According to the information Shakky gathered, the currency currently circulating in Wano was mostly oval-shaped gold and silver coins. One gold coin was worth about 10,000 Belly, and a silver coin around 100 Belly. In rural areas, rough copper coins worth only 1 Belly still circulated, though they weren’t widely accepted.
In a poverty-stricken future, even a small pot sold at the tool shop would cost "30 silver," while a large pot went for "60 silver." Just five silver coins could cover an extremely poor family’s entire week’s living expenses in a rundown town like Kuri.
Defeating Wano’s so-called number one sumo wrestler, Yokozuna Urashima, could net a dreamlike 500 gold coins.
The rarest currency, though, was platinum. Some major aristocratic families were now offering a full platinum coin as a reward for capturing the pure-blooded offspring of the Flower Capital’s Mountain God—the little white boar.
Just one platinum coin in the Flower Capital could buy a luxurious mansion, equivalent to about 1,000 gold coins.
This made "Little Jew" Shakky instantly smell an enormous currency loophole. Wano was rich in gold and silver mines, which lowered their value, but platinum was scarce, skyrocketing its worth.
Each oval-shaped small gold coin from Wano actually weighed a full tael—about 50 grams! Even with Brook’s group bringing in a hundred catties of gold, they’d only be able to exchange it for 1,000 gold coins—the equivalent of just one platinum.
"Little Jew" Shakky was outraged by this massive loss but quickly spotted a golden opportunity. If they brought in gold from the outside world and spent it here, they’d suffer a heavy loss. A hundred catties of gold would only be worth 10 million Belly in Wano, while outside in the greater seas, it would fetch at least 2 billion Belly!
The price difference was insane. Was this the hidden flaw behind Wano’s policy of national isolation?
Naturally, "Little Jew" Shakky wasn’t about to take that loss lying down. She immediately dug out her favorite platinum jewelry—along with forcibly raiding Charlotte Linlin and Stussy’s collections of platinum accessories. She even snatched up some precious medical tools from Crocus, along with experimental materials from Silva and Tom!
Using "Lightning Metallurgy," Redfield helped her melt everything down and forge more than ten platinum oval coins—worth over 10,000 gold coins! It was insane—absolutely insane!!
There was no way she was going to lose her family’s gold. No way. She was going to profit off Wano’s gold! She was going to play the forex market, dominate it, and become the richest woman in the world!!
"Little Jew" Shakky trembled all over, unable to stop picturing mountains of gold coins.
Brook, too, seemed to realize this was the perfect method to economically invade Wano—completely destabilizing their financial system.
A great man once said: At 10% profit, they stir restlessly.At 50%, they risk it all.At 100%, they trample all laws.At 300%, they’ll dare the gallows themselves.
And now?The profits here were over 1000%. No wonder "Little Jew" Shakky was practically ecstatic and even Brook himself was getting excited.
Still, they had work to do.
With over 10,000 gold coins from Shakky’s platinum conversion, Brook began recruiting samurai on the busiest streets of the Flower Capital.
The Hell Pirates alone didn’t have enough manpower to fully occupy Kuri’s six or seven towns.They needed helpers—for suppression, garrison duty, blockades.
Fortunately, Hyougoro brought more than a hundred underworld followers to pledge allegiance to Brook. They would serve as Kuri’s new managers—a massive leap for them.
Meanwhile, Antonio hauled a Den Den Mushi from the Golden Ark down to the streets, setting up a recruitment drive with a massive banner:
"Recruiting Justice Samurai! Expedition to Kuri! Bring peace to the people of Kuri!"
"Great Swordmasters + Ryuo: 1000 gold!"
"Swordmasters + Ryuo: 100 gold!"
"Samurai with Haki: 50 gold!"
"Oi! What the hell?! You only want samurai who know Haki and Ryuo?!"
"Are you looking down on us?! Even joining a crusade against Kuri has these crazy requirements now?!"
A crowd of samurai grumbled furiously, realizing they weren’t even qualified to make money.
But Brook wasn’t here to throw gold around.
If it were just about brute force, the Hell Pirates could’ve crushed Kuri without help. No, their real goal was to learn Ryuo.
By hiring experts, they could practice and master it, and maybe even lure a few Ryuo users into joining them permanently.
Seeing Brook throwing money at skilled samurai, Shogun Kozuki Sukiyaki frowned. No interest in low-ranking samurai? There weren’t many samurai with Haki, let alone Ryuo mastery. How the hell were they planning to put together an army?
Sukiyaki had originally hoped Brook’s group would recruit en masse, burning through their gold while hiring hordes of ordinary samurai—letting the people of Wano make a quick fortune.
Now it seemed they only wanted the strongest.
"Only hiring the strong, huh? You better not be thinking about building your own faction of vassals...Otherwise, I’ll have to question your true intentions."
Sukiyaki knew very well—these elite samurai would never submit easily. Even he couldn’t force them to serve under him.
In Wano’s underworld, strength ruled supreme. Freedom was their creed. Everyone wanted to be the boss, and no samurai wanted to be shackled under another’s command.
They’d rather swagger through the red-light districts and bathhouses than serve anyone else.
Most Ryuo masters already had their own territories. If not ruling a whole town, they were at least bossing around a few neighborhoods. What fool would throw that away just to become a hired sword?
Still, there were a few exceptions.
Samurai whose families had fallen from grace. Warriors who had lost their turf in battles for supremacy. Or wandering masters who simply loved freedom and sought some extra coin.
By afternoon, after hours of recruitment, they managed to sign up a dozen shabby-looking but proud samurai.
Despite their poverty, they clung to the way of the samurai—refusing to steal or rob.
Among them were a few once-glorious swordmasters whose families had been stripped of all wealth and status.Still, they burned with a fierce desire to restore their family’s honor and revive their clans.
Every one of them underwent simple sparring tests against Redfield, Newgate, or Shiki. They were the real deal.
Brook was convinced: Once Kuri became an economic powerhouse, these fallen samurai would settle there, planting the seeds for a new generation of clans—and possibly Brook’s own loyal forces.
Their hunger for honor made them easy to sway.
Especially with the enormous white gold "forex loophole" looming before them...
Brook could already see it: Kuri was destined to rise."Little Jew" Shakky would drain the gold from Wano’s heart to fuel it.
And the new era would belong to them.
+122 Chapters on p@treon/tambeerg