"Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals?"
King said thoughtfully.
Kurosaki Rei nodded. "Exactly. If one day we attack the Holy Land, it will naturally be the top-tier experts of our main force who go. As for the legions under us, their job is to confront the Marine fleets and protect our rear."
In the world of One Piece, cannon fodder is useless on high-level battlefields—but that doesn't mean a faction doesn't need "cannon fodder" at all.
If you just want to sail the seas for fun, then sure, it doesn't matter. But Kaido wants to kill the Celestial Dragons. For that, massive armies are indispensable. His troops can block Marine fleets from harassing the main force, and once war begins, they can support and sweep through allied nations, gaining even more fighting strength.
"So that's how it is. At least the accumulation from previous years wasn't a complete waste."
King sighed with emotion. To be honest, after realizing that the artificial Devil Fruit army was useless, even he had felt deeply distressed.
"Alright. Now that we've talked about the general plan for the grassroots level and the acquisition of basic soldiers, let's talk about the most important part—high-end combat power," Kurosaki Rei said.
"I believe Mr. Kaido and everyone here understands this: no matter how many low-level soldiers you have, they can't decide the true outcome of a war. They only guarantee our bottom line and logistics. The ones who really charge forward and defeat powerful enemies are the strong elites."
His gaze swept across the assembled officers. "We need more companions as powerful as all of you."
"Strong people aren't that easy to find," Kaido said. "Kurosaki Rei, you've wandered overseas for so many years—have you ever seen a lineup stronger than my Beasts Pirates?"
"Is it really that hard to find?"
Kurosaki Rei smiled. "The sea is vast—no matter what kind of powerhouse appears, it wouldn't be strange. To attract talent, there are really just three points."
Kaido was immediately interested. "Say it!"
"First, money. We're all pirates—there aren't many who don't love money. Anyone who can rise to an officer position is probably financially free already, so they're not short on cash. But in reality, not all strong people on the sea are well-off."
Kurosaki Rei spoke, thinking of how Buggy the Clown would later become a Yonko. Aside from the powerhouses from Impel Down, plenty of people on the seas joined under Buggy.
Why did they follow Buggy? Was it because he was strong?
No. It was because Buggy was slick with words, good at selling dreams—and his "company" really did make a lot of money. The "salaries" paid to his subordinates were very high.
This world doesn't lack strong people, but strong people often aren't very bright, and their ability to make money is lacking. So it wasn't hard to understand why they followed Buggy.
If someone like Kaido—a famous and powerful Yonko—were willing to offer high prices and high pay to recruit talent, would experts join?
The answer was obviously yes.
"Using money… Although people attracted purely by money are hard to guarantee loyalty, it is indeed a method," King said after some thought.
"True. But利益 relationships are among the strongest relationships in the world. As long as Mr. Kaido is strong enough and the price is high enough, there will be plenty of desperados willing to sell their lives. And if they stay in the group long enough, it's not impossible to win their hearts," Kurosaki Rei said.
"Besides money, there's fame. With the opening of the Great Age of Pirates, more and more newcomers are flooding into the seas. Among them are supernova-level talents. After entering the New World, they'll hit walls at first, but their potential is unquestionable. Young people are desperate to make a name for themselves—joining the Beasts Pirates is a shortcut."
Kaido pondered this. "You mean I should find ways to absorb those brats who break into the New World?"
Kurosaki Rei nodded. "More or less. Of course, we have to be selective. Those without talent are out. The threshold can't be too low."
"Even so, it still feels like these two methods won't attract truly top-tier powerhouses," Kaido frowned. He had his own thoughts—especially when it came to talent, he was quite experienced.
"What Mr. Kaido says is correct, which is why there's a third point," Kurosaki Rei said with a smile.
"We need to recruit people who share the same ideals as Mr. Kaido. Such people not only have a certain guarantee of character, but also share our goals. And those with firm beliefs often grow stronger. They're perfect new members. In this regard, I hope everyone pays more attention in the future."
The first two methods would mostly expand the mid-tier strength of the pirate crew. To truly develop top-tier combat power, shared ideals were essential.
For example, Aokiji—the current Admiral who might leave the Marines more than ten years later. In the original story, after losing the battle for Fleet Admiral and due to ideological differences, he left the Marines and eventually joined the Blackbeard Pirates.
Talents like this were exactly the kind Kaido had both the strength and the stance to recruit—he just missed the timing and let Blackbeard pick up the leftovers.
Of course, there was also the possibility that Aokiji was a spy. But judging from the later parts of the original story Kurosaki Rei had read, that possibility seemed to be decreasing—after all, Aokiji even defeated and captured Garp.
"I see. Then I want to recruit more of this third type," Kaido said, finally understanding.
He felt that most of the strong people around him already fit into the three categories Kurosaki Rei mentioned.
For example, his good brother King belonged to the like-minded type. Queen was more complicated—he wanted both fame and fortune and also agreed with Kaido's dream, though not purely.
As for Jack, the youngest of the Three Calamities, he was simpler. Back then he was a newcomer who joined Kaido for fame. Because he was talented and hardworking, Kaido quickly promoted him to an All-Star.
Further down, the Tobiroppo and the Headliners mostly didn't even know what Kaido truly wanted. Among the Tobiroppo present today, only Maria understood what was in his heart.
