One Year

Sss~~~ slurp, slurp~~~ In the Jailer Cafeteria on Impel Down's first level, Figo quickly sucked down the springy noodles. The large bowl of seafood noodles was empty in half a minute, with barely any broth left.

He casually stacked the empty bowl in front of him. A tall pile of empty bowls already sat on the table, and before Figo could say a word, a fresh bowl of noodles was set in front of him.

"Captain Figo, that's your 37th bowl! You've broken the record again!" said the jailer bringing him the noodles.

"Oh, is that so?" Figo replied somewhat indistinctly. "I wasn't counting. Thanks."

Time flew by, and before he knew it, a year had passed. Figo had grown completely accustomed to life in Impel Down and had become good friends with the jailers.

The scene before them had all started with the Prison Archives in his mind. That thing didn't exactly follow scientific principles, but it wasn't completely unscientific, either.

When he gained benefits such as swordsmanship, Figo didn't instantly master sword techniques as if they'd been poured into his mind. Instead, when he practiced and used his sword afterward, it was as if the heavens were lending him a hand: inspiration came in bursts, quickly bringing his actual skill in line with the stats.

When he gained benefits like physical strength, Figo immediately became a little stronger. But for a while afterward, he'd become ravenous, as though making up for some sort of deficit. Since his physical strength kept increasing, he'd gradually turned into something of a glutton, eating more and more—enough for ten men!

Just as he was about to take on his 37th bowl, the Den Den Mushi loudspeaker in one corner of the cafeteria rang.

Buru-buru, buru-buru.

"Moshi moshi, moshi moshi. Is Captain Figo there?" a voice came through the Den Den Mushi loudspeaker. "This is the monitoring room. We've just received a message from Headquarters. A transport ship will arrive at Impel Down in half an hour. There's only one prisoner aboard, and he needs to be locked up on Level 4."

Figo walked over and pressed the buttons on the Den Den Mushi's back twice. "Figo here. Is Vice Jailer Chief Kinch there? For this pirate who's being sent to Level 4, am I handling the escort on my own again?"

"Yeah, leave it to you." The voice coming through the Den Den Mushi changed to a deep, gruff one.

These Den Den Mushi loudspeakers were spread throughout the jailers' living quarters, allowing the jailers in the monitoring room to contact anyone immediately. They were very convenient.

After hanging up, Figo patted his stomach, went back, and picked up his bowl. "Fwoom~~~~"

His not-so-large mouth seemed to turn into a black hole, devouring the entire bowl of noodles in five seconds!

"Burp. That hit the spot. Time to get to work!"

Meanwhile, in the Training Area.

A man over two and a half meters tall, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and an exceptionally muscular build, hung up the Den Den Mushi and walked over to a massive stone roller marked one ton. He gripped it with both hands and continued training his arms.

"You're really popular, Figo," remarked a tall, lean young man beside him. "You and the Jailer Chief are in charge of Level 4, but as soon as the monitoring room hears that a prisoner for Level 4 is on the way, they contact Figo first."

The underwater prison Impel Down had six levels in all. The deeper the level, the stronger the prisoners held there, and each level had its own designated supervisors.

The first three levels each had a Captain. Level 4 was overseen by the Jailer Chief and Vice Jailer Chief, who were in charge of three divisions. Levels 5 and 6 were under the Warden and Vice Warden. Impel Down had only been established a year ago, and the position of Director had yet to be created.

As Vice Jailer Chief, Kinch could be called the fourth most powerful man in Impel Down. Hearing the young man's seemingly casual remark, he kept lifting and pushing the stone roller without stopping. "If you could be like Figo and handle most jobs before the jailers get to them—taking on all the transport ships headed for the first four levels and saving us the trouble—you'd be just as popular.

"If the prisoners on Levels 5 and 6 weren't so dangerous, forcing the Warden to handle them personally, Figo could do half the work in Impel Down all by himself!"

Xiao, Captain of the Third Level, shrugged and picked up a smaller stone block. "That's not something I want to compete with him over. When I have free time, I'd rather sleep in my dorm or train here. By the way, Sir Kinch, I heard the Jailer Chief will be transferred back to Marine Headquarters when his year is up?"

