One Piece: Impel Down's Guard - Chapter 3
“Sss~~~ Slurp slurp~~~”
In the Level 1 Impel Down jailor’s cafeteria, Figo quickly slurped up the noodles. The large bowl of seafood noodles was gone in less than half a minute, with barely any broth left.
He pushed the empty bowl forward, revealing a high stack of empty bowls already in front of him. Before he could speak, another bowl of noodles was handed to him.
“Chief Figo, this is your 37th bowl. You’ve broken your record again!” said the jailor serving him.
“Oh, really?” Figo mumbled, “I wasn’t counting. Thanks.”
Time had flown by, and a year had passed. Figo was now completely accustomed to life in Impel Down and had become quite familiar with the other jailors.
The scene before him was a result of the prison file in his mind. That thing didn’t strictly adhere to scientific principles, but it wasn’t entirely unscientific either.
When Figo gained swordsmanship skills, he didn’t instantly comprehend sword techniques. Instead, he was inspired and rapidly improved his actual skills when practicing.
When he gained physique, Figo immediately became stronger, but he also became very hungry for a while, as if compensating for some deficiency. Because of the constant gains in physique, he gradually became a big eater, consuming enough for ten men!
Just as he was about to start on his 37th bowl, the speaker Den Den Mushi in a corner of the cafeteria rang.
“Bruru bruru, bruru bruru.”
“Moshi moshi, moshi moshi. Is Chief Figo there?” A voice came from the speaker Den Den Mushi: “This is the control room. We just received a message from headquarters. A transport ship will arrive at Impel Down in half an hour. There’s only one prisoner onboard, who needs to be detained in Level 4.”
Figo walked over and pressed the button on the Den Den Mushi’s back twice: “Figo here. Is Deputy Chief Jailor Kincaid there? Do I need to escort this pirate to Level 4 alone?”
“Hmm, it’s up to you.” The voice from the Den Den Mushi switched to a rough male voice.
These speaker Den Den Mushi were spread throughout the jailor’s living area, allowing the control room to contact anyone immediately, which was very convenient.
After hanging up, Figo patted his belly and went back to pick up the noodle bowl: “Slurp~~~~”
His not-so-large mouth seemed to turn into a black hole, swallowing the entire bowl of noodles in five seconds!
“Burp~ Just full enough, time to get to work!”
…
Meanwhile, in the training area.
A man over two and a half meters tall, broad-shouldered, and extremely muscular, hung up the Den Den Mushi and walked to a massive stone roller marked one ton. He grabbed it and continued his arm training.
“You’re quite popular, Figo,” said a tall, lean young man beside him. “Even though the fourth level is your and the Chief Jailor’s responsibility, the control room contacted Figo first when they heard a fourth-level prisoner was coming.”
Impel Down, the underwater great prison, had six levels in total, with stronger prisoners detained at deeper levels. Each level had designated officials in charge.
The first three levels each had a chief, while the fourth level was managed by the Chief Jailor and the Deputy Chief Jailor. The fifth and sixth levels were overseen by the Warden and Deputy Warden—Impel Down, having been established only a year ago, hadn’t yet appointed a director.
As the Deputy Chief Jailor, Kincaid was considered the fourth-ranking figure in Impel Down. Hearing the young man’s seemingly innocent remark, he didn’t stop lifting the stone roller: “If you can do most of the work ahead of the jailors like Figo, taking on all the escort tasks for the first four levels, saving us trouble, you can be that popular too.
If not for the extreme danger of fifth and sixth-level prisoners requiring the Warden’s personal attention, he alone could handle half of Impel Down’s work!”
Chief of the third level, Xiao, shrugged, picked up a smaller stone block, and said, “I don’t intend to compete with him in this regard. If I have free time, I’d rather sleep in my dorm or train here. By the way, Lord Kincaid, I heard the Chief Jailor will be transferred back to Marine Headquarters after the one-year term?”
“Hmm, Lord Raul is a rising star valued by the Marine Admiral. Coming to Impel Down for a year was just for quiet training and accumulating experience. This time, when he returns to the Marines, he’ll likely skip over Commodore and directly become a Rear Admiral.” Kincaid spoke with undisguised envy.
“Then… can I congratulate you on your promotion to Chief Jailor in advance?” Xiao asked. “If you become the Chief Jailor, the vacant Deputy Chief Jailor position will likely go to… Figo, right?”
Kincaid’s eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced sideways at Xiao, accelerating his lifting of the stone roller.
The one-ton heavy object whistled dangerously in his hands, then crashed to the ground with a heavy thud!
Kincaid’s voice became rough.
“I won’t easily accept that! I don’t dislike him, but having good relationships doesn’t help much in intimidating the fierce pirates in the fourth level!”
“To become the Deputy Chief Jailor, there’s only one standard.” He turned to Xiao, as if understanding Xiao’s thoughts, and said in a low voice, “Strength!”
Xiao froze, then smiled, “Then I can rest assured, Chief Jailor.”
…
In the passage of Level 1 prison area.
Figo suddenly heard faint screams from a distance.
“Ah!!”
“Just kill me!”
“No—”
Figo quickly approached, arriving at a relatively open area where he saw a prisoner, stripped to the waist, tied to a table, being tortured by two jailors with various instruments.
“What’s going on here?”
“Ah, Chief Figo!” The two jailors stood up straight to greet him, then grinned, “This guy was being unruly, trying to steal bread from new inmates. We’re teaching him a lesson.”
“No, I won’t do it again, boohoo…” The prisoner, whose back was a bloody mess, whimpered.
Stealing bread from new inmates was just an excuse. Impel Down was no charity; they didn’t just imprison these pirates and feed them.
Although there were no places like the scorching hell yet to torture prisoners, the jailors’ wanton beatings could still turn this place into hell on earth.
This wasn’t the first time Figo had seen this.
He looked at the prisoner on the table and mentally accessed the prison file, finding the corresponding page:
[Crime Index: 17]
According to Figo’s understanding, based on modern universal values, a crime index of 1 to 3 might warrant a term of imprisonment or life sentence, 3 to 5 could mean immediate execution, 5 to 10 should be executed within five minutes without any fuss, and 17 meant that the whimpering, begging guy before him had at least 20 innocent lives on his hands!
So Figo took the whip from the jailor’s hand. Under the terrified gaze of the prisoner on the table, he swung it!
Swoosh—Crack!!
Blood splattered! Flesh flew!
The force of the whip, far greater than the jailors’, brought the prisoner instant suffocation!
His head jerked up, eyes bulging, tongue hanging out long, unable to even scream, and after a while, his head drooped!
He fell unconscious!
Figo, expressionless, handed the whip back, “That’s enough. Don’t kill him. Throw him into an empty cell. You two, come with me to the Baptism Room to receive a ship.”
“Ah, yes, Chief!”
Figo nodded and continued towards the Baptism Room, feeling a bit introspective.
The power of habit was strong. A year ago, he felt uneasy watching baptisms. Now, he could administer cruel torture to prisoners without flinching!
This kind of growth felt quite good.
“Fourth-level prisoners are usually rated R6 to R9. I hope this one is stronger.”
Figo looked forward to the new prisoner.
After waiting in the Baptism Room for a while.
The warship docked at Impel Down.
Two Marine lieutenants dragged a heavily chained prisoner off the ship.
Figo had seen all kinds of pirates in the past year, but this one still surprised and intrigued him.
Blue-green skin, a strong body, serrated teeth, and a fish head.
“This is… a Fish-Man?”
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