That night, on the shore of Wenmigudan Island, countless bonfires burned, lighting up the dark.
The people of the Harrot Tribe sat together, talking among themselves and discussing the new life they would build on this unfamiliar island.
Because of the lack of supplies, there were not even enough tents to go around. Still, the weather was decent. There was no sign of rain, and there was no wind. The green plants on the island could not be eaten, but they made fairly good firewood.
Life aboard the warship over the past half month had been far too cramped and stifling. So after coming ashore, most people would rather sleep out in the open than spend another night on the warship.
At that moment, as the Harrot Tribe sat talking, they saw the benefactors from the Sky Pirates approaching with some supplies.
Leading them was the little girl named Ayala.
Before long, five large tents had been set up.
Only then did Ayala call out to everyone,
"Um, everyone, Captain Yemu asked me to bring these over. We don't have many tents, so please let the elderly, the children, and the sick who are physically weak use them first. In a little while, I'll also boil some medicinal soup and distribute it to everyone. If you drink a bowl before sleeping, it'll be less likely for you to catch a chill tonight. Um... please bear with things for a little while longer. Little by little, everything will get better."
The Harrot Tribe looked at the five large tents, then at the young Ayala, and the confusion and unease they had felt toward the future gradually turned into reassurance.
"Thank you so much!"
Many of them were so moved their eyes turned red with tears.
"No need to thank me. From now on, we're one family!"
Ayala said with a smile.
"One family!!!"
Those three words filled everyone's hearts with warmth and a sense of belonging toward this future new country.
Seeing that, Ayala shyly blushed, nodded to everyone, and returned to the shore.
There, a small tent had been put up. Inside were the members of the Sky Pirates, along with Dana and Modlin from the Harrot Tribe.
Besides them, a sand table modeled exactly after Wenmigudan Island had been placed in the center of the tent.
"Brother Yemu, everything's been arranged!"
"Mm. Just as I thought, having you handle this kind of thing puts me most at ease."
Yemu praised her.
Although Ayala was still young, she had read so many books and experienced so much that she was far more mature than children her age, and she knew a great deal besides. Leaving many things to her was genuinely reassuring.
Hearing Yemu praise her, Ayala grew even more embarrassed.
At that point, Yemu looked around at everyone and began getting to the real matter.
"We've more or less gotten a basic understanding of the island today. Looks like Ayala's luck really is useful. As things stand, this island really is suitable for building our country. Of course, not everything is perfect. There are still some problems. Fortunately, none of them are unsolvable."
After saying that, Yemu swept his gaze across the group. Once he saw that everyone's attention was on him, he continued,
"Next, based on what we found during the day, I'll explain my plans for the future. Listen first, and if anyone has a different opinion, bring it up and we'll consider it together."
"Mm."
Everyone nodded.
"All right. Then as the first step in building a new country, the first thing we need to solve is everyone's basic needs: clothing, food, shelter, and transport. If we can't solve that, then no matter how great our dream is, it'll just be a castle in the air."
"Clothing, food, shelter, and transport!"
Those four words instantly gave everyone, who had been somewhat lost about how to even begin building a country, a clear goal.
"So here's my plan. First, on the Harrot Tribe's side..."
As he spoke, Yemu looked toward Dana and Modlin.
Dana had not reacted yet, but Modlin had already spoken respectfully.
"Please give your orders, Your Majesty!"
"Mm."
Yemu nodded.
"Tomorrow, I need you to select one hundred young and strong people from your tribe. They'll go with Enel, Tiger, Kuromu, and Kuroli. Modlin, you'll go too."
After saying that, Yemu looked out toward the warship anchored offshore.
"I'm leaving this warship to you. You only have one task: buy as many supplies as possible from the surrounding countries and islands, everything everyone on this island will need in terms of clothing, food, shelter, and transport. Tiger and Modlin will make the final decisions on procurement. Enel, Kuromu, and Kuroli will handle security. No problem?"
"Mm."
Everyone nodded.
Seeing that, Yemu encouraged them.
"This is the first time since the Sky Pirates were founded that everyone will be splitting up. But it's about time you all learned to stand on your own."
Everyone immediately understood what Yemu meant.
All this time, the Sky Pirates had been living under Yemu's protection. Now it was time for everyone to show what they could do.
Only then did Yemu turn toward Ayala, Ron, Gaos, and Kurota.
"Although we're not short on money right now, it's obvious we can't rely on buying everything forever when it comes to clothing, food, shelter, and transport. So the four of you, Ayala, Ron, Gaos, and Kurota, have a heavy task ahead of you. I need you to cultivate all kinds of crops that can grow on this island. At the very least, when it comes to clothing, food, shelter, and transport, we need to be able to provide for ourselves."
Ron was full of confidence.
"Don't worry, Captain. My little brother and I already checked. In just one month, we'll be able to cultivate crops suited to this island. And with how fertile the soil here is, the plants will grow quickly."
"That's an unexpected bit of good news. Then I'm counting on the four of you."
After that, Yemu finally turned toward Dana.
"For the time being, money can solve the problem of clothing and food. But it can't solve the problems of shelter and transport, especially shelter. Even though the climate on this island is very mild, we can't keep sleeping outdoors."
As Yemu said that, he pointed toward the sand table in the middle.
"Since we're building a country, the city itself needs planning too. But we don't have any professionals right now, so my idea is to simply divide all of Wenmigudan Island into three rings. The first ring is this central section with the volcano and lake."
As he spoke, Yemu drew a circle around the area outside the lake, then explained,
"This lake is the most precious freshwater resource on the whole island. So in order to protect its environment and ensure everyone's freshwater supply, starting today, no one is allowed to damage anything inside this ring, or even around it."
Everyone nodded. They all understood that.
"Next is the second ring."
As he said that, Yemu drew another circle about three-quarters of the way out from the lake toward the coast.
"This is the second ring. As you can see, it's huge. You could say it makes up nearly three-quarters of the island's interior land. This area will be used to plant all kinds of crops and vegetation and gradually change the island's ecological environment. Once Ayala and Ron cultivate the new crops, we'll start experimenting with planting them here."
"And that leaves the third ring, the final quarter of land nearest the coast. In terms of proportion it's the smallest, but by my estimate, it could still hold four or five million people."
"So next, Dana, I need you to mobilize your tribe. Starting from where we are now and using it as the port and starting point, begin building cities and roads around the island. As for building materials, that'll depend on your people. Doesn't the Harrot Tribe have the ability to alter the nature of the land? The sooner the houses are built, the sooner everyone can move in and stop being exposed to the wind and sun."
"Mm, no problem. Leave it to us. For the Harrot Tribe, this is easy. Give us half a month, and I guarantee everyone will have a house to live in."
Dana spoke with clear excitement.
After all, this was their future home. How could she not take it seriously?
At that moment, Modlin seemed to think of something and asked carefully,
"Your Majesty, should we also build your palace and the residences of the other lords?"
"No..."
Yemu shook his head.
"There's no need to rush my residence or anything like that. Let everyone build their own homes first."
"I understand."
There was clearly something different in Modlin's eyes now.
"And that leaves us."
Yemu said this as he looked at the rest of the group who had not yet been assigned anything, smiling as he did.
"Our task is the hardest one. Next, in order to draw the attention of the Marines and the World Government away from here, once I've dealt with my own problem, I plan to take everyone and leave the New World for a while and go see some other places. It's about time I fulfilled the promise I made to all of you back then..."