“He really is an easy guy to read, that Queen…” Watching Queen’s bulky frame rush off in a hurry, Black Maria exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
“Everyone from MADS is like that.
You can tell them they’re incompetent, but you can never tell them they’re inferior to Vegapunk.” Caesar chuckled and looked at Black Maria.
“As for the economic side, I’ll have to trouble you to handle it, Miss Black Maria.” “Could you give me a specific direction?” Black Maria gave a soft chuckle.
“I’m only in charge of internal affairs and logistics.
I’m afraid I’m not as capable as you think, young Caesar.” “I checked our past transaction prices with Joker earlier.
It looks like he’s been driving down prices heavily, hasn’t he?” Caesar raised an eyebrow.
“Is that guy really that bold?” “There’s really no helping it.
After all, we’re pirates.” “It seems you don’t fully understand the pirate world yet, young Caesar.
Pirate transactions go through the Underworld.
Because there’s no legal protection, no legitimate merchant will do business with pirates outside of the entertainment industry.” Black Maria said with a touch of helplessness, “If you go to pirate towns, you’ll find that prices among pirates are usually inflated.
Selling prices get pushed down, and buying prices get marked up.
Even Emperor crews can’t avoid this.
After all, if you don’t follow the Underworld rules, no one will do business with you again.” “Wano is located in the latter half of the New World, the most chaotic sea in the world.
Places like this hardly engage in normal trade, yet we still need to purchase supplies from the outside.
If you jack up prices, others can do the exact same to you.” Caesar looked puzzled.
“Did you never think of dealing directly with the World Government?” Black Maria gave him an odd look.
“Joker *is* their proxy.” “Ah, right…” Caesar slapped his forehead.
In the original storyline, when the World Government sent representatives to Wano, Joker had already been defeated.
It was precisely because that middleman chain broke that the World Government sent agents directly to Wano.
“Then that makes things easy.” Caesar nodded.
“Contact Joker and squeeze his margins.
Tell him to send us more food and money.
If he won’t take the deal, we’ll do business with the Revolutionary Army instead.” Black Maria froze for a moment.
“Squeeze margins, send money…
the Revolutionary Army?” “Although we hold a monopoly on Sea Prism Stone, after so many years of trade, the World Government definitely has a sizable stockpile.
They might not be forced into submission by prices in the short term, but they certainly won’t want the Revolutionary Army getting their hands on a supply line for Sea Prism Stone.” Caesar explained, “Furthermore, Wano has vast lands and distinct seasons.
Once we overcome the current food shortage, we can easily achieve complete self-sufficiency.” “Is that our goal?” Black Maria asked.
Caesar nodded.
“For the short term, yes!
I estimate it will take about a year.
When the time comes, I’ll provide the next set of arrangements.” Management, in essence, was the art of delegating work.
Unlike other positions, in management, a person who had free time wasn’t necessarily competent, but someone who was running around constantly overwhelmed was definitely incompetent…
When Caesar did management, he generally focused on only two things.
First, overall planning and assigning clear responsibilities for every role.
This didn’t mean simply throwing tasks at people; it meant setting a target, guiding them on how to execute it, and defining what standard and result were expected.
Second, conducting surprise spot checks from the ground up.
As long as these two aspects were handled properly, major issues rarely arose.
At this stage, Wano’s main objective was restoring the people’s livelihoods—specifically, filling their stomachs.
The current food reserves were still insufficient to meet everyone’s needs.
Economic development was something to consider only after people were well-fed.
Compared to other nations, Wano possessed significant advantages.
For instance, Smart Tanishi communications.
Unlike the Den Den Mushi used overseas, Wano’s communication devices were Tanishi snails.
The two creatures operated on different signal frequencies, making them immune to wiretapping by Wiretap Den Den Mushi.
And then there was Sea Prism Stone.
It was truly mind-boggling that a monopolist had managed to let themselves be choked by their buyers…
Over the next few days, Caesar was buried in these affairs.
Wano originally had a relatively well-developed political system; it had merely fallen into corruption under Kurozumi Orochi’s rule.
Leaving this area to Kozuki Hiyori, a native, was more than sufficient.
