NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Living Off His Wives, Then His In-Laws
Chapter 25: Living Off His Wives, Then His In-Laws
While the Navy was still discussing how to distribute the promising recruits, on the other side of the world, at Cloud Island in the East Blue...
In the world of pirates, there are two types of clouds. The first is the normal kind floating in the sky. The second is exclusive to Sky Islands—three special kinds of clouds: Island Clouds, Sea Clouds, and Processed Clouds.
Their names are self-explanatory.
Ross had visited a Sky Island before. After coming into contact with these three types of clouds, he naturally learned how to create them—a power unique to his Devil Fruit.
Cloud Island itself was built using Sea Clouds as the foundation to float atop the ocean, with Island Clouds on top serving as soil.
At the center of Cloud Island was a town—half of its buildings crafted from clouds, the other half made of traditional materials. Between them stood several under-construction buildings yet to be completed.
Cloud Island was massive. Ross had worked around the clock for two whole months to create it. Its area was equivalent to ten Dressrosas, and it had the capacity to house nearly a million people!
There were U-shaped canals carved through the clouds, forming a vast shipping network for boats to enter, dock, and depart. Each canal had multiple branching routes.
Naturally, such a marvel attracted the attention of nobles and wealthy merchants from across the East Blue. The commercial potential was clear to any traveling trader.
Forget the convenient sea routes—the island itself was a treasure.
After all, it was an island made of clouds! Even though it wasn't yet open to the public, countless visitors still came just to catch a glimpse.
And Ross had even started selling a unique specialty product: Processed Cloud, which could be crafted into furniture—even beds, chairs, and sofas!
In the last two years, merchants had begun setting up shops around the main ports and paying rent. Although most were still in the early investment phase, the area had become a hub for resupplying merchant ships and sightseeing vessels.
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At that moment, inside the central cloud fortress, in his office, Ross was sipping cola while scribbling on a map—the next stage of construction planning.
The diagram divided Cloud Island into four concentric rings:
The innermost zone, where the current town was being built, was to be entirely reserved for the Nasdaq family.
The second ring was planned to become a residential area, open to civilians.
But in Ross's vision, the third ring, which would host amusement parks, and the outer fourth ring, a general commercial zone, would be prioritized ahead of the residential zone. After all, residents needed to come after the island could attract them.
According to his statistics:
The Nasdaq family territory would only take up 5% of Cloud Island.
Residential zones: 45%.
Amusement areas: 15%.
Commercial zones: 25%.
A buffer of 10% would remain undeveloped.
It was a grand blueprint, one that Ross hoped to fully realize within 15 years—perhaps even sooner. Barely two years had passed so far.
---
Knock knock.
"Come in."
The door—crafted from clouds—quietly opened, and a well-dressed middle-aged man stepped in.
"Mr. Ross, the fleets sent six months ago by King Darlenya and Duke Xistia have arrived at Port One. Their personnel and supplies are waiting for transfer."
He placed a report on the table and stepped back.
Ross nodded and picked it up.
Half a year ago, shortly after Cloud Island's initial development, he had sent word to two of his fathers-in-law, inviting them to come support the island's expansion.
Why only two, and not three?
Because his third wife, Morette Molla, was the daughter of a noble whose family had fallen into ruin. She was the only one who'd brought her entire dowry and followed Ross from the start.
"This is great. With their help, I can shave at least five years off the development timeline!"
Though their nations weren't affiliated with the World Government and had limited resources, they were still doing relatively well in these times.
After all, this era had only a tenth of the pirate activity seen during the Golden Age of Pirates. Even unaffiliated nations had some means of protecting themselves.
More importantly, their countries were in the Four Blues—far from the chaos of the Grand Line or the New World, where true dangers still lurked.
Ross signed the report and handed it back to the steward—a man who had arrived shortly after Cloud Island's completion, personally sent by King Darlenya. Without him, Ross's life wouldn't have been so relaxed.
Once the steward left, Ross took out a register and began noting the newly arrived population on the map: 2,000 impoverished citizens, along with one week's worth of supplies—all part of the initial wave of relocation.
Once they received the goods a few more times, both of his in-laws would be able to move over entirely with their wealth and resources.
"Sigh… Who would've thought that living off my wives once wasn't enough—I have to rely on my in-laws too. Feels a bit pathetic…"
Ross muttered with some self-deprecation.
But he had no choice.
He had reserves of food and supplies on Sky Island—enough to feed 5,000 people a year. But that alone wouldn't solve everything.
Worse, it was driving inflation in the East Blue. Something that cost 20 Beli this year might be 22 Beli next year.
But population? That was harder to come by. Unless his amusement zone was completed and started attracting tourists willing to settle down, there wasn't much he could do.
Buying slaves would be a last resort—and even then, it would take time and effort to retrain them, which wasn't worth it.
So… leaning on his in-laws it was.
---
"Dad! I found an unconscious fish-man! Come quick!"
Suddenly, just as Ross was figuring out how to allocate the 2,000 new residents, his second son, Alisan, barged in.
At eight years old, Alisan already stood 1.4 meters tall. He looked more like his mother than Ross—something that often made Ross wonder how DNA worked in the pirate world.
If someone mistook Alisan for a girl, Ross wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
"A fish-man?"
Ross raised an eyebrow. Fish-men showing up in the East Blue was a rarity—they typically roamed the first half of the Grand Line and were rarely seen in the Four Blues.
"Yeah, Dad! He's covered in wounds, and I was afraid to bring him here, so I left him by the Cloudway!"
Ross nodded, put down his things, and summoned a cloud ride to follow Alisan.
The Cloudway was what they called the man-made canals cutting through Cloud Island.
After about two minutes of flight, Ross finally spotted a chubby blue figure lying atop a fluffy white cloud.
It was definitely a fish-man—and not just any kind. A shark-type fish-man, one of the strongest breeds among their kind!
But the more Ross looked at the injured figure, the more familiar it seemed…