The Pirate Princess Becomes Queen

Scientists dream of building ten-story or twenty-story buildings, but Vivi is indifferent to them; as long as they can make money, that's all that matters.

She urged scientists to continue researching this reinforced sand, ideally replicating it using existing methods. Although the Walbourne alloy "manufactured" by Walbourne in the original timeline was sold worldwide and used by ordinary people like Franky, seemingly spreading widely and in large quantities, Vivi always felt that the "production" of this stuff wouldn't be too high. How much could one fat guy eat every day? It's better to plan ahead and use scientific methods to research the technology behind it; that's the right way.

Vivi plans to make the enhanced sand a specialty product of Alabasta, so it needs an official name.

Vasa is definitely not an option, and Kesa and Visa don't sound good either.

Originally, she planned to name it after her cheap biological father, Kosha! But then she remembered that her childhood sweetheart, who was now the biggest rebel leader in Alabasta, seemed to have that name. To avoid any misunderstandings, she abandoned that name as well.

If she were powerless, using Kosa's name to evoke the other party's friendship and peacefully resolve the dispute would be a good idea. But now that she is powerful, she doesn't need to use that method at all.

Finally, after discussing it with her adoptive father, and under the guise of a gift to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the World Government, in order to prove her loyalty to Alabasta, she decided to take a word from the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and name the enhanced sand "Masha"!

Vivi didn't rely solely on hypnosis and suggestion to control Wapol's mind. Devil Fruit users are very resistant to this, and if she kept suggesting things to him, she wouldn't be able to do anything else but just stay in the desert watching Wapol all day.

The implication is that it can only last for a short time, not forever.

At this point, Wapol's idea of ​​making money was his own, so when Vivi traded with him, in addition to the gold coins that would be collected regularly, she would also use some real gold and silver to trade.

The Nefertari family's treasury contains reserves accumulated over a thousand years; they are not lacking in treasure, but rather in the means to exchange that treasure for goods.

It would be perfectly acceptable to give a small portion of it to Wapol as a reward now.

Are gold and silver jewels useful to someone trapped in the desert? They might not be useful to others, but they are very useful to Walpo. He likes these things, and they can also fill his stomach when he is hungry!

This guy was indeed lucky to make a comeback in the original timeline; it was pure luck that he managed to come up with a lot of good stuff.

When gold is ingested, it mixes with sand and is eventually expelled as gold dust.

When a silver coin is swallowed, it is spat out along with sand, turning into silver sand.

If a coral tree as tall as a person is eaten, it will reappear as cinnabar.

When steel is swallowed, it comes out as steel sand.

A month later, when the shipping king's men delivered the first batch of 50,000 tons of food, including rice, flour, corn, sweet potatoes, and other items, to Alabasta, Vivi also sorted the sand by color and properties.

No matter how well you process sand, it's still just sand. Trying to sell it all over the world is basically a pipe dream. It's not a necessity, and nobody needs your little bit of sand.

The reinforced sand "manufactured" by Wapol, and the sand that Alabasta scientists imitated but had inferior performance, were all left in the country. These building materials were needed for later work-for-relief projects. The remaining silver sand, red sand, and steel sand were sold. Vivi targeted high-income groups, namely the Celestial Dragons and political figures from various countries.

Taking advantage of the grain transport opportunity, she recommended these types of sand to the warehouse king's subordinates.

People who have built businesses all over the world generally have some skills. Although the main business of the Warehouse King's subordinates is people and weapons, they also know a little about building materials.

The man, who resembled an English butler, carefully examined the sand, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones with those around him.

In the manager's view, it was perfectly reasonable for Crocodile's men to get their hands on some strange sand.

The warehouse king's men didn't have any major problems. They each took a portion of the different types of sand, planning to go back and have someone study them to determine their value before discussing the transaction.

Vivi deliberately kept the gold and sand among them. After the warehouse king's men left, she summoned the Golden Emperor's envoy, Big-Headed Tanaka.

"Golden sand? The golden luster in the sand is gold? Can this be used directly in construction?" Big-headed Tanaka's reaction was much more enthusiastic than that of the Warehouse King.

The Golden Emperor built numerous golden houses on his giant ship, the Gran Tesoro, and he even wanted to make the entire ship out of gold.

Unfortunately, gold is too dense and not very strong. It's okay for building a small house, but definitely not for a large building. It would probably collapse if there was even a slight, violent shaking...

It would be uncomfortable for the Golden Emperor to live in a bungalow every day, so he could only build a building with normal building materials and then gild it on the outside.

Now Vivi has provided him with a new option: gold sand that sparkles just by holding it in his hand!

As a confidant of the Golden Emperor, Big-Headed Tanaka naturally knew his boss's thoughts. This gold sand might not be of much use to others—who would live in a house of gold for no reason? They'd be crazy! But for the Golden Emperor, it was an essential product.

Big-headed Tanaka wanted to seize this technology by force. He smiled on the surface, but sent people to intercept and kill Vivi that night!

