“I’m sorry, Gernica, but I cannot make the decision on this matter. If an Admiral is truly needed to serve as Ross Saint’s escort, it must be by order of the Gorosei.”
Fleet Admiral Kong was an old fox; with a single sentence, he kicked the ball back.
Kong sat calmly in the Fleet Admiral’s seat, his gaze sweeping over his somewhat uncomfortable subordinates below, chuckling inwardly.
That’s why he was the Fleet Admiral, and these people below were just Admirals and Vice Admirals.
It wasn’t the first time he’d seen how Celestial Dragons behaved; why bother arguing with them?
Could an Admiral really be pulled away to be a private bodyguard? The Gorosei and the World Government wouldn’t agree to that.
However, Kong also didn’t want to offend the Celestial Dragons.
If nothing went wrong, he would be promoted in a few years.
When he went to Mary Geoise then, he would inevitably have to deal with these people.
“Fleet Admiral Kong, correct?”
The den den mushi on the conference table suddenly changed its appearance slightly, and the voice it emitted became Ross’s.
“That’s right, and who might you be?”
Kong’s expression became slightly more serious at this point; the fact that the person on the other end would temporarily change meant this was the real deal.
“Jaygarcia Ross Saint. Fleet Admiral Kong may not have heard my name, but I presume my surname is not unfamiliar to him,” Ross said calmly.
“Your Highness, the God of Science and Defense is your…”
Kong’s expression changed slightly; he hadn’t expected the Celestial Dragon looking for him to have this identity. As an ambitious Fleet Admiral, he knew a thing or two about the Gorosei’s surnames.
In the hearts of World Government officials at all levels, Celestial Dragons were also different.
If they were just ordinary ones who only knew how to enjoy themselves, they only needed to superficially accommodate them. Some excessive requests, reporting them would be enough, and there was no need to take them too seriously.
Of course, dealing with them still required at least an Admiral or someone of Garp’s level. If a Rear Admiral or other Marine soldiers were perfunctory when encountering an issue, they would be imprisoned or executed as deserved.
However, for a Celestial Dragon like Ross, who had a Gorosei background, even Kong needed to be cautious.
They weren’t Celestial Dragons; they had no idea about the true internal situation of the Celestial Dragons and could only speculate based on conventional thinking.
A direct descendant of the Gorosei, wouldn’t that make him a future Gorosei?
“The God of Science and Defense is my grandfather.”
Ross also knew this, which was why he reported his surname, incidentally leveraging the Gorosei’s prestige.
In reality, Celestial Dragons internally knew that, apart from a small number of elites, the rest of the Celestial Dragons were no different from pigs in the eyes of the Gorosei; blood relations were irrelevant.
There were only 20 Celestial Dragon families in total, one of which left at the very beginning of the World Government’s founding. Over 800 years, only the descendants born from intermarriage among the remaining 19 families were considered Celestial Dragons.
After 800 years of such selection, every family had some blood relation to each other.
Not to mention that their ancestors were one family, it’s possible that if you trace back two generations, they were one family.
But this point was only known internally by the Celestial Dragons; to the outside, all Celestial Dragons were supreme.
Furthermore, Kong was not the future commander-in-chief of the three forces permanently stationed in the Holy Land, so he wouldn’t think along these lines at all.
“Your Highness, is it your grandfather’s intention to have an Admiral serve as your escort?”
Kong asked cautiously, subtly shifting the blame.
Regardless of whether this matter was Saturn Saint’s intention, as long as Ross dared to agree, it would have nothing to do with him.
Even if Ross later used Saturn Saint’s identity falsely, it would still be a Celestial Dragon family matter.
“Currently, the Marine only has two Admirals, and one is in a semi-retired state, is that correct?”
Ross did not respond directly, instead circling back to the issue of the Marine Admirals.
Originally, he had planned to use the Admirals as an excuse to slowly cultivate some new generation talents.
But since Gernica happened to call Marineford, and given Kong’s reaction, perhaps he could be bolder.
“That’s right. Fleet Admiral Sengoku is responsible for the safety of the Grand Line and the Four Seas, and Admiral Zephyr is responsible for training Marine recruits.”
Kong cursed inwardly, calling him a little fox. When did Celestial Dragons start playing word games?
