Pirates: How Many Divisions Do the Five Elders Have? Shurima Town

Alabasta.

The northeastern part of the capital, east of the royal tombs of the Nefertari Family.

This desolate place is called the Usthan Desert, with a total area of 1 ton and a population of 0.01 ton, or 30,000 people.

This population density is about one-quarter of that of the Tibetan Plateau.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a forbidden zone for life.

However, on October 7th, 1517 in the Sea Circle Calendar, Shurima, a name that will forever be remembered by the world, was born from this forbidden land of life.

However, at this moment, no one believed that this godforsaken place had any potential for development.

Nami hid herself completely inside her large cloak to avoid the scorching sun burning her delicate skin.

"Joe, are you really planning to build a village here?"

"No, to be precise, it was a city or a city-state, or at least a rudimentary one."

"But that's simply impossible; the natural resources here seem even worse than in my hometown."

"There's no other way. I also want fertile land, but the world's richest places have long been occupied by nobles. We must forge a different path by navigating unpaved lands."

As if to echo what Ma Qiao said, Tahm Kench stuck out his tongue again and began to play a folk tune from his hometown—"The Land Sailing March."

"I miss Captain Yasuo a bit. Without him playing the flute, it just feels like something's missing from the music."

"Who is Yasuo?" Nami asked curiously.

"A samurai from Wano Country, a gifted fellow, and one of our former comrades, but he's currently lost on his life's journey."

Ma Qiao looked up at the sky, reminiscing about the carefree joy he felt as a lowly soldier. "Perhaps we'll see him again in the future."

"Uncle, how many people do you actually know?"

Uncle Ma Qiao has done so much and made so many friends in the East Blue without making a sound, which makes Vivi feel a little hurt.

"Those who act justly will find many supporters, while those who act unjustly will find few. I, Ma, have friends all over the world!"

Vivi:...

Looking at that stinky old man's smug face, Vivi really wanted to bite him.

The thought that Uncle Ma Qiao still had many secrets she didn't know made Vivi feel empty inside.

Taking off the hood of her cloak, Vivi gazed at the endless sand dunes in the distance, a worried expression on her face.

"Wano Country, this is a mysterious country."

My father told me that the people there have some mental issues...

But now I think your head isn't quite right either, sir.

Father... Cobra, that fellow, sent us to cultivate this desolate place; he definitely has ulterior motives!

"I don't think so. I haven't offended His Cobra."

Vivi pouted, thinking to herself, "You've not just offended him, you've offended him terribly. Given my father's petty nature, he's certainly capable of doing something so outrageous."

"Alright, alright, don't overthink it. Since we're here, let's make the best of it. As long as His Majesty the King allocates the funds, 300 million Beli is enough for us to do a lot of things."

Vivi rubbed her head.

Uncle Qiao is usually a very shrewd person, how could he have been outsmarted by his father like this?

300 million Beli seems like a lot of money, but if used for desert agriculture, it's probably only enough to dig wells.

The establishment of new cities in the desert is not without precedent.

Yuba, a famous emerging city in Alabasta, is an oasis city that was built 10 years ago by Vivi's childhood friend, Koza's father, and his people on a sea of sand.

The prosperity of this so-called oasis pearl is actually built on the relatively abundant groundwater resources in the oasis region.

Such a water supply is clearly very fragile and potentially unsustainable.

It is no surprise that this once-proud oasis city was eventually abandoned when a prolonged drought struck.

There is a way to resolve this situation.

Perhaps the most unique solution in the One Piece world is biological seawater desalination.

For example, the city on the elephant's back, Zou.

All of Zou's water resources come from the bathwater of Zunesha.

Simply put, every now and then, Zunesha would use his trunk to suck up large amounts of seawater and then spray it onto his back.

The flowers, trees, birds, beasts, fish, insects, and all the inhabitants of Zou depend on the bathing water of Zunesha for survival.

Clearly, the water that Zunesha drew from the ocean was seawater.

After Cleanse by his nose, it becomes fresh water that can support the growth of flowers, trees, and plants, and is also suitable for drinking by residents.

The effect is truly amazing.

However, this method is difficult to replicate, Ma Qiao can only hope that Heimerdinger can develop a relevant seawater desalination device.

Escorted by the King's Guard, the group rode on Alabasta's specialty, the swift ducks, traveling day and night, and finally arrived at a dilapidated settlement on the third day.

This area, with a population of approximately 2,000, is the heart of the Ussutan Desert.

Here lies a naturally formed small lake, resembling a crescent moon in the desert.

However, due to months of drought, the lake's area has shrunk to less than one-third of its original size.

The lake water became unusually muddy and murky.

