive authority and the power to execute any prisoner at will.

He had previously promised Higuma not to use vigilante justice, but now he couldn't care less about Higuma's feelings.

As a Paramecia-type Venom-Venom Fruit user, Magellan is a powerful poison user. In the confined space of Impel Down, the Venom-Venom Fruit might be even more effective than that of an Admiral.

Fleet Admiral Sengoku could have easily defeated the entire Blackbeard Pirates, including Shiryu and other escaped prisoners, but he failed to kill any of them.

Magellan's deadly poison nearly wiped out the Blackbeard Pirates. Only because Shiryu of the Rain betrayed them and stole the antidote were they defeated by Blackbeard and his crew. Otherwise, the Blackbeard Pirates would never have survived to the Marineford War.

Of course, Magellan didn't need a deadly poison this time; a mild poison to accelerate Sieg's decline would suffice, just to prevent him from escaping and causing trouble.

Magellan took the water glass, and a drop of clear venom immediately oozed from his fingertip and dripped into the glass.

As a user of the Venom-Venom Fruit, Magellan can produce a variety of different toxins, and these toxins are transparent with a relatively faint odor.

Magellan poured the poison into a water vat to dilute it tenfold, then poured another cup of the diluted poison into the water glass. He sniffed it carefully and found that there was no obvious odor. He summoned the jailer and handed him Sieg's "dinner."

........

Moments later, in the infinite hell.

Sig lay panting heavily on the prison floor, sweat pooling on the ground in the shape of a human figure, leaving a large "wood" character.

After mastering the ability to return life, Sieg can control changes in body shape to a certain extent, stimulate the secretion of hormones by glands in his body, and even manipulate the growth of his hair as if it were his own arm.

He has now become a strong person who is flexible and adaptable, which is truly commendable.

Sieg couldn't help but sigh:

"I, Higuma, have gotten to where I am today entirely through my own efforts. As for Luffy, who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, he gained the ability to stretch and contract as early as ten years ago. Now he can transform into a giant, and in the future he can harden his body with Gear Fourth Armament Haki and become a spring. It's truly terrifying."

At that moment, the footsteps of the jailer delivering dinner gradually drew closer.

This time, however, there was no food on the dinner plate, only a glass of water.

"Hmm?" Sig looked up in surprise.

The jailer said coldly:

"Sig, you've eaten too much."

"Do you think these mere death row inmates are treating our prison like a gym?"

"Hmm? Does that mean I can't keep eating?" Sieg picked up the glass of water, but didn't drink it right away.

He noticed a subtle change in the guard's expression out of the corner of his eye: when Sieg raised his water glass, the guard glanced at him inadvertently.

"Is there something fishy about this glass of water?"

Sieg immediately became alert. He sniffed carefully without making a sound, but found nothing unusual. Then, urged by the jailer, he drank the diluted poison in one gulp.

After the jailer left, Sieg leaned against the wall once again, silently sensing the movements within his body.

Half an hour later, a faint sense of fatigue began to rise throughout his body. Sieg clenched his fist and felt a slight sense of exhaustion.

"Could it be some kind of toxin, the kind Magellan poisoned? Why does it seem like the effect isn't very strong?"

Sieg pondered for a moment.

He wasn't too worried if the poison was administered by someone with superpowers.

Imagine Breaker can nullify Devil Fruit powers; simply by inserting a finger into the water and stirring beforehand, it can purify the diluted poison.

If it's an invisible buff or debuff like the Encouragement Fruit, then one can be directly immune to it and unaffected by the ability.

What Siegfried was the underlying meaning of Magellan's actions.

"Is he planning to poison me? And not just poison me, it looks like he's going to stop me from eating..."

From this point on, he temporarily stopped exercising.

On the second day, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner time, what was delivered to the door of Sig’s cell was still just a cup of water, with no food.

Sig had been starving for a day, and the toxins in his body had increased slightly, causing a gradual onset of muscle weakness.

"It seems my guess was right. Magellan really is planning to starve me and even poison me..."

Sig's expression changed.

"Isn't Magellan forcing me to order Shadow Clones from the Navy Headquarters?"

Sig opened his inventory, took a big bite of the large meat stick, and thought to himself.

Afterwards, he leaned against the wall, closed his eyes to rest, and quietly began the process of returning his life.

