Mary Geoise.
"Saint Ross! Please punish me!"
Guernika knelt on the ground, his face filled with fear.
Through Ross's conversation with Kong, he even realized the problem.
Perhaps Ross didn't actually want to communicate with Kong, but rather had him relay orders to Saturn, which was a foolish act of his own making.
"Go to my grandfather and tell him what happened today. If I find out you're hiding anything, you know what the consequences will be."
Ross said calmly, "If I were stronger than Guernika, or if I had a confidant stronger than Guernika, I would want to kill him on the spot."
That was incredibly stupid; keeping such people around would only bring trouble.
However, once news of today's events reached Saturn's ears, his goal would be achieved.
Fools like Guernika were dealt with by the Celestial Dragons.
People like Guernika were only suited to shine on the front lines and ultimately die loyal to the World Government.
"Yes, sir!"
Guernika kowtowed and fled without a word, vanishing in an instant.
"Such skill..."
Ross sighed softly, realizing he hadn't been able to see any trace of Guernika's departure.
Unfortunately, his body was too weak. Unless he ate a Devil Fruit, it would take years to become stronger through training alone, even with the best instructors and resources.
Even if one ate a Devil Fruit, it still took time to develop and become stronger.
For now, he didn't expect to become stronger.
Since he was a Celestial Dragon now, finding a group of powerful confidants was the best course of action.
If he couldn't tame a fully grown one with Conqueror's Haki, then he could start raising them from a young age and grow his team first.
This Buster Call of Ohara was a great start.
An hour later, a short, stout, and imposing old man slowly entered Ross's palace.
The old man was very imposing, with two teams of CP0 members standing on his left and right, stretching from outside the palace all the way to the door of the Jaygarcia house, leaving a wide passage in the middle to show the old man's dignity.
What a show just to visit home—who are they trying to impress?
Ross shook his head inwardly, his gaze slowly shifting until it landed on the tall CP0 member to the left rear of the old man.
A CP0 officer was carrying the battered Guernika. His white suit was torn to shreds, his body was covered in bloodstains, and he was barely breathing, looking utterly miserable.
Ross glanced at Guernika's miserable state, but felt nothing; he thought it was all perfectly normal.
Even by Celestial Dragon standards, he'd be called merciful.
"Grandfather!"
Ross stood up, greeted them with a smile, and finally focused his gaze on the short, stout old man at the head of the group.
The old man was stout, with a full head of white hair and a gray beard. He leaned on a cane and exuded an air of authority.
At the same time, information about the old man quickly flashed through Ross's mind.
Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, head of the Jaygarcia family, one of the Five Elders, in charge of the Marines and foreign affairs, and also Ross's grandfather.
[Saint Jaygarcia Saturn]
[Overall Rating: S+]
The overall rating was a comprehensive assessment of strength and status; otherwise, Ross wouldn't have received an A rating.
Saturn's strength may not have reached the S+ level, but given his status as one of the Five Elders, it was no problem for him to be ranked among the highest in the world.
"Ross, it's been a long time since I've been here. Things are a little different than before."
Saturn spoke with a warm, cheerful voice, like a kind old man.
After listening to Guernika's description, Saturn keenly noticed the change in Ross.
Ross used to only care about slave fights, ignoring Marine affairs.
Although Guernika wasn't very bright, his memory was still quite good. What Guernika couldn't understand, Saturn understood immediately.
His grandson seemed to be quite something.
However, Saturn was mostly happy and didn't think about anything else. It was normal for people in the pirate world to suddenly change; there were countless examples of people whose personalities had changed drastically.
The Jaygarcia family hadn't been doing very well for the past few generations. If something were to happen to him, the Jaygarcia family might fall to the level of the Roswald family.
"Perhaps it's because I've always looked up to my grandfather and haven't paid much attention to changes in my home environment," Ross replied with a smile.
"Haha, what good goals do I have? I'd be satisfied if your generation could produce a few members of the Knights of God." Saturn shook his head with a laugh.
"Since it's Grandpa's wish, then I, your grandson, must become a member of the Knights of God." Ross started spouting nonsense.
The Knights of God were an armed force composed of Celestial Dragons and special strong individuals. They were only responsible for maintaining the safety and rule of the Celestial Dragons. The commander had the power to deal with Celestial Dragons, and the commander could only be a Celestial Dragon. Their status was second only to the Five Elders.
When a position among the Five Elders became vacant, it was usually filled by the commander of the Knights of God.
Ross and Saturn chatted about everyday things, just like a typical grandfather and grandson.
From Ross's memory, he and Saturn didn't have much of a relationship. They rarely saw each other and were just nominally grandfather and grandson.
When Saturn met him before, he was never this amiable.
Although he spoke amicably, every word Saturn uttered carried a hint of probing.
Ross chose to ignore some of these probing questions, following the Celestial Dragons' custom, while responding to others according to Saturn's expectations.
After only half an hour of chatting, Saturn had a smile on his face.
"Ross, I heard you asked the Marines for Admiral Zephyr and are planning to participate in this Buster Call?"
After talking for a while, Saturn finally got down to business.
As the God of Science and Defense among the Five Elders, Saturn was in charge of science and military affairs, and he was responsible for the three armed forces of the World Government.
Ross's decision to take Zephyr from the Marines was tantamount to poaching him from Saturn's own hands.
"Yes, those slaves were too weak before. I heard that Zephyr was good at training, so I was going to have him train slaves for me," Ross said nonchalantly.
He knew that whether Zephyr could be poached depended on Saturn's attitude.
But if Ross wanted Zephyr, he couldn't show too much eagerness for quick success, otherwise Saturn would definitely not let him succeed.
They claimed to be grandfather and grandson, but they didn't have any real affection for each other. If Saturn knew Ross cared about Zephyr, Ross would be easily manipulated by Saturn.
"Zephyr's talents are wasted as a mere bodyguard," Saturn replied.
"Grandpa, how is that a waste of talent? He's just an Admiral—how can he be more noble than our Jaygarcia? I don't care—you can find someone similar to him." Ross said casually.
"Indeed, but he's just an Admiral."
Saturn nodded understandingly, not thinking there was anything wrong with Ross.
But giving Zephyr directly to Ross was definitely not an option.
It wasn't that Saturn felt sorry for a top-tier fighter, but rather that Ross's identity was inappropriate.
The Celestial Dragons weren't just one family; there were four others besides the Five Elders.
If Zephyr were given to Ross, the other Five Elders would only think Saturn was doing it for the benefit of his children and grandchildren.
If this got out, the other Four Elders would demand their share.
However, the Jaygarcia family had not had any elites in recent generations. If Ross could rise to prominence, it wouldn't be a problem to arrange an Admiral-level bodyguard.
"How about this?"
Saturn pondered for a few seconds, then said calmly:
"I will make Zephyr a CP0 instructor and temporarily put him in charge of training CP0s for the Jaygarcia family."
First, move Zephyr to CP0 so he could spend some time with Ross.
Whether or not Ross could keep Zephyr depended on his ability.
If Ross could keep Zephyr, it meant he had the ability to become an elite and was worthy of Saturn's attention.
"Thank you, Grandpa!"
Ross grinned.
That solves it, doesn't it?
With Saturn's words, he didn't even need to use rhetoric to persuade Zephyr.
They said they were training CP0s for the Jaygarcia family, but once they got there, they'd just be his bodyguards.
The first Admiral-level combatant was secured!
...
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