I'm Just an Entrepreneur, So How Did I...

Just as political turmoil was brewing in the Goa Kingdom, Ma Qiao, in order to avoid suspicion, had completed his inspection and visit to the two production bases in Cocoyasi and Syrup in the East Blue and returned to the Shurima Special Economic Zone in Alabasta, where he began a pleasant gaming journey to climb the ranks with his old friends.

"Mr. Ma Qiao, it's been a long time!"

"Boss Ma Qiao, when are you going to release a new ninjutsu? When will those eyeballs go on sale?"

"Boss Ma Qiao, why is this the Year of the Dragon? I don't like dragons, I like centipedes. Could you make a special Year of the Centipede skin for my cute Mist Ninja?"

"Boss Ma Qiao..."

Inside the internet cafe, customers greeted Ma Qiao in a flurry of chatter.

The scene became chaotic for a moment.

Faced with these unreasonable demands for price reductions, Ma Qiao smiled and said, "Next time, for sure."

But among these customers, one person shouted "Boss Ma Qiao" almost through clenched teeth.

"Oh my, isn't this Mr. Crocodile!"

Ma Qiao grinned and pulled up a stool to sit next to Crocodile.

Crocodile, who has been living in Shurima for almost a year, still sports his slicked-back hair, but the premium cigar in his mouth has been replaced by the Life-Shortening Brand Cigarettes produced by the Big Bird Consortium.

Tobacco abuse is a serious problem in the world of One Piece.

There are many male characters who smoke, and many women also smoke.

For example, the old Fish-Man- woman in Water 7.

For example, Nami's adoptive mother.

And of course, there's also the Long-Legged Maid that Ma Qiao's student Yamato adopted.

Ma Qiao dislikes women who smoke; the smell of tobacco makes him lose interest.

But helping Baby5 quit smoking is really difficult.

Fortunately, thanks to the tireless efforts of Zaun's research team, they developed a menthol-flavored cigarette.

This isn't just another fake e-cigarette; it's a new type of tobacco made using genetically modified plant seeds, with added trace amounts of a Health Potion.

This kind of cigarette, while not necessarily having any health benefits, certainly won't cause any harm.

Of course, everyone in the One Piece world has an iron lung.

Smoker, Crocodile, Sanji, and even Akainu, are all heavy smokers, smoking countless cigarettes or cigars every day, yet they seem to be completely free of respiratory problems.

Once they switch to cigarettes produced by the Big Bird Consortium, their lung function might be greatly improved.

Of course, just like the Short-Lived Ghost Liquor, the Life-Shortening Brand Cigarettes also offers products at different price points for different markets.

At that time, Crocodile was smoking a very cheap, mid-to-low-end cigarette.

Crocodile took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled the cheap smoke.

Although he wanted to say that he missed the expensive cigars of the past, he knew that what he really thought was that this refreshing and invigorating cigarette tasted so much better than the cigars he used to smoke.

But...

Is smoking a cigar about the taste?

No!

Smoking a cigar is about taste, sophistication, and status!

Crocodile glanced at the internet cafe manager slurping instant noodles in the distance. The guy's cigarette tucked behind his ear was even better than his own, which made him furious.

Being a network administrator at Birdnet Cafe is an enviable high-income job.

Crocodile, as Shichibukai, is nominally a combat force directly under the World Government and the Navy, but in reality, he doesn't receive a single penny in salary.

Garp, Zephyr, and the mysterious masked man who recently appeared and resembles Admiral Kuzan —they are all government employees with fixed salaries!

Everyone else was just wasting their time, indulging in internet cafes, and living off their savings while the others didn't lose a single penny.

Crocodile couldn't help but lament how unfair the world was!

Most importantly, Garp and Zephyr subconsciously believed that they had plenty of savings and would never have to worry about food or drink.

But the truth is, as a middle-aged man in his forties, he did indeed own a large company with countless sums of money in his account, enough to live off for several lifetimes even if he indulged in extravagance every day.

However, unforeseen events can happen at any time, and the financial market is unpredictable.

The unexpected attack on the Celestial Dragons by Galdino caused Baroque Works' finances to plummet, and its market value evaporated instantly.

Although loyal employees Nico Robin and Ma Qiao tried to mitigate the company's losses through timely crisis management, it was too late.

As far as Crocodile knows, Baroque Works has now been acquired by the Big Bird Consortium for 15 billion Beli.

Crocodile initially had no complaints about this.

Although Baroque Works was the culmination of ten years of painstaking effort, it was ultimately nothing more than a tool for him to plot against the Alabasta Kingdom.

Since the company has gone bankrupt, cutting losses and taking the money to leave is a wise choice.

With 15 billion Beli, plus his connections and reputation, Crocodile believed he could quickly rebuild a powerful criminal organization.

However, problems soon arose.

When Crocodile tried to contact Nico Robin to reclaim his property, he was refused.

Because this money is currently pledged in the Shurima Bank, when Crocodile, as Mr. 0, tried to collect it, he was told he had to prove he was who he was.

How can Crocodile prove that he is Mr. 0?

This is almost impossible.

Because of the sensitive nature of the Ancient Weapon Pluton, Crocodile has never been involved in the management of Baroque Works in his true capacity for the past decade.

If it weren't for terrifying villains like Garp, Zephyr, or even Kuzan here, Crocodile could certainly have used his Desert Spada to show the bank clerks what it means to be the law.