So in truth, there were very few people in his pirate crew who were truly like-minded with him. Before, he didn't really care—so long as they were strong and followed orders, that was enough.
But after Kurosaki Rei's analysis, he realized that people who shared his ideals often were stronger, and dealing with them was far more comfortable.
"But how do we recruit this third type of member?"
After the excitement, Kaido voiced his doubt again.
He had been sailing for so many years and had only met King by chance. He felt no one else had such ambition and ideals.
"That brings us back to the original question," Kurosaki Rei said with a smile.
"We need to make Wano rich and strong, and let all the countries of the New World know it. Once that happens, an image of a prosperous economy, happy people, and powerful military will spread. Then people will start thinking: as the de facto ruler of Wano, what is Mr. Kaido really trying to do?"
"Think about what?"
Kaido looked confused.
"Mr. Kaido is essentially a pirate wanted by the World Government, and also bears the title of Yonko. Someone like you governing a country with such effort and stockpiling troops—outsiders will think you're doing one of two things," Kurosaki Rei explained.
"Either you're preparing to attack other countries in the New World, or you're planning something much bigger."
"In reality, aside from BIG MOM's Totto Land and the territories protected by the Whitebeard Pirates, there's nowhere in the New World we couldn't take. And we haven't had any friction with those two for many years. So Mr. Kaido's goal becomes easy to guess…"
"You're preparing to go to war with the World Government."
Kurosaki Rei was just making a rough analysis. He didn't even think he was necessarily right—but those with sharp minds might think along these lines.
He didn't mention Red-Haired Shanks, because he only learned later through conversations with Yamato that Shanks had only begun to be called the fourth Emperor of the Sea in the past two years. Although many people said so, Kaido, Whitebeard, and Big Mom didn't really acknowledge the strength of this junior yet.
In fact, Shanks currently didn't have much territory in the New World. He just had a good relationship with the giant nation of Elbaf, which elevated his status—after all, the giants were an extremely powerful force.
"So troublesome. I might as well just announce my ideals directly,"
Kaido said gruffly, clearly dissatisfied with all the roundabout reasoning.
Kurosaki Rei opened his mouth, then could only force out, "That… works too."
In reality, the World Government probably already knew what Kaido wanted to do—their intelligence network was extremely developed.
And even if they knew Kaido wanted to "rebel," would they immediately move to crush him? The chances seemed low.
After all, the Revolutionary Army had been making trouble for years, and the World Government still hadn't sent troops to wipe them out completely. The Yonko themselves were powerful forces— even if the World Government knew they were rebels, it wouldn't act rashly.
There was even a rather ridiculous point: if Kaido captured Marines, the Marines might not even dare to strike back immediately. They'd need approval from higher-ups before engaging a Yonko.
A classic case of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
"Alright, it's settled. I'll announce my ideals to the world!"
Kaido slammed the decision down, looking forward to many like-minded powerhouses joining him in the future.
"But…"
At this moment, King spoke up. "Mr. Kaido, words alone aren't proof. Even if you're a famous powerhouse of the seas, just saying it isn't very credible, is it?"
Kaido was momentarily puzzled, then instinctively turned to look at Kurosaki Rei.
"What Mr. King says makes sense," Kurosaki Rei said.
"If we want everyone to know that Mr. Kaido's ideals are real, then we need to show them a model. That is, let the people of the sea see that Wano is being governed well under Mr. Kaido— a relatively fair country where value is determined by ability, and where the overall happiness of the citizens is high."
There was nothing more persuasive than a real example. If Wano could truly be transformed well under Yamato's reforms, the other countries of the New World would be shaken. When war eventually erupted, they might even gain unexpected support.
"But Wano is a closed country. If we just brag about it ourselves, outsiders won't believe it,"
Maria said, seeing the difficulty in the plan.
Kurosaki Rei smiled. "My suggestion is this: once Wano becomes a good place, we open the country and develop tourism. Allow foreigners to enter without visas for up to forty-eight hours. When they go back, they'll spread word of how good it is here. That way, the Governor's ideals will be indirectly proven."
"Brilliant!"
Several officers exclaimed in admiration.
"Developing tourism would also be a considerable source of income, and likewise serve as reserves for Mr. Kaido's ideals," Kurosaki Rei added.
Every word Kurosaki Rei spoke struck straight at Kaido's heart.
In the end, Kaido even stood up himself, walked over to Kurosaki Rei, and patted him heavily on the shoulder, making Kurosaki Rei ache all over.
"Kurosaki Rei, I hereby announce that from today onward, you are the new All-Star of the Beasts Pirates. At the same time, you are our military strategist, with the highest management authority within Wano,"
Kaido said solemnly.
"Hmm… I remember you have a kind of Thunder-running blade technique. How about calling you the Thunder Calamity? No—Heavenly Calamity instead."
Kurosaki Rei hadn't expected to become an All-Star just like that—and to turn into the Fourth Calamity.
"Thank you for your trust, Mr. Kaido."
"Good. Then all the matters mentioned in today's meeting are now entrusted to you,"
Kaido said with a face full of trust.
"Huh!?"
Kurosaki Rei was completely dumbfounded.
He had just been talking big, that was all!
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