I the King of bandits of the East Sea

To turn the blonde Kaya into a blonde loli-faced burly man… let's just forget about that idea.

After thinking it over, Sig decided to dismiss the first plan. After all, he wasn't a devil.

"I'll consult with a doctor before making any decisions and see what they suggest."

That was Sig's final response to Usopp.

"I see," Usopp said, sounding a bit disappointed.

Considering that Banchina's condition wasn't looking optimistic, Sig wasted no time. He moved to an isolated corner and pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.

This Den Den Mushi had been a gift from Dragon when he first met Sig, given as a gesture of goodwill.

After some time raising it, the Den Den Mushi's appearance had already changed to resemble Sig.

After dialing Ivankov's number, Ivankov's voice came through the Den Den Mushi after a moment:

"Is it you, Sig boy? We only just parted, and you're already missing me?"

Sig ignored the flamboyant tone of the Okama King and directly explained Banchina's situation over the phone.

"Ivankov, how far are you from Syrup Village right now? Please, as a favor to me, could you save the wife of my friend?"

Sig pretended as if he possessed the powers of a "Face-Fruit" Devil Fruit user.

On the other end of the line, Ivankov paused briefly before replying:

"Sig boy, my Healing Hormones only have a 1-2% chance of curing a terminally ill patient."

"Although I haven't seen this Banchina patient in person, considering she lives in a small place like Syrup Village, there's a good chance her condition isn't a terminal illness. It's likely just a lack of access to skilled doctors."

"My Healing Hormones stimulate the body's life potential, but it comes at the cost of ten years of the patient's lifespan. If it's not a terminal illness, the success rate of the Healing Hormones should be significantly higher."

Ivankov then shifted his tone:

"But I'm sorry, Sig boy. The Revolutionary Army has detected signs of a Marine fleet in the surrounding waters. Under these circumstances, I can't abandon the refugees to head to Syrup Village."

"If I were to go to Syrup Village, I'd need to wait until our fleet has completely evaded the Marines. That might take another week."

This news made Sig feel a bit downhearted.

Given Banchina's current condition, waiting another week would only worsen her health.

Exaggerating slightly, she might not even last ten days to two weeks.

Moreover, Ivankov also mentioned the appearance of the Marine fleet...

"Is it because of Stussy's phone call? That night, it directly exposed the Revolutionary Army's landing point and mine as well."

"If the Revolutionary Army hadn't prepared their supplies and left the very next day, we might have been cornered and wiped out by the Marines at Shimotsuki Village."

Sig was deeply concerned.

Syrup Village wasn't far from Shimotsuki Village by sea. This village might not be safe either.

After thinking it through, Sig suddenly asked:

"Ivankov, have you ever tried creating injectable versions of your hormones and temporarily storing them outside the body?"

"You're planning to have someone transport it?" Ivankov asked. "Unfortunately, the hormones' effects can only be preserved outside the body for a maximum of four hours. After that, they lose their efficacy."

Ivankov's response on the phone was firm.

As one of the Revolutionary Army's commanders, Ivankov had, of course, considered how to maximize his abilities. The concept of injectable hormones had long been within his scope of research.

Sig pondered for a moment before asking suddenly:

"Ivankov, is Bartholomew Kuma by your side? You should have a nautical chart for Syrup Village, right?"

On the other end, Ivankov was clearly startled.

After a brief silence, the Den Den Mushi's expression became serious as Kuma's voice responded affirmatively:

"I've never been to Syrup Village, but from the nautical chart, I can calculate its location."

"Mr. Sig, what do you want me to do?"

"Kuma, I want to borrow your Paw-Paw Fruit ability to send Ivankov's hormone injection to Syrup Village," Sig said seriously.

This was the method he thought of, combining Ivankov's and Bartholomew Kuma's abilities.

Bartholomew Kuma, a Paw-Paw Fruit user, might look intimidating due to his massive and bear-like physique, but his ability allowed him to repel anything, whether it was enemies, air, fatigue, or even abstract concepts, with the soft paw pads on his hands.

In the original story, Kuma had used this ability to scatter the Straw Hat crew to various islands along the Grand Line. One of them, Robin, was even sent out of the Grand Line and directly to the East Blue after days of flying through the air, landing in Tequila Wolf.

After a moment of silence on the other end of the line, Ivankov spoke in a slightly complicated tone:

"Sig boy, even though you haven't spoken much with Kuma, you seem to understand his abilities quite well… to think you'd come up with this kind of operation."

When Sig had helped interrogate Stussy earlier, he'd repeatedly requested Ivankov to switch between male and female forms, but that was within Ivankov's usual antics—he switched genders daily.

Knowing about Ivankov's powers wasn't surprising.

But Kuma was a different case. His interactions with Sig were limited, and they hadn't exchanged more than a few words.

Under such circumstances, Sig's understanding of Kuma's techniques was astonishing.

"Your intelligence capabilities are truly impressive…" Ivankov exchanged a glance with Kuma, feeling a mix of amazement and delight.

The realization hit them: their abilities could complement each other in this way.

Prompted by Sig's suggestion, the Revolutionary Army could, in the future, use Kuma's power as a transportation method for time-sensitive items like hormone injections.

Finally, Bartholomew Kuma replied:

"No problem. Once Ivankov prepares the hormone injection, I can send it flying to Syrup Village."

"However, since I haven't been to Syrup Village before, I can only guarantee that the item will land somewhere on the island, not an exact location."

"Our fleet isn't far from Syrup Village right now. Sending the package there should take about 1-2 hours."

"Thank you very much. I truly owe you for this," Sig said. "By the way, there's actually another patient on my end…"

After explaining Kaya's condition, Ivankov furrowed his brows and replied:

"This young girl seems to have a weak constitution or some kind of chronic illness. Based solely on your description over the Den Den Mushi, that's the best judgment I can make."

"Healing Hormones aren't conventional medicine. For a case like hers, you'd probably need to dilute the hormones tenfold or even a hundredfold to minimize the effects and side effects. Otherwise, sacrificing ten years of lifespan just to cure an illness is too steep a price."