Marine Headquarters' Attitude

"This is what you meant when you said you'd call me if you encountered pirates?" Seeing Kuro's corpse on the ground, Smoker's face turned red with anger. "Is this how you promised me?"

"Didn't I kill him?" Zhou Qi explained.

"That was just good luck! What if he was a Logia Type Devil Fruit User? What if he wasn't afraid of bullets? What if you missed?" Smoker was genuinely furious. Kuro was no nobody; in the East Blue, where the average bounty was only three million, Kuro was a genuine big-time pirate!

If anything had happened to these two, he wouldn't have been able to explain it to Tashigi's father, let alone Sengoku!

Zhou Qi scratched his head. He was actually very confident because he knew Kuro extremely well, and he had already filled the area around him with invisible Space Threads.

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Qi chose to lower his head.

"I'm sorry..."

"Sigh..." Smoker sighed. "Come back with me first. I'll apply to Marine Headquarters to send someone else to protect you!"

"Huh?" Zhou Qi quickly shook his head. "How can that be?"

"You're too reckless. Your strength doesn't match your courage..." Smoker shook his head. "Kuro alone is an enemy Tashigi can't handle, let alone the countless stronger pirates on this sea."

"Don't I still have you?" Zhou Qi said hurriedly. "If I encounter 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.

"Like I said, that was just good luck. Can you guarantee that every enemy you encounter can be dealt with in this way?" Smoker asked.

"This..." Zhou Qi thought for a moment and shook his head. "I can't!"

After all, there were many strong individuals who weren't afraid of bullets. As for Logia Types, there was Ace next year, and Crocodile in the future; he could encounter either of them.

"This sea is vast, with countless strong individuals. Even I have to be cautious with some of them, let alone you!" Smoker said. "You won this time, but what about next time? And the time after that? Can you always be this lucky?"

"I'll change, I'll change, alright? If I encounter an enemy later, as long as Tashigi asks, I'll summon you immediately!" Zhou Qi said quickly.

"Can you guarantee that?" Smoker asked coldly.

"If there's a next time, just send Tashigi back, okay!" Zhou Qi quickly raised his hand.

"Hmph!" Smoker nodded and continued, "It doesn't have to be an enemy. Any danger you can't handle, you can call me, like Sea Kings or something!"

"What about the Shichibukai, or the Four Emperors!" Zhou Qi asked.

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

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

"Uh, this..." Smoker scratched his head. That was really not certain. After all, except for Hawk Eyes, the other Shichibukai were pirates by origin. Expecting them to be law-abiding was like expecting a sow to climb a tree.

"Try not to provoke them!" Smoker thought for a moment and said. "Of course, if we really do encounter them, I will never back down!"

"You truly are a model Marine!" Zhou Qi exclaimed, giving him a thumbs-up.

He wasn't being insincere. Smoker's reputation was widely recognized. He had more passion than Aokiji, more warmth than Akainu, was more diligent than Kizaru, was skilled at judging people, was righteous, and was very affectionate towards his subordinates.

It could be said that apart from his strength being a bit lacking, he had no other flaws!

"It's just my job!" Smoker waved his hand. "Open the door wider. I'll have people take these pirates away!"

"What about the bounty..."

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

Zhou Qi nodded. Other Marines might not, but Smoker certainly wouldn't pocket his bounty.

"Oh right, didn't you want Kuro's treasure? Do you want me to leave one for you?" Smoker asked again.

Tashigi had told him everything that had happened here.

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

If Kuro had been truly wealthy, he wouldn't have needed to seize the Tannis family's assets. And with his control over Amoxicillin's sales channels, plus Sildenafil in the future, he would only be richer than the Tannis family.

He didn't care about Kuro's meager possessions.

"Alright!" Smoker nodded. "Then leave it all to me. As for the bounty, do you still want gold?"

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

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

Soon, Smoker left, taking with him the dozens of pirates from the Kuro Pirates.

They did leave behind a ship. Kuro's pirate ship was of good quality, a three-masted schooner, two sizes larger than the Going Merry.

