Pirate Merchant

"You said that Nuo Qigao brought the straw hats into the warehouse of my room? Well, yes, I asked Nuo Qigao to take them to visit my room. You don't need to go back to Mothership No. 2 to take care of it. For their affairs, you can stay in Wano Country with peace of mind. The safety of Lena who cleans up Wano Country’s toxins is more important than anyone else. Well, I’ve given Mona and Jiya to do your work for you. Hehe, Just now Mona scolded me."

In the coffee shop of the Chambord Islands, Mu Qian, who received a sudden call from Kalifa in Wano Country, replied to her in a very calm tone, and hung up the phone with her after speaking.

"What are they doing in my room? Could it be to see Qixing?"

After hanging up the phone, Mu Qian rubbed his chin in doubt, he couldn't think of a reason why the Straw Hats went to his room, the only reason he could think of was that Sauron wanted to see the Seven Star Sword.

"Forget it, Nuo Qigao must have her reasons, right? But when it comes to straw hats, that girl always blames herself too much. It was me who killed Ace, but that girl thought she didn't stop me from killing him." Ace, thinks she owes Luffy herself."

Mu Qian shrugged his shoulders when he couldn't figure it out, then complained to the one-armed man opposite him with a wry smile.

"Hehe, this matter has nothing to do with me. Don't tell me about your own 'family affairs', but you actually sent someone to protect the Sunny. What are you thinking?"

The one-armed man drinking wine sitting across from Mu Qian is the red-haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors. He had already guessed from Marco's performance that Whitebeard and Ace were not dead, and he didn't care about Mu Qian at all. Just said the words to kill Ace.

"It's just because I want to let them go to sea, and I am too timid to take my compatriots to fight with any four emperors, so Luffy and the others are my best 'helpers' to deal with the four emperors. I believe they can defeat the Four Emperors, including myself."

Mu Qian put down his coffee cup and looked at the continuous stream of pedestrians, shouted loudly at the merchants who sold goods, and looked at the increasingly peaceful and prosperous Chambord Islands. He smiled very satisfied and said to Shanks.

And the ruins of the auction house on the far right outside the window, which was burnt down by the slaves who took up arms to "riot", made the smiling Mu Qian's mouth turn up even more.

"You are using Luffy to 'open up' the business route for you, right? Hehe, if you use your trusted brother like this, won't you feel a little uneasy in your heart?"

Shanks looked at Muqian who looked more like a pirate than anyone else, and continued to ask with a smile.

"Does Luffy care that the island he 'liberated' becomes more prosperous? Do people all live the lives they want?"

Facing Shanks' question, Mu Qian asked back.

"Won't."

Shanks took a sip of the wine, as if he was talking with a friend, it was extra casual.

"Yes, Luffy doesn't care, and he doesn't have the matching ability to care about the problems after the islands. The islands he 'liberated' were all islands that were occupied by pirates because they had no self-protection ability. It is only temporarily liberating them, but not permanently liberating them in the true sense. However, after Luffy liberated them, I took on the responsibility of successor. Fly wipe your ass."

Looking at Shanks who was waiting for him in the Chambord Islands, although his strength was not as strong as Shanks, Mu Qian, who was no less calm than Shanks, replied leisurely.

"This is also the reason why I don't feel any uneasiness at all, even, I think it's what Luffy owes me, do you know how much I wiped the ass of those stupid brothers so far? It's you, you're the one looking for this time Why am I? If it’s just to tell me about Luffy, then it should be finished? If you want to confront me, then this place is not suitable.”

Seeing that Shanks still didn't express his purpose, Mu Qian took the lead in asking him straight to the point.

"Of course I didn't come here to compete with you. I'm a pirate. If I want to trouble you, it must be at sea. The purpose of my visit this time is mainly for your future business routes. I hope you can give me information about where I am. Add some more merchant routes in the sea area, of course, I will take full responsibility for their safety."

Shanks, who was asked back by Mu Qian, also expressed his request to Mu Qian very frankly.

"No problem, I went to your territorial waters to look for you several times, but I couldn't find you, and no one on my ship dared to go to your territorial waters to look for you, and those who dared to look for you were busy people or big men. Lazy man, so this will be put on hold, and after opening a good trade route in your territorial waters, I will give you 20% of the trade volume."

Mu Qian heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Shanks was here to do business with him, and agreed without hesitation.

"You don't need 20% of the trade volume. You can use this money to open schools, hospitals, and kendo halls. If you encounter trouble, open them in my name."

Shanks looked at Mu Qian in front of him and smiled indifferently, but Shanks, who knew that he would never become his subordinate, did not invite Mu Qian ignorantly.

"no problem."

Mu Qian nodded and replied seriously and seriously, and took out a diary with a somewhat old outer skin from the inner pocket of the suit to record Shanks' request.

"Hehe, remember that we first met in Windmill Town more than two years ago, right? At that time, you were just a small businessman who brought people from Frost Moon Village to sell oranges, but now you are indeed a man with influence all over the world, The Great Sea Route and the New World Whitebeard have all territorial waters, and even Tetoran and Wano Country are very friendly merchants to you, this is really a wonderful feeling."

Shanks narrowed his eyes and said to Mu Qian nostalgic for the past.

"At that time, I felt that you would be a leader in the new era, but I didn't expect that you would stand at the same height as me so quickly."

Shanks, who was nostalgic for the past, sighed sincerely, and regretted that he was afraid that he would scare Mu Qian and did not invite him. No, it should be regret that he did not abduct him to himself immediately after realizing his potential The pirate ship goes aboard.

"I don't have the same strength as you. Besides, you are a pirate and I am a businessman. We will only go the opposite way, but the purpose is the same. 'We' are all longing for freedom and striding forward to pursue it People, respect freedom?"

Mu Qian raised his coffee cup and asked Shanks with a smile.

"Hehe, yes, we are all 'similar people', then, respect freedom."

Shanks picked up the wine glass and clinked with Mu Qian's coffee cup. Although the relationship between the two is as completely different as the drinks in the cups in their hands, they both recognize each other's 'reason for existence'.

"Actually, after the top war, I always wanted to thank you in person, but because you discussed with the World Government about the excavation of factories in the Red Earth Continent, I was 'in the way' and never had a good chance to come to you. Now the time is ripe, so I came here alone."

Shanks, who clinked glasses with Mu Qian and drank the wine in one gulp, put down his glass, and said to Mu Qian with a bright smile.

"It's nothing, it's just a relationship of 'mutual use'. Thanks to that incident, I can be considered to have gained personal freedom, but my Commodore's beautiful bodyguard is gone. It's a mixed blessing, right?"

Mu Qian said to Shanks with a smile, and joked that he lost the personal supervision of Hina, a beautiful spy, immediately after gaining the trust of the Warring States Period.

"Do you have 'ears'? Hehe, then I will go back first. If you have a chance, you will come to my ship. I will entertain you with a banquet. My crew members think very highly of you. I want to make you more than once. I invite you to be my guest."

Seeing that Mu Qian was changing the subject, Shanks glanced around the shop with a smile, knowing how Ace's death would affect Mu Qian, he nodded to Mu Qian, and turned to leave after expressing his thanks this shop.