On the other side, the two CP9 agents still had no idea what was happening aboard the warship. They were leading the seven giants in a great escape, and the coastline and the warship were already visible in the distance.
The giants were tall enough to see much farther. Suddenly, one of them stopped to catch his breath and shouted, "What's that?!"
The other six giants followed his gaze and spotted a tiny black speck racing toward them from far away.
"A person?"
The two CP9 agents exchanged a glance. The man with slicked-back hair said, "It must be one of our men. He's seized the warship and come to pick us up."
"No, that's not..."
"That's—?!"
The two CP9 agents saw the approaching figure too, before the giants could explain.
Or rather, they saw a walking bundle of chains.
More than a dozen heavy chains hung haphazardly across the figure's body, obscuring his face and making him hard to recognize at first.
But those chains were clearly made for restraining giants. Peslo wasn't nearly that tall, so the only person it could be was... Figo!
Why was he here? The two CP9 agents were both startled and baffled.
"Warden of Impel Down, Figo!" The giants recognized him before they did. One of them paled and said hoarsely, "You two, it looks like we won't be making a clean escape today. We don't know why you saved us, but the Giant race will always remember your kindness! Run! The seven of us will hold him off here!"
The giants' response surprised the two agents.
They didn't even have the courage to fight to the death?
Still, the agents weren't about to run. The giants might not know what was going on, but they did. So they didn't respond right away.
Another giant hurriedly added, "That's Warden Figo of Impel Down! He's kept the prison secure for years without a single incident!"
"They say he jumps into the sea every day to fight Sea Kings and hunt them. He can eat an entire Sea King in one sitting!"
"He's also a capricious tyrant. Every so often, he'll randomly order the guards to withhold food from some prisoner for days, just to enjoy watching him starve to death! Or he'll pick a Great Pirate on a whim and beat him, humiliating him as much as possible!"
"The Great Pirates on the fifth and sixth levels have tried everything to kill him, but none of them have succeeded!"
"We've never seen him fight with our own eyes, but in our weakened state, there's no way we can beat him. We're sorry, but your comrade is probably doomed. Run!"
The giants all chimed in one after another.
The two CP9 agents felt a little strange.
Wait... were they talking about Figo? The guy who'd spent the last few days sunbathing on the ship and agreeing to whatever they said without so much as a hint of temper?
What a reputation he had. I beat those prisoners because their Crime Index was high, and it was part of my job. If I'd randomly made a pirate go hungry for days, it must've been because something in his Character Event had made me extremely uncomfortable...
From far away, Figo heard the giants shouting and tossed the chains off his body.
The hundreds of pounds of iron hit the ground with a crash, making the earth tremble and cutting off the giants mid-sentence. "Since you understand, come over and let me put those chains back on you. Don't waste my time!"
"And you two!" Figo called to the CP9 agents. "You dared to sabotage a Marine execution! I've already captured your comrade, so you'd better surrender too!"
Huh?
The warning actually put the two CP9 agents at ease. Others might not know, but Figo knew who they were.
He captured Big Brother Peslo? How could that be? We work for the World Government. How would he dare?
And he didn't expose our identities. Clearly, he'd spoken with Big Brother Peslo and reached some kind of agreement with him... perhaps even come to an understanding?
Were they supposed to add a scene where we fought him alongside the giants, to make this escape look more convincing?
That had to be it!
The two CP9 agents' eyes met briefly, silently settling on their "reasonable conclusion."
Then... "Take him down!"
With a loud shout, the two CP9 agents charged at Figo. The seven giants were startled. Some shouted, "Don't!" while others rushed after them, unwilling to let their benefactors face Figo alone.
By then, the slick-haired man at the front had almost reached Figo.
I can't use the Six Powers. But if this is an act, it has to look convincing. I should at least seem to be giving it my all. The giants must be exaggerating. We've been on the same ship for days. Warden Figo certainly eats a lot, but can he really eat an entire Sea King in one sitting?
Either way, he can't be so weak that I'll hurt him easily...
As he thought, his body began to change rapidly.
His black hair turned pale yellow. A "king" marking appeared on his exposed forehead, and yellow-brown fur grew across his arms and legs. His body dropped to all fours, and he became a massive tiger!
Zoan Devil Fruit: Cat-Cat Fruit, Tiger Form!
"Roar!"
With a roar that inspired fear, the enormous tiger suddenly accelerated. At just the right distance, he leaped and pounced on Figo!
Zoan Devil Fruits generally increased their users' strength and speed. In tiger form, he'd received an all-around boost!
His pounce was fast and powerful, but just as he neared Figo, Figo suddenly vanished from sight. Then pain exploded across his cheek, and the world spun. The enormous tiger sailed through the air like a rag doll, crashing to the ground. Only then did he let out a pained groan.
W-what happened?
He hadn't seen it.
He shook his head again and again, struggling to clear his vision. Then a massive shadow fell over him, and his expression went blank.
A m-monster?!
How could he be so strong?
And why wasn't he holding back?!
With Figo gripping his wrist, the twelve-meter-tall giant was swung up and slammed to the ground. The confused CP9 agent promptly lost consciousness!
A few minutes later, Figo returned to the warship with an unconscious CP9 agent slung over each shoulder, escorting the giants, now covered in grime and back in chains.
The giants were utterly dejected.
Life sure had its ups and downs and downs and downs and downs...
They'd thought they could escape, only to bring themselves right back, dragging two benefactors down with them.
No, three benefactors.
They'd said they couldn't win, but their benefactors hadn't listened!
The Marines aboard the ship had heard the commotion long ago. Just when one wave seemed to have passed, another rose. Someone had really dared to storm the execution—and actually succeeded?
Was Lieutenant Colonel Xiao all right?
Of course he was. If the CP9 agents had dared to kill Marines, their Crime Index would've shot through the roof! Figo wasn't worried at all. In fact, he was rather pleased.
This voyage had turned out perfectly.
At first, he'd expected to gain only a Nun.
Now he had three CP9 agents too.
If there were no prisoners, he'd just have to make some!
Ignoring Peslo's dark expression, Figo tossed his two CP9 comrades into the same cell, then escorted the giants back to their cells one by one and waited for the Prison Archives to appear.
He'd barely locked up the first giant when the Prison Archives appeared right on schedule. It happened so quickly that Figo was a little disappointed. After all, the faster the Prison Archives recorded someone, the weaker the prisoner was.
So those two CP9 agents really were only R-class?
He glanced up, then froze.
This time, the Prison Archives hadn't opened to a blank page.
Instead, it had opened to the page of the giant he'd just put in the cell!
And the information had changed!
[Prisoner: Pete]
[Rank: R8]
[Status: In custody]
[Crime Index: 17]
[Capture Participation: 3%+50%]
[Reward: Giant Power +14+267→405 (Level 2 Giant Toddler)]
A light, buoyant feeling washed over him.
His strength had also increased a little!
Capture Participation: 3%+50%?
Reward: +14 and another +267?!
The giants he'd recaptured had given him another 50% of the Capture Participation reward—267 points of Giant Power!
A new piece of knowledge dawned on him. Recapturing a prisoner who was in a "during an escape" state and returning them to their cell granted a Capture Participation top-up! The top-up was half the amount earned for a normal capture!
The maximum was 50%.
A rush of joy and countless thoughts flooded through him.
Figo looked at the other six giants as if they were treasures. A thought flickered through his mind: Back when I was in Impel Down, I think my outlook had been... a little too narrow!
Before you continue