Two weeks later.
Even after the World Government's ship arrived in Drum Island, Dragon did nothing, as if he had completely abandoned Moira.
After slaughtering a large part of the Sorbet Kingdom, Marius also left to continue tracking the Revolutionary Army.
However, after Marius left, Ross received news that Kuma and Ginny had stepped forward in the southern part of the damaged Sorbet Kingdom, calling on everyone to stand together.
Although they weren't using the Revolutionary Army's banner, Ross knew what was going on just from those two names.
"The handover has been completed over there, and the person is temporarily being held in the basement. As for the Sorbet Kingdom, Zane asked if anything needs to be done."
Gion walked over to Ross and asked him a question.
Compared to Ross, Gion had been extremely relaxed these days. She didn't have to think about so many things. After finishing her job as a messenger, she could do whatever she wanted.
With Zephyr and Ross as sparring partners, Sora offering advice on developing her Devil Fruit powers, and Stella providing post-battle treatment, her strength was improving every day.
"I'll go check out the basement later. We don't need to worry about the Sorbet Kingdom; let them develop freely. If we destroy them as soon as they start developing, we won't feel any heartache," Ross chuckled.
"You're still as awful as ever."
Gion's tone revealed indifference; she was already used to it since she was on Ross's ship.
The key issue was that she'd become somewhat numb to the developments in Jaygarcia District that she'd heard about from Zane these past few days.
"By the way, this is the annual report for the Jaygarcia District."
Upon realizing this, Gion quickly pulled a document from her bosom; the paper still exuded a faint fragrance.
"This report was written by Zane, so why don't you summarize it first?"
Ross took the paper and looked at Gion with a smile.
Gion's memory was not a problem; she was just very sensitive to management and scientific knowledge, but she memorized combat-related knowledge very quickly.
"I did write it, but I only remember the general outline."
Gion did not refuse, and she recalled what she had written:
"The period from when Jaygarcia District was converted into a special district to the end of 1500 was not long, only about half a year. The original population was 4 million, generating 60 billion Berries in revenue. By the end of 1500, Jaygarcia District's population had exceeded 10 million, with 200,000 deaths, generating an additional 60 billion Berries in revenue. It is projected that 1 million newborns will be born in 1501..."
These were the figures Zane had reported to her, including more detailed reports on the number of newborns and deaths, all compiled according to the methods given by Ross.
It could be said that all the people of Jaygarcia District were Ross's property, and every citizen of the district who entered or left the island, and even who was born, grew old, got sick, or died, had to be recorded.
According to Ross, every citizen should have a file created.
Gion didn't quite understand the intention, but seeing living people turn into cold numbers was really making her numb.
"What are your thoughts after reading this report?"
Ross asked with a smile, clearly in a good mood.
The report's data was roughly the same as his predictions, and even slightly better.
"200,000 deaths...isn't that a bit too many?"
Gion hesitated for a moment, then chose a spot that made her feel uncomfortable.
She couldn't understand the meaning behind these numbers and could only try to comprehend them from her previous perspective.
But 200,000 was no small number; even the Celestial Hunt didn't lose that many people.
"The numbers are high, but there's nothing we can do about it. There will be even more every year. There are just too many people, all ages. Even if we provide enough food, the combination of acclimatization issues and illness can take their lives." Ross shook his head gently.
Since Jaygarcia District announced its policy of enjoying the protection of the World Government without paying the Heavenly Tribute, countless people had flocked to Jaygarcia District.
In the Great Pirate Era, safety and survival were what ordinary people cared about most.
Among these people were the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled. Their health deteriorated further after the long journey, and some even suffered from acclimatization problems. Many of them died shortly after arriving in Jaygarcia District, but their families settled down in Jaygarcia District.
"Are so many people dying every year due to birth, aging, illness, and disease?" Gion asked in surprise.
"200,000 is really not a lot."
Ross explained with a smile:
"Excluding those who die from illness or accidents, according to research reports from the World Government over the years, the average life expectancy in member states is 51 years."
"With 51 years old as the death line, and 10 million people distributed equally among those aged 1-50, this means that 200,000 people die each year due to reaching the age limit."
"Of course, life expectancy will increase as living conditions improve, and it is not evenly distributed across different age groups. There will be many cases of people living to a ripe old age or dying young. So overall, there will be fluctuations every year, but not too much."
Judging from this figure, the fact that only 200,000 people died in Jaygarcia District last year when they took over was already considered quite good.
However, Ross knew very well that this number excluded the group he had killed, and that the death toll was only counted after the Jaygarcia District established its record-keeping system.
"If we translate that to the whole world, wouldn't the number of people dying of old age each year exceed 10 million?" Gion looked surprised.
She had never paid attention to these numbers before, but after hearing Ross say this, she found the numbers to be quite terrifying.
The number of people who died each year because of pirates was probably not that many.
"The population of the member states alone is more than fifty times that of 10 million, not to mention the non-affiliated countries, whose total population is even greater than that of the member states, and whose average life expectancy is even lower," Ross explained with a smile.
"In other words, the number of people who die from life expectancy each year is much more than 10 million," Gion clicked her tongue slightly.
Faced with such terrifying numbers, she suddenly felt that Ross wasn't so evil after all.
Even if Ross were to enjoy ten of them every day and then kill them all, the total number of people killed would only be a little over 3,000 per year, which was less than a fraction of the total.
"Don't be blinded by macro-level figures."
Ross immediately saw what Gion was thinking and shook his head, reminding her:
"If we only focus on these big numbers, our hearts will slowly grow cold, and we will only measure things by numbers. We must remember that these people, whether they died of old age, died young, or died in an accident, were all living, breathing human beings."
"I understand the meaning of the content."
Gion nodded slightly, a strange look on her face:
"But when you say this, it just doesn't feel quite right."
"That's prejudice against the Celestial Dragons," Ross chuckled.
He just enjoyed himself, what's wrong with that?
It was precisely because he enjoyed himself that he treated those people as human beings.
If everything was just a number, then there was no joy in enjoying it.
Humans derived the greatest pleasure from surpassing, belittling, and bullying their fellow human beings.
…
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