"What a straightforward guy, that Queen..."
Watching Queen's hurried departure, Black Maria exhaled a faint puff of smoke.
"Those from MADS are all like that. You can say they're not good enough, but you can't say they're inferior to Vegapunk."
Caesar chuckled, glancing at Black Maria. "As for the financial matters, I'll have to trouble you, Miss Maria."
"Can you give me a specific direction?"
Black Maria let out a soft laugh. "I'm only in charge of managing internal affairs and logistics. I'm probably not as capable as you think, Caesar."
"I've looked at the past transaction prices with Joker, and it seems the prices were heavily suppressed. That guy has quite the nerve, doesn't he?"
Caesar said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. After all, we're pirates."
"It seems you're not very familiar with the pirate world, Caesar. Pirate transactions operate in the underworld. Since there's no legal protection, legitimate merchants won't do business with pirates, except in the entertainment industry."
Black Maria sighed helplessly. "If you visit those pirate towns, you'll find that prices among pirates are usually very high. Selling prices are suppressed, and buying prices are inflated. Even the Four Emperors' crews can't avoid this. If you don't follow the rules, no one will do business with you in the future."
"Wano Country is located in the latter half of the New World, the most chaotic sea in the world. Trade is scarce in such a place, but we still need to procure goods from the outside. You can raise prices, but so can others."
Caesar frowned. "Have you ever thought about directly cooperating with the World Government?"
Black Maria gave him a strange look. "Joker is their representative."
"Oh, right..."
Caesar slapped his forehead. In the original timeline, when the World Government sent people to Wano Country, Joker had already become the "King of the News." It was precisely because this chain was broken that the World Government sent people to Wano.
"Well, that makes things easier."
Caesar nodded. "Contact Joker and have him lower the prices. Also, send us more food and money. If he doesn't want to do this business, we'll turn to the Revolutionary Army."
Black Maria was taken aback. "Lower prices, send money... the Revolutionary Army?"
"Although we have a monopoly on Sea Prism Stone, after so many years of transactions, the World Government must have a certain reserve. They might not be pressured by prices in the short term, but they definitely wouldn't want the Revolutionary Army to get involved with Sea Prism Stone."
Caesar explained. "Additionally, Wano Country has vast territory and distinct seasons. Once we overcome the current food shortage crisis, we can achieve self-sufficiency."
"Is that our goal?" Black Maria asked.
Caesar nodded. "For the short term, yes! My estimate is one year. By then, I'll provide the next steps."
Management, in essence, is about delegating tasks.
Unlike other positions, in management, those who are idle aren't necessarily capable, but those who are constantly busy are definitely not...
Caesar, as a manager, usually only focuses on two things.
First, overall planning and assigning responsibilities to each position.
It's not about simply dumping work on others but giving them a goal, telling them how to achieve it, and to what extent or effect.
Second, conducting surprise inspections from the bottom up. As long as these two things are done well, there won't be any major issues.
At this stage, the primary goal of Wano Country is to restore the livelihood of its people. As long as the people's bellies are filled, the current food reserves are still insufficient to meet everyone's needs. Economic construction is something to consider after everyone has enough to eat.
Compared to other countries, Wano Country has significant advantages.
For example, Snail Communication. Unlike the Den Den Mushi used overseas, Wano Country's communication devices are snails. The signal wavelengths of these two creatures are different, so they cannot be intercepted by eavesdropping Den Den Mushi.
Then there's Sea Prism Stone.
It's quite ironic that the monopolist is now being strangled by their own product...
For the next few days, Caesar was busy with these matters.
Wano Country originally had a relatively well-established political system, but Kurozumi Orochi's rule led to a corrupt political environment. This area could be left to Kozuki Hiyori, a local, to handle.
Soon, the news that Kozuki Hiyori was still alive and had joined Yamato's ranks spread rapidly throughout Wano Country.
