The underground slave prison of Mary Geoise.
Two days earlier, Rowan's first Shadow Clone had intended to leave the slaves inside Saint Mataz's hall. Once the first mission was complete, it would have been late at night, and he planned to return and work together with the second clone to free them.
Instead, because his whereabouts had been exposed, all of these slaves had been thrown back into the prison.
Fortunately, thanks to Rowan's Shadow Clone, Saint Mataz, whose courage had already been shattered by the Cloaked Man's reputation, hadn't dragged any of them out for his "games" over the past two days.
Without one of the Celestial Dragons' so-called entertainments no one had died.
This underground prison held all the slaves, though each belonged to a different Celestial Dragon.
In just two days more than ten fellow sufferers had disappeared.
"Tiger..."
"Hm?"
"Do you know what happened to that bastard?"
"After you came back that day, he looked like he'd gone completely insane. It was as if he was terrified of something. He rushed inside, locked himself in his room upstairs, and spent the whole time screaming."
Fisher Tiger looked at the fellow Fish-Man beside him, both of them wearing slave collars, shackles, and handcuffs.
"I don't know."
"I only saw one of the Five Elders take him into a building that even Celestial Dragons aren't allowed to approach."
"After that, he was brought back."
Truthfully Tiger felt fortunate.
Both of the guards had been executed.
Had he not been regarded as nothing more than a slave he might have been killed as well.
But why had Saint Mataz's behavior that day felt so strange?
And that building even Celestial Dragons were forbidden from approaching it.
"I'm just curious."
"The fact that something could frighten a Celestial Dragon so badly..."
"The way that guy ran back like he'd gone mad was honestly ridiculous."
The Fish-Man glanced at the three bullet wounds in his abdomen.
They were souvenirs from one of the Celestial Dragons' "games."
If not for his strong physique he would have died long ago.
Tiger didn't answer.
Because no matter what they were still trapped in this hell.
After a long silence, the Fish-Man lowered his head and began sobbing.
"Boss..."
"I miss Fish-Man Island."
Just that single sentence made Fisher Tiger's own eyes redden.
He missed his homeland just as much.
Every single moment spent in this living hell filled him with longing for home.
Just as he had mocked those three little girls before he now asked himself the very same question.
"Boss can we really make it back alive?"
Tiger lowered his head.
He gave no answer.
Several years ago Golden Lion Shiki had become the first man ever to escape Impel Down by cutting off his own legs.
But this was Mary Geoise.
Never not once had a slave escaped from here.
Ten thousand meters above the sea.
How could anyone possibly leave?
The only route down was the elevator.
By the time it reached sea level they would already have been hunted down and killed.
Unless the entirety of Mary Geoise descended into chaos.
At that moment, footsteps echoed outside the prison.
The underground gate slowly opened.
A guard walked inside.
Fisher Tiger instinctively sniffed the air.
His eyes widened.
Blood.
This guard was different.
There was a strong smell of fresh blood.
Inside Mary Geoise such a heavy scent could never come from only one or two people.
It meant people had died nearby.
And quite recently.
It was already well past midnight.
Nearly every slave had been returned to their cells.
Even the Celestial Dragons slept at night.
At the same moment, just like Fisher Tiger, about five or six others also noticed it. They all stood up inside their cells and looked toward the prison entrance.
"Shhh..."
Rowan raised a finger to his lips.
In an instant, everyone in the underground prison understood.
"Help"
A woman who was still strikingly beautiful despite her miserable appearance was about to scream for help when one of the ten scar-faced female pirates beside her chopped her on the neck with a swift hand strike, knocking her unconscious.
Thud.
As the woman collapsed to the floor, many others hurriedly covered their own mouths.
Rowan smiled.
"Now listen carefully."
"This is your only chance to leave this place. Understood?"
Everyone, including Fisher Tiger, nodded seriously.
Rowan glanced over the familiar faces from his memories.
There were the three Boa sisters.
Fisher Tiger.
And the future Revolutionary Army officer, Koala.
"I'll throw the keys to the collars, handcuffs, and shackles into each cell."
"Unlock yourselves."
"Once you're free, come out one at a time."
"I'll get every one of you out of here."
"During the entire process, no one is allowed to make a sound."
"If anyone tries to scream like that woman just now I will kill them without hesitation."
"This escape concerns every single one of your lives."
"I won't let everyone bear the consequences because of one person's mistake."
"No matter what you see no matter what happens don't scream don't panic believe me."
