Holy Land Mariejois.
"Saint Ross! Please punish me!"
Guernica knelt on the ground, his face filled with panic.
From the conversation between Ross and Kong, even if he were truly stupid, he realized there was a problem.
Perhaps Ross had never intended to speak with Kong at all. He had wanted Guernica to relay an order to Saint Saturn, and Guernica had foolishly made his own decision.
"Go to my grandfather and tell him everything that happened today. If I find out you hid anything, you know what the consequences will be."
Ross spoke blandly. If he had been stronger than Guernica, or if he had a trusted subordinate stronger than Guernica at his side, he would have wanted to kill him on the spot.
Someone this stupid would only bring disaster if kept around.
However, as long as today's matter reached Saint Saturn's ears, his objective would be achieved.
Saint Saturn would help deal with an idiot like Guernica.
People like Guernica were only suited to shine on the front lines before ultimately dying in loyal service to the World Government.
"Yes, sir!"
How could Guernica dare say another word? As though afraid Ross would change his mind, he moved and immediately vanished from sight.
"Strength..."
Ross sighed softly. He could not see Guernica's path of departure at all.
Unfortunately, this body of his was too weak. Unless he ate a Devil Fruit, becoming stronger through training alone would take years, even with the best instructors and training resources.
Even after eating a Devil Fruit, developing its powers and growing stronger would still take time.
For now, he could not count on becoming stronger himself.
Since he was already a Celestial Dragon, the proper path was to first gather a group of powerful trusted subordinates.
Those who had already grown strong and possessed Conqueror's Haki could not be recruited, so he would start raising them from childhood and build up his team first.
This Ohara Buster Call would be an excellent start.
An hour later, a short, fat, imposing old man slowly entered Ross's palace.
The old man's procession was grand. Two lines of CP0 members stood on either side, stretching from outside the palace all the way to the entrance of the Jaygarcia Family residence. A broad passage had been left between them, displaying the old man's lofty status.
He was making such a show just to return home. Who was he trying to impress?
Ross shook his head inwardly, his gaze slowly shifting to the tall CP0 agent behind the old man on the left.
That CP0 agent was carrying Guernica, who had just left. Guernica now looked entirely different from before. His white suit was torn to pieces, bloodstains covered his body, and his breath was incredibly weak. He looked utterly miserable.
Ross caught sight of Guernica's miserable state, but his heart remained unmoved. He only found it perfectly normal.
Among the Celestial Dragons, he was probably already considered a great benevolent man.
"Grandfather!"
Ross rose to his feet and greeted him with a smile, his gaze finally settling on the short, fat old man at the front.
The old man was stout, with a full head of white hair and a completely white beard. He leaned on a cane, radiating an imposing aura.
At the same time, information about the old man rapidly surfaced in Ross's mind.
Jaygarcia Saturn Saint, head of the Jaygarcia Family, one of the Five Elders, in charge of the Navy and foreign affairs, and Ross's biological grandfather.
Jaygarcia Saturn Saint Overall Rating: S+
The overall rating was a combined assessment of strength and status. Otherwise, Ross could not possibly have received an A rating.
Perhaps Saturn's strength did not reach S+, but with his identity as one of the Five Elders added in, there was nothing wrong with his overall rating being among the highest tier in the world.
"Ross, it has been quite some time since I last came here. This place seems somewhat different from before."
Saturn spoke cheerfully, like a kindly old man.
After hearing Guernica's account, Saturn had keenly noticed Ross's change.
In the past, Ross had only known how to make crickets fight. When had he ever cared about the Navy's affairs?
Guernica might not have had much of a brain, but his memory was still reliable. What Guernica failed to grasp, Saturn understood the moment he heard it.
His biological grandson seemed to be rather extraordinary.
If you can't find a book by its title, try searching for the author. It may have simply been renamed!
However, Saturn was more pleased than suspicious. It was normal for people in the Pirate World to suddenly transform, and examples of drastic changes in temperament were everywhere.
