Faced with Yamato's question, Gusion looked over a document as he replied,
"Normally, yes."
Yamato was a bit naïve, and the Shogunate was short on talent, so Gusion handled most of the approvals himself—work he hated, as he'd rather focus on training and growing stronger. But for the sake of bigger rewards, he endured.
At least he was free now, with a high status and could sleep in his own bed at night.
"Normally? So you have an abnormal solution?"
Yamato asked curiously.
"Of course. After my plan was approved by your father, Mr. King came to congratulate me. At that time, I made two requests of him."
Gusion stamped documents as he spoke.
"King-san? What did you ask him to do?"
Yamato now addressed the officers more politely, recognizing King as her father's close comrade.
"Two things. First, to borrow manpower."
Gusion said,
"I had Mr. King contact Doflamingo of the Shichibukai to borrow his family officer, Pica, for a month. Of course, we'll pay a fee—Doflamingo won't refuse."
Technically, Kaido could borrow people from an ally for free, but Doflamingo was cautious and protective of his family, so Gusion asked King to pay as a show of goodwill.
King was actually easy to work with; as a loyal, intelligent officer, he understood Gusion's plan would benefit Kaido and readily agreed.
As for payment, King handled it himself.
"Pica? Who's that?"
Yamato was confused.
"Pica is the Stone-Stone Fruit user. He can reshape rock—he's a natural builder."
Gusion explained. Pica was a famous builder in One Piece—Gusion suspected Doflamingo had made a fortune developing real estate with him.
"So Devil Fruits can be used that way?"
Yamato felt her world view expand again. The Stone-Stone Fruit didn't sound strong compared to her or her father's Mythical Zoans, but for infrastructure, it was formidable.
"There's no such thing as a useless fruit—only people who don't use them well. Some aren't suited for combat, but can excel in other fields."
Gusion explained,
"Pica can help us complete the initial factory construction directly. Workers can then handle the interior, decoration, and installation."
Building dozens of factories in two months would be impossible for even energetic One Piece characters, but with a Stone-Stone user, it was doable.
If all went well, several factories would be built within a month.
"Gusion-dono!"
Yamato lunged over, grabbing Gusion's hands in excitement—he was startled.
"You really are a genius!"
Yamato exclaimed in admiration.
Gusion sheepishly pulled his hands free.
"Anyone could think of it, really."
To him, it was basic logic, but in the world of One Piece, it was a revelation.
He believed many Devil Fruit users would thrive in specialized industries—yet most didn't see it, wasting their talents.
Many pirates barely survived at sea, despite having abilities that could make them rich as entrepreneurs.
For example, Pica could build a skyscraper with a thought—if he worked in real estate, he'd make far more than pirating.
Of course, powerful pirates didn't do it for money, but for freedom and adventure—like Kaido and Doflamingo, who had their own ambitions.
…
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
As expected, Doflamingo didn't dare refuse Kaido—a word from King and Pica was sent over, without even asking what for.
Pica's power was even more useful than Gusion imagined—his control over stone was immense.
King, eager to help Kaido's enterprise, used his own powers to mass-produce steel…
With King's help, tons of steel came off the production line for factory frameworks, which workers set up under technical supervision.
Once the framework was up, Pica would fuse and mold giant rocks around it, and in no time, a factory would take shape.
Following this model, by Pica's third week in Wano, the number of factories had doubled!
Gusion estimated that, as workers became familiar with the process, next month the number would triple again.
This far exceeded Gusion's original expectations—even Kaido was now fretting over how to source equipment for the new factories.
Especially for the artificial Devil Fruit factory, which required precision instruments Kaido couldn't produce; these had to be bought from Doflamingo, who got them from the evil scientist Caesar.
Kaido was both happy and troubled.
He drank heavily on Onigashima, often laughing and praising Gusion and Yamato's achievements.
He was a simple man who cared only about results, and so far, Gusion had exceeded his wildest hopes.
In just a month, his factories had doubled. He didn't care that workers hadn't started yet—he saw double the factories, which meant double the profits once staffed.
Thanks to Gusion's results, his status in the Beasts Pirates soared. The Numbers, who once disobeyed him, now worked diligently; other officers greeted him warmly.
Because of the rapid factory construction, Kaido saw tangible benefits and didn't object to the second round of food distribution—he even gave Gusion and Yamato extra to hand out to the workers.
The grateful workers, having received more food than last month, felt increasingly hopeful.
Importantly, they hadn't done any hard labor—the heavy work was done by the Numbers, Pica, and King. Workers just handled the interiors and finishing touches.
Working together, Wano's people began to see the Beasts Pirates in a new light.
People naturally grow fond of those they build with, and since the pirates did all the hard work, the workers found them… not bad.
Every worker was once a starving vagrant, with no job or hope, unsure if they'd live another day.
Now, they worked hard, grateful for Yamato's generosity, but also motivated by Gusion's promise that this construction period was a probation—those who performed best would be hired permanently, with better pay.
What kind of pay?
Gusion's notice spelled it out. He couldn't change old factories, but new ones would follow his system.
For example, in a weapons factory, there were three tiers of workers:
Technical management: in charge of guidance and quality control.
Elite craftsmen: core assembly line workers ensuring main product quality.
Ordinary craftsmen: handled less critical parts, but received ongoing training and could be promoted.
In these tiers, if they met performance targets:
Technical managers: monthly wages were enough to feed three adults for a year!
Elite craftsmen: enough for three adults for three months.
Ordinary craftsmen: enough for three adults for a month.
What did that mean?
Even the lowest-tier worker could support a family of three.
Even people who used to do well in Wano's old society had never seen such generous pay for basic labor.
Under Orochi, even the well-connected merchants in the capital could only just feed their families.
But now, basic workers could feed a family of three!
Once word spread, everyone—builders and the wider public—was excited.
Even people with other jobs wanted to join, just for the chance to get into Kaido's factories.
Did Kaido know Gusion was offering such generous terms and radical reforms?
Of course, and he was instinctively against giving workers such good deals.
But Gusion had surprised him so much that he agreed to let the new factories trial this system for a month, since only a few were ready for operations anyway.
If the new factories underperformed, Kaido would revert to the old system.
Could the new factories outdo the old ones?
Gusion wasn't completely sure, but was confident.
In this country, some things work counterintuitively. For example, Kaido's original factory wages weren't actually low—he just thought Gusion was being overly generous by referencing enough to feed several people.
In Kaido's mind, as long as a worker could fill their own belly, that was enough—why pay more?
But Gusion's trick was in the marketing—he never listed actual money, only how much food wages could buy, so workers felt rich and Kaido thought he was being generous.
In reality, he only paid a bit more than before, but it made everyone happy.
With a better tiered management and pay plus performance bonuses, Gusion could maximize motivation, encouraging workers to strive and learn.
He also made it clear that the new factories were on trial—if they failed, jobs could be lost.
So, the first batch of craftsmen would work extra hard.
Kaido paid wages before, but compared to Wano's grain prices, it wasn't much—just enough to keep workers alive.
With families to feed, workers would split their meager food, so most grew thin and eventually died or stopped showing up.
At the old factories, workers were treated as slaves, with harsh overseers and frequent beatings—no dignity at all.
So many would rather scavenge than be Kaido's slave.
Why was Gusion so sure the new system would be better? Because history has proven countless times: slaves are less productive than free workers!
And, counterintuitively, using slaves actually costs more than workers.