When he first entered prison, the trial of boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius helped Sieg grasp the idea of ​​developing heat-resistant skin.

Now, with a mild toxin as a stimulus, Sieg can begin to increase his body's tolerance to Magellanic toxin.

Magellan's venom is highly corrosive; if it were to come at you with a deadly poison from the start, simply sacrificing your life would certainly not be enough to withstand it.

But now, things are different.

.........

Over the next six days, Siegfried continued to strengthen his body's resistance to Magellanic toxin through the Life Return program. By the fourth day, his body, having undergone the Life Return program, had adapted to the Magellanic toxin, and the feeling of muscle weakness had disappeared.

However, just to be on the safe side, Sig did not continue training, and even ate only very small portions of the daily Navy Headquarters takeout, just enough to meet his basic nutritional needs, so as to avoid Magellan noticing anything unusual.

Life Return can change one's physical form, but this time Sigurd used Life Return to disguise himself. He devoted himself to research over the next few days and finally developed a brand new form: [Life Return - Sickly Demon Form].

"Now, it's time to test this actor's skills."

Sieg muttered to himself.

Magellan observed that Sieg was becoming increasingly thinner each day, and his complexion had visibly deteriorated. The once-enthusiastic prisoner trainee now spent his days leaning against the wall, eyes closed, resting.

fifth day.

Sig had lost all interest in chatting with Ace next door; he retreated deeper into his cell and rarely appeared again.

He ignored Ace and Garp's calls.

Only when it was mealtime would he stretch out a withered arm to pick up the drinking water brought by the jailer.

Until the seventh day of execution, Sieg did not cause any trouble, which finally put Magellan's mind at ease.

On the day of execution.

At the entrance to the Infinite Hell, familiar footsteps echoed once again.

Admiral Akainu once again visited the Infinite Hell. He walked side by side with Vice Admiral Garp, followed by Magellan, the warden of Impel Down, and a large group of prison guards and officials. The dense crowd lined both sides, ready for battle.

The prisoners of the Infinite Hell were stunned. Seeing this scene, they vaguely guessed what was going on.

"Is Sig's time to die coming?"

"So... he still didn't escape?" The prisoners looked at each other in bewilderment.

The white-haired giant also emerged from the depths of the prison. He leaned against the bars, his expression showing a hint of astonishment; everything that had happened was beyond his expectations.

Garp and his group ventured into the depths of Infinite Hell and knocked on the door of the cell where Fire Fist Ace and Sigurd were imprisoned.

"Unlock! Time for your execution!"

Magellan's voice was inexplicably high-pitched.

Sig's sentence was finally over, and nothing unusual happened. He also felt a sense of relief.

The jailer opened the cell door and escorted out Fire Fist Ace, who was being held captive.

"Ace-----" Garp didn't notice Sig; his gaze was fixed on Ace, his eyes filled with a deep, hidden sorrow.

As the grandfather, he was finally going to personally escort his grandson to the execution platform at headquarters.

"Where's Sig? Why aren't you out here?"

"Sig?" The jailers urged him several times before a figure finally stood up from the depths of the dark cell and walked out shakily.

“After much procrastination, he finally agreed to come out—” Magellan stopped mid-sentence.

At this moment, Sieg's figure was finally illuminated by the corridor lights.

The dense crowd in the corridor suddenly fell silent, becoming completely still.

Even Garp, who was only focused on his grandson, noticed something was wrong, turned his head to look, and then his eyes widened slightly.

“You…you are Sig?” Garp blurted out.

The Sieg before him was so different from the one he had seen before.

His once strong and sturdy body visibly shrank, losing at least ten or twenty pounds. His skin also lost its luster and elasticity, turning an unhealthy grayish-white.

His blood and energy were depleted and withered, and his eye sockets were sunken deep, like a drug addict whose body had been hollowed out. The prison wall behind him was covered with large patches of dark red blood that had long since congealed.

In just seven days, he seemed to have aged ten years, turning into a sickly old man.

While not as dramatic as Luffy's rapid aging on Whole Cake Island, the changes are still quite significant.

Sig stepped out of the prison gate, subconsciously squinting and raising his hand to shield his eyes from the light before slowly lowering his hand. His murky gaze swept over the silent Garp and the others before him.

“It seems my time to die has come,” Sieg said slowly.