Marine Headquarters' Stance

"So this is what you meant by coming to me whenever you ran into pirates?" Seeing Kuro's corpse on the ground, Smoker immediately flew into a rage. "This is the promise you made me?"

"But didn't I kill him?" Zhou Qi explained.

"That was just good luck! What if he had been a Logia Type Devil Fruit User? What if he was immune to bullets? What if you missed?" Smoker truly was furious. Kuro was no nobody. In the East Blue, where the average bounty was only three million, Kuro was undeniably a major pirate!

If anything had happened to these two, he would have had no way to answer to Tashigi's father, much less Sengoku!

Zhou Qi scratched his head. He had actually been quite confident, because he knew Kuro very well, and he had already filled the area around them with Space Threads invisible to the naked eye.

But after thinking it over, Zhou Qi chose to lower his head.

"I'm sorry..."

"Sigh..." Smoker let out a sigh. "Come back with me first. I'll apply to Headquarters and have someone else sent to protect you!"

"Huh?" Zhou Qi hurriedly shook his head. "How could that work?"

"You're far too bold, but your strength doesn't match your courage..." Smoker shook his head. "Kuro alone was already an enemy Tashigi couldn't handle, not to mention that there are countless pirates stronger than Kuro on these seas."

"But don't I have you?" Zhou Qi quickly said. "If we run into pirates, I'll summon you!"

"But did you summon me?" Smoker pointed at Kuro on the deck.

"But I could handle him!" Zhou Qi said.

"I already told you, that was just luck. Can you guarantee that every enemy you encounter can be dealt with this way?" Smoker asked.

"Um..." Zhou Qi thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't!"

After all, there were plenty of powerful people who weren't afraid of bullets. As for Logia Types, Ace would appear next year, and Crocodile in the future. He might run into either of them.

"These seas are vast, and there are countless strong people. There are some I have to treat cautiously myself, let alone you two!" Smoker said. "You won this time, but what about next time? Or the time after that? Can you be this lucky every time?"

"I'll change, okay? From now on, whenever we run into an enemy, as long as Tashigi says the word, I'll summon you immediately!" Zhou Qi hurriedly said.

"Can you guarantee it?" Smoker asked coldly.

"If there's a next time, you can take Tashigi back directly, all right?" Zhou Qi hurriedly raised his hand.

"Hmph!" Smoker nodded, then added, "It doesn't have to be an enemy. As long as it's a danger you can't handle, you can call me. Like Sea Kings or something!"

"What if it's a Shichibukai? Or one of the Four Emperors?" Zhou Qi asked.

"You think you can run into a Shichibukai?" Smoker rolled his eyes. "The Shichibukai only prey on pirates. They won't attack you. As for the Four Emperors, as long as you don't go to the New World, you won't run into them!"

"Well, just in case!" Zhou Qi said. "Are all Shichibukai really law-abiding and completely harmless to civilians?"

"Uh..." Smoker scratched his head. That really wasn't certain. Other than Hawk Eyes, the Shichibukai were all pirates by origin. Expecting them to obey the law was like expecting pigs to fly.

"Try not to provoke them anyway!" Smoker thought for a moment, then said, "Of course, if you really do face one, I certainly won't be afraid!"

"You really are a dutiful Marine!" Zhou Qi gave him a thumbs-up in praise.

He was not just flattering him. Smoker's reputation was universally recognized. He had more passion than Aokiji, more warmth than Akainu, and was more diligent than Kizaru. He was also good at judging people, righteous in character, and exceptionally kind to his subordinates.

It could be said that aside from being a bit lacking in strength, he had practically no flaws!

"It's just my duty!" Smoker waved a hand. "Open the gate wider. I'll have someone take these pirates away!"

"What about the bounty..."

"You'll get it when you return to Loguetown!"

Zhou Qi nodded. He did not know about other Marines, but Smoker certainly would not pocket his bounty.

"Oh, right. Didn't you want Kuro's treasure? What, should I leave some behind for you?" Smoker asked again.

Tashigi had just told him everything that had happened here.

"Forget it, I was just asking!" Zhou Qi waved his hand.

If Kuro had really been rich, he would not have needed to scheme for the Tannis family's wealth. And Zhou Qi had control of the Amoxicillin sales channel, along with Sildenafil in the future. He would only become richer than the Tannis family.

He had no use for Kuro's meager scraps.

"Fine!" Smoker nodded. "Then I'll take it all. As for the bounty, do you still want gold?"

