The next morning, Mary Geoise, standing atop the Red Line at the very pinnacle of the world, welcomed the light of dawn.
Inside a luxurious restroom in the temporary reception building on the outskirts of Mary Geoise, Rowan's Shadow Clone had already been waiting for an entire day.
Unfortunately, no one had entered since yesterday.
Didn't any of those fat worms ever need to take an urgent piss?
The Shadow Clone closed its eyes again and returned to a low-consumption state, maintaining only basic awareness of its surroundings.
Meanwhile, in the small grove outside the building, another Shadow Clone remained hidden among the dense leaves of a tree, completely silent and motionless.
One day had passed.
He could wait a little longer.
In the blink of an eye, another day passed.
Aside from another dozen or so slaves dying, nothing changed in Mary Geoise.
The Shadow Clone hidden in the tree used the Transformation Jutsu to alter its appearance, then moved elsewhere to continue lying in wait.
This was Mary Geoise.
Because of the threat Rowan posed, its security was now on an entirely different level compared to the past.
Soon, the clone slipped into another building.
There was no helping it.
The Celestial Dragons of Mary Geoise were always surrounded by guards and slaves. Very few ever traveled alone.
After all, that simply wasn't their style.
And if one wanted to move freely through Mary Geoise, the identity of a guard was nowhere near as useful as that of a Celestial Dragon.
So there was only one suitable place to make the switch.
The restroom.
Those fat worms weren't even willing to breathe the same air as ordinary people. Naturally, they wouldn't tolerate guards staring at them while they relieved themselves.
Of course, the perverts among the Celestial Dragons were another matter.
And so, inside two separate restrooms, the two Shadow Clones continued waiting.
Three days passed in total.
Finally, the clone on the outskirts found its target.
Oh?
An acquaintance.
Saint Mataz.
The first Celestial Dragon Rowan's real body had encountered when entering Mary Geoise three days earlier.
And also Fisher Tiger's slave owner.
"Ah."
A cold gleam flashed.
The syringe pierced Saint Mataz's body and injected the drug.
The next instant, Rowan hurriedly dodged aside, narrowly avoiding being splashed by the man's urine.
After tying him up, Rowan stuffed him inside a cabinet in the luxurious restroom.
The drug would keep him unconscious for two or three days.
There was no reason to doubt something made by Vegapunk.
As for what would happen after those two or three days.
If possible, Rowan intended to come back and kill him.
The numbers on the platform inside his Prison Space were rising far too slowly.
Only Celestial Dragons could help him unlock the third Diamond Chest.
As for anything above Diamond Rowan hadn't even considered it.
It was simply too difficult.
He glanced at the detector Dragon had given him and memorized the approximate distance and direction.
He formed a hand seal.
Transformation Jutsu.
Transforming directly into Saint Mataz, Rowan walked out of the restroom and immediately sat down on Fisher Tiger's back.
"Move, you stupid fish!"
"Do you want to die?"
The whip lashed out, but merely grazed Fisher Tiger's skin.
Tiger froze.
That whip for some reason, it hadn't hurt like the previous ones.
Crack!
Another sharp whip crack rang out.
With no time to think, Tiger hurriedly began crawling forward.
But the moment they left the building, Rowan swung the whip again.
"Where do you think you're going, you stupid fish?!"
A guard beside him lowered his head respectfully.
"Saint Mataz, weren't you going to the arena?"
Rowan immediately lashed the guard with his whip.
Crack!
A bloody red welt appeared across the man's body.
Fresh blood poured from the wound.
Rowan had already held back.
Otherwise, that single lash would have shattered the guard's skull.
Thud.
Rowan kicked Tiger.
"Taking an ugly fish like this to the arena would only embarrass me! Go back! Find me a slave worthy of showing off!"
The guard who had been struck didn't move an inch. He merely dropped to one knee and acknowledged the order.
Yet the sight left the crawling Tiger confused.
Could it be that his Fish-Man skin had grown even tougher after enduring so much torture?
Otherwise, why did the Celestial Dragon on his back barely hurt him when he struck him, yet a casual swing of the whip left that guard covered in blood?
Before Tiger could think further, Rowan soon arrived at the entrance to Pangaea Castle, the inner section of Mary Geoise.
Unlike the outer area used for temporary receptions, the Chamber of Authority, the Room of Flowers, and the Levely held once every four years were all located here.
At its very heart was the Empty Throne.
The Empty Throne itself wasn't a secret in Mary Geoise. Sabo's brother from the Goa Kingdom had been here before, as had Cobra.
One had left alive.
The other, after seeing Imu, had immediately understood that he would never be allowed to leave.
After the two gate guards lowered their heads and knelt, Rowan's group entered the inner section of Mary Geoise without obstruction.
At this point, Rowan was glad he hadn't tried sneaking around alone.
At the very least, with Fisher Tiger present, he didn't have to worry about exposing himself by failing to find Saint Mataz's residence.
Besides, if he had been alone, even the identity of a Celestial Dragon might have drawn suspicion under the current state of heightened security.
Before long, the group arrived at a large building.
Inside the lavish, palace-like residence, the guards began bringing out Saint Mataz's slaves one by one.
