One Piece: Impel Down's Guard - Chapter 28
A few days later, at the naval headquarters port, Mia, Cesar, Doug, and others bid farewell to Figo as he boarded the ship back to Impel Down.
Gradually, the warship disappeared from their sight. Figo waved one last time before turning and heading back to the cabin.
“It feels like going home.”
Playing with the newly acquired sword at his waist, Figo felt no dread about returning to life in Impel Down.
The sword at his waist was a gift from Fleet Admiral Ohka, who knew that Figo’s previous sword was broken during his battle with Gildachack. This sword was also given as a reward for capturing Gildachack.
There is no distinction yet between Supreme Grade Blades and Great Grade Blades, but Figo could tell that this sword was far superior to his previous one.
It should be a famous sword.
The scabbard was decorated with intricate flames, looking very cool, but Figo didn’t know its name.
So, he walked to the back of the cabin and asked the prisoner locked up there, “What’s the name of your sword?”
Gerard silently looked up at Figo, then lowered his head without speaking.
Yes, this sword was taken from Gerard, the captain of the Laughing Pirates. The human trafficker nun and Gildachack had already been transported to Impel Down earlier, but Gerard had to wait for Figo, the new warden, to arrive.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll just name it myself.”
“Do as you wish,” Gerard replied. “The one who stopped me from committing suicide when I met that female Rear Admiral must have been you, Navy.”
“Yes, and I’ll be the warden of Impel Down for the next ten years, so you’ll be seeing a lot of me,” Figo said.
Gerard looked up and said indifferently, “Do you want to hear my story, Navy?”
“I’ve already heard it. Mia told me.”
“Really? What did you feel?”
“Anger and sympathy.”
“And then?”
“When you’re in Impel Down, I’ll make sure you get more meals, with meat,” Figo said.
Gerard looked at him, a mocking smile forming on his lips, then he lowered his head again.
Gerard wasn’t telling his story in hopes of pity; he wanted to shake Mia and Figo’s sense of justice and make them doubt themselves.
Although his crime index wasn’t high, and his initial intent was to find his sister, Gerard had been a pirate for many years and was no longer a good person. He didn’t expect Mia and Figo to go against the Celestial Dragons because of his story, nor did he know that the Celestial Dragon was already dead; he was just seeking a way to exact some revenge.
“Since you won’t tell me the name, I’ll call this sword ‘Ruby’,” Figo said.
Gerard stiffened, then looked up in a mix of surprise and anger. “Change it!”
“Looks like I guessed right. The sword was already named Ruby, wasn’t it? Your naming skills are quite mediocre,” Figo laughed. “By the way, did your story include Blue Sapphire’s death? Did she really die at the hands of that Celestial Dragon after losing her eyes?”
Gerard’s eyes twitched fiercely. “Are you deliberately provoking and humiliating me?”
“Heh, save your little tricks!”
Figo gave a meaningful smile, turned, and left. In the cell, the infamous pirate Gerard clenched his fists nervously, sweat dripping from his forehead.
To unsettle Mia, he had hidden a part of the truth, a secret he kept deeply buried, one he would never tell anyone!
Blue Sapphire had indeed survived!
But how did this guy see through it?!
Damn…
For a moment, he was filled with intense anxiety.
…
Figo didn’t know the truth initially.
But he had the prison archive.
SSR-level prisoners differed from SR-level ones, having not just one, but several events, including a core event. After completing all the character events, the core event could be activated, granting three rewards from the character.
After killing the Celestial Dragon to complete Gerard’s first character event, Figo activated the second event, revealing a scene where Gerard tearfully embraced a girl who had grown up to be Blue Sapphire!
…
“Brother, don’t cry.”
The girl’s voice was as pure as when she was little. “It’s all over. I knew you’d find me. I’ve been looking for you too.”
“Your… your eyes…”
“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt anymore. I almost died back then, but I got lucky. The Celestial Dragon lost interest in me after I went blind and didn’t take me as a slave.
You know me, brother. Even without my eyes, I can ‘see’ everything. After they threw me out of the auction house, I found a kind doctor who took me in and saved my life.
Let’s let it all go now. Don’t be a pirate anymore, brother. Let’s find a place where no one knows us and start over…”
“Okay… okay…”
…
Character Event 2: Although Gerard agreed with Blue Sapphire to let everything go, seeing her tightly closed eyes and the scars underneath, thinking about the pain a seven-year-old girl endured and how she struggled to survive, his anger only grew stronger!
He secretly decides to kill the Celestial Dragon Casilla Saint, then follows Blue Sapphire’s wish to find a secluded island and live in hiding, but he is captured instead. Now he is filled with regret and worry for Blue Sapphire.
Event Requirement: Convince Blue Sapphire to forget about him, live happily on her own, never seek revenge, and never try to rescue him.
A sibling nesting doll situation.
Figo was both surprised and speechless. He also understood Gerard’s little trick.
If he had known Blue Sapphire was still alive, his anger while hearing the story would have been tempered. The feeling of misfortune leading to death versus surviving misfortune is different; Gerard understood human nature well.
But Figo wasn’t angry; both scenarios didn’t affect his disdain for the Celestial Dragons.
In fact, he was somewhat happy that the girl wasn’t defeated by misfortune and lived strongly. Her natural Observation Haki allowed her to care for herself even without sight.
As for the current situation and this Character Event 2, Figo decided not to intervene.
Gerard’s capture was inevitable.
After twenty years of struggle and betrayal, he could never go back even if he retained some principles.
Kill the Celestial Dragon and hide?
No, he wouldn’t.
Even if he succeeded, he would think: I need to protect Blue Sapphire better, provide her a better life, and keep my strength. No matter where we hide, there’s always a risk of being exposed and danger looming.
The pirate crew can’t disband!
Or something similar.
The final outcome would be either the girl being corrupted or the siblings falling out, or worse, dying together at sea.
This way was better.
Figo followed the arrow of the character event pointing northwest and glanced in that direction. With the Celestial Dragon dead, it was nonsense for a blind girl to try rescuing him from Impel Down.
Stay pure and live well.
Figo silently wished her well, then turned, smiling warmly.
The first level of Impel Down, the sea platform, was now in sight!
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