Guernika didn't keep Ross waiting long; he said it would take an hour, but he was back in 20 minutes.
The World Government already had the information Ross needed. Ross estimated that it would only take time to report to the Five Elders—one of whom was also his grandfather; the rest was just a minor matter of going to the local authorities to retrieve the documents.
"Saint Ross, here is the list you requested."
After receiving the list from Guernika, Ross first picked up the Impel Down copy.
The Celestial Dragons had a long-standing tradition of rescuing slaves from Impel Down, and he had done this several times before.
Previously he had been looking for toys, but this time he was looking for tools.
The first few floors were quickly skipped; Ross simply called out a few names on each floor and had Guernika capture them to be his slaves.
These were his initial capital accumulations, and he was just about to see how much experience pirates of different levels could give him.
As Ross continued flipping through the pages, his attention quickly focused on the list on the last level.
In addition to the consumables for upgrading, he also needed powerful tools.
Pirates never fought alone. The world was vast and boundless, and even if he became the king of the world, he could not govern such a large area by himself.
"Golden Lion, Byrnndi World, Douglas Bullet..."
Ross looked at the names and raised an eyebrow slightly.
This list certainly had many surprises.
Even 20 years before the start of the story, Impel Down had already taken in many talented individuals.
In a few years, the list would grow to include even more people.
Ross glanced at the list briefly before putting it down.
He was content with just looking at them; he didn't intend to take them now.
The prisoners on the last level of Impel Down were strong, but none of them were easy to mess with; quite a few of them dared to kill Celestial Dragons.
Without the ability to protect oneself, coming here would be dangerous.
Once he improved his strength, subduing these people would be easy.
Ross picked up the Marine roster from the side and looked at it more carefully.
Knowing his own limitations, he had always thought of recruiting people from the Marines first.
Compared to the free-spirited pirates, the righteous and law-abiding Marines were undoubtedly a better choice.
Whether they were morally corrupt or upheld justice, the Marines were at least composed of law-abiding citizens, making him more likely to win them over and attract more followers.
After glancing over a string of enviable names like Sakazuki, Kuzan, Tsuru, and Garp, Ross's gaze quickly stopped at the very bottom of the list.
[List of Graduates from the Marine Elite Training Camp]
Gion, Kake, Onigumo...
"These guys seemed to have a lot of potential. They would make a great team for the future. And since they had just graduated, they should be very malleable."
Ross stroked his chin, pondering to himself.
Both 'Momousagi' Gion and 'Chaton' Kake were candidates for Admiral. Their strength might not reach S-rank, but it was at least A-rank.
Onigumo was destined to become an elite Vice Admiral, so his strength should have been at least B+, which was definitely better than Guernika's.
In just a moment, Ross had an idea.
"Guernika, contact the people above and tell them that my previous slaves were too weak. Either find a few from Level 6 of Impel Down, or give me an Admiral as my personal bodyguard."
Ross spoke with an air of authority, his words leaving no room for doubt.
"Ah?! This... Yes, sir!"
Seeing Guernika's stunned expression before he finally agreed, Ross just shook his head inwardly.
Ha, still too young; he hadn't seen enough Celestial Dragons.
If he only accepted a few new faces from the list, Saturn might have thought he had been switched out.
When the other Celestial Dragons saw this, they would laugh at him for getting worse and worse.
It was standard practice for the Celestial Dragons to command their Admirals.
To avoid these troubles, he had to speak in the manner of the Celestial Dragons.
This was also the confidence that the World Government had given to the Celestial Dragons by continuously elevating their status over 800 years.
The last person who had dared to provoke a Celestial Dragon was Rocks, the strongest man at sea in the last hundred years. By now, he was long dead and buried.
Before Monkey D. Luffy set sail, the Celestial Dragons' rule was as solid as a rock, and no one dared to provoke them.
"What are you dawdling for? Get moving."
Ross frowned as he watched Guernika dawdle.
Was it really necessary to make such a fuss just to ask him to pass on a message to his grandfather?
Ross was already considering replacing Guernika.
As expected, if one didn't train them oneself, they would just fall a little short when one used them.
"Yes, Saint Ross, I'll take care of it right away!"
Guernika hurriedly agreed, not daring to hesitate any longer.
Today was his first day on the job of taking charge of the Celestial Dragons. He had thought the process would be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult.
Negotiating with the higher-ups to capture the prisoners from the sixth level of Impel Down and enslave them, or to have the Admiral serve as a bodyguard for Saint Ross, were all impossible tasks.
But if he didn't finish, Saint Ross would definitely kill him.
He was only officially on his first day as CP0; no way...
A jumble of thoughts raced through Guernika's mind as he dialed the Admiral's Den Den Mushi.
During his on-the-job training, he had obtained the contact information of the heads of various Marine departments to facilitate future missions.
At least in the eyes of the World Government, CP0's status was above that of the Marines.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford, the highest conference room.
The meeting, which was discussing the Buster Call, was briefly interrupted by a sudden Den Den Mushi.
Fleet Admiral Kong was a burly middle-aged man with a mohawk. When he learned that the call came from a CP0-exclusive Den Den Mushi, his displeasure vanished, and a warm smile spread across his face.
He gave his colleagues a look, indicating that it was a matter from the World Government, and then decisively answered the Den Den Mushi.
Kong believed that the phone call was mostly related to the Buster Call and there was no need to hide it from the others present.
"This is the Marine Headquarters, I am Fleet Admiral Kong!"
The officers present at headquarters reacted differently to Fleet Admiral Kong's unusual behavior.
Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru frowned slightly, seemingly displeased. Marine hero Garp, meanwhile, nonchalantly ate a donut, as if the meeting and the phone call were irrelevant to him.
Vice Admiral Sakazuki glanced around, then quickly looked away, focusing on studying the plans for the Buster Call on the desk.
Vice Admiral Borsalino was trimming his nails, seemingly nonchalant, but he straightened his posture slightly, as if he were quite interested in the contents of the call.
The middle-aged Kuzan of the headquarters looked ashen-faced, whether from the impending Buster Call on Ohara or from the unexpected phone call.
As soon as Kong finished speaking, Guernika's cold voice came through the Den Den Mushi in his hand:
"I am CP0 of the World Government. At the request of Saint Ross, I have ordered Admiral Sengoku to serve as His Highness's personal bodyguard!"
These words caused a stir not only among the Marine Headquarters, but even Ross's gaze toward Guernika revealed a hint of displeasure.
Ross inwardly cursed; so Guernika wasn't just arrogant—he was genuinely stupid!
Damn it, how could someone who couldn't understand the underlying meaning be a CP0?
With just one sentence, he had offended the entire Marine. What a master!