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Early the next morning, none of the slaves were lying on the ground resting.
Instead, every single one of them stood packed in front of the cage door, waiting for it to open.
In a place as "sacred" as the Holy Land Mary Geoise, if a slave smelled too strongly of sweat, they could be killed on the spot—on the grounds of polluting the air of the Holy Land.
Fortunately—or perhaps ironically—the Celestial Dragons all wore bubble helmets. Otherwise, slaves who only bathed once every three days would probably have been exterminated long ago.
After precise calculations by the World Government, it was determined that allowing slaves to bathe once every three days would keep body odor below the level that could penetrate the bubble helmets. That way, the Celestial Dragons would never breathe contaminated air—and the government could also save money.
After all, in a world dominated by oceans, freshwater was an extremely precious resource. Using it to bathe slaves was considered a terrible waste.
To conserve water, the World Government had spent a massive sum constructing a gigantic communal bathhouse. The water inside was recycled.
Which meant—
If you arrived late, there was a very real chance you'd be washing yourself in someone else's bathwater.
Once all slaves had finished bathing, the bathhouse would open its floodgates and release the water—now completely transformed into filthy sewage.
When the World Government personnel unlocked the cages, the slaves surged forward in a frenzy, sprinting toward the bathhouse.
The guards didn't stop them.
On the contrary, they treated it like a game. Some of them even placed bets on who would reach the bathhouse first.
The slaves weren't running because they loved cleanliness.
They were running because if they washed too late—if they couldn't fully scrub away the stench—there was a good chance a Celestial Dragon would notice them later.
And those unlucky few were always killed.
That was why everyone ran.
Chenos blended into the crowd, heading for the bathhouse.
By the time he reached the entrance, Tesoro was already waiting there.
Moments later, Fisher Tiger arrived as well.
Once inside, slaves instinctively gave the three of them a wide berth.
The reason was simple.
Fisher Tiger was the strongest Fish-Man among the slaves.
And Chenos' reputation—fighting five powerful slaves at once and killing four—had already spread.
Those were people no one dared provoke.
Tesoro, walking beside them, naturally benefited from the same wary respect.
None of the three cared.
Their focus was fixed on one thing only—
The way out.
Tesoro led them deeper into the bathhouse, toward its farthest corner.
This area was distant and had the least water, so most slaves preferred bathing near the entrance. Very few came this far.
Occasionally, some would—since the water here was at least clean—but it was rare.
Chenos stepped forward and coldly said to the few people there:
"This spot is ours. Get lost."
Some were still covered in soap suds, but the moment they recognized Chenos, they didn't hesitate. They grabbed their clothes and fled.
In an instant, the deepest part of the bathhouse was empty—leaving only the three of them.
Tesoro walked to the drainage outlet on the right side of the wall.
It was sealed with a metal grate embedded into the floor. The center had long narrow slits.
Tesoro slid his fingers into the gaps, pushed forward slightly—
Then lifted.
The entire grate came loose.
It had been fixed so tightly that everyone assumed it was welded to the ground. Many slaves had dreamed of escaping through the drain, but none had ever managed to move it.
Chenos was genuinely surprised.
"This thing was hidden that well?"
He glanced at Tesoro.
"How did you even find this place?"
Tesoro scratched his head awkwardly.
"I was weak back then… slow, too. I always ended up bathing here. One time I slipped, hit the grate by accident, and realized it moved. That's how I knew—no one else noticed it."
"Now that was a lucky fall," Chenos muttered.
The opening was over a meter wide—large enough for even Fisher Tiger's massive frame to pass through.
They dropped into the sewer.
Below was a massive underground channel. Tesoro guided them forward until they reached a wall over three meters tall.
He pointed at a narrow seam in it.
"This is the discharge gate. During bathing hours, it opens twice. Once the water level reaches a certain point, the gate drops and releases the water."
"But right now, it's still circulating internally," Tesoro continued.
"We can ride the current when it opens and check the exit."
The water level rose rapidly.
Soon, all three were floating.
When water began spilling through the gaps above the gate, the mechanism suddenly activated.
With a thunderous release, the floodgates opened.
The accumulated bathwater surged forward violently.
Tesoro drifted with practiced ease, then grabbed onto a metal structure at a bend further ahead.
It looked like a vent grille—solid metal at the bottom, with fist-sized openings at the top.
He shouted back:
"Grab on here! Don't get swept away! Beyond this is just the recycling system—nothing worth seeing!"
Fisher Tiger glanced back instinctively.
Chenos was a Devil Fruit user. Even though this was freshwater, most Devil Fruit users were terrible swimmers—and the water here was deep and fast.
He was about to move—
When he saw Chenos standing calmly in the torrent.
Perfectly steady.
Unmoved by the current.
Chenos had instinctively activated his Devil Fruit, absorbing the force of the rushing water.
And to his surprise—
It worked.
Another avenue for development.
They regrouped at the grille.
Tesoro pointed through the gaps.
"That's the exit."
Chenos peered through—
And saw only a bottomless black void.
"…This," Chenos said slowly, grabbing Tesoro by the collar, "is the exit you were talking about?"
If someone was swept out from here, it would be no different from jumping off a cliff.
Fisher Tiger, meanwhile, stared unblinkingly into the darkness, as if trying to measure its depth.
After a long silence, he finally spoke:
"I can make it out of here."
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