Wano Country is divided into six regions: Kuri, Udon, Kibi, the Flower Capital, Ringo, and Hakumai.
These regions are separated by large rivers and do not border each other directly. To travel from one region to another, you must cross bridges connecting them.
Each region has its own unique climate and characteristics. For instance, Kuri was once Oden's domain, Udon is famous for its prisoner quarry (Udon Prison), Kibi is the most desolate, the Flower Capital is the most prosperous, Ringo is known as the snow region, and Hakumai is a port town.
Among these, Gusion's deepest impression is of Kuri because of the manga—Luffy landed in Kuri when he arrived in Wano and met Otama, starting the story there.
So, Gusion assumed Kuri suffered the worst famine.
However, through reports from Fukurokuju, he discovered that Kibi was actually the most impoverished region.
It's only been eight years since Oden's death, and Kaido's factories have only been running for about a decade. The environmental damage hasn't yet reached the point of being irreversible—Kuri's land can still produce a little food, though not enough to feed everyone.
But Kibi, already barren, can't grow any crops at all due to land and water pollution. Many starve to death there each year, and it would be even worse if not for those who joined Kaido's factories and earned money to support their families.
Gusion estimated the amount of food needed based on the population and decided to allocate the majority to Kibi for disaster relief.
Yes, he had no plans to sell this food; instead, he'd provide it as famine relief to ensure people in the hardest-hit areas could eat.
Gusion wasn't well-versed in complex market economics, but he thought immediate needs came first. Besides, every time the Beasts Pirates delivered grain to Wano, they never asked Orochi for payment.
Of course, the Beasts Pirates aren't philanthropists—they already collected payment elsewhere. Compared to overseas trading of cheap grain, the profits from Wano's factories are enormous.
Gusion thought it unhealthy for a country to rely on imported grain for survival, but for now, he had no better solution. Since the Beasts Pirates could easily obtain food, he'd use this advantage in the early stages of development.
He divided the batch of grain brought into two parts: 60% went to the national treasury for flexible use and to help regulate market prices, pushing down the formerly high cost of food.
The rest went entirely to disaster relief, so the starving people of Kibi and Kuri could eat and regain the ability to work.
For Wano's governance, Gusion devised a three-step plan. He wrote it down and had the Oniwabanshu deliver a copy to Kaido, though he wasn't sure if Kaido would read it.
The basic idea: Step one is to solve the famine. Only when people are fed can they work. Every portion of food sent out means one more person survives.
In his strategy paper, Gusion specifically noted: every extra survivor means one more future worker in the factories. He believed Kaido would appreciate this.
Once the people are fed, what should they do? Go farming?
No. Even though Gusion had a fondness for farming and understood the importance of food self-sufficiency, he didn't intend to have everyone farm.
Due to years of pollution, Wano's land is too poor for crops—yields are low and not worth it.
If these people keep farming before the environment improves, they'll just stay stuck in a vicious cycle of low yields and hunger.
So Gusion decided to have them… help Kaido build factories.
He believed Kaido would be pleased with this plan and wouldn't object.
Wano is a twisted country. When Yamato first asked how to improve the people's lives, Gusion struggled for days and found no answer.
Yesterday, he finally figured it out—he was thinking in terms of a traditional agrarian society, yet Wano had clearly entered the industrial age. It was time to change strategies.
It wasn't that he was foolish; his previous life made him instinctively dislike factories and capital, but he forgot the essence of things.
It's never industrialization itself that's bad, nor any particular system. It depends on the leadership's direction. Ultimately, a good ruler is one who improves the people's quality of life.
So Gusion saw no point in continuing with farming. Pollution recovery would take at least ten years, maybe a hundred. In the meantime, importing grain is the best choice—though Kaido wouldn't see this as progress unless he also gained more profit.
Thus, the best place for the unemployed is, of course, the factories.
Now, Kaido had already sent the Ancient Giants to carve out new rivers and handle pollution, improving the environment.
Though Gusion's standards for environmental protection were high, he couldn't change Kaido's mind for now. He'd have to wait until he'd proven himself as a strategist.
