Naruto Online: Hyuga Branch Family? Let's go all out!

Chapter 292 Canal Planning and Business Concepts

After the meeting, Ning Yuan flew directly back to Alabasta without taking a break.

They didn't stop along the way; they also took the opportunity to draw a nautical chart.

From Upside Down to Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, Waltz Kingdom, and Alabasta.

"Could this be considered a kind of dimensional reduction attack?" This thought suddenly popped into Ning Yuan's mind.

Nami wants to draw a map of the entire world, so she has to travel all over the world by ship.

This whole process can't be completed in just a few months; you can only complete one route in a few months.

It may take her years, or even decades, to get through this.

But if she could fly, the whole process wouldn't take long at all.

During the flight, Ning Yuan also discovered a technological blind spot.

Ship navigation in the One Piece world relies heavily on permanent pointers.

This is because the magnetic poles in the One Piece world are very unstable, so much so that compasses cannot be used properly on the Grand Line.

However, permanent pointers are not a very useful thing. Not only are they expensive, but they also have to stay in one place for a long time to store magnetic force.

Isn't that a huge waste of time?

While a ship can carry a large number of permanent pointers in different positions, such things are barely usable when there are few ships. In the scenario Ning Yuan envisioned, with thousands of ships trading back and forth, permanent pointers would definitely not be enough.

Ning Yuan definitely can't solve the magnetic problem in the One Piece world, but he can solve the navigation problem.

The solution comes from Earth's technology: the sextant!

A sextant is an instrument that measures the angle between the sun or other celestial bodies and the horizon or sea level at a given moment, in order to quickly determine the latitude and longitude of a ship or aircraft.

This instrument navigates not by magnetism, but by sunlight.

In the One Piece world, only the magnetism is abnormal; sunlight is still fine, so the sextant can be used normally in this world.

The premise is that the world must have the concept of latitude and longitude.

It's obvious that this doesn't exist in the One Piece world.

But it's not a big problem; Ningyuan can write one himself.

So, as soon as Ning Yuan returned to Yu Yan, he started getting busy.

When Robin came in with a stack of documents, Ning Yuan already had a pile of manuscript papers in front of him.

"You're back!" Robin was wearing a white dress, which looked more like a bed sheet draped over her body than a dress, so that her beautiful figure and long legs were completely exposed.

The main problem is that the weather in Alabasta is too hot, so it's impossible to be completely covered up here.

"Hmm!" Ning Yuan responded, looked up at Robin, and then his eyes lit up.

As expected of Robin, even though she got a bit tanned in the desert, she's still so beautiful.

However, he didn't make any extra moves. Although Robin had already shown her submission, her inner defenses remained very strong.

If Ning Yuan were to force himself on her, Robin might not resist, but then he would only get her body, not her heart.

"Sit down!" Ning Yuan gestured to the chair beside him and said, "I have one last bit left, so read it to me!"

"Okay!" Robin nodded. "First, your identity has been arranged. I've arranged for the elite members of Baroque Works to set up a village, and all the printing plants in the nearby city have been replaced with our people. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

"Hmm!" Ning Yuan nodded. "Well done!"

The World Government may not investigate his identity, but we should be prepared for them to come.

"Secondly, the rebels have been appeased by Vivi. Vivi asked you what your next steps are?"

"Execute the leader. The rest of you should set up camp along the Saint Ding River and await further instructions!" Ning Yuan said.

"The rebel leader was Vivi's childhood friend!" Robin asked with a smile, "Is your decision... hmm?"

Ning Yuan was speechless: "What are you thinking? This is treason! Can we let someone like that live? He's definitely going to die. This has nothing to do with his identity!"

"If I let him live, and others see that there's no punishment for rebellion, won't they follow suit and rebel too?"

Robin nodded: "Okay!"

What you said makes sense.

She still felt that Ning Yuan was eliminating her rival in love. After all, the One Piece world has its own way of playing politics. According to the people in this world, since Kosa had admitted his mistake, he shouldn't be executed.

But Ning Yuan's reasons are plausible.

"By the way, a secret execution, preferably arranged to look like suicide!" Ning Yuan said, "Don't let Weiwei know!"

"Understood!" Robin nodded. "Next is the third matter: King Cobra wants to abdicate!"

"Why would you resign for no reason?" Ning Yuan asked.

"Because of that article you wrote about Jinbe, Crocodile decided to launch his rebellion ahead of schedule and sent men to capture King Cobra!" Robin laughed. "By the time you killed Crocodile, Cobra had already been imprisoned for four days!"

"During those four days, he couldn't eat or sleep well, and he had to endure severe torture. By the time he was released, his health was already very poor."

"In other words, he needs to rest for a while!" Ning Yuan stroked his chin. "Even so, he doesn't need to step down, does he?"

After all, the emperors in his memory, let alone when they were sick, were unwilling to hand over the throne to their sons even when they were dead.

