The voyage that followed went very smoothly.
Although the Great Pirate Era had brought about some reckless individuals who dared to ram into the World Government's ships, before the pirate ships could even get close, the only outcome was usually that the ships sank.
"Your Highness, we will arrive in 10 minutes. Would you like to accompany us?"
On the deck, Zane walked over to Ross and reported the current situation to him.
Staying by Ross's side was quite relaxing, unlike being around other Celestial Dragons where you had to be constantly on guard. After all, Ross himself was powerful, and there was even stronger Zephyr on the ship. All Zane had to do was fill in the gaps.
What's the situation on the island?
Ross asked casually, his eyes calm.
This trip to his ancestral home was just a spur-of-the-moment decision; he hadn't done any special research.
It would be great to find some unexpected surprises, but if not, it didn't matter.
"Your Highness, Jaygarcia Island covered an area of 200,000 square kilometers and was currently ruled by the Kingdom of Lanka. The Lanka family was once a vassal of the Kingdom, and after the Kingdom moved to the Holy Land Mary Geoise, they had been in charge of controlling this place," Zane said respectfully.
"What's the situation with this generation's king?" Ross asked casually.
"His name was Lanca Humphrey, 45 years old, with 17 sons and 21 daughters, 42 queens, and over 1200 slaves..."
Zane could memorize these materials at a glance; this was a skill her family had cultivated in her.
"He doesn't sound like a good person."
Ross chuckled to himself; just from the numbers alone, he could tell that King Humphrey was no good.
What decent person has 42 queens and 1200 slaves?
"Jaygarcia Island had a total population of 4 million, and paid 40 billion Berries in Heavenly Tribute every year. This 40 billion was sent to the family treasury every year. In addition, the royal family and nobles of Lanka should receive about 20 billion Berries in income," Zane reminded.
"The Lanka family had spent a lot of money to maintain their rule."
Ross chuckled. The gold traded in the heavens was worth more than the kingdom earned, which was enough to prove the Lanka family's determination to maintain their rule.
The other member countries didn't have such high gold levels; about half of them were superpowers or major trading nations.
As for whether the annual output of 60 billion Berries would cause public outcry, it seemed unlikely to be a problem.
No matter how hard life was for the people, they still had to keep going.
Rebellion? Not a chance. Within the Four Seas region, a mere Rear Admiral could easily suppress a country. Unless you became a pirate and waged guerrilla warfare at sea, you'd just be waiting to die once you occupied a territory.
"How many members does the family have right now?" Ross suddenly asked.
"The family has a total of 51 members, with Saint Saturn as the head of the family, and you as the second in line."
Zane knew what Ross was going to ask, and immediately added:
"Saint Saturn needs 10 billion Berries next year to subsidize scientific research and the Marine, and the rest went into the family treasury."
"So, as long as I take over the Kingdom of Lanka, I can still gain an extra 50 billion Berries even if I maintain the status quo?" Ross raised an eyebrow.
Taking too much money from the family treasury would be too blatant and disgraceful, especially with Saint Saturn watching over him and not allowing him to act recklessly.
But once we took over the Kingdom of Lanka and made up for the portion allocated to Saint Saturn, the opinions of others would no longer matter.
It's perfectly reasonable for a kingdom that belonged to him to give him Heavenly Tribute to use himself.
In the World Government's system, the Heavenly Tribute was basically equivalent to the tribute paid by member states.
A portion of it was used for the Celestial Dragons' enjoyment, while another portion was used for the Marine and the World Government's expenditures to maintain the world's balance.
Ross personally believed that the oppression of ordinary people by the Heavenly Tribute was not a problem at all.
The main issue was that middlemen made a profit from the price difference.
The current situation was that member states had autonomy, and ordinary people had to pay taxes to the member states to support their royalty and nobility.
If the member states were abolished and replaced with a regional system, with each region managed by a family-affiliated world noble, it would not only benefit the World Government, but also greatly improve the lives of ordinary people.
"You can understand it this way: according to the intelligence provided by the family, the combined wealth of the royal family and nobles of the Kingdom of Lanka should be 100 billion Berries."
Zane sorted through her memory and gave Ross a precise number.
Whatever Ross wanted to do, she just needed to follow orders.
"100 billion, that's a lot. The average price per person is 100,000 Berries, so 100 billion could buy 1 million people."
Ross made a rough estimate, a pleased smile playing on his lips.
No one understood better than him that the population was wealth.
What geniuses are one in ten thousand? What monsters are one in a billion?
Given a large population base, there was no one who could not be born.
Even though the world of One Piece didn't have many islands, it was still a vast and sparsely populated place.
Jaygarcia Island covered an area of 200,000 square kilometers, and with its modern standards, it could accommodate at least 30 million people.
When this place could no longer accommodate everyone, they could go to the Red Line to explore.
Using many Devil Fruits for combat was a complete waste; they were better suited for infrastructure development.
Bru…Bru…!
Just as Ross was pondering what excuse to use after arriving on the island, his Den Den Mushi suddenly rang.
Ross took it out without delay and answered the call directly.
Seeing that the Den Den Mushi had suddenly transformed into Gion's appearance, Ross became slightly more serious.
He had missed those 1.8-meter-long legs a little after not seeing them for so long.
"Saint Ross, I've got the fruit."
Gion's voice sounded slightly tired and hoarse, causing Ross to raise an eyebrow slightly:
"What happened?"
Gion shouldn't have behaved like this when she received the fruit normally.
If not overjoyed, at least relieved.
"During my search for the fruit, I encountered King, the 'signboard' of the Beasts Pirates. Although I managed to defeat him, I also attracted the attention of the Beasts Pirates," Gion replied truthfully.
Although she was stronger than King, she could not kill him yet.
"The Beasts Pirates..."
Kaido of the Beasts, one of the future Four Emperors, was a top-tier fighter on the sea, and even then he definitely possessed S-class strength.
However, they were currently lying low in Wano Country, and at least until Kozuki Oden died, they probably wouldn't make any significant moves.
As for why they approached Gion, it was pretty obvious without even thinking about it.
The Beasts Pirates only accepted Zoan-type Devil Fruit users, or perhaps Kaido had heard that there were Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit users in Dracul Island, which was why he sent King to investigate.
Either a powerful Zoan-type Devil Fruit user had appeared in the ancient town of Sleeping, and Gion had happened to stumble upon it.
"I'll contact Kaido. Now that you've finished the Devil Fruit, you should return to the Holy Land Mary Geoise first," Ross said calmly.
The Beasts Pirates were still in their early stages of development, and their strength was only about the same as his, let alone comparable to the World Government.
But...
Kaido, Wano Country, Seastone...
Thinking of these keywords, a flicker of emotion appeared in Ross's eyes.
Wano Country seemed to be quite large, and given its location in the New World and the presence of Seastone mines, it appeared to have great potential for developing both animal husbandry and mining.
...
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