Pirate: I'm an admiral now, what's wrong with taking a little extra money?

"I'm going to get some...my secret stash of money."

Ten billion might be enough to build an ordinary branch base.

But what he wanted to build was not a branch.

It is a war fortress that would make even the world government tremble!

Two weeks later, the task of recruiting craftsmen went exceptionally smoothly.

Under the "triple pay" and the "kind" persuasion of three future generals, almost all of the top craftsmen in the first half of the new world were captured.

They were taken to Punk Hazard by a warship, and when they saw the deserted island that consisted of nothing but trees and rocks, everyone was stunned.

"Sir, are you sure... you want to build a base here?" an elderly craftsman with white hair asked tremblingly.

"There's no wind or magnetism here, not even a pointer can be set; it's practically a natural prison!"

"Yes, transporting materials is a huge problem!"

The craftsmen discussed it amongst themselves, all feeling that the idea was unreliable.

Just then, Kane returned.

He returned from the North Sea aboard a medium-sized warship with a dozen or so soldiers.

He ordered his soldiers to unload huge chests filled with pewter and gold from the ship.

Then, in front of all the craftsmen, it was opened.

The small mountain built of money instantly silenced all doubts.

Gudong.

Countless sounds of swallowing saliva rang out.

All the craftsmen stared in disbelief.

They had never seen so much money in their lives!

"Everyone."

Kane leaped onto the top of the money box, surveying the thousands of artisans below, his voice booming like a bell.

"I know what you're wondering. You're wondering why we chose such a desolate, godforsaken island."

"Now, I'll tell you the answer!"

He unfolded a huge blueprint, a blueprint for the future base that he had drawn himself.

A ferocious, majestic steel fortress, brimming with violent aesthetics, leaps off the page.

What you see is not an island!

Kane tapped his fingers heavily on the core area of ​​the blueprint.

"It's a future!"

"We will build the world's most fortified, advanced, and greatest sea fortress here!"

"It will possess a defense system that surpasses that of the Navy Headquarters! Its artillery fire will cover every corner of this sea! Its walls will be forged from a special alloy mixed with seastone powder, making them indestructible!"

"This place will become the ultimate fortress guarding the throat of the New World! Any pirate, any enemy, who wants to step into the New World must first ask if our G-5 cannonballs will allow it!"

"You will no longer be ordinary craftsmen!"

"You will be the builders of this great wonder! Your names, along with this fortress, will be immortal!"

Kane's voice was highly provocative.

The blueprint he drew was too grand and too awe-inspiring!

All the craftsmen were so excited by his words that they were breathing heavily.

To build a fortress that surpasses the Navy Headquarters?

What an insane, and what a glorious feat!

"And I, Kane, the commander of G-5, assure you!"

"As long as you do your best, the triple salary I just mentioned is just the beginning!"

"I'll cover all the bonuses, benefits, and even future family arrangements!"

"I have only one request!"

Kane's gaze swept over everyone.

"Turn the blueprints into reality as quickly as possible!"

"Money is not a problem!"

"Tell me, do you have confidence?!"

"have!!!"

Thousands of craftsmen roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens!

[Ding! Detected that the host delivered a highly inflammatory speech, openly making empty promises, and attempting to establish a private armed fortress independent of the naval system!]

This behavior severely undermines the Navy's organizational discipline and is extremely subversive!

[Disciplinary Value +80,000!]

Hearing the system notification, Kane's smile grew even brighter.

well.

Infrastructure-building maniac mode...

Officially launched!

Chapter 79 The Red Earl Takes Office in Tears, and the Emperors of the New World Tremble in Fear!

Punk Hazard, this deserted island that had been silent for countless years, has come back to life.

Rumble—!!!

The sounds of massive explosions and mechanical roars echoed across the island day and night.

Driven by "money power," this once desolate land has been transformed into a massive construction site.

Kane personally oversaw the operation, and in his plan, the new G-5 base was far more than just a military fortress.

That was the beginning of an ambition.

He divided the entire project into three parts that were carried out simultaneously.

Firstly, ground military fortifications.

Utilizing the island's natural mountains, a steel fortress integrating defense, attack, training, and living is to be built.

The outer city wall is hundreds of meters high, and the inside is filled with sea stone powder, so thick that it inspires despair.

On the city walls, countless heavy artillery positions gleamed with a cold metallic luster. Every firing angle had been calculated with the utmost precision, enough to tear any fleet that dared to approach to shreds.

Secondly, there is the underground research area.

The interior of the entire island's mountains is being hollowed out, and an underground world, larger and more secretive than the surface fortresses, is taking shape.

This will be the place where he conducts all sorts of secret research that he "cannot" let the World Government know about. For example, researching Devil Fruits, developing new weapons, poaching... Vegapunk.

Thirdly, the underwater ghost shipyard.

Beneath the seabed surrounding the island, several massive, secret docks were built to conceal submarines, becoming fangs lurking beneath the Grand Line.

The scale of this project exceeded everyone's imagination.

It was like a gold-devouring behemoth that could never be satisfied, frantically devouring Kane's coffers.

Just one month.

The mountain of 60 billion peggs shrank by half at a visible rate.

Material costs, labor costs, equipment procurement costs... each one is an astronomical figure.

Especially those alloys mixed with sea stone powder, which are more expensive than gold, are simply burning money.

Day 40.

The air inside the makeshift command post was heavy.

"Kane...it seems like we're almost out of money."

Kuzan handed Kane a newly released financial statement.

The bright red deficit on the report was shocking to behold.

"If the fires continue to burn at this rate, we'll be completely bankrupt in another half month at most."

Borsalino added gleefully from the side, his tone as irritating as ever.

"At that point, we might have to default on paying the wages of those thousands of craftsmen... It's terrifying to even think about!"

Sakazuki remained silent, but his furrowed brows said it all.

"Unpaid wages?"

Upon hearing this, Kane burst into laughter.

He crumpled the report into a ball and casually threw it into the brazier, watching it turn to ashes.

"Those two words don't exist in my dictionary."

He stood up, stretched, and his joints cracked like popping beans. His handsome face showed no sign of anxiety.

"If you're out of money, go find some."

"Do I really need to teach you such a simple principle?"

"What do we do?" Kuzan asked curiously, "Go cry to the Marshal again?"

“You’re too narrow-minded, Kuzan.” Kane glanced at him disdainfully. “I’ve already fleeced the Marshal bald; if I keep fleecing him, I’ll be fleecing the Five Elders. We need to broaden our horizons.”

His gaze fell on a corner of the room, where a figure sat alone, eyes closed, meditating.

Baron Ryderfield.