"Tesoro, how's your Armament Haki training going?"
In Cocoyasi Village, Lin Yuan looked at the towering Tesoro, an odd expression appearing on his face.
He had no idea how Tesoro had grown over the past three years. Once thin and frail, he had grown tall and muscular after awakening Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Even Lin Yuan, who stood over two meters tall, had to look up at him.
"Hehe, boss, I've trained my Armament Haki to the intermediate level you mentioned. As for Observation Haki, I reached the intermediate level last week. Now I'm not afraid to face even a Marine Headquarters Colonel."
Tesoro grinned ingratiatingly as he spoke. Seeing his expression, Stella, Erza, Emile, Robin, and Nojiko, who stood nearby, couldn't help laughing.
It was worth mentioning that, although Tesoro's strength had improved tremendously, he was still no match for Stella, and his position at the bottom of the household hierarchy remained precarious.
Erza and Emile were about as strong as Tesoro. They had not improved very quickly, but they were still very powerful in the East Blue.
"Boss, when is that Devil Fruit you promised me going to appear?"
For the past few years, Tesoro had never stopped thinking about the Gold-Gold Fruit. If Lin Yuan hadn't been so certain in his answer, he would have thought Lin Yuan was lying to him.
Lin Yuan glanced at Tesoro and thought for a moment.
"All right, I've already had someone keep an eye out for it. As for when we find it, that depends on whether you and the fruit are fated to meet."
"But don't worry. If we can't find it, I'll help you find an even stronger fruit."
Tesoro only breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that.
"By the way, how well do you understand the village's commercial department now? Are you confident you can expand the business?"
Tesoro's eyes flashed, and his expression grew serious. He pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Boss, I've completely mastered the basic business model now, but we don't have enough strength to expand our commercial operations."
"Oh? Tell me more."
Lin Yuan himself only had a general idea of how business worked in his previous life. He also knew about some things this world didn't have, but not many.
Things like strong liquor and desserts could earn some money, but the other products weren't very competitive.
Moreover, the pirate world seemed strange to Lin Yuan. Yes, strange. In many places, human society was basically like the feudal society of his previous life, yet its technology wasn't all that bad.
Even in the East Blue, they had all kinds of furniture, as well as electricity, refrigerators, and air conditioning. They even had entertainment programs.
"Boss, we're facing difficulties in several areas. First, our production capacity can't quite keep up, especially for strong liquor, which we can only supply in limited quantities."
"Second, we don't have an armed force of our own. Although the Marine Captain Nezumi can provide some protection, his men are simply too weak."
"Although the East Blue is known as the weakest sea in the world, some pirates are beyond what those Marines can handle. As for us, apart from you, boss, and the rest of us, even with Genzo, we're stretched a little thin."
A trace of mockery appeared on Lin Yuan's face when he heard that.
"Who told you the East Blue was the weakest sea? You could say it's the most peaceful of the four seas, but you can't call it the weakest. Don't forget, Pirate King Roger and the Marine hero Garp both came from the East Blue. There's also the leader of the Revolutionary Army, who claimed not long ago that he would overthrow the world. He came from the East Blue too."
"Just look at those people. Marines, pirates, revolutionaries-which of them didn't become the strongest? The weakest sea, hehehe... Believe it or not, if no one interferes, the next Pirate King will come from the East Blue too."
Tesoro and the others were a little stunned by Lin Yuan's words. They really hadn't noticed without thinking about it carefully.
Tesoro felt his scalp tingle as he looked at Lin Yuan in disbelief.
"Boss, surely not? Roger came from the East Blue, but he's dead, and Garp is getting old. As for the leader of the Revolutionary Army, do you know who he is? And the next Pirate King-don't scare me."
"Hmph. Use that clever brain of yours. Why do you think the East Blue became like this? Isn't it because a certain fellow who only gets stronger with age comes through and cleans house from time to time? Haven't all the somewhat stronger pirates either been caught and sent to Impel Down or fled to the New World?"
Only then did Tesoro understand.
"Boss, you mean Garp!"
"Who else? Even though my strength is comparable to an Admiral's now, I wouldn't dare say I could escape from Garp."
"What?!"
Tesoro and the others were both shocked and delighted. They were delighted that Lin Yuan's strength had finally broken through, and shocked that even their boss Lin Yuan was no match for Garp.
Lin Yuan knew his own limits, of course. Although he now dared to take Kuzan and the others head-on, he really wasn't confident against Garp.
After all, Garp wasn't in his seventies as he was at the start of the story. He was only a little over sixty now, and his strength was at its peak.
On the seas today, probably almost no one could openly match him. Perhaps only Whitebeard Newgate, in his prime, could put up a fight.
As for Big Mom and Kaido, all Lin Yuan could say was heh. They were still a little green, still fighting for the positions of Emperor.
"All right, there are some things I can't tell you yet. Go on with the business matters."
Tesoro steadied himself. Hearing about the most powerful people in the world still left him shaken.
"Third, our development has hit a bottleneck. Besides territory, trade routes, and military strength, funding is another major problem."
"Although we've earned quite a lot over the past few years, I've noticed a problem: the purchasing power of Beli keeps weakening. It isn't much, but it's still decreasing bit by bit."
Lin Yuan stared at Tesoro with an odd expression. Good grief, he really was the future Gild Tesoro. His business insight was truly exceptional-he had even spotted the early signs of inflation.
If Tesoro hadn't mentioned it, Lin Yuan wouldn't have noticed a thing. It just went to show that everyone had their own area of expertise.
Lin Yuan's gaze made Tesoro uneasy, and he asked cautiously, "Boss, why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
Lin Yuan stood up and patted Tesoro on the shoulder, unable to stop himself from laughing aloud.
"Hahaha, no. You really are a genius. So, do you have any ideas?"
Lin Yuan asked with a smile, wanting to see what good ideas Tesoro had.
Tesoro hesitated at Lin Yuan's question, then spoke cautiously.
"Um, boss, you're so strong. How about you fight for a seat as an Emperor?!"
At once, everyone looked at Lin Yuan with shining eyes.