23

New World, Fortis Kingdom, Rice Field Territory.

Ars and Kaguya are currently in the paddy field to check the land. Each paddy field built has an area of 1 hectare and the total paddy land owned by the Fortis Kingdom currently amounts to 24,950 paddy fields. With a very large number like this, both of them need quite a long time to be able to explore.

However, since both of them currently have no work to do. The two of them had no problem going for a walk to see the rice area, especially for Kaguya who was very happy to be accompanied by Ars during his current vacation.

"Finally meeting you here too, Isshiki"

Isshiki who was doing an inspection of one of the fields immediately turned around hearing a familiar voice.

"Ars, Kaguya" Isshiki was quite surprised to find the two of them there.

"What are you doing Isshiki?" Kaguya asked with great interest.

"I'm checking the distribution of rice seeds. Previously I saw that there were some areas where there were no seeds that we had previously sown." Isshiki immediately walked towards the two of them and asked with a smile, "Are you two on a date?"

"Date?" Kaguya's face immediately turned red at those words.

"It just so happens that Kaguya has just finished her assignment in the matter of calculating the funds that came in yesterday and currently she has time to rest. Since I haven't come here yet, I invited him to have a look and also do an inspection."

Ars paused for a moment and continued, "What is the condition of the land that Hashirama built? Is the land good?"

"The land that Hashirama built is very good. There are no problems with the land development and the distribution of the seeds." Isshiki calmly replied.

Ars nodded and continued, "In your opinion, how much rice can be produced in one harvest for each field?"

"How many?" Isshiki touched his chin and thought for a moment, "Usually if we estimate the rice harvest in my previous world by calculating the size of the land the same. There are about 5-7 tons of rice that can be produced for 1000 meters of rice land. However…" Isshiki's gaze stared at the nearby rice fields, "I don't believe in this world. Due to differences in seeds and other factors. There is a possibility that our yields will be less than 5 tons for each field and it could be higher than 5 tons"

"What do you think about the harvest we produce? You should be able to guess for now, right?" Ars asked again.

Isshiki nodded, "My opinion. It is possible that our panels for each field range from 10 tons of rice to 15 tons of rice."

"10 to 15 tons, huh? If we take each paddy field we can produce 10 tons of rice in one harvest. At least in one harvest we can produce around 249,500 tons of rice"

"249,500 tons is quite a lot" Kaguya said calmly, "Every year usually there will be 3-4 harvests. We just hope that every year we can harvest 3 times. That means every year we can produce around 748,500 tons of rice. At the first harvest, we can already start selling the rice we have to each island or maybe sell it to the kingdoms that are allied with us"

"I also agree with this" Isshiki nodded, "The proceeds from the sale can also be used as additional funds for the kingdom especially with the increasing number of workers that will be employed by the kingdom. There will be more and more money to be spent."

"What do you two think the price of rice should we offer them?" asked Ars calmly.

"We can use different prices for sales to different people" Kaguya said, "Take for example the kingdoms we have a cooperative relationship with. We can sell it at a lower price than the current market price. As for the kingdoms that do not have a cooperative relationship with us. We can sell it at a price close to the market price. We have to control that the price we have is cheaper than the market price which helps our goods to be very easy to sell."

Isshiki nodded, "Ars, what is the average price of rice in this world?"

"Wait a minute" Ars immediately established communication with Elie, "Elie, what is the average price of rice in this world?"

[This information requires 5000 points. Do you want it?]

"Of course"

[The average price of rice in this world is 800 berries for every one kilogram. Meanwhile, the price of rice itself varies from 750 berries to 850 berries. It all depends on the location where the rice is sold. If the rice is sold in a place that has its own scarcity. The price can even go up to 1000 berry more. Meanwhile, if the place is rich in rice. The price of rice is only around 750 berry to 800 berry]

"Thank you" Ars then looked at Isshiki, "I just bought information from Elie. It is said that the average price of rice in this world is 800 berries. However, the price of the rice itself can also vary with the location where the rice is sold. If the location where the rice is sold has rice scarcity, the price can go up to 1000 berries and if the location where the rice is sold is very rich in rice the price will only be around 750 berries to 800 berries"

"If so. We can set the price for selling rice to kingdoms that we have a cooperative relationship with at a price of 600 berries for one kilogram of rice while for kingdoms we don't have a cooperative relationship with. We can provide the price of rice for one kilogram at a price of 700 berries. With the amount of rice that can be produced every single harvest. At least we can generate more than 100 billion more for these sales"

Isshiki nodded, "Yes. Although later we will issue rice that will be consumed by our kingdom for now and also rice seeds that will be planted by us later. We can still make a profit of over 100 billion berries for one harvest. If we calculate that in one year, we can produce 3 harvests, we can get a profit of more than 300 billion berries."

