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

Wan Gang, possessing some barbarian blood, was born with a longer lifespan than me and also obtained a fruit that could extend lifespan, which is why he was able to live for nearly 3200 years, setting a record.

I didn't have any of those things, so more than six hundred years ago, I was truly close to death.

He explained, "Everyone thinks my current state is due to the Human-Human Fruit - Mythical Zoan - Skull Form, but that's not entirely true."

I survived only by combining my Devil Fruit power with a rare flame—the Bone Flame—and sacrificing my physical body.

Figo asked in surprise, "Bone lamps?"

Is it true that anything can be turned on as a light now?

The Skeleton Emperor nodded: "The Bone Lamp is my sixth lamp, but I don't count as having lit six lamps, because shortly after the Bone Lamp was lit, the lamp in my body went out."

However, I did have a brief period where all six lights coexisted, and during that time, I sensed a crisis from the outside world.

"From the outside world?"

"Yes, the outside world."

The Skeleton Emperor confirmed, "And the one who sensed the crisis seems to be the ship spirit who entrusted his will to me three thousand years ago, our close partner—Sehol."

“The ship spirit…it’s the ship spirit again.” Figo pondered for a moment, then said, “Did the Holy Demon King ever receive a mandate from the ship spirit?”

“Of course there is.” The Skeleton Emperor: “What did he say to you when you met him before? The time I lit six lamps at the same time was extremely short. After the lamps on my body went out, that feeling completely disappeared. If it weren’t for what happened today, I might not have been able to recall this feeling from six hundred years ago.”

But what if the Holy Demon King also has that…?

Figo affirmed, "It seems there are two conditions for detecting that sea beast: one is lighting six lamps, and the other is having been entrusted with one's will by the ship spirit."

Moreover, that sea beast has at least reached the level six of its kind, and it's been around for six hundred years!

What kind of marine mammal is it, and why has it disappeared without a trace all these years?

"We need to find a way to locate it."

Figo said, "It just so happens that I'm going to the Mermaid Kingdom next, and I'll take the opportunity to see how many hidden demon generals there are."

"Demon General... Could this level six sea beast also be related to Lucifer?"

"Perhaps."

The two discussed for a while longer. The Skeleton Emperor would naturally be in charge of the main battlefield and war planning with the demons, while Figo would be responsible for searching for demon generals and exploring level six sea beasts. It was a clear division of labor.

Once they had confirmed each other's thoughts, Figo left first to find Lingling and the other two.

Shirahoshi's condition has improved. With things settled on Uramio Island, they can't help with the final cleanup. Figo is ready to take them on an immediate journey to their second destination – the Mermaid Kingdom.

Before leaving, Figo took them to see Luffy and his crew. The four children had just said goodbye to Shin's body, and their eyes were red. Figo asked them, "Are you sure you want to participate in the war?"

"Yes!" they answered firmly.

"Alright then, be careful."

Without offering further words of advice or comfort, he reasoned that the young man, averaging 20 years old, was capable of taking responsibility for his choices. He then left the mansion in Mangan with Nami and Shirahoshi, who were somewhat curious about Luffy and the others.

Leave Urameo Island.

Set sail again, heading to the Mermaid Kingdom!

Chapter 351 The Old Fishman

"Wan Gang is gone."

In the Mermaid Palace, the burly, thick-haired Mermaid King Norton held a photograph, a hint of melancholy flashing across his old face.

As two of the four kings, Norton and Wangan were not very close. Compared to Wangan, Norton was only a junior, having lived for over seven hundred years.

But after all, they had been mentioned together for over a century, and the way Wangang ended still touched him—it wasn't just the human race that had 'fallen' over the past six hundred years; did the merfolk and fish-men races especially need to 'awaken'? Had they tainted the Queen's will?

Norton looked at the photo of Wan Gang floating high in the sky, arms outstretched and a calm smile on his face, and murmured, "I'm not as good as you."

After a moment of silence, he put down the photo and picked up another one to examine.

Soon, the Fishman King, Genning, arrived in a hurry, and Norton handed him the photo.

Grenin was taken aback and exclaimed in surprise, "The Queen?"

“No, no…” He looked at the enormous yet charming mermaid girl in the photo and said in a deep voice, “If she were a little more mature, she would look exactly like the one in the Queen’s photo. Could this girl be…”

"Her name is Bai Xing. She first appeared with the Star King's merchant guild, and not long ago, she accompanied the Star King to Wan Gang's ascension funeral," Norton said.

"Is that really so?" Gening murmured, then realized something in the next instant, his dead fish eyes widened slightly, but he quickly calmed down.

"The King of the Stars was able to leave the Star of Light and return to the starry sky? I'm not actually that hard to accept this... He's too strong."

Norton nodded: "Yes. Wangan's ascension ceremony is over. He took the Queen's bloodline with him and will most likely stop by here on his way. We need to be prepared."

"We've been preparing for this for a long time."

"How's Balu doing?"

“Something’s not right.” Grenin’s expression turned serious. “He seems to be deliberately searching for someone lately.”

"Looking for someone... looking for someone... looking for someone!"

Norton repeated himself three times, each time louder and more serious than before.

"You'll have to keep a close eye on him yourself to make sure he hasn't 'found' anyone. We can't rely on the Star King for everything in our clan's affairs."

This is a matter of dignity.

Grinning said, "I will."

……

On the other hand, ever since meeting Figo, Balu's heart has never been at peace.

On that day, Figo fought seven men single-handedly, severely injuring the merman king Gening and forcing the six human dukes to flee in disarray. Although he outwardly denounced the seven men as useless, inwardly he was unwilling to admit that he felt a sense of fear towards Figo's power.

