After resting for a while, Chenos headed back to the slave dining area.
During the past few days of training with the sword-wielding CP0, he'd been allowed to eat with him. The CP0 had even specifically instructed the government staff to bring over more nutritious meals.
As a result, Chenos had been eating very well lately.
But today was different.
After finishing the Observation Haki training, the CP0 received a mission and left to carry it out. Naturally, Chenos no longer had the privilege of sharing his meals, so he had no choice but to return to the slave canteen.
Calling it a "canteen" was generous.
Most of the food here consisted of leftovers from the Celestial Dragons. The only thing consistently provided was plain rice.
Sometimes, if the Celestial Dragons hadn't eaten much, there would be plenty of leftovers, and the slaves could actually have a decent meal.
But other times—when the Celestial Dragons ate heartily—whether or not you could get meat or anything with actual nutrition depended entirely on fighting for it.
Everyone knew this:
Rice alone could fill your stomach, but it was nowhere near enough to sustain the kind of brutal labor they were forced to do.
If you failed to get protein, your body would eventually give out—and you'd die.
Because of this, most of the time, the slave canteen was no different from a battlefield.
Chenos, being young and with relatively low consumption in the past, usually scavenged whatever leftovers others didn't want. Occasionally, he was lucky enough to snag a bit of meat.
As for the female slaves, their situation was slightly better. Their work didn't involve heavy labor, so things were far less vicious on their side.
That alone eased Chenos's worries about Hancock and her sisters.
When Chenos arrived, a long line had already formed outside the canteen, everyone waiting for the doors to open.
And then—
"Holy shit… why is this guy here?"
As Chenos took his place in line, he saw someone he'd been constantly thinking about.
Fisher Tiger.
Chenos had been waiting for the day Fisher Tiger would rampage through Mary Geoise. That was supposed to be his chance to escape this hellhole.
But now?
Fisher Tiger was still here.
If he was still a slave, then how the hell was Chenos supposed to leave?
Only then did Chenos realize something he'd completely overlooked.
In both the manga and the anime, it was brushed off with a single line—
Boa Hancock had been enslaved by the Celestial Dragons for several years, and only later was she freed by Fisher Tiger.
And when Chenos transmigrated into this world, Hancock had just been sold here.
Which meant—
Did that mean he still had to endure years in this hell?
Chenos froze.
His mind went blank.
How the hell was he supposed to deal with that?
He was a Devil Fruit user.
He couldn't escape through the sea like Fisher Tiger.
Escaping by land or ship from Mary Geoise— a place crawling with top-tier monsters—was nothing short of suicide.
Did he really have no choice but to suffer here for years until Fisher Tiger's uprising?
No.
Absolutely not.
There had to be a way.
Chenos forced himself to calm down and think.
If he wanted to leave, Fisher Tiger was still the key.
Without Fisher Tiger setting Mary Geoise on fire and drawing away the bulk of the defenders, it would be impossible to free so many slaves.
Which meant—
Fisher Tiger had to escape first.
But the problem was… how?
Chenos couldn't help but curse Oda internally.
You draw a manga and don't even properly explain how Fisher Tiger escaped?
Now I'm stuck trying to reverse-engineer it!
No matter what, the first step was obvious:
Get close to Fisher Tiger.
Ask if he had any escape plans.
Maybe—just maybe—there'd be an opening.
With that in mind, Chenos walked toward Fisher Tiger.
The moment he moved, however, he caught the attention of all the Fish-Men around Fisher Tiger.
Power dynamics existed everywhere—even among slaves.
Fish-Men were naturally far stronger than humans, often said to possess ten times the strength. On top of that, they were extremely united.
As a result, they were a faction no one dared provoke.
Whenever food was distributed, the Fish-Men always stood at the front.
Now that Chenos was approaching them, everyone assumed he was trying to challenge their dominance in the canteen.
Facing the hostile gazes of the Fish-Men, Chenos remained calm and walked straight up to Fisher Tiger.
Before Chenos could speak, Fisher Tiger spoke first.
"Human kid. This isn't a place you should be. Go back."
"I want to talk to you," Chenos replied.
Before Fisher Tiger could respond, one of the Fish-Men behind him snapped,
"Human brat, can't you understand plain speech? Out of respect for Big Brother Fisher, I'll give you one last chance—get the hell out of here!"
Chenos didn't even glance at him.
His eyes remained fixed on Fisher Tiger.
The Fish-Man's expression darkened.
"Damn it, humans really never learn. Looks like if I don't kill you today, you won't remember your place!"
The moment the words fell, the Fish-Man lunged forward and kicked toward Chenos.
Fisher Tiger merely watched.
But when the Fish-Man's kick landed—
It felt like it hit nothing.
The force vanished, as if swallowed whole.
An invisible barrier blocked his foot completely.
"He's a Devil Fruit user! Careful—get back!"
Fisher Tiger shouted.
But it was already too late.
Chenos calmly brushed the Fish-Man's leg aside and delivered a clean kick to his chest, sending him flying several meters away.
This time, Chenos deliberately didn't use his reflection ability. He used only his raw strength—just enough to knock him back.
Once the Fish-Men caught their companion, Fisher Tiger finally relaxed slightly.
"What do you want?" Fisher Tiger asked, stepping in front of Chenos and shielding his people.
Not every Fish-Man possessed his level of strength. If things escalated, someone could easily die.
Chenos glanced at the onlookers gathering around them.
"This isn't the place to talk. I need to speak with you."
Fisher Tiger frowned, puzzled by this human child's intentions.
But he wasn't worried.
With strength on par with—or beyond—a Vice Admiral, he wasn't afraid of Chenos.
After a brief pause, Fisher Tiger nodded and walked toward a corner of the canteen.
Once they reached a relatively secluded spot, Fisher Tiger turned around.
"All right. No one's around now. Speak. What do you want?"
Chenos looked him straight in the eyes.
"I want to help you escape."
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