I guarded Impel Down for a hundred years in the pirate world.

The young man, who knew about Barrett's power, had a hint of longing and fervor for Figo's power in his small eyes, and upon hearing this, he quickly put on a silly grin.

“I am Marshall Teach.”

“Barrett and Teach? If I remember correctly, you are the 66th adventurer group to arrive at the final island. That’s a good number. I hope to hear your voices in the starry sky.” Figo smiled and turned to leave.

“It definitely will!” Barrett replied.

The rest were filled with excitement and farewells.

After a brief hiatus, Figo, who hadn't returned to Impel Down for over a year, went back to his office.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, during these 16 years, he did not venture deep into space, but only visited a few nearby inhabited planets, and did not stay there for very long... There are three reasons for this.

On the one hand, in the period immediately following the unveiling of the secrets of the stars, a large number of adventurers flocked to the sea, and naturally, there was a great deal of mixed quality among them. Even though the navy's power had expanded several times over compared to 20 years ago and it was well prepared, it was still unable to suppress all the chaos.

It took about three years for the sea adventures to get on track. This was a necessary growing pain for the reform. After that, the pirate industry almost disappeared. At the same time, Figo, who personally participated in quelling the chaos, earned a lot of money and his strength was further enhanced and consolidated.

Secondly, having spent 17 years as the king of the three races, Figo had accumulated racial power, which significantly improved his strength. However, the Qinghai region has far more than just those three races. Other races are relatively few in number, but it is still necessary to accumulate their power as well.

Before entering the starry sky, the stronger you are, the better; Figo has always been this cautious person.

Thirdly, as one adventure group after another enters the starry sky, it is inevitable that Qinghai will be exposed to the starry sky. Figo has waited for more than a dozen waves of starry sky visitors in the past 16 years. Those who are friendly are naturally received, and those who are not friendly are naturally locked up in Impel Down!

However, now that everything is on track and the power of the race has been basically collected, it is almost time to embark on a long journey.

Back in his office, he dialed a Den Den Mushi and said, "Old Jin, come over here..."

The conversation suddenly stopped.

"Lord of the Imperial Order, you're back? Are you looking for me?" A slightly unfamiliar voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Oh, Magellan," Figo called out, paused for two seconds, and said, "It's alright. Everything in Impel Down was fine while I was away?"

"Yes, please rest assured..."

……

An hour later, at Naval Headquarters.

"You're stepping down?!" 110-year-old King Cutter glared at Figo, jumping up and down in anger. I just gave up on fighting you and retired from Impel Down for six months, and you're already stepping down?!

"Don't jump, don't jump, look at your old bones." Figo laughed, "I originally wanted to step down and hand over the position to you, but then I remembered that you have already retired. Let's hand it over to Magellan. He is still a bit lacking in experience. Let's forget about it for now."

"...Then I'll go back!"

"Really?" Figo asked with a smile.

Jinqie was silent for two seconds, then yelled, "Get out! Do you want me to die in Impel Down? I saw it coming a long time ago, you were definitely doing this on purpose!"

Figo laughed heartily and quickly stopped.

"Old Jin, take care of yourself. I'm going to wander in the stars for a few years. Don't come back to find yourself..."

"Get out of here! I'm perfectly fine!"

Jinqie chased Figo away, muttered curses, took a sip of tea, and shook his head with a couple of laughs.

Chapter 146 Journey to the Stars

A man with black curly hair, wearing a yellow and white striped suit, and who looked sleazy no matter how he wore a cloak of justice, knocked on the door of the naval admiral's office.

"Marshal Sengoku, oh~" He spoke slowly and deliberately, his lips already pursed before he even opened his mouth: "Sakazuki, Kuzan, you're here too? What happened that summoned all three of us at the same time?"

"Sit down, Kizaru." Sengoku, who had taken over as Fleet Admiral, gestured for Kizaru to sit down first.

Akainu quickly added, "It's Gaston Figo who's back."

"Oh, I see."

