Kaya's Old Man

When not studying, he joined hundreds of casual chat groups, followed dozens of popular tiebas and forums, and even downloaded apps like Kuaishou and Douyin that he hadn't downloaded before. He even worried about superpowered individuals appearing abroad, so he got a VPN for "scientific internet access."

However, after observing for over a month, no second superpowered individual appeared.

He didn't know if they didn't exist, were also in hiding like him, or had already been recruited.

"I'm not waiting any longer!" Zhou Qi shook his head. Faced with the temptation of a whole world, waiting for a month was already the limit of his self-control.

Opening the interdimensional portal for the second time, Zhou Qi's mindset had shifted from initial curiosity to anticipation, mixed with a bit of caution.

It was still the same medicinal garden, with various herbs growing lushly, seemingly no different from when he had last visited.

"Hasn't much time passed!" Zhou Qi looked down, trying to identify the herbs.

Ginseng, Atractylodes macrocephalla, Licorice, Chinese Yam.

A month was certainly not enough for him to become a master of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He had taken photos the last time he was here and then used an image search software to look them up himself.

"They're all herbs that replenish Qi and nourish blood!"

He opened another basketball-sized spatial portal. At the same time, a thousand meters above his head, another spatial portal opened simultaneously.

Through the spatial portal, the view was from 1,600 meters high, looking down. Zhou Qi was nearsighted, but he had bought a telescope.

It was an island situated on the sea. The island was covered with various brick and stone buildings, clearly a planned city. These buildings shared a uniform style, indicating a relatively mature civilization.

In the center of the city stood a complex of buildings with a sports field.

Zhou Qi focused his telescope on a triangular flag hanging above one of the buildings.

It had a white background, with a stylized deep blue seagull as the emblem.

"Confirmed, it's the Marines from One Piece..."

Zhou Qi swiveled his telescope to look in front of the Marine base. There was an open square, and in the square stood a square wooden structure, about as tall as the surrounding buildings.

It was an execution platform.

"Loguetown?" Judging by the flag and the structure of the execution platform, it matched Loguetown, but it was hard to say for sure.

What if every Marine base had the same structure!

"You, who are you! How did you get in!?"

"Huh?" He was so engrossed in watching that Zhou Qi hadn't noticed someone entering!

Turning his head, he saw a middle-aged man in a white top and loose pants, holding a hoe, looking at him in fear.

He's afraid of me?

Zhou Qi glanced at the spatial portal behind him, which was still open and showing a white wall, and then at the spatial portal in front of him, which was showing the entirety of Loguetown.

Clearly, in the world of One Piece, such a person belonged to one group.

A Devil Fruit user.

He wasn't afraid of me, he was afraid of a Devil Fruit user.

But looking at his attire, he didn't seem to hold a high position. Could such a person know about Devil Fruit users?

Or...

Did most people actually know, and it was the pirates who were ignorant?

"Get your manager to come here!" Zhou Qi closed the spatial portal above his head and said calmly.

Although he was panicking inside, if he wanted to take the lead, he had to remain composed.

"Ah, this, yes, yes!" The man was taken aback, then quickly turned and scurried away.

Zhou Qi didn't go out. The medicinal garden wasn't large, with only one door leading outside, offering a clear view. It was relatively safe.

If he went out, what if he was ambushed by guards outside?

Without waiting long, he soon heard the sound of hurried footsteps.

A middle-aged man with an extraordinary demeanor and refined clothing, with short, light-blond hair, walked in.

Behind him followed four or five timid-looking subordinates.

Zhou Qi's hand had already slipped into his pocket. Although they looked like subordinates, what if they weren't!

It was better to be cautious.

"Th-this, esteemed sir..." The leading middle-aged man gave a bow that Zhou Qi didn't understand, with a fawning smile: "May I know your needs? I will certainly help you resolve them!"

"Esteemed sir? Why are you calling me that?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Uh..." The middle-aged man was stunned, then pointed at the spatial portal behind Zhou Qi: "As a distinguished Devil Fruit user like yourself, of course, we must call you 'sir'..."

Devil Fruit users weren't actually that distinguished; most of them didn't deserve to be called "sir."

This was because they were mostly pirates.

And Zhou Qi didn't look very old, so the middle-aged man quickly made a judgment: this was a newly debuted Devil Fruit user.

Being young meant being immature, perhaps with a bad temper. If you said a few words to him, he might find you annoying and might even resort to killing...

Pirates had no morals, and some even enjoyed killing for pleasure, while also increasing their bounties.

Even Devil Fruit users aren't necessarily powerful fighters, but the middle-aged man wasn't a fool; he didn't need to risk his life to find out.

Give him what he wants, then send him on his way. That was the sensible thing to do.

To avoid offending this Devil Fruit user, he hadn't even reported him to the Marines.

As for why he thought Zhou Qi was a pirate...

Why would a normal person steal someone else's medicinal herbs!

Zhou Qi silently sized him up for a few moments, then asked, "Is this herb garden yours?"

"Ah, yes!" the middle-aged man quickly nodded.

"What's your name?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Tannis!" the middle-aged man said cautiously.

Zhou Qi nodded and asked again, "Do you do business in medicinal herbs?"

"Uh, I'm mainly in maritime trade. I only got into the medicinal herb business in the last few years!" Tannis said quickly, a bad feeling growing in his heart.

Don't pirates usually just take some money and leave? Why was this person asking so many questions...

"Right, how long has it been since I last came?" Zhou Qi asked again.

"Uh, a month?" Tannis didn't know why Zhou Qi was asking, but he answered truthfully.

"You..." Zhou Qi was a bit speechless. He was too cooperative, leaving him no opportunity to make a move.

