"What a pity. If you don't want to, then forget it."
Saint Mars shook his head regretfully. He didn't believe Ross didn't understand his meaning, but since Ross was unwilling to form a marriage alliance, he wouldn't force him to.
Even if a brilliant talent like Ross were to marry into a powerful family, his descendants would not bear the surname Marcus.
Since the surname won't be changed, it doesn't really matter.
As for bloodlines, the bloodlines of the 19 families had long been intermingled due to 800 years of intermarriage.
"But Grandpa Marcus, I think we can work together," Ross said with a smile.
"Cooperation? Your grandfather and I didn't have any cooperation."
Saint Mars glanced at Saint Saturn with great interest, and seeing that he remained silent, his interest only grew stronger.
As a powerful environmental warrior, Ross wouldn't even be qualified to communicate with him, let alone cooperate, if it weren't for the fact that Ross was a Celestial Dragon.
"My grandfather is my grandfather, and I am me. We are different. He is responsible for the future of the Jaygarcia family, while I only need to take care of myself," Ross chuckled.
"Tell me about the details of the collaboration."
Saint Mars remained noncommittal. In his eyes, Ross was just a junior who had not yet grown up, and it would take at least another ten years before he could communicate with him on an equal footing.
But he wouldn't mind chatting with Ross; he was just killing time anyway, and who knows, maybe he'd find some interesting news.
"Grandpa Marcus has always been in charge of projects related to connecting islands, hasn't he?" Ross said with a smile.
Although the Five Elders were five managers appointed by the person above, each of them actually had his own position, which could be seen from their names.
Saturn was the God of Defense and Technology, in charge of the Marine and scientific research departments.
Saint Mars was the Environmental God of War. In the world of One Piece, there was no concept of environmental protection. The Environmental God of War was mainly responsible for updating the world map in real time and researching how to connect the islands together.
"That's right. The sea bridge across the Four Seas has been under construction for 700 years, but the situation was not ideal." Saint Mars nodded slightly.
"Connecting the sea with a bridge would be extremely costly, and even if it were built, there would be a risk of it being destroyed. It would be better to use a lower-cost solution," Ross said with a smile.
"You mean the water train plan proposed by the Water City? The cost was indeed much lower, but they couldn't produce a finished product yet," Saint Mars said calmly.
The plan for the sea train was proposed by Tom, a fish-man shipwright. Tom had built ships for Roger before, but was later captured for building ships for Roger. In order to protect himself, he proposed the sea train plan.
"I will take charge of this matter. If it succeeds, I will invest the 500 billion I got from Figarland in building the sea train."
To get rich, build roads first.
To consolidate their rule, they had to break down the barriers between the islands.
The speed of the sea train was much faster than that of a ship, allowing the navy and the world government to reach every corner of the world much more quickly, which had far-reaching implications for the world government's rule.
"You're very thoughtful. Since this is a collaboration, what do I need to give in return?"
Saint Mars raised an eyebrow; he didn't believe Ross had no ulterior motives.
On the contrary, Ross's suggestion made him even more vigilant.
There were only five positions for the Five Elders. Ross would most likely succeed Saint Saturn, but if Ross was more ambitious, it was not impossible for a family to have two Five Elders.
Whether Ross had ambition or not was something he may not have cared about.
But if Ross tried to take his position, then he'd have to take it seriously.
"If we use the sea train plan, then the sea bridge plan can be terminated. The bridge plan would require the recruitment of tens of millions of people." Ross paused here.
"You want people? They're just livestock. You can easily capture them from non-affiliated countries."
Saint Mars said calmly, showing no intention of giving in.
Ross's situation was unique. If he were to take charge of the Sea Train, it was entirely possible that he would be sidelined within ten years.
"No, no, no, what I mean is, I'll use 500 billion to buy those nearly 20 million people. As for the Sea Train, I'm only responsible for bringing it into existence; I won't get involved in anything after that." Ross shook his head.
He only lacked manpower; he had everything else.
To control this ocean, a few strong individuals were far from enough.
The world government was rotten to the core and did not conform to the future it envisioned.
Instead of waiting until later to figure out a solution, it was better to start preparing now.
Sufficient management talent and adequate military support were things he needed to consider.
The talents in this world were produced randomly, but the majority of them were strong humans. As long as there was a sufficient population, and some strong people were captured for breeding, there was no worry about not being able to produce people with good talents.
Brainwashing was most effective when it started from birth.
"If all you want are people, I can sell them to you. The sea train is a matter for later. If it's 500 billion, I can give you 30 million people," Saint Mars said calmly.
Saint Mars didn't intend to let Ross get involved in his affairs, but since Ross only wanted people, he could still provide quite a few within his authority.
He was primarily responsible for connecting the islands, but that didn't mean he only had this project. As the Environmental War God, he was in charge of almost all of the World Government's major projects.
In other words, he had the largest workforce in the world government.
He had complete control over the fate of tens of millions of people.
If there wasn't enough manpower, just order the navy to capture them from non-affiliated countries.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you!"
Ross agreed with a smile; this was exactly what he had intended.
What environmental god? He was just part of his future plans to become the Ministry of Environment.
He didn't really want to get involved in things like the sea train; he just wanted to use it as an excuse to buy people.
The world government wasn't his world government anymore, so there was no need to care so much.
"Grandpa Marcus, I also want to build a new city on the Red Line."
"New City? Saturn, you should know about this kind of thing..."
Saint Mars frowned and looked at Saint Saturn beside him.
This was a matter of principle.
The Red Line was almost the size of all the islands combined, but why was there only the Holy Land Mary Geoise? It was to ensure the Celestial Dragons' prestige.
If cities were everywhere on the Red Line, the Celestial Dragons' nobility would be compromised.
"It would be better to build it over the Reverse Mountain. The facts of the past 800 years have proven that if you want to completely maintain the stability of the world, you should completely sever the passage between the Four Seas and the Grand Line," Saint Saturn said calmly.
Although it was the first time he had heard Ross's proposal, that did not prevent him from expressing his agreement.
The greater Jaygarcia's power, the happier he would be.
"You mean to build a fortified city on Reverse Mountain, cutting off another passage between the Four Seas and the Grand Line, so that anyone who wants to pass through must be vetted?"
Saint Mars frowned slightly, seemingly indifferent to the content of the proposal.
After all, it was just a bunch of animals making a fuss; no matter how big the fuss got, it wasn't a big deal.
However, the navy was under the control of Saint Saturn, and Saint Saturn's proposal was reasonable, so he could only seriously consider the pros and cons.
After pondering for a long time, Saint Mars let out a soft breath:
"If even one more person agrees, then I will also express my agreement."
For this proposal to pass, at least three of the Five Elders had to agree.
In other words, besides them, there had to be one more of the Five Elders who agreed.
If the Jaygarcia family could gain the approval of another of the Five Elders, he wouldn't mind going along with it.
After all, the 500 billion that Ross gave him would eventually end up in the pockets of the Marcus family to fund his offspring.
If Figarland wanted to rise to power, let him go and mess with the other Five Elders.
With this extra money as an incentive, maybe those good-for-nothings in his family would be able to produce a decent offspring.
...
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