"I never expected Komurasaki to be the daughter of Kozuki Oden..."
"The most beautiful woman in Wano Country? That's not surprising, considering Lady Toki was a stunning beauty!"
"I heard that Miss Hiyori is now under the protection of the Shogun and is working with Lord Caesar."
"The Shogun is truly benevolent!"
"Loyalty!"
The public's discussions quickly reached Caesar's ears, and the effect was pretty much what he had anticipated.
As the saying goes, a gentleman is judged by his actions, not his intentions. Even if someone saw through his motives, they couldn't find fault with him.
When Kozuki Hiyori heard about it, she simply smiled faintly, with a hint of imperceptible sorrow. But for her now, as long as the people had enough to eat, she was satisfied.
"Hey hey hey! Caesar, you brat!"
In the evening, while Caesar and Yamato were having dinner, a commotion suddenly erupted in the castle.
Queen's massive body barged in, crashing through the room's door: "I heard about it! What's going on? Komurasaki is actually the daughter of Kozuki Oden?"
Caesar shot him a glance: "Is there a problem?"
"A big problem!"
Queen glared: "That's the daughter of our enemy! Do you even know what you're doing, you idiot? If the boss finds out, you're dead! For the sake of our brotherhood, hand her over to me..."
"Kaidou won't care, but it seems like you do."
Caesar rolled his eyes: "Weren't you supposed to be Komurasaki's number one fan?"
"I have my own priorities!"
Queen's face stiffened: "That girl managed to stay hidden under Kurozumi Orochi for years, which shows how cunning she is. Hand her over to me, and I'll make sure she behaves and doesn't dare to harbor any rebellious thoughts!"
"No, you're just lustful."
"Wha—? You figured that out?"
Queen fell to his knees, weeping bitterly: "Please, Caesar! Hand her over to me! I promise I'll research whatever you want in the future!"
"Save it. The Kozuki family still has some reputation among the people. Doing this would only waste our previous efforts."
Caesar pointed at Yamato: "Besides, she's Yamato's friend. No force allowed."
Queen looked at Yamato and saw that she had already hoisted her Spiked Club onto her shoulder. Clearly, if he kept causing trouble, he'd be on the receiving end of a Thunder Bagua.
"Damn it, you two!"
Queen quickly stood up, fearing a blow from Yamato.
This girl had grown up right under his watch, and he was well aware of her strength. Although she was no match for Kaidou, she could definitely hold her own against him for a while.
Though he was reluctant to admit it, his strength was indeed slightly inferior to hers.
Not to mention, there was Caesar, that freak who could use Advanced Conqueror's Haki with Armament Haki. It was said that even King was almost at his wit's end dealing with him.
At this thought, Queen's expression suddenly changed: "Wait, that's not right, you two..."
"What now?"
Yamato tilted her head: "If you dare lay a finger on Hiyori again, I'll send you flying, you bastard!"
"That's exactly what I'm talking about!"
Queen suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing something.
If these two brats in front of him teamed up, the entire Beast Pirate Crew, aside from Kaidou, would likely only be able to handle them if two of the Calamities joined forces.
In a one-on-two situation...
It would be roughly equivalent to him fighting two opponents of the same level?
Thinking about it carefully, wasn't the reason he hadn't directly approached Komurasaki also because of his subconscious fear of their strength?
"Growing this fast? These freaks of the new generation..."
A drop of cold sweat rolled down his temple. Queen stuffed a cigar into his mouth, turned around, and left: "Pretend I was never here!"
"Huh?"
Yamato looked at Caesar in confusion: "He just left like that?"
"What else?"
Caesar smiled slightly, probably guessing Queen's thoughts.
After finishing up the affairs in Wano Country, he should fully devote himself to training.
He didn't aim to defeat Kaidou, but as long as he could stand his ground without losing, he could leave at any time...
He wondered what expression Robin would have when she was released and found out that nearly a year had passed.