After watching Gion leave, Ross finally stepped out of the ship's cabin.
He spent the entire day yesterday with Gion.
The others were always around, but Gion was someone he rarely saw. He especially admired those 1.8-meter-long legs.
Moreover, Ross's attitude towards Gion was completely different.
In this chaotic world, Gion was the only person who could truly help him.
Compared to them, Stella and Olvia were only slightly better off than the slaves.
Of course, after spending these days with Stella, Ross still really liked her and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would keep her by his side.
"Master!"
Stella greeted him with a bright smile.
Even after spending a long time in the darkest place, she never seemed to give up hope, nor did she choose to embrace the darkness.
"They didn't cause any trouble yesterday, did they?"
Ross did not stop, letting Stella drape the cloak over his shoulders.
Given his physical condition, he didn't need to worry about the effects of the weather.
But his lack of fear didn't mean he disliked Stella's behavior.
"No, Robin has been following Zane around, pestering her to teach her martial arts. Olvia has been staying in her room studying materials and hasn't even come out to eat."
Stella bowed as she reported, the two mounds she was holding in her arms trembling as if they were about to fall to the ground.
Ross stepped forward to help her up, and then they continued walking out, saying as they went:
"Any other news?"
Gion was in charge of information regarding the CP side, but due to her temporary departure, some matters related to her had been temporarily handed over to Zane.
Stella was responsible for his life and daily needs, and when Ross said that, Stella knew what Ross was asking:
"News has come from the Holy Land that your personal vessel is ready. It uses the World Government's latest technology, is powered by mechanical means, and has Seastone attached to its hull, allowing it to easily traverse the Calm Belt."
Stella explained in detail that her biggest responsibility was Ross's ship.
"Very good, we'll change ships once we get back to the Holy Land."
Ross nodded in satisfaction. He knew he would be traveling frequently in the future and wouldn't be able to always travel on Marine warships.
In a world where 90% of the land was ocean, how could he survive without his own ship?
His requirements weren't high; something like Gild Tesoro's future large cruise ship would be nice.
However, even if he had enough money, it would take him one or two years to build a ship of that caliber.
So he had Stella contact someone to get a ship to make do with for now.
A ship capable of navigating the Calm Belt would be sufficient for his short-term use.
After Ross left the cabin, he made no attempt to find Zephyr and Sakazuki.
It was obvious that these two were either cultivating or handling official business; he had no interest in watching men busy themselves.
Robin was assigned to Zane's cabin, which became Ross's first stop.
"Saint Ross!?"
When Zane saw Ross enter, her tone was unusually panicked. She was holding a white strapless top in her hand, and her movements were somewhat stiff.
Meeting Ross's admiring gaze, she quickly finished what she was holding and picked up the white suit jacket next to her, putting it on.
Observation Haki was an active skill, and activating it consumed a lot of mental energy, so no one usually kept it active all the time.
Furthermore, being on the warship, Zane wasn't particularly vigilant and didn't believe that anyone other than Ross would break in, so...
However, Zane remained calm and composed. After getting dressed, she stood in front of Ross with her head down.
Ross was someone she had been instilled with the obligation to serve from a young age, and she was willing to accept whatever Ross did.
It would be even better if Ross could give her a few days off for this.
"Saint Ross, what are your orders?"
Zane bowed slightly. If she were in her succubus form at this moment, her tail would probably wag involuntarily to express the turmoil in her heart.
"Nothing's wrong. Where's Robin?"
Ross shook his head. It felt really good to be able to feast his eyes so early in the morning.
He had really misjudged her before.
He never expected this.
Zane's figure was even better than Stella's. He didn't know how she could move so quickly while carrying such a heavy load.
Zane had been restraining herself, which led him to make the wrong assessment.
"Robin overused her Devil Fruit power yesterday and is still resting."
Zane made no attempt to avoid Ross's gaze, leading him to the bed at the far end of the room, intending to wake Robin directly.
"There's no rush yet."
Ross stopped Zane and glanced at Robin, who was curled up in a huddle:
"Yesterday, she asked you for guidance on physical techniques?"
"Yes, but I won't teach her these things without your permission. So she was practicing the Flower-Flower Fruit yesterday, trying to improve her strength." Zane nodded slightly.
"That's normal," Ross said.
After experiencing a major upheaval, people always wanted to improve their abilities.
The one who had hurt Robin the most was Olvia, which would probably further fuel her desire for power.
However, Robin's physical talents and Devil Fruit abilities were not well-suited for combat.
Given Robin's potential, even with unlimited resources, she could only reach the level of an elite Vice Admiral at best.
The world of One Piece was a world where bloodline and talent mattered, and the only variable was the Devil Fruit.
Without these, unless a system fell from the sky, it was impossible to become a strong person.
The idea of putting in 200 times the effort was just something to listen to, nothing more.
If one could truly become strong through hard work, the ocean would be teeming with Whitebeard-level people.
Even if someone was a famous teacher, just listen to their advice and that was fine.
If the teachings were effective, the number of strong individuals in the Marine and the World Government could increase tenfold.
"Since Robin wants to improve her strength, you will be in charge of teaching her. You can arrange the specifics yourself."
"Clear!"
Zane nodded earnestly; she would do whatever Ross asked her to do.
From a young age, she had been instilled with the idea of loyalty to the Jaygarcia family. Since Ross was a member of the Jaygarcia family, he was the one she should be loyal to.
As for the rest of the Jaygarcia family...
Zane also had her own thoughts. The ideas instilled in her from childhood made her have no intention of betraying the Jaygarcia family.
But no one had told her what to do about pledging allegiance to any particular leader.
For Zane now, she felt that being with Ross was much better than carrying out missions with Satan.
Zane could still sense that Ross mostly saw her as a person, rather than a cold, inanimate weapon.
In the Holy Land, she appeared to be a person but was actually a weapon.
She had been living this kind of life for more than 20 years, and she had even gotten used to it.
Wasn't it normal for masters not to treat slaves as human beings?
At least her situation was much better than that of the slaves.
But when she was with Ross, she could feel an unintentional respect that was enough to stir her cold heart.
Not everyone's respect could move her heart.
Only members of the Jaygarcia family deserved to possess all of her.
And Zane firmly believed that Ross would become the most distinguished member of the Jaygarcia family in the future.