The current Vivi is not the same as when she first transmigrated. Her swordsmanship, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki have all reached level 5. Her Devil Fruit ability is powerful, and she has Karu the duck by her side. Without the strength of a Shichibukai, no one can defeat her.

The following day, she handed over the shriveled corpses of more than a dozen assassins to Big-Headed Tanaka.

After examining the injuries, the other party concluded that Crocodile had personally inflicted the damage... and their imposing manner diminished further.

After we finished, let's continue our cooperation. Weiwei suggested that we provide the gold and sand, and work together to create gold dust. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Tanaka's head exploded! I may have a big head, but I'm not stupid! Does anyone in this world trade gold for sand? How much sand is in your desert?! Our gold was earned little by little, how can that be the same?

The first step in the cooperation between the two parties involved lengthy negotiations.

Ultimately, the allure of the gold sand was greater for the Golden Emperor. Since it was impossible to replicate and he desperately needed the gold sand, he agreed to cooperate with Vivi's side. One side would provide the gold, and the other would provide the sand and technology. However, to save face, the Golden Emperor demanded that this matter be kept secret.

Chapter 163 Sand Bandits

“Ms. Wednesday, I must remind you that your actions have reopened a huge rift in our recently improved relationship, which is unwise.” Big-headed Tanaka attempted to use threats to force Vivi to back down in the negotiations.

He just wanted to save as much as possible, but Weiwei wouldn't budge an inch.

Buy it or not, it's up to you. Give me the gold, I'll process it into gold dust for you, make a tiny bit of a processing fee in the process, and then you can take it back. It's that simple.

Threat? My boss is Crocodile, you know that?

Tanaka, with his big head, didn't want to be the big boss, but he agreed to the deal two days later.

The Golden Emperor really needs gold sand. In just two days, the building plans have been completed, and they are just waiting for the raw materials to arrive so they can start building the real Golden Tower.

Big-headed Tanaka had no choice but to agree to Vivi's conditions: he would provide gold and have the other party process it into gold dust.

They have plenty of gold, and theoretically, there's not much loss. After passing through Vivi's territory, they can bring it back. However, in the process, they have to pay a large amount of Beta, letting the other party make a huge profit for no reason. This is something they can't stand and find extremely frustrating.

The Golden Emperor had always boasted that his ship, the Guran Tezolo, was entirely made of gold. The outside world was unaware that he had used a large amount of building materials. He had only one requirement for the transaction: to keep a low profile and not to publicize it. Vivi also did not want to make it a big deal. The two sides tacitly agreed and neither of them made a fuss.

The Crocodile, who was cultivating immortality in the Sabaody Archipelago, had no idea that he had exchanged another blow with the Golden Emperor. He was unaware of what hadn't been reported in the newspapers...

The initial shipment of 50,000 tons of grain has arrived, but this grain cannot be distributed to the people immediately, nor can they be informed of it. If this causes looting, it will turn a good thing into a bad thing.

Vivi summoned her old minister, Mr. 8 Icarus, back to Alabasta.

In her view, the Baroque Studio was almost disbanded, and there was no point in staying there to infiltrate.

By her standards, the old minister is a rare political talent in the country. If he were thrown into the Three Kingdoms world, his political score would very likely exceed 60 points!

Now she demanded that the old ministers return to work immediately, and in the form of work relief, organize people to clean up the nearby towns, cremate all the corpses, organize people to kill the wolves, vultures and all sorts of wild beasts in the wild, and repair the dilapidated houses that could be repaired, and build new ones that could not be repaired.

All the trash was piled up on the edge of the desert. She would arrange for zombies to come and remove the trash after a while, and give it all to Wapol to eat. Who knows, he might find something good in it. It's all up to fate.

We need to clear out the areas where people live, then dig irrigation ditches and reclaim land. We can't expect anything this year, but at least we should be able to grow some food next year.

After consulting with her adoptive father, Vivi left a 500-man guard and the "Dadi with the child" she had previously recruited to the old ministers. The kingdom's army still had enough deterrent power for ordinary people and sufficient military force, so restoring order on a small scale was achievable.

Work-for-relief is a long-term undertaking. Fifty thousand tons of grain cannot be piled up at once. Several coastal cities have been saved for the time being, but the people inland are still starving.

To prevent looting, the food had to be transported to several secret warehouses in Alabasta for storage.

The main roads between cities are off-limits. If the people in these coastal areas see the royal soldiers transporting grain, they will definitely ask, "Why are you taking away our life-saving grain?" You can't say things like, "Let's be generous, the people in the interior also need to eat." The people who are starving every day will not listen to your explanation.

Grain could not be transported during the day, so it had to be smuggled out at night from the edge of the desert.

This task is extremely difficult. Karu and his duck companions volunteered, but Vivi refused. How much grain can a few ducks transport? This isn't just one or two bags; at least 40,000 tons of grain out of 50,000 tons need to be transported from the coast to the inland, especially the desert-strewn inland. This is a task that most people cannot accomplish.

