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

O's family glared at him again, finally unable to resist teasing the smug Doug: "You called me an old man? You old geezer, I'm two years younger than you, I can still live for another 20 years! What about you? Don't let your spirits wane after you catch The Bruce, and you'll be buried in the ground in a couple of years!"

"Then I can die without regrets!"

"Your grandson is still young."

"With so many students, who can't help me take care of them... Pah! Mr. Ao, why are you making it sound like I'm about to die!"

The two old men were bickering back and forth.

Figo and Mia exchanged a glance and immediately led the two of them into the cabin, so as not to ruin their image in front of the marines.

When only four people remained, the two stopped arguing, exchanged a glance, and their expressions became serious.

Doug asked in a deep voice, "Oku family, you were able to notify me in advance via Den Den Mushi, is there some hidden reason behind this war with the Hell Pirates?"

The Austrian family countered, "Are the casualties serious?"

Doug remained silent and nodded.

After all, it was a war, how could there be no casualties? The Hell Pirates were no pushovers, and it was fortunate that the battle didn't take place on their territory, and none of their affiliated forces were involved. Otherwise, in terms of troop strength, a Buster Call-level warship might not have been able to match them.

Among the Hell Pirates' officers, two vice-captains are SSR1, one of the Four Beasts is SSR1, and three are SR9. In addition, there are other powerful individuals with different abilities. In the battle between the island's high command, even though the Navy had a numerical advantage, three rear admirals were unfortunately killed in the enemy's desperate counterattack.

In the naval engagement, four field officers and nearly a hundred lieutenants and below were killed or wounded, thanks in large part to Figo's act of blowing up the ship.

The worst off was Mia's ship, which encountered The Bruce ahead of schedule. Only Mia and a few other high-ranking officers were taken prisoner and rescued by Figo.

The relaxed atmosphere suddenly turned heavy upon hearing this. Ao Jia glanced at Mia and realized that such a dangerous situation had occurred.

"The casualties were much fewer than I expected."

Having witnessed such things for decades, the Oku family said quietly, "The Navy will remember the sacrifices of the marines, and the new Fleet Admiral Gandol will make proper arrangements for their funerals."

"...A new marshal?!"

To the surprise of the others, Figo asked, "Is it because of me, Marshal?"

Auer shook his head: "It's only partly your fault. Over the decades, Mendesbin Saint has also become increasingly unable to tolerate me."

"Ha, even if he doesn't understand me, I don't want to be the Fleet Admiral anymore. This time, he really went too far!"

"So, the coincidental attack by the Hell Pirates is really related to the Five Elders?" Doug's anger flared, and he clenched his fists.

Ao Jia nodded and explained the whole story to the three of them, saying, "I think he's not just targeting Figo. It's just that Figo's words wouldn't have made him tear off the mask directly. Perhaps... he wants you, old bastard Doug, to die here."

Doug's mind raced, and he chuckled, "I never thought that this old man who's about to retire, a coward all his life, would actually be feared by the Five Elders for standing up for himself one last time."

"Fleet Admiral Oku," Figo suddenly interjected, "I've always had a question. How can the World Government and the Celestial Dragons control the Marine Headquarters, including powerful figures like you and the three admirals?"

Ao Jia was taken aback: "Figo, you..."

Doug couldn't help but laugh again: "Young people are bolder. You don't know yet, do you? Figo has awakened Conqueror's Haki and has the potential to be a king!"

Ao Jia looked surprised.

Figo quickly explained, "No, no, no, it has nothing to do with that. I'm just purely curious."

After a moment of silence, the Oga warned, "Figo, don't even think about doing anything reckless!"

The World Government has 157 member states under its command, and this number is increasing every year. Excluding the powerful member states, the weaker ones all require the protection of the World Government's military forces, which are hundreds of times larger than the Navy's marines!

If the World Government were to experience a crisis, the entire world would descend into chaos. You are still young and lack understanding of the global situation. The Navy is merely the tip of the iceberg for the World Government!

A massive army force? Figo thought for a moment, then asked, "Are there any powerful figures like you and a naval admiral in these armies?"

Ao Jia paused, staring intently at Figo.

Figo: "Just curious, just curious. Besides, in these seven hundred years, among all the kings of the sea, has there really not been a single one who directly stormed Mary Geoise, intending to overthrow the world?"

This time, Doug stopped laughing, and the three of them, including Mia, stared intently at Figo.

