"Alabasta?"
Lily pondered and said, "It's a good place, with a large population and vast territory. Once conquered, the sheer internal demand alone would be enough for us to achieve a gigantic expansion."
They had been working for several years, and their total population was only over four million. Just from what they roughly knew about Alabasta, its population was more than three times theirs, and even more.
This was without even in-depth statistics, such a big place could maintain a million-strong standing army, it couldn't possibly have only ten million people.
"Yes, the internal demand alone is sufficient."
Sage laughed, "A person, when fed will think about eating well, when warm will think about wearing expensive clothes, when having a place to live will think about a bigger house. This is human nature, this is desire."
"To have these things, one must work, make money, and buy more goods. Especially those poor guys in the desert who spend their lives as sand worms in their sand nests, even relying on the grace of heaven for a drink of water. Clearly, they can release more labor force and buy more things, staying cooped up in the desert is such a waste!"
Sage waved his hand broadly, "Rich ocean resources are right here, but none of them know how to use it! If they won't use it, then let me use it!"
Deserts might yield oil, and where there's oil, mold breeds.
But here is the ocean, and hard currency is gold. Whether there's oil, Sage didn't know, but Sage knew what was truly valuable.
It is the powerful productivity when humanity itself is combined with the rich resources of the ocean!
"It's indeed a good idea, but our transport industry is not sufficient yet."
Lily said, "Even if we target Umit and Jibson, as pirates, we currently cannot integrate the underworld."
The innate geographical location brought limitations to their development.
The basic sea circulation relies on transportation.
Without considering the Calm Belt factors, the Red Earth Continent divides the world in two, splitting the East Sea and South Sea from the West Sea and North Sea, and dividing the Grand Line into the first half and the second half.
There are only three ways across: Mary Geoise, Fishman Island, and...
Crossing the Red Earth Continent.
But none of them can achieve scalable and timely transport.
Even in the underworld, wanting to cross the Red Earth Continent could only mean going through Fishman Island.
The fat is right there, but swallowing it is indeed a bit troublesome.
The most important thing is...
"We have an agreement with the World Government, right? They don't trouble us, so you can't go to the West Sea and the North Sea," Lily said.
"Of course, but the agreement expired, they can't provide us population trade anymore."
Sage said, "What you mentioned is indeed a problem, but I'm not after Alabasta..."
He looked towards the windowsill, his eyes gradually becoming excited, "Lily, how large do you think my territory is?"
"The first half is all yours, though some areas haven't been conquered or discovered yet. Your subordinates are all busy now, striving to conquer the entire first half," Lily said.
"So, who am I?"
Lily thought for a moment, "Landlord?"
"That's right! I'm the landlord. Back in my homeland, as a landlord, the more land you have, the more tenant farmers there should be. My territory is vast, but my population is completely insufficient!"
"Alabasta, with its hugely scaled population, has lost its king... You know what this is like?"
Sage turned his head, showing his usual ferocity, but at this moment, to Lily, it was incredibly terrifying.
"My fellow landlord neighbor met with disaster, Dad died, the daughter inheriting the family business disappeared. Such a vast territory, though I can't absorb it all due to geographical position, those 'homeless' people are indeed tempting!"
"So isn't it my duty to lend a helping hand, to bring those people living in distress to my place, where they can live better and work for me too!"
Sage's bared white teeth blended his fierce face with the bustling background outside the window perfectly.
At this moment, Sage embodied the bustling city outside the window, with countless people turning into his teeth, their clashing movement as he spoke seeming to devour everything before them.
"Indeed."
Lily steadied her mind, and said, "Cobra was a good king, her daughter was also good, but now she has disappeared as well. If it takes too long, Alabasta will definitely elect the next king. No one can ensure what the next king will be like, better to bring them to our territory."
"Strong countries elsewhere still have their kings in place, with strong ruling power. Apart from conquest by force, there is no other route, and for now, it's unsuitable to start a war with those powerful nations ourselves. Finding new population directly is a great idea."
The key is, Lily thought, after all, it's living in one place. Alabasta's people's arrival here indeed fits very well.
Being pressed by the environment is also oppression.
Are those people really willing to spend their lifetime living in the impoverished desert?
Who indeed is in the desert?
Their islands, each one is vast but sparsely populated, can't wait thirty years for new births, using the ready-made population is sensible, right?
"The most crucial thing is no barriers, there are no racial divisions among humans, only different countries, which makes it exciting!" Sage laughed heartily.