Buster Call

"Nothing. Gion, you must have misheard." Kujaku buried her head in her chest.

"Let's hope so."

Gion dried her wet hair as she returned to the room.

"Kujaku, you're here."

Lin Qi looked at the girl on the sofa and fell into thought.

Since he had promised Granny Tsuru, and he had nothing better to do, should he try correcting her?

"Are you willing to give up your strange hobby now?"

As usual, the moment he asked, Kujaku shook her head like a rattle drum.

"No."

Lin Qi's face darkened. He sat on the sofa and patted his lap. "Come lie down. Get over my lap."

"What are you doing? Ow~"

Kujaku instinctively took half a step back, panic on her face.

"Your grandmother said that if you didn't behave, I could punish you however I wanted."

Remembering Vice Admiral Tsuru's words, Kujaku shuddered and hurriedly changed her tune.

"I'll change, I'll change, okay? Don't hit me. I only just managed to get back on my feet."

"Can you really change?"

"I can!" Kujaku nodded her little head rapidly.

"Pfft~"

Momousagi, who was leaning against the door and watching the show, laughed. "Lin Qi, don't listen to this girl. She's the best at lying. Let me help you instead."

"Gion~"

With her little scheme exposed, Kujaku panicked inside.

Every little thought she had was seen through in front of Gion.

"How are you going to help?" Lin Qi asked curiously.

"It's simple. Just make her sincerely admit that she'll change."

Gion opened her hand, and a cloud of pink gas emerged from her palm.

"I ate the Paramecia Scent-Scent Fruit. It lets me create all kinds of perfumes."

"This is Truth-Telling Perfume. Unless your willpower is Admiral-level, once you're exposed to it, you can only tell the truth."

"Gion, that's amazing."

Lin Qi praised her. He had not expected the Scent-Scent Fruit could be developed like this.

"No, Gion!"

Watching Gion approach, Kujaku fell into despair.

A while later, Kujaku was pressed over Lin Qi's lap like a child who had made a mistake, while Gion released a cloud of pink gas that enveloped her.

"I'll ask you one more time. Are you willing to give up your bad hobby?"

"No."

The moment those words came out, Kujaku immediately covered her own mouth.

What was going on? She had clearly wanted to say yes, but the words changed as they left her mouth.

"Hmph, it looks just like Gion said. You're not obedient at all." Lin Qi's expression turned unfriendly.

Some time later.

Kujaku crouched in the corner, her eyes brimming with tears.

And so, Lin Qi's vacation passed day by day.

His daily routine was: eat, sleep, and hit Kujaku.

The four of them ate together, since Kujaku only went home at night.

In the blink of an eye, twelve days passed.

That day, Kujaku hummed a cheerful tune as she skipped into the room and pushed open the door.

The moment she entered, she obediently climbed onto Lin Qi's lap.

"I'm ready," she said impatiently.

The corner of Lin Qi's mouth twitched. "I haven't even asked yet. What are you ready for?"

"Then hurry up and ask, big brother," Kujaku said nonchalantly.

Lin Qi called Gion over, and the pink gas controlled Kujaku.

"I'm asking you: are you willing to give up your hobby?"

"I am."

Lin Qi and Gion nodded. It seemed this girl had really changed.

Seeing Kujaku lying over his lap with an anxious look on her face, unwilling to get up, Lin Qi suddenly had an idea and asked:

"What is this about?"

"Please do whatever you want, big brother." Kujaku's large eyes were full of anticipation.

"It's over." Lin Qi slapped his forehead. "How am I supposed to explain this to Vice Admiral Tsuru?"

"I don't even know if this counts as successful treatment. How am I supposed to explain it to Vice Admiral Tsuru..."

Tell her congratulations, her granddaughter's hobby had changed?

Gion also realized something was wrong. "Lin Qi, you can't hit Kujaku anymore."

"I think so too."

Lin Qi pushed Kujaku away, but she immediately jumped back onto him.

"Big brother~"

Lin Qi: "..."

For the rest of the day, Kujaku followed Lin Qi around like a little tagalong.

Even deep into the night, she refused to leave.

He had never seen such an outrageous request.

Such a pretty little girl, and yet...

"Rear Admiral Lin Qi, Fleet Admiral Sengoku requests your presence."

A Marine soldier hurried over.

"Got it. Go back."

"Yes!"

This sudden situation was likely no simple matter, so Lin Qi first explained the reason to Gion and Hina.

Just as he was about to leave, another Marine soldier came running over.

"Rear Admiral Gion, we finally found you. Fleet Admiral Sengoku requests your presence."

Inside the conference room.

By the time Lin Qi and Gion arrived, five Vice Admirals and seven or eight Rear Admirals had already gathered there.

Among them, he saw Chaton and Momonga, whom he had not seen for a long time.

"We won't wait for those who haven't arrived. Listen to me," Sengoku said with a grim expression.

"The World Government has ordered us to launch a Buster Call against Mornpeng Island."

"Their crime: sheltering the Devil Child Robin and attempting to investigate the legendary hundred years of history."

"And there is conclusive evidence that they are studying ancient writing."

The moment he finished speaking, Momonga immediately questioned him.

"There is an entire country living on Mornpeng Island. Is it not too much to destroy an entire country merely because they sheltered the Devil Child?"

Momonga's words voiced the thoughts of many people.

Before Sengoku could answer, another Vice Admiral with an arrogant expression rebuked him.

"Momonga, are you questioning the World Government's orders?"

"They didn't merely shelter Robin. They also attempted to study ancient writing! Have you forgotten the Ohara Incident?"

Rudolf was a Vice Admiral loyal to the World Government, as well as a nail the World Government had planted in the Marines.

Gion gave Rudolf no face either, saying coldly, "Momonga was asking the Fleet Admiral, not you."

"Enough." Sengoku stopped their argument. "Ten Warships are already docked at the harbor. Go there immediately. Momonga will be the supreme commander for this operation."

The scale of a Buster Call included five Vice Admirals, ten Rear Admirals, over ten thousand elite Marines, and the ten finest Warships.

Its power was enough to easily destroy a country!

Lin Qi fell into thought.

The Marines had passed through three generations.

The evolution of the Marines from Steel Bone Kong to Sengoku to the later Akainu could be summed up as:

The World Government's obedient dog, a dog dissatisfied with the World Government, and a dog that talked back to the World Government.

The Marines were ultimately nothing more than a dog of the World Government.

All their military funding came from the World Government.

If they showed even a little dissatisfaction, their budget could be cut, and they would be forced to lay people off the following year.

As long as the World Government cut off their funding, the Marines would perish on their own before long.

The Marines were not Pirates. They could not go around burning, killing, and plundering.