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

Lord Worrying Demon's attack is not over yet.

The remaining white lines hang high, forming a net at a certain point in the air, cutting towards the center from all directions like a birdcage, at an extremely fast speed!

Here it comes! The Worrying Demon Lord's "Holy Slicing Punishment," which is said to be indestructible, has its awakened threads with ten times the cutting power!

Figo clenched his fists tightly.

The loud explosions continued incessantly.

Dust and white lines filled the air, and the nun could no longer see the details of the battle. Suddenly, a thread shot into the sky, and the figure of the Worrying Demon rose into the sky like a large bird, getting higher and higher!

Here it comes! The Worrying Demon Lord's Empty Threads, by attaching silk threads to the clouds, can be used for a form of flight, making them perfect for traveling and escaping...

Huh? Escape? Run away?

A figure arrived first, grabbing the Worrying Demon's legs and slamming him violently to the ground! Amidst the thunderous shaking of the earth, the nun's expression gradually became somewhat dazed.

"You bastard?! Then let's all die together!" The Worrying Demon's startled shout rang out.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The thunderous sound echoed for three minutes.

stop.

Amidst the smoke and dust, Figo, his body covered in thread-like cuts and half-covered in blood, dragged the limp, mud-like Worry Demon out.

I'm hungry.

The nun was in a panic.

Is he...is he going to eat me?

Chapter Twenty: Harvest and Return

Seven giants sat in a row on the shore.

The cages that held them had all sunk into the water; Figo only managed to pull one up, throwing the worrier Gerdchak in.

To get them ashore, Xiao removed the shackles from their legs, so they could practically run away, but each one sat obediently.

Run? Let whoever wants to run run.

Even if they weren't chained, didn't you see that the three benefactors were still forced to serve the demon warden under his tyranny?

Not far away, a campfire blazed, and three CP9 members worked together, cutting up, bleeding, and roasting the carcass of a massive near-shore king over the fire before quickly serving it to Figo.

As the near-shore king, weighing tens of tons, slowly disappeared into Figo's belly, the little tiger and the female CP9 couldn't help but exchange glances.

So the Joker was actually us? What the giants said was true. Could Figo really eat an entire sea king in one meal? So, those stories about him abusing and humiliating prisoners were also true?

Can't be bothered, can't be bothered.

After a series of unexpected events, Peslow's desire to sue Figo against the Five Elders faded.

Figo doesn't usually eat this much, but having just received a large amount of Titan power and gone through a fierce battle, he urgently needed to replenish himself. His powerful digestive ability helped him quickly convert the meat he ate into energy in his body.

After finishing three-quarters of the King of the Nearshore, Figo let out a burp and stood up, supporting his belly.

"That's about it. You've worked hard. You guys can grill the rest and share it with the giants."

The giants sitting in a row were moved to tears; we actually still had food to eat!

"Old Xiao, how's Little Bug?" Figo asked the other person.

"No, we can't contact headquarters."

The Den Den Mushi crashed onto the shore, but it didn't suffer a heroic fate. Only its shell was slightly damaged, resulting in a weak signal and inability to contact headquarters.

It will probably take time for it to recover and be repaired.

As for the marines, only six remained, each wounded and dressed in bandages like Figo, and they were resting on the shore... They had been given a piece of the first piece of near-shore king meat to fill their stomachs long before it was cooked.

"Is that so? I'll leave Little Bug in your care, Old Xiao. Luckily, I already contacted the Marshal, and he said he would send the nearest warship to pick us up, so it shouldn't be too late."

After all, this place is quite close to Elbaf, and the Marshal will definitely take into account the giants' rescue of the seven giants and will pick them up as soon as possible.

After explaining everything, Figo found a flat open space, lay down, and closed his eyes to rest.

Not far away, a nun wearing seastone handcuffs lay on the ground, having completely lost hope. Her mood, however, calmed down. Seeing this, she said, "Could I borrow a light to light my cigarette, Marine?"

"Give it up, and push for a smoking ban in the city."

The nun remained silent.

The giants admired her greatly; she dared to make demands even after being captured. Seeing Figo sleeping with her eyes closed, they ate their meat in tiny bites, afraid of waking the demon warden. They were weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Take the opportunity to escape?

Look at that lump of mud in the cage.

Look at that shattered ground.

Look at those two sections of the warship that haven't sunk yet.

Stop joking! It's better to live a miserable life than to die!

Figo wasn't actually sleeping; instead, he was tallying up his gains, and now he had seven items to choose from.

Once you've truly grasped it, the benefits won't disappear even if you release it again. The three CP9s mostly provide benefits related to the Six Styles, so Figo isn't in a hurry to choose one.

He figured it out himself. He realized that the Six Styles of the Navy could still have a period of rapid improvement. Once he could no longer improve through his own practice, he could use the benefits from their training to upgrade.

The remaining four items are the rewards from the character events of Duham and Kevin the Giant, and the rewards from capturing the Nun and the Worry Demon.

By the way, the giant Kevin doesn't know that the Worry Demon who was captured after his fierce battle with Figo is the real culprit who killed his daughter, and Figo doesn't bother to tell him either.

