"Gato had sent people to control all the nearby sea routes!"
"Not only could we no longer run ferry services, but even when we took our own boats out, we had to pay him a toll."
"This is outrageous!"
"Sigh, if I still sold fish at the original price, then after factoring in the toll, I wouldn't just fail to make money in a day—I'd actually lose money. But if I raised the price of my fish, hardly anyone would buy it."
Gato Shipping Company, which had been stalled for a long time due to the Death Ship Incident, had begun operating again. Clearly well prepared, it had seized control of all shipping routes in the Land of Waves the moment it made its move, pumping the fresh blood of the Land of Waves' fifty thousand citizens with the force of a water pump.
The Land of Waves was rich in fishing resources. The fish caught by its fishermen were mostly sold to towns and villages in the neighboring Land of Fire, and the money they earned was used to buy other supplies difficult to produce on the island.
Gato Company monopolized shipping in the Land of Waves and imposed heavy taxes on fishermen and merchants traveling to and from the country. As a result, the fish and other goods in their hands were no longer price-competitive, and the income of the people of the Land of Waves plummeted. Gato was simply bleeding the world dry to fatten himself, and resentment filled the Land of Waves.
Although Gato Company had many thugs under its command, this country had never lacked warriors unafraid of power.
Led by Kesha, the hero of the Land of Waves who had once stepped forward during the dam repairs, the people followed behind him in a