"Apologies, Lord Guernica, I cannot make the decision on this matter. If you truly require an admiral to serve as Saint Rosse's escort, it must come from the Five Elders' transfer order."
Fleet Admiral Kong was a seasoned old fox, he volleyed the ball right back with a single sentence.
Kong sat calmly in the Fleet Admiral's chair, his gaze sweeping over his slightly uneasy subordinates below, inwardly chuckling.
And that's why he was the Fleet Admiral, and the rest of them were just admirals and vice admirals.
It wasn't like this was his first time dealing with the World Noble's behavior. What was there to fuss about?
'Seriously trying to pull an admiral as a personal bodyguard? Even the Five Elders and the World Government won't be happy about that.'
Still, Kong didn't want to offend the World Noble.
Unless something unexpected happened, he was due for a promotion in a few years.
Once he went to Mary Geoise, dealing with those people would become inevitable.
["Fleet Admiral Kong, correct?"]
The Den Den Mushi on the meeting table suddenly shifted slightly in appearance, and the voice it emitted changed to Rosse's tone.
"That's right. And you are?", Kong's expression turned a bit more serious. The fact that someone else had taken over the call meant this was the real deal.
["Saint Jaygarcia Rosse. Fleet Admiral Kong may not have heard my name, but surely, you are not unfamiliar with my family name,"] Rosse said calmly.
"Your Highness, the God of Science and Defense is your…", Kong's face changed slightly. He hadn't expected the World Noble who contacted him to have this identity. As an ambitious Fleet Admiral, he was well aware of the Five Elders' surnames.
In the eyes of World Government officials, not all World Noble were equal.
If it were an average pleasure-seeking type, they only needed to show surface-level obedience. If a request went too far, they could report it and be done. No need to take it seriously.
Of course, the person handling it still had to be at least an admiral or someone like Garp. If a rear admiral or other marine slacked off, they'd be imprisoned or executed as necessary.
But someone like Rosse, with a Five Elder background, even Kong had to treat cautiously.
They weren't World Noble themselves, so they didn't know what went on internally, only guessing from the outside.
'A descendant of a Five Elder? That's basically a future Five Elder, isn't it?'
["The God of Science and Defense is my grandfather."]
Rosse knew this point too, which is why he gave his surname, throwing on the tiger skin of a Five Elder for good measure.
In reality, within the World Noble's inner circle, everyone knew: aside from a small elite, most World Noble were no different from pigs in the Five Elders' eyes, bloodline meant nothing.
There were only twenty World Noble families in total, and one had left at the very founding of the World Government. After 800 years, only the descendants born from intermarriage among the remaining nineteen were considered true World Noble.
After filtering for 800 years, every family had some blood connection with the others.
Don't even say they were once the same clan. Some might only be two generations apart from a shared ancestor.
But this was something only insiders knew. To outsiders, all World Noble were supreme.
On top of that, Kong wasn't yet the future Commander-in-Chief stationed at the Holy Land, so he wouldn't consider such details.
"Your Highness, was having an admiral serve as your escort your grandfather's idea?", Kong asked cautiously, while subtly shifting the responsibility.
Who cares whether this was Saturn Saint's idea or not. If Rosse dared say yes, then it was out of his hands.
Even if Rosse was pretending to act under Saturn Saint's name, that would be an internal World Noble affair.
["The Navy currently only has two admirals in total, with one in semi-retirement, is that correct?"]
Rosse didn't answer directly but instead steered the conversation back to the issue of Navy admirals.
Originally, he intended to use the admiral as a pretext to rope in some of the new generation and nurture them slowly.
But since Guernica had already contacted Navy HQ, and judging by Kong's reaction, maybe he could be bolder.
"That's right. Admiral Sengoku is responsible for Paradise and the Four Seas' safety, and Admiral Zephyr is in charge of training new Navy recruits."
Kong cursed inwardly, 'What a sly little fox. Since when did World Noble start playing with word games?'
'Aren't World Noble supposed to be direct?'
'If you want something, just say it. You're a World Noble, act like it!'
Kong didn't fear arrogant World Noble. If they got aggressive, he'd just play submissive, at most he'd be punished lightly.
But if he got schemed into something serious, he'd be finished.
["An admiral used to train Navy recruits? Since when did the Navy become so extravagant?",] Rosse said calmly, ["Anyone can train new recruits, and anyone who does would do a decent job."]
["I heard that Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan, who've become quite famous recently, were all taught by him. But would these three not have reached their current level without Zephyr?"]
"This…", Kong was speechless.
He looked down at Sakazuki and the others, whose expressions slightly softened from the praise, but Kong felt more bitter.
'You don't actually think the World Noble is complimenting you, do you?'
'This is clearly a threat!'
'If you don't let Zephyr go, then you three will take his place.'
Now that Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan had shown their prowess, just over thirty years old, at the peak of strength, none weaker than a full admiral.
One semi-retired training admiral versus three future admirals. It wasn't even a hard decision.
"Your Highness, I can arrange a meeting between Admiral Zephyr and you."
'As for the outcome of the meeting. Well, that isn't my responsibility.'
If Rosse managed to keep Zephyr, great. If it backfired and Zephyr quit, well, that wasn't on him either.
["Very well. Any major Navy operations recently?"], Rosse agreed without a second thought. As long as they met, he had ways to keep him.
Everyone had weaknesses, especially someone like Zephyr, currently at his peak in power but semi-retired mentally.
Mutual benefit. Since the Navy was being so cooperative, he didn't mind doing a favor in return using his identity.
Working with the Navy had its perks too. In the future, when pirates were captured, he could request them for execution himself.
To strengthen his combat power, killing strong foes was the fastest path.
Slaughtering a hundred thousand civilians likely didn't compare to killing one B-rank powerhouse.
And the best way to kill more strong foes was through the Navy's channels.
Sure, the World Government had ways too, but he was just a regular World Noble, not a Five Elder or a commander of the God's Knights. He couldn't mobilize the World Government's resources.
"Your Highness, the scholars of Ohara attempted to falsify history harmful to the World Noble. The World Government recently issued a Buster Call. Would you be willing to serve as the executor of this Buster Call, spreading your renown across the seas?", Others might not have caught the implication, but Kong understood Rosse's subtext instantly, and was overjoyed.
'How convenient!'
If the Navy carried out a Buster Call on their own, especially targeting the sacred land of Ohara, Kong had been dreading the fallout.
But with Rosse Saint leading it, the issue was instantly resolved.
World Noble-led island purges appeared in the news every year and never caused a stir. The Navy was always the accomplice, and no one ever blamed them.
Work for the World Government and the Navy takes the heat. Work for the World Noble, and the World Noble claim it as a medal of honor, completely different optics.
["A Buster Call, huh…"], Just as Kong was about to lift his spirits, Rosse said nonchalantly, ["I've never witnessed a Buster Call before. Might as well go see the sights."]
"With your presence, this grand event will surely shine brilliantly," Ignoring the strange looks from his subordinates, Kong offered a heartfelt flattery.
'Hah! What do you know? I'm doing this for your sakes.'
'If not to shield you from public backlash, would I let Saint Rosse meddle in a Buster Call?'
'You think I want to execute a Buster Call?'
A Buster Call, led by at least five vice admirals to annihilate or utterly destroy an island or nation, is a military order only a select few can issue.
Normally, even a World Noble like Rosse wouldn't qualify to issue one.
But if a World Noble were injured, to save face for the World Government, they'd likely issue a Buster Call to erase the place of injury.
This wasn't twenty years in the future. Right now, the World Government and Navy were at their peak.
A Buster Call today would signal a true catastrophe.
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