Chapter 2: The Game of the Celestial Dragons

Early chapters here and unreleased novels here: pa.treon.com/FFAddict

Hancock's eyes widened in disbelief at his words. Quickly regaining her composure, she signaled her sisters to keep up, and walked beside Hiro, continuing to question him, "Can you tell me what's really going on?" Looking at Hancock, Hiro's mind began to race.

In the future, Hancock would be rescued by the fish-man, Fisher Tiger. Upon her rescue, she would be assisted by Gloriosa (Elder Nyon), Shakky, and Rayleigh and would return to Amazon Lily. If he established a good relationship with Hancock now, he could potentially meet Rayleigh, the vice-captain of the Pirate King and a top-tier powerhouse in the future, when they escaped.

The Celestial Dragons, as the rulers of this world, had been controlling it for 800 years. They had the formidable Marine force maintaining their power. To kill them, he would need immense strength. In the world of pirates, there were two ways to obtain such power: one was the Devil Fruit, and the other was mastering Haki.

Currently, as a slave, it was impossible for him to obtain a Devil Fruit. Therefore, becoming a disciple of Rayleigh seemed like his best option.

"Furthermore, now is when the Empress is at her most vulnerable and helpless. If I can help her during this time, I might just be able to marry the world's most beautiful Empress. Plan approved! Let's do it!"

With this in mind, Hiro began explaining to Hancock about Saint Charlos. "Saint Charlos is a Celestial Dragon. They call us to the palace for their amusement, often by torturing us in various ways. Sometimes, they make the slaves compete in drinking contests, where the one who loses dies. Other times, it's a contest of who can eat the most; the one who eats the least dies. There are also contests involving Devil Fruits to see which one has the most interesting ability, and the uninteresting ones get killed. There's even a ridiculous contest to see who can urinate the farthest. However, these are just 'entertainment.' The worst I've seen involved two Celestial Dragons making their slaves fight each other in an endurance battle. The losing side dies, while the winner continues to fight until there are no slaves left on one side. This is the most brutal, as many people die in these contests."

Upon hearing Hiro's explanation, Hancock's face turned white with fear. Such life-or-death 'entertainment' made her feel terrible. Her two sisters behind her were trembling uncontrollably. In the midst of her panic, Hancock suddenly wondered how Hiro had managed to survive if he was a slave. She asked Hiro, hoping that he might have some secret to survival.

Upon hearing Hancock's question, Hiro gave a bitter smile. "There's no secret. I survived because there was a strong fighter on our side who killed all the slaves on the other side. However, two days ago, that strong fighter was killed by Saint Charlos because...he didn't crawl fast enough."

Hancock asked with a trembling voice, "So, you're saying that if there's another slave fight, there's no strong fighter on our side, and we could likely be killed?" Hiro sighed and nodded at Hancock. This was his biggest worry. He had to survive. Hancock hadn't been a slave for long, and as long as he could survive, there was a chance to escape, to become stronger, and to avenge his past self.

As Hiro was quietly explaining the situation to Hancock, he was also observing their group. There were huge men over two meters tall, fierce bandits emitting menacing auras, and beautiful women. But they all shared one thing: a numb expression.

By this time, the suited man had led them in front of a palace. As the grand doors opened, they saw a sleazy man with a bubble head helmet, examining several Devil Fruits and occasionally asking questions to the people around him.

After seeing this scene, Hiro sighed in relief and quietly said to Hancock, "We should be fine this time. That World Noble in front of us has a Devil Fruit. He probably wants to force a slave to consume it and see the effects for his own amusement."

However, Hiro marveled at the extravagance of the World Nobles; after all, a single Devil Fruit in the outside world is worth at least a hundred million Berries, yet here, it's used as a toy for entertainment. Hiro then remembered that Hancock herself had consumed her Devil Fruit here. It seemed that they should not be in danger this time, and if they managed to survive, they could eventually be rescued.

Thinking about this, Hiro instructed Hancock, "Just stay quiet later and don't say anything. If you are chosen, just consume the Devil Fruit and use its power as instructed. You shouldn't be in any danger!" Hancock nodded to Hiro, indicating that she understood.

They were led to the center of the hall. Charlos casually picked up a Devil Fruit, walked over to them, and started selecting who would consume it. When Charlos noticed the towering muscular man, his eyes lit up. "Come on, eat it. Let me see what interesting ability this fruit possesses?"

The muscular man took the fruit numbly and took a large bite. A wave of intense disgust, an extremely foul taste, surged into his brain, causing his stomach to churn. The terrible taste of the Devil Fruit almost made him vomit, but he covered his mouth just in time, forcing down the fruit despite his nausea. If he didn't, he might have been shot dead by the World Noble.

Charlos laughed uproariously, "Hahaha, so amusing! It's the expression...Devil Fruits really are the hardest things to eat in this world. It is so interesting!" Watching Charlos' twisted amusement, Hiro frowned. These World Nobles truly treated people as their playthings, amusing themselves with all sorts of sadistic games.

"Show your ability!" Charlos ordered the slave. The slave took a deep breath and activated his newfound Devil Fruit power. Suddenly, the muscular man transformed into a lizard, nearly two meters tall. His entire aura became more ferocious, showing off his formidable appearance.

Bang — A bullet shot from the lizard's eye and he died instantly, reverting back to his human form. "Tsk, a Zoan Fruit, and a disgusting lizard at that..." The sound of the gunshot made all the slaves tremble. These World Nobles acted solely on their whims; a simple mood swing could result in death.

This scene triggered a flood of unpleasant memories for Hiro, especially since these experiences had occurred to this very body, causing certain old wounds to throb with pain. As the saying goes, it's hard to hide a knife's intent in one's gaze.

Hiro, filled with murderous intent towards Saint Charlos, couldn't help but envision various ways to kill him. Just then, Hiro felt a chilling gaze sweep over him. He lowered his head, surreptitiously surveying his surroundings, and noticed a man in a suit with a mask, a long sword strapped to his waist, looking his way. This forced Hiro to quickly lower his head further and suppress the murderous thoughts he had for Charlos.

At this moment, Charlos, holding a fruit, looked at Hancock and said, "It's a heart-shaped fruit, let's have this girl eat it!" Hancock trembled, uncertain of what to do.