Whether to recruit him into the navy or not, let the admiral decide.

Kevin's earnings are also the best choice.

[Benefit: Giant's Strength (Rare) +187 → 1832 (Level 3 Giant Boy)]

Then there's Duham. The one who activated Figo's Observation Haki didn't possess Armament Haki, and he doesn't use a sword. So, among dozens of scattered abilities, Figo naturally chose to strengthen his strongest one.

[Benefit: Physique +63 → 12399 (Level 4 Monster)]

A fierce battle and a meal of kingfisher meat from the near seas boosted Figo's physique by more than twenty times.

Next up is the main event: capturing two SR-level villains with 100% participation!

The nun offered him a choice between developing his Devil Fruit, disguising himself, or going into business. This option wasn't very favorable to Figo, but after some consideration, Figo chose to develop his Devil Fruit.

Although this ability cannot be activated because he has never eaten a Devil Fruit, and because of the power of fish-men, Figo would not consider eating one unless he encountered a particularly suitable and desirable Devil Fruit.

However, the increased ability to develop his Devil Fruit powers can help Figo to some extent when fighting against other Devil Fruit users, assisting him in assessing the enemy's situation.

[Benefits: Devil Fruit Development (Not yet activated) +2093 → 2093 (Level 3 Devil Fruit Mastery)]

With 100% participation in the arrest, a crime index of 91, and an SR3 rating, Figo received a total of 2093 points in one go, the most ever!

And this record will soon be broken!

[Prisoner: Gerdchak]

[Rank: SR9]

[Status: Detained]

Crime Index: 113

[Participation rate in the arrest: 100%]

[Optional Benefits: Armament Haki, Healer, Observation Haki]

The crime index of 113 points broke the highest record that Figo had ever seen, and the optional benefits were also unprecedentedly generous! Most people have dozens of abilities, and it's already good if they can get one high-quality one out of three, but Worry Demon has revealed both Armament Haki and Observation Haki at the same time!

The doctor's abilities are actually quite good in other situations as well, so it's a tough choice.

Figo ultimately chose Armament Haki.

[Gain: Armament Haki +3277 → 6355 (Level 3 Armament Haki Mastery)]

Doubled! With practice, Figo can quickly reach the corresponding skill level, and might even be able to cover his entire body in Armament Haki!

If Figo could personally capture 100 or 180 pirates like that, he would probably become the strongest in the world very quickly.

But that's just wishful thinking. In this day and age, Worry Demon is already one of the top fifty most wanted pirates. Other great pirates won't just stand there waiting for Figo to catch them. More importantly, there are many of them he probably can't beat right now.

This battle allowed Figo to roughly test his limits. The major level difference between SR9 and SSR1 must be a leap in improvement. He had some trouble capturing the Mind Demon, and he was probably no match for the great SSR-level pirate.

Even in SR7, SR8, and SR9, he couldn't guarantee invincibility. After all, the outcome of a battle depends on many factors, and he might even stumble against someone like Sugar, who is an exception to the rules, even at the R-rank.

"It seems there's little hope of participating in capturing SSR-level monsters in the short term."

Impel Down? Impel Down doesn't have it either! Right now, the deepest part of Impel Down is SR9!

SSR might represent a small group of people at the very top of the sea, representing the level of an admiral, or at least a strong person who can temporarily delay a naval admiral!

In other words, SSR1 is equivalent to the average level of future Yonko commanders? SSR9 is the pinnacle of Roger and Whitebeard? What about Rocks? What about Im?

The higher you climb, the harder it gets. After eight years of hard work and struggle in Impel Down, I'm only standing at the very entrance to the top, just getting a glimpse...

Figo thought to himself, and sleepiness gradually crept in. He actually fell asleep; he was indeed quite tired.

He wasn't awakened until night fell, when Xiao called out, "Lord Figo, the warship that was supposed to pick us up has arrived. We're heading back!"

Figo opened his eyes. So this is it?

In the end, we didn't get to visit the island's small town.

Next time, definitely.

Chapter 21: I Picked Up an SSR

After nearly four days of tedious sailing, Figo returned to the Navy Headquarters aboard a warship.

This was also his 'first' visit to Marineford, the headquarters of the Marines. He had gone up to the deck to look around when the small island appeared at the horizon, as reminded by the marines.

It was a crescent-shaped island with buildings built against the mountain. The blue color symbolized the vast sea and the dove pattern symbolized peace, making it extremely eye-catching from afar. The most striking feature was the two large characters "Navy" on the buildings!

Just like in the anime, it seems that the Navy Headquarters doesn't move often; at least for the past hundred years, there hasn't been a situation where it had to move.

As the warship gradually approached the dock, Figo suddenly noticed another warship approaching the main dock on the other side of the crescent-shaped island. Compared to his own ship, the opposing warship was much larger, roughly twice the size, and the large-caliber cannons on both sides of the warship seemed to represent power.

"That...that looks like Rear Admiral Mia's warship?" a marine exclaimed.

Really? Really?