Figo chuckled.

"Curiosity, just pure curiosity."

Chapter 51 The Reason for Going Back

"Stop your curiosity!"

Ao Jia's tone became helpless: "Indeed, the number of top experts on the sea is limited. No matter what method you used to defeat Thebrus, your strength is absolutely at the top of the world. In this era, including myself, there are no more than ten strong people who can fight you head-on. You can be proud."

And you're not even 36 yet, not at your peak. I have no doubt you can become the strongest person of this era!

“I firmly believe this as well,” Doug said, subconsciously offering a word of encouragement.

Ao Jia glared at him, then, facing Figo who was looking at him with 'curiosity,' he raised his voice, adding a warning: "As far as I know, there are no top-tier experts among the troops stationed in various countries. Even the strongest among them can't defeat that old bastard Doug. The real strength lies in the sheer number of troops, often in the hundreds of thousands or even millions."

"And in the past seven hundred years, there have been many sea kings who have tried to shake the World Government and even stormed the Holy Land. But... without exception, they all died in the Holy Land!"

"Are the Five Elders also powerful figures?" Upon hearing Ojaken's question, Figo quickly pressed for more information.

After a few seconds of silence, the Oga family sighed and said, "The Five Elders are the highest-ranking Celestial Dragons. Mendesbin is mainly responsible for the Navy, Enies Lobby, and Impel Down, which you have recently been managing—these are the three major World Government agencies."

The other four are responsible for different things: one is in charge of the World Government's internal affairs, one is in charge of the World Government's intelligence agency, one is in charge of diplomacy with member states and allies, and the last one is only responsible for training and combat!

Knowing what Figo was more concerned about, he explained directly: "That's right, combat. After I became Fleet Admiral, I learned that the World Government has a small force composed entirely of Celestial Dragon elites. Saint Challowne once served as the commander of this force. No one has ever seen him fight, but he is probably at the pinnacle of combat power in the world."

Figo immediately thought of the old man from the Five Elders who always talked about wielding the first generation Kitetsu, who looked like he was a very powerful fighter... The elite Celestial Dragons' force consists of one of the Five Elders and the current commander of the force, which is equivalent to two admirals.

This number is neither too many nor too few. Becoming an admiral-level combatant is not easy. The World Government is unlikely to suddenly produce ten or eight, but it is also unlikely that there will be none besides its subordinate navies.

"But that's not the key thing. The Celestial Dragons have been able to rule the world for seven hundred years. Besides the legend of their ancestors saving the world, the more important reason is that they possess two national treasures!"

Two national treasures?

I've seen this Figo in the news and fanfiction, but it's always been said that there's a national treasure, isn't it that Heavenly King or the giant straw hat...? How did it become two?

There's a Heavenly King and a giant straw hat?

Figo maintained his curious gaze.

The Ou family shook their heads and said, "I don't know what these two national treasures are either. I only know that those who rushed to Mary Geoise were either surrounded and killed by the arriving Marine Admirals or killed by the Celestial Dragons using the national treasures! There were no exceptions!"

Even Doug wasn't very familiar with these details, and asked on Figo's behalf, "That's all?"

"Isn't that enough?! Doug, are you going crazy with your students too?!" O's family jumped up and down in a fit of rage, almost wanting to jump up and hit him on the head.

Doug burst into laughter.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm just curious," Figo quickly reassured him, though he knew perfectly well that the Au family was unaware of Im's existence!

Who exactly is Im?

But whoever he is, at least for now, Figo can only be curious.

Judging from Rebrus's strength, before defeating Rebrus, his strength was probably close to SSR5 or 6. After capturing Rebrus and gaining a lot of benefits, and after his Armament Haki reached the top level, it was probably close to SSR6 or 7.

Therbrus also has two top-tier abilities: physical strength and Devil Fruit power. As for Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki, they are only at a higher level. His Conqueror's Haki Entanglement is clearly only at the initial stage and is not very strong.

Figo was confident of surpassing The Bruce because his physique and Devil Fruit ability were somewhat separated, making their combination less than perfect. However, his physique and Armament Haki were a perfect match, which was why Figo reluctantly chose swordsmanship.

Even if he overestimates himself, there are still SSR8 and 9 slots above him. Moreover, the gap between top-tier powerhouses is not significant. Figo has no confidence in defeating the two weakest generals, Raul. Even when he reaches SSR9, he may not be able to defeat two SSR7s. At his peak, Rocks was beaten to death by Roger Garp, who may not have reached his peak.

