Dong!
Dong!
Dong!
In the forge, Shintaro swung the hammer, pouring the melted giant sword iron onto Lily's blade, and then began forging again.
The furnace was ready-made. Previously, Renedia had built a forge specifically to reforge Lily's sword, but she hadn't used it herself.
"I see, Haki..."
Inside the forge, watching Shintaro's hammer covered in Haki and the red-hot blade being forged with the same Haki, Renedia realized:
"Forging with the method of Haki, is this how a famed sword is made?"
"There's also technique."
Lily, who was also watching, observed Shintaro's rhythmic hammering, "Hmm... Is this the swordsmith's method?"
"Everyone has their own techniques, Lady Lily, Lady Renedia. My method is not purely the swordsmith's approach but includes a bit of my own understanding."
Shintaro hammered down, making the two-finger-wide blade more solid. The saying "thousand-fold iron hundred forged steel" means continuous tempering and forging to create the best quality sword.
"Fifty artisans for 'Skillful Grade Blades,' twenty-one for great craftsmanship, twelve for supreme craftsmanship—a total of eighty-three swords in the sea are hailed as 'famed swords.' Each has commendable forging techniques."
"Skillful Grade Blades are fixed in quality, and I cannot enhance their quality in terms of craftsmanship. My forging merely increases the blade's strength, so please, do not hold unrealistic expectations, ladies."
"Skillful Grade Blades?"
Lily paused for a moment but quickly understood, "Is that what Wano Country calls 'Skillful Grade Blades'?"
"Oh... These are global brands, but can offbrands be no worse than brand names?"
Renedia pondered, "Then, a sharp blade is a local brand that's not quite a brand name, right? And what is an offbrand? Weapons produced by me? After all, there's not much technique inside."
Dong!
Shintaro almost missed the strike as he glanced at Renedia, pondered, and said:
"Lady, swords need technique, just having form without essence won't do. But the strength in numbers also counts. In some ways, it may be considered a unique technique, creating weapons of identical size and scale."
Renedia blinked quickly, responded swiftly, and pointed at Shintaro irritably, "You, A-Qiang, you've only been here two days, and you dare call my production a factory line?!"
"Lady, my name is Shintaro..." Shintaro corrected.
"Alright, A-Qiang."
Renedia casually dismissed the correction and asked, "So when will this sword be finished?"
"It will take two months. Many materials still need careful forging, unless Lady Lily wants to use a broader blade." Shintaro said.
"Understood, then it's in your capable hands."
As long as the technique isn't an issue, Lily was at ease.
White Thunder may only be a Skillful Grade Blade, but it is crucial to her. She is willing to wait no matter how long, as long as nothing goes wrong.
The rank isn't important...
White Thunder will rise in fame with her!
A-Qiang... Shintaro's addition also solved Lily's current weapon strength issue. The emergence of a large population and financial resources solved the problem of population shortage.
As for resources...
Calls have already been made to Doflamingo and Crocodile. Ships are on their way to O'hara to transport resources, preparing for infrastructure development.
...
"Here, draw out an area for me."
In the royal palace's meeting room, upon Lily's arrival, she saw Sage pointing at a large map, casually drawing a circle.
It was a detailed map of Storm City and surrounding areas. The location Sage drew was on the outskirts of Storm City, precisely on the edge of the urban area.
"Why not start from the outside?"
Hawkins, attending the meeting, asked, "If you change it now, you'll have to demolish others' houses, right? Starting from the outside, you can just build directly."
"No sense of economy... Do you understand the concept of demolition?"
Sage rolled his eyes, "The center was damaged in the last battle; the outskirts haven't changed much. The old buildings are inexplicable, have you not seen them yourself last time? Wooden structures are almost eaten by termites, stone structures begin to fall apart, might as well change them together."
"But it's not free demolition; you get a house certificate. Exchange as much as you have; if it's not enough, pay yourself. I also handle loans, and the people below, same as before, just collect a bit of interest."
This was how he initially redeveloped the central urban area; even those without money initially moved in and paid later. The extra interest was negligible.
"When they change houses themselves, their enthusiasm increases. Going from second and third-floor houses to sixth ensures residential density increases, creating more demand in this zone."
"Start by changing this part, make it a trial ground, plan together. I'm tired of random constructions everywhere without any sense of city planning."
"However... I have demands for this area; it's also the standard for the future."
"High-rise buildings are permissible but not too many; only those with financial attributes. Residential buildings shouldn't exceed six floors; don't have everyone living in pigeon cages."
While human resources are the primary productive force, more people means more productivity and demand. Still, Sage isn't interested in cramming hundreds of thousands of people into tiny spaces.
He wants prosperity, not oppression.
Living in a large royal palace, he doesn't want people below trapped in small cages.
Six-story buildings replace the current two and three-story residential buildings, will be bigger and more beautiful. Once planned together, the city design can proceed.
It can also cultivate a group specifically studying this, then place them on various affiliated islands to continue their work.
This is prosperity...
Skyscrapers aren't for living.
Generosity in rewards means this.
This standard needs to be set ahead, otherwise, some people will inevitably build them someday.
Hawkins, in charge of construction planning, has no problem taking charge.
"I see, step by step, alright then, I'll follow closely." Hawkins nodded.
While this takes more time, it benefits stability, ensuring you don't bite off more than you can chew.
As for the constant influx of people, it's a good chance to divide them, some producing while others involved in infrastructure, avoiding everyone doing the same, which would result in setbacks once demand diminishes.
Sage can afford to wait...
Even calculating, it seems not many days are left until that Straw Hat sets sail, yet he remains patient.
Because he doesn't believe he will fail.
He's not a gambler completing a seemingly great but short-lived ambition only to later not know where to fall from grace.
As long as this place exists, he doesn't know for how long, but he will follow his plans until his last day.
No mistakes will be made.