"Do not forget. That 3 harvests is just a rough estimate" Kaguya said calmly, "It could be that we get 4 harvests in 1 year. If so. We can earn more than 400 billion berries only through the rice department of agriculture"

New World, Naval Reconnaissance Ship.

"Are you serious? That person is currently partying together with Whitebeard's pirate group?" Sengoku asked with a surprised face and it could be seen through the den-den mushi that Momonga was currently holding.

"That's right, Sengoku-san" Momonga nodded and looked ahead with a single-handed pair of binoculars, "I saw that someone I didn't know was talking excitedly along with Marko and Ace. He seemed to be the one who was involved in the battle with Whitebeard at that time. He's currently partying with them."

"Sengoku-san… Could it be that our estimates were wrong?" Momonga asked with a gloomy face, "Could that person be the Whitebeard Pirates' newest division commander?"

"Impossible!" Sengoku immediately rejected it, "There's no way that person could be the commander of Whitebeard's pirates since Whitebeard had previously fought with him. Besides… There's no way someone who could defeat Whitebeard would be willing to accept him."

"Then… Will our previous plan be continued?" Momonga asked in a doubtful tone.

"Keep going. You keep an eye there and see if that person will leave after the party is over or not. If that person left, it would mean that that person was not part of Whitebeard's pirate group. We will try to recruit him to join us. Meanwhile, if that person is indeed Whitebeard's pirate group. That person will definitely survive there. If that's the case, you'll be right back. Don't you provoke them."

"I see"

Some time passed.

New World, Sphinx Island, Outer Island.

Whitebeard's pirate group party was very cannon because there was a lot of food and drink.

"How does the food taste, Hashirama? Is it good?" Thacht asked with a smile where he was currently sitting with Hashirama.

"How does our best chef's cooking taste, Hashirama? It's delicious, isn't it?" Ace asked excitedly.

"It's really delicious" Hashirama nodded excitedly, "However, compared to the dishes made by Jouichirou, Gin, and Kojiro. Their dishes are much better than this dish."

"Are they your personal chef there?" Marko asked with great interest.

"No" Hashirama immediately shook his head, "They are my friends. The three of them are also high-ranking officials from our kingdom and their jobs as Chefs in the Royal Palace. We royals usually live in the royal palace and the dishes we eat every day are made by them."

"Are they strong?" Joz asked and this immediately aroused the curiosity of everyone present.

"Not. They are weak" Hashirama shook his head, "Our own kingdom has two kinds of higher-ups. There are higher-ups who specialize in jobs that usually deal with documents and others and there are also higher-ups who specialize in combat or the like. For the higher-ups who specialize in work dealing with paperwork and stuff like that. They have no fighting power. As for the higher-ups who specialize in combat power. You could say they are very strong."

"Very strong? There can't be anyone stronger than you, right?" Vista asked with interest.

"Hahaha…" Hashirama immediately laughed at this question, "Don't get me wrong, Vista. You're wrong if you think I'm the strongest in the kingdom."

"What do you mean?" Vista asked back with a face full of doubt.

"At least in my kingdom, there are 2 people who have a higher level of power one of which is a sword user. Then, there are 7 people who have the same level of strength as me. Next there are 6 people who have the level of strength like Whitebeard. There were still 4 other people who had the same level of strength as Kaidou and Linlin. And lastly, there were some people… Well, there were around more than 10 people who had Marko's level of strength or maybe even the equivalent of a Marine Admiral. If counting the total number of higher-ups who specialize in the battle division. There are at least 20 more people whose weakest strength of them is on the same level as Marko while the strongest has more strength compared to me"

Everyone fell silent for a moment hearing this.