There were pirates.
Beautiful women.
And even members of rare races from across the sea, including Fish-Men.
"Disgusting things like Fish-Men still can't compare to mermaids. Is this all of them?"
At Rowan's words, the collared slaves below trembled uncontrollably.
The guard beside him lowered his head.
"Great Celestial Dragon, these are all of them."
Rowan slowly swept his gaze across the group, pausing briefly on three young women.
At this point in the timeline, Fisher Tiger hadn't escaped yet.
So had they only recently been brought here?
"Go. Bring me a few Devil Fruits."
The guard froze.
"My lord, the three Devil Fruits that belonged to you have already been used."
Rowan frowned.
Why the hell was this Saint Mataz so poor?
Still, even in Mary Geoise, there could only be a limited supply of Devil Fruits.
After all, many Celestial Dragons enjoyed watching bizarre spectacles.
After thinking for a moment, Rowan spoke.
"Prepare some Berries. Tomorrow, I'll apply to descend to the lower world."
"I'll never obtain truly powerful slaves if I stay in the Holy Land forever. As long as I don't go to Sabaody Archipelago, there shouldn't be a problem."
With that, Rowan dropped back onto Tiger's back.
"Move. Let's go look around."
Just as he was leaving, Rowan glanced back.
"Keep these slaves here. I'll decide how to play with them after I return."
Rowan then rode Tiger away from the residence, casually directing him toward the signal indicated by the detector.
Meanwhile, inside the palace-like hall, the assembled slaves waited in terror for fate to pass judgment on them.
Every time a Celestial Dragon started one of their games, someone among them would die.
Sometimes, a slave would be forced to eat two Devil Fruits and die as their body exploded.
Other times, they would be ordered to hide somewhere within the hall while the Celestial Dragon randomly fired a gun.
Being found meant being shot dead.
And for the beautiful female slaves being chosen could mean a fate worse than death.
The wives of Celestial Dragons weren't necessarily Celestial Dragons themselves.
Only unions between those who had inherited the sacred family names could produce descendants who inherited those names and likewise became Celestial Dragons.
Such circumstances were also what led to the birth of those snot-dripping, utterly brainless idiots.
"Sister... what do we do?"
"I... I'll definitely protect you both."
"But if we're unlucky this time... if one of us gets chosen... we'll die."
Hancock once again smeared dirt over her own face and those of her two younger sisters.
"No. We still haven't fully grown yet. Those disgusting bastards won't be interested in us."
Sandersonia opened her mouth, and a tongue like a snake's flicked out. It was an effect of her Devil Fruit.
"Big Sister... can we really escape from this place?"
The guards had gathered all the slaves in the hall. Since this was Saint Mataz's order, and every slave wore a collar and chains, they weren't worried about anyone escaping.
The three sisters found a corner and comforted one another. Since they hadn't been here long, they still clung to the hope that they might someday escape.
A Fish-Man nearby overheard them and gave a disdainful laugh.
But after glancing at the wounds covering his own body, he realized they were all equally pitiful.
His tone softened.
"Instead of wondering whether you can escape, you'd better hope you don't become beautiful in another two years. Women are their favorite."
The Fish-Man looked at Hancock.
"During one of their previous amusements, your two sisters were forced to eat Snake-Snake Fruits. Once they grow up with those forms, those freaks might develop some twisted desires."
"Protect them. And protect yourself."
"If you realize you've been chosen, ending your own life might be the best outcome. Because being played with until you die..."
Nearby, a member of the Longarm Tribe was missing one of his arms.
"This is a world... where living is worse than dying."
The Fish-Man sneered.
"Then why haven't you killed yourself?"
The Longarm man looked at his remaining arm.
"Because I don't have the courage, do I?"
"Among the slaves still alive here, aside from those three little girls who only arrived recently, everyone who continues clinging to life simply lacks the courage to end it themselves."
Meanwhile, a little girl even younger than Hancock and her sisters was endlessly scrubbing the floor with a rag.
She kept muttering to herself.
"I'm good at working... I won't be lazy..."
"Don't kill me. I can do anything. I won't be lazy..."
"Water... Where's the water? Please, give me some water. I'll keep working. Please..."
"I can't clean the floor without water..."
The little girl crawled on her knees toward the entrance of the hall.
She had barely managed to plead a few words before a guard kicked her back inside.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Yet even then, the girl immediately used her rag to wipe away the blood that had dripped onto the floor.
She continued begging them not to kill her, promising that she would work hard and do anything they asked.
But the blood kept dripping.
The more she wiped, the more there was.
The little girl once again tried to crawl toward the entrance and beg for water to clean the floor.
A woman nearby watched her with a conflicted expression, seemingly reminded of her own life before being thrown into this hell.
She walked over, pulled the little girl into her arms, and carried her back to the corner, gently soothing her as she struggled.
"It's all right. The floor is already clean. When the master returns, he definitely won't kill you."
It was a twisted form of comfort.
Yet the little girl gradually calmed down.
Because only words like those could reach her anymore.
"She's already gone mad."
The Fish-Man looked over, his eyes filled with bitter self-mockery.
"To be thrown into hell at such a young age..."
"Her future can no longer be changed."
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