"Have... babies?"
Hai Xing and Hai Shen were both dumbfounded.
Neither of them had ever imagined establishing a foothold this way.
"That's right. Have babies."
Xia Yu cleared his throat, adopting a seasoned air as he said solemnly:
"Ahem, wherever the Uchiha dance, offspring flourish without end. Population is the foremost productive force. Without enough people, all talk is pointless..."
"The so-called great nations are powerful because they have large populations as their foundation. The first thing our Land of Sea needs to do is increase its population. With enough people in reserve, productivity and military strength will both rise dramatically. It'll be hard not to become strong in the future."
"Uh, that actually makes sense..."
Everyone exchanged glances. At first, they had thought having babies was a completely unreliable approach, but Xia Yu's explanation made them see the light. His words truly woke them from their dreams.
Just then, a large number of ships appeared again along the distant coastline.
Funato Arumi's fleet had arrived.
A villager who noticed the sight hurriedly shouted, "Look! Pirate ships!"
Everyone paled at the sight and instinctively began fleeing with their heads covered. The young people were the fastest of all.
"Everyone, stop! Nobody leaves. Stay right here!"
At Xia Yu's shout, everyone had no choice but to stop, looking at him in panic.
"Listen. Since I've become the Daimyo of the Land of Sea, I'll make sure you don't die. Change that cowardly habit of thinking only of running when danger strikes. Otherwise... you'll never grow strong in your entire lives!"
"...Yes! Lord Daimyo, we won't run again!"
Spurred on by Xia Yu's words, much of the fear vanished from the villagers' eyes. Some of the hot-blooded young villagers even picked up harpoons from the ground, attempting to fight the approaching pirates