"Is that really so?"
The executives present began discussing among themselves, all frowning. Although they had visited many countries, they had always done so as pirates. They had never cared about those countries' economic conditions or national strength.
In the end, it was King who spoke after some thought.
"It does seem to be the case. Countries with slave systems are often underdeveloped. But what does that have to do with usage costs?"
The others fell silent as well, turning to look at Kurosaki Rei, waiting for his answer.
"Explaining this properly is a bit complicated, so I'll just touch on a few points."
Kurosaki Rei said this because he himself didn't truly understand deep economic theory. All he could do was recount a few things from history books. At this moment, he sincerely wished he had Aizen Sōsuke's brain—and his silver tongue for persuasion.
Under everyone's gaze, Kurosaki Rei continued:
"First, slave systems lack economic incentive mechanisms. Slaves have little motivation to work and usually labor only under coercion. This model is inherently inefficient. I believe everyone has already realized this by comparing the output of the new and old factories. So now, let's analyze the costs of the two factory systems."
"Does that even need analysis? The wages you pay are obviously higher than in the old factories. Isn't the cost higher?"
Maria interjected.
Kurosaki Rei frowned slightly, but still explained:
"If you've carefully read the report, you'd notice that the base wages at the new factories aren't much higher than before. Wano is still using its domestic currency. The old factories paid five silver a month, while the new factories pay seven silver."
Maria still hadn't grasped the core issue and focused only on the numbers.
"Isn't that higher than the old factories' costs?"
Kurosaki Rei felt a bit despairing about the general level of intelligence in this world. Maria was already considered one of the smarter people in the Beasts Pirates, yet she was comparing amounts first instead of spotting the truly critical point.
He could only patiently explain to this group of illiterates:
"Cost analysis has to be broken down step by step. Don't you find it strange that I only raised wages a little, yet the workers are extremely satisfied and working hard?"
This time, the executives began to think and sensed that something was off.
That's right—five silver was only enough for one adult to eat for a month. For a family of three, they would definitely still be starving.
Even increasing it from five to seven silver shouldn't make much difference. So why were the workers in Kurosaki Rei's factories cheerful and well-fed?
"Because food prices changed. Mr. Rei also carried out market regulation during this time, didn't he?"
It was King, who had been closely following Kurosaki Rei and the internal changes in Wano, who figured it out first.
"So Wano's currency effectively appreciated. The wages our old factories paid were also indirectly increased."
"There's something like that?!"
Kaido's voice rose noticeably.
"Then doesn't that mean I lost money?"
Kurosaki Rei thought to himself that even capitalists would shed tears hearing this. But he could roughly understand Kaido's line of thinking—Kaido had probably only grasped that he was now paying craftsmen more.
In reality, Kaido had never understood that the actual costs he paid were the same all along. He never charged for the grain he supplied to Kurozumi Orochi or Yamato.
The wages he paid craftsmen weren't in the world's universal currency, Beli, but in Wano's local currency. In truth, only the grain he imported from outside was a real asset cost—and he didn't charge for that part.
"Governor, I know you're anxious, but please don't rush."
Kurosaki Rei tried to calm him. "Let me finish."
Kaido looked at Kurosaki Rei suspiciously, but thinking about the rising factory output, he endured and continued listening.
"Let's keep talking about costs. If I hadn't regulated food prices, both new and old factory workers would still be going hungry. And as Miss Maria said, I'm paying higher wages. So where exactly is the cost lower?"
Kurosaki Rei guided them step by step, but none of the executives could figure it out on their own. Even King was racking his brain.
Seeing this, Kurosaki Rei continued:
"Let me put it another way. Don't you all think that acquiring a worker for an old factory and making him work there is very cheap?"
"Of course it is,"
Maria replied.
"Miss Maria, you're very familiar with the recruitment process. So let me ask you: from the moment a factory finds a worker to the moment he can work competently, what do we need to do?"
Kurosaki Rei asked.
Maria frowned slightly, unsure where he was going, but she thought it over.
"The SMILE factory is more troublesome. Using the weapons factory as an example, we have veteran craftsmen train new ones for three months, familiarizing them with all procedures before letting them work in the factory."
Kurosaki Rei clapped his hands.
"Exactly."
The executives exchanged looks, not seeing the problem.
But then Kurosaki Rei's next words made them think deeply.
"Miss Maria, you don't seriously think that training workers itself isn't a cost, do you?"
Maria froze. This time, she understood.
Factories were technical workplaces—nothing like digging ore in Udon Prison. For craftsmen to take up their posts, training was essential.
And during training, those elite veteran craftsmen couldn't work. The production equipment occupied during training couldn't produce anything. And during that period, to keep the trainees from starving to death, wages still had to be paid—otherwise they'd die before even taking up their posts, which would be a massive loss.
