In the Sea Circle Calendar year 1464, a navy warship slowly docked at the platform outside the first level of Impel Down.
The young naval captain, Monkey D. Garp, was brimming with pride as he directed his subordinates to escort the newly captured pirate with a bounty of 180 million berries off the ship.
“Be careful, this guy isn’t simple. He can release strange electric currents from his body,” a marine warned the receiving guards.
“Relax, this is Impel Down. We’ve imprisoned several Mink pirates before,” the guards responded nonchalantly. The marines didn’t say more. Impel Down, the world’s top prison, was a dreaded place for pirates, even those with bounties close to a billion berries. To them, Mink pirates weren’t anything new.
Garp was delivering a prisoner to Impel Down for the first time. As he observed the setup of the first level, two figures ahead suddenly caught his attention.
One was an elderly man with graying hair, appearing to be in his seventies, but extremely robust, sipping a cup of green liquid—tea? A supplement?
The other was younger, appearing in his fifties, but had shackles on his wrists like a prisoner. Yet, the guards handed the newly arrived pirate over to him?
“Letting a prisoner handle a prisoner?”
Garp mumbled, then saw the “prisoner” nonchalantly remove one hand from the shackles to scratch his head, then casually put it back. His eyes widened in disbelief—decorative shackles?!
What a peculiar hobby!
“Who are you calling a prisoner?!” A nearby guard overheard Garp and scolded him. “This is your first time in Impel Down, isn’t it? How rude! That man is our legendary warden, the strongest man in the world, the first director, Figo-sama!”
“Warden… the strongest?”
“Humph, the warden’s story can’t be told in just three days and nights, but since you, young marine, seem interested, I’ll tell you a bit!”
Garp scratched his head awkwardly. “Haha, no need to go on about it. So, what’s his name, and what’s his story?”
His attitude eased the guards’ tempers.
“He’s Director Gaston Figo. He was one of the first recruits when Impel Down was established fifty years ago!”
“Fifty years?!”
“How old is he now?!”
“Haha, doesn’t look it, right? The warden created the seventh style beyond the Six Powers—Life Return. His control over his body is so refined that even aging slows down. No one can tell that he’s actually seventy years old!”
The creator of Life Return? Seventy years old? Garp was intrigued. His attentive listening encouraged the guard to share more.
“I’ll give you a few highlights to understand how powerful the warden is.
“About forty-two years ago, when the warden was twenty-eight, he went on leave and happened upon the World Government’s treacherous scheme against the Giants. Enraged, he exposed it, angering the World Government.
“They sent an Admiral to apprehend him, but to their shock, the young warden already possessed Admiral-level strength. They fought to a standstill. With his teacher, then-Vice Admiral Doug, pleading on his behalf, the World Government had to relent and let him return to guard Impel Down.”
At twenty-eight, he fought an Admiral to a draw? The marines were stunned, drawn into the story.
The guards, encouraged, continued.
“Today, many young people don’t know Doug’s name, only learning about the creator of the Six Powers when studying them. But they should know that Doug passed away with thousands of marines paying their respects. His grandson, now well-known, is none other than Admiral Steel Bone Kong!”
“Admiral Steel Bone Kong?”
“Yes, but few know that Kong became an Admiral thanks to the warden’s teachings in his youth! The warden is Kong’s only teacher!” the guard proudly stated.
The marines were astonished. A figure like that was hidden in Impel Down?
The guard explained further: “This all started with the warden exposing the World Government’s actions against the Giants. Unable to punish him, they held a grudge against Doug as well.
“When Doug was dying, the World Government’s despicable actions didn’t even allow his students, especially the warden, to see him off.
“The warden was furious, leaving Impel Down on his own. When the Five Elders questioned him, he stormed Mary Geoise single-handedly!”
“That’s incredible!”
“Is it true?!”
“And then?”
The guard, feeling proud, continued: “At twenty-eight, he could match an Admiral. Learning from that incident, the Five Elders sent three Admirals to suppress him! They didn’t expect that at forty-five, the warden had reached his peak, able to fight three Admirals alone!
“That battle raged for ten days and nights without a clear victor. The Five Elders had no choice but to negotiate with the warden. Disillusioned with the government, he agreed to seal himself in Impel Down, coming out only occasionally to seek justice for wrongly imprisoned inmates. Over time, with the government’s efforts to downplay his existence, young marines like you have forgotten the great warden’s presence!”
A single man, fighting three Admirals?!
The marines were overwhelmed, processing the shock.
Amazing!
…
“Why do these young guards believe your exaggerations so easily?”
Walking down the corridor, holding a thermos cup, Kimchi remarked.
“Exaggerations? Did I exaggerate?” Figo took his hand out of the shackles, twirling and tossing them around like decorations. “The facts aren’t too far from what the guards said, right?”
“Far off!” Kimchi retorted. “Do you think we, who witnessed it, have amnesia? Fighting three Admirals? Why not add the Fleet Admiral? Sealing yourself in Impel Down? Wasn’t that part of the negotiation?”
He laughed, and so did Figo. The pirate they were escorting sensed their disrespect and decided to resist!
A strong electric current surged from him, escaping the Sea Prism Stone chains. He charged at Figo, but before he knew it, pain exploded in his cheek, and he crashed to the ground, unconscious, never seeing the attack coming.
Kimchi kicked the pirate lightly. “Lately, there have been quite a few Mink pirates. Isn’t their race supposed to be rare? There shouldn’t be many out at sea.”
“Who knows? Maybe it has something to do with that Moonlight Hunter legend?” Figo tossed the unconscious, bull-headed Mink with horns and fur, who could stand upright like a human, into a cell, locking it.
[Reward: Mink Power (Rare) +77 → 2755 (Level 3 Mink Teen)]
“I exaggerated because the World Government doesn’t want the truth out. I had to embellish a bit,” Figo said.
Kimchi sighed, thinking that Figo’s “new truth” would probably be even less acceptable to the government.
“Haha, alright, Kimchi. You’ll look after Impel Down. I’ll be leaving for a while,” Figo added with a smile.
“Leaving again?” Kimchi was surprised.
“Yes.”
The young Garp looked somewhat different from the future Garp, but Figo recognized him.
Unknowingly, fifty years had passed.
With a touch of sentiment, Figo said, “Kimchi, this time I might not come back. The position of warden will be yours.”
Kimchi rolled his eyes, ignoring the comment.
After Figo left, the seventy-four-year-old Kimchi sipped from his thermos cup. “You’ve been telling me that for almost forty years. I’m still the vice warden.
I don’t believe you for a second!”
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