"Yeah. Sir Raul is a rising star in the Marines, highly regarded by the Fleet Admiral. He only came to Impel Down for a year to train in peace and build up his record. Once he returns to the Marines, he'll probably skip Commodore and be promoted straight to Rear Admiral." Kinch's words were tinged with envy.

"Then... can I congratulate you in advance on becoming Jailer Chief?" Xiao asked. "Once you're promoted, the vacant Vice Jailer Chief position will most likely go to... Figo, right?"

Kinch's brow furrowed. He shot Xiao a sidelong glance, then abruptly sped up his lifting and pushing of the stone roller.

The one-ton mass whistled dangerously through the air in his hands before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud moments later!

Kinch's voice grew just as rough.

"I won't acknowledge him that easily! I've got nothing against him, but being popular won't help much when it comes to keeping the vicious pirates on Level 4 in line!"

"There's only one requirement for becoming Vice Jailer Chief." He turned to look at Xiao, seeming to understand what he was getting at, and said in a low voice, "Strength!"

Xiao's body stiffened, and a smile spread across his face. "Then I'm relieved, Sir Jailer Chief."

First level, Prison Area Corridor.

As Figo walked past, he suddenly heard faint screams coming from up ahead.

"Ah!!"

"Just kill me!"

"No—"

Figo's eyes shifted, and he quickly approached. He came to a relatively open space and saw a prisoner stripped to the waist and tied to a table, while two jailers beside him worked him over with various instruments of torture.

"What's going on here?"

"Ah, Captain Figo!" The two jailers straightened up and greeted him, then grinned. "This guy wouldn't behave. He even stole bread from a new cellmate, so we're teaching him a lesson."

"I-I won't do it again, sob..." The prisoner, his back already a bloody mess, whimpered.

Stealing bread from a new cellmate was just an excuse. Impel Down wasn't a charity; it didn't just capture pirates and lock them up while keeping them fed.

Though the Blazing Hell and other places for tormenting prisoners hadn't been established yet, the jailers' arbitrary beatings could still make this place a living hell.

This wasn't the first time Figo had seen something like this.

He looked at the prisoner on the table and pulled up the corresponding page in his Prison Archives, finding the relevant entry: [Crime Index: 17]

Based on Figo's understanding of modern, generally accepted values, a Crime Index of 1 to 5 probably warranted anything from a fixed-term sentence to life imprisonment. From 5 to 10, the criminal could be shot outright. Above 10, even five minutes would be too good for them. A score of 17 meant the whimpering, pleading man before him had taken at least 20 innocent lives!

So Figo reached out, took the whip, and swung it as the prisoner stared at him in terror!

Whoosh—CRACK!!

Blood sprayed! Chunks of flesh flew!

The force, several times greater than the jailers' blows, instantly left the prisoner gasping for air!

His head snapped up, his eyes bulged, and his tongue lolled far out of his mouth. He couldn't even scream. Only after a long moment did his head droop!

He lost consciousness!

Without changing his expression, Figo handed the whip back. "That's enough. Don't kill him. Toss him in an empty cell. And thanks for coming with me to the Baptism Room to receive a warship."

"Ah, yes, Captain!"

Figo nodded and continued toward the Baptism Room, feeling a little reflective.

The power of habit was incredible. A year ago, watching a baptism had made him uncomfortable. Now he could torture prisoners without batting an eye!

Still, this kind of growth felt pretty good.

"Prisoners on Level 4 are usually between R6 and R9. I hope this one's stronger."

Figo looked forward to the new prisoner.

After waiting a while in the Baptism Room,

the warship docked at Impel Down.

Two naval officers dragged a prisoner bound in heavy chains off the warship.

Over the past year, Figo had seen pirates in every imaginable shape and form, but this one still struck him as unexpected and novel.

Blue-green skin, a powerful body, sawtooth-like teeth, and the head of a fish.

"Is that... a member of the Fish-Man Race?"