Rosse did not stay long in the Drum Kingdom. After more or less settling the matters regarding the medical academy, he had Vanessa take him away immediately.
After returning to the Holy Land, the world's balance gradually returned to calm.
Dragon was being tracked by both the whole world and Kaido. As long as he appeared anywhere crowded, someone would immediately go to make trouble for him.
The NEO Marine continued its slow expansion in the New World, occupying the ecological niche that had originally belonged to pirates. It had now become the force that pirates and rebel factions had to face after entering the New World.
As for the NEO Marine, the World Government adopted an attitude of non-interference.
As long as the NEO Marine didn't go too far, the World Government wouldn't deliberately make trouble for them.
After all, compared to the legendary pirates of the old era, the territories under NEO's rule could already be considered paradises.
However, because the NEO Marine did not engage in production and had no fixed base, they could only exploit their subordinate regions to some degree, making their reputation somewhat worse than the original Marine's.
In contrast, after Sakazuki took control of the Marine, the military discipline was rectified under Sora's proposal.
After two years of reform, though it could not be said that every command was obeyed without fail, at the very least, both Rosse and Sakazuki had become figures of faith for them.
Rosse hadn't used any brainwashing or fancy psychological tricks, his method was simple and direct: Money, money, and more money.
Every marine's salary, since the day Sakazuki became fleet admiral, had increased by at least fivefold.
This was because, after the World Government came under Rosse's control, the world's total productivity almost doubled every year.
So, the additional money diverted to military funding wasn't even that much.
———
[Holy Land, Mary Geoise]
"Papa!"
Inside the palace, Rosse reclined on a lounge chair with a little girl with a fish tail sitting on his lap, babbling sweetly and calling out to him.
This was Rosse's child with Otohime, her name was Shirahoshi. Rosse hadn't planned to change her name.
Although she had a different father now, this Shirahoshi was far more gifted than the one from the original timeline.
Not only was she blessed by the sea itself, but her talents in every aspect were first-class.
She was even born with both Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki. From birth, her gifts had already surpassed most powerful individuals.
Even though she was barely over one year old, Otohime could already easily kill a tiger.
"Haha!"
Rosse laughed as he played with the child in his arms. Compared to before, his sharpness had somewhat softened.
Standing beside him were a girl with blue hair and a boy with golden hair.
They too were Rosse's biological children.
At present, both Conia and Rouge were also pregnant, and it was expected that six months later, two new members would be born into the family.
For the girl in Conia's belly, Rosse still planned to name her Conis.
But compared to the delicate little angel from Skypiea, this Conis, carrying his bloodline, would surely not be weak in any sense.
As for Rouge's pregnancy, Rosse was not surprised. With enough "planting," fruit was bound to appear sooner or later.
He was also quite curious about what kind of path his and Rouge's child would take.
And regarding this child, Ace was even more excited than Rosse himself.
This year, Ace was already over four years old, an age in the pirate world where one could run around everywhere, and if gifted, even bully wild beasts.
As Roger's son, talent was not something to worry about.
However, under Rouge's care, Ace hadn't displayed that kind of raw wild talent. Instead, Rouge kept him focused on early education, teaching him to think and use his mind from childhood.
Elsewhere, Vivi and Sanji were also learning basic education under Rouge's guidance. Their combat and ability development were overseen by Zephyr and Sora, who designed balanced training regimens.
After two years of effort, Rosse's university was finally completed, built in a fortified city adjacent to the Holy Land.
That fortress city was called Rosse University.
For now, Rosse University had only eight departments: Medicine, Finance, Science, Physical Arts, History, Swordsmanship, Devil Fruit Research, and Haki Research.
Because most people were still illiterate, the Science Department didn't subdivide into specific fields like physics, chemistry, or biology.
Further specialization would have to wait for the future.
Currently, Rosse himself was the principal, though he practically never handled affairs. The one who actually ran things was Zephyr, head of the Physical Arts Department.
Sora served as dean of the Finance Department and concurrently as vice principal.
There was no helping it, Rosse simply didn't have enough capable people yet.
It would take years before this batch of people could truly be useful.
———
"Master!", While Rosse was playing with the children, Stella entered with a smile.
"You're back, huh. How are things in Flevance?", Rosse nodded to her and asked casually.
For the past two years, Stella had spent most of her time managing family affairs, but she still made time for her research on the Amber Lead disease.
The royal family of Flevance had been completely annihilated after offending him, but the country itself still existed.
Amber Lead ore, being a special mineral, was something Rosse had no intention of discarding.
However, once the truth about its toxicity spread, it had to be dealt with. Otherwise, no one would dare to mine it again.
It was only because the World Government promised to dedicate itself to developing a cure that Flevance hadn't completely collapsed.
At the very least, they'd been given hope.
Recently, Rosse had heard from Stella that the Amber Lead research had reached its final stage.
"It's thanks to Dr. Trafalgar and Dr. Kureha," Stella said happily, "Dr. Trafalgar's son contracted Amber Lead disease and volunteered to be our test subject. Combined with Dr. Kureha's medical expertise, we finally developed an effective cure."
Although Stella had long since regarded Rosse as her only reason to live, achieving success in medicine was still something that brought her joy.
After all, her ability to study medicine at all was entirely thanks to Rosse.
That she could go this far in the field was further proof of his insight.
"Dr. Trafalgar, huh... If his son was willing to offer himself for research, then give their family some special privileges at Rosse University," Rosse said, thinking.
In his mind, the name Trafalgar Law surfaced, 'It should indeed be that young Trafalgar.'
Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, this future Supernova and his whole family had joined the World Government.
It was worth noting that participation in the Amber Lead research required passing selection into Rosse University and serving as a medical professor.
Dr. Kureha, although not teaching full-time at Rosse University, was still given an honorary professorship in recognition of her medical prowess.
In this regard, Dr. Kureha truly embodied the "proud old woman" archetype, growing more and more tsundere with age.
"Law wants to become a doctor," Stella continued explaining, "But Dr. Trafalgar hopes that Law can first learn under them, then at age twelve go to the Drum Kingdom for advanced study, and ideally return to Rosse University before turning sixteen."
Currently, Law was only eight years old, yet already had a solid grasp of medical concepts, Stella had high hopes for him.
At least in terms of talent, Law was much stronger than she was.
She was, in the truest sense, someone who had entered the medical field halfway through life, and her talent was not exceptional.
But then again—
Well, it's because she met a benefactor.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.