“Is it real?”
“How come we’ve never heard of someone like that before?”
“No, I think I vaguely remember hearing about a major event that the World Government and Marine Headquarters kept tightly under wraps twenty years ago. If you count the time, it seems about right…”
“Really?!”
On the navy warship returning to Marine Headquarters, the marines were still buzzing about what they had heard at Impel Down, exclaiming in disbelief.
One marine asked, “Captain Garp, have you heard about the story of the first warden?”
“Um…” Garp stood at the bow, scratching his head. The marines thought he might have remembered something and held their breath, waiting for him to speak.
Suddenly.
“Snore… snore…”
A series of steady snores broke the silence.
“He fell asleep?!” The marines stared at Garp, their eyes nearly popping out.
Pop! The bubble on his nose burst, waking Garp with a start. He looked around at the marines staring at him, then burst into hearty laughter, “Well, I think I’ve heard of it, and also not. I’ll go sleep in my cabin. Call me when we reach the base.”
“That was useless…”
The marines watched him retreat with a sigh.
Opening his cabin door, Garp was taken aback. He saw a figure sitting on his bed, one hand holding his bag of donuts, the other stuffing donuts into his mouth, a shackle hanging from one wrist.
Garp was immediately furious, “Why are you eating my donuts?!”
“Because they’re delicious,” Figo replied.
“… Fair enough.” Garp agreed, quickly joining him to eat the donuts.
One for you, one for me. After a minute, the donuts were gone. Garp reached for another, but his hand came up empty. Savoring the last one, he blinked in surprise, then stared at Figo, eyes bulging.
“Why are you on my ship?!”
“To eat donuts.”
Figo answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“…” Garp felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint it. A few minutes later, as the ship passed through the Gate of Justice, Garp and the marines watched in stunned silence as Figo jumped overboard and ran across the water, getting farther away.
They looked at each other, eyes wide.
…
“What? He left again?!”
At Marine Headquarters, the 74-year-old Fleet Admiral Raoul clutched his chest in anger. Every time he heard Figo’s name, he felt a twinge of pain from the scar Figo had left on his chest.
Slamming the den den mushi shut, Raoul immediately dialed the Five Elders. He was well-practiced at this.
Soon, in Mary Geoise, the new generation of Five Elders gathered.
“Figo is getting more and more outrageous, completely disregarding the pact from back then,” Raiola Saint accused nonchalantly, “The shackles have become his toy, and the restriction to never leave Impel Down has been tossed aside. Initially, he was stable, leaving Impel Down only once every few years. But recently, he’s been leaving more and more frequently. This time, it’s only been four months since the last time! What does he think Impel Down is, his kingdom, his home?!”
The other four didn’t respond.
The incident 25 years ago was a “humiliating history” that the World Government did not want to revisit.
The great rulers of the world, the Five Elders, had been forced to compromise to a group of marines, signing a contract internally known as the “Figo Pact.”
The pact required Marine Headquarters and the World Government to cover up the truth, with Figo staying in Impel Down as a prisoner until old age.
This was the World Government’s fig leaf.
As compensation, one of the Five Elders, Mendesbin Saint, had to retire early. The Marine Headquarters had to hold a top-tier funeral for Doug, provide maximum compensation to the marines who died during the Demon Slaying Order, and create a new position of Grand Staff Officer for Mia, who would also take over as the elite training camp instructor, spreading the ideals of justice. Over the past 25 years, countless marines had awakened their “self-awareness,” and even Fleet Admiral Raoul could do nothing about it!
Now, Figo repeatedly violated the pact, treating Impel Down as his personal domain. But… what could they do? The previous Five Elders had already been ashamed, and they didn’t want to suffer the same fate.
Raiola Saint wanted to provoke the others into action, but they weren’t fools.
One of the Five Elders tried to smooth things over, “Let’s not bring up Figo’s issue repeatedly. It’s been 25 years, and that batch of marines has aged or passed. In another ten or twenty years, when Figo and Mia pass, the problem will naturally resolve itself.
“There are still decades before the revival of Uranus and Poseidon. We and our successors have enough time to bring the navy back on track.”
“Indeed, although Figo occasionally leaves Impel Down, he only does minor things. We don’t need to worry about it. We can still pick some prisoners from Impel Down.”
“Twenty-five years ago, even with Charlin Saint and Raoul joining forces, they couldn’t easily defeat him. Now he’s clearly even stronger than at his peak. What can we use to restrain him?”
“According to the previous Five Elders, he probably sensed Lord Imu’s presence back then, which is why he stopped. As long as he fears Imu, he won’t do anything too outrageous. We don’t need to provoke him.”
Raiola Saint’s eyes twitched.
He knew all this but still felt frustrated.
As the Elder managing the navy and Impel Down, his authority should have been the greatest. But now, what had it become?
It’s all Mendesbin Saint’s fault!
He held back his anger and said, “Let Kong monitor him as usual and ensure he returns soon. The slaver ships currently at sea are just unlucky. Also, the missing CP0 child…”
…
Meanwhile, Steel Bone Kong received the notification, familiar with mobilizing marines and setting out. Looking at the blue sea, he felt a bit helpless.
Over the years, nearly every time Figo left Impel Down, he had to lead a warship to chase him. The Five Elders didn’t expect anyone to “bring Figo back,” just that Kong, as Doug’s grandson, might make Figo somewhat considerate.
Even after becoming an Admiral, it was the same.
This time, there was a newcomer on his ship.
“Monkey D. Garp, I’ve heard about you,” Kong said. “Last year, you graduated from the elite class with outstanding grades and were directly commissioned as a Captain. Over the past year, you’ve led your ship in capturing pirates with bounties near or over 100 million berries, almost earning enough merits for promotion to Flag Officer. You have strong potential in physical techniques and Armament Haki.
“This time, Figo left Impel Down on your warship?”
“Yes,” Garp turned, pointing. “He ran… ah, he ran in the direction the ship is now heading… running on the sea.”
“I know,” Kong said. “Every time he leaves Impel Down, he follows a similar route, heading first to Sabaody. He needs a ship.”
“Going to Sabaody… to steal a ship?”
“Figo commands an immense range of Observation Haki, possibly over a hundred miles. Even at sea, he can quickly locate and seize a slaver ship or pirate ship heading to Sabaody!”
A hundred miles?!
Garp was stunned.
…
Meanwhile, on a slaver ship at sea, the lookout was startled, “Sir! There’s a person, a person running on the water!”
“What?!” The plump slave trader grabbed the telescope, looked, and brightened.
“A rare race? A Devil Fruit user? With shackles, an escaped slave?”
Looks like a valuable catch!
“Bring the ship closer! Capture him!”
Become a Patron read up to 40 chapter ahead public release ^_^
Please join Discord Server so we can talk ^_^
