"Exchange civilians for prisoners!"
Nami was no longer nervous now and silently gave herself a thumbs-up.
Since childhood, she had been trying every possible way to earn money to buy back Cocoyasi Village, which gave her far more experience than others her age.
Her earlier impulsive behavior had made her regret it, but it also unexpectedly inspired a new idea.
Dr. Reddy seemed to have a very close relationship with the Fishmen. Directly asking Reddy to save Cocoyasi Village from Arlong and his crew might not be appropriate.
However, civilians were considered the property of nobles and were not highly valued.
If the World Government shifted the ransom burden onto member nations, and if those nations used civilians to exchange for prisoners, she believed no nobles would oppose it.
If Cocoyasi Village could be mixed into this transaction, wouldn't that be perfect?
What a clever little genius I am!
Nami thought gleefully to herself but suddenly noticed the atmosphere was a bit off.
When she looked around, Tsuru was smiling kindly.
The adjutant and other female soldiers had strange expressions.
Even Reddy looked torn between laughter and tears.
The only comfort she could find was Bartolomeo's expression of "I don't understand, but as long as Reddy gets it, it's fine," and Hancock, who seemed indifferent to everything.
Nami forced a weak smile and asked timidly, "Is… is it not possible?"
"I agree."
Tsuru nodded with a smile.
The Five Elders had dug a pit for Reddy that he couldn't avoid, making it an unsolvable problem.
The answer given by this clever little girl wasn't the most ideal solution, but Tsuru didn't oppose it. In fact, she wanted to push it further and facilitate this transaction.
"I disagree."
Reddy was speechless.
Exchanging civilians for prisoners—he had to admit Nami's idea was incredibly bold.
Putting aside everything else, his "Ideal Land" needed population, but he didn't want to acquire people this way.
Secondly, he was already struggling to feed the 50,000 captured Marines. How could he possibly take in an even larger population?
There simply wasn't enough food!
Third, Nami's idea would directly undermine the Revolutionary Army's foundation.
It didn't take much thought to realize that nobles from various countries would gladly use the civilians they saw as trash to fulfill the World Government's demands.
And the civilians traded would undoubtedly be the poorest groups.
Yet, these were precisely the groups the Revolutionary Army had been trying hard to win over.
As fellow idealists, Dragon might understand, but Reddy couldn't guarantee everyone in the Revolutionary Army would feel the same.
Antagonizing the Revolutionary Army at this stage wasn't a wise move.
There were also fourth, fifth, sixth, and many other reasons.
But with the first three factors alone, any further explanation would be pointless.
"I think this suggestion is excellent."
Tsuru's thoughts weren't as complicated. She wanted to push for it.
The current state of Loguetown proved that Reddy could bring happiness to more civilians. Moreover, sending impoverished populations from member nations to Reddy would also help suppress the growing influence of the Revolutionary Army.
Most importantly, the 50,000 elite Marines would be ransomed back.
By now, Nami had realized she had messed up and quietly tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.
But Reddy didn't let her off the hook.
"What were you trying to do?"
Reddy was exasperated by Nami's bizarre idea, and his tone carried a hint of resentment.
"I…"
Nami smiled awkwardly and subtly glanced at Jinbe, who stood below Reddy, quickly hiding her expression again.
Under Reddy's intense gaze, she resigned herself.
At worst, she'd die!
But she would never drag Cocoyasi Village into this!
However, Reddy had keenly noticed her little action. He paused for a moment before understanding.
"Worried I'd side with the Fishmen?"
Reddy almost laughed at the thought.
But upon closer consideration, it made perfect sense!
Jinbe was a Fishman and now worked for him.
Anyone would assume he'd favor his own people over fairness.
If this clever little girl suggested exchanging civilians for prisoners without any ulterior motives, he'd be the first to doubt it.
"Take her away."
Reddy signaled Hancock to escort Nami out to prevent her from making any more reckless suggestions that the cunning Tsuru might exploit.
"Follow me."
Hancock walked up to Nami, looked her up and down, and then motioned for her to follow.
After Nami was led away by Hancock, Reddy got straight to the point.
"The ransom will be as I stated earlier. The prisoners will be released as soon as the money is delivered."
"Of course, I don't mind if you ransom them in batches."
Despite Nami's little interruption, which allowed Tsuru to counter him, the short time had been enough for him to reconsider.
This pit had to be jumped into!
He was an idealist, but not a saint.
Only those civilians willing to help themselves fell under his protection.
The World Government could certainly manipulate public opinion to smear his reputation, but so what?
History, in any world, had proven one simple and straightforward truth.
When people were starving to death, the distinction between right and wrong no longer mattered.
At its core, the rampant piracy problem stemmed from civilians being exploited to the point of desperation by nobles.
The "One Piece" was merely a trigger.
It offered these impoverished civilians a chance to change their lives.
Pirates didn't produce anything—they only destroyed.
Did civilians not know that?
Of course they did!
But between starvation and the slim chance of a better life, almost no one would choose the former.
Of course, there would always be a few honest, simple-minded folks.
"You really want this ransom?"
Reddy's answer surprised Tsuru. She couldn't understand why he would knowingly jump into this pit when there were more reasonable ways to resolve the situation.
For example, exchanging prisoners for high-end equipment or even technology.
Reddy smiled frankly. "I need money. A lot of it."
Tsuru was momentarily stunned.
What a straightforward answer!
However, she wasn't part of the scientific research community and didn't understand how expensive research could be.
Since he had taken over the Punk Hazard Research Institute, not much actual research had been conducted.
Given his academic status, researchers like Beal felt immense pressure and avoided large-scale experiments.
Thus, the equipment at Punk Hazard was still sufficient for their needs.
But with Amazon Lily, Fishman Island, and Dressrosa now under his control, the creation of the "Ideal Land" needed to begin.
Once the Ideal Land was established, countless problems would arise.
For example, how to sustain the livelihoods of the people in Amazon Lily and Fishman Island.
In his plans for these two kingdoms, one aspect was supplying Sea Kings as goods, while the other was providing more economic opportunities for self-sufficiency.
Building this system required money.
Additionally, he planned to gradually absorb civilians willing to gamble on the future and work hard for happiness.
Settling these unemployed people would also require vast sums of money.
Then there was the entertainment city under construction.
"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."
The entertainment city was a crucial part of his plan to extract wealth from the nobles.
But to build an entertainment city attractive enough, massive investments were necessary.
In short, he was desperately short of money—and not just a small amount.
"I hope you won't regret it."
Reddy's firm stance left Tsuru baffled, but she had no choice but to accept reality. She then shifted focus and began negotiating the price for the prisoners.
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