With initial environmental issues solved and the unemployed put to work, Wano would soon see a boom in factory construction.
Gusion made a rough estimate: with the tremendous labor forces in this world, Kaido's factories could double in size in less than a month! This would complete step two of the strategy.
Step three: Gather the unemployed from other regions—not just famine areas—and split them into two groups. One group would go to Udon to mine, since expanding factories would require more raw materials.
The other group? Construction—they'd build bridges, roads, reservoirs, and improve infrastructure across Wano.
Gusion didn't explain the direct benefits of this to Kaido, but he figured if the first two steps went well, Kaido wouldn't question the third.
With Gusion's order, the food convoys set out to deliver rations across famine-stricken Wano.
Since he had recently established his authority by executing several people, those handling the food dared not scheme. Under Oniwabanshu surveillance, they delivered the food diligently—not daring to steal even a grain.
…
Meanwhile, on Onigashima, Kaido, a few All-Stars, and the Flying Six were huddled around a letter.
"What nonsense is this? He wants to give our food away to disaster victims for free? Are we running a charity now!?"
Queen shook with anger as he read the letter, his fat trembling.
"He's up to no good, wasting the Beasts Pirates' money. I'll take care of him."
Jack grumbled, known for his bad temper.
The others grumbled as well, showing their discontent with Gusion.
From their perspective, Orochi was at least a proper ruler—he knew food was meant to be sold, not given to commoners.
Kaido frowned at the noise. In his view, what pirate ever did famine relief?
"Kaido, I actually think Gusion makes sense."
Amid the chaos, Black Maria spoke up. "The food is already given away, so it's up to Yamato and the others to handle it. Besides, we never asked Orochi for money, so in effect, we were already giving him the food to keep that useless fool alive."
The other officers paused. On second thought, that was true.
Their pirate mindsets made them instinctively reject charity.
"Besides, you forget—Wano is our territory now. Yamato is the shogun, so the people are our people, our property. If we let them starve, that's a loss of assets, isn't it?"
Maria added.
The officers considered this. They might pillage abroad, but never in Wano—their own base.
Now that they ruled directly, if they didn't treat the locals better, who would work their factories when the people died out?
"I agree with Maria. Gusion's step two shows he has a sound plan. He's not just feeding people for nothing—they'll help us build more factories, increasing output."
King, seated beside Kaido, spoke up. He'd just returned from delivering grain and was curious about Gusion's letter.
King was considered smart in the Beasts Pirates, and he recognized the plan's feasibility and cleverness.
King himself was not entirely ruthless—he once saw Kaido as Joy Boy, believing Kaido might create a better world.
He thought improving Wano citizens' lives was a good sign. Maybe, one day, Wano's people would even love Kaido.
If they could make the whole world better, wouldn't Kaido be… Joy Boy?
Of course, Kaido always denied being Joy Boy, but King would follow him regardless, as Kaido had saved him from the darkness and become as close as a brother.
The officers discussed and debated the plan. Some agreed; others were skeptical.
Finally, Kaido slammed the table, demanding silence.
Everyone awaited his verdict.
After a moment's thought, Kaido said solemnly, "So, he's saying my number of factories will double, right?"
The officers' jaws dropped.
They shouted internally: Kaido only understands the conclusion!
"Haha, Kaido-san has a point. In a sense, yes—the number of our factories will double."
Maria laughed, noting their boss cared only about the bottom line.
"Really? Double the factories in a month, workers in place, double output?"
Kaido glanced at his officers, wanting a smart person to confirm.
"Based on Gusion's plan, it's possible."
King replied, impressed by Gusion's cleverness.
Kaido's eyes lit up. "How's the Numbers doing? Once they finish the rivers, have them take orders from Yamato."
He imagined his doubled factories. With his most trusted King saying it was feasible, he looked forward to the results.
Gusion's plan mentioned building roads and reservoirs; Kaido didn't understand the specifics, but assumed it would benefit him.
Now, looking to the future, Kaido decided to assign the Numbers to Gusion and eagerly awaited results.