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

"Deputy Director, they're escaping from prison."

Oh, so it was a prison break.

I thought they were escaping from prison.

The old jailer's calm words stunned Radu for a moment, then he jumped up abruptly: "Escape?!"

The old prison guard said, "Deputy Director, don't be alarmed. You'll find out soon enough."

I... am I making a fuss over nothing?

You bunch of prison guards watching the surveillance cameras saw a prison break but didn't report it, and now you're saying I'm making a fuss?!

Ladu stared intently at the monitor, watching as the number of prisoners who had escaped increased to eight. They huddled together, seemingly discussing something, before running towards the stairs.

The other prisoners' reactions were a bit strange; they were hardly excited, and somewhat too indifferent.

Ladu had no time to pay attention to those things for the moment. His eyes were fixed on the eight prisoners. He switched to a monitoring Den Den Mushi and then... saw a fight that was almost a one-sided brawl taking place at the stairwell. The fight lasted less than three minutes.

All eight escaped prisoners were caught.

Staring blankly as Figo dragged the eight people back, Radu began to understand why the jailers were so calm. So it was a special form of punishment... But how dangerous was this!

If Figo gets killed... everyone in this deep-sea prison will die!

No, I must report this to the Five Elders!

He ran back to his dormitory as fast as he could, and on his very first day in Impel Down, he used his special Den Den Mushi to call Mendespen.

After a while.

"What is it, Radu? You've arrived at Impel Down, haven't you?" Mendespin asked.

"Yes, Lord Five Elders, there is something I must report to you. Gaston Figg, the warden of Impel Down, is actually using the deliberate release of prisoners from Level 5 as a form of torture for his own amusement, and he has even released eight notorious pirates with bounties of over 100 million!"

Mendespenson paused for two seconds: "He dares to plan to use pirate prisoners to kill you?"

“…Ah, no, not at all.” Radu paused, then suddenly turned pale.

"Yeah, Figo could probably kill me this way!" Looking at the Den Den Mushi in his hand, he suddenly felt a little guilty and coughed twice, saying, "I don't think so. It seems like there were many times before I came, but the Five Elders..."

"Then don't make a fuss!" Mendesbin said somewhat displeased. "This is Figo's way of managing Impel Down, a way to deter powerful pirates. You don't need to worry about it. They're just eight pirates imprisoned on the fifth floor. Long-term imprisonment must have weakened them. Since Figo dared to release them, nothing unexpected will happen!"

The Den Den Mushi beeps, signaling a cutoff.

Ladu's face turned pale and then flushed.

Am I making a fuss over nothing?

……

A month later.

"Lord Five Elders! Lord Five Elders! Figo has released four more prisoners from the fifth level today, making it 12 now. He was almost injured!"

"Rado!" Mendesbin's disgruntled voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi again: "Don't make a fuss! I sent you to Impel Down, not to watch how Figo punishes prisoners. He's an expert in that area; no one is better at it than him!"

What I need you to do is find out who can't endure the suffering in Impel Down, who can be slaves. He does this, and not only is there no need to stop him…”

Ladu was scolded until his face turned pale.

……

Three months later.

"My Lord Five Elders! My Lord! Figo released a prisoner from Level Six today. He's getting increasingly outrageous! This is too dangerous! This is too dangerous! If something goes wrong, Impel Down is finished!"

The Den Den Mushi beeped and the call ended.

Radu looked at the Den Den Mushi, his face expressionless.

……

one year later.

Brub brub brub.

Radu's Den Den Mushi rang on its own initiative. He answered the call with some surprise and nervousness, and immediately Mendesbin Saint's questioning came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"Rado! Two weeks ago, Gaston Figo released three notorious pirates with bounties exceeding 300 million on Level 6 of Impel Down. The fierce battle damaged the walls, and he was even injured and had to rest for two days. Why didn't you report such a major event to me?!"

"Ah...this...I..."

"I don't want this to happen again!"

The Den Den Mushi was hung up again with a beep. Radu sensed the Five Elders' anger, his face turned pale once more, and he felt so wronged that he wanted to cry.

This is so hard! This is so hard for me!

They're just three great pirates from the sixth level, why are the Five Elders making such a fuss!

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Seven Years of Revolutionary Army

Mary Geoise.

Mendespin, one of the Five Elders who hung up the Den Den Mushi, was still furious. As the highest authority in the World Government, he was not one to make trouble without reason. He acknowledged that Ladd was indeed in the wrong and had not been sensitive enough in this matter.

The issue is not about the punishments or abuse Figo inflicted on the prisoners.

Instead, we should look at the number of prisoners released to see Figo's astonishing growth curve in strength!

Unlike the pirates on the fifth floor, who are also high-ranking pirates with bounties of over 100 million, the elite naval officers can capture them with the advantage of their warships' firepower if the forces are properly deployed.

But when facing the pirates on the sixth floor, the Navy will basically be sending its own troops to feed them if it doesn't send its high-ranking combat forces, vice admirals or even admirals!

They are all powerful figures who can stand alone in the New World. Each of them is proficient in Armament Haki and Observation Haki. A few of them also have highly effective Devil Fruits, or even awakened them. They are not easy to deal with even one of them. How can they deal with three of them at the same time?

