One Piece: Start by Rebuilding Kuri

Earning ten gold coins in a day is quite a substantial income.

If one were to save every penny without spending on food or drink, in ten days, they could accumulate a hundred gold coins, which would be enough to buy a decent house in a good area of the Flower Capital.

However, earning this much money doesn't necessarily mean they can save it all. Although Oden and his companions are strong, they also consume a lot of food. Even Izou and Kikunojo, who appear slender, eat quite a bit.

Out of the ten gold coins earned, at least two would be spent on food. Additionally, taxes are due at the beginning of the next month.

The personal income tax in Kuri is a progressive tax, meaning the more they earn, the higher the tax rate they have to pay. When combined with other miscellaneous expenses, they're lucky if they can save three gold coins a day.

Currently, Kin'emon and the others are still just small-time ruffians, illiterate and prone to spending money recklessly. It wouldn't be surprising if they decided to splurge on drinks and entertainment one day.

Still, saving three gold coins a day is something most ordinary families wouldn't even dare to dream of.

For an average family, the total monthly income might not even reach three gold coins. Just think about it—if you only needed to work for thirty days to buy a house outright in the capital, what would that mean?

Most people spend their entire lives without even earning enough for a down payment.

Two years ago, when he was still in the Flower Capital, he could only earn sixty silver coins a day.

After assigning work to Oden, Dan didn't pay much attention to them. He simply had some soldiers check on them occasionally to ensure they didn't cause any trouble.

Dan wasn't worried about Oden causing trouble. The more trouble he stirred up, the more debt he would accumulate. The more debt he had, the longer he would have to work to pay it off, which meant more contributions to Kuri's infrastructure.

As for letting Oden set sail, there was no rush. At this point in time, even the future Pirate King, Roger, was still relatively unknown. Even Rocks hadn't fallen yet, and the Great Pirate Era hadn't begun.

Time was on Dan's side. He didn't need to rush anything. Over the next forty years, he could steadily build up his strength to prepare for the coming upheaval.

Forty years could change a lot of things. Thinking this, Dan couldn't help but glance at Yukiko, who was sitting shyly in his lap. Recalling how the beauties of this world aged, Dan shuddered.

"What's wrong, Dan-sama?" Yukiko asked, puzzled.

"Nothing, just thinking about some things," Dan replied, shaking his head. He was pondering how to achieve eternal youth.

Time was a merciless blade, especially in this world of pirates.

Think about Big Mom, Stussy, or even the old mermaid lady Luffy and his crew met in Water 7. These women were once stunning beauties in their youth, but age had transformed them into something entirely different.

Since he planned to turn this Wano Country into Inazuma, it was only natural that, as the future ruler of this land, he would seek eternity.

'I wonder if this world is connected to the worlds of the movies and games. If it is, there might be many ways to achieve eternal youth,' Dan thought.

Items like Pure Gold, the Return-Return Fruit, and the Vampire Fruit all had such capabilities. However, these were either from special episodes, movies, or games, and didn't appear in the main TV series.

Even without these, Dan still had options like the Op-Op Fruit and the Time-Time Fruit.

The Op-Op Fruit could grant immortality, as confirmed in the original story, but it had significant limitations. First, the user had to awaken the fruit's powers, and the ability could only be used once, after which the user would die.

These conditions made it extremely difficult to achieve. Very few people in the world could awaken a Devil Fruit's powers, and such individuals were unlikely to willingly sacrifice their lives to grant someone else eternal life.

Moreover, once the user's powers were awakened, the Serpent Mark would likely be ineffective against them.

There was also the Time-Time Fruit.

Its user, Toki, hailed from eight hundred years ago. Toki herself didn't possess the ability to grant eternal life, but her mastery of the fruit's powers was likely limited.

The Time-Time Fruit was an incredibly rare fruit related to time. Aside from its seemingly useless time-travel ability, there were likely other untapped powers.

Dan recalled that in the games, the Vampire Fruit was located in a place called Sleepy Town. He planned to investigate this at some point.

Although the exact location was unclear, knowing the name was a good start. He could have Kurozumi Higurashi gather information while she was out at sea. However, it was possible that Sleepy Town didn't exist in this world, or that the Vampire Fruit wasn't there.

For now, aside from this fruit, the other methods seemed out of reach.

Pure Gold had long been swallowed by a Sea King capable of devouring entire islands, making it nearly impossible to find. The user of the Return-Return Fruit, Ain, hadn't even been born yet, and Toki, the user of the Time-Time Fruit, hadn't traveled to this era.

Truthfully, Dan wasn't overly fixated on immortality, but he didn't want to succumb to aging.

The whirlpool that would shake the world wouldn't appear for another forty years. By then, a new era would truly begin. It would be a tragedy if he couldn't witness it due to old age.

Dan had an aversion to aging. As one grew older, many things became harder to accomplish.

In this world, power constantly shifted, and those at the top were always replaced by the rising generation.

Moreover, as the body aged, the mind could also become weary and stagnant, like an old, withered tree clinging to its roots but unable to sprout new branches.

That said, Dan didn't devote all his energy to this pursuit. He understood that power was the foundation. Without it, even eternal life would only make one a pawn in someone else's game.

"Yukiko, the next time we trade with Hakumai, have our people contact Orochi. Tell him to have Higurashi secretly gather information about Sleepy Town. But there's no need to be too thorough."

"Understood, Dan-sama," Yukiko replied, her face flushed as Dan's hand slipped into her collar.

She lowered her head, her cheeks red.

The stream flowed through the dark forest.

Despite the rising desire, Yukiko bit her lip and suppressed her feelings, forcing herself to maintain a serious demeanor.

Yet, her restrained expression only made her more alluring.