Aren’t Celestial Dragons usually straightforward?
If there’s something, just say it directly. You, a Celestial Dragon, should be more arrogant.
What Kong feared most was not the Celestial Dragon’s arrogance, because if the other party was arrogant, he could just be submissive, and at most, he would receive a minor punishment afterward.
But if he was greatly tricked, and something really went wrong, he would be finished.
“An Admiral used to train Marine recruits? When did the Marine become so extravagant?” Ross said flatly, “Anyone can train Marine recruits, and they’ll all do a decent job.”
“I heard that Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, who are very famous in the Marine recently, were all taught by him. But without Zephyr, would these three not have their current strength?”
“This…”
Kong was speechless.
Seeing Sakazuki and the other two below looking slightly relieved by the praise, Kong felt even more bitter.
You wouldn’t think the Celestial Dragon is praising you, would you?
This is clearly a threat!
If Zephyr doesn’t go, then you three will have to take his place.
Now, Sakazuki and the other two have already distinguished themselves. In their early 30s, their strength has reached its peak, not at all weaker than a Marine Admiral.
A semi-retired instructor Admiral versus three future Marine Admirals, there’s no need to even think about which to choose.
“Your Highness, I can arrange for Admiral Zephyr to meet with you.”
As for the outcome of the meeting, that would have nothing to do with him.
If he could be kept, it was Ross’s ability. If he couldn’t be kept and Zephyr ran away, that wasn’t his problem either.
“Alright. Are there any major operations in the Marine recently?”
Ross agreed without thinking. As long as they met, he would find a way to keep him.
Everyone has weaknesses, especially an Admiral like Zephyr, who is clearly at the peak of his strength but is semi-retired due to his mindset.
As a courtesy, since the Marine was being so cooperative, he didn’t mind using his identity to do something for the Marine.
Dealing with the Marine also had its benefits. In the future, when the Marine captured pirates, he could request to take them and execute them himself.
He wanted his combat power to grow, and killing strong individuals was definitely the fastest way.
Slaughtering an island of 100,000 people was probably not as effective as killing one B-class strong individual.
To kill more strong individuals, the Marine’s channels were still the fastest.
The World Government also had ways, but he was just an ordinary Celestial Dragon, not a Gorosei or a God’s Knights commander, so he couldn’t mobilize the World Government’s power at all.
“Your Highness, the scholars of Ohara intend to forge history unfavorable to the Celestial Dragons. The World Government issued a Buster Call not long ago. Are you willing to be the executive officer of this Buster Call and let your prestige be spread throughout the Four Seas?”
Others might not have understood, but Kong immediately understood Ross’s hidden meaning and was overjoyed.
Isn’t this convenient?
Letting the Marine carry out the Buster Call alone, and destroying the historical holy land of Ohara, Kong was still worried about how to deal with the subsequent public opinion pressure.
If Ross Saint led the team, the problem would be solved immediately.
News of Celestial Dragons destroying islands happened a few times every year and wouldn’t cause any sensation. The Marine was always an accomplice, and no one ever said anything about the Marine.
Working for the World Government, the Marine had to take the blame. Working for the Celestial Dragons, the Celestial Dragons took destroying islands as a meritorious deed, and the nature of it was different.
“A Buster Call…”
Just as Kong’s heart was about to rise, Ross said casually:
“I haven’t witnessed a Buster Call yet. I’ll just go and see the scenery.”
“With your arrival, this grand ceremony will surely shine brightly!”
Completely disregarding the strange looks from his subordinates, Kong immediately offered sincere flattery.
Hmph! What do you know? I’m doing this for you all.
If it weren’t to spare you from public opinion pressure, would I let Ross get involved in the Buster Call?
Do you think I want to execute a Buster Call?
A Buster Call, led by at least five Vice Admirals, is a military order to erase or completely destroy an island or a country. Only a few people are qualified to initiate it.
Under normal circumstances, even a Celestial Dragon like Ross is not qualified to initiate a Buster Call.
But if a Celestial Dragon was injured, to save the World Government’s face, a Buster Call would most likely be initiated to erase the place where the Celestial Dragon was injured.
This is not 20 years later; the World Government and the Marine are currently at their peak.
Now, a Buster Call, once issued, signifies a disaster.