It's just business! (part 1)

In Ballywood, an event long awaited by the local population was approaching...

"Vote for the political party [Change for Ballywood]!

The party of the current Prime Minister Jamba Yala!

Trust someone with experience! Change cannot be delegated to inexperienced amateurs!"

An event that every four years flooded the streets with propaganda, even surpassing the number of posters and promotion of the theater plays with the largest advertising budget on the island.

"Vote for the political party [Let's change Ballywood]!

The party of the famous ex-actor Hot Dog! 

If you want a fairy tale legislature Stop trusting politicians who don't keep their promises! Vote for Hot Dog!"

The presidential elections!

A very normal event in Fred's previous life and also on this island, but practically non-existent in the rest of the world. Virtually every country in the One Piece world was ruled by an absolutist monarchy from the beginning of time to the present day.

It's difficult for every human being to imagine a government and social system different from the only one they had known and democracy was no exception to that norm. 

It wasn't an easy task, but after several minutes of explanation Fred was able to make his friends understand practically everything about the democratic system in which he had lived since he was born in his past life in a way that they could more or less understand.

"Let's see if I understand…" Perona asked, making a tremendous effort to visualize the voting process in her mind "Political parties write a program with the things they'll do and how they'll do them.

Then people read all those programs, study conscientiously to understand all the points to check if they're correct and viable and… they vote for the party with the best program?"

"Hahahaha!

No way!" Fred exclaimed, making titanic efforts not to burst out laughing. "The vast majority don't even read the program of the party they end up voting for!

HAHAHA! Studying conscientiously says...

"Is this the program of what they plan to do for the next four years?" David said, quite confused after reading one of the electoral programs that had been thrown on the ground. "I don't see anything concrete!

These are just very confusing declarations of intent that fail to explain how these policies will be carried out, not to mention that it's not explained what the cost is or how are going to be paid.

A cook needs a detailed recipe not only to know how to make a delicious dish! Also to know if it will be delicious and if its preparation is feasible despite the good intentions of making a delicious dish!"

"And an engineer also needs precise instructions…" Stephen agreed, beginning to feel dizzy in the presence of a concept as incoherent as democracy. "But at least these politicians are obliged to fulfil these intentions, right Fred?"

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha! Hahahaha!

HAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHAHAHA!

No…" Said Fred, who couldn't contain his irremediable desire to laugh hysterically. "They can finish their term without any problem even if they have failed to comply with all the points! In fact, they can do whatever they want during that period, whether it's in the program or not, and they cannot be kicked out."

A final clarification that corroborated everyone's suspicions

"This is...

COMPLETELY STUPID!" David and Perona shouted, outraged after feeling that their intelligence was being insulted. "WHAT'S THE MEANING OF VOTING THEN!?"

However, this intellectual insult hit hardest those who had more than enough capacity to understand how serious this insult was.

"IT'S BEYOND STUPID!

If every four years the government team and the country policies can change, how the hell do they do long-term planning and investments to improve the country?!" Shouted Stephen, on the verge of a nervous breakdown after hearing a nonsense of such abysmal magnitude. "But it's not just that! There are perverse incentives in this system!

In this way the politicians instead of seeking the long-term prosperity of the country aim to be elected every four years! Do you understand what that means? 

The most likely thing is that they will put the country in debt to carry out short-term projects of little, zero or negative added value but colourful and populist within a period of four years in order to impress their possible yokel voters who don't even know what the fuck are voting!

They don't just throw away EVERYONE's future to enjoy THEIR present! They also put into debt those who haven't even had the opportunity to vote for them because they weren't even born!

"Is it impossible for a company like ours to function well in the long term in this way, how the hell can something as complicated as a country function well!?"

A horribly correct conclusion that ignited Fred's fury

"And you forget to mention that in that period of time they steal with their hands full in case they can't steal in the next four years! And not necessarily illegally!

They only need to create a law saying that a new department is needed to control a productive sector that doesn't need control, put all their family and friends in that new department and force the sector they have decided to control to pay for this fucking control

A control that doesn't even need to exist!

Although in reality it's better that they do nothing despite charging for it… They're less likely to break something in their attempts to pretend they're needed." Fred said, burning with hatred. Wanting to express her exorbitant desire to kill humanoid parasites with her bare hands right then and there. 

But fortunately Fred was able to stop his increchendo before exploding with fury in front of his admirers "And... many more things... I would spend days mentioning all the ways in which they can steal according to the law...

But yes, you got the idea..."

"Fred, are you sure you want to set up our headquarters in this country?" Stephen asked, somewhat worried about this decision that could jeopardize the viability of his company. "From what we understand, sooner or later this country will end up in ruin and maybe so will we."

