Survivor

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

Gradually, the warship disappeared from the sight of those on shore, and Figo gave them a final wave before turning and heading back into the cabin.

"A feeling like going home."

Fingering the new blade hanging at his waist, Figo felt not a trace of worry about the impending return to life at Impel Down.

This sword at his waist was a gift from Marshal O. Knowing that Figo's Warden's blade had been broken during his clash with the Worry Demon, the Marshal awarded it as a bounty for capturing that criminal.

With no classifications like Supreme Grade or Great Grade blades yet established, Figo could only be sure this sword was many times finer than his previous one.

It must be a Famous Sword, he thought.

The scabbard's ornamentation was lavish, with flame-like patterns that looked striking, though Figo still didn't know its name.

So he walked to the rear of the cabin and asked the prisoner in the cage, "What's your sword called?"

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

That's right—this sword was a trophy just confiscated from Jellal, captain of the Laughing Pirates. The Nun trafficker and the Worry Demon had already been transported to Impel Down earlier, but Jellal had to wait until Figo, the new Director, assumed his post.

"If you won't tell me, I'll just name it whatever I want."

"As you wish," Jellal said. "You're the one who met that female Rear Admiral and stopped me from killing myself, aren't you, Marine?"

"That's right. I'll also be serving as Director of Impel Down for a ten-year term, so you'll be seeing a lot of me over the next decade," Figo said.

Jellal looked up and said flatly, "Do you want to hear my story, Marine?"

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

"Is that so? What did you feel?"

"Anger. Sympathy."

"And then?"

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

Jellal stared at him, then curled his lips into a high, mocking arc.

Soon, he lowered his head again.

Telling his story to everyone he met—Jellal wasn't hoping for pity. He was trying to unsettle Miya and Figo, to shake the righteous hearts of Marines and breed self-doubt.

This guy, though his Crime Index wasn't high and his original goal was only to find his sister, had been a pirate for years and was no innocent. He didn't expect this to make Miya and Figo go after the Celestial Dragons, nor did he know that Celestial Dragon was already dead. He was just taking revenge in whatever small way he could.

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

Jellal froze, then looked up again with a mix of shock and anger. "Change it!"

"Looks like I guessed right. This sword was originally called Ruby, wasn't it? Your naming skills are pretty mediocre," Figo said with a laugh. "One more thing—is your story finished? It didn't seem to clearly mention Sapphire's death. After she lost her eyes, did she really die at that Celestial Dragon's hands?"

Jellal's eyelid twitched violently. "Are you deliberately trying to provoke me? Humiliate me?"

"Heh, drop your little tricks!"

Figo gave a meaningful smile and turned to leave. Behind him, in the cell, Jellal—a Great Pirate—clenched his fists in extreme tension, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.

To shake Miya's resolve, he had indeed concealed a small part of the truth—his deepest secret, one he would never tell anyone!

Sapphire had survived!

But how had this bastard seen through it?!

Damn it...

For a moment, he was terrified.

Figo hadn't known at first, of course.

But he had the Prison Archives.

SSR-rank prisoners were different from SR-rank ones. They had multiple Character Events, plus a Core Event that activated after completing all Character Events. Completing the Core Event allowed him to choose three benefits from the target.

After killing the Celestial Dragon and completing Jellal's Character Event 1, Character Event 2 became available. So two days ago, Figo activated it. In the corresponding vision, Jellal was tightly embracing a girl, weeping...

And that girl was the grown-up Sapphire!

"Brother, stop crying."

The girl's voice was as clean as it had been in childhood: "Everything's over. I knew you'd find me. I've been looking for you too."

"Your, your eyes..."

"It's fine. They stopped hurting long ago. Back then, I really did almost die, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The Celestial Dragon lost interest in a blind girl and didn't take me as his slave.

You know me, Brother. Even without eyes, I can still 'see' everything clearly. They threw me out of the auction house, so I got up, found a kind doctor, and he took me in and let me live.

Let it all be in the past. Don't be a pirate anymore, Brother. Find a place where no one knows us, and start over..."

"Okay, okay..."

[Character Event 2: Though Jellal promised Sapphire to let the past be the past, looking at the scarred sockets beneath her closed eyes, remembering the pain a seven-year-old girl had endured and how she had struggled step by step to survive, his anger only burned fiercer!]

He secretly resolved to kill the Celestial Dragon Saint Cassilia, then heed Sapphire's words and find a remote island to live in seclusion with her. He never expected to fail and be captured, and now he was filled with regret, deeply worried about Sapphire.

[Event Requirement: Have Jellal, or help Jellal, persuade Sapphire to forget him, live happily on her own, never seek revenge, and certainly not attempt to rescue him.]

These siblings were playing matryoshka dolls with each other.

Figo was both surprised and speechless at the time, and he also understood the little trick Jellal had used when telling his story.

If he had known earlier that Sapphire was still alive, the listener's anger would definitely have been dampened. There was always a difference between suffering a fatal misfortune and suffering a misfortune but surviving—Jellal understood human nature well.

But Figo wasn't angry. Neither scenario affected his hatred for the Celestial Dragons.

On the contrary, he was a bit pleased. That little girl hadn't been crushed by misfortune; she had survived strong, and her innate Observation Haki allowed her to take care of herself even without sight.

As for the current situation and this Character Event 2, Figo decided not to interfere.

Jellal's capture was inevitable.

Twenty years of struggle and striving, having seen all kinds of deceit and treachery—even if he had retained some bottom line and conviction, he could never go back to how things were.

Kill a Celestial Dragon and then live in seclusion?

No, that wouldn't happen.

Even if he succeeded, he would think: I need to protect Sapphire better, I need to give her a better life, I cannot lose my power. No matter where I hide, there's always the possibility of exposure, and danger could strike at any time.

The Pirate Crew cannot be disbanded!

Or some similar thought.

In the end, either that girl would also be tainted, or the siblings would grow apart, or even sooner, both would perish together at sea.

The way things were now was fine.

Figo followed the arrow of the character event and looked far into the northwest. Saint Cassilia was already dead by his hand, and the idea of a blind girl coming to Impel Down to rescue someone was utterly absurd.

Just keep living purely.

Figo silently offered a blessing, turned around, and revealed a warm, friendly smile.

Impel Down's Level 0 sea platform had already appeared within his line of sight!