Chapter 16: Right Here

After chatting with Gion for nearly half an hour, Rosse more or less got a clear idea of Gion's situation, and at the same time, Gion was finally able to relax completely.

Reading the data and hearing it from the person directly are always a bit different.

Currently, Gion's strength was about equivalent to a pirate with a bounty of 100 to 200 million. Her grasp of naval styles wasn't bad; both her Observation Haki and Armament Haki were in their awakening stages, and as a swordswoman, she had just mastered flying slashes.

Gion was only just 20 years old now. Overall, her future was promising.

If she could obtain sufficient resources, she might reach A-rank strength within one or two years. And if she got a powerful Devil Fruit, the speed could be even faster.

Any higher than that, though, wasn't a realm achievable just by talent and hard work. Without some kind of cheat, every step forward would require life-and-death battles with top-level powerhouses to have any hope of further progress.

"How's your relationship with Tokikake?", Rosse suddenly asked.

"Just average. Although he was my only rival in the training camp, I don't think anyone would like a perverted guy who sexually harasses people every day," Mentioning Tokikake, Gion's face showed undisguised disgust.

Ever since she first met Tokikake, the guy had been relentlessly pestering her. Earlier, before Rosse came out of the command room, Tokikake had once again, yet again, proposed to her.

This kind of shameless behavior despite their clearly distant relationship, Gion was thoroughly sick of it.

"Gion," Hearing Rosse suddenly call her name, Gion, who had just relaxed, instinctively tensed up.

'Here it comes!'

Although she didn't know why Rosse was willing to chit-chat with her, after such a long conversation, it was about time to get to the real point.

Rosse being willing to talk with her made her less nervous compared to the beginning, and it had already given her a very good impression of him.

As long as his demands weren't too excessive, Gion didn't think she would refuse.

"I'll give you three choices."

"Please go ahead," Gion's pretty face tightened slightly, and her posture straightened a bit.

Knowing she still had choices, Gion instinctively let out a sigh of relief.

"First, you continue being a Marine. I remember the assignment given to you by the Marine Headquarters was to board Vice Admiral Tsuru's ship to learn and gain experience under her. If you choose that path, then after this Buster Call, her warship will encounter an 'accident.' If nothing unexpected happens, only Vice Admiral Tsuru will survive," Rosse's calm words finished, and Gion's expression turned immediately pale.

That sentence already made it clear, she could no longer be a Marine in the future.

If she insisted on staying in the Navy, not only would she die at sea, but all of Vice Admiral Tsuru's subordinates would also die with her.

She hadn't even reported to Vice Admiral Tsuru yet, so there wasn't much emotional attachment. But something like dragging others to die with her, there was no way she could accept that.

'As expected of a Celestial Dragon...'

At this moment, Gion felt no more illusions in her heart. Just hearing the first option, she already knew the rest of the choices would be just as harsh.

"Second," Rosse's voice remained calm and unhurried, "become my personal CP0 and grow according to normal CP0 standards."

"But this option has risks, I'll tell you directly. I'll also give Tokikake three choices. If he chooses either of the first two, then the two of you can coexist peacefully."

"But at the same time, I'll offer both of you a third choice. Your third option is to become my woman. His third option is to bow to me and become my servant."

"If he chooses the third, and you choose the second, then I'm sorry, his priority will be higher than yours. If he makes certain requests, I won't offer you protection. Some things you don't want to happen… might just happen."

"I choose the third!", Gion pressed her lips together, but still answered firmly.

Rosse had already laid out the threat clearly, and it was a threat she couldn't refuse.

Choosing the first meant death, plain and simple.

Choosing the second, while becoming a CP0 wasn't unacceptable, if Tokikake chose the third option, there was no guarantee she wouldn't end up in Tokikake's hands.

Just imagining that scene gave Gion chills.

Compared to that, she'd rather choose Rosse.

After all, whether it was identity, speech, or appearance, Rosse was far better than the short, fat, perverted Tokikake.

If Rosse hadn't given her so many options, she would never have agreed to the third.

But when several worse possibilities were laid in front of her, Gion no longer found becoming Rosse's woman as bad as she originally thought.

At least Rosse wasn't like the Celestial Dragons she had imagined. And from any perspective, this could even be considered her reaching above her level, not a loss.

Gion consoled herself inwardly, her long legs slightly pressed together, showing just how tense she was.

"Since you've made your choice, then let me see your sincerity," Rosse smiled, his gaze wantonly scanning Gion's struggling face.

He wasn't in a hurry. Since Gion had agreed, he believed she would go through with it. It was just a matter of waiting.

Compared to using force, he preferred using power to pressure people and make them agree willingly.

Just half an hour of chatting, and Rosse already knew how to take down Gion.

From the way she spoke, it was obvious. She was a very pure person. Her daily life was all about training to get stronger and practicing swordsmanship.

Her only experience with feelings was being relentlessly pursued by Tokikake, which couldn't even be called a normal romantic experience.

Facing someone like Gion, who had only such experiences, Rosse didn't need to do much. Just use conversation to break her inner bias against Celestial Dragons, lay out the current situation clearly, and let her choose among the options he provided. She would naturally lean toward the ending Rosse wanted.

The key to it all lay in the three choices Rosse gave her.

It seemed like three choices, but in fact, he only wanted the last one.

If he had only given Gion the last choice, she would've developed resistance, and things might've fallen apart.

But by offering three choices, someone with Gion's Marine background would subconsciously think she was making a selection, not negotiating or bargaining.

This way, Gion would almost inevitably choose the last one.

If in that situation, she still chose the first or second, that would either mean she trusted Tokikake's character, or it meant that in her heart, Rosse wasn't even better than Tokikake.

Whichever it was, Rosse wouldn't show mercy. After forcefully tasting her once, he would send Gion straight to hell.

Two future Admiral candidates were certainly valuable, but right now, there were too many promising people yet to rise. Rosse didn't lack one or two.

"Right here?", Gion said hesitantly, but her hand, which had been gripping her clothes tightly, subconsciously loosened.

From the moment she agreed to the third option, she already knew what was going to happen.

Just because she had only focused on getting stronger didn't mean that, at 20 years old, she was still clueless about the affairs between men and women.

She had fantasized before about what kind of person her future partner might be.

But she had never imagined… that it would be a Celestial Dragon.

"Right here. Is there a problem?", Rosse asked with confusion, as if he didn't understand what Gion was concerned about.

"But…", Gion pursed her lips and subconsciously glanced at Stella and the female CP0, 'Who would do this kind of thing with others around?'

"Is there a problem?". Rosse frowned, seemingly completely unable to understand Gion's meaning.

He was willing to trust Gion, but not enough to gamble with his life.

At least with Zannie present, even if Gion went berserk and tried to kill him, she could be swiftly subdued. That was his insurance.

"…Alright," Gion opened her mouth but in the end said nothing.

This was her first time too. She had never imagined this kind of situation either.

'Perhaps to a Celestial Dragon, this kind of scenario… is normal?'

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