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After Hancock had given her approval, Jin had taken control of Melcyse Island without any resistance. The people had welcomed him with open arms.
Jin fell back on his usual playbook.
He posted notices everywhere, calling for information on criminals—murderers, rapists, thieves, and the like—with a reward for any verified tips.
This time, he wasn't as gentle as he had been on Hannabal.
Back then, he hadn't established his power base. He didn't have the men. He'd had to prioritize stability.
He was cleaning house before inviting guests in.
He executed a number of criminals and recruited a number of informants.
Under his heavy-handed rule, in less than three days, the atmosphere on Melcyse Island and Port Raven had been completely transformed. At least, on the surface.
Jin promoted his new informants to various positions. He then left Law in charge of Port Raven to watch over things, putting together a makeshift administration. For now, at least, these people were tied to him. If they didn't work out, he could always replace them later.
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Jin returned to Drum Island.
"Snow!"
"Wow, it's so beautiful!"
"Can we go skiing?"
Nami, Nojiko, Carina, and Kaya, who had never seen snow like this before, were all squealing with delight.
Robin and Reiju were more composed. Maya, having grown up around it, wasn't as excited.
Kid's childhood friend, Doruyanaika, was more nervous than anything else.
As a "hostage," Jin was worried something might happen to her, that she might get "taken out," so he was keeping her out of harm's way.
Kuma disembarked and went home.
But Bonney wasn't there.
After Kuma had gone out to sea, she had moved into Dr. Kureha's castle with Chopper and Anaguma.
Jin had Robin take Nami and the others on a tour of the island. He then went to the municipal hall for a meeting.
He proposed a plan to improve the island's infrastructure, including the port, and to develop the service industry around "medical and snow tourism."
He had already drawn up a detailed plan, which Ai had supplemented and refined. Dalton, Jeston, and the others were tasked with carrying it out.
The development of a region is heavily dependent on its population, land, resources, and environment. Drum Island's snow and its medical expertise were good selling points, enough to create a high-end medical tourism destination. But that was its limit. No matter how much more he invested, it would never become a major power like Alabasta.
In the future, Jin's focus would inevitably shift to other regions, especially to key strategic locations.
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With the development of Drum Island planned out, Jin went to Hannabal.
Rear Admiral Enru—or rather, Acting Mayor Enru—presented him with a development plan for the island.
A professional's touch really made a difference.
Hannabal was an island that had prospered because of pirates. Its industries were centered around entertainment and services—eating, drinking, gambling, and a number of gray-market activities.
Acting Mayor Enru's plan revolved around these core industries.
Jin thought it was a good plan, but it was missing something.
"Pirates are a hot-blooded, competitive bunch," he mused. "We should build a large colosseum."
"Slaves?" Enru asked.
"No slaves. The colosseum will have a main arena and a secondary one. Anyone can sign up to compete—pirates, Marines, bounty hunters, anyone. There will be a maintenance fee for the secondary arena. Win ten matches there, and you can compete in the main arena. In the main arena, you get paid just for showing up, win or lose. And we'll sell tickets for both. Then, once a year, we'll hold a grand tournament. Only those who have won ten matches in the main arena can participate. The prize will be... 500 million Berries."
Acting Mayor Enru's eyes lit up.
A brilliant idea.
Once word got out, pirates would go crazy for it. Strong fighters from all over the world would flock to the island.
It would be the perfect way for Jin to scout and recruit powerful new subordinates.
"But where would we build it?" Enru frowned. "A colosseum like that can't be too small."
Jin pointed to the other side of the mountain. "That tidal flat and swamp... it's about 4942 acres. That's more than enough."
"Fill it in? But how? With manual labor, it would take decades."
Jin looked at him like he was an idiot. "Have you forgotten? In this world, there's a certain power... called a Devil Fruit."
Enru froze.
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That night, Jin took him to the place where he had fought Hanafuda.
A waterfall cascaded down from the high mountains, and a large river snaked through the land. On either side was a vast, fan-shaped area that was uninhabitable due to the daily tides and monsoons.
Jin looked at the landscape, a blueprint already forming in his mind.
He placed his hand on the ground.
Logia... Earth-Earth Fruit!
A yellow ripple spread out from his palm.
Then, the island began to tremble violently. The ground churned and rose.
Before Enru's stunned eyes, the entire coastline, the sand and stone, was transformed into solid earth and began to rise.
The next day, the people living on the higher ground of Hannabal woke up to a shocking sight.
The tidal flats, the swamps, the reefs to the northwest... they were all gone.
In their place was a vast, flat plain of compacted earth, with a new sea wall along the coast.
Only the great river still flowed.
"How is that possible? The entire ground... it's been raised by about fifteen meters!"
"It's a miracle!"
"How did he do it?"
The true power of a Logia fruit lay in its ability to reshape nature itself. In the hands of a master, those changes could be permanent.
Jin had also used the Steel-Steel Fruit, in conjunction with the Earth-Earth Fruit, to reinforce the foundations.
With the terraforming complete, the rest of the work—recruiting craftsmen, purchasing materials, and so on—was left to Enru.
And with giants and other super-strong workers on the job, it would be finished by the end of the year.
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"Using a Devil Fruit for construction... that king really is something else," Du Feld said, a cigar in his mouth, as he looked out at the massive, man-made landmass.
Morgans stood beside him. "I told you he was the kind of guy who makes big news."
"I'm looking forward to meeting him," Du Feld said with a smile. "I wonder if he'll accept my loan."
Of course, he wouldn't.
Jin wasn't short on cash. He flatly refused Du Feld's offer.
Loan sharks were nothing but leeches.
Did he really think Jin was that stupid? He had to be joking.
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After sending the two of them on their way, Jin went to Asuka Island. He had Maya take the sabertooth tiger back to her village for a couple of days.
He then went to see Hina and arranged for Nami, Nojiko, Carina, and Kaya to train there for the next six months.
Hina was still a little angry, but she was in his debt. And after hearing their tragic stories, she couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy. She even offered to train them personally.
Jin wasn't about to argue with that.
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For the next month, Jin stayed on his own territory. But he wasn't idle.
He dispatched Robin, Wilson, Maya, and Reiju to "assist" in crushing the local pirates and, in the process, took control of three more islands: Swan Island, Alan Island, and Fort Rick Island.
Unlike Melcyse Island, these were all member nations. So he was only "assisting," not taking over.
With the backing of the Celestial Dragons, and his own considerable strength, the small-time kings of those islands didn't dare to say a word.
While training his troops and expanding his territory, Jin used the Munch-Munch Fruit to synthesize the materials needed to build an airplane.
Synthesizing an airplane was a lot harder than a rifle. The number of components was staggering.
But after a series of complex calculations and designs, the first fighter jet synthesized by the demonic carrier was a success.
It marked the beginning of automated aircraft production.
"Good news," Jin said, looking at his dwindling supply of materials. "Time for a trip to Skypiea. I need some gold."
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