Yasuie's expression changed at Gusion's words. In his heart, he thought, "Pirates really are pirates—wanting the people to work in those filthy factories again. Haven't the factories done enough damage to Wano already?!"
Noticing Yasuie's reaction, Gusion explained:
"Don't look so glum; I haven't finished. Mr. Yasuie, you must think those factories are unenvironmental and the root cause of Wano's famine, right?"
Yasuie nodded gravely.
"Isn't that true? If not for the pollution from those factories, the land would still yield crops, there'd be fish in the rivers, and people wouldn't starve."
"Of course not."
Gusion firmly denied it.
"Mr. Yasuie, as a competent administrator and former daimyo, you should know—even before Mr. Kaido arrived, plenty of people in Wano couldn't fill their stomachs."
Yasuie frowned, unsure where Gusion was going with this.
"But at least not this many were starving."
"That's true. But do you really think, if the Kozuki clan kept ruling, everyone would have enough to eat? Would the wealth gap disappear?"
Gusion posed a soul-searching question.
Yasuie was stunned. He wanted to insist that of course, but suddenly realized that was impossible. The Kozuki clan had ruled these lands for a thousand years, and as far as he knew, it had always been this way.
From his understanding of history, whenever Wano's population reached a certain point, famine would break out, followed by chaos and war, until enough people died and things calmed down.
"In a closed country, unless there's a breakthrough in farming technology, the land's yield is always limited—and may even decline."
Gusion's point made Yasuie feel like a new world had opened up.
He was a smart administrator, so he instantly grasped that this explained the core of Wano's thousand-year cycle.
Their food… could only support so many people!
So if too many were born, famine would always occur—there would never be a time when everyone could eat their fill.
"Wano is rich in minerals, but there isn't much arable land. Even if all the farmers work hard, the total yield is limited. With normal closed management, some will inevitably starve; it's unavoidable."
Gusion continued,
"But what if we break out of this mindset and stop relying solely on domestic grain production to feed people?"
This time, Yasuie understood.
"Overseas trade? But if the nation's food supply is controlled by outsiders, we'll be extremely vulnerable."
Gusion appreciated Yasuie's insight; this was indeed an issue. In a normal world, a country should never let outsiders control its food supply.
Without self-sufficiency, not only could prices be manipulated, but if an enemy cut off your supply during war, you'd collapse.
"Mr. Yasuie, who do you think would dare try to manipulate food prices in front of the Yonko, Kaido?"
Gusion revealed the core of his plan; all his previous analysis was based on common sense, but this world followed its own rules.
Beasts Kaido doesn't rob you—that's already good luck; you think you can hike prices when selling him food?
Go ask Doflamingo—both a Shichibukai and a Celestial Dragon—if he dares to haggle over prices when doing business with Kaido.
As Gusion knew, Kaido had several long-term trade partners. Besides distributing weapons for Kaido, Doflamingo also handled food for him. Aside from Doflamingo, there were major maritime merchants who also traded with Kaido, delivering large supplies of food.
Pirates don't rob everything; in fact, they plunder on the seas just to have money to spend.
Spending stolen money is like partying with lottery winnings—it's much more satisfying than just forcing things.
For stable long-term supply, Kaido never robs trading guilds he's worked with; he buys goods at low prices and protects those merchants, forming a mutually beneficial relationship.
Thus, food merchants buy cheap grain from surplus countries and sell to Kaido at a small profit. Kaido gets a steady food supply, and all he pays is a copy of the Beasts Pirates' flag.
If those merchants encounter other pirates at sea, they just raise the Beasts Pirates flag—most pirates flee in fear and never touch a ship under Kaido's protection.
So, as long as Kaido rules these seas, he'll never have trouble getting cheap grain.
Anyone trying to squeeze Kaido on this front just has a death wish.
"So… all food will be imported? That means the Beasts Pirates will be responsible for supplying Wano. Would they really be willing to keep paying for Wano's people?"
Having figured out the food source, Yasuie raised a new concern.
"Of course Kaido won't support this country for free—he needs profit. That's why I want people to build factories."
Gusion said,
"As for environmental issues, the Beasts Pirates already have preliminary solutions. From now on, pollution will be discharged outside the country, and the water will gradually improve. People just need to work and they'll have food."
