I guarded Impel Down for a hundred years in the pirate world.

"so good……"

"Hey, so many Devil Fruits... those Celestial Dragons who were killed a while ago..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Several marines glared at the one who spoke, whispering, "It would be better if it were true, those guys..."

"Let's not talk about that, let's not talk about that. What do you think those officers and generals who were summoned by the Navy King must be feeling right now? They must be ecstatic!"

……

tension.

Nedvedson is very nervous right now.

As a rear admiral nearing 50, he rarely felt nervous anymore, but meeting Figo was different.

He was just a recruit when Figo became a naval hero. He grew up listening to the legend of Figo, but never had the chance to meet him.

What is Lord Figo like?

When he asked his colleagues who had been summoned by Figo earlier, they all replied that he should relax and that the Navy King was easy to talk to, but he was still filled with anxiety as he waited in the corridor.

"Major General Nedvesen, it's your turn."

A major general colleague who came out of the marshal's office patted him on the shoulder, indicating that it was his turn to go in. Nedvedsen took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the marshal's office.

The first thing you see are two important figures.

Navy Admiral Kong leaned against the window with his arms crossed, while a female vice admiral with gray hair sat in the usual admiral's chair.

"Marshal, Chief of Staff!"

He quickly greeted them, and at Mia's prompting, he turned his head and saw the man sitting on the right side of the room.

Is this... Lord Naval King?

At first glance, he couldn't help but feel ashamed of his lack of imagination.

In his imagination, Lord Naval King, after all, was already seventy years old. He must be the kind of person who, although his hair was gray, was extremely strong, and whose aura and oppressive power made people afraid to look directly at him.

Seeing him in person, he realized that Figo might not even be as old as him; only the weariness in his eyes hinted at his age. He was indeed strong, but not in an exaggeratedly muscular way. His slightly casual clothes and friendly smile made him seem like an ordinary person.

But who would dare treat the Navy King as an ordinary person? To act like an ordinary person would highlight his extraordinary nature! A phrase involuntarily surfaced in Nedvedson's mind: returning to simplicity!

"Come on, give me a punch."

He immediately snapped out of his daze after Figo spoke, only then noticing a strange machine next to Figo with a target bearing a fist symbol in the center.

"Go all out, use your most powerful offensive moves, don't hold back," Figo said.

The admiral's excellent qualities prevented Nedvedson from hesitating for long. He steadied himself and loudly replied to Figo, "Yes, sir Figo!"

He immediately twisted his heel, his right fist was enveloped in dark Armament Haki, his body swayed, he stepped forward in a lunge, and slammed hard into the target!

A loud bang.

The target was made of very hard material; his fist, which could shatter rocks, only caused the target to sway back a few degrees.

Then, strangely, numbers started jumping on the machine, rising steadily until they stopped at 8054.

Nedvesen didn't know what the number meant, but he noticed that Mia, who was sitting behind the Marshal's desk, seemed to be taking notes with a pen.

Figo then remarked, "8054 Dao power? Not bad. Come, sit down."

Figo gestured for him to sit in the chair next to him. Nedvesen was flattered and asked several times in disbelief before hesitantly sitting down.

Then, with a click, he stared blankly as Figo locked his wrist to his own, exclaiming in surprise, "What are you doing...?"

“It’s a habit,” Figo chuckled. “Having spent so many years in Impel Down, I enjoy chatting with people handcuffed together; it makes me feel closer to them. Of course, this isn’t to treat you like a prisoner. If you feel uncomfortable, I’ll let you go.”

“No, no, no, no need.” Nedvesen quickly said, “Please do as you please… Lord Figo, I heard about your capture of the captain of the Hell Pirates, one of the two poles of the sea, when I was 15. Later, I heard about your journey to the Holy Land to seek justice for Vice Admiral Doug. And this time… you are simply…”

Figo laughed and said, "I just wanted to chat with you all, but why do you all say you 'grew up listening to my stories'? Does that make me sound old?"

"No, no, no, you..."

"Alright, alright, calm down. You're 50 years old and have a family. That device you were using is called a Power Meter. It can very intuitively measure the maximum attack power of most people. 8054 is above average for a Major General, which shows that you have a good grasp of Armament Haki. I've also looked at your file. Let me ask you a few simple questions."

Nedvesen tried to calm himself down and said heavily, "You asked, Lord Figo."

Have you considered being transferred to a branch office?

Nedvedson paused, but his expression remained completely unperturbed: "I accept any arrangements made by headquarters."

"It's nothing else. Next, the Marine Headquarters will greatly strengthen its control over the four seas, ensuring that each sea has at least one vice admiral, three rear admirals, and twenty or more officers, to stop the continuous influx of pirates from the four seas into the Grand Line from the root," Figo said.

Nedvesen glanced at Mia and Kong, and considering the recent turmoil at the Marine Headquarters, he had a guess in his mind. Then he heard Figo say, "I killed all the Celestial Dragons who died on the sea recently. The Marine Headquarters will soon break away from the World Government's rule and gain independence to better maintain maritime order. What do you think about this?"

Nedvedson was taken aback, but having prepared himself somewhat, he gritted his teeth and calmed down, asking Figo, "Regarding military spending..."

"You don't need to worry about that."

"So, regarding the World Government... do you intend to overthrow the Celestial Dragons' rule?"

"Not yet, and can't be done, it's just a restraint. They've been lawless for too long."

Nedvedson's expression brightened: "The existence of the Celestial Dragons is a stain on justice. Of course I support restraining their lawlessness!"