"The moment you make a sound I'll cut your throat before the second syllable leaves your mouth."
With that, Rowan tossed bunches of keys into each cell.
The prisoners of every race immediately began helping one another remove their restraints.
One cell after another was unlocked.
Finally, Rowan stopped before a filthy little girl.
She was curled up in the corner.
Even though her handcuffs and shackles had already been removed she remained there, trembling, unable to move.
At that moment, Fisher Tiger, who had just stepped out of his cell, walked over.
He was afraid Rowan might lose his patience and kill the little girl.
So he lowered his voice.
"Benefactor may I carry her out?"
"I promise she won't make a sound."
A middle-aged man also stepped forward, pity filling his eyes as he looked at the little girl.
"I..."
"I can promise that too."
"Benefactor she's only a child."
Hearing their voices, the little girl only curled up tighter in the corner.
She buried her face between her arms and knees as her body continued trembling.
Koala.
Rowan walked toward her.
The child before him looked nothing like the girl he remembered from the future.
The sound of footsteps made Koala's trembling body stiffen.
She tightly hugged her own arms, not daring to look up.
"You're afraid, aren't you?"
"You're terrified that if you fail to escape and get caught you'll suffer the same punishment all over again."
Rowan slowly extended a hand toward her.
"Benefactor..."
Not only Fisher Tiger, but also the middle-aged man, the one-armed Longarm tribesman, and Tiger's Fish-Man companion all spoke softly at the same time.
But Rowan didn't stop.
A small figure suddenly rushed toward him.
A flying kick shot straight at him but Rowan casually caught her by the ankle and lifted her into the air.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"I acted without thinking but....please don't hurt her."
"Can you?"
Rowan looked at Boa Hancock, then used his other hand to gently rub Koala's greasy, matted hair.
"Do I really look that much like a crazed murderer?"
"You've all been calling me 'Benefactor' so naturally."
With that, Rowan set Hancock back down.
He then picked Koala up and handed her to Fisher Tiger.
"Protect her."
"It doesn't matter whether someone is human a Fish-Man or any other race."
"As long as they can empathize with one another they can understand one another too."
Rowan looked at everyone who had gathered in the corridor after leaving their cells.
"Not everyone was willing to vouch for this child."
"But in most of your eyes just now I saw reluctance and I saw compassion."
"Even those of you who were once pirates after experiencing this living hell, you should now understand the despair of having suffering forced upon someone else."
"If one day in the future I hear your names spoken with infamy across the seas then the lives I saved today will also be the lives I personally take."
Holding the still-frightened Koala, Fisher Tiger knelt on one knee.
Before he could lower himself completely, Rowan stopped him with one hand.
"I won't ask for my benefactor's name."
"Because knowing it might only bring disaster upon you."
"But from this day onward I, Fisher Tiger, swear that every day of my life will be devoted to freeing every slave in this world!"
"I Fisher Tiger make this oath!"
Tiger tried to kneel again.
But Rowan simply wouldn't allow it.
Instead, he pulled him back to his feet.
"The Revolutionary Army doesn't do that."
"Because according to our ideals all life is equal."
Rowan smiled and pointed at his own face.
"This isn't my real appearance."
"Some of you may have heard my name."
"I'm one of the Revolutionary Army's senior members."
"You may call me Teacher."
"Hm..."
"As for the name used by the Navy and the World Government they call me the Cloaked Man."
"After all no one has ever seen my true face."
After saying that, Rowan turned and walked toward the stairs.
"Come out one at a time."
"It'll take a little longer but it'll be much safer."
One after another, the freed slaves silently lined up.
No one shoved.
No one argued.
Everyone understood this was their only chance.
Their only chance to escape this hell.
No one dared cut in line.
No one questioned Rowan's decisions.
Because none of them were fools.
At the back of the line, Fisher Tiger gently patted Koala while whispering,
"It's alright."
"We'll be leaving here soon."
"No one will ever beat you again."
"Believe me."
Behind Tiger, the Boa sisters quietly spoke among themselves.
"You nearly scared us to death just now, Sister."
"If you'd rushed over and been killed wouldn't that have been such a waste?"
"Exactly."
"We felt sorry for that little girl too but escaping this place is more important, isn't it?"
Hancock shot both of her sisters a glare before making a quieting gesture.
Her gaze then drifted back toward the corridor toward the figure who had already disappeared from sight.
Teacher of the Revolutionary Army.
"All life is equal."
Only someone like him would completely disregard the Hoof of the Celestial Dragons.