The difficulty is not simply a matter of tripling.

Figo, who was injured a year ago when he captured the manipulative Gerdchak, has grown to this extent in just one year?

Didn't he experience a plateau in his career development?

Many exceptionally talented naval officers become vice admirals in their thirties, yet remain vice admirals for life. Is the limited number of admirals (only three) due to the World Government's quota? It's because the number of naval leaders who can stand at the pinnacle of the seas in each generation is limited, and sometimes, even three aren't enough!

Judging from Figo's growth momentum, he wasn't even in the top five among vice admirals a year ago, but now he's a shoo-in for admiral. It's inevitable that he'll have admiral-level combat power in a few years.

But this may not be the end for Figo. What if he gets a suitable Devil Fruit?

"Does he have the potential to grow into the 'world's strongest'?" Mendesbin murmured.

Although Figo had thwarted one of his planned operations, Mendespen was not angry. It was irrelevant to him. He even admired Figo's abilities in Impel Down and wanted to recruit him.

There was only one thing that couldn't put his mind at ease.

A year ago, the death of Saint Casilla remained unresolved, and Figo was a suspect!

With CP0's intelligence capabilities, they could naturally investigate that Vice Admiral Doug of the Navy Headquarters had the intention to deploy warships that afternoon, which would implicate Mia and Figo, the two people who went to Doug's house that morning, and then trace back to the real reason why Gerald attacked Saint Casilla.

Figo had a motive.

They were excluded simply because they lacked the ability.

However, it cannot be completely ruled out.

There are so many strange and wonderful things in the world. Some people can have two hearts, and some can even have two heads. It's not impossible that Figo has some kind of undiscovered special ability.

Although a thorough physical examination is conducted during basic training.

Just as Mendespin was tapping his fingers lightly on the chair in thought, there was a sudden knock on the door.

A CP0 intelligence officer rushed in and reported, "Lord Mendespin, there's a suspect in the murder of Saint Casilla a year ago!"

"Ok?"

"Two days ago, a slave ship bound for the Sabaody Archipelago was attacked. All the slaves were released. According to the surviving crew members, the attacker was a female swordswoman who possessed an unknown Devil Fruit, allowing her to grow wings and fly. She was extremely powerful!"

Mendespen: "Where did they go?"

"The investigation is still ongoing."

"Investigate this matter as soon as possible!"

After waving away the CP0 intelligence personnel, Mendesbin Saint's slightly furrowed brows relaxed.

Can Figo's suspicion be completely ruled out?

……

Time flies like an arrow, and life is like flowing water.

Six years have passed in the blink of an eye.

It has been seven years since Figo returned to Impel Down as Warden, and he has spent a total of fifteen years traversing and guarding Impel Down.

At the age of 35, Figo was doing handstand training in the Impel Down training area, not with his hands or his head, but with his hair!

His short, wispy black hair stood on end, almost touching the ground, yet it managed to steadily support Figo's enormous weight of nearly 500 pounds.

Because of the power of the giants, time did not leave heavy marks on Figo's face, but his height continued to grow without limit.

Four years ago, Figo's height had increased from 250 centimeters to 280 centimeters, making him feel that this matter could not be delayed any longer.

As a time traveler, Figo naturally knew of a special ability that could only be mastered after thoroughly understanding the Six Powers: Life Return. It allowed the user to freely control their body, internal organs, and hair, which was very effective for the troubles he was currently facing.

However, whether it was because the concept of life return had not yet been developed in this era, or because it was only circulating in a small circle, Figo could only figure it out on his own.

Just then, his Six Styles had reached a certain level of proficiency through his own training. After being selected as one of the three CP9 members and making further progress, he relied on his superhuman physique to directly rush into the development of Life Return.

Four years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Figo's development has yielded very good results. At least his height has stopped increasing after reaching 280 centimeters!

With a slight twitch of his ears, Figo heard the distant clatter of a jailer running towards him, along with the faint ringing of a Den Den Mushi (snail phone). The hair that had been supporting his upside-down posture immediately bent slightly, then straightened sharply, like springs that propelled Figo's body back to his upright position with ease.

"Chief! Chief! Your phone is ringing!"

"Is it the Five Elders again?" Figo took the Den Den Mushi from the approaching jailer and answered the call.

"Moshi Moshi, this is Figo."

"Figo, it's me."

An aged voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi. The voice was tired and distorted, and it had been so long since he had heard it that Figo paused for two seconds before realizing what it was and said, "Master Doug?"

"Can you still recognize your teacher's voice? Young people have such good memories, unlike me, I always forget your name." The old man seemed to want to joke, but also seemed rather uninterested, and sighed, "Get ready, Figo, I'll be arriving at Impel Down in two hours to interrogate Gerald the Laughing!"

Interrogate Gerald? Figo was taken aback, and immediately thought of the surviving Sapphire, that unfortunate yet strong girl. He used to occasionally check on her through the prison files, but less so in recent years.

Open the prison file, bring up Gerald's page, and guide him through his second character event. You'll find that the arrow is pointing far to the northwest.