Over the years, it's not just individual adventure teams that have ventured into space; even more have been naval forces. Aside from Sengoku, almost all of the previous generation's top naval commanders have already ventured into space.

So the three of them took over the positions of the three admirals of the navy not long ago.

As young people in their early thirties, they had little opportunity to meet Figo during the years he spent cultivating his race's power, let alone face him directly. However, since they had grown up listening to Figo's stories, they had long admired him and naturally had some expectations.

Sitting on the sofa, Kizaru looked at Akainu with a lewd smile: "It's rare to see you like this, Sakazuki."

Akainu was indeed particularly looking forward to it; Figo was his goal and 'idol.' He looked at Kizaru and sneered, 'Haven't you decided on 'justice' yet?'

"Yes, I have a bit of a headache."

Every naval admiral throughout history must have a clear understanding of their own sense of justice and their own principles.

But for this generation of three admirals, pirates are almost extinct. Their job is to assess adventurers, guard against visitors from outer space, and prepare to personally venture into outer space in the future to bring back advanced technology and resources for Qinghai.

What kind of justice is this?

Is it justice to be dutiful and do one's duty?

Only Akainu didn't hesitate. On the very day he took office, he wrote "Absolute Justice" in his office because... "Whether they are Celestial Dragons or pirates, all evil must be eradicated. Upholding absolute justice and protecting the Blue Sea is the guiding principle demonstrated by Lord Gaston Figo's actions. You two..."

Here we go again. Aokiji adjusted his eye mask, lazily lying on the sofa, while Kizaru seemed to be listening intently, grinning mischievously.

This made Akainu snort in anger.

Zhan Guo found it amusing and was about to speak when a voice came from outside the door: "That's not how it is."

The four paused, then stood up in unison. As the door opened, they greeted, "Lord Figo!"

"Please sit down, please sit down." Figo waved his hand and smiled at Akainu: "Although I'm glad you regard me as a role model, my sense of justice is not as absolute as you say."

Akainu was puzzled.

The other three listened respectfully.

Looking around at the three newly promoted young generals, Figo couldn't help but sigh at the passage of time. Finally, the beginning of the 'plot' was not far off, and the three generals had not changed; it was still the same three.

It's not surprising. These three are monsters among monsters, the strongest three admirals of the Great Pirate Era. They were probably close to SSR8 in the original work, and Akainu would even be close to SSR9 after becoming Fleet Admiral, far surpassing any previous generation.

As for now, they have been learning all six skills of the starry sky since their youth, and they are only in their thirties. They are already all SSR9. In a few more years, when they have accumulated enough, they will most likely be able to ignite the lamp!

"It's not about absolute justice. Everything I did was based on one principle—my own preferences. I don't like pirates who burn, kill, and plunder, and I don't like Celestial Dragons who waste air by living, so I wanted to do something."

As for the Rocks Pirates and the Roger Pirates, the reason I included them in the Star Trek adventure was because I didn't dislike them, and even somewhat admired them. In other words, if I had thought the Celestial Dragons' lives were good back then, and wanted to capture a bunch of slaves to serve me, the entire Blue Sea might very well be a completely different place.

"I am a willful person, always have been, and doing whatever I want makes me happy."

Figo patted Akainu on the shoulder, making the surprised man sit down: "Don't deify me because of legends, and don't take the deified me as your goal. No one can be 'absolute'. People are always influenced by their own preferences and tendencies. Don't put yourself under so much pressure."

“Senior Figo…” Akainu hesitated, wondering if he had misinterpreted his own sense of justice.

Aokiji looked at Figo with surprise. Upon closer inspection, this legendary King of the World seemed quite different from what he had imagined.

Kizaru's small eyes seemed to be deep in thought. Does he act on a whim, without any fixed principles of justice?

Sengoku had more contact with Figo, so it wasn't surprising. He watched with amusement as the three young men's impressions crumbled. After a moment, he got down to business: "Lord Figo, are you really going to venture deep into space this time?"

