A Jailer in Impel Down

A pure white shirt, a beige jacket.

A peaked cap on his head, a curved saber at his waist.

The young man in the mirror wore a uniform. He looked about twenty, tall and straight-backed, strong and vigorous, full of youthful energy. Only his eyes seemed a little vacant and confused.

He bent his arm slightly and clenched his fist. His biceps bulged, almost stretching the fabric to its limit. The unfamiliar sensation of abundant strength left Figo even more at a loss, unable to put his feelings into words.

He had become younger and stronger, and even his hairline was healthier than before.

Because he had transmigrated.

Figo had grown up reading web novels and often fantasized about this sort of thing, but when it actually happened, he found himself unable to accept it right away. In the half hour since transmigrating, he had first assumed, as one did, that he was dreaming. After confirming he wasn't, he had nervously familiarized himself with his new surroundings. Only now had he thought to find a mirror and take a look.

"This body's a bargain..."

He gave his reflection a self-reassuring smile, then backed away and sat on the wooden bed, continuing to sort through his predecessor's memories.

His full name was Gaston Figo.

Yesterday, he had been a Navy lieutenant at Marine Headquarters. Now, he was a jailer in Impel Down, the Underwater Great Prison. He was in his own jailer dormitory.

Impel Down, Marine Headquarters—those were iconic names. This was clearly the One Piece World!

"Wasn't it Gus D. Figo?"

That didn't quite fit the rules of transmigration.

Figo had watched the anime, but had dropped it during the Doflamingo arc because the plot dragged on. Still, he had learned most of what happened later from reviews and fanworks, so he had the advantage of a transmigrator familiar with the plot.

But his memories told him things weren't that simple.

In his memories, the current Fleet Admiral wasn't Sengoku. He'd never even heard of the Three Admirals, and Marine Hero Garp was nowhere to be found. The seas were in chaos, with no King and no legends of the Great Treasure!

What year was Marineford Calendar 1414?

Who watched anime seriously enough to remember the dates?

Figo couldn't figure it out. He only knew that the story was probably set an incredibly long time before the plot began—so long that he might not live to see Luffy born. Transmigrating was one thing, but he'd actually transmigrated into an ancestor?

What kind of nonsense was this?

"Captain! Captain Figo! Why didn't you go eat breakfast? Are you awake? The first batch of Level 1 prisoners is almost here. We need to head to the Baptism Room!"

Just as his thoughts began to wander, the shout from outside the dormitory brought Figo back to his senses. He paused for two seconds, then replied in a low voice, "I'll be there soon."

"Yes, Captain!"

More recent memories surfaced. Figo realized he wasn't just an ordinary Impel Down jailer. This prison, which would later be known as the Impenetrable Great Prison, had only been completed half a month ago. Figo was among the first batch of jailers to volunteer in response to the call for recruits!

Thanks to his previous rank of lieutenant, Figo had even received a minor post—Captain. He was in charge of a small squad of twenty, responsible for most of the work on the prison's first level.

His term lasted one year, and he wouldn't be able to transfer until it was over. That only made Figo feel more troubled.

A jailer... Wasn't that barely any different from being in prison?

What rotten luck. What kind of hellhole was this?

There was no point in overthinking it. Figo straightened his uniform, left the dormitory, and followed his memories toward the entrance to Impel Down. Along the way, he recalled what the Baptism Room was for.

His expression grew heavy.

The so-called baptism involved stripping newly admitted pirate prisoners naked, suspending them from a hoist, and lowering them into a huge pot of boiling water to kill every last bacterium and toxin on their bodies with the heat!

Water boiled at a hundred degrees in the world of pirates, too! They called it a baptism, but it was torture!

He witnessed the torture soon enough.

When a pirate was stripped naked and hoisted over the boiling water, he let out a terrified scream as he realized what was about to happen. Then, with a splash, he dropped into the water, and his scream turned into a brief cry of agony.

"Ah—"

Then came the thrashing and the sound of him gulping down water.

His struggles gradually weakened.

Once they stopped altogether, the pirate was hauled out of the water.