"Take it easy...

With democracy or not any country with people ruling centrally will eventually go bankrupt. 

Plus, we won't be headquartered here forever, there're no better options at the moment and fortunately the scenario you paint isn't so catastrophic and won't even come so quickly." Fred said, this time with a more positive attitude, but without being positive either "This country is a hereditary monarchy where the king does have decision-making power

There's always the possibility that the next king will also be a short-termist who only looks out for himself, an idiot who makes the worst decisions, or even a sadistic tyrant who abuses his subjects.

However, since the monarch isn't elected every four years and his family will inherit his position obviously the entire family has strong incentives for the country to function well in the long term.

It's difficult to explain how both government apparatuses coexist and how they act as a counterweight, but in this way a certain balance is created between short-term populist policies and long-term growth and stability policies

And also ordinary people have the illusion that they have some control over the country's policies...

A stupid illusion…

In the end, in every government system only one person really rules! Until they exhaust the patience of those next to them... or beneath them…

…

Iron law of oligarchy, we'll talk about it in other classes."

A somewhat general clarification that didn't calm all the concerns of his colleagues, but at least stopped the panic.

"Well...

It still sucks, but it seems better than either system alone at least" Said Stephen, who felt the need to make long-term plans in this place overloaded with short-termers. "I think the decomposition may take longer if that's the case... and by then we'll have moved somewhere else..."

Be that as it may, the decision had already been made and for Fred and his plan, any of the inconveniences that this country could present were nothing compared to the benefits he hoped to obtain.

"Okay, enough talk about the nasty politic" Fred said, eager to change the subject before his killer switch activated on its own. "We've already reached our last destination before we can enjoy our free time."

Since they left the Winchostor Armory, Fred's group slowly but surely advanced through the crowded streets of Ballywood towards their starting point, the main port of the island, where the commercial district was also located and therefore…

The headquarters of the Slowagon company! 

A place that Fred and Stehpen had agreed to visit the same day they arrived on the island, but not only to visit some old friends and future neighbors, also to discuss what kind of business relationship they would have from now on.

"Unlike the previous one this visit will be extremely boring

Therefore, I'll save you the agonizing boredom of sitting in an armchair without being able to do anything but hope that the time to flee will come soon." Fred said to Perona and David with an extremely friendly face before switching his grandfather mode, thus taking out a huge wad of bills from his pocket. "Grab some money and have fun for a few minutes in the shopping district

I'll let you know by den den mushi when we're done."

A kindness and generosity that moved the two FreedSteel employees

"YES BOSS!!!

You're the best boss!" Perona and David bowed to accept that money with reverence. However, since David was the only one with a tangible form, he was the one who kept it, something that made him extremely nervous "Oh mommy... it's too much money..."

And not even a tenth of a second passed before Perona had already decided what to do with those million berries.

"Follow me David," Perona said, failing in her attempt to pull David by the sleeve to follow her. "I saw a beautiful shoe store that we have to visit!

And clothes too!"

"Oh no…" David sighed as he had the dark masculine feeling that this was a worse fate than accompanying his boss to a business meeting. "But what's the point of going there? You're in your ghost form, you can't try them on

Let's go to the culinary utensils store first!"

The two carefree young kids happily ran towards some of the most luxurious stores in the entire commercial sector while the two young men with more worries than they could count watched them enter a women's shoe store.

However, of the two, the one who was most worried, or at least expressed it most, was Stephen, who was looking intensely but subtly from one side to the other of that busy shopping street.

"Fred..." Stephen said, almost ready to unsheathe his warhammer and all of his built-in weapons from his armor. "I think that..."

"Yes I know...

Trust them…" Fred said as he called for a ceasefire and indicated that was time to enter the building. "But if mommy Stephen is worried, he can spy on them through smartmushi, on channel 4."

Hawky is babysitting them."

Instead of perching on Fred's shoulder to attend the meeting, Hawky took flight to follow David and Perona, sometimes perching on trees or rooftops near the streets they passed. He watched them from a distance to avoid being seen by them and the others while through his miniaturized eyes of flying strength a den den mushi recorded everything that was happening.

---

More than half an hour passed since Perona, David began the unsupervised shopping spree and despite this David no longer had enough arms to hold all the bags and boxes, which practically cut off his vision field.

"Perona-chan, don't run so fast, it's difficult to walk with all this" David said, that although thanks to his giant strength that weight was nothing, his hands were small now, therefore was difficult to hold everything without it falling 'Should I return my hands to normal size?

No... It would draw too much attention and bother other people.'

However, even though David already had his hands full, Perona's buying spirit was still not satisfied.

"These shoes are beautiful! And this dress is cute too!

