Kaido was stunned by Gusion's words. After thinking it through, he realized Gusion made sense.
Why let Orochi—such a useless fool—run the country?
Orochi wasn't the legitimate heir of the Kozuki family and wasn't recognized by the people of Wano. He also wasn't a competent ruler. Why had Kaido handed the nation over to such an idiot in the first place?
The more Kaido thought about it, the more confused he became. Why hadn't he realized such an obvious problem before?
He didn't care much about the people, but he needed them alive to work in his factories. He relied on Wano's craftsmen to process Seastone and forge weapons. If everyone died and the skills were lost, his factories would be useless.
Orochi was really just an obstacle to Kaido's ambitions!
His gaze turned dangerous as he looked at Gusion with renewed respect. "You make a good point. So, if we replace Orochi with a better leader, will things improve?"
Gusion hadn't expected Kaido to be so reasonable, but on reflection, Kaido wasn't that hard to deal with. Like Yamato, he was quite straightforward—accepting logic when he heard it.
Gusion shook his head. "It's not that simple. Orochi is a cancer, but a nation's corruption isn't due to one person alone. It's the result of historical accumulation."
Sitting beside Kaido, Maria also looked at Gusion seriously. She realized she'd underestimated him.
Why hadn't they thought of the Orochi problem before?
If Gusion knew how highly Maria thought of him, he'd probably be embarrassed—his insights were just cobbled together from a few history books.
He continued, "Orochi and his cronies need to be removed, and the governmental system of Wano should be reformed to prevent corruption and ensure the people's basic needs. That way, you'll have a steady supply of skilled labor."
He knew Kaido didn't care about people's happiness, only about whether his factories would have enough workers and profits.
"Reform sounds troublesome. But getting rid of Orochi is simple," Kaido mused.
"As you say, system reform is complex. In the short term, we just need to kill Orochi and his confidants to shock the lower officials into behaving," Gusion replied. "But as I said, there's more to Wano's problems than just Orochi's corruption. Let's talk about us—the Beasts Pirates."
Kaido frowned, "What's wrong with us? There's no corruption in the crew."
Gusion clarified, "I'm not talking about internal pirate affairs, but about the factories."
He explained that the Beasts Pirates' hierarchical structure was well-designed, with various divisions like the All-Stars, Flying Six, Headliners, Gifters, etc.—like a large company. Normally, this could breed corruption, but in the pirate crew, people were united as comrades, and there was no wage system, so corruption was rare.
"Factories?" Kaido's expression darkened. He would never agree to reform his factories—they brought him high income and strength.
Gusion pressed on, "I asked Yamato. The main factories—weapon factories, Seastone processing, SMILE fruit production—all produce huge amounts of toxic waste, which is dumped directly into the rivers."
"These pollutants ruin farmland, reduce food production, and worst of all, poison the water supply."
Kaido wanted to interrupt, but the mention of water made him pause.
Gusion continued, "People can survive hunger for a while, but without clean water, they die quickly. This leads to disease and a loss of labor."
Maria interjected, "That's not true. Wano's rivers are still clear. There's no disease problem."
Gusion realized he'd jumped to conclusions based on Yamato's stories and the manga. Pollution had only been going for eight years; there weren't enough factories yet to cause severe contamination.
But he quickly added, "Pollution takes time. Drinking contaminated water has subtle long-term effects. Adults may not notice it, but children are especially vulnerable and likely to die young."
Kaido fell silent, leaving Maria to handle the discussion.
Maria smiled coldly, "Whether kids die doesn't matter. They're not immediate labor. As long as adults can work, it's fine."
Gusion frowned, recognizing her ruthlessness. "Adults were once children. If you notice the population is dropping, you should realize that with fewer children growing up, labor will soon decrease."
Maria replied, "But our factories still have enough workers. We haven't been affected."
Gusion explained, "That's because it's mostly children who are dying now. In a few years, you'll see a cliff-like drop in labor when there are no more young people. Plus, adults are becoming infertile from the pollution. Population decline is just beginning—soon, Wano will be unable to function."
Maria fell silent, realizing the truth. If adults couldn't have children, the labor shortage would be catastrophic in just a decade or so.
Kaido asked, "Is he right?"
Maria nodded gravely. "He's right. We were short-sighted. This must be fixed."
Kaido agreed, as long as factory production wasn't affected. Gusion assured him, "It's not hard to solve. Just dig a canal and send the waste somewhere safe."
In a world of superhuman power, digging a canal was easy.
Kaido dismissed the idea. "Too much trouble—just dump it into the sea. I'll have the men do it tomorrow."
Gusion was speechless. He knew that arguing for environmental protection with Kaido was useless—the man only cared about profits.
So Gusion decided to drop the idea for now and talk to Yamato about it later.
Maria praised Kaido's wisdom, then suggested, "Since we're removing Orochi, we need a new leader. Gusion, why don't you and Yamato try?"
PS: Bonus chapter at 100 PS