Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 375 Teaching

"Hey, hey, hey~ Village Chief, no need to see me off."

"Everyone, let's go back!"

"Oh dear, ma'am, you're saving all the Komainu eggs for the children; they're growing so fast!"

"Don't worry, your son will definitely get a spot for the work."

"Go home, folks! Haha~"

After distributing a large basket of gold coins to the villagers, Willie finally bid farewell to the villagers who had come to see him off, about ten miles outside the village.

He left Inari Village amidst countless thanks and cheers, accompanied by Dante and several bodyguards, occasionally turning back to wave, seemingly with a deep sense of reluctance.

……

"Uh-huh~"

After crossing a mountain ridge and seeing Inari Village completely disappear from sight, Willie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dante, this village should be the last one, right?"

"Ah."

“According to the planning document, we have already visited all twenty villages that were acquired in the first batch, Mr. Willie.”

"That's good."

"Now... things are finally over."

Taking off his gold-rimmed glasses, Willie dropped his facade of a conscientious businessman and rubbed his temples.

"Dealing with these simple-minded farmers is quite troublesome; they all have loud voices...it really takes a lot of effort!"

"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

After massaging himself for a while, Willie put his glasses back on and noticed that Dante was looking at him strangely, so he asked.

"Ah~ it's nothing, I just think it's amazing that Mr. Willie was able to get along with a group of farmers in such a short time, and be so popular with them. I think, uh... it's very impressive."

Dante offered a somewhat awkward explanation, to which Willie simply smiled.

"What you really want to ask is, why am I able to so naturally have a pleasant conversation with a group of illiterate farmers?"

"Our social statuses are so different~"

On one side are farmers whose ancestors have never left their small plot of irrigated land, and on the other side is an "arms lord" who commands the winds and rains on the high seas and has instigated countless wars...

It's hard to imagine that these two people were having such a pleasant conversation in a farmhouse.

"It's actually very simple."

“As a businessman, I come into contact with a lot of people every day—kings of countries, princes who are preparing to usurp the throne, dukes who want to establish their own independent kingdoms…and of course, officials from the world government.”

"The most basic skill when dealing with these guys is to be able to 'speak human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts'."

"Speak human language to humans, and ghost language to ghosts?"

"Yes."

Nodding, Willie stopped... He looked at Dante, who was still somewhat bewildered, with his hands behind his back.

"Don't overthink it, it's actually not complicated - just put yourself and the other person on the same side, and make the other person feel that you are on their side."

"Besides, we're on the same side—they need my help, and I happen to need to help them too."

Willie's smile was still as warm and inviting as ever, without making anyone feel uncomfortable.

Dante recalled Willie calling him "fellow countrymen" and "fellow villagers" repeatedly... He nodded as if he understood.

"Hmm... It's still early, let's sit down and rest for a bit."

The journey back was not short. Willie squinted at the sky, then pointed to a shady spot not far away, indicating that they should rest there for a while.

……

Watching the butler pull out a bottle of what looked like oil from his pocket and begin massaging Willie's temples, Dante hesitated for a moment before speaking again:
"that……"

"Ask whatever you want, don't be shy with me."

"Your teacher asked you to stay with me during this time so that you can observe more, learn more, and ask more questions."

Willie closed his eyes, his brow gradually relaxing as the butler massaged him. "Mmm."

“Um, Mr. Willie, I’d like to ask why you personally went to every single village… You could have just demonstrated it once and then left the rest to your men.”

"You've been running around so much lately, your body must be taking a toll!"

Willy is an ordinary person, not a born monster like Kaido or King... At almost fifty years old, he is indeed pushing himself a bit too hard running around Wano Country at a high intensity every day.

"Haha~"

"Dante~"

"You think I'm just making myself suffer, don't you?"

"Uh……"

Dante was about to deny it, but Willie waved his hand.

He took a breath, and then slowly said:

"I did these things partly out of personal motives."

"Selfish?"

"Yes."

“For people like Governor Kaido, this kind of thing can be done at will, because the governor’s military strength is enough for him to ignore most of the barriers in this world.”

"But not you and me."

Willie extended his hands, which were covered in mud and dust from being held by the farmers, and then slowly clenched them.

“Dant, remember this—for people like us, nothing else matters, but if there’s an opportunity to bestow favors or exert power, we must never delegate it to others…”

"We must firmly grasp every single one of them."

……

"You've seen Minister Light's 'Wano Country Future Development Plan,' haven't you?"

"Ah."

Dante nodded.

The plan was not very detailed, as they had only just arrived on this land and did not have time to compile it in great detail.

Currently, there is only a rough framework. As for the specific content, we need to carefully explore the mountains, rivers, geography, and cultural distribution of Wano Country before filling it in.

In short, it will take several years to complete the final version.

"Although that 'plan' is only a rough framework at present, it is not difficult to see from it that the higher-ups have made a great determination this time and intend to completely transform this country into the rear base of our beasts."

"The more we participate now, the more trust we gain from the people of Wano Country, and the more important our position will be among the Beasts in the future..."

Seeing that Dante still seemed to understand but not quite, a mixture of understanding and not quite, Willie sighed.

He came in halfway through his career.

If they were heirs from these established families, they would immediately realize what Willie was talking about—he was actually teaching them how to navigate an organization.

In other words, it's about finding one's place within the ever-growing Beasts Pirates, and increasing one's importance while maintaining a stable position.

Whether it's Willie, Dante, or even the Flying Six, the Big Boss... each of them is actually a piece on the chessboard of "Beasts".

They were assigned different abilities based on their strengths... those who were "chariots" needed the strength to break through the enemy's battle formation, those who were "horses" needed the agility to leap and jump, and those who were "soldiers" needed the courage to charge forward without hesitation...

Although they are all chess pieces, the importance of different pieces in the minds of chess players can vary drastically.
"Um……"

Feeling he had rested enough, Willie waved for the butler to stop the massage, then patted his pants and stood up.

It seems he intends to continue his journey.

Seeing this, Dante quickly stood up as well.

A gentle breeze blew in, carrying a cool breeze that felt exceptionally comfortable... even the leaves of the trees overhead rustled in the wind.

Willie reached out and brushed the fallen leaves off Dant's shoulder, patted him on the shoulder, and then looked at his still somewhat bewildered young face and said:
"Dante...you know what? I actually envy you and your teacher."

(End of this chapter)