And look at the cakes in that store!" Perona said, sticking to the window of a pastry shop, but being very careful not to cross it with her ghostly body. "I plan to taste them all when I come with my real body."

"They look good, no doubt, but I think mine are better... and cheaper..." David said, feeling challenged by the greedy local bakers. "We'll buy more processed ingredients that senpai cannot create and I'll make you every type of cake every day."

You'll see!"

Scared that Fred might end their meeting early and seize the unspent money, David and Perona bought everything they could in record time before he returned. Therefore, now that they had spent all that money both rested in the middle of the main square of the shopping district enjoying the scenery, waiting for Fred, Stephen and Hawky to return.

"By the way, Perona... have you noticed that..." David asked after an irritatingly dramatic pause that he learned from Fred "Suddenly a lot of people with den den mushi cameras have arrived on this street."

Den den mushi's and especially camera den den mushi's weren't an easy product to find and afford, not even in a country as rich and cultural as Ballywood. That's why these items were only used to be carried by rich people or professionals with the urgent need to use those tools, who were normally paid by the companies that hired them.

Unlike on Earth in the 21st century, here not everyone carried one 

"Hmm...

It's true and they don't seem to pay attention to the guys who spread false promises" Mrs. Perona said as she focused her gaze on the place they would have to go as soon as they were told "Are they gathering around the Slowagon Company headquarters?"

The camera den den mushi's are a rare item.

However, in that square the concentration of people with that gadget was quite disproportionate and nothing seemed to suggest that all the rich people with that hobby in the country had decided to stay in that place and time for no apparent reason.

"I think they're reporters and they already know that Fred-senpai is there.

I'm sure they want to do an interview!" David exclaimed so excitedly that he even stood up from the chair he was so lucky to find free. "Will they mention us in the article? How nervous!

Am I well groomed? I don't want to look bad in the photo!"

Despite running the risk that another man accompanying his wife, girlfriend, sister or [friend] on some torturous shopping session could claim his seat, David stood up and quickly walked to the nearest counter to fix his dishevelled appearance.

A very brief moment, since he didn't dare to leave all those valuable bags without their protection in the middle of so many people.

And was that precise moment when...

Clank!

A masked man sped from a corner and rushed towards the distracted Perona and...

HE WRAPPED HER WITH HIS BIG AND STURDY SACK THAT...

PLOP!

Was only able to trap the air around and through Perona's astral body!

"Nani?"

An incomprehensible situation for that kidnapper, who saw the girl he had undoubtedly managed to trap in his sack in the same position as before and asked himself 'No way…

Are there any holes in the sack?'

And in the same way...

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Incomprehension also assailed David and Perona, who had never experienced anything similar.

"David...

Can you answer a question?" Perona asked as she pointed to the man who was even now trying to put her in a sack. "Are he trying to kidnap me?"

"I think so...

And that's not good…" David said, rolling up his sleeves as he advanced towards the frustrated kidnapper. "Nothing good."

A very frustrated kidnapper who continued doing everything possible to catch Perona, even though on each and every one of those occasions he only touched air.

"Something strange is happening with this girl!

She's untouchable!" The kidnapper shouted as he looked at various sides of that busy square. "What do we do?"

Faced with that desperate question, a crowd of people with their faces covered emerged from various alleys, businesses and even among journalists, propagandists and passers-by and quickly surrounded Perona and David.

"Change of plans!" The one who seemed to be the leader of the squad shouted, pointing at David with his sword. "CATCH THE BABYSITTER!"

"KIYAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

"THEY'RE ARMED! RUN!!!"

"SON! IF YOU FALL ON THE FLOOR STUPIDLY WHILE WE'RE RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES ONE MORE TIME I'LL LEAVE YOU ON THE FUCKING FLOOR!"

"CALL THE SHERIF! THERE'RE MORE THAN A HUNDRED ARMED MEN IN THE COMMERCIAL PLAZA!"

"MOTHER! I FELL! HELP!!"

"FUCKING IDIOT!!! ALWAYS THE SAME!! RAISE!"

Seeing that small army carrying a wide variety of weapons with the intention of using them, the entire square fled in fear to a safer place to avoid becoming collateral damage in that confrontation.

Panic spread among the population, but not among those at whom the weapons were pointed.

"Perona…" David said while warming up, as everyone should always do before doing intense sports. "Do you mind if you let me fight them alone?

I would like to see how strong I'm"

"Horo-horo-horo!

No problem, enjoy" Perona said, dropping the pretense of being a normal girl as she took flight and summoned the army of Negative Hollows. "I'll only knock out those who try to flee from here."

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You'll be able to see 8 chapters in advance in my Pa-treon

pa-treon.com/user?u=83938371