Talent Recruitment

Chapter 151: Talent Recruitment

Back in Avalition, the people sent by Tesoro to construct the weapon factory arrived, bringing with them manpower, researchers, and most importantly, funding.

Rodney deliberately cleared a large area in the back hills of Availiton Town for the construction of the factory.

Robin's advertisement article had an impact, as people flocked to Availon every day. Availiton became a bit more chaotic as a result. 

To ensure safety, Rodney specifically asked Fujitora to serve as a security officer. 

Originally, Fujitora had refused, but Rodney said, "Among these people, there may be those who would harm the civilians here. Mr. Fujitora, I know you possess exceptional Observation Haki, so I'm counting on you."

Fujitora, faced with such a request, had no choice but to accept. To be honest, in all his travels, he had never seen a place with such order. 

People here exercised their rights and fulfilled their duties within that order. Although Rodney's laws still had some flaws and were not comprehensive, they at least told the people what their rights and obligations were. 

Everything was put on the table; there was no room for dispute. It was practical and fair, not biased towards anyone.

He saw equality. People were equal to each other, at least on the surface.

Children laughed and played, and adults often had smiles on their faces. Fujitora swore he had rarely seen such a city, except for the capital cities under wise rulers. But how many years of accumulation did that take?

How long did it take for Rodney to gain control of this city, he wondered.

He heard that not long ago, this place was just an ordinary town occupied by pirates. But after Rodney arrived, it had completely transformed into a different city, almost like an entirely new place.

Fujitora couldn't tolerate anyone destroying this place, so he agreed to Rodney's request.

"Very well, I'll handle it."

"Haha, I appreciate it, Mr. Fujitora. You won't be shortchanged on the compensation."

"Forget about compensation, Mr. Rodney. Just being able to eat Mr. Leicester's cooking is satisfying enough for me." Fujitora thought Leicester's food was excellent.

"No problem. You can eat to your heart's content!"

Aside from recruiting talents, Rodney also wanted to hire a fighter, a sniper, a ship's doctor, and a helmsman. The news of these recruitments spread, and those who knew about it were complaining. Even a helmsman wasn't available? How did you even make it to the New World without one? You're lucky not to have lost your lives to the weird weather!

Then there was the ship's doctor. On a ship, the helmsman was the most critical role, but the ship's doctor came next. If the helmsman was responsible for everyone's lives, the ship's doctor was responsible for individual lives. 

Getting injured wasn't uncommon, and everyone on the ship could handle minor injuries themselves. They were all tough people. Bandaging a wound and taking a nap would usually do the trick.

But at sea, it wasn't just injuries; there were also illnesses. Even Rodney's group, with their robust health and good luck, could still fall victim to certain diseases. 

Without a ship's doctor, who was familiar with such conditions, treating illnesses in the middle of the ocean was risky. If they encountered a sea without islands for miles, someone might not make it.

As for a sniper, Rodney felt it wasn't necessary. In this world, sniper rifles were hardly long-range weapons, and their loud gunshots could be detected from quite a distance. How could he, as a captain, not keep watch on the ship? It would harm his pride.

"We have no snipers. We have no choice," Rodney replied.

Then the crew recruitment began, which was quite different from the talent recruitment. In the crew recruitment, it was more about a group of people coming together and battling it out. Rodney had constructed an arena for them to fight in.

For the sniper position, despite having several candidates, none of them met Rodney's expectations. He was just looking for someone who could hit a target at five hundred meters, but none of them could even manage that. 

Rodney's throwing knives were more accurate than their shots. He dismissed them all. Those with criminal records were handed over to Fujitora, who would collect bounties on them.

This decision angered many people.

"You don't accept? Too bad! Who said you didn't meet my expectations? I thought some of you had some skills, but shooting at five hundred meters is apparently too far for you. Is it because the target is too small, the rifles are too old, the wind is too strong, or you're not in the mood? Don't make me laugh! 

Snipers are supposed to have the advantage of spotting enemies in advance. How can I trust you guys, who are so unreliable, with our lives? Get out, and in a few days, I'll send you to Impel Down!"

"Regarding the ship's doctor?" Rodney asked.

"I'm not sure because you asked for a combat-capable ship's doctor, so finding one is a bit tricky. The battles among the fighter candidates are more intense."

"In that case, send those doctors. Since the battles are intense, there are likely to be casualties, and this is the moment to test their abilities. Tell Robin to evaluate their service attitude, action capabilities, and behavior from these aspects. Alright, I'll go take a look too. Someone, take these people away."

Rodney ran towards the makeshift arena he had set up. One of his clones had been observing the fights there, but when he arrived, the clone dispersed, sharing all the memories.

There were two people the clone had been particularly impressed with. One was a massive man over four meters tall, heavily built with bulging muscles, exuding a brute force aura. He wielded a steel knife and easily defeated all his opponents.

However, he had a criminal record with a bounty of sixty million Berries. In the New World, that wasn't much, so he had come here to join Rodney, hoping to become one of the Seven Warlords' officers.

The other candidate was a slender man who expertly wielded a thin-bladed sword. His sword strikes were swift and precise, leaving opponents dead with slit throats, showing no signs of suffering. Some of those he killed still had ferocious expressions on their faces.

These two were the ones the clone had favored the most, the most likely to join Rodney's crew.