Training, personnel expenses, idle equipment, advance wages… all of it was cost.
Education itself was the greatest cost.
What's more, after Kurosaki Rei's earlier analysis, Maria suddenly realized that their workers weren't durable. After months of training, they might only work for a few years before dying from hunger or illness.
With a simple calculation—assuming a five-year lifespan—the usage cost of an old-factory worker over five years was several times higher than that of a free worker.
Even extending it to ten years, free workers were still clearly cheaper.
Just as everyone was stunned into silence, Kurosaki Rei continued:
"And to ensure production, didn't the old factories also set up a large number of overseers? Some of them are our own people, some aren't. We don't pay our own members, but doesn't that occupy the Beasts Pirates' combat strength? And for overseers hired locally in Wano, didn't we pay them wages?"
Another soul-crushing blow.
Maria's mouth fell slightly open (just a figure of speech—though it really is quite large). She realized that Kurosaki Rei was absolutely right: overseers were extremely costly.
Most overseers in the factories were members of the Beasts Pirates. Even if they hadn't fought in years, they were still part of the crew's strength, which was undeniably a real cost.
As for the overseers hired locally in Wano, their wages were truly not low.
"Then how… did you ensure the craftsmen worked properly without overseers?"
Maria asked.
"There's no need for overseers at all. There's something far more terrifying than a physical whip—reality itself."
Kurosaki Rei said calmly.
"To eat well, to feed their wives and children, to rise in status, to buy a big house, to live a better life—life presses in from behind everyone. Even after achieving basic subsistence, the demon called desire will continue to drive people forward."
He pointed to the figures in the report.
"This is the best proof. I told them that if the new factories performed poorly, this entire plan would be canceled, and they'd all go back to scavenging. The result? They worked extremely hard."
"But that's temporary pressure, isn't it? Over the long term, won't they slack off?"
King raised his concern.
"Of course, some people will slack off. That's unavoidable. But because of how the wage system is structured, I believe most people will continue to work hard."
Kurosaki Rei flipped to another page of the report.
"I imagine most of you didn't read this carefully, so let me explain the difference between the old and new factory wage systems."
The executives felt a bit ashamed. They really hadn't read it—only the final figures. Those were the only parts they could understand.
To be blunt, there were even genuine illiterates present, people who couldn't read anything other than their own bounty posters.
"Isn't it just seven silver?"
Maria was also a bit embarrassed. It wasn't that she lacked patience or ability—she'd barely read two lines before someone else took the report to pass it along.
"Of course not. I said that's just the estimated average wage."
Kurosaki Rei explained.
"In reality, the base wage for ordinary craftsmen in the new factories is only two silver. The rest depends on performance."
"Based on their output—that is, their performance on the production line and actual output—we evaluate them. Simply put, the better they work and the more they produce, the more they earn. On average, they end up with around seven silver. But in practice, some earn less, while high performers can earn eight silver, or even ten."
He walked to the side and began writing on the blackboard—something that likely hadn't been used in Beasts Pirates meetings for years.
"This idea came to me when I was laboring in Udon Prison. 'More work, more pay' is itself a form of incentive. In this regard, the Governor was quite insightful."
Kaido nodded without changing expression.
"Mm. That rule is pretty good."
"On top of that, I added another rule."
Kurosaki Rei continued.
"Craftsmen whose performance stays below average for three consecutive months are laid off. Craftsmen whose performance stays above average for an entire year are promoted—that is, their base wage increases. Under this system, craftsmen can rise all the way to the top of the factory as technical instructors or managers. They no longer have to do heavy manual labor, and both their wages and social status increase significantly."
Kurosaki Rei drew a personnel structure diagram of the factory on the blackboard.
"Gentlemen, if you were in such a system, wouldn't you want to climb upward? And if you wanted to climb, what would you need to do?"
The executives looked at one another. This time, they completely understood.
The Beasts Pirates themselves had a similar structure.
Those at the bottom wanted to grow stronger and achieve merit to become officers. The Headliners wanted to become Tobiroppo. And the Tobiroppo wanted to become All-Stars.
So even though the Beasts Pirates had many people and rarely went to war, there was no widespread slacking off. Everyone was striving to move upward.
"Mr. Rei, such a simple yet brilliant framework. How did I never think of this before?"
King's respect for Kurosaki Rei deepened. The factory model had originally been devised by him and Maria together. After Kurosaki Rei's dissection, the old factory model now seemed like absolute garbage.
"You flatter me, Mr. King. I'm not done talking about the advantages of free workers yet."
Kurosaki Rei smiled.
"Just now, everyone was very concerned about costs, so let's further analyze the costs of free workers."
As he spoke, he drew a circle on the blackboard and wrote Wano inside it.
"Have you ever thought about this: what exactly are we paying the craftsmen in our factories? In essence, what kind of cost are we really consuming?"
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