Survival

A few days later, at the headquarters port, Miya, Seazer, Doug, and the others saw Figo off as he boarded another warship bound for Impel Down.

Gradually, the warship vanished from the sight of those on shore. Figo gave them one last wave, then turned and went back into the cabin.

"It feels like I'm going home."

As he toyed with the new saber hanging at his waist, Figo felt not the slightest worry about returning to life in Impel Down.

The saber at his waist had been a gift from Marshal O. Marshal O knew that the Warden's saber had been broken during Figo's battle with the Worry Demon, and had awarded him this one as a bonus for capturing the Worry Demon.

There were no classifications such as Supreme Grade or Great Grade Swords yet, so Figo could only tell that this blade was many times better than his previous one.

It must have been a Famous Sword.

Even the scabbard was ornately decorated, its flame patterns looking especially cool. Figo just didn't know what it was called yet.

So he went to the back of the cabin and asked the prisoner in the cell, "What's your sword called?"

Jellal silently glanced up at Figo, then lowered his head without a word.

That was right. The sword was loot they had just seized from Jellal, Captain of the Laughing Pirates. The slave-trading Nun and the Worry Demon had been transported to Impel Down earlier, but Jellal had to wait until Figo, the new Director, took up his post.

"If you don't tell me, I'll just name it whatever I like."

"Suit yourself," Jellal said. "That female Rear Admiral I ran into before stopped me from killing myself. I think you were the one who did it, Marine."

"Right. I'll be the Director of Impel Down for the next ten years, so you'll be seeing plenty of me." Figo said.

Jellal looked up and said flatly, "Would you like to hear my story, Marine?"

"I've heard it. Miya told me."

"Is that so? What did you think?"

"Anger and sympathy."

"And then?"

"When you get to Impel Down, I'll make sure you get a few extra meals. With meat," Figo said.

Jellal looked at him, the corners of his mouth curving high in a mocking smile.

Then he lowered his head again.

Jellal told his story to everyone he met, not because he hoped for their pity, but because he wanted to unsettle Miya and Figo, shake the Marine's sense of justice, and make them doubt themselves.

Although his Crime Index wasn't high and he'd only set out to find his sister, he'd spent many years as a pirate. He was no innocent man. He didn't expect this to make Miya and Figo go after the Celestial Dragons, and he had no idea that the Celestial Dragon in question was already dead. He was simply taking revenge in whatever small way he could.

"Since you won't tell me its name, I'll call this sword Ruby," Figo said.

Jellal froze, then looked up again, surprised and angry. "Pick another name!"

"Looks like I guessed right. This sword was already called Ruby, wasn't it? You're not very good at naming things." Figo smiled. "One more thing: is that the whole story? You never clearly said that Sapphire died. After she lost her eyes, did she really die at the hands of that Celestial Dragon?"

Jellal's eye twitched violently. "Are you deliberately trying to provoke and humiliate me?"

"Heh. Save your little tricks!"

Figo smiled knowingly and walked away. Behind him, Jellal, the Great Pirate, clenched his fists so tightly that his forehead broke out in a sheen of sweat.

To shake Miya's resolve, he really had withheld a small part of the truth. It was his deepest secret, and he would never tell anyone!

Sapphire had survived!

But how had that man seen through him?!

Damn it...

For a moment, he was sick with worry.

At first, Figo naturally hadn't known.

But he did have the Prison Archives.

SSR-level prisoners were different from SR-level ones. They had more than one Character Event, as well as a Core Event that became available after all their Character Events were completed. Completing a Core Event even let him choose three rewards from that person.

After killing the Celestial Dragon and completing Jellal's Character Event 1, Jellal's Character Event 2 became available. So two days ago, Figo activated it. In the scene that appeared, Jellal was embracing a girl and weeping bitterly... And that girl was Sapphire, now grown up!

"Brother, don't cry."

The girl's voice was as clear as it had been when she was little. "It's all over now. I knew you'd find me, and I've been looking for you, too."

"Your, your eyes..."

"It's all right. They stopped hurting a long time ago. I really did nearly die back then, but in a way, I was lucky. The Celestial Dragon lost interest in me once I went blind. He didn't take me away to be his slave.

"You know me, Brother. Even without my eyes, I can still 'see' everything. They threw me out of the auction house, but I got back up and found a kind doctor. The doctor took me in and helped me survive.

"Let's leave it all behind. Don't be a pirate anymore, Brother. Let's find somewhere no one knows us and start over..."

"All right. All right..."

[Character Event 2: Jellal had promised Sapphire that they would leave the past behind, but whenever he looked at the scars around her tightly shut eyes and thought of how a seven-year-old girl had endured such agony and struggled to survive, step by step, his anger only grew stronger!

He secretly vowed to kill Saint Cassilia, the Celestial Dragon, and then heed Sapphire's words and settle down with her on some remote island. He never expected to fail and be captured. Now he was filled with regret and deeply worried about Sapphire.

Event requirement: Have Jellal, or someone helping Jellal, persuade Sapphire to forget about him and live happily on her own. She must not seek revenge, much less try to rescue him.]

So the siblings were playing a game of telephone with each other.

At the time, Figo had been both surprised and speechless. He'd also understood Jellal's little trick when telling his story.

If people knew Sapphire was still alive, their anger would definitely be tempered. There was a difference between dying after a misfortune and surviving one. Jellal understood people very well.

But Figo wasn't angry. Neither outcome changed how much he hated the Celestial Dragons.

If anything, he was a little glad. The girl hadn't been defeated by misfortune; she'd survived through sheer strength. Her natural Observation Haki also let her take care of herself despite losing her sight.

As for the present situation and this Character Event 2, Figo had no intention of interfering.

Jellal's capture had been inevitable.

After twenty years of struggle and hardship, and seeing so much treachery, he could never go back to who he'd been, even if he still held on to some principles and convictions.

Kill a Celestial Dragon, then settle down?

No. It wouldn't happen.

Even if he succeeded, he would think: I have to protect Sapphire better. I have to give her a better life. I can't lose my strength. No matter where we settle down, our identities might be exposed, and danger could strike at any time.

He couldn't disband the pirate crew!

Or something along those lines.

In the end, either the girl would be corrupted, too, or the siblings would become estranged—or perhaps they'd both die at sea before any of that happened.

This was better.

Following the arrow that pointed to the Character Event, Figo looked toward the distant northwest. Saint Cassilia was already dead, and the idea of a blind girl coming to Impel Down to rescue someone was absurd.

Just live on, and stay innocent.

Figo silently wished her well, then turned around with a warm smile.

The offshore platform on Level 0 of Impel Down had come into view!