Unfortunately, times have changed...

Crocodile glanced at Garp, who was shouting and engrossed in the game on the other side, and sighed.

He tried to put on a gentle expression and inquired:

"Mr. Ma Qiao, have you heard any new developments regarding the restructuring and acquisition of Baroque Works?"

"Same as always!"

Ma Qiao sighed, "Crocodile..."

"Um?"

"What's wrong, Crocodile?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Crocodile takes a deep breath.

Crocodile is.

A true hero is one who can bend and stretch!

"Crocodile..."

Ma Qiao took out a cigarette, intending to have Crocodile light it for him.

However, seeing that this man, a Sassa, had a face so gloomy it was almost dripping with water, Ma Qiao felt really embarrassed. Besides, he didn't like smoking anyway, so he casually stuffed the pack of high-end cigarettes worth three thousand Beli into his hand.

Crocodile's gloomy expression visibly softened.

Yes, Ma Qiao is still an honest and kind person!

Although he used to slack off at work, when the company was truly facing a crisis, he was the first to step forward, bravely take responsibility, and stand with the company through thick and thin.

He wasn't very respectful to himself, but you can't blame him for that, since he didn't know he was Mr. 0.

Everything is understandable!

Crocodile took out a high-end cigarette Ignite, and put it in his mouth.

The rich and wonderful flavor filled his entire nasal cavity, mouth, and lungs, making him feel unprecedentedly comfortable.

At that moment, Crocodile even felt a little like crying.

After all, this Life-Shortening Brand Cigarettes looks very expensive, but I'm afraid I won't be able to smoke any other cigarettes in the future, because smoking other ones will make me cough.

"Crocodile? Crocodile?"

Ma Qiao's call brought Crocodile back to reality.

Ma Qiao continued, "To be honest, Baroque Works is my former employer, and Mr. 0 is my mentor. It's fair to say that without Baroque Works and Mr. 0, there would be no Ma Qiao and the Big Bird Consortium today."

"Therefore, both morally and logically, I must protect Baroque Works, safeguard its assets, strictly enforce financial security, and rigorously verify witnesses. I absolutely cannot allow any unscrupulous villain to swindle Mr. 0's hard work..."

As Ma Qiao launched into a long, rambling speech, Crocodile's gaze gradually glazed over.

He had a premonition that his wealth seemed to be slipping further and further away.

However, things hadn't reached the point of despair yet. Crocodile suddenly remembered something, and his fighting spirit was rekindled.

That was his mysterious older brother.

Some time ago, Crocodile discovered by chance that the man who always wore a sand-proof mask was actually Neferutari Cobra, the current king of the Alabasta Kingdom.

It's not quite clear why a king would travel incognito to Shurima City to settle down, working as a cook while browsing websites North Blue Girls.

None of these matters.

Importantly, Crocodile discovered that King Cobra of Alabasta had simply appeared beside him without any apparent precautions.

So, if one simply uses their criminal mind, it wouldn't be difficult to find a reasonable way to directly target Cobra and steal the entire Alabasta Kingdom.

Although this method is more direct and riskier than his original plan to Operation Utopia, it achieves the same goal: as long as he succeeds in usurping the throne, that's enough.

However, stealing a country is never that easy.

He had been gestating this plan for ten years before finally devising such a grand scheme as Operation Utopia.

The plan was interrupted by an unexpected event before it could be implemented, and it died in the womb.

This time, I must plan more carefully and cautiously; this massive project of stealing a country absolutely cannot afford to go wrong again.

Just as Crocodile was sighing and lamenting how difficult it was to be a pirate, and even more difficult to be a pirate who steals a country, Garp, the old scoundrel, suddenly walked over with a strange expression, holding Den Den Mushi in his hand.

"Garp, don't push your luck! I already fought you in three dungeons last night, so I can't do anything about it today. I need to get some rest!"

Crocodile stood up in alarm. "And if you look at the time, isn't it just a few minutes until your daily, rain or shine, training session?"

"That's right, that's right. It'll be time for my lovely disciple and me to train soon, so I won't have time to help you level up."

Garp shook his head, walked past Crocodile, came to Ma Qiao's side, and handed him the Den Den Mushi with a strange expression:

"Scarf Kid, turns out we're from the same hometown! Why didn't you say so sooner?"

"You mean the Goa Kingdom in the East Blue?"

Ma Qiao shrugged. "Those are all very distant relatives. I'm of a very high generation over there. I'm afraid that if we sort out the family tree later, Garp and I won't be able to talk about our lineage as equals..."

You little rascal!

Garp laughed heartily, slamming his iron fists into Ma Qiao's shoulders with a resounding clang of steel clashing.

"My seniority is extremely high, you don't need to worry about that."

"Brother Garp, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Ma Qiao asked knowingly.

Well...

The strange look on Garp's face intensified. He stared at Ma Qiao, looking him up and down to make sure he didn't have that nauseating aristocratic air about him, before finally saying:

"The Goa Kingdom is in political turmoil. Based on the will of the former King Sally of the Goa Kingdom, the certification of the Outlook Family, and the impartial mediation of the World Government, it has been decided that you will become the Regent of the Goa Kingdom!"

???

Crocodile, still pondering how to seize the country, raised his head, his intelligent eyes filled with question marks.