So, I put Kureha under my control. I didn't enhance her, though—what's the point of giving better genes to someone who's already over a century old? She's long past her growth phase. Unless I gave her something as insane as Lunarian or Big Mom's genes, her strength wouldn't improve much anyway.
I allowed the kingdom to continue functioning under the same king, but now things were… different. Everyone was more focused on their work—or rather, they were made to focus.
A clear distinction had been created: several citizens were chosen to become warriors and sent directly into training programs. There, they worked on enhancing their bodies and training their Haki.
Then came the hunting units, tasked with the vital responsibility of venturing out to sea and hunting Sea Kings for food. As you can imagine, ever since I enhanced the people of this country, their food requirements skyrocketed. The demand had increased several times over, which naturally made Sea King hunting an essential part of the Kingdom—those massive creatures were packed with nutrients.
Though only the warriors were given a strict Sea King diet, the rest of the people had meat mixed with food imported from other nations we traded with.
Next, I established a separate division for scientists, another for doctors, and one more for traders. It was a complete system—structured and refined.
Trade and medicine became the dominant industries. The Drum Kingdom would soon start establishing hospitals in foreign nations, offering elite medical treatment to the wealthy at exorbitant prices.
Slowly but surely, we would push out and undermine local medical facilities on each island, making them completely reliant on the Drum Kingdom for anything related to healthcare.
But the most important investment was in pharmaceuticals. Yes, the scientists weren't there just for show—they were researching the human body and formulating drugs. I had collected and compiled numerous medicinal recipes of the Drum Kingdom, added whatever I had learned in my past life and at Ohara, optimized them all, and kickstarted mass production.
There was no need to waste time growing herbs or mining minerals. Every raw material was imported, processed here on Drum Island, and then sent back out for sale—at sky-high prices.
And most importantly, strength-enhancing drugs were a legitimate thing here—especially thanks to Dr. Kureha, who had several varieties of them. The World Government and Marines bought them like crazy, not caring about the prices, clearly showcasing their wealth.
Dr. Kureha's longevity too was a result of years of chemical treatments. So naturally, life-extending drugs also became a commodity. Nobles and even Celestial Dragons were practically foaming at the mouth to get their hands on them.
I had already dispatched several people to Water 7 to order a large number of ships dedicated to trade for the Drum Kingdom. Before this, most of our operations relied on ships that were, shall we say, generously donated by pirates who happened to be passing through. These kind souls even provided all their treasure as a gesture of goodwill. And once we were done, we would kindly escort them to a Marine base—where the Marines, in turn, would kindly hand over another large sum in bounty rewards.
So yes, all this happened. And contrary to my original intentions, I ended up staying in the Drum Kingdom for a full year. But damn, what a transformation. The country was unrecognizable—skyscrapers dotted the landscape, and the enhanced citizens now stood at the helm of a growing financial empire. I told you—I'm not evil. What these people achieved under my guidance was far beyond anything they could have even imagined in their wildest dreams.
Naturally, such rapid progress didn't go unnoticed. Spies—especially from the World Government—began snooping around. But so what? They were either dealt with quietly or kept well away from any important information.
Ironically, the very World Government I wish to replace ended up becoming one of our biggest clients—granting us over 100 billion berries in revenue in just a year. Still, they remained far too curious about the sudden transformation of the Drum Kingdom.
You too might be wondering how all this was possible. But remember—I enhanced their intelligence. The smartest, most cunning individuals were immediately put into business-related roles.
On every one of our trade ships, the captain was a loyal local from the Drum Kingdom. But the rest of the crew? Workers or slaves from various lands. The traders themselves were strong—not just mentally, but physically. Within just a year, most of them could overpower Marine Commodores, with many reaching the level of low-ranking Rear Admirals. Their strength kept the crews in check and operations running smoothly.
This also solved our manpower issue. Most of the industrial and processing work was handled by machines—and by slaves. Yes, I didn't shy away from buying and using slaves. The system was undeniably unjust… but for those in power? It was simply too efficient to ignore.
Buy them once, and you get lifelong labor for free. I actually liked the idea so much that I sent special teams to non-affiliated nations to acquire more slaves. And no, my slaves weren't mistreated like those under the Celestial Dragons. They served as our working class and were provided with proper, nutritious meals and decent lodgings. After all, a healthy worker is a productive worker.
Just consider this: while Drum Kingdom's native population was only about 50,000, the number of slaves under our control had already reached over 300,000. We were exploding in terms of growth. I had even discovered a true genius in trade within the kingdom—someone I placed as the public face of our rise. He served as a decoy, shielding me from World Government scrutiny. To the outside world, it looked like this young prodigy was the one who helped the king revolutionize the country.
With all my goals in the Drum Kingdom complete, it was time for me to move on. Sure, I'm immortal and have all the time in the world, but I still have a long way to go. My next destination was Water 7, where I'd commission a new ship. A year or two after that, I planned to finally set sail for the New World.
The overwhelming success of the Drum Kingdom sparked new ideas in my mind—thoughts I couldn't shake off. The problem was that the Drum Kingdom couldn't extend its reach beyond Paradise. This world was too segmented. Crossing Reverse Mountain was nearly impossible for most merchant vessels.
So, I came up with a new plan: instead of expanding the Drum Kingdom, I would establish one dominant nation per sea—each under my control. The richest nation. The secret powerhouse.
In these nations, I didn't intend to completely enhance everyone individually. Instead, I would burn through an enormous amount of my own lifespan, cover the entire nation in my energy, and enhance their brain functions all at once.
Then, I would form elite units composed of only the most strong-willed individuals—those who would then receive the genetic enhancements with the potential to reach the pinnacle of strength.
They would be trained as another sword in my arsenal. Of course, I would embed mind-control mechanisms within them as well.
You might think I'd never even need such forces. But what if I do? I'd rather be over-prepared than caught off guard. The kingdoms I planned to control in the Four Blues had much larger populations. If I could have even 10,000 enhanced warriors per sea—and if they could all reach the strength of a Vice Admiral—can you even imagine what kind of power that would be?
A force of 10,000 Vice Admirals… would be more than enough to bring the Marines to their knees. Not even their Admirals or Fleet Admiral could save them.
This was the kind of power I intended to build. After all, even a god needs an army—to silence any whispers of dissent before they ever take root.