Figo: I'll Handle It

Doug had never been able to figure out what his student Figo was thinking.

Back then, Figo had encouraged him so thoroughly that he had returned to Impel Down. Now Figo was using his own words to refuse him—his reasoning was impeccable, but...

"You don't agree to me taking him away?!"

"Mm. I'm the Director of Impel Down, after all."

"But... I... this..."

"My rank is higher than yours. Impel Down is mine to command. If I won't let you take him away, what can you do about it?" Figo smiled.

Jellal looked up at him blankly.

Doug's lips moved as well. After a long while, he sighed. "Figo, Teacher knows you're a Marine soldier with a strong sense of justice, but this order came directly from the Five Elders. Aokiji strongly objected, yet he still couldn't change the Five Elders' minds..."

"I'll handle it," Figo said.

He took out his private Den Den Mushi and dialed Saint Mendsbin of the Five Elders. "Saint Mendsbin has contacted me often these past few years. We're on good terms. I can handle it."

Really? Doug didn't believe it.

Soon, the call connected, and Saint Mendsbin's voice came through from the other side.

"Gaston Figo?"

"It's me, Lord Five Elder." Figo spoke into the Den Den Mushi. "Vice Admiral Doug, my teacher, is beside me right now. I heard from him that he received your order to come and take Laughing Jellal away?"

"What do you have to say?" Saint Mendsbin's voice became more serious.

"I do have something to say." Figo said, "I think this is wrong. Does the vast Navy and World Government truly have no other way to capture the Witch? Why must you use such a despicable method? Also, why must Teacher Doug, an old man nearing eighty, command this operation? Does the Navy have no one else?"

The other end of the Den Den Mushi fell silent.

Figo continued, "Lord Five Elder, do me a favor and let me handle it. There's no need for any Public Execution of Jellal. I'll take responsibility for the campaign against the Revolutionary Army. I guarantee that I'll settle everything within a year. Without resorting to despicable methods, we can still eradicate the Revolutionary Army. Wouldn't that better demonstrate the World Government's majesty?"

Only then did Doug understand. Figo wanted to take over this mission and bear the dilemma in his teacher's stead. He felt touched, his eyes reddening, but also ashamed.

But the Five Elders...

"Do you a favor?" As expected, Saint Mendsbin's voice on the other end had turned angry. "Figo, know your place! What is your favor worth? The World Government's majesty cannot be challenged! Despicable methods? Is that a judgment you have any right to make?!"

Just as expected, the Five Elders were arrogant people like this. Doug gave a bitter smile and reached for Figo's Den Den Mushi, intending to explain things to the Five Elders and keep Figo from being implicated. But Figo unexpectedly brought the Den Den Mushi directly to his mouth and rattled off:

"My identity? First, I'm a Marine. Then I'm the Director of Impel Down. But before either of those, I'm a person—a person who knows right from wrong! Idiot!"

With a beep, the Den Den Mushi call ended.

Figo spread his hands at Doug. Settled!

Doug froze for two seconds before his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"Figo, you?!"

Jellal was even more dumbfounded. Even as a lawless Pirate, he knew that the person on the other end of that Den Den Mushi was one of the people standing at the pinnacle of the world—the Five Elders, the World Government's highest authority!

How could he go this far for us?

"Reasoning with him didn't work. If I wanted to settle it, I had to put in a little effort." Figo's expression did not change. "Next, I'll have to offend you a little, Teacher."

Holy Land Mary Geoise.

Saint Mendsbin stared blankly at the disconnected Den Den Mushi for a long while, feeling as though he were in a dream.

Had that really happened just now?

Figo had said the word "idiot" in Chinese. Saint Mendsbin couldn't understand it, but he could tell from the tone that it wasn't anything nice.

What was more, there had not been the slightest trace of respect for him in the first half of Figo's words either!

This was... a rejection of my order?

A forceful rejection?

Saint Mendsbin abruptly rose to his feet. A raging fury unlike anything he had ever felt surged through him, and his unconscious grip nearly crushed the Den Den Mushi in his hand!

Outrageous?!

"Figo! Figo! What are you doing?!" Inside Impel Down, Kinch sounded both shocked and confused.

Jellal's interrogation had been going perfectly well, so how had Teacher Doug suddenly ended up thrown into a cell?!

"Teacher, this is a clean private cell. I'll bring you a bed in a while. Rest well here for a couple of days. You don't need to worry about anything," Figo told Doug through the bars.

Doug, whom Figo had sent into the cell, already understood what Figo was planning. Solemnly, he asked, "Figo, have you truly considered the consequences of doing this?"

"Yes." Figo's answer was decisive.

Doug was silent for several seconds. "Then let Teacher out. I can't let a child like you bear everything alone. This old man..."

"No. I'm the Director of Impel Down. I make the rules here. If I say you're under arrest, then you're under arrest." Figo shook his head. "You're someone who will be recorded in Navy history, Teacher. I firmly believe that. This time, it's the student's actions. It has nothing to do with the teacher."

Doug was speechless, and his eyes reddened again.

"You brat, are you insulting your teacher?"

"What's wrong? What exactly happened?!" Kinch was still utterly confused. "Figo?"

"It's nothing, Old Jin. You don't need to know, and don't secretly release my teacher either. In a few days, you might even take over my position as Director. I'd be at ease leaving it to you." Figo patted his shoulder.

The Prison Archives appeared before his eyes.

[Prisoner: Doug]

[Level: SSR2]

[Status: Imprisoned]

[Crime Index: 25]

[Capture Participation: 100%]

[Selectable Rewards: Six Powers - Iron Body, Teaching, Swimming, Cooking, Six Powers - Geppo]

[Character Event 1: Pending Activation]

[Character Event 2: Cannot Be Activated Yet]

[Core Event: Cannot Be Activated Yet]

The old man really was strong. He should be the strongest vice admiral in the Navy. If he resisted, it might not even be possible to subdue him quickly. Figo thought.

Each step between SSR levels was a hurdle, and every advance was difficult. Vice Admiral Doug, an SSR2, might not defeat SSR1 Jellal with ease, but he would certainly be able to suppress him completely.

Of course, it would not be a quick fight. People at this level had physiques that were practically inhuman.

His Crime Index was 25, on par with Jellal's, which was hardly surprising.

A seventy-eight-year-old Navy veteran who had taken part in hundreds of campaigns against pirates could not possibly have avoided accidentally harming people or making mistakes.

Doing good deeds could not offset one's Crime Index.

If it were Akainu and his Absolute Justice in later generations, even a Crime Index over a hundred would not be strange.

After the Prison Archives data passed through Figo's mind, he looked at Doug again. "Teacher, more than anything else, I want to know which admiral will come next. I'll see if I can work a little harder and lock him up next door to you."

Kinch looked horrified. What the hell was Figo talking about?!

Doug, however, asked, "Are you really that confident?"

"I'll do my best and see."

"What if two come?"

Figo froze for a moment, then smiled. "Then I'll run."

Doug fell silent. After a long sigh, he said, "Why must it come to this? You're still young, Figo. You're different from an old man like me, one foot already in the grave. You have more than enough time to put your justice into practice! Why take things to such extremes?!"

"Then what should we do this time?"

Doug was speechless. After a long while, he said, "Your teacher truly is a coward. I really am inferior to you..."

"I spent a full fifteen years in Impel Down. Every day, I lifted weights, escorted prisoners, punished prisoners, released prisoners, trained, and honed my combat ability. My life was disciplined and unchanged for fifteen years. I didn't reach this point just to compromise and endure!"

"So, which admiral is coming?"

Two chapters, 5,200 words. Please vote.