"Who will the Admiral coming here be?"
"The Navy is in a period of transition between the old and new generations. Moka, the oldest of the Three Admirals, is a Marine of my generation. He was transferred to the Holy Land a few days ago to familiarize himself with the work of Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, and is about to be promoted."
"Aokiji? That stubborn old man? The Five Elders can't stand him. Why would they send him?"
"One of the other two Admirals is in the New World keeping an eye on Hell of a Man, Rebrus, who's been making some moves lately. The other has a good relationship with Aokiji and me, so he probably won't be sent here either."
"That means it'll most likely be Raul, the Admiral candidate who's about to take Moka's place."
"Does that name sound familiar? Raul didn't grow up as a Marine in the new recruit camp at Marine Headquarters. He was once a famous bounty hunter on the seas, and Aokiji personally discovered and recruited him into the Navy."
"He's a genius just like you and Sapphire. At only 24, he was exceptionally promoted to Colonel. The following year, when Impel Down was first established, Aokiji appointed him Jailer Chief there. After just one year, he skipped the rank of Commodore and returned as a Rear Admiral. Four years later, he was promoted to Vice Admiral."
"Afterward, he obtained the Logia Devil Fruit, the Wind-Wind Fruit, which made him even more formidable. But that foolish old man Aokiji misjudged him. The kid isn't a suitable successor. For the past few years, he's been meeting with the Five Elders of the World Government time and again. The World Government is probably tired of a Fleet Admiral like Aokiji, too, and wants to groom someone more obedient."
"Aokiji deliberately held him back for two years, but now he can't hold him back any longer. At 40, Raul is mature in every respect. So don't underestimate him just because he isn't yet officially a Marine Admiral. He already has an Admiral's authority and an Admiral's strength. Every Marine at Marine Headquarters recognizes him as the—Fourth Admiral!"
"Of course, if you're capable of it, it'd be even better if you could beat that bastard up, Figo!"
Standing on the platform on Level 0 of Impel Down, Figo rested a hand on his sword hilt. Doug's words echoed in his mind as he gradually brought himself to peak condition.
Suddenly, a gale swept in over the sea. It sent Figo's pure-black Director's cloak flying high, its fabric snapping in the wind!
"I've been in the Calm Belt for so long, I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to have the wind blow."
Figo murmured, then drew his sword and slashed!
A blinding white sword wave expanded with his swing, as if it could rival the sun's radiance. For a moment, the entire sea was left with nothing but this enormous crescent moon!
The sea, hundreds of meters deep before Figo, split in two with that single slash! The surging water spread out to either side, and the gale blowing toward him was cleaved in half as well!
The wind blowing against him abruptly stopped.
Hundreds of meters ahead, the two severed halves of the wind changed shape, turning semi-solid as they fell toward the sea and into the abyss Figo had carved open.
Three seconds later, a terrifying hurricane shot straight up from the depths of the sea. A vortex thousands of meters across rose in the usually calm Calm Belt. The water was rapidly forced to either side, and then enormous waves began crashing one after another against the platform on Level 0 of Impel Down, rolling off into the distance.
Impel Down, buried beneath the deep sea for more than a decade, gradually emerged completely into the open air! Centered on the place where the two severed halves of wind had fallen, the hurricane drove the seawater thousands of meters away. An invisible wall of wind blocked it there, preventing it from rushing back.
In just half a minute, the nearby sea had turned into land. Only then did the two fallen halves of wind join together, forming a human figure hovering about a meter above the seabed.
A green shirt, white trousers, and a pristine Justice cloak fluttering in the air. He was about as tall as Figo, with gray-brown eyes and a long face, his chin slightly pointed and clean-shaven.
The Fourth Admiral, Raul!
"Saint Mendsbin told me you might resist by force. I wasn't sure I believed him." With his hands in his pockets, Raul's body bobbed gently in the breeze. He looked up at Figo on the platform and said, "I remember you, Gaston Figo. When I was in Impel Down, you were just a little Captain who worked hard to attract everyone's attention.
