Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Is This the Exit You Speak Of?
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Early the next morning, the slaves weren't resting on the ground but were all standing at the cage door waiting for it to open. In the 'holy' place of Holy Land Mariejois, if one smells strongly of sweat, there's a good chance they'll be killed for polluting the air. Thankfully, all Celestial Dragons wear bubble helmets, or else the slaves, who bathe only once every three days, would likely be executed.
After precise calculations by the World Government, they found that bathing slaves every three days prevents the odor from affecting the bubble helmets. This way, the Celestial Dragons won't breathe polluted air, and they save funds on bathing the slaves. In this world where most places are ocean, freshwater is a valuable resource. Using it to bathe slaves is wasteful.
To conserve precious water resources, the World Government spared no expense in constructing a large bathhouse. The water in this bathhouse can be recycled. If you're late, there's a good chance you're using someone else's bathwater. After all slaves have bathed, the bathhouse drains the dirty water.
When the World Government staff open the cage, the slaves rush to the bathhouse. Some World Government officials even place bets on who will get there first. The reason the slaves run so desperately is not cleanliness, but because if they're late, they might not be able to wash off their sweat properly with recycled water. There are always a few unlucky ones who get caught by the Celestial Dragons and get killed for not being clean enough.
That's why everyone is so eager to bathe! Hiro is among the crowd, running towards the bathhouse. When he arrives at the bathhouse entrance, Tesoro is already waiting for him, followed closely by Fisher Tiger.
Upon entering the bathhouse, many people steered clear of the trio. The reason was simple: Fisher Tiger was the strongest fishman here, and Hiro' reputation for standing against five people had already spread. Moreover, he had fought against some of the most powerful slaves, making him a threat they did not want to provoke. Following the two, Tesoro also enjoyed the awe-stricken looks from others.
However, the three of them were not concerned with what others thought. They were focused on inspecting the exit point. Tesoro led the way to the deepest part of the bathhouse. Due to the location's remoteness and the scarce amount of water here, most slaves preferred to bathe near the bathhouse entrance, making this area seldom visited.
Regardless of the distance and scarcity of water, the water here was clean, so there were still a few people bathing here. Hiro stepped forward and said indifferently to a few people, "We're taking this spot. Leave!" Seeing Hiro, the bathers - some still covered in soap - grabbed their clothes and fled. In a blink of an eye, only the three of them remained in the deepest part of the bathhouse.
Once the area was clear, Tesoro walked over to the drain on the rightmost side of the deepest part of the bathhouse. The drain was made from a steel plate, with many long slits in the middle. Tesoro stuck his fingers through the slits, grabbed the plate and pushed it forward, lifting it up. The steel plates were assumed to be fixed and impossible to lift, giving the illusion that they were part of the floor.
Many slaves had noticed the drain and contemplated escaping through it, but none could lift the steel plate. Hiro, somewhat surprised at the concealed nature of the exit, asked Tesoro curiously, "How did you find this exit?" Tesoro scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Back when I was weak and slow, I had no choice but to bathe here in the deepest part. One time, I slipped and pushed the drainage plate by accident, which led me to discover this place. That's why I'm sure no one else knows about it."
"A fortunate slip!" Hiro remarked.
The steel plate was over a meter wide. Even Fisher Tiger, who was over two meters tall with a robust figure, could easily enter. After entering the sewer, they found a large canal below. Tesoro led them along the canal.
Upon reaching a wall over three meters high, Tesoro pointed to a crack in the wall and explained, "Look, this is the drain outlet. During the bath time, water is released here twice. Once the water level rises to a certain extent, this gate will be lowered and the water will be discharged. However, we cannot escape at this time because the water will be recycled. But we can take advantage of the gate opening to investigate the water outlet."
The water level had already risen quite high. The trio was floating on the surface. When the water started to slowly overflow the gap above the gate, the gate, seemingly equipped with a sensor, swung open abruptly, discharging the accumulated bathwater.
Tesoro, who was familiar with the path, allowed himself to float with the current. After being carried some distance, he caught onto a grille-like structure on a wall at a bend.
The bottom of this grille was a completely sealed steel plate, but there were fist-sized gaps at the top, presumably for ventilation. These gaps, however, allowed them to see the scene behind the grille.
He shouted at the two of them, "Hold onto this! Don't get swept past it. There's nothing to see further down—it's just the bathwater recycling area."
Fisher Tiger, worried about Hiro, who was a Devil Fruit user, intended to go help him. Although the water here was fresh and wouldn't affect a Devil Fruit user, most of them couldn't swim well, and the water here was quite deep. He feared Hiro might have trouble.
However, Hiro was standing steadily in the water, unaffected by the current, and made it to the grille smoothly.
It turned out Hiro was trying to use his Devil Fruit ability to absorb the force of the water. To his surprise, it worked, giving Hiro more ideas for developing his Devil Fruit powers.
Once at the grille, Tesoro said to the two of them, "Look, the drainage outlet is outside!"
Tesoro pointed to the other side of the grille, signaling the two to look over.
After looking through the gaps in the grille, Hiro only saw a bottomless dark hole.
"Is this the 'exit' you mentioned?"
Hiro, grabbing Tesoro by the collar, questioned him angrily.
They couldn't gauge how deep the hole was just by looking. If they were swept out by the water, it would be no different from jumping off a building.
Fisher Tiger, on the other hand, was staring intently at the bottomless outlet, seemingly trying to figure out its depth.
After pondering for a moment, Fisher Tiger spoke, "I can get out from here!"
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