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(A/N: If you want to see more chapters, go to my P@treon to see more chapters ahead. You can see more than 20 chapters ahead of everyone on my P@treon: [email protected]/VoyageToGlory
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With four million phones sold, Kael had successfully established a small but loosely connected information network across the Grand Line. He could clearly sense an increasing number of outsiders arriving in Alabasta—many of whom possessed formidable combat abilities.
Of course, famous pirates with high bounties wouldn't bother coming to a poor, desert-covered country just for mobile phones.
This led Kael to the obvious conclusion: these individuals were either agents of the World Government or members of other major forces from the Four Seas. Among them were the Vinsmoke Family and Germa 66 from the North Blue, the Donquixote Family, mafia organizations from the West Blue, and even members of the Royal Family from the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue.
In fact, once sales surpassed four million units, Kael's phone network began drawing the attention of nearly all the world's major powers—especially the World Government and the Navy.
Kael had more than enough memory capacity, so he refused to let this god-given opportunity go to waste. Whenever possible, he downloaded abilities from those powerful figures. However, when such opportunities were scarce, he could only lament the missed potential.
After investing considerable time and effort, he finally acquired several valuable skills. Among them, the three most powerful and useful ones stood out:
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[Top-Tier Swordsmanship (Advanced Level) – 50GB]
[Armament Haki (Intermediate Level) – 20GB]
[Observation Haki (Intermediate Level) – 20GB]
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[Author's Note: Normal skills and techniques are categorized into three levels based on mastery: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. However, this classification does not apply to Devil Fruits, Swordsmanship, or Haki.
Devil Fruits are divided into four mastery levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Awakened.
Swordsmanship is categorized into five stages:
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced (Comparable to master swordsmen like pre-Enma Zoro, Diamante, and Kin'emon), Elite Level (Comparable to grandmaster swordsmen like Ryuma, Fujitora, post-Wano Zoro, and Prime Rayleigh), and Legendary Level (Comparable to supreme swordsmen like Dracule Mihawk, Gol D. Roger, and Shanks.)
Haki is classified into four stages: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Peak.
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The swordsmanship mastery Kael obtained came from Diamante of the Donquixote Pirates. This meant that Doflamingo had already begun paying attention to Alabasta's situation. While 50GB of memory was a substantial cost, Kael felt it was a worthy investment—reaching this level of swordsmanship in one go was an undeniable profit.
Now, all he needed was to gather subordinates with high potential. With their training and his newly acquired skills, he could forge a small but formidable squad of elite swordsmen.
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[Phone Level: LV5
Current Users: 4.1 million
Memory : 220/550GB
Network: 3G Capability
Download Speed: 400KB/sec
Range: 10 km
Features: Resource Downloading | Basic App Creation | Bluetooth Transfer]
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Kael had a strong feeling that once sales reached five million units, another major system update would unlock. For now, all he could do was wait.
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Ever since Kael started exporting phones to other countries in large quantities, he knew it was only a matter of time before Alabasta attracted unwanted attention.
The current peace in Alabasta was nothing more than the calm before the storm. Once the River of Life Project was completed, it was unlikely that only Crocodile and his minions would take action against him—other powerful forces might also make their move.
The benefits and revolutionary features of mobile phones were too valuable to be left in a declining kingdom like Alabasta. However, what worried Kael the most wasn't figures like Doflamingo or the Vinsmoke Family.
Kael knew they wouldn't dare to attack Alabasta directly, given the Nefertari Family's prestigious status within the World Government. Moreover, they were intelligent enough to understand that any rash actions on their part would be immediately exposed to the public through the Ocean Headlines feature on mobile phones.
If any of these major players made a reckless move, Kael could make it public within hours. Their only realistic way to acquire the core technology behind mobile phones quickly and quietly was through assassination or coercion. But even that was nearly impossible. No matter what, Kael was not only the King of Alabasta but also a direct descendant of the original Twenty Kings who founded the World Government.
What truly worried Kael were the Yonko—more specifically, Kaido!
Kaido's personality made it clear: if he wanted something, he would stop at nothing to take it. He had no regard for the World Government or the Navy, and if he deemed it necessary, he would send his forces to seize Alabasta's resources without hesitation. Worse still, any one of his Three All-Stars could easily crush Alabasta's elite forces, including Pell and Chaka—the two strongest warriors Kael had gathered over the past few months.
