Chapter 68: Figarland Shamrock
Returning to the Holy Land once again, the lineup Rosse brought this time was much larger than last time.
Stepping on the escalator pulled by slaves, Rosse and the others slowly headed from the port toward the city.
Just as the group entered the city, they were stopped.
"Saint Rosse, long time no see," The one who stopped Rosse was a red-haired young man in luxurious military attire.
Rosse slightly raised his eyes and glanced at the person, immediately losing interest.
"Saint Shamrock, I'm not in the mood to chat with you."
Figarland Shamrock, son of Saint Garling, the highest commander of the God Knights, and also the twin older brother of Red-Haired Shanks.
In his memory, this person was the same age as Rosse, and since both were descendants of elite Celestial Dragons, they were inevitably compared to each other.
Until now, Shamrock was always the 'child of other families,' long praised as an elite capable of inheriting the will.
By contrast, Rosse had previously been a good-for-nothing waiting to die.
But now, the situation had reversed. Rosse had suddenly turned things around, and Shamrock found it hard to adapt.
"Recently, you've been making quite the splash in the Lower Realm. More impressive than someone like me who just joined the God Knights," Shamrock stared hard at Rosse, his hand slowly moving to the sword hilt at his waist.
What Rosse had done didn't seem like much to him.
Making a name in the Lower Realm? Which Celestial Dragon couldn't do that?
And yet, because of that, his respected father actually praised Rosse in front of him. How could he tolerate it?
"So what?", Rosse looked at him playfully. How could he not see this was a manchild?
If someone came looking for trouble, he'd meet them with an iron fist.
But if someone wanted to play the role of a rich fool, then of course, he was more than happy to welcome them.
"This year's Heaven Hunt selected Saint Chars Island of the North Blue. Let's see who can kill more," Shamrock abruptly threw out the idea.
"The stakes?", Rosse slightly lifted his head, a bit interested now.
Every three years, the Celestial Dragons held a Heaven Hunt, which involved selecting an island and hunting the natives. If there weren't enough natives, more slaves would be released for entertainment.
All Celestial Dragons could participate, but usually only the stronger ones enthusiastically joined each time.
After clearing out all living beings on the island, the World Government would launch a destructive strike, completely erasing the island.
The 18th Heaven Hunt happened to coincide with the long-planned ambush by the Rocks Pirates.
It was during that battle that Garp gained fame by joining forces with Roger to kill Rocks, earning the title of Naval Hero.
Aside from that, Shamrock's father Garling also rose to fame in that battle and has now become a commander in the God Knights.
"The three-year Heavenly Tribute quota of the Figarland family," Shamrock raised his head high.
Each year, the Heavenly Tribute quotas for each family depended on the number and status of elite Celestial Dragons within the family.
The Figarland family had shown great progress in recent years and was considered the top-tier just below the Five Elder Stars' families.
"You can call the shots?", Rosse raised an eyebrow.
The Figarland family's one-year Heavenly Tribute was at least 300 billion Berries, roughly equivalent to the tax revenue of a third-tier city in Rosse's past life.
Not an outrageous amount, but nothing to scoff at either.
After all, the two worlds had different levels of productivity. This world had twice the population of his previous country, but its average productivity was less than one-tenth.
"Of course I can call the shots. A mere 1 trillion Berries. I'm just afraid you can't match it," Shamrock almost laughed out loud.
His father, Saint Garling, was the head of the Figarland family. Because of his outstanding performance since childhood, he was trained as the future patriarch and has now lived up to expectations by entering the God Knights. For such a small sum, he definitely had the authority.
"You already said, 'a mere 1 trillion Berries.' Then let's add another condition. A Mythical Zoan Fruit," Rosse said casually.
"You want to bet the one in the treasure vault of the Jaygarcia family?", Shamrock grew interested.
"What? Your family vault doesn't have a treasure of that level?", Rosse retorted.
"Of course we do. How about the Cerberus Fruit? It's not inferior to your Golden Crow Fruit," Shamrock's eyes burned with excitement. [T/N: Creberus Fruit— Inu Inu no Mi, Mythical Model: Creberus. Golden Crow Fruit— Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Yatagarasu]
The Cerberus Fruit, also known as the Hellhound Fruit, was quite a powerful one, but Shamrock had no intention of consuming it himself.
In comparison, he preferred the Golden Crow Fruit in the Jaygarcia family's vault.
"Deal!", Rosse raised an eyebrow, surprised Shamrock would offer such a treasure.
Since the other party was offering sincerely, of course, he'd accept with a smile.
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[Figarland Shamrock]
[Overall Rating: A+]
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Shamrock's A+ strength was likely genuine, but that's about it.
After eating the Watatsumi Fruit, his clearing power and Shamrock's weren't even on the same level.
Give him a little prep time and he could easily wipe out an island.
"Then it's settled!"
Seeing Rosse accept, Shamrock left with a satisfied expression.
"Let's go too."
Rosse continued forward.
"My lord, what is the Heaven Hunt?", Rouge, who had been standing beside them, heard the two's conversation and became curious about the Heaven Hunt.
That was 1 trillion Berries and a Mythical Zoan Fruit.
She didn't quite understand the value of a Mythical Zoan Fruit, but since both Rosse and Gion had one, and Rosse even said he'd give Ace one in the future, she had remembered the name.
No matter how she thought about it, that level of fruit must be among the rarest Devil Fruits.
Not to mention, there was also 1 trillion on the line.
She had never even imagined that much money in her life. She couldn't even count the zeros after the 1, and yet the two had wagered it as a simple bet.
That made her even more curious about the Heaven Hunt.
She wasn't the only one, Stella and Gion were also very curious. Though they were closer to Rosse and had heard lots of secret information, they still didn't know about the Heaven Hunt.
"The Heaven Hunt, huh. Zephyr should know, right?", Rosse smiled and looked at Zephyr, signaling him to explain.
"Heaven Hunt...", Zephyr's expression tightened slightly. He sighed and said, "Since the founding of the World Government, the Celestial Dragons have held a grand event every three years—randomly selecting a non-affiliated island and slaughtering the inhabitants. If the population isn't enough, they release some slaves onto the island to entertain the participating Celestial Dragons."
"Hiss..."
Just hearing the description made the women gasp.
They had only heard rumors of the Celestial Dragons' cruelty before. Stella had even seen them in the Holy Land a few times but hadn't found them much different from nobles of other kingdoms.
Now, the brutality of the Celestial Dragons had been made real in this very moment.
An island-clearing genocide, held every three years. They simply couldn't imagine it.
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