But with that brand burned onto their backs did they really still have a future?
Another person pondering those words was Fisher Tiger.
"All life is equal."
So this... is the Revolutionary Army's belief?
Life...
In the Revolutionaries' eyes, Fish-Men and humans stand as equals.
Even after saving my life...
He wouldn't accept my kneeling in gratitude.
Because no one is beneath anyone else...
That's why they simply call him... Teacher.
Meanwhile, outside the corridor, Rowan covered the first person with a large black cloth.
"Don't be afraid next, you'll fly out of here."
"But if you scream I'll let you fall."
"Understood?"
The person beneath the cloth nodded frantically.
Rowan lightly tapped their shoulder.
The next moment their entire body slowly floated into the air.
In the dead of night a black silhouette silently rose from Mary Geoise.
Already perched ten thousand meters above sea level, it didn't take long before the figure disappeared into the clouds.
Within the cloud cover the person drifted toward the New World.
After crossing over the Red Line they slowly began descending.
A ship waited below.
Rowan's real body and Bartholomew Kuma were already there.
Soon, the first figure emerged from the clouds.
Kuma launched himself upward and caught them before gently bringing them aboard.
It was a woman.
The moment she landed and saw the masked Rowan her legs gave out.
She collapsed to the deck, repeatedly offering tearful words of thanks.
One minute later the second figure appeared in the sky.
From leaving Mary Geoise to reaching the cloud layer it took one minute.
Soon dawn began to break, and the sky gradually brightened.
Inside the slave prison only one person remained.
Because she had stopped to help the fallen Hancock to her feet after Rowan had thrown her down earlier, the three sisters had ended up at the very back of the line.
The last one left behind was Hancock herself, after insisting her two younger sisters leave first.
Rowan's Shadow Clone handed her the Chicken Talisman.
"There were two candidates for the final evacuation."
"After all this thing is too important."
"I didn't even bring it with me during my first reconnaissance."
"Hold it tightly."
"It'll let you fly."
"Someone will be waiting for you above the clouds."
"When you get there they'll ask you to hand it back."
Hancock froze.
Even though she was only a little over ten years old, she understood that the object in front of her was the key to Teacher's ability to let people fly.
If she took it how would Teacher leave?
"What about you, Teacher?"
"We can go together!"
"There's still time!"
Rowan smiled and shook his head.
The future Pirate Empress before him was still far from the woman with waist-length flowing black hair.
She still wore two braided pigtails.
She wasn't proud.
Nor did she hold her head high with arrogance.
Right now her eyes were filled only with worry.
"I didn't come here just to rescue all of you."
"I still have something else to accomplish."
"So don't worry."
"I have very high expectations for you."
The bearing of a king.
The future Empress of Amazon Lily.
Living within the Calm Belt, where the Kuja alone could sail using giant serpents instead of Sea Prism Stone, avoiding attacks from enormous Sea Kings.
She too would become one of the forces that could be united in the future.
Rowan placed the Chicken Talisman into Hancock's hand.
She unconsciously gripped it tightly.
High expectations although she knew Teacher's face wasn't his real one she still looked at him with complete seriousness.
At the very least she knew that someone in the Revolutionary Army someone called Teacher was looking forward to her future.
Power flowed from her body into the talisman.
Wrapped beneath the large black cloth her body slowly floated into the air.
Carefully controlling the unfamiliar power she continued rising until she broke through the clouds.
There a huge figure was waiting.
Kuma accepted the Chicken Talisman from Hancock's hand.
He casually let her remain floating before using the Paw-Paw Fruit to propel them toward the New World.
"W-Wait!"
Encased inside a round air bubble, Hancock couldn't move.
Still, she hurriedly asked,
"What about Teacher?"
"He said he had a way are you going back to pick him up?"
Kuma flew alongside the bubble.
"Teacher isn't coming back."
"He still has his own mission."
"Rescuing all of you was only one part of it."
Hancock froze.
How could that be?
He had said he was looking forward to her future.
The future Pirate Empress's eyes immediately reddened.
Inside the round bubble she burst into tears.
Soon they landed on the waiting ship.
Rowan looked at the crying Hancock.
After thinking for a moment, he gently rubbed her head.
"How come you're crying already?"
"We've only been apart for a little while."
Hancock stared blankly.
She suddenly looked up at the masked man standing before her.
No explanation was needed.
She instantly realized the person before her was the very same Teacher who had just sent her away from Mary Geoise.
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