"There must be other reasons!" Robin chuckled. "In the two days you were gone, two men in black suits entered the palace. According to the palace maids, they spoke with Cobra for a long time, including about the abdication!"

"That means the World Government has intervened!" Ning Yuan thought for a moment and said, "The man in the black suit is probably from CP. So, does the World Government want Cobra to step down and take over Alabasta themselves?"

"No!" Robin shook his head and laughed, "King Cobra has already issued an order that you and Princess Vivi should postpone your marriage as soon as possible. He will pass the throne to you at the wedding!"

"Pass it to me?" Ning Yuan paused, pen in hand. "The World Government is forcing Cobra to abdicate and pass the throne to me?"

He laughed, and Robin laughed too.

The World Government's plan is not hard to guess; it's simply that they are wary of people whose names contain the letter "D."

But they could never have imagined that Ning Yuan would have a revolutionary army background!

As for the so-called Child of Prophecy or the Will of D, they are nothing but trash in front of transmigrators.

In the Naruto world, the Child of Prophecy hadn't even been born yet, but Ning Yuan had already unified the world.

He never cared about such things.

"You can help with the wedding arrangements; I don't know anything about weddings!" Ning Yuan shrugged, then asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes!" Robin laughed. "This is information received by Baroque Works. The Black Cage Force, led by Marine Headquarters Captain Hina, has changed course and looks like they're heading towards Alabasta!"

"The Black Cage Squad, Hina?"

"Hina is a Fence-Fence Fruit user, capable of creating fences to surround and imprison pirates!" Robin added, "This person must be very strong; she can't be dealt with with just a gun!"

"It's nothing special!" Ning Yuan waved his hand. "If a fight really breaks out, your subordinate Daz Bonis can easily take care of her."

Darth Bones, a user of the Quick-Cut Fruit, could transform his entire body into blades, making him a formidable opponent. Ultimately, he was defeated by Zoro's sword, which had mastered the art of cutting through iron.

Robin nodded. She didn't know Hina's combat strength, but since Ning Yuan said so, she felt much more at ease.

"Our public identities are clean, and we've even closed the casino, so we don't need to be afraid of her!" Ning Yuan thought for a moment, then asked, "When will she arrive?!"

"Tomorrow morning!"

"Then let me have a go at her!" Ning Yuan said with a smile.

Robin curled his lip. This little pervert, I knew what you were up to the moment you opened your mouth.

However, she didn't care about Ning Yuan's hobby. How many men in this world aren't lustful?

Being lecherous is at least a normal hobby, which is better than Crocodile's constant pursuit of finding Hades and conquering the world!

What? You're saying Ning Yuan also wants to conquer the world?

How can these be the same?!

Crocodile heard some news from somewhere and came looking for it without any planning. The whole action was impulsive and unplanned.

Ning Yuan, on the other hand, has people and power at his disposal, plans and strategies, and he thinks three steps ahead for every one step he takes, making his goals highly feasible.

The former is less a dream and more a fantasy.

The latter is equally difficult, but at least Robin can see the possibility of achieving it.

"This is the last one!" Robin picked up a thickly folded sheet of paper. "This is the latest and most detailed topographical map of Alabasta, drawn by Baroque Works after more than three years of investigation. Even the Alabasta royal family wouldn't have such a detailed map!"

Ning Yuan took the map and handed the manuscript paper to Robin: "Take a look at this, then arrange for the navigation and engineering departments to learn how to manufacture it!"

"What is this?" Robin took the blueprint and saw a sphere with crisscrossing circles and grids drawn on it.

The other drawing, however, depicts a fan-shaped instrument.

"Latitude and longitude coordinates and a sextant!" Ning Yuan said, "This is a new type of navigation instrument. With this, ships won't need to use a recording pointer anymore; they can go wherever they want!"

"There's such a thing?" Robin's eyes lit up, and he immediately began studying the blueprints.

Having controlled a power for decades, Robin was well aware of the importance and drawbacks of the Log Pose.

If there were a navigation device that could go anywhere without being restricted by magnetic poles, it would be incredibly convenient for any faction!

Meanwhile, Ning Yuan unfolded a map and began studying the terrain of Alabasta.

Alabasta is a huge island with a total area of ​​700 million square kilometers.

This island, in terms of both size and shape, is very similar to Australia in my previous life.

Moreover, the situation on the island is basically the same as in Australia.

In other words, most of the island is desert and Gobi, which are unsuitable for human habitation. Humans could only form settlements in a few areas with rainfall, which later developed into several major cities.

However, there is one difference between Alabasta and Australia: in the center of Alabasta, there is a wide river that runs almost through the entire country.

This river is called the Santin River, and it is also the mother river of Alabasta.

