Chapter 34: The Straw Hat is Mine
"What's the solution?"
Luffy, still tied to the stone pillar, shouted angrily. "Of course, it's to fight! What's the use of hiding in the mountains, Uncle?! Everyone should unite and fight those damn nobles, send them all flying!"
Sabo's incident hadn't happened long ago, and he still remembered it vividly!
"..." Manba looked at Luffy, sighed, and didn't answer.
"Don't shout nonsense."
Shane frowned and tapped Luffy's face with his scabbard. "When adults are talking, what's a child like you interrupting for?"
This unlucky kid. How is he even more brainless now than during his Fifth Emperor era?
The kingdom's army was well-equipped and backed by the World Government. How could ordinary citizens possibly resist them? Even if all the bandits in the Colubo Mountains were gathered together, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
In a world where power is concentrated in individuals, bottom-up resistance is even more difficult, often bordering on a joke.
So what if you gather hundreds of thousands or even millions of people?
Can they withstand Conqueror's Haki?
Can they survive a rain of molten magma?
A single spark may start a prairie fire, but that principle simply doesn't work on this sea. Change can only be brought about from the top down, by a small group of powerful individuals who climb to the pinnacle of power.
This was also the main reason he had little interest in joining the Revolutionary Army. Of course, he only disagreed with their methods. After all, there was nothing wrong with crossing the river by feeling the stones. To be able to maintain their original intention and act on it for so many years was still worthy of admiration. In this world of rot, the existence of such a group was already quite rare.
"How many of you are there in total?" Shane turned to Manba and asked.
"Thirteen, including me."
Manba's expression was grim. "That night, I managed to pull more than twenty people from the sea of fire, but the old, the young, the women, and some who were already sick... they ultimately couldn't survive in the harsh conditions of the mountains..."
The other "bandits" couldn't help but look sad, lowering their heads.
"You've already done well enough," Shane said, shaking his head.
The man looked to be only in his early twenties. When disaster struck, he didn't run for his own life but chose to save others. After entering the mountains, he even dared to take the risk of impersonating a wanted bandit to protect these poor people. He was a real man.
He looked around. If these dozen or so people continued to struggle for survival in these mountains, the outcome probably wouldn't be much better. They would either die for various reasons or completely abandon their morals and become real bandits.
If he hadn't run into them, it wouldn't have mattered. But seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't help but feel a little compassion.
Shane pondered for a moment, thinking of the four hundred million Belli he had in the bank. He hadn't planned to withdraw that money, just leaving it to collect interest, intending to use it to pay for shipbuilding costs after he officially set out to sea. Now, a plan was faintly forming in his mind.
"To be honest, if I were still dirt poor, I definitely wouldn't want to get involved with you guys, nor would I have the ability," Shane said, looking at Manba with a slight shrug. "But I can't help it. Who knew I'd勉强 (miǎnqiǎng - barely/reluctantly) be considered a rich man now? So I should be able to help you out."
"A rich man?"
Luffy's eyes instantly lit up. "So you're rich, Uncle?! Are you going to give them money? Can you give me some too? I'm really short on money!!!"
He still hadn't paid for all those dine-and-dash meals he'd had with Ace and Sabo in the town below! He only left IOUs!
"Uncle, my foot!" Shane couldn't take it anymore and slapped him. "I'm not much older than you! If you're going to suck up, you should at least call me Big Bro!"
"Oh..." Luffy rubbed the red handprint on his face, aggrieved.
"Pay your own debts!"
After glaring at Luffy, Shane turned his gaze back to the poor people around him, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He had no intention of just handing out cash as Luffy suggested. They had only just met, and there was no emotional foundation between them. To just give them money out of pity would be too strange. Besides, give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
"My family has an orange grove, and we're planning to expand. We don't have enough hands, so we need to hire some employees."
He glanced at the straw hat on Luffy's head. "Coincidentally, I plan on going home today. Why don't you all just leave the Goa Kingdom and come back with me? You can settle down there. How about it?"
He was being vague.