The Jaygarcia Family had produced little of note for several generations. If something happened to him, the Jaygarcia Family might end up falling to the level of the Rozward Family.
"Perhaps it is because I have always regarded Grandfather as my goal, so I did not pay much attention to the changes in the family's environment." Ross replied with a smile.
"Haha, what is so good about making me your goal? I will be satisfied if a few people from your generation become members of the Knights of God." Saturn shook his head with a laugh.
"Since it is Grandfather's wish, then I will definitely become a member of the Knights of God." Ross began talking nonsense.
The Knights of God were an armed force composed of Celestial Dragons and special experts. They were responsible only for safeguarding the Celestial Dragons' safety and rule. Their commander had the authority to punish Celestial Dragons and could only be a Celestial Dragon himself, with a status second only to the Five Elders.
Whenever a vacancy opened among the Five Elders, it was usually filled by the commander of the Knights of God.
Ross and Saturn chatted about family matters like an ordinary grandfather and grandson.
In his memories, Ross and Saturn had not shared much affection. They normally barely saw each other, carrying only the title of biological grandfather and grandson.
When Saturn had seen him before, he had never been as amiable as he was today.
Yet though he appeared amiable, every sentence Saturn spoke carried a probe.
Ross ignored some of those probes according to the habits of a Celestial Dragon, while he answered others in the way Saturn hoped to hear.
After only half an hour of conversation, a smile appeared on Saturn's face.
"Ross, I heard that you asked the Navy for Admiral Zephyr and intend to participate in this Buster Call?"
After talking for so long, they had finally reached the real matter.
As the Scientific Defense God-Warrior among the Five Elders, Saturn oversaw technology and military affairs. The World Government's Three Armies were all under his control.
Ross taking Zephyr away from the Navy was equivalent to poaching someone from Saturn.
"Yes. Those slaves from before were too weak. I heard Zephyr is skilled at training people, so I intend to have him train my slaves." Ross said indifferently.
He knew whether he could get Zephyr depended on Saturn's attitude.
But if he wanted Zephyr, he could not appear too eager. Otherwise, Saturn would definitely not let him have his way.
He and Saturn might be grandfather and grandson, but they had no real emotional bond. If Saturn knew how much he valued Zephyr, Ross would inevitably be controlled by him.
"Zephyr, huh? He is indeed good at training Navy soldiers, but having him serve as your personal guard would be somewhat wasteful."
"Grandfather, how is that wasteful? He is only an admiral. Could he be nobler than our Jaygarcia Family? I do not care who it is. It would be fine if you found someone about as capable as him." Ross said carelessly.
"That is true. He is only an admiral."
Saturn nodded in understanding and did not think there was anything wrong with Ross's attitude.
However, directly giving Zephyr to Ross was definitely not possible.
It was not because he begrudged a top-tier combatant, but because Ross's identity made it inappropriate.
The Celestial Dragons were not limited to their family alone. There were still the other four Five Elders.
If he truly gave Zephyr to Ross, the other Five Elders would only think he was securing benefits for his descendants.
If word of this got out, the other Five Elders would certainly demand some benefits from him.
However, the Jaygarcia Family had produced no elites for several generations. If Ross could rise to the occasion, arranging an admiral-level guard would not be impossible.
"How about this?"
Saturn pondered for several seconds before speaking calmly.
"I will have Zephyr become a CP0 instructor and temporarily take charge of training CP0 for the Jaygarcia Family."
He would first transfer Zephyr to CP0 and have him spend some time around Ross.
Whether Ross could keep Zephyr would depend on whether he had the ability.
If he could keep Zephyr, that would also prove Ross possessed the ability to become an elite and was worthy of Saturn's attention.
"Thank you, Grandfather!"
Ross grinned.
Wasn't that settled?
With Saturn's words, he would not even need to use rhetoric to persuade Zephyr.
It might be said that Zephyr was training CP0 for the Jaygarcia Family, but once he arrived at the Jaygarcia Family residence, would he not simply become Ross's guard?
His first admiral-level combatant was in hand!
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