The pirate, who had looked vicious before, now resembled a boiled shrimp. Blisters of all sizes covered his skin, most of his hair had fallen out, and his esophagus had been severely scalded from swallowing boiling water. His mouth hung open, drool unconsciously trailing from it. His eyes rolled back, his limbs twitched, and he looked utterly horrifying!

Two jailers immediately fetched a prisoner's uniform in the right size and began forcing it onto the unconscious pirate. They were rough about it, and every careless rub made his scalded skin peel back, exposing bright red flesh. The air even carried the faint smell of cooked meat, mixed with something foul. It made Figo's stomach churn!

The unconscious pirate's body kept twitching from the intense pain. The other pirates about to undergo the baptism trembled at the sight of the horrifying torture.

But with their limbs shackled, several days of hunger behind them, and the jailers' long sabers pointed at them, all they could do was hurl meaningless curses and beg for mercy.

In return, they were beaten.

As Captain, Figo even motioned for two jailers to get to it, trying to hide the fact that his heart was beating nearly two hundred times a minute.

He wasn't a doctor, much less a special forces soldier. When had he ever seen anything like this?

Fortunately, the bizarre art style of the One Piece World helped Figo overcome some of his discomfort.

Just look at the second man being hoisted up.

He must have been more than three meters tall, with a waist thicker than a water barrel and a weight of at least three hundred kilograms. His features were wildly out of proportion, and his mouth stretched nearly to his ears, taking up almost half his face. Two sharp tusks jutted from his upper lip.

Could you even call that a person?

The jailers all looked fairly normal, but the pirates were some kind of rare specimens, each stranger than the last. How could they possibly be human?

He's not human. He's not human...

Boar Demon. Boar Demon...

Figo repeated the words to himself, and it immediately made him feel much better. When the Boar Demon was pulled out after being boiled for a while, the meaty aroma reached Figo, and he actually felt a little hungry.

It was probably because he hadn't eaten breakfast...

Ugh!

Figo's face turned faintly green. He hurriedly spoke up:

"Those of you who aren't operating the hoists, don't just stand around watching. Take the pirates who've finished their baptism away." After saying this, Figo picked up the first pirate, who had cooled down after his baptism, and left the Baptism Room, striding toward the Prison Area on his own.

The jailers stared blankly for two seconds before answering:

"Yes, Captain!"

They were a little puzzled. If he just wanted to give them orders, why had the Captain gone himself?

Figo was naturally afraid of losing his composure in front of everyone.

After leaving the Baptism Room, he took several deep breaths before managing to suppress his nausea. It was a good thing his current body was in great shape.

In his memories, the baptism was only a welcoming gift for prisoners. They would be subjected to even bloodier punishments on a regular basis after that. Impel Down really was a hellhole! He had to leave. He had to find a way to transfer out!

But... where could he go?

After a moment's thought, Figo carefully glanced at the pirate whose face had been scalded out of shape. The man weighed over two hundred pounds and was powerfully built, yet Figo could carry him with one hand and barely feel the strain.

Figo now had the strength to lift a cauldron. In ancient times, he'd have been a figure like Xiang Yu, but in an anime world like this one, he was still just a nobody. And that wasn't all. The One Piece World had unpredictable weather, frequent shipwrecks, brutal and bloodthirsty pirates, and all kinds of strange diseases...

Where in this world was safe?

The residential area at Marine Headquarters?

Figo arrived at Cell 1, opened the door, tossed the pirate inside, and locked it.

When he turned around, two jailers were carrying the Boar Demon, dressed in a jailer's uniform, toward him.

"Captain!" they called from a distance.

Figo was preoccupied with planning for the future, so he absentmindedly nodded at them in greeting. But then his head suddenly spun for no apparent reason.

A nameless, blue-covered book seemed to surface from the depths of his mind. It rustled open to a blank page, imprinting the image of the prisoner he had just locked up, followed by some text.

[Prisoner: Bard]

[Level: N7]

[Status: In Custody]

[Crime Index: 12]

[Capture Participation: 5%]

[Reward: Physique +4→98 (Level 1: Ordinary)]

Thump, thump, thump—

This time, Figo's heart raced past two hundred beats per minute in an instant!