If Kaido decided to invade, Alabasta's ability to withstand the attack would depend entirely on the strength Kael had managed to accumulate.
Alabasta's external threats all stemmed from one fundamental issue: lack of strength. If they had enough power, most of these problems would resolve themselves.
However, building a strong military required both time and resources—luxuries they couldn't afford to waste. Delaying the River of Life Project just to bolster the military would be an unwise decision.
That being said, military development was on the right track.
300 elite soldiers of the Oasis Guard
Four elite commanders of the Bird Clew Division
Two trusted heads of the Loyal Guard
Alabasta's military strength were growing steadily, but they were far from enough.
"Ahh… I have too much to do." Kael muttered to himself with a deep sigh. His forces were still too weak.
Despite ruling a country with a population in the tens of millions, Alabasta's military was no stronger than that of a small kingdom. It was simply too fragile.
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Kael flipped open his notes. Previously, the pages had been filled with concerns about Crocodile, the rebel army, and other looming threats.
Now, on a fresh page, he wrote down a new list of priorities:
Military Reform
Economic Reform
Administrative Reform
Infrastructure Development
The River of Life Project was merely one aspect of infrastructure reform. However, before any of these plans could be effectively implemented, military reform had to take precedence. Without a strong and disciplined army, any attempt at governance or economic improvement would be vulnerable to external interference.
With that in mind, Kael issued an immediate order:
Recalling the 600,000 troops stationed at Yoda, where they had been monitoring the 300,000-strong rebel army.
He had already formulated a comprehensive restructuring plan for these soldiers, who had previously been tasked with repelling rebel forces. Instead of leaving them as an inefficient mass, he reorganized the army into a formalized military structure:
Alabasta Royal Army – Six Divisions (Alabasta Six Corps)
Each division was commanded by one of the four elite Bird Claw warriors or the two heads of the Royal Guards.
Kael himself served as the Supreme Commander of all 600,000 troops.
This major restructuring did not go unnoticed.
Rebel leader Koza and his allies initially viewed the reorganization with suspicion. A sudden shift in military structure—especially one of this scale—could easily be interpreted as a prelude to war. However, as time passed, their concerns gradually faded.
The River of Life Project continued without interruption. The size of the military remained unchanged.
King Cobra was still actively involved in overseeing the project, further reassuring the rebels that no covert aggression was being planned.
It became evident that Kael's focus was on national reform, not war.
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Just one week after restructuring the army, Kael issued another series of major military reforms:
Selecting 600 elite soldiers to serve as Centurions, granting them Intermediate Combat Techniques. Promoting 60 warriors to the rank of Commander of Ten Thousand, granting them Advanced Combat Techniques. Allowing high-ranking officers to request new abilities from Kael based on their battlefield contributions—provided they had the necessary memory capacity.
These measures instantly boosted the combat strength of Alabasta's army.
To further enhance communication and coordination, Kael implemented technological advancements within the military:
Every soldier received a smartphone for free. Soldiers who already owned a phone were given a 5,000 Beli subsidy as compensation.
Kael developed a military-exclusive communication app called SANDCOM (Sandstorm Command).
SANDCOM: The Ultimate Military Communication Tool. Each soldier was assigned a unique military ID, which became the only official identification recognized by the Kingdom.
Through SANDCOM, soldiers could:
Access personal military records
Communicate directly with command
Most importantly, Kael could issue direct orders to all soldiers, at any time, no matter their location.
This classified app was strictly exclusive to Alabasta's military personnel. It could not be downloaded or accessed by civilians, ensuring secure military operations.
With a well-structured military, cutting-edge communication technology, and a growing elite force, Kael had taken the first step toward transforming Alabasta into an unshakable kingdom.
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Kael had initiated his grand vision by laying the foundation for a cashless economy, beginning with the military.
All military transactions were now fully digitized, allowing soldiers to purchase supplies directly through the SANDCOM app. This move streamlined logistics, reduced corruption, and ensured transparent financial management within the armed forces.
Kael even considered issuing a new national currency, separate from Beli, but that was a plan for the distant future.