In his actual plan, he intended to take out a few tens of millions of Belli and keep the rest as his sea-faring fund. He wasn't just planning to expand the orange grove; he also intended to set up several family-style workshops to process the harvested citrus. The citrus produced in Cocoyasi Village was of excellent quality, far better than even the premium oranges from his past life. But the purchase price for primary agricultural products was really low. Otherwise, Belle-mère wouldn't have had to work so hard all year round in the grove, yet still be too poor to buy Nami new clothes before he became the family's main support.
But according to his plan, if they processed the high-quality oranges into various preserved products, such as canned goods, jams, and candied fruit before selling, the added value would increase significantly. Manba could handle the daily management of the workshops, and Belle-mère could relax if she wanted, or continue to care for her beloved orange grove.
Limited by geographical location and trade channels, they might not make a huge fortune. But it would be more than enough to improve their family's condition while also supporting these poor, starving people and allowing them to earn their own living.
"R-really? Is that really okay?!" Manba was stunned at first, then couldn't contain his excitement and grabbed Shane's hands. "Sir, you're really willing to take us in and give us jobs?!"
"Yes. Have everyone pack up. We'll leave together later," Shane nodded slightly. "Don't worry about the ship tickets; I'll cover those too."
"That's wonderful!"
"We're saved! We're saved!"
"Thank you, sir! Thank you!"
The circle of hungry people nearby was at first in disbelief. When Shane confirmed it, their long-suppressed emotions burst forth. Some cried, some knelt on the spot, and others silently hugged each other in relief.
Winter had already set in. They had been living in fear and anxiety in the mountains every day, not having enough food to eat or clothes to wear. Life had been incredibly difficult.
"Thank you so much, thank you so much..." Manba's voice was choked with emotion. "You've saved the lives of more than a dozen of us. I... I'm not good with words, I don't know what to say. In short, sir! From now on, my life, Manba's life, is yours! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it!"
"Sir, us too!" the surrounding poor people echoed loudly.
"Wuwuwu," Luffy was also crying on the side. "Can you untie me first, Uncle? I can't wipe my tears, it's so uncomfortable."
Shane looked at the kid, speechless, and drew the Masamune from his back.
Swish, swish.
With a flash of the blade, the hemp ropes binding Luffy's limbs were all instantly cut.
"Wow, what amazing swordsmanship!"
Luffy wriggled his wrists. Just as he was marveling at the precision of the sword strike, blood suddenly spurted from both his arms, making him scream in panic. He quickly tore his shirt into strips to wrap the wounds. "Waah! Why did you cut my skin too!"
"..."
Shane coughed to hide his embarrassment, turned around, and sheathed his sword. He then looked at the dark-skinned man before him.
"Shane," he said. "What about you? What's your real name? What should I call you in the future?"
"Just call me Manba," the man said, shaking his head sincerely. "To be honest with you, I used to be a guard raised in a noble's house. My name was given to me casually by the butler, and I really don't like it. I've gotten used to the name Manba after using it for a few months. I might as well just live with this name from now on."
"Alright, Manba! Get your important things together. We're leaving now!" Shane laughed loudly.
As everyone got busy, he finally turned his attention back to Luffy. Before leaving, how could he forget the most important thing?
"It hurts, Uncle Shane!" Luffy pointed at the cuts on his arms, complaining. "When you cut the ropes, can't you aim a little better? It makes me not want to thank you for helping me out!"
Of course, he was just saying that. For this guy who had appeared out of nowhere and offered to help these poor people out of their predicament, Luffy had a very good impression. And anyway, he was finally free! He didn't have to rack his brains anymore about how to hunt enough to pay back ten times the roasted meat.
"Sorry about that. My swordsmanship really isn't up to par," Shane said with a slight smile. "As compensation, I'll show you a little magic trick."
"A magic trick?!!"
Luffy was instantly energized, immediately doing a classic monkey squat on the table. "Alright, alright!"
And so...
The next second, under the kid's foolish gaze, Shane suddenly reached out and took the straw hat from his head.