[Holy Land, Mary Geoise]
"Huff… huff…"
Stella had both hands braced against the table, her lips tightly pursed.
Her body squatted slightly in a horse stance, then stood up repeatedly in swift movements, training herself through repeated motion. Sweat kept dripping onto the ground.
After a long time, Stella seemed to have exhausted all her strength. Her eyes rolled back as she collapsed onto the table, soft and powerless.
At this moment, even moving a single finger was extremely difficult for her.
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[E-Class Subjugation Complete!]
[...]
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"Not bad, I quite like it," Rosse's voice came from behind, brushing lightly over Stella's plump lips, abnormally gentle.
The corners of his mouth always carried a smile, especially when he saw the bloodstains on the ground, he couldn't help but grow more excited.
He hadn't expected that the slave shop had treated Stella so well. They probably really regarded her as their poster girl.
Fortunately, he appeared in time. All for the sake of fate.
Rosse effortlessly picked Stella up. Her body appeared light and supple in his arms. Stella was already tall, standing over 1.8 meters. When standing, she had a slender figure and a powerful presence.
However, in front of Rosse's height, over two meters and typical of a Celestial Dragon. She instantly became petite, like a docile kitten nestled in a giant's arms, appearing especially weak and pitiable.
For a woman who satisfied him, Rosse was willing to offer some tenderness afterward.
Holding Stella, Rosse sat on the ten-meter bed that had just been delivered and let her lean in his arms.
"Stella, have you ever met the owner of that slave shop?"
"I've seen him a few times," Stella spoke while panting. Due to her inexperience and Rosse's overly long duration earlier, she still hadn't recovered even after so long.
"He's a tall, skinny man covered in slime. I heard the staff call him by name. He seems to be called Trebol."
In response to Rosse's questions, Stella revealed everything she knew without reservation.
After staying in the slave shop for so long, she had long understood that her future depended entirely on the master who bought her.
To become a slave of a Celestial Dragon, there were benefits and disadvantages.
She had neither the wisdom nor ability to consider such things, only wanting to serve Rosse well.
Ever since realizing that freedom was a luxury for someone like her, just surviving properly had become Stella's only wish.
'Trebol... so it's him. I was wondering who had such grand plans,' Rosse raised his eyebrows, somewhat understanding.
Trebol was one of Doflamingo's officers. In the future, about half of the slave trade in Sabaody Archipelago would be tied to Doflamingo.
Though that would be more than ten years later, Rosse hadn't expected Doflamingo to already be setting things up in Sabaody Archipelago.
But given Doflamingo's ambitions and personality, it wasn't surprising.
Rosse actually quite admired Doflamingo. Both his tactics and intelligence were remarkable. If Luffy hadn't intervened, Doflamingo's path wouldn't have ended badly.
Unfortunately, this was a world based on strength, lineage & power of fruendship. Though Doflamingo had a good lineage, his stupid parents caused his Celestial Dragon status to be erased.
With Doflamingo's talent and a relatively weak String-String Fruit, becoming a Warlord and ruling over a small allied kingdom as a petty emperor would've been his limit. Becoming a Yonko? Impossible.
Still, in this time period, Doflamingo could be taken advantage of. At the very least, his channels were useful.
Holding Stella in his arms, Rosse was thinking about collaborating with Doflamingo.
Celestial Dragons could possess almost everything in the world, but all of it came through the World Government's channels.
Once the Five Elders or Imu stripped them of that access, Celestial Dragons were just lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Rosse didn't want to live in such humiliation.
He was already a Celestial Dragon, how could he be worse off than Yonko pirates who started from nothing?
He needed influence. He needed strength.
The road ahead was long.
.
.
.
[Three Days Later]
Rosse was practicing swordsmanship.
The system only gave him skills and physical strength, what technique to use and when still depended on his own comprehension.
And he didn't plan to rely entirely on the system. Every bit of personal improvement counted.
At this moment, Stella, dressed in proper secretary attire, came running in. She wore black stockings and a tight pencil skirt, her figure graceful.
"Master, CP0 Instructor Zephyr requests an audience," Stella respectfully bent at the waist, her tone containing a trace of nervousness.
Her two long legs wrapped in stockings were slender and straight, especially alluring. And the tight secretary outfit highlighted the fullness of her chest vividly, as if her body could burst out of it at any moment.
"Let him in," Hearing that Zephyr had come, Rosse's face showed a hint of joy. He stood up and casually gave Stella a light pat.
Having been nourished for three days, Stella was even more enchanting than when they first met, radiating an indescribable charm from head to toe.
"Yes, Master!", Stella's face was flushed as she quickly left the palace.
Over the past three days, she had basically become Rosse's messenger and had even tried on all sorts of outfits, something she never dared imagine before.
Soon, Stella led Zephyr in. Behind them, about a dozen women were struggling to carry several large chests.
"Put the things down. You all stand to the side," Zephyr casually instructed. The women quickly set down the chests and obediently stood to the side, all movements filled with tension.
These women were the families of marines that Rosse had purchased. Now, they were basically janitors in Rosse's palace.
"This is five billion Berries. I've also brought the people," Zephyr wore CP0's white suit. He wasn't particularly respectful toward Rosse, just spoke in a normal tone.
Rosse didn't mind. No matter how high the status of a Celestial Dragon, it only held sway over orderly people. True submission came from strength.
"Leave it over there. I assume the Navy profited quite a bit too?"
Just Roswald alone had cost 4.1 billion Berries. That the Navy was willing to pitch in 900 million just to round it up said everything, the Navy probably made even more.
"About 3 billion in cash, mostly from various slaves. If handed over to the World Government, they'd likely be worth 4 billion," Zephyr said calmly.
When talking about slaves, Zephyr didn't show any guilt whatsoever.
Rosse had been confused about this before, even worried it might cause conflict with the Navy. But after sorting through his memories, that concern completely disappeared.
Sure, the Navy stood for justice. Zephyr definitely had a sense of justice too.
But in this world, moral standards really weren't high.
Talking about equality in a world where strength decides everything, what a joke.
In the worldview of nearly everyone, slave trading was something everyone encountered from birth. There was no "justice" or "injustice" to it. It was as normal as working for a boss.
That concept had existed for hundreds of years.
What most marines saw as justice was fighting pirates, preventing large-scale killing and looting, and reinforcing the World Government's rule. Not fighting human traffickers or building a utopia.
It was like ancient courts cracking down on murder and arson but not caring if people bought concubines or servant girls.
Compared to the folks in the pirate world, who weren't modern people, Rosse felt like a moral role model.
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