Chapter 174: The Hidden Truth of Mariejois

An hour later, Karl sat in the research facility’s cafeteria, tapping the table impatiently while twelve Lunarians around him devoured their food like they’d never eaten before.

He hadn’t expected these twelve Lunarians to be total strangers to one another.

“Sir, my name is Albert.”

“Sir, I’m Tim.”

“Sir, I…” But before he could finish, Karl quickly raised a hand to stop him.

“You still don’t get the situation, do you?”

Did they really not realize the longer they stayed here, the greater their risk of being exposed?

Or could it be that they didn’t know Mariejois was now controlled by the Celestial Dragons?

Albert opened his mouth, worry flickering across his face.

He was terrified of angering the mysterious man in front of him. If Karl abandoned them, they’d lose any hope of turning their lives around.

Seeing the look on the old man’s face, Karl immediately knew what was on his mind. “You do realize that Mariejois is now under the Celestial Dragons’ rule? If we stick around, we’re bound to be discovered.”

The old man stared at him, disbelief in his eyes. “What?”

“How is that possible? Mariejois has always been our home.”

They’d all grown up in this research institute, but from a young age their elders told them their true home was Mariejois, and that if they ever escaped, they should go there.

“Hold on!” Karl, puzzled now, cut him off with a wave.

“You’re saying Mariejois is your home?”

“But Mariejois has been under Celestial Dragon rule for 800 years.”

Hearing this, Karl fell into thought, then asked, “Have you all been here in this facility since birth?”

The twelve before him nodded slowly. Karl pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.

So that was it—if they’d spent their whole lives locked away, it made sense they had no idea how much the world outside had changed.

Karl stood up at once, his tone serious. “No matter who Mariejois once belonged to, right now we’re deep in enemy territory.”

“If we’re caught, we’re all in danger—you understand?”

Albert immediately got to his feet. “Understood, sir. Does that mean we can leave now?”

Albert understood the risk. If they were truly at the enemy’s heart, escape had to come first. If they were caught here, all of Karl’s efforts would be wasted.

“Good. Follow me.” With that, Karl marched toward the exit while the recently fed Lunarians hurried behind him.

Once outside, the weather was still bright and sunny and only a couple hours had passed.

No one else seemed to have noticed anything at the facility. Besides, this research lab wasn’t as important as some of the other projects here.

“Sir, what should we do now?” Albert glanced at the ornate palace in the distance and saw—this wasn’t the Mariejois they’d grown up hearing about.

Their elders had described Mariejois as a place of ancient, humble buildings—nothing like the shining gold and dazzle of what lay before them.

Karl sized up the ragtag group behind him—old, frail, and weary. What exactly could they accomplish like this?

“Wait here. I’ll take a look inside.”

“If I’m not back within an hour, head for the cliff and fly down it.”

As soon as Karl finished, he vanished from view.

“Chief, what do we do now?” The others turned to Albert.

After some brief discussion over their meal, they’d chosen Albert—the oldest among them—as the Lunarian leader.

“We wait.”

…

Karl moved fast, the darkness of night providing perfect cover for his actions.

“What a filthy place.”

He glanced around the outwardly glamorous Mariejois, hearing the cries of agony hidden beneath the surface.

Step. Step. Step…

He walked down an empty path. Ahead, several guards watched over a gate—one of the entrances to the underground.

Everyone knew what was hidden beneath that gate.

Thud. Thud.

Both guards rolled their eyes back and crumpled to the ground.

The earth beneath them opened wide like a giant maw, slowly drawing their bodies in while the faint sound of chewing echoed out.

“Liuxing’s Template really does it all—makes murder and arson a walk in the park.”

He was using earth element powers from Liuxing’s Template.

Liuxing’s elemental control far surpassed even the strongest Logia Devil Fruit users—just like a character straight out of a manga.

Karl strode ahead as a crack slid open in the wall, widening into a door. He slipped in; once through, the wall sealed itself behind him.

Inside the dungeon, all sorts of tormented cries assailed his ears—pleas for help, howls, every kind of desperate sound you could imagine.

A nauseating stench of blood and rot filled the heavy air.

Tens of thousands were locked in these cells—some ordinary folk, some notorious pirates, even scions of noble families. It didn’t matter who you were or where you came from—against the Celestial Dragons, everyone here was just a slave.

“Who’s that?”

“Hey, who are you? How did you get in here?”

“Wait up… I think I know that guy.”

Karl strolled past the cells, pausing when he heard someone recognize him. He stopped, turning his head slowly.

“Are you Lord Karl?”

“Who? Who is it?” a nearby slave shouted, eager for answers.

Tears of joy streamed down the man’s face. He shouted, “That’s Karl—Vice Captain from Rocks’ crew!”

“What? Karl?”

The cry started a stampede—prisoners raced to their bars, tripping and scrambling just to catch a glimpse of Karl in the corridor.

“It’s really Lord Karl!”

“Lord Karl, it’s me—Jiner!”

Karl looked toward the voice, spotting a blue-skinned Fishman. That was none other than Jinbei’s father.

Karl turned to him, asking, “How’d you wind up here?”

Jiner’s face brightened with relief.

“You wouldn’t know, Lord Karl. Ever since word spread you’d died at God Valley, the Celestial Dragons and slavers have been hunting Fishmen constantly. I was only caught recently.”

Jiner spoke as he thumped the bars of his cell.

Karl hadn’t expected that the rumor of his death would have such sweeping consequences.

Even the Fishmen he’d once protected had become easy prey for capture and sale. He couldn’t imagine what was happening to his other people out in the world—one thing was clear, he needed to get back to the New World and reassert his claim before things got worse.

“No matter who you are, listen up—I’ll only say this once.”

Karl swept his gaze around. “I’m opening your cells. I’m giving you a way out.”

“Whether you take it or not is up to you.”

“Gold Element!”

He poured all his strength into the gold element, covering every chain and cell door across three basement floors.

Under his control, it took only three seconds for the chains and doors to melt down into bubbling metal and seep into the ground—freedom swept the room in an instant.

“Awooo!”

“I’m finally free!”

“Thank you, Lord Karl!”

Those freed rushed to embrace each other, many searching desperately for their long-lost family.

He then used ice element powers to create a massive, bottomless slide stretching along the edge of the Red Line.

“Sun-Eater Cannon!”

He spun around, pressing both palms together, unleashing a devastating blast in the direction he’d come.

Boom!

The ground in front of Karl split open, leaving a trench dozens of meters wide—everyone nearby gaped in awe.

At the far end of the trench, the immense icy slide stood ready.

“Your escape route is open. What happens next is up to you.” With that, Karl turned and walked away.