On the beach at the edge of Shimotsuki Village, Smoker and Tashigi stared at Zhou Qi in shock. "You want to extract the Devil Fruit from his body? Can that even be done?"
"I don't know, so I have to try!" Zhou Qi said. "After all, Caesar seemed to do it pretty easily!"
"Who's Caesar? He successfully recovered a Devil Fruit?" Smoker asked in surprise.
"Caesar is a scientist from the New World. He really did manage it!" Zhou Qi nodded. There was nothing he couldn't tell them. After all, both of them would become Devil Fruit Users in the future. What benefit would there be in exposing this secret to them?
They would only keep the secret more tightly than he would.
Smoker and Tashigi exchanged a glance. They now understood why Zhou Qi had avoided their subordinates and brought only the two of them here.
"When a Devil Fruit User dies, a new Devil Fruit is reborn somewhere in the world. That's information you already know," Zhou Qi said.
"Yes." Smoker nodded. "And then?"
"What you don't know is that this process can be controlled!" Zhou Qi said. "That power would be pretty tired after traveling so far. If there happened to be a fruit beside him, wouldn't it just parasitize it directly?"
"Huh?" Smoker's eyes widened. "You can do that?"
Zhou Qi shrugged. "That's how it works. Of course, the odds aren't high. If the power flies north but you put your fruit in the south, wouldn't the power just get lost?"
"Then what should we do?" Smoker hurriedly asked.
"It's simple. Stuff fruit all around him and bury him directly in a pile of fruit!"
Zhou Qi pointed at the seawater. "There's another piece of information here. Devil Fruit Users fear seawater, which means Devil Fruit powers fear seawater too. If we place a Devil Fruit User's death scene on the seafloor, that Devil Fruit power may have nowhere else to go and enter nearby fruit!"
"This..." Smoker's eyes widened. How long had he been planning this? Why was his plan so thorough?
"Let's wait here for a while. My equipment is still on its way," Zhou Qi said, opening another portal.
On the other side of the portal was Smoker's office.
"Don't treat my office like it's your own home!" Smoker said helplessly.
"I can't exactly open it in the middle of the road, can I?" Zhou Qi said. "What if an old man or old lady trips over it? Are you going to compensate them for me?"
Speechless, Smoker thought for a moment before saying, "I'll get you a room at the base later. Use that room whenever you need to come and go. Oh, and do you want to join the Marines?"
"I'm a merchant. Why would I join the Marines?" Zhou Qi asked helplessly.
"What conflict is there between being a merchant and joining the Marines?" Smoker asked. "We won't deliberately lower prices because you're a merchant. On the contrary, because you're a Marine, we might even let you earn more!"
"Wait!" Zhou Qi suddenly realized something. "Can your military personnel do business?"
"Of course not!" Smoker shook his head. "Marine law states that active-duty Marines may not engage in side jobs!"
"Then doesn't that mean it's forbidden?" Zhou Qi asked.
"But being a merchant is your main job. Being a Marine is only your side job!" Smoker explained. "Marine law also states that people who make significant contributions to the Marines and their subordinate organizations may be granted military positions at discretion and receive the corresponding benefits!"
"In other words, you can wear a uniform, bear a rank, and collect a salary, but you won't have subordinates or be assigned a warship. Your family and descendants can also skip screening and have an easier time joining the Marines..."
Zhou Qi's eyes lit up. "A government post?"
Smoker froze for a moment, then nodded. "That's right, a government post. It's a bit shabby, though. After all, Marine pay isn't even worth a few boxes of your Amoxicillin..."
"No problem!" Zhou Qi immediately agreed. "Income isn't important. I'll just consider it a contribution to the Marines. The military and civilians are like fish and water, after all!"
"Uh..." Smoker froze. "Wait, why did you agree so quickly? Aren't you going to think it over?"
"Think over what?" Zhou Qi shook his head. The ultimate destination of the universe was a government post. Besides, he was destined to remain in this world for a long time.
Wouldn't having a Marine identity be far more useful than being a down-and-out prince from China?
He had only worried that a Marine identity would interfere with his business. Now that it was merely for show, why wouldn't he take it?
"This..." Smoker was somewhat speechless as well. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Based on the Amoxicillin you provided, I can authorize a captain's rank for you. Once our later cooperation gets underway, Marine Headquarters will give you additional rewards. Maybe one day, you might even rise to vice admiral through this!"