Before long, the news that Kozuki Hiyori was alive and had joined Yamato’s ranks spread rapidly across Wano.
“To think Lady Komurasaki was actually Kozuki Oden’s daughter…” “The top beauty of Wano?
Well, that makes sense—Lady Toki was a stunning beauty herself!” “I heard Lady Hiyori is now under the Shogun’s protection, working alongside Lord Caesar.” “The Shogun is truly righteous and benevolent!” “Long live the Shogun!” The chatter among the common folk soon reached Caesar’s ears, yielding results exactly as he had anticipated.
As the saying goes, judge a person by their actions, not their hidden motives.
Even if someone saw through his intentions, they couldn’t find fault with his actions.
Upon hearing the rumors, Kozuki Hiyori merely offered a faint smile, tinged with a subtle, almost imperceptible sorrow.
But for her right now, seeing the people fed was enough to give her peace.
“Hey, hey, hey!
Caesar, you brat!” Towards evening, while Caesar and Yamato were having dinner, a sudden racket erupted in the castle.
Queen’s mountain-like body barged in, throwing open the room’s doors.
“I heard the news!
What the hell is going on?
Komurasaki is actually Kozuki Oden’s daughter?!” Caesar rolled his eyes at him.
“Is there a problem?” “It’s a huge problem!” Queen glared.
“She’s the enemy’s daughter!
Do you even know what you’re doing, you bastard?
If the Boss finds out, you’re dead meat!
For the sake of us being brothers, hand her over to me…” “Kaidou won’t care, but you seem to care a whole lot.” Caesar gave him another look.
“Aren’t you supposed to be Komurasaki’s number one fan?” “I know where my priorities lie!” Queen put on a stern face.
“That girl managed to lay low under Kurozumi Orochi for years, which proves how deep and calculating she is.
Hand her over to me, and I guarantee I can make her behave and strip her of any disloyal thoughts!” “No.
You’re just horny.” “Nani?!
You figured that out?!” Queen dropped tragically to his knees, sobbing hysterically.
“I beg you, Caesar!
Hand her over to me!
I promise I’ll research whatever you want from now on!” “Save it.
The Kozuki family still holds prestige among the populace.
Doing that would only waste all our previous efforts.” Caesar pointed at Yamato.
“Besides, she’s Yamato’s friend.
You’re not allowed to use force.” Queen looked over at Yamato and saw her kanabo already resting on her shoulder.
Clearly, if he kept causing a scene, he was going to take a Thunder Bagua straight to the face.
“Dammit, you two bastards!” Queen scrambled back to his feet, terrified of taking a blow from Yamato.
This girl had grown up right under his nose, and he knew her strength better than anyone.
While she was no match for Kaidou, standing her ground against him for a while was well within her power.
Though he hated to admit it, his own strength was indeed a fraction below hers.
Not to mention Caesar, a monster who mastered Conqueror’s Coating before Armament Haki—rumor had it even King was running out of ways to deal with him.
At that thought, Queen’s expression shifted drastically.
“Wait, no…
you two…” “What now?” Yamato tilted her head.
“If you dare target Hiyori again, I’ll send you flying, you bastard!” “That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Queen slapped his forehead, realization suddenly striking him.
If these two brats joined forces, then within the entire Beasts Pirates, short of Kaidou himself, it would take two of the All-Stars working together just to stand against them.
In a one-on-two scenario…
Wouldn’t that be equivalent to him fighting two opponents of his own caliber at once?
Thinking carefully about it, wasn’t his hesitation to directly go after Komurasaki rooted in a subconscious fear of their combined strength?
“Growing so fast?
These monsters of the new generation…” A drop of cold sweat dripped from his temple.
Queen stuffed a cigar into his mouth and spun around to leave.
“Pretend I was never here!” “Huh?” Yamato looked at Caesar in confusion.
“He just left?” “What else?” Caesar smiled faintly, guessing Queen’s train of thought.
Once he finished wrapping up Wano’s affairs, it would be time to devote his full energy to cultivation and training.
He didn’t need to defeat Kaidou; as long as he could hold his ground in a head-on clash without losing, he could leave whenever he wished…
He wondered what kind of look Robin would have on her face when she was finally released and realized nearly a whole year had passed.