Vivi's solution was to seek help from the sand bandits.

Desert bandits are thieves who roam the desert in a boat.

Their ship had a huge umbrella mounted at the ramming point of the bow, with the umbrella connected to the sail. When the wind blew onto the umbrella, the ship could use the resistance to move forward.

Regardless of whether it's scientific or not, there really is such a group of people in the desert. They have a good reputation and often help civilians. Vivi asked Bell, the vice-captain of the guard who ate the Bird-Bird Fruit in Falcon form, to go find the sand bandits.

Bell's expression was cold and stern. He did not agree with the princess's idea of ​​cooperating with the sand bandits, but he still transformed into a large bird and searched for the sand bandits' trail.

Two days later, he brought back a message that the other party wanted to meet in person.

"Alright, Bell, lead the way."

As a child, Vivi often sat on Bell's back, carried by the aloof vice-captain of the guard as they flew over the capital, Arubana. Now, she no longer needs to.

She didn't hide the fact that she had eaten a Devil Fruit from her close retainers, though no one knew exactly what kind. Now, she directly entered her vampire form, leaped into the air, and then used her levitation ability to counteract gravity, slightly adjusting the angle of her cloak to create lift, allowing her to fly through the air.

This flight posture isn't as fast as flying through the clouds, but it looks extremely cool.

Bell transformed into a falcon and flew ahead, with Vivi following behind.

After most of the day, they landed in a sea of ​​sand. After waiting for a while, a ship speeding across the desert emerged from the sand dunes on the west side.

"Your Highness, the sand bandits are a bunch of desperate criminals. Please be careful. If things get dangerous, please let this old minister cover your retreat. Your Highness, please don't hesitate, run immediately, and don't look back!" Bell looked serious, but he was just as concerned about Vivi's safety as the old minister Mr. 8, giving her countless instructions.

Vivi said seriously, "Okay, I understand."

Soon, the boat speeding across the desert came to a stop in front of them, and the other party lowered the planks, indicating that they were invited to board.

If the princess hadn't revealed her flying ability, Bell would never have agreed to let her board the ship. Now that they had some confidence, the two of them boarded the pirate ship one after the other.

A burly man with a full beard and a small umbrella decoration on his head was sitting on the deck waiting for them.

The big man had a fierce appearance, and his arms were thicker than Weiwei's waist. He looked like a mountain of flesh when he sat there, but the umbrella on his head, which looked like a hat, added a touch of comical charm to his appearance.

Looking over, Weiwei noticed that each of these sand bandits had a small umbrella on their head, about the size of a palm, which was completely useless and just for decoration.

Chapter 164 Garp

"Little girl, are you looking for the Balbar Sand Bandits?" the big man asked first.

"Shut up! The person in front of you is Princess Nefertari!" Bell shouted at the other party.

"Princess? Hahahaha—" the burly man sneered, "The sea doesn't belong to any pirate, and the desert doesn't belong to any sand bandit. There are no princesses in the desert. Am I right, Lasha?"

A young female sand pirate stood on the mast, looking down at Belle and Vivi, her gaze mostly fixed on Vivi.

"Yes, Boss Balbaru, there are no princesses in the desert, and the Neferutari family are all liars! They promised to help us if anything happened, but they didn't show up at all when the fields dried up!"

The female bandit glared at Weiwei, pointed at her with her right index finger, and shouted, "I'm talking to you! Have you forgotten your promise from back then?!"

The loyal Belle instinctively took two steps to the left, while Vivi was completely bewildered. A promise? What promise? That tone, coupled with that resentful expression, looked rather odd...

She frowned, thought very seriously, and searched through Weiwei's past memories for a full three minutes before tentatively asking, "Are you the little girl who gave me the wreath?"

This memory is very vague. Vivi can't remember what the little girl looked like, but she vaguely resembles the female sand bandit in front of her. What she remembers most is the big wreath... Originally, Vivi might have thought it was a symbol of friendship, but now, it just looks awkward to her. Why give a wreath? Next time, I'll give the sand crocodile a big wreath and say it's a symbol of friendship?

"You call me a little girl? You were a child back then too!" the female bandit retorted loudly.

Vivi rolled her eyes. This matter didn't really concern her. She was only six or seven years old at the time. The one who made the promise was her adoptive father. He promised that when the town encountered difficulties, as the king, he would definitely appear in front of everyone and overcome the difficulties together.

His biological father probably misspoke, but it's also possible that he's simply too ashamed to face those who trust him.

Remembering her adoptive father's constant admonition to treat others with sincerity, Vivi, unusually, did not refute him, nor did she resort to violence: "I'm sorry, it's our fault. The Nefertari family already has a fairly mature rescue plan. We dare not say that we can save everyone, but we are trying our best... We came here this time to hire you. Are you willing to accept our employment and forgive us?"