People, dressed in rags, pale and emaciated, with numb expressions, carried buckets by the lake, collecting some slightly clear water.

The farmland that was once reclaimed by the lake is now nothing but withered ears of wheat.

Overall, the entire outpost had a distinctly post-apocalyptic survival feel to it.

Looking at all this, Vivi clenched her Riot Games tightly.

This is all Baroque Works's fault.

Uncle Ma Qiao was an accomplice in this.

However

While Vivi was still processing her feelings, Ma Qiao had already taken off his boots and ran far ahead of the crowd towards the villager who was fetching water.

"Fellow villagers, I'm late."

Vivi:???

To Vivi's surprise, Ma Qiao didn't ignore the lives of the people here; instead, he immediately sent them clean food and water.

Meanwhile, Tahm Kench, holding a camera, snapped away furiously.

Suddenly he turned his head, staring at her large, toad-like eyes, and asked, "Miss Vivi, you should be able to finish this editorial, 'Baron Ma Qiao Forever Stands with the People'!"

"Huh?" Vivi's eyes were full of confusion.

Tahm Kench, hands on his hips, said, "Look, everyone has work to do."

"Even though you're the lady of the house, you can't just do nothing and be a quiet decorative vase forever."

"Just putting on a show of pity for the common people won't actually improve their lives."

Vivi was stunned. From childhood, her father and the ministers around her had always taught her to be a good princess who loved the people.

But no one ever told her what it truly meant to love the people.

Faced with an unprecedented crisis, Vivi instinctively felt she had to do something.

She felt that by stepping forward and infiltrating the Baroque Works as an undercover agent, she was protecting her country and her people.

Looking back now, perhaps I had oversimplified things...

"Only..."

Vivi looked at the photo Tahm Kench handed her; in it, the old man was holding the withered, wrinkled hand of a dry, old farmer, with a warm, gentle smile on his face.

Meanwhile, the old farmer's expression of fear and terror was completely obscured by the camera angle.

"I understand the logic, but what does 'Baron Ma Qiao Forever Stands with the People' have to do with improving people's lives?"

Desert outpost.

It has now been renamed Nurrima Town.

Inside the makeshift mayor's office.

Our beautiful editor-in-chief Vivi, and our beautiful reporter Nami, are frantically working on their articles.

Ma Qiao lay on the sofa, his shoulders being massaged by the multi-talented Tahm Kench, secretly feeling sorry for the man.

It's such a shame we didn't manage to get Miss Robin to write this.

After taking a sip of his chilled soda, which had the lyrics "A lone rider in the dust Tahm Kench laughs, no one knows it's happiness that's coming," Ma Qiao began to consider his next move.

Of course, Ma Qiao didn't really expect to lead these 2,000 sickly villagers to achieve anything significant.

The first batch of counterpart support supplies was delivered by Ryze three days ago.

Those were transported from the Cocoyasi agricultural base in the East Blue China Sea, including grains, vegetables, fruits, and fresh sea milk.

The villagers, who had lived in the desert their entire lives, had never tasted such fresh and juicy food.

Many people are seeing oranges for the first time and don't even know that they should peel them before eating.

Of course, even though Nami reminded them to peel the oranges, the villagers couldn't bear to, because these orange peels contained precious moisture, and their sour taste made their mouths water.

That alone was enough for everyone to see the new Baron as a savior.

With the contrast provided by your peers, becoming a good lord in the world of One Piece is indeed not a difficult task.

The world of One Piece truly has god-like emperors and saviors; this is an undeniable fact.

After all, the underlying logic of Civilization here is completely different from that on Earth.

Ma Qiao doesn't cling to outdated ideas or fantasize that he can change the world and become a world-changing man simply through the people's love.

At the same time, Ma Qiao would not be like that idiot Kozuki Oden, who, despite having the people's love, publicly betrayed them like a fool by uttering a few lies that even a child might not believe, thus discarding their hearts like trash.

The people are important, power is important, and science is equally important...

In a flash of red light, Dr. Heimerdinger, dressed in a lab coat, appeared before Ma Qiao.

Vivi, who was rushing to finish her manuscript, looked up and glanced at it.

"Oh, so you're a Mink Tribe." Then he continued typing.

She was used to such things.

As expected of the legendary South Blue Destroyer Dragon, Uncle Ma Qiao's circle of friends is truly extraordinary.

The toadfish -Fish-Man a very rare breed; the samurai of Wano Country are mysterious and unpredictable; and now there's the Mink Tribe, whose species is also unknown, so it's not surprising.

Yawning, Vivi resumed her writing journey.

The task assigned by that stinky old man—I still have 15,000 words to write today...