They're all monsters, who can kill whom instantly? If you can't kill them instantly and it becomes a protracted battle, then naturally you can't fight against so many opponents. You either run away or get worn down to death.

But for Figo, there is no limit to his growth. SSR9 is not enough. On what basis can he double his growth in every aspect?

Seeing that he seemed to be deep in thought, the O's family quickly glared at Doug, urging Doug to persuade the child.

Doug laughed and said, "What, Figo, do you want to go to the World Government to seek justice for the fallen marines? No problem, your teacher will go with you!"

Mia smiled.

The Ao family almost fainted.

Figo quickly reassured the old man, "No, no. I was just a little curious, I had no other intentions."

What other thoughts? If you don't have other thoughts, why would you say that? The Au family was a little too lazy to pay attention to the master and apprentice, but after a moment of silence, he also nodded and said: "Justice should still be sought. In the past 700 years, there has never been a precedent like Mendesbin Saint deliberately making the marines fight against the king of the sea without their knowledge!"

Figo, what are your plans next? Are you still planning to go back to Impel Down?

"I still have more than two years left in my term, and I am inclined to serve as director for another two years."

The Hell Pirates' officers haven't been cleared yet, but there are three SSR1s and many SR9s among them.

“Furthermore, Sapphire helped us a lot in this battle, and I'd like to make some rule changes in Impel Down to give her some preferential treatment,” Figo thought for a moment and said, “But everything depends on the Five Elders' decision. If they put a bounty of 10 billion on my head…”

“They dare?!” Doug roared.

“He wouldn’t dare!” Oga also said, “You’ve wiped out the Hell Pirates, you’re now a hero of the Navy, and the Five Elders wouldn’t easily touch you… Are you still planning to go back to Impel Down?”

He looked at Doug: "Where did you lock up that CP0 member who followed the Buster Call?"

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Doug pulled a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.

Ao Jia nodded and took the phone to directly contact the Five Elders, Mendespin Saint.

“Moshi Moshi, this is Oga.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, then Mendespin's voice came through: "The Oku family? You've already flown to the fleet? How's the battle going?"

"Before I arrived, Figo had already successfully defeated and captured The Blackblos, dismantling the Hell Pirates... all thanks to your arrangements."

The silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi lasted even longer, and with Figo's keen hearing, he could vaguely hear Mendespin's breathing become a little heavier.

"What about the casualties?"

The O's family: "It's not too serious. That old guy Doug is still alive and kicking."

“…Good, not bad.” These words were squeezed out through clenched teeth. Mendesbin said, “Since we have achieved such a brilliant victory, I will no longer pursue the matter of Gaston Figo’s dereliction of duty. Auer, you will continue to be the marshal.”

“No need, Mendesbin Saint, I’m already 77 years old, it’s time to retire. But I’m not quite ready to retire completely yet. I’d like to change to a less demanding position, how about the Deputy Warden of Impel Down? If we’re going to imprison Therbrus, Figo alone can’t fully guarantee the safety of Impel Down.”

Figo paused, looking at the Au family in surprise.

The Ao family gave him a smile: Do whatever you want, I fully support you!

Doug also smiled slightly.

Figo was feeling conflicted. Impel Down was not a good place to retire. The World Government's actions after he came here did not satisfy him, but most of the Marines, especially the two old men, Doug and the Oku family, had never disappointed him!

Choosing to return to Impel Down wasn't just because he could improve his strength the fastest there, nor was it solely for the sake of the Sapphire. These two old men were also a major reason why he couldn't bring himself to be a lone wolf.

On the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Mendesbin's feelings were clearly more complicated. He slowly said, "I agree, Oku family. Also, how's the purge of the Revolutionary Army going? What about the Blind Witch?"

Figo continued, "This battle was largely thanks to the Blind Witch being persuaded by Teacher Doug to join the Navy, which allowed us to annihilate the Hell Pirates with minimal losses. However, this cannot absolve her of her crimes. I have still captured her and am preparing to send her to Impel Down. But once she's in Impel Down, I will give her some preferential treatment. Is that alright, Lord Five Elders?"

"...No problem! Excellent! Gaston Figg! If you wish, you can stay in Impel Down with the Blind Witch until..."