One Piece: Impel Down's Guard - Chapter 5
Four days later, a supply ship was due to arrive.
According to the schedule, the Level 3 jailors were to transport the supplies. Chief Xiao led 17 jailors to the sea platform, excluding three on patrol.
While waiting for the ship, Xiao occasionally glanced back at the entrance of Impel Down, and just as he expected, Figo arrived before the supply ship.
“Chief Figo, here to help again?” the jailors of Level 3 greeted warmly.
Figo was not only enthusiastic about escorting and imprisoning criminals but also helped with tasks like these whenever he had free time, as they were not very tiring.
However, this time, he was not here to help.
He unbuttoned his uniform jacket and hung it on the Baptism Room door handle, revealing the undershirt that highlighted his well-defined muscles.
“This time I’m not here to help. You’ll have to make a few extra trips, brothers. It’s a bit stuffy in Impel Down, and I want to take a swim while the supply ship is here,” Figo said.
This wasn’t an unusual request.
Impel Down was so isolated that staying too long could drive someone crazy. When the supply ship arrived, many took the opportunity to step out and swim for fresh air.
No one thought ill of Figo, a superior officer, taking a break. The jailors responded with understanding humor, some even suggesting they would challenge Figo to a swimming contest.
Xiao stood silently on the sidelines, unable to get a word in and feeling somewhat displeased.
The deeper the prisoners were held in Impel Down, the stronger they were. In terms of rank, the three squads of the first three levels were equal, but as the chief of Level 3, Xiao always felt he was stronger than Figo and the second squad chief.
He maintained a somewhat aloof demeanor when facing ordinary marine jailors. Seeing his squad so friendly with Figo, the first squad chief, left him with a sour taste.
It wasn’t jealousy, just disapproval: ‘This hypocrite is only aiming for the Deputy Chief Jailor position… so pretentious.’
“Chief Figo might want to emulate the Warden and kill a Sea King to treat everyone,” he said with a forced smile.
The platform fell silent.
Figo turned to him, smiling, “I don’t have that ability, Chief Xiao.”
Xiao chuckled, “Ah, right. Chief Figo would have to kill a large Sea King to treat everyone. You could almost eat a small one by yourself. But going after a large Sea King, you’d end up as their meal!”
Though phrased as a joke, Xiao’s serious tone carried a hint of sarcasm, implying Figo was a glutton.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Figo blinked, eyeing Xiao thoughtfully. They weren’t familiar but had no conflicts either, barely acquaintances over the past year.
What’s his problem? Considering the nearing one-year term and some rumors, Figo softly said, “You want to be the Deputy Chief Jailor? Think I’m in your way, don’t you?”
Such a blunt statement.
The tension thickened.
The jailors pretended to be oblivious, their support for Figo clear. They valued the one who worked alongside them over someone aloof.
Xiao’s face turned red.
The direct competition in three days made his ambitions no secret.
But how could Figo be so direct?!
This affront to justice! This affront to justice!
Luckily, the arriving supply ship saved Xiao from the awkward situation.
He shouted, “Prepare to receive the ship!”
He tried to move past the incident without looking at Figo with his loud command.
Figo ignored him, thinking that in a world where strength ruled, there was no need for such underhanded tactics. He changed into swimwear and boarded the ship’s deck.
His goal was simple: to test the Fish-Man power he gained four days ago.
After greeting the supply ship’s captain, Figo leapt off the deck, causing minimal splash, and slipped into the water like a fish.
He was already a strong swimmer.
But this time, as the seawater enveloped his body, Figo immediately felt a difference. A sensation of innate comfort surged through him. His arms cut through the water effortlessly, the resistance seemingly nonexistent!
Unable to breathe through his nose and mouth underwater, his skin now absorbed oxygen from the water, eliminating the feeling of holding his breath or suffocating, making the sea feel like home!
He felt like he had become a fish, with the ocean as his habitat!
As expected?
Fish-Man power equaled underwater breathing?
No, maybe more.
No wonder it was marked as rare!
In a world dominated by oceans, this ability was invaluable!
Figo was delighted.
Suddenly, he sensed an unusual current behind him, as if a sizable fish was charging at him.
This, too, was an effect of the Fish-Man power, making Figo more sensitive to the flow of the sea.
His body reacted faster than his thoughts. Figo’s hands swept back, and his body swayed like an agile swordfish, propelling him a distance.
Sure enough, as he moved, a large figure rushed through his occupied space.
But it wasn’t a fish.
Figo was stunned to see the Fish-Man: ‘Fat-headed fish? No, a fellow Fish-Man?!’
He then sensed more movement and quickly glanced around, seeing two more Fish-Men forming a triangle around him with the first, their six eyes glinting with malice!
Two minutes earlier.
The three Fish-Men, here to rescue Agai, clung tightly to the supply ship, following it to the outskirts of Impel Down.
As the ship docked, the three Fish-Men were poised to act. They didn’t expect someone to jump off the ship suddenly.
Momentarily stunned, the Fish-Man closest to Figo launched an attack, only to find…
“He dodged it?”
“He’s a sharp one…”
“Finish him quickly, don’t let him alert others!”
Fish-Men could communicate underwater, unlike humans. As long as Figo couldn’t surface to signal, their plan wouldn’t be exposed!
Figo quickly grasped their intent, feeling lucky.
If the Fish-Man’s attack had been twice as fast…
And twice as strong…
And armed…
He might have been injured!
Figo’s eyes hardened as he looked at the three Fish-Men. He clenched his right fist, his arm muscles bulging like tree roots!
The three charging Fish-Men sensed a foreboding feeling. As Figo swung his fist, unease grew, feeling the rolling sea pressure bearing down on them!
“What?!”
“Not good! Run—”
Boom! In the Calm Belt’s tranquil sea, waves suddenly exploded, soaking Xiao standing on the ship’s edge!
The icy water shocked him.
“W-What’s going on?!”
Underwater, Figo quickly surfaced, clutching the three unconscious, white-eyed Fish-Men.
A year of effort had not been in vain.
Physique: 1024
Level 3, Extremely Strong!
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