However, there are not many human settlements near the Santein River. There is only Albana, located in the middle section, which is the capital of Alabasta, and two port cities at the end of the Santein River.

There are rivers, but very few cities along the way. Why is that?

The answer is simple: the St. Martin's River is an above-ground river!

Because the St. John River flows through a large desert, the sand and soil upstream are constantly washed down by the river, and this sand and soil continuously raises the riverbed of the St. John River, causing it to rise higher and higher.

Over thousands of years, it has become a river above ground, similar to the Yellow River.

So here's the question: the Yellow River is known for its frequent flooding, but does the Shengding River also experience this problem?

Yes, of course, and very frequently!

How frequently?

Albania, the capital of Alabasta, was not built on flat ground at all. Instead, an earthen mound was first built to form a flat-topped hill, and then the city was built on the hill.

Five huge drainage outlets were also built around the city, in case the St. John's River overflowed and flooded the city.

"If Alabasta wants to develop, it must first control desertification; if it wants to control desertification, it must first control the rivers!" Ning Yuan said, tapping the table lightly.

Robin, who was standing next to him, suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with surprise.

Ning Yuan put down the map. The map was indeed drawn in great detail, but it lacked a feature commonly found on modern maps: contour lines!

As a result, Ningyuan only knew that the Shengding River was an above-ground river, but he didn't know how much higher it was than the ground, where it was high and where it was low, or what the surrounding area was like.

"You arrange for someone to do the work on the manuscript. I'm going out for a bit!" Ning Yuan simply picked up the map, got up, and flew out the window.

Robin was speechless. Wasn't there a main door? Why didn't they use it?

but!

"To develop, we must first control desertification; to control desertification, we must first control river management?"

"This new king seems quite different from the previous kings!" Robin thought to himself.

At least previous kings didn't seem to care this much about the St. Martin's River.

Although the king cared about his people, it was only lip service.

As for what about managing the Santin River?

Not only did Cobra not think of it, but going back dozens or hundreds of generations, not a single king in Alabasta had ever considered this.

So, is Ningyuan different from others, or is it because of the revolutionary army?

Robin began to take an interest in Ningyuan's philosophy.

She quickly got up, handed the manuscript to the craftsmen of the Baroque Workshop, and then returned to Ning Yuan's office, where she dealt with trivial matters while waiting for Ning Yuan to return.

When it was noon, she arranged the food so that Ningyuan could eat as soon as he returned.

But Ning Yuan didn't return until after 4 p.m., looking travel-worn.

Of course, this is just an adjective; in reality, Ning Yuan was spotless, without a speck of dust on him.

"Come over here, let's look at the map together!" Ning Yuan said.

Robin immediately got up and went to Ning Yuan's side, only to find that the map was still the same map, but there were many circles and lines on it that he did not recognize.

"These are contour lines, used to describe the altitude of this place!" Ning Yuan explained. "And these blue lines are the canals I selected. The Saint Ding River is too high, and its water volume is enormous; if it overflows, it could devastate most of Alabasta!"

That's why there are no cities downstream of the St. John's River; they were all flooded.

"I plan to dig 14 canals along the banks of the Saint-Denis River to divert its waters. This will reduce the river's flow while increasing the territory it covers. Moreover, the land along the banks of these 14 canals is flat and can be converted into arable land, resulting in hundreds of millions of acres of additional farmland in Alabasta!"

"With a larger area covered by the river, the range of water vapor evaporation will also be wider, and these areas will gradually begin to receive rain, changing the arid and rainless situation in Alabasta!"

"As for the Saint-Din River, once the water level drops, we can build large dredgers to lower the riverbed, or we can artificially dredge the river to divert its course. Then, there will be no more worries about the Saint-Din River flooding!"

"This!" Robin's eyes widened as he stared at the circles and lines on the map, asking in astonishment, "Is this... possible?"

What does it mean to have hundreds of millions of acres of arable land?

It can feed hundreds of millions of people!

How many people are there in all of Alabasta? Less than 100 million!

"I not only conducted on-site investigations, but also performed meticulous calculations. It's absolutely feasible!" Ning Yuan said with a smile.

After all, he wasn't fighting alone!

"The only problem is that such a massive project requires enormous manpower and resources!" Ning Yuan continued, "So I've divided the entire project into six phases, each lasting four months, aiming to complete it within two years!"

"The workers who dig the river channel will be the rebels! In addition, we will recruit poor civilians as work-for-relief programs!"

"This is no small task!" Robin frowned. "60 people, four months—we probably won't even be able to dig a single canal!"

"It's doable!" Ning Yuan drew the shape of the canal on a piece of paper beside him and said, "Start digging from the middle, dig from both sides simultaneously, four routes. The longest canal here is only 1800 kilometers long, which means each section only needs to be dug 450 kilometers. In 4 months and 120 days, 150,000 soldiers can dig 3.75 kilometers per day. The canal is 20 meters wide at the top, 10 meters wide at the bottom, and 15 meters high. 3.75 kilometers means digging 843,750 cubic meters of soil per day, which is equivalent to each person digging 5 cubic meters per day. It's not difficult!"

