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Daichi's eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and he sneered, "A mere band of bandits dares to bully our Shogun! We can't agree to this; they must be exterminated!"
"Well said!"
Shogun Orochi's face lit up with joy, and his mood instantly improved by more than half.
Regardless of who won or lost this bandit extermination, it was a good thing for him. It would be even better if both sides suffered heavy losses.
When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits!
He was the winner!
A cold glint flashed in Daichi's eyes.
Once the bandit extermination was confirmed, his thoughts became much more active.
If Ashura Doji were easy to deal with, it wouldn't be his turn to do it, so whether the extermination succeeded or not wasn't important. What was important was using the name of bandit extermination to accumulate wealth.
And it wasn't just about accumulating wealth. Ashura Doji's identity was also crucial and might play a role in his upcoming plans.
"Shogun, regarding the bandit extermination, I will certainly do my utmost, but eliminating Shutenmaru's group is not an easy task."
Daichi picked up some sake and took a sip, sighing with a hint of sadness. "Now that Kaido is on an expedition, the forces remaining in Wano Country are limited. I have no men or provisions, so I'm willing to exterminate the bandits but have no means to do so!"
"Gufufufufu, indeed."
Shogun Orochi nodded, muttering to himself.
He wouldn't try to extort him again, would he? Those 50,000 gold were enough to make his heart ache. He wouldn't spend another penny!
Daichi deliberately lowered his voice.
"Shogun, I have a proposal!"
"Speak."
Shogun Orochi made a listening gesture.
Daichi's laughter was low as he rubbed his fingers.
"Shogun, bandit extermination is a great deed that benefits the country and the people. It should certainly be announced nationwide, so that the rich people can see our determination to exterminate the bandits!"
"At this time, you just need to take the lead and provide funds for the extermination. When other rich people learn of it, they will naturally follow suit and contribute money. The more you contribute, the more they will have to contribute!"
"Of course, once the matter is settled, the money you contributed will be returned in full, and we'll split the rich people's money seventy-thirty!"
Daichi's smile was brilliant.
"What do you think?"
"...."
Shogun Orochi stared at Daichi in shock.
Not only would they exterminate bandits, but they could also seize the opportunity to earn a large sum of money. How could he not have thought of such a cunning way to accumulate wealth?
Brilliant! Simply brilliant!
This boy was definitely a genius at accumulating wealth!
Shogun Orochi's gaze became much more excited, with only the words "making money" left in his mind. He hesitantly extended a finger.
"Then I'll contribute... 10,000 gold?"
"Shogun."
Daichi reminded him, feeling frustrated that he wasn't catching on.
"The more you contribute, the more you earn!"
"Yes, you're right!"
Shogun Orochi swallowed, then slapped his thigh hard.
"I'll contribute 100,000 gold!"
"Shogun is mighty!"
Daichi quickly stood up and poured sake for Shogun Orochi.
This was his God of Wealth!
On Hakumai's side, although many places didn't require money, no matter how much they saved, it was still the construction of a city.
Just the material processing fees alone were a huge expense, along with helper materials, equipment, and a series of other costly areas.
He had less than 40,000 gold in his pocket, which was certainly enough to build a small town, but his goal was to build Hakumai's capital.
"Oh, and Shogun."
Daichi toasted Shogun Orochi, "You know I'm short on manpower right now. Relying only on Yamato and myself, I'm afraid we won't even find Mt. Atama, so I'd like to borrow some troops from you."
"Gufufufufu, no problem!"
Shogun Orochi was overcome with drunkenness and in an excellent mood.
The thought of being able to extort the people filled him with uncontrollable excitement, and borrowing some troops was naturally not an issue.
Moreover, sending out his own subordinates would allow him to secretly monitor Daichi and prevent Daichi from just collecting money without doing anything.
"Thank you, Shogun!"
"Gufufufufu, drink!"
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In the evening, Yamato carried a drunken Daichi home, her small face flushed, feeling a mix of shyness and anger.
"Bastard, what kind of fiancée!"
"I don't want to get married!"
"Drinking so happily with that Shogun Orochi!"
"You're all big bad guys!"
"Hehe, if I threw you in the river..."
Yamato grumbled all the way. When they returned to the Heavenly Abode Inn and she put Daichi down, the man suddenly opened his eyes.
The girl's eyes widened in shock.
"Eh eh eh? You weren't drunk?!"
"Of course not."
Daichi stretched.
He had a special space within him. As long as he didn't want to get drunk, he could send the alcohol to that little space.
He was a little tipsy at the moment, but not much.
Yamato shivered and quickly bowed in apology, "I, I, I, everything I just said was a lie!"
"..."
Daichi sighed speechlessly.
This girl had seized the opportunity, cursing him countless times along the way, and even wanting to throw him into the water.
Never mind, why argue with a fool.
Daichi waved his hand, "Yamato, go call the four fan club members. I have something to tell them."
"Oh!"
Yamato quickly slipped away.
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The next morning, Flower Capital streets.
"Extra! Extra!"
Peddlers ran through the streets, and copies of the newspaper fluttered above the streets, delivering the latest big news.
"Shogun Orochi is going to exterminate bandits?"
Soon, the news of Shogun Orochi's alliance with the Beast Pirates to exterminate bandits spread throughout Flower Capital and rapidly spread to all the villages.
The whole country was stirred!
At the same time, there was another major piece of news in the newspaper.
"Hakumai Castle Construction!"
Most people couldn't participate in bandit extermination, but city construction was different.
The news of Hakumai's major construction had already spread throughout the villages. Such a large project couldn't go unnoticed, especially by greedy merchants.
Building materials, furniture, fine wine...
Merchants in related industries had already flocked to Hakumai to seek cooperation opportunities, and many had already made a fortune.
The information published in this newspaper injected a strong boost into the merchants, and also made those who were watching unable to hold back.
"Shogun Orochi generously invested 50,000 gold to support Yamato-sama in building Hakumai!"
Shogun Orochi participated!
The mastermind behind Hakumai's construction was Kaido's daughter, and now with the Shogun's support, although it was still in the construction phase, it would definitely become a prosperous large city in the future.
This was a business opportunity for merchants!
Once the city was built, whoever could seize the initiative would make a fortune. Although there was some risk, the alliance between the Shogun and the daughter of the strongest creature had minimized the risk.
Three days passed in a flash.
Heavenly Abode Inn, in the lounge.
Daichi sat in the boss's chair, reading the latest newspaper.
The Beast Pirates' expedition caused huge waves in the New World, creating a much bigger stir than his small-scale activities here.
Soon, Aomushi, Shiroken, Akasuzume, and Chairone arrived, and each of them looked very excited.
"Daichi!"
"Hmm."
Daichi closed the newspaper and looked up at the four fan club members. These subordinates weren't very capable, but they had followed him for many years and were his trusted followers, worthy of trust.
"How are things?"
"Daichi, the whole city is discussing the construction of Hakumai Castle now!"
Akasuzume, the only female among the four, answered first, her red plume on her horned hat bobbing.
Akasuzume chirped excitedly, "Many merchants have come looking for us these past few days, competing to cooperate with us!"
"Only merchants aren't enough. We need to get the villagers from all the towns involved, that's when it'll be truly lively!"
Daichi chuckled.
Using Shogun Orochi's name, he gave Hakumai's construction a super boost, and in this not-so-large country, the spread effect was extremely exaggerated.
Now was the moment to reveal his true intentions!
"Akasuzume, and the rest of you, immediately contact merchants to produce newspapers. I need you to paste them all over Wano Country as quickly as possible!"
"I want to pre-sell Hakumai Castle!"