The moment Kurosaki Rei saw this quest, his eyes lit up—because he'd already started hearing nonstop notification chimes from the Terminus Space.
[You have completed Side Quest: Making a Name on the Seas. First-stage rewards have been issued…]
[You have completed Side Quest: Making a Name on the Seas. Second-stage rewards have been issued…]
[You have completed Side Quest: Making a Name on the Seas. Third-stage rewards have been issued…]
...
The continuous notifications, along with the rewards appearing in his storage space, left Kurosaki Rei practically drowned in happiness.
This quest was settled in stages, a bit like an achievement-chain in a game—you could claim each reward as soon as you met the requirements.
Kurosaki Rei's current bounty was 790 million Beli, meaning he could receive rewards all the way up to the Random Devil Fruit Chest. Every prior reward had already been issued.
He never would've imagined that just by looking at a wanted poster, he'd instantly gained 40,000 Terminus Coins, four Medium Inheritance Crystals, six free attribute points, plus a special title and a Random Devil Fruit Chest.
Aside from the title—which would only fully take shape upon return—every other reward was credited immediately. Kurosaki Rei was already itching to open the Devil Fruit chest.
With his luck currently doubled, who knew—maybe he'd pull a Mythical Zoan!
"Good work. You can go now. Tonight, report the progress of the reservoir construction to me."
Kurosaki Rei waved Fukurokuju away, then took out the chest inside his room.
He wasn't worried about others seeing it. Space-exclusive items were invisible to natives of derived worlds—at most, they'd just see Kurosaki Rei reaching around in the air.
Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, Kurosaki Rei opened the chest.
[You have obtained: Paramecia-type — Shadow Concealment Fruit]
When he first saw the character "Shadow", Kurosaki Rei got excited—but after noticing it was Paramecia-type, most of that excitement immediately vanished.
He skimmed through the fruit's details. Devil Fruits were all epic-grade bloodline items. Eating one provided a certain amount of direct enhancement, but the boost from this Shadow Concealment Fruit wasn't impressive.
At a glance, its ability seemed rather mediocre: after consumption, the user could turn invisible in darker environments, but strong light would reveal them. It felt like a downgraded version of the Clear-Clear Fruit.
That said, Devil Fruits ultimately depended on development—no one knew what kind of powerful abilities might emerge after awakening. And the base ability of the Shadow Concealment Fruit was actually quite suitable for assassin-type explorers. At the very least, Kurosaki Rei felt it was sellable.
"Not great…"
Kurosaki Rei sighed. The fruit wasn't useless, but it was clearly nowhere near as straightforwardly powerful as the Ancient Zoan Allosaurus Fruit Kaido had given him. It probably wouldn't fetch a high price.
Whether it sold well wasn't the main issue. What he'd really hoped for was a luck-based miracle—pulling a god-tier Mythical Zoan, which he could then consider eating himself to boost his in-world combat power and plan for even greater gains.
Still, even without getting the fruit he wanted, Kurosaki Rei's mood lifted again when he looked at the reports on his desk.
At present, all sectors of Wano had entered stable operation.
The Numbers had constructed waterways connecting factories across the country, initially resolving domestic pollution issues. Newly completed factories had already gone into operation, and the employment problem of large numbers of vagrants had been solved.
Following Kurosaki Rei's suggestions, the central reservoir project was advancing at full speed. The Numbers' strength was no joke—they were practically emotionless construction machines.
Ancient giants, dozens of meters tall, worked with mountain-splitting force. In just over half a month, the basic outline of the reservoir had already taken shape.
All that remained was to use the Stone-Stone Fruit to complete the dams. Once that was done, this massive project would be finished.
Speaking of Pica—the Donquixote Family executive—his time working in Wano had been nothing short of nerve-wracking.
Pirates were terrible at keeping secrets. Not long after Kurosaki Rei announced at the meeting that the SMILE factory would be abolished, Pica found out.
Ever since, he'd been worried that his boss would be settled by Kaido. And here he was, a Donquixote executive, stuck right in Kaido's main base—it felt like there was no escape no matter how he looked at it.
But weeks passed, and Kurosaki Rei only made him work, showing no intention of touching him. That actually made Pica even more uneasy. He kept feeling that Kaido was holding back something big.
No matter how anxious Pica was, though, he couldn't change anything. In the New World, he might count as a decent powerhouse, but in front of the Beasts Pirates, he was painfully average.
Any All-Star could kill him in seconds. So all he could do was obediently keep working.
So what did Kaido really think of Doflamingo?
After that meeting ended, Kaido flew into a rage and drank himself senseless. If King hadn't stopped him, he would've already flown off to settle accounts with Doflamingo.
In the end, it was Kurosaki Rei who met Kaido the next day and talked him down, making him understand that it wasn't time to fall out yet.
Doflamingo was rotten to the core, but he was still useful to the Beasts Pirates. They were just no longer doing the SMILE trade. Even if they'd been screwed over, killing Doflamingo now wouldn't fix anything. It was better to intimidate him and continue using his connections for business.
At the very least, Wano's weapon factories and Seastone products still needed Doflamingo as a distributor. This wasn't the time to burn bridges.
