7 Chapter 7 - The work of a slave

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

Hiro had initially planned to release his energy in his foot, stop in front of the man, and knock him out with a powerful punch. Unexpectedly, the power released was too strong, and he went through the man's body. At least the effect was intimidating enough.

After wiping the blood off with a torn piece of his shirt, Hiro returned to the Hancock sisters.

"I'll sleep in front of you tonight. If anyone tries to do anything, call me!"

After saying this, he lay down about a meter away from the sisters, protecting them in the corner. This way, no matter which side someone tried to approach them from, he would hear it.

The sisters looked at Hiro, moved. In such a harsh environment, having someone to protect them filled their hearts with a sense of security.

Hancock would occasionally glance at Hiro, her cheeks flushing. After biting her lip and making up her mind, she took off her cloak and walked towards Hiro.

"Hiro, you... you will catch a cold sleeping like this, bare-bodied. Here, put this on!"

Hiro, looking at Hancock who was wearing only a red shirt and shorts, shook his head.

"I'm fine, I'm stronger than you, nothing will happen. You should keep it."

"I... We three sisters can sleep huddled together; we won't catch a cold. You don't need to act tough. If you get sick, there won't be anyone left to protect us!" Hancock insisted. Hiro glanced at Hancock's two sisters and then at Hancock, whose eyes were filled with determination. He didn't refuse further and accepted the cloak draped around him.

Hancock broke into a radiant smile as Hiro took the cloak. This was the first time she had felt truly happy since her arrival. Returning to her sisters, the trio huddled closely together, each providing a touch of warmth in the chilly cell.

Despite a fresh corpse not far from them, the cold stone floor beneath them, and the frightening slaves surrounding them, they fell into a deep sleep. Because they felt a sense of unprecedented security with Hiro blocking their path. After a night of extreme anxiety and a constant threat of death, everyone fell into a deep sleep, too exhausted to cause any trouble.

The next morning came quickly. Someone knocked on the door, waking everyone up. The CP0 in charge, seeing a corpse in Hiro's cell, didn't say a word. He opened the cell door, letting people in to clean up the body.

Awakened, Hiro approached the Hancock sisters. "During the day, all women are arranged to clean. Remember, you can move slowly while cleaning, be careful not to break anything, and always smile when you encounter a Celestial Dragon. Never cry or scream, regardless of the situation; doing so will only get you killed faster!"

Hancock glanced anxiously at the male slaves around them. Seeing this, Hiro patted Hancock's head, assuring her with a smile. "Don't worry, male slaves work in different areas from female slaves. They usually work as 'human stairs.' They won't be with you, and they wouldn't dare to harm you. If they dare, they're the ones who'll die!"

Puzzled, Hancock asked, "Human stairs?"

A flash of anger passed through Hiro's eyes as he explained, "Human stairs, as the name implies, are stairs that move on their own. The Celestial Dragons stand on the stairs and reach the top without exerting any effort. The stairs move because we male slaves push them from below!"

As Hiro said this, he was reminded of a dark memory. In a narrow, stifling space without daylight, countless male slaves were pushing a lever so heavy that they had to lean into it. They didn't know when they could stop, only that they had to keep pushing. Every break was like a temporary return from hell.

Of course, many people die beneath these human stairs. Each clean-up yields enough bodies to form a small hill. Built at the cost of countless lives and vast wealth, these stairs are just to save the Celestial Dragons from the effort of walking. Damn Celestial Dragons! In his past life, Hiro had seen many animes, but none featured a species as vile as the Celestial Dragons. If such scum is not wiped from this world, they'll only continue to torment more people, breeding more tragedies.

Just then, the CP0 at the door pointed to the people inside the cage. "The men go with him, the women go with her, and brat, you come with me!" Hearing that Hiro was to go with the CP0, everyone looked at him enviously. They knew he was being taken to train, not work.

"Be careful," Hiro called out, before heading towards the knife-wielding CP0. The Hancock sisters exchanged a glance before following the CP0 leading the female slaves out of the cage.

After the CP0 with the knife brought Hiro to an open area, he began his instruction. "Kid, since you understand Haki, you should know that Haki is divided into three types: Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki. Conqueror's Haki is extremely rare, possessed by only one in a million people, so let's not discuss it. That leaves Armament and Observation Haki.

Armament Haki, as the name suggests, is the process of harnessing the energy within the body, armoring it on your person. It allows you to catch a blade bare-handed and turns your fists, even your fingertips, into deadly weapons.

Observation Haki, again as the name suggests, involves using Haki to sense everything around you, as if viewing it with your naked eye. This way, any attempts to attack you from behind will be 'seen' by you, greatly enhancing your self-defensive abilities.

Now, let me first teach you the simplest type, Armament Haki!"

Hiro was looking forward to it. In his previous life, watching the anime and reading the manga, he had been very curious about the power system in One Piece.

The knife-wielding CP0 stretched out his hand towards Hiro to demonstrate. His hand was instantly covered in a layer of black. He then lightly punched the ground, easily blasting it apart.

Boom—

Hiro covered his head with his arms. When the smoke cleared, there was a pit more than half a meter deep. He gawked at the knife-wielding CP0, unable to believe that such a light punch could be so powerful. If that punch hit his head, even with his Devil Fruit powers, wouldn't his head explode?

At once, Hiro's wariness of CP0 deepened. This character, who he had never heard of in his previous life, was surprisingly powerful.

"Demonstration over, let's begin the training!"