"If a Celestial Dragon commits evil before your eyes, would you dare to kill them?"

Nedvedson hesitated slightly before saying, "I certainly wouldn't have dared before, but I definitely would now!"

Figo was satisfied and then asked, "What is your opinion on the slave trade?"

"How risky do you think it would be to allow individual countries to establish their own naval branches, and what kind of support and control measures should we take?"

"If you were offered 'support' to those poor countries at a very low salary, but were guaranteed a better resume and promotion opportunities a few years later, would you agree? Why or why not?"

……

"Alright, one last question: Have you ever thought about becoming a Devil Fruit user? What kind of ability would you like to have?"

With a click, the handcuffs unlocked.

Figo patted him on the shoulder: "You can think about this slowly. Go on, call the next person in, Nedvedson."

"Yes, Lord Figo!"

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Discerning Naval King

[Prisoner: Dole Kemich]

[Rank: SR5]

[Status: In the process of breaking out of prison]

Crime Index: 74

[Participation rate in the arrest: 100%]

[Optional Benefits: Physical Fitness, Artillery Skills, Theft]

[Character Events: Pending Activation]

Watching the handsome naval captain, around 30 years old, walk out of the room, Figo stood up, stretched, and said, "Kong, have someone check on this Kemish who just left."

Kong was taken aback: "Him?"

This wasn't the first time. From morning till night, except for the time when Figo and Mia went home to make Lingling a barbecue at noon, Figo stayed here chatting with the naval officers while he was handcuffed.

He met with seventy or eighty people in a day. He had already met with almost all the vice admirals and rear admirals at the Navy Headquarters. When it was the colonel's turn, Figo only selected three people and said he would check them when he had time.

However, this one still surprised Kong.

Mia said, "He is Vice Admiral Ferloh's son-in-law and has a very good reputation among the marines."

“Then we’ll focus on that,” Figo said. “We’ll investigate his life before he joined the Navy, and look into the town he came from… I remember his file said that the town was attacked by brutal pirates and most of the people in the town were killed.”

Seeing Figo's serious expression, Kong's expression also became serious: "I understand."

"That's all for today, we'll continue tomorrow." Figo and Mia left the empty office and went down the stairs.

On their way home, the marines greeted them excitedly, and the two responded with smiles. Having already experienced it once at noon, they were more at ease in dealing with the situation.

Fifty years is too long. Initially, Figo's house was taken care of by Caesar and others, but later, seeing that Figo was staying in Impel Down for so long, the house could no longer be maintained. So it was rebuilt and, with Figo's consent, allocated to the young navy.

So Figo, who is now known as the Navy King, doesn't actually have a home. Of course, there are many empty houses, and Figo can choose whichever one he wants, but rearranging them would be troublesome. Considering Lingling's feelings, he simply moved into Mia's house for the time being.

There aren't many friends left in the Navy Headquarters who can communicate with him on an equal footing. Apart from the younger Kong, there are only Mia and Caesar. Caesar, who is over eighty years old, probably doesn't have more than two years left to live. His body is aging rapidly, and time is merciless.

“Time flies. Seeing her always reminds me of my past self.” Mia suddenly gestured to the girl in the distance.

With long bangs and a single ponytail, her profile was so exquisite under the moonlight that it was dazzling. Figo was also a little stunned when he looked at her and said, "I'm a bit shorter than you."

Mia smiled and said, "Little Crane, come here!"

The 18-year-old girl turned around at the sound and quickly ran over: "Teacher Mia!"

Then her eyes glanced at Figo, her expression somewhat excited, yet she managed to control her emotions well as she asked, "Is this Lord Figo, the Navy King?"

"Don't use that title. Since you're Mia's student, just call me Uncle Figo. If that feels awkward, just call me Lord Figo."

"Lord Figo," Crane greeted again.

Mia asked, "It's so late, the elite troops' training should be over. Shall we go out for dinner?"

“No, it’s that guy Zefa.” He said with some helplessness, “He overtrained again and hurt himself. I just took him to the hospital for treatment.”

“I see.” Mia explained to Figo, “Xiaohe is the class monitor of the elite class, and Zefa is the youngest child in the elite class. He is 16 years old, very talented, and very serious and hardworking, but he often goes overboard with training.”

"Really? Then Xiaohe is just like you, Sister Mia, both of you are class leaders." Figo laughed, "After I'm done with this busy period, let's go to the elite battalion together and see what the future of the navy is like. I'll also give them a couple of lessons to try. I've never taught students before, so I don't know if it will be effective."

Mia smiled and said, "Even if you didn't tell me, I would have let you go once. Everyone really wants to see you."

Crane was somewhat delighted: "May I tell everyone this news?"

Figo nodded: "Go ahead."

Watching the girl run away with her single ponytail bobbing up and down, Figo thought of the little old lady in her seventies from the original work and sighed, "Time is indeed merciless. How many people have we seen go? Starting with Teacher Doug."

Mia smiled faintly: "In another ten or twenty years, I'll be about the same age. You, who doesn't seem to age, feel like you'll live to be at least a hundred, and maybe even see the younger generation off."

Figo fell silent... I can live to be at least 350 years old, long enough to see all the younger generations pass away.

……

Some complicated emotions come and go quickly, and at this crucial moment, Figo has no time to be saddened by these things.

Over the next few days, he continued to chat with naval officers in the marshal's office while still in chains. He met all the officers above the rank of lieutenant commander, but there were simply too many below that. Given Figo's current strength, the improvement he could gain from capturing them one by one was too meager to afford.