"Discharged outside the country? Into the sea? What will other countries think of us? Wouldn't we become villains polluting the world?"
Yasuie frowned, clearly unhappy with this solution.
Gusion nodded,
"I agree with you. So why not go and explain the pros and cons to Kaido yourself?"
Yasuie fell silent. He knew Kaido wouldn't care, and shamefully, he couldn't think of a better way. If factories had to be built, then it was better for the pollution to go outside, at least so it wouldn't harm their own people.
In fact, he'd studied the pollutants from factories—they did obvious harm in small rivers, but in the vast ocean, maybe not so much.
The more he thought, the more Gusion's plan seemed at least viable—at minimum, it would improve things for now.
"Lord Gusion, you said environmental problems are being solved, but opening a canal to the sea for waste discharge is a huge project—it can't be finished quickly."
No sooner had Yasuie spoken than a loud rumble shook the earth, and he saw clouds of dust rising in the distance.
Gusion glanced that way.
"The Numbers sure are noisy at work. I told them not to disturb the locals so much."
Just last night, the Numbers' leader had come to the capital to meet Gusion, scaring quite a few people.
After questioning, Gusion learned that Kaido had temporarily put him in charge of the Numbers. The canal project wasn't finished, so he had them keep working.
The ancient giants' strength was truly extraordinary. They couldn't do delicate work like house-building, but for digging canals, they were like unstoppable machines.
A single Number could dig over a hundred kilometers of canal a day!
And that was with them slacking off, taking breaks to drink and eat.
By Gusion's estimate, at their current pace, the canal would be linked up in less than a week, creating a wastewater network to drain factory waste outside Wano, sparing the local rivers.
Gusion himself had drawn the plans, diverting seawater in and keeping the new canal completely separate from the original freshwater river.
For a perfect sewage system, he'd have the Numbers build partitions to prevent groundwater pollution, but his real goal was to convince Kaido to build a waste processing plant, so this would do for now.
"See? With the Beasts Pirates' power, infrastructure is easy. Next week, the rivers will start to clear up."
Gusion handed Yasuie a document.
"This is the factory construction plan for Kuri. Please review it—after this, you'll manage progress in that area. Of course, I'll check in from time to time."
Yasuie took the papers with mixed feelings. He never imagined he'd one day join Kaido's daughter's camp and help build the factories he once hated most.
But Gusion's arguments had shown him the plan was feasible.
Once the factories were built, the people of Kuri wouldn't have to scavenge for trash—they'd have stable jobs and could buy their own food.
"When do I start?"
Yasuie asked.
"Oden's castle is gone, but there's a residence nearby you can use as an office. I'll send some guards; as for trusted aides, you know more talent than I do."
Gusion arranged it, confident that many capable people were still hiding in Wano—if Yasuie could recruit them, infrastructure would progress quickly.
"Leave it to me. At this point, I'm not after fame or fortune—just hope, Lord Gusion, that you and the Shogun can govern well and give the people a good life."
Yasuie said resolutely. The baby in his arms began to cry again.
"Go feed your child, Mr. Yasuie. Please do your best—so there will be fewer babies like the one in your arms starving."
With that, Gusion turned to leave. He was busy now; official documents and identification would be delivered to Yasuie the next morning.
After leaving the Ebisu Town, Gusion traveled across the region, inspecting food distribution and ensuring the plan was being executed. Only then did he return to the capital.
During this time, Yamato was also busy. Following Gusion's instructions, she toured the land with a convoy, personally helping the people and distributing food. In just a few days, her popularity soared.
When the two met in the capital, they both looked exhausted, though Yamato's face was also lit with joy.
She was enjoying the people's gratitude, but also truly happy to have helped them.
"Gusion-dono, the food's been handed out. But I heard you promised Father the factories would be built soon—can that really be done?"
Yamato asked excitedly. She'd read Gusion's three-step strategy, and now that phase one was done, was curious about the next steps.
"Of course."
Gusion answered confidently.
"But… I looked at the blueprints—the factories are huge, with intricate designs. Even if all the unemployed are put to work, it'd take years, right?"
Yamato was puzzled; she'd learned to think deeply about these things.