"This!" Robin stared wide-eyed at the calculations on the paper. The length of the canal had seemed terrifying at first, but once it was converted into numbers, it suddenly seemed much more attainable!

It seems like it really can be done?

"In the first phase, the two longest canals will be excavated simultaneously. Once these two canals are completed, the situation in Alabasta will be greatly improved!"

"But the problem is, where will the money come from?" Robin asked. "The hired soldiers will still be paid their previous wages, but what about the laborers?"

"The work that 60 soldiers can do would require at least a million civilian laborers. Even if each of those million laborers only receives 3 Berries per month, that's still 300 billion Berries! That's 1200 billion Berries in four months!"

"Is the Alabasta royal family short of money?" Ning Yuan asked.

"We haven't taken over Alabasta's finances yet, but from what I understand, there's probably no money!" Robin said. "One of the reasons these soldiers joined the rebellion is that they haven't been paid in a long time!"

The lack of rain in many cities has led to the collapse of Alabasta's finances.

Alabasta's financial collapse has led to the inability to pay soldiers' salaries.

Soldiers will naturally rebel if they lose their pay; the logic holds true.

"How much money does Crocodile have?" Ning Yuan asked. "Rain Banquet has been here for a long time, and he should also have acquired treasure by fighting pirates!"

"Crocodile doesn't have much money either!" Robin shook her head. "Maintaining Baroque Works requires money. If we squeeze it out, we should be able to come up with a billion or so?"

But a billion dollars is just a drop in the ocean compared to the sheer scale of the project!

Ning Yuan thought for a moment, then asked, "Aren't there nobles in Alabasta?"

"Yes!" Robin nodded.

Alabasta wasn't always a single line of succession; there were royal families that branched out before, and these royal descendants became nobles in the provinces.

"How much money could we get if we confiscated all of these nobles' property?" Ning Yuan asked.

"This!" Robin was taken aback, then shook his head. "I really don't know. No one knows how much wealth these nobles have, but one thing is for sure, it's definitely not small!"

"After all, these nobles don't have to pay taxes, and they can collect tax revenue from various cities. Moreover, they can build fleets and do business everywhere! Because of their noble status, they can often monopolize the main industries in a city!"

They run a monopoly business and make a lot of money.

And what's more, you don't need to pay taxes!

Alabasta has existed for five thousand years, and these nobles have accumulated wealth for five thousand years.

So how much money do these nobles have?

"Then let's take the money from these nobles!" Ning Yuan said calmly.

"But!" Robin frowned, "They are nobles after all; we can't just openly attack them!"

"With Crocodile gone, our deterrent effect on pirates has decreased!" Ning Yuan shrugged. "Pirates ran rampant, then massacred an entire noble family. What could we do then?"

Robin's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood Ning Yuan's meaning.

The same old method as before: have Baroque Works disguise themselves as pirates!

However, this time is different. Before, there was Crocodile fighting pirates, but now there isn't!

She immediately made a note of this matter and then began to think about who should handle it.

Yeah, Daz Bones.

He is extremely loyal and has a background as an assassin, making him well-suited for this job.

"By the way, Whiskey Peak, inform them not to do anything like robbing pirates anymore!" Ning Yuan thought for a moment and then said.

"Why?" Robin asked. "These pirates all have huge bounties on them; it's a rich source of income!"

"Making money this way is too low-level!" Ning Yuan shook his head and said, "Let's switch to raw material processing, financial settlement, and tax collection!"

"I can understand taxes, but what about raw material processing? Financial settlements?" Robin asked, "What are all these?"

"That's a complicated matter!" Ning Yuan laughed. "I'll write a book specifically to explain it to you later!"

Raw material processing and financial settlement may seem insignificant, but in reality, the profits are enormous.

That's how Singapore, located by the Strait of Malacca, started.

Singapore has only secured a few air routes, just one!

And what about Whisky Peak?

Ships from the East China Sea, the West China Sea, the South China Sea, and the North China Sea, as long as they come from the Reversed Mountain, will eventually converge here!

This is such a huge fortune, yet no one has ever paid attention to it!

Not only Whiskey Peak, but also Twin Points, which is even closer to Upside Down. You could make a fortune here, even if you just opened a snack shop!

What's here?

Just one lighthouse!

What a waste! It's an absolute waste!

It can only be said that the people in the One Piece world simply don't know how to do business.

Of course, most of the merchants in the One Piece world are government officials backed by nobles, and they do monopolistic businesses.

If you can make money without even using your brain, why bother trying to figure out how to make money?

As a result, everything is now cheaper in Ningyuan.

(End of this chapter)