After a week of cleanup work.
Except for those who had to remain on duty, everyone from the ship had already moved into Midnight Town to live, restoring life to what had once been a gloomy and lifeless town.
With Fujitora and the Pokémon working together, the dock had not only expanded to more than three times its original size, but the water depth had also doubled.
"The first step of settling into Sleeping Island is more or less complete. From here on, we'll take it slow."
Even at full count, they had only a little over two thousand people. They couldn't even fill Midnight Town, let alone develop the entire Sleeping Island. Cleaning up the dock and the town was enough for now—the rest could be handled gradually.
Vane gathered the more important members from the ship.
Moria, Hancock, Bonez, Tant, Lena… the combatants.
Meowth, Caesar, Stella, Tesoro, Monet, Baccarat, Martha and the others who were currently non-combatants with special professions or management roles.
Fujitora also sat to the side as an observer.
"Everyone, we finally have a foothold in the New World. Even if it's not a very large territory."
Sleeping Island held great significance for Vane and the others. It was their first, after all.
Even if they gained larger territories in the future, Sleeping Island would still remain one of their central hubs. Besides, its location wasn't bad—positioned around the middle of the New World, just behind the Big Mom Pirates.
As for its size… well, if agriculture wasn't heavily prioritized, Sleeping Island could actually accommodate a large population. Throughout history, agriculture had always consumed the most land, and for the same area, industrial output generally produced more value.
Still, agriculture was indispensable.
Just look at the Six-Gold Kingdom Vane had passed by in the West Blue before. Despite possessing powerful metallurgical capabilities and rich resources, its development had long been restricted due to a lack of agricultural production.
That was why it had set its sights on the neighboring homeland of Perona—the Nanami Kingdom.
Vane could actually follow the Six-Gold Kingdom's example and turn Sleeping Island into a commercial and industrial center, while developing agriculture on other islands instead.
"Now that we have territory, we can't drift freely at sea like before. And our numbers are steadily growing…"
"So we need to reorganize our administrative departments."
There wouldn't be much change to the combat division. They would continue using the structure established on Fish-Man Island—Pillar-level Captains would lead ships into battle, other captains would provide support, and the team responsible for training the younger generation would relocate to land.
The primary focus would be on the administrative departments.
"We're establishing a Medical Department. Martha will serve as Minister of Medical Affairs, organizing everyone skilled in medicine to treat patients, compile medical texts, and build a system to cultivate medical talent."
Medicine was indispensable. Even someone as strong as Roger had ultimately died indirectly due to illness.
Martha nodded excitedly. Titles didn't matter much to her—she had once been a princess. What truly thrilled her was compiling medical books and cultivating future doctors.
For a physician, these were the two greatest honors: writing authoritative works and having students spread far and wide… actually, that was probably something most people desired.
"I guarantee I'll complete the mission."
Martha had been one of the earliest crew members to follow him. It was only fitting for her to become a department head.
Vane turned to Tesoro. "Tesoro, your Devil Fruit ability and your personal talents both make you more than qualified to serve as our Minister of Finance… If you agree, I don't mind you pursuing some hobbies on the side."
By hobbies, he was obviously referring to Tesoro's dream of becoming a singer.
Vane fully supported that. If his finance minister could hold concerts and make money, what could be better?
"I am very willing."
Tesoro's loyalty needed no doubt. To him, Vane was the sun.
"Stella… Minister of Arts and Culture. Lead the music band and select talented individuals to arrange performances."
Material needs had to be met, but spiritual needs mattered as well. He had purchased a music band at an auction, and among the slaves he had rescued were many who were skilled in singing and dancing. Selecting enough for performances would be easy.
"Meowth will concurrently serve as Minister of Industrial Production and continue scientific research."
"Caesar will concurrently serve as Minister of Agricultural Production and continue scientific research."
There were too few capable managers under him for now, so the two of them would have to hold dual roles temporarily. Once they cultivated enough subordinates, they could devote themselves fully to scientific pursuits.
"Baccarat and Monet will remain my secretaries. If there's any task or issue and you can't find me immediately, you can approach either of them first."
Baccarat and Monet's standing within the team was rooted in Vane. Assigning them independent posts might not even be something they wanted.
"We're establishing a Confession Prison, to be managed by Selibe… Anyone who commits crimes or requires interrogation will be handed over to Selibe."
The Hypnosis-Hypnosis Fruit was perfect for interrogation. A prison also suited Selibe's somewhat neurotic personality.
Medical, agriculture, industry, finance, arts, prison… The only thing missing for now was education.
But education already had the beginnings of a framework. His training policies included teaching children literacy and physical techniques. Those who failed to master combat skills could specialize in cultural studies and later be diverted into other departments for professional training.
In this world, strength was the foundation. The phenomenon of prioritizing martial ability over scholarship would likely continue within Vane's team for some time.
Tesoro raised his hand. "Vane, if we divide things this way, we're severely short on manpower."
The Finance Department, Arts Department, and Medical Department were manageable—for now, even combined, they wouldn't exceed two hundred people.
But agricultural production and industrial production were entirely different matters. Both required significant manpower.
Though Vane's team appeared to have two thousand members, a large portion were combatants. Add in the many children, subtract the special professions and logistical personnel…
That left only a few hundred people available for allocation.
With so few, assigning them to agriculture or industry alone would already feel insufficient, let alone sustaining both departments.
"That's indeed a problem… Our numbers will grow gradually. Better to build the framework first so we're not scrambling later."
Population was the most frustrating constraint. With only two thousand people under Vane's command, waiting for natural growth was completely unrealistic.
They needed external settlers.
There were only two types of external population—incoming voluntarily or being brought in passively. The former was extremely difficult, though they would have to make the effort and leave the results to fate.
The latter meant people they brought back themselves. Honestly, for a considerable period ahead, this would remain Sleeping Island's primary population source.
It wasn't overconfidence on Vane's part—others were simply too "laid-back." Pirates destroyed nations and homes, and the World Government did the same. As long as he paid attention, he would find refugees and slaves every year.
If it came down to it, he even knew of a few outright slave states—though they were a bit far away. The most famous one was in the East Blue.