"I never expected that fourteen years would pass in the blink of an eye, and you'd have the courage to draw your sword against me.
"I admire your courage and determination, but the World Government and the Five Elders must not be challenged. Now, just... surrender peacefully!"
From above, Figo looked down at him and smiled silently. What the hell are you putting on a show for?
His long blade abruptly slashed sideways!
Another Flying Slash shot from his sword, cutting straight into the wind wall off to the side and tearing it apart!
Seawater rushed back with a roar. Raul's eyes flashed with alarm and anger. He hurriedly thrust both hands forward, and another hurricane surged out, forcing the returning seawater away again.
Devil Fruit Users couldn't touch seawater.
But Figo above him now looked ready to slash at the wind wall on the other side. Raul's expression finally darkened. Cursing Figo for being despicable, he started to rise back into the sky. He wouldn't maintain the land any longer and let Figo wear him down endlessly like this.
But this time, Figo only swung at empty air. No slash flew from his blade, and after the swing, he returned the sword to its sheath.
"Relax. I was just kidding. I don't want to fight you in the sky either. If you decided to run, I'd have no real way to stop you." Figo took off his cloak and casually tossed it aside, then leaped.
Those first two slashes were the last stubborn remnants of his dream of being a Great Swordsman in flowing white robes.
When he was truly fighting an evenly matched opponent, of course he'd use what he was best at—his body!
As he fell, the color of darkness coated both his fists, then changed once more! A golden glow enveloped the Armament Haki, flowing back and forth like water and bringing with it a whole new, greater power!
Armament Haki: 47698 Level 4, Superior Armament Haki!
"You've made your Armament Haki flow? Is that what gives you confidence?" Raul's expression was indifferent.
Being able to make Armament Haki flow, ignoring defenses and dealing true damage, was merely a basic skill for a Marine Admiral.
And no matter how powerful the attack, it couldn't hit the wind.
Here, in the middle of the sea, he couldn't damage Impel Down's buildings. If Figo kept tearing apart his wind walls endlessly, that really would be troublesome. But now...
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, an enormous roar like a mountain collapsing exploded, cutting off Raul's thoughts completely!
Figo finally landed on the flat seabed. In that instant, the ground seemed to have been struck by a meteorite. It split and shattered with a rumble, spreading into the distance as massive rocks burst into the air one after another. The center looked like an erupting volcano, and the shock wave that erupted from it annihilated everything!
As the blinding white shock wave surged upward, Figo's figure moved as if through space. In the blink of an eye, he crossed hundreds of meters and appeared at Raul's side, driving his fist, wrapped in flowing Armament Haki, toward Raul's head!
What was this?!
Shave?
No, it wasn't!
Was this pure physical power?! This man had leaped down from hundreds of meters up without unloading any of the force. Instead, he'd used the spring of his legs to turn the force of his fall into an even greater burst of speed?!
What kind of lunatic was this?!
Were his legs even okay?!
He was truly faster than the wind. Raul didn't even have time to turn into wind and dodge!
"Hurricane Shield!"
Raul had no choice but to take the blow head-on. He crossed his arms and merged them into a massive shield of wind, blocking Figo's fist.
With another thunderous crash, the ground beneath them erupted like a volcano once more!
The sleeve on the arm Figo had used to attack suddenly burst apart, and Raul's Hurricane Shield was smashed to pieces in an instant! Raul's body flew backward, rolling and bouncing over the ground. After more than a hundred meters, he suddenly scattered into a light breeze. He re-formed in midair, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and grew serious!
Figo glanced at his torn sleeve, then simply grabbed his shirt and ripped it off, revealing a broad, muscular torso with sharply defined contours.
Physique: 135880 Level 5, the pinnacle of physical power!
The phrase "at the pinnacle" couldn't have been clearer! It meant that in the world of pirates, counting all humans, other races, and even all kinds of monsters, Figo's physique had now entered the ranks of the very strongest!
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