The term "pirate economy" was not the first time Leo had mentioned it, but every time he brought it up, the merchants should have felt its truth.
Merchants understood this most deeply, because their only source of income was, surprisingly, pirates.
They might sail between two islands on the Grand Line, but that was merely the most basic way to make money. It was like an old farmer working in the fields every day, then harvesting his crops in the autumn a year later. How could ordinary merchants be willing to treat themselves as mere logistics runners?
Logistics could be extremely profitable, of course, but how could earning hard-earned travel money compare to profiting from price differences?
Before leaving Mock Town, the first thing Leo needed to do was gather all the town's merchants.
These merchants had accepted Leo's order half a month ago.
Aside from all sorts of ore, machinery, and materials, the biggest item was the refitting of a pirate ship seized from pirates of the East Blue.
This pirate ship was roughly one size larger than the Straw Hat Pirates' Golden Merry. However, it could carry as many as fifty people.
Obviously, cramming fifty people into the Going Merry could grant immense advantages in firepower and manpower, but in terms of combat strength, they would be completely unable to compare with the Straw Hat Pirates.
Most pirates had neither Devil Fruits nor a Three Sword Style Zoro, much less Black Leg Sanji. The only way they could increase their combat power was by stacking numbers.
When Leo confiscated the pirates' ship, he had taken a liking to it at first glance. Rather than selling it off, he had handed it to these merchants for refitting. If they had needed to build a ship from scratch, fifteen to