Chapter 11. Seastone's Impact: Umit, the Shipping King's Unconventional Business and Benevolence

The video showed a village of less than 500 people that had been terrorized by a pirate group.

The villagers tried to resist, but they were no match for the pirates, who were all ability users.

The villagers tried to get help from the Marines, but they were just as corrupt as the pirates.

The villagers were left with no hope.

...

The video showed the aftermath of a battle between pirates and Marines.

The pirates blamed the Marines for the disaster, while the Marines blamed the pirates.

Many Marines were ashamed of their inaction, and even the Rear Admirals were not clamoring to investigate the incident.

A colonel remembered that this was a small Marine base that had been ransacked by a powerful pirate group some time ago.

This made the pirates more confident, saying that they had killed the unjust Marines for the villagers.

The video showed how complicated the situation was in this chaotic era.

There was no clear justice, and both sides were capable of committing atrocities.

The video also showed that the events depicted were in the past, and that the situation may have changed since then.

...

The villager was lucky that he was not cheated out of all his money.

He kept some secretly in case it was stolen.

He was at a loss because he could not afford to buy seastone to rescue the soldiers.

He even thought about giving up and dying.

One day, he passed by a dilapidated tavern.

The tavern owner stopped him and found out about his situation.

The owner told him mysteriously that he knew where to find cheap seastone.

The villager did not believe him at first because seastone was usually very expensive.

The villager was skeptical at first, but he was desperate and decided to take a gamble.

He bought two seastone firearms and returned to the village.

The villagers were still skeptical, but they had no other choice.

They decided to use the firearms to assassinate the pirate captain.

In the night, they attacked the pirate camp and successfully killed the captain.

The villagers were able to defeat the pirates and take back their village because they were able to afford seastone weapons.

They were able to buy these weapons at a low price, and they were so effective that the other pirates were not afraid of them.

It has even attracted the attention of some Marines.

However, most of the Marines believe that is just a rumor.

Seastone is known to be expensive, so it is hard to believe that it could be sold at such a low price.

Most people would think that it is a scam.

However, the fact that there are thousands of pictures of seastone weapons being sold at a low price is a strong indication that the Dragon Kingdom has a large quantity of seastone.

This means that even if the sales are low, the income will still be considerable.

The pictures show that there are taverns and post stations opened by Umit on many islands.

The revenue of these businesses is very high.

"No. 1 has a revenue of 30 million Baileys"

"Station No. 2 earns 40 million Baileys"

"Tavern No. 13 has a revenue of 310 million Baileys."

...

Individual taverns and post stations may not make a lot of money, but when they are all gathered together in the gourmet capital, they form a huge source of income.

This is like a trickle of water that becomes a tsunami when it is gathered together.

[Kaido: f**k, I'm amazed that seastone can be sold at such a low price! And that they can earn so much money from it! Where do they get so many seastones?]

Kaido is skeptical about the fact that the Dragon Kingdom is selling seastone at such a low price.

He is surprised that they can earn so much money from it, and he wonders if Wanokuni is not the main origin of seastone.

He finds it absurd that the Dragon Kingdom, which is known for its vast resources, would be selling seastone at such a low price

[Loan usury king: I am so envious of Umit! He earns hundreds of millions of Baileys every day! I wish I could snatch him away!]

[Big Mom: I know, right? He's so successful, and he's not even that strong!]

[Ochoku: It's not impossible to consider. Umit is good at business, but his strength is lacking.]

[Umit: I advise you to be kind.]

[Vinus: Don't worry, we'll protect you.]

[Big Mom: Hmph! Mind your own business!]

They decided to keep quiet about it.

The third point is how selling seastone affects the lowest class.

In any era, the general public suffers the most.

The people at the top often don't notice.

But if someone is strong and capable, they can get away with evil even with the Marines involved.

Not all Marines are just.

When ordinary people are oppressed, they often have no one to turn to.

But low-priced seastone gives them a chance to fight back.

It doesn't always work, but at least they're not helpless lambs anymore.

[Aokiji: I was wrong about you. Your money is clean and just.]

[Kizaru: I never thought that money could be earned this way. I made money and helped people in need. Umit is a great businessman!]

[Umit: I'm not amazing. I'm just following my king's teachings. Our economy is not based on seastone alone. We have other sources of income]

As soon as these words were said, everyone was shocked.