Once Kaido calmed down, he came to the same conclusion. So despite his deep dislike for Doflamingo, he had no intention of killing him for now.
Naturally, Kurosaki Rei wasn't about to explain any of this to Pica. The Donquixote Family ruled their country with brutality. Kurosaki Rei didn't yet have the spare energy to deal with them properly—but scaring them a little was fine.
With the combined efforts of the ancient giants and the Stone-Stone Fruit, the reservoir changed daily. It was expected to be completed by the end of the month.
At the same time, Kurosaki Rei didn't let the remaining idle citizens of Wano sit around. He sent those still without proper jobs to work on real estate infrastructure.
The early phase of reservoir construction was all about excavation, so the Stone-Stone Fruit wasn't needed yet. During that time, Kurosaki Rei didn't allow labor to go idle—he had Pica build a new city, and also construct large numbers of houses across the various villages.
Of course, Pica's ability had its limits. Without reinforced steel structures, the buildings he made weren't stable enough. He could only build low-rise structures—trying to build tall buildings would risk collapse during earthquakes.
So the new city Kurosaki Rei had Pica build consisted entirely of low-rise buildings, with designated commercial zones and a small amount of residential housing. It was planned as Wano's future commercial hub.
The houses built in other towns were all residential, to be distributed later according to Kurosaki Rei's plans.
Since Pica could only create rough shells, the interior finishing required large amounts of labor. Basic furniture installation was also a massive project.
Kurosaki Rei assigned those without craftsmanship skills to do heavy labor, while those with some skills handled interior finishing and furniture production.
The most common floor plan Kurosaki Rei had Pica build was a 90-square-meter, three-bedroom, one-living-room unit, with two beds in each room.
At first, the people involved in construction were curious. They didn't know what these houses were for, or how expensive they'd be if sold.
But when Kurosaki Rei made an announcement yesterday, all of Wano erupted.
The public notice stated that all factory workers would be allocated one housing unit for free. They'd have permanent residency rights—but no right to sell the property.
Overnight, factory workers in Wano transformed into "upper-class citizens."
Previously, many people in the Flower Capital had looked down on factory work, seeing it as dirty, lowly labor. But now, they were shaken.
Because Kurosaki Rei was giving too much.
High wages. Excellent benefits. Housing included.
The people of Wano had all seen the newly built houses. Unlike their current wooden homes, the stone houses were warmer, better sealed, sturdier, and far more fire-resistant.
And the area per household wasn't small. There were even larger, more comfortable units rumored to be allocated to factory managers and skilled technicians.
At that point, Wano's citizens couldn't hold back anymore. They rushed to apply for factory jobs—only to discover that recruitment quotas were limited, and the requirements were strict.
No technical skills? Rejected.
Want to join the weapons factory?
Do you know what a lathe is?
Do you understand steel processing?
You know nothing—why should we hire you?
Just as the people of Wano were agonizing over how to learn these skills, Kurosaki Rei showed them a clear path.
A Technical Institute had just opened next to the new city.
For now, it offered two majors: Weapons Manufacturing and Seastone Processing.
Crude, admittedly. Kurosaki Rei felt that someone smarter and more experienced could easily subdivide just weapons manufacturing into a dozen specialties—but he didn't have that kind of expertise. So he kept it simple and had veteran craftsmen teach.
After tasting the sweetness of factory profits, Kaido no longer questioned the strange new systems Kurosaki Rei introduced. He had fully let go, acting as a hands-off boss and placing complete trust in him.
As soon as the new school opened enrollment, people flooded in. Even though tuition was charged, consultations and registrations came in nonstop.
That said, the fees weren't high. Three months covered all courses for a given major, with tuition set at 7 silver. As long as graduates successfully entered a factory job, they could earn that money back in a single month.
No money? No problem.
The institute offered education loans. If students felt within one month that they couldn't keep up, they could get a full refund. If they graduated and entered factory work, they could repay in installments.
To be honest, Kurosaki Rei had lowered the learning threshold to rock bottom. Even street vagrants could enroll. A past version of Kaido might have thought this was a loss.
But in reality, Kurosaki Rei never intended tuition to be a major revenue source. Its real purpose was to cultivate habits.
He couldn't let people think that everything the Beasts Pirates provided was simply taken for granted.
If money came too easily, over time, workers would grow lazy and complacent.
In short, the people of Wano had to feel that factory worker status was honorable and hard-won—that only through discipline and competition could they earn it. That way, they'd study harder at the institute and work more diligently in the factories.
Coming from a cyberpunk-era society, Kurosaki Rei disliked excessive rat-racing. But a society that didn't "race" at all was equally unworkable—productivity would stagnate, and every field would grind to a halt.
Time passed quietly. Another half month went by, and the first batch of housing was finally completed. It was time for allocation.
Just yesterday, Kurosaki Rei had finished cutting the ribbon for the reservoir's completion. That task should've been Yamato's, but she was in a remote area慰问ing villagers and couldn't return in time, so she'd used a Den Den Mushi to ask him to handle it.
With everything running smoothly, and Kurosaki Rei's prestige within both Wano and the Beasts Pirates at an all-time high, he decided it was time to make a new proposal to Kaido.
Once this was done, he could begin planning the next stage of his journey in this world.
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