Whitebeard had expected Lind's answer. After all, they had been old friends for so many years, and he understood Lind's concerns.
"Gurararara, I won't stand on ceremony with you. With the Oran Empire's immense wealth, even a little support would be enough to give the civilians on my islands a good life."
Originally, he had merely made a joke in a moment of sentiment, but now Whitebeard genuinely wanted to get something out of Lind to help the people back home.
"Hahaha, then I'll speak to Larry when I get back and have him draw up a proposal," Lind said with a laugh.
Lind was quite willing to help the civilians in Whitebeard's territory. He could consider it helping his future subjects and developing his future territory ahead of time. Those lands would come under his rule sooner or later anyway.
Of course, truth be told, Lind wanted the population of Whitebeard's territory even more. The Oran Empire was desperately short of people right now.
However, recruiting people from someone else's territory on a large scale really could affect their relationship, so Lind did not bring it up.
He could, however, have Larry draw up a labor program, bringing able-bodied workers in their prime from Whitebeard's territory to work in the Oran Sea and help build the Oran Empire.
That would be even more cost-effective than bringing in permanent residents directly, and in a sense, it would be a win-win. The Oran Empire would gain cheap labor, while the people in Whitebeard's territory would earn more and improve their quality of life.
"All right, now isn't the time to discuss this. The elimination rounds are over, and the tournament will pause for a day while the construction crews repair the arenas."
"During the break, I'll show you all around Oran