However, Zhou Qi wasn't interested in such an antique sailing ship. He had the captain tie a rope to it and tow it back, planning to sell it to the Tannis Trading Company.

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

"Chief of Staff, this is intelligence from Captain Smoker!"

"Bring it here!"

Zhou Qi knew that the effectiveness of Amoxicillin had been recognized by Marine Headquarters. However, this was a relatively feudal era. Compared to a technology, the higher-ups in the Marines valued the person himself more.

To the extent that Marine Headquarters had created a special file for him and sent people to search for that so-called Ceramic, Technology, and Etiquette Country.

Furthermore, his every word, action, and movement had been reported by Smoker to Marine Headquarters for psychological profiling.

Since they couldn't find the country, they could also indirectly learn about its situation from Zhou Qi's words and actions.

"Law-abiding and respectful of the law, not harming a single blade of grass, these are two more new phrases..." Looking at the two new idioms that appeared in the report, Tsuru flipped through a previous piece of intelligence.

A true man born between heaven and earth, how could he languish under others for long.

A true man should wield a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled accomplishments.

The sharp edge of a fine sword comes from grinding, and the plum blossom's fragrance comes from bitter cold.

A beautiful and virtuous lady is a fine match for a gentleman.

Japanese and Chinese are languages from the same family. Although Tsuru had never heard the proverbs or poems Zhou Qi spoke, she could understand their meaning from their wording, so there was no comprehension barrier.

But after understanding them, she was somewhat amazed because these poems were not only beautifully structured but also profound, containing various spirits.

For example, the two phrases containing "a true man" were full of boldness and the spirit of forging ahead.

"A beautiful and virtuous lady is a fine match for a gentleman" embodied the youthful admiration and the passionate pursuit of love.

"Law-abiding and respectful of the law" described the common people, while "not harming a single blade of grass" described the ruler...

A ruler who doesn't harm a single blade of grass, and common people who are law-abiding and respectful of the law. Does such a country, where the people and rulers mutually achieve each other, truly exist?

After pondering the more than one hundred member nations of the World Government, Tsuru shook her head. No, it didn't exist.

Not only did it not exist among the World Government's member nations, but it didn't exist among the non-member nations either.

Amazon Lily was somewhat close...

But besides Amazon Lily not having men, they also didn't have so many famous swords...

"Could it be that this country really exists?"

Tsuru couldn't believe it. After all, the World Government had considerable control over this world. Even for countries they didn't control, they had basic intelligence. How could a country that no one had ever heard of appear?

It's also unrealistic to consider him a novelist and assume all of this is his fabrication.

After all, a capsule is not something a novelist can create, and medicine to treat inflammation is even less likely to be produced by a single person. Even Vegapunk...

Well, Vegapunk might be able to, but Vegapunk is still under the control of the World Government, isn't he?

Moreover, she had more evidence in her hands.

For example, that range hood.

She had already asked Vegapunk. The principle of this thing was not complicated, and Vegapunk could draw the structural diagram in ten minutes.

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

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

"Focus on winning him over. Information about the Ceramic Country is classified as top secret and must not be leaked without orders. As for the price and transaction method of Amoxicillin mentioned by Zhou Qi, Marine Headquarters has discussed it and decided to agree. Please have him deliver 10,000 boxes as soon as possible for testing..."

Whether such a country existed or not was not the Marines' concern. As long as they confirmed that the medicine truly existed and he wasn't a liar, that was enough.

As for Zhou Qi, since he was unwilling to join the Marines, they wouldn't force him. As long as he didn't become a pirate, they wouldn't bother him.

Besides, wasn't Tashigi there to keep him in check!

"I didn't expect there to be such a method..." This matter opened up Tsuru's thinking. She hadn't expected that beautiful women in the Marines could influence some people's thoughts...

Pirates were definitely beyond saving, but for some strong individuals whose stance was still unclear, or for bounty hunters, perhaps beautiful female Marines could be sent to invite them.

They couldn't be given away for free, of course, but those strong individuals could be given a chance to pursue beautiful female Marines.

After all, a beautiful and virtuous lady is a fine match for a gentleman.