"I can become a vice admiral?" Zhou Qi was somewhat surprised. There were only three Marine Admirals in the Marines, so vice admirals were absolutely among the highest ranks. Could a position like that be bought with money?
"That's what the regulations say, but no one has ever managed it!" Smoker said. In truth, he had only just learned of this regulation himself. Tsuru had specifically sent it to him, clearly because it had been prepared for Zhou Qi.
The main reason was that this medicine was simply too important to the Marines.
Of course, even for a Marine to become a vice admiral, they would have to endure countless hardships. For an outsider to become one, they would only have to give even more than a Marine.
"I understand. It's bait hanging there where you can see it but can't eat it!" Zhou Qi said.
"More or less. Still, even a captain's rank should be very useful to you. For example, your merchant ships can fly the Marine flag. For a certain fee, you can request Marine escorts and so on! Merchant ships protected by the Marine flag won't be stopped or taxed extra in any World Government member nation. You can take your business across the entire world! Even pirates will have to think twice before attacking a merchant ship flying the Marine flag!"
"Useful. It's definitely useful!" Zhou Qi nodded repeatedly. "I'm already considering whether to recommend some younger members of my family to truly enlist!"
"We would welcome that very much!" Smoker said with a smile. "The Marines will never reject any force that yearns for peace and stability in the world!"
"Mm-hmm, I'll spread this good news throughout the family," Zhou Qi said. "But a bunch of stubborn old fossils run my household. They probably won't send the younger generation over until they see the benefits."
"I understand, I understand!" Smoker nodded. He also felt that the upper ranks of the Marines were filled with stubborn old fossils and old hooligans.
Great minds thought alike.
"Since your portal is open already, come on. Let's get the paperwork done now. We'll also call a tailor over to take your measurements!"
"Alright!" Zhou Qi nodded. "Do you have anything cooler? Add a coat too, like a Marine Admiral's!"
"No problem!" Smoker nodded. "Regular Marines aren't allowed to do that, but someone like you can. You can participate in designing your own uniform. You can add any special patterns you want, as long as they aren't pirate skulls!"
"Then I want a hammer and sickle!"
"Uh, sure!" Smoker looked bewildered. Why a hammer and sickle?
But if he liked it, who cared?
"I'll take you to see the tailor..."
"Wait. Before that, send some people to buy pineapples and dragon fruit."
"Pineapples and dragon fruit?"
"That's right. The more, the better. We'll need them soon!" Zhou Qi said.
"Oh, I understand!" Smoker remembered the matter of recovering the Devil Fruit. "Only those two? Shouldn't we get some apples, pears, bananas, oranges, and the like too?"
"We can get some, just not too many!" Zhou Qi shook his head. He remembered that the Mera Mera no Mi looked both like a pineapple and dragon fruit, so those two fruits should have the best affinity with it.
Since dragon fruit had the word "dragon" in its name, maybe it really was dragon fruit.
Still, they needed to prepare some other fruit too, just in case.
Once everything had been arranged, Zhou Qi signed the agreement and became a proud Marine captain.
The agreement did specify some of his responsibilities. For example, he could not commit crimes, kill innocents indiscriminately, or do anything that tarnished the Marines' name. But he had always been a law-abiding citizen, so that was no problem at all.
If he ever broke the law one day, it definitely would not be Zhou Qi's fault. It would mean he was about to make a move against the Celestial Dragons who made the laws.
Afterward, he went to a shop that specialized in making Marine uniforms to have his measurements taken. However, making the clothes would take time, so he would have to return in two days to collect them.
Zhou Qi was already looking forward to it. The quality of Marine uniforms here was excellent. One look was enough to tell that the materials were expensive, unlike the ones seen at cosplay events, which were full of that cheap plastic feel.
And they were handmade by a master craftsman with forty years of experience. When had he ever been qualified to enjoy something like this? When had he ever had the chance?
"Mm, maybe I should go to a cosplay event too..."
Tsk. After getting rich, Zhou Qi suddenly realized that the world was truly interesting. There was good food, good clothes, fun things, nice cars. He could chase dreams anywhere, chat with girls about anything, and fall in love.
Back then, going out? Going out my ass. Watching a movie cost three days' worth of food, and buying a cosplay outfit cost half a month's salary. How could he afford to have fun?
"Ding..." Another WeChat message.
The first message was from Zhou Mingde. The warehouse had already been rented, and he had gotten the keys.
Then came a message from the container supplier.
The goods have been loaded. They will arrive in five hours.
Before you continue