One of the major flaws of the current world economy was the World Government's reckless control over Beli's supply.
The uncontrolled printing of Beli had led to severe inflation. Prices for even basic goods were absurdly high—a single newspaper cost 100 Beli, an outright economic failure.
Despite their terrifying global authority, the World Government's understanding of finance was primitive compared to Earth's advanced economies.
Traditionally, military salaries were drawn from regional taxes. However, Kael wanted to centralize military funding, ensuring stable financial resources for Alabasta's army. But achieving this required massive capital reserves—something that was still beyond reach.
Yet, Kael firmly believed that once Alabasta's full potential was unleashed, even the World Government would fear its economic and military strength.
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With domestic stability improving, Kael turned his attention toward another pressing issue—the resurgence of desert bandits.
After Crocodile was forced into hiding, these criminals crawled out of the shadows, attacking towns and villages across Alabasta. Reports of looting, slaughter, and destruction flooded the capital.
Kael decided to eliminate the problem once and for all. He deployed a portion of his military as permanent garrisons throughout Alabasta:
15 Major Cities, 15 Small Towns, 50 Villages
To cover this vast territory, 300,000 soldiers were strategically stationed across the kingdom.
To maintain combat readiness, the Six Divisions were split into two alternating groups, switching posts annually.
This decision immediately proved effective.
Within just ten days of deployment, three of the six divisions had already wiped out nearly all smaller desert bandit gangs, leaving only a few exceptionally strong criminal groups still active.
With internal security restored, Kael was finally ready to shift his focus toward economic development.
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As Kael studied the latest economic theories, he made a shocking discovery—banks did not exist in this world!
Or, at least, a proper, systematic banking system was nonexistent.
There were basic financial mechanisms, such as the ability for kingdoms to take loans from the World Government. However, these loans: Came with outrageously high interest rates. And those loans were only available to nations that were part of the World Government's Alliance.
The absence of a proper banking system in this world had created a financial void, one that was filled by ruthless loan sharks.
While kingdoms could borrow from the World Government, the high interest rates and exclusive access for alliance members made it an impossible option for common people. On the other hand, private loan sharks operated freely—but their methods were terrifying.
If a borrower failed to repay their debt, they would often face death. For the average person, both options were completely out of reach.
There wasn't a single institution in the world that functioned as a real bank.
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Kael identified two primary reasons why banks had never been created in this world.
First is the Lack of Debt Enforcement, for banks to lend money, they needed guarantees that borrowers would repay their debts.
However, given the geographical and technological limitations of this world, escaping debt was absurdly easy. There were no guarded borders between most kingdoms. People could simply move to another country to evade their debts.
The sea offered an escape route, and while pirates were a threat, careful travelers could avoid them by boarding merchant ships.
This lack of enforcement mechanisms made it impossible for a bank to function. Without a way to track and collect debts, lending money was simply too risky.
The second major issue was security, Banks are meant to store money. With vast amounts of wealth concentrated in one place, pirates would never resist the urge to plunder them. Most pirates became pirates precisely for this reason—looting and pillaging.
With no global law enforcement, any bank that dared to store large amounts of wealth would simply become a prime target for powerful pirate crews.
As a result, the wealthy had no choice but to resort to primitive methods: Hiding their wealth underground, or investing all their money into expanding businesses, fearing they would eventually be targeted by pirates.
This created a high-risk financial environment, where wealth was difficult to protect, and economic growth was limited by fear of theft.
With no banks, the private loan shark industry dominated finance. The most notorious of these was the "God of Fortune" Lu Feld, who operated an empire of usurious lending.
However, loan sharks and banks served completely different roles, Banks concentrate wealth to fund major projects and develop economies.
Loan sharks simply exploit borrowers for profit, without reinvesting in the economy.
Kael saw an opportunity. If he could establish a trustworthy, national banking system, he could revolutionize Alabasta's economy forever.
But one issue remained—protection. A bank would be useless if it couldn't be defended. If pirates or enemy forces attacked and looted it, the entire financial system would collapse before it could take root.
For Alabasta to truly become an economic powerhouse, Kael needed to ensure that any bank he created was protected by absolute strength.
"Power first. Economy second."
The foundation of wealth and stability was not currency or finance—it was military power.