The more he recalled that day, the more he felt that Figo's eyes seemed to see through everything, seeing through all his pretenses.

When news came that Figo had single-handedly fought the two demon pillars and killed one of them, this fear reached its peak, and he even had some disrespectful thoughts towards Lucifer.

So he was eager to do something.

He always knew that he was not the only demon general hiding in the Mermaid Kingdom, but there was no hierarchical relationship between the demon generals, and his search for other demon generals would be against Lucifer's will.

But he felt that the current situation was special.

Times are changing. Even Lord Lucifer probably couldn't have predicted the emergence of someone like Gaston Figo, the King of the Stars, who single-handedly defeated the current strongest force of the demon race and brought them to the brink of destruction.

If things continue like this, when Lord Lucifer is resurrected, won't he be greeted by a coalition of thousands of powerful humans, but no demons to welcome him?

He felt that at this moment, the demon generals should step forward. Ranked 72nd, he believed that there must be many five-lamp demon generals, or even the level of the twin demon pillars, ahead of him.

A few should step forward and impersonate those reclusive, low-profile demons; at least that will stabilize the situation for the demon race.

However, as the 72nd Demon General and a junior among the Demon Generals, he had no idea where his senior Demon Generals were or what their hidden identities were.

All he could confirm was that these people all had the bloodline of the royal family of the Fire Star Mermaid Kingdom. So, during this time, besides diligently cultivating, he spent his time like a headless fly, observing his uncles and ancestors inside and outside the palace.

Of course, he did some basic cover-up, pretending that he was emotionally disturbed after meeting his father, Qiuba, and that he talked to his mother, Loulan, more frequently. But he didn't know that this was already very obvious in Gening's eyes.

News of Wan Gang's ascension to heaven funeral spread rapidly through the internet, and it was no secret that the King of the Stars had appeared to attend the ceremony. So on this day, he deliberately took a paper newsletter about the funeral to see his mother, only to learn that his mother happened to be with the high priest of the mermaid clan.

Loulan, as a mermaid princess specially bred to compete for Poseidon's power, was raised by the high priest of the mermaid tribe from a young age, which is normal. So Balu went to the temple instead.

This is a simple-looking domed palace. Upon entering, you can see a huge statue of a mermaid queen. It is heavily guarded, but the guards do not stop Balu, who can be called a prince.

As Balu walked deeper into the palace, he turned down a corridor, his figure suddenly swayed, and he stopped abruptly, almost bumping into an old fishman.

The fish-blocking man was hunched over, with completely white hair and a wrinkled face. He was bending over, holding a rag, and slowly wiping the ground.

Balu frowned.

He had seen this old fishman many times.

In his memory, this old fishman looked just like this when he was a child. He was in charge of cleaning the temple. He had been away less in recent years. How could this guy, who looked like he was about to die, still be alive?

Come to think of it, I almost bumped into him just now? How come he was completely invisible?

Wait, could it be...?

"Lift your foot a little," the old fishman said in a hoarse voice. "Kids are so clumsy; you almost bumped into me."

Was there a hidden meaning? Balu thought for a moment, then said politely, "Excuse me, Grandpa, I have a newspaper here that I urgently need to share with my mother."

The old fishman didn't even glance at the newspaper, shaking his head and saying, "What's the rush? The more you rush, the more likely you are to make a mistake. Go on."

Is this a reminder not to rush? Balu was basically certain that this was a senior demon general, and he was secretly delighted. He nodded heavily and continued to look for Loulan.

Now is not the right time to communicate.

The old fishman continued to wipe the ground carefully, not missing a single speck of dust. At one moment, his cloudy old eyes suddenly narrowed.

'Have we been exposed?'

Outside the palace, in the distance, Grin's mental net circled the old murloc a few times, then he pressed his head in confusion.

"That old guy..."

He then hurriedly went to find King Norton and asked, "Do you remember the old merman in the temple, the one who's hunched over and looks like he's about to die?"

"Him...he..."

Norton paused, his expression tightening: "What happened... when I was a child, he looked something like that..."

Chapter 352 Missing

"Damn it! You just wait! I won't let Lord Bashtosh see you again!"

A colossal sea monster, resembling both a bull and a horse and over 6000 meters long, roared angrily and swam away into the sea, leaving behind only a patch of blood-stained water and the flesh and blood that Figo held in his hands.

This piece of flesh was as huge as a small mountain, weighing thousands of tons, and it made Lingling's eyes light up.

"Grandpa, you actually made friends with a level 5 Sea King?"

“Yes, the last time we met was when we went fishing for lanterns with the six dukes of Capri, and it was so polite both times,” Figo said with a smile.

They were sailing on their way to the Mermaid Kingdom when they happened to pass through a place similar to the Light Sea where they had previously searched for the Level 5 sword technique. Figo remembered that he had treated him and the six dukes to a good meal at Bashtosh last time, so he decided to pay it a visit. To his surprise, it was still as polite as ever.

Of course, the original intention of finding Bashtosh was not to have it treat them to a meal, but to test whether Shirahoshi's ability to control giant sea kings could work on level 5 sea kings, but it didn't.

It wasn't completely ineffective. When Bashtosh attacked Figo, he clearly instinctively veered away from Shirahoshi, but the difference in strength between the two was too great, and Shirahoshi couldn't command Bashtosh's actions.

"Grandpa, you're even more polite than it..." Lingling said, looking at the mountain of flesh. "This little bit of damage is just like a cut on its skin to it."

She still thought it wasn't enough.