Hashirama's gaze then looked at Jinbei, "At that time you didn't meet them because at this time they weren't in the kingdom. They still have things to do. When their business is done, they will immediately come there and ready to help with the development of our kingdom."

Jinbei nodded and it was still hard to believe that there were 20 people with the lowest strength being Marko's level and the strongest being higher than Hashirama.

"I myself in the Fortis Kingdom have the position of Head of the Intelligence Department and this department itself is not a department that focuses on combat matters and is only a department that takes care of intelligence gathering and other matters. In our kingdom there are three departments which are indeed their main focus in combat specialists. The Royal Palace Guard Department, the Fortis Royal Navy Department, and the Fortis Royal Army Department."

Everyone who was there was silenced again listening to Hashirama's words. They could see from Hashirama's gaze. There was no lie from those words which meant everything he was being told right now was the truth.

Teach, who previously had plans to take over power in the Kingdom of Fortis, has now begun to consider the plan. Even though he can get the Yami-Yami no Mi and Gura-Gura no Mi devil fruits. It would be impossible for him to defeat 20 people with the lowest strength level being Marko's level. Even Teach himself is not sure his strength can match Hashirama if he already has the 2 powers of the devil fruit.

Simultaneously, a newsbird landed on the hull of the ship. This news bird immediately caught the attention of everyone present. One of the crew closest to the newsbird immediately bought a newspaper and when he read it his face immediately showed surprise.

"What?!" The crew shouted angrily, "Damn Morgans! How could he publish this?! How dare he!"

"What is it?" Marko asked, frowning.

"This. Those damn Morgans published Oyaji's defeat in the papers!"

"What!" Everyone who heard this immediately became angry.

"Give me the newspaper!" Marko ordered with an angry face.

The crew immediately handed the newspaper over to Marko. Marko immediately read the newspaper with a face full of anger.

The news in the newspaper is written that way.

[The 5th EMPEROR OF THE OCEAN HAS BEEN BORN!]

[Some time ago there had been a great battle on an uninhabited island that was close to the Sphinx Island. The battle was carried out by Yonkou Whitebeard with an unknown person. In the battle, the island which was the site of the battle was badly damaged. This enormous battle also had a very surprising ending. Yonkou Whitebeard who was known as the World's Strongest Man was defeated by an unknown figure!

Who is the figure who can defeat Whitebeard? Is he from the Navy? Is he a power that the World Government has been hiding? Was he a force belonging to the Revolutionary army? Or, is that person a supernova who is about to join the race to become the Pirate King? At this time it is still unknown who that figure really is and also from which camp the person who defeated Whitebeard is said to be the Strongest Human in the World. However, with his presentation he was able to defeat Whitebeard in a one-on-one battle. We can say that a 5th Ocean Emperor has been born!]

"Gurarara ~ Hey, Hashirama" Whitebeard who heard the news was not angry but just laughed and looked at Hashirama, "What do you think? 5th Ocean Emperor? That title suits you. If you want, I don't mind giving you a little bit of my domain so you can hold that status validly."

This surprised Marko and the others.

"Forget Whitebeard" Hashirama shook his head, "I'm not interested in the position. Compared to being a 5th Ocean Emperor. I prefer to hold my current position especially I have enjoyed life with my friends and also the people who lead me. Right now, that's enough for me."

"Gurarara~" Whitebeard laughed excitedly and didn't mind Hashirama's refusal since Whitebeard already knew Hashirama's answer.

"Why do you guys look weird like that? Isn't the news telling the truth? When a man loses, it means he has indeed lost. It would be even more heartbreaking for a man who previously lost but always considered himself a winner. That can be said to be a loser" Whitebeard said seriously then continued, "Also, I just lost to him once. In the next battle, I will definitely win the battle."

"Hahahaha… I'm also waiting for the time when we fight again, Whitebeard" Hashirama said while laughing excitedly.

The news of Whitebeard's defeat quickly spread to all corners of the world. The World Government, Navy, Pirates, Revolutionary Army, and the civilians who received the news were immediately taken aback. Because they themselves did not expect someone like Whitebeard with the status of the World's Strongest Human, holding the position of the Emperor of the New World Ocean, as well as a Rival of Gol D. Roger would lose to a young man.