Weren't the nobles in One Piece supposed to be brainless?

But he had spent a month in reality, and it had been a month here too. Was the time synchronized?

This was not good news!

"How long has it been since Roger was executed?" Zhou Qi asked again.

"Sixteen years!" Tannis replied.

So, it really was One Piece. As for the time, it was 1516 of the Sea Calendar. One year until Ace set sail, and four years until Luffy set sail.

"Who is the current officer in Loguetown?"

"Smoker..."

"Have you heard of Tashigi?"

"Uh, she's the daughter of Marine Base Quartermaster Luge? She just joined the Marines this year..."

"Hmm?" Zhou Qi was taken aback. This merchant was a bit unusual. Who would normally care about a girl who had just joined the Marines?

"How do you know so much? Are you a legitimate businessman?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Ah, well, he's the administrator of our Loguetown. As a businessman, it's only right for me to be concerned!" Tannis said quickly. "Besides, when Warrant Officer Tashigi joined the Marines, Lieutenant Colonel Luge even held a banquet, and I was fortunate enough to attend..."

"I see!" Zhou Qi nodded. It seemed this merchant had a considerable status in Loguetown, not just a street vendor. He was at least a prominent figure.

"You don't need to be so nervous. I'm not a pirate!" Zhou Qi put away the spatial gate behind him and walked up to Tannis. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lelouch V. Britannia, and I'm also a merchant..."

"Eh?" Tannis's face twitched. It was clear he didn't believe him.

"How about this, let me show you my product!" Zhou Qi reached into the spatial gate and pulled out a glass bottle filled with capsules.

He tossed it over, and Tannis quickly caught it.

"What is this?"

"Amoxicillin. It's an antibiotic that can be used to treat various inflammations. You can try it out on someone first. If you're satisfied, we can discuss cooperation?"

"This..." Tannis looked at the medicine in his hand, somewhat skeptical. However, capsules still represented a certain level of technology, not something a small workshop could easily produce.

Was this thing not meant to see the light of day?

After all, if it could truly treat various inflammations, it should have become popular worldwide long ago. He shouldn't be unaware of it, let alone have never heard its name.

Since it was a clandestine drug, why was he being approached? Was he supposed to smuggle it?

But he was a legitimate businessman!

However, considering another possibility, Tannis couldn't bear to give up and looked conflicted.

Zhou Qi saw his hesitation and comforted him, "Don't worry, the source of the medicinal herbs is absolutely reasonable and legal, and has nothing to do with any faction. You can try the medicine on someone first. I'll go for a walk..."

"This, alright!" Tannis finally nodded. Although he still didn't understand what Zhou Qi was up to, if a Devil Fruit user who wasn't a pirate, then cooperation wasn't impossible.

That's right, he didn't actually care about the medicine itself. He thought that if his own faction had a Devil Fruit user to provide protection, it would save a lot of trouble.

Provided that this Devil Fruit user truly wasn't a pirate.

Leaving the herb garden with Tannis, they entered Tannis's villa.

That's right, Tannis's home wasn't one of Loguetown's densely packed buildings, but one of the many detached villas on the outskirts of town. He was quite wealthy.

Behind the villa was a cliff. Normal pirates couldn't come up this way, so it was very safe.

The entire villa covered an area of over 3,200 square meters. To own such a large villa in Loguetown, an important trade hub connecting the East Blue and the Grand Line, Zhou Qi could only curse inwardly: Damn capitalist.

"With such a large estate, you still came to meet a pirate in person?" Zhou Qi asked curiously. "Aren't you afraid of dying?"

Tannis sighed, "My reputation in the East Blue is quite significant. Anyone you ask will know whose residence this is, and my photo is in the newspapers. If the pirates find out I've been deceiving them, I won't be able to bear the ensuing revenge. It's better to be honest from the start. Pirates generally don't kill merchants, otherwise, who would do business with them..."

He might have genuinely been complaining, but Zhou Qi felt he was just being ostentatious.

The villa housed quite a few servants. Zhou Qi noticed more and more, realizing that the clothes worn by the person who initially held the hoe were the professional attire of the merchant's servants.

"Your business is so large, yet your medicinal garden is so small?" Zhou Qi asked. "At this scale, it's not even enough for a single pharmacy!"

"The medicinal garden was just an experimental field from years ago when I was testing medicinal formulas. For some reason, I kept it," Tannis said, his tone visibly dropping when he mentioned this topic. "The real medicinal fields are elsewhere, totaling sixty thousand mu..."

Sixty thousand mu, that's quite something.

"Medicinal formulas?" Zhou Qi's interest was piqued. "What kind of formulas?"

Formulas from the world of One Piece. In the real world, they might not exist. If he took them back, they could potentially become a massive industry.

"This..." Tannis hesitated slightly, but then he thought, there seemed to be nothing worth hiding.

"Actually, quite a few people know about this matter!" Tannis said. "Although my business is vast, I haven't done very well in terms of family inheritance. I only have one daughter, and she's frail and often ill..."

"Six years ago, we hired a famous doctor to create a tonic formula for my daughter. To give her the best medicinal ingredients, I thought, rather than buying them from the market, why not cultivate them myself."

"So that's how it is!" Zhou Qi nodded. "The heart of a parent knows no bounds!"

Wait...

Zhou Qi looked at Tannis's light blonde short hair, then at the luxurious furniture and solemn, grand architecture surrounding them.

Rich family, frail daughter, and blonde hair?

"May I ask, what is your daughter's name?"

"Uh, her name is Kaya, but she's only 12 this year..."

Who asked how old she was!

But, he really is Kaya's father. No wonder!