"If possible, gold would of course be better!" Zhou Qi said.

"No problem. I'll exchange it for you when I get back!"

Smoker soon left, taking the several dozen pirates of the Kuro Pirates with him.

They did leave behind a ship. Kuro's pirate ship was quite impressive, a three-masted sailing vessel two sizes larger than the Going Merry.

However, Zhou Qi had no interest in such an antique sailing ship. He had the captain tie a rope to it and tow it along, planning to sell it to the Tannis Trading Company later.

Far away at Marineford, at the end of the Grand Line, a fax arrived at the Chief of Staff's office.

"Chief of Staff, intelligence from Captain Smoker has arrived!"

"Bring it over!"

Zhou Qi knew that Amoxicillin's effects had attracted the attention of Marine Headquarters, but this was, after all, a relatively feudal era. Compared to a technology, the Marine higher-ups valued him as a person even more.

As a result, Marine Headquarters had specially created a file on him and sent people to search for the so-called country of ceramics, technology, and etiquette.

Furthermore, everything he said and did was reported by Smoker to Marine Headquarters for psychological profiling.

Because they had never been able to find that country, they could also learn about it indirectly through Zhou Qi's words and actions.

"Law-abiding and completely harmless to civilians, two new expressions..." Looking at the two new idioms in the report, Tsuru pulled out an earlier piece of intelligence.

A true man born between heaven and earth, how could he live forever beneath another?

A true man should carry a three-foot sword and achieve immortal merit.

The edge of a treasured sword is honed through grinding; the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold.

A graceful lady is the ideal match for a gentleman.

Japanese language and Chinese belonged to the same language family. Although Tsuru had never heard these proverbs or poems Zhou Qi spoke, she could grasp their meanings from the words themselves, so there was naturally no obstacle to understanding them.

But after understanding them, she could not help being amazed. These poems were not only elegantly structured, but also concise and profound, containing all kinds of ideals.

For example, the two lines about a true man were filled with boldness and a spirit of striving forward.

"A graceful lady is the ideal match for a gentleman" reflected the fiery feelings of a young man drawn to beauty and boldly pursuing it.

"Law-abiding" described the people, while "completely harmless to civilians" described the rulers...

Could a nation where rulers were completely harmless to civilians and citizens obeyed the law, where those above and below complemented one another, really exist?

Thinking of the World Government's hundred-odd member nations, Tsuru shook her head. No, it did not.

It did not exist among the World Government's member nations, nor did it exist among the non-member nations.

Amazon Lily came somewhat close...

But Amazon Lily had no men, for one thing, and they did not have so many famous swords either...

"Could this country really exist?"

Tsuru could not believe it either. The World Government's control over this world was considerable. Even for countries it did not control, it possessed basic intelligence. How could a nation that no one had ever heard of possibly emerge?

It was equally unrealistic to treat him as a novelist and assume all of this was fabricated.

After all, capsules were not something a novelist could make, and medicine that treated inflammation was not something a single person could develop either, not even Vegapunk...

Well, perhaps Vegapunk could, but wasn't Vegapunk still under the World Government's control?

Moreover, she had even more evidence in hand.

For example, that range hood.

She had already asked Vegapunk about it. Its principles were not complicated, and Vegapunk could draw a structural diagram in ten minutes.

But before this, such a thing did not exist in any country. There were similar products, but they were clearly not as advanced as Zhou Qi's.

Tapping on the desk, Tsuru slowly began to write her reply.

"Focus on winning him over. Information regarding the Ceramic Country is to be classified as top secret and must not be disclosed without orders. As for the Amoxicillin price and trading method proposed by Zhou Qi, Marine Headquarters has discussed the matter and decided to agree. Ask him to deliver ten thousand boxes as soon as possible for testing..."

Whether such a country truly existed was not something the Marines needed to worry about. As long as the medicine was real and he was not a swindler, that was enough.

As for Zhou Qi, since he was unwilling to join the Marines, there was no need to force him. As long as he did not become a pirate, they would leave him alone.

Besides, wasn't Tashigi there to keep him tied down?

"I never expected there to be such a method..." This matter gave Tsuru an idea. She had not expected beautiful women in the Marines to influence some people's thinking...

Pirates were certainly beyond saving, but for powerful people with unclear allegiances, or Bounty Hunters, perhaps they could send beautiful female Marines to invite them?

They certainly could not give the women away, but they could give those powerful people a chance to pursue beautiful female Marines.

After all, a graceful lady was the ideal match for a gentleman.