"Class is starting!"
"..."
"Class is starting!"
"..."
Vivian: (╬￣皿￣)
"How many times do I have to say it? When I say 'class is starting,' you stand up and say 'stand up,' then actually stand up. Are you deaf? Are you deaf?"
With that, he swung his sword, sending a flash of lightning that cracked the newly built classroom wall.
Level 1 and 2 prisoners: =????=????(●???●|||)
"Let's try again. Class is starting!"
"Stand up!"
"Good morning, everyone."
"Good morning, Chief Warden!"
"Sit down."
Satisfied, Vivian nodded as the prisoners sat upright in their seats. He walked to the blackboard and wrote four large characters: "Labor Reform."
"I've reviewed your files. Some of you have been here for a few months, others for over ten years. And what have you done in those ten years?"
"Besides eating, drinking, and sleeping, you've done nothing. The government spends over a billion Berries annually just to support you."
"Is that fair? It's clearly not. You've committed so many crimes, and now you're being fed and housed for free. Where in the world does that happen?"
Vivian knocked on the blackboard, startling the pirates like Buggy, who were dozing off.
"So, I submitted a proposal to the higher-ups to reform the system. Starting tonight, all prisoners in Impel Down must participate in learning and working. Of course, you can refuse, but those who do will be executed to reduce the prison's expenses."
His words shocked every prisoner in the classroom.
Was Vivian making this up?
Of course not.
Two months ago, when the school was being built, he had already submitted this proposal to the World Government through Magellan and Smoker.
As expected, the government approved it, seeing the detailed proposal and the potential cost savings.
With this approval, Magellan didn't care whether Vivian was building or demolishing in Level 6, as long as he didn't let the prisoners escape.
After all, dealing with his daily stomach issues was hard enough, and he was already worried about the punishment for Shiryu's escape under his watch.
"As for the work, I've discussed it with Director Magellan and Deputy Director Hannyabal. You'll learn cooking, craftsmanship, brewing, forging, farming, and more."
Vivian had it all planned. With thousands of prisoners, it was a waste of resources to keep them idle. Instead, he would turn them into "factory workers," adopting a prison labor system to generate revenue and solve funding issues.
Currently, the prison's construction and food expenses were covered by a portion of the profits from the Donquixote Family. However, this portion had to support both Kensamia Island and Impel Down, which wasn't enough. Hence, Vivian came up with this plan to make the prisoners generate income.
He had the skills, and the prisoners could improve their living conditions by learning from him. It was a win-win situation.
"Of course, these skills aren't free. We'll provide appropriate rewards based on the 'quantity' and 'quality' of the goods you produce," Vivian continued.
"What kind of rewards?" a prisoner asked.
"Food vouchers, drink vouchers, cigarettes, alcohol, and everyday clothing items are all within the range of rewards."
Vivian spoke, and the prisoners' eyes began to light up.
What kind of food did they eat every day?
Although the ingredients were relatively fresh, the chef who cooked for the prisoners had terrible culinary skills. The food was almost inedible, like pig slop. It was unclear whether the chef did this on purpose to punish them or if his cooking skills were just that bad. So, when they heard they could order whatever they wanted, including drinks, most of them couldn't sit still.
"I'll learn, I'll learn!"
"Me too."
"I love drinking. Teach me how to brew alcohol. I promise I won't drink it while brewing."
"Quiet down, everyone." Vivian gestured for silence and continued, "Today's lesson is forging swords. Follow me to the boiler room on the third floor, and I'll teach you blacksmithing. When someone can forge a standard military sword, they will pass. For every fifty swords forged, you will receive a meal voucher. For every twenty swords, you will get a drink voucher."
"Of course, cigarettes and alcohol are more expensive. Forge over two hundred swords, and you can exchange them with me."
The prisoners were eager to stand up and rush to the third floor to learn blacksmithing from him.
"Don't rush, take it slow. Besides teaching you today, I also need to teach the prisoners on levels three, four, and five in batches…"
As for the prisoners on the sixth level…
Those extremely dangerous criminals with bounties worth billions had other uses.
…
So, another half month passed.
Blacksmith apprentices, brewing apprentices, carpentry apprentices, culinary apprentices, and farming apprentices all started their jobs.
Under Vivian's 'gentle' guidance, many prisoners could already forge standard military swords of just-passing quality. Similarly, under Vivian's supervision, Buggy and his group of carpentry apprentices began building small boats that could fit into the bottom of a warship.
In the future, Buggy might only become the head of the Impel Down prison ship repair team and the circus leader. The original "Clown Emperor" might no longer exist, but you couldn't deny that Buggy was very happy after exchanging his vouchers for Vivian's homemade udon noodles.
While Vivian was busy leading a group of prisoners to plant flowers, trees, and dig farmland around the villa…
Bang!
With a loud noise, the boulder on the playground seemed to have finally been split by Zoro's palm.