"Ah," Figo confirmed, "Has there been any trouble at sea lately? Are there still any traces of the Celestial Dragons?"

The Mountain of God has not yet been found, but the Celestial Dragons, the soldiers of the Gods below the Mountain, couldn't help but show their tracks after the history was revealed, causing some chaos at sea, which was all eliminated by the Navy.

There has been little activity in recent years.

Zhan Guo shook his head: "No."

“It doesn’t matter. There shouldn’t be many of them left. As long as Qinghai doesn’t descend into chaos, they won’t dare to show their faces again,” Figo said. “This time I will be venturing deep into space, and may even travel to the central universe. The distance is too great for Den Den Mushi to contact, so for the next few years, the safety of Qinghai will be entirely in your hands.”

"Please rest assured, Lord Figo!"

Figo nodded. Actually, it wasn't a complete loss of contact. All four of them had received special training in Impel Down and were all in Figo's prison file. In Qinghai, there were many, many more like them. If many people's status suddenly changed to 'dead,' he would know.

But that shouldn't happen. Located on the edge of the star sea, apart from the original three Mink, none of the people who come here are above Raul's level.

On the contrary, many of the adventurers who ventured deep into the stars have died in recent years.

Figo's decision to leave was also influenced by another factor—in the past week, Roger's adventure team had lost five members, suffering its first major loss!

"Lord Figo, will you be traveling by airship, or..." Sengoku asked again.

"No need, I'll fly away myself."

It's all location-based, so you won't get lost.

"Then please be careful on your journey."

"Do not worry."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries and giving some instructions, Figo flew away from the Navy Headquarters, heading alone into the starry sky.

With his 'idol' image somewhat shattered, Akainu returned to his office and stared at the 'Absolute Justice' plaque hanging on the wall for a long time.

When Kizaru returned to his office, he immediately picked up a pen and wrote a line of large characters: 'Ambiguous Justice', which he then hung on the wall.

Chapter 147 The Holy Land of Swordsmanship

"Cough cough..." Rayleigh lay on the bed with a sallow complexion, coughing twice. His brow furrowed with unease as he lay unconscious.

Beside his bed, a girl who looked to be around 20 years old placed her hand on his forehead to test the temperature, and then quickly washed a towel in the warm water basin next to him and covered his head with it.

The girl was dressed in simple black clothes, but her beauty was still undeniable. The furrowed brows on her delicate face slowly relaxed, just like Rayleigh's. She turned around, and then seemed to be startled by the big, mustachioed face that was getting closer, so she leaned back and gently protected her chest with her arms.

"Excuse me, doctor." Roger quickly stepped back, his face full of anxiety. "How is my brother... how is my brother Rayleigh?"

“He’s out of danger now, he’s in good health.” The girl said, relaxing. “But he’ll need at least two weeks of rest before he can move around again.”

"That's great." Roger murmured, but he didn't show much joy. The pirates behind him only became a little more lively, but were mostly shrouded in gloomy mood.

After a two-second silence, Roger said, "Thank you, Dr. Ana, we'll be going now."

Ana was taken aback: "...Leave? I just said he needs to rest for at least half a month."

“I know.” Roger shook his head. “You should be able to tell from our injuries that we’ve gotten ourselves into big trouble, and it’s not over yet. We can’t drag you into it!”

Ana said worriedly, "But he..."

Roger bowed deeply and interrupted, "Thank you."

Without hesitation, he stepped forward, hoisted Riley onto his back, exchanged glances with his companions, nodded to the girl, and quickly left the house, heading towards the distant mountains without looking back.

All that was left was a stack of star coins.

Ana checked and found that it was several times more than the medical expenses she should have received, including both whole and small denominations, even the smallest 100-dollar bills. She chuckled and said, "You didn't leave all the money behind, did you?"

It was precisely when they needed money the most.

She paused for a moment, shook her head, put the star coins into her sleeve, and tidied the bed. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.

Is anyone there?!