The headquarters of Pleasure Street was located on Maria Happy Island in the New World.
After sailing in the New World for more than half a month on a pleasure boat, Finn finally landed on the island.
Finn felt no reluctance when he disembarked. Even the pleasure boat couldn't satisfy his fantasy. What's more, he'd had Hina by his side constantly watching him closely, as if afraid he'd "make some mistake."
Finn even felt somewhat regretful about bringing Hina to this meeting.
But if he thought about it carefully, Hina and Smoker were good friends. They hadn't seen each other in so long. It really would be too much not to let them meet. In the end, he'd gritted his teeth and agreed.
Standing at the port, all of Maria Happy Island looked very prosperous. On the way here, Finn had also learned about this island. This island wasn't just Pleasure Street's base camp. Basically, it encompassed many entertainment venues, from red-light districts to gambling houses.
It was simply a small entertainment city.
But there was nothing surprising about it. In fact, there were many islands like this all over the world. In the first half of the Grand Line, the original Spring Queen Island had somewhat this feeling, and Carnival City even more so.
However, in a few years, these islands that relied on entertainment for their industries would be greatly impacted, because after Fisher Tiger burned Mary Geoise, a Golden Emperor would be released.
Gild Tesoro. He would build the world's largest entertainment city, name it Gran Tesoro, and attract wealthy people from all over the world.
In fact, Finn admired Tesoro considerably. Although after he was freed, he'd acted somewhat unscrupulously and harmed many people, if you thought about it carefully, most of those people were pirates and gamblers. There wasn't much to sympathize with there.
Tesoro's position was neutral and he hadn't sided with the pirate camp. On the contrary, he'd reached many cooperations with the World Government.
He was someone who could be won over.
In fact, Finn had sent people to look for this guy at the Sabaody Archipelago. After all, if he remembered correctly, Tesoro had been hanging around the Sabaody Archipelago for several years, then met his goddess Stella, and then was tormented by the Celestial Dragons and fell into despair.
Unfortunately, Finn hadn't found any trace of this guy, so naturally he'd had no way to approach him.
But it didn't matter. Although Tesoro had business talent, the main reason he could achieve results so quickly and become almost the richest man was actually because of his ability.
This young man, who had questionable morals, had cheated and ambushed Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. He'd snatched the Paramecia-type Gold-Gold Fruit from Doflamingo's auction, thus starting his own journey to becoming the richest man.
Therefore, Finn wasn't very interested in Tesoro now. On the contrary, the Gold-Gold Fruit was the top priority. Once Doflamingo obtained that thing, Finn would extort him!
If he doesn't give it to me, I'll beat him until he does!
Anyway, from what he remembered, Queen Stussy wasn't a Devil Fruit user. From what he could see, she had excellent talent in business. If she was interested, it would be a good idea for her to eat the Gold-Gold Fruit.
At least compared to Tesoro, Stussy was someone Finn trusted deeply.
Just as Finn was thinking about this and observing Maria Happy Island, another beautiful woman with healthy wheat-colored skin came up with a group of attendants.
She bowed respectfully to Finn. "Sir, please forgive me. The Queen would have liked to come and greet you personally, but the port is crowded with people and your status is very distinguished, which might attract unnecessary attention. Therefore, I will take you to meet the Queen. I hope you can understand."
Finn had no reason to put on airs, especially not with Stussy. After all, they were all family, so he didn't care about formalities. He nodded. "Lead the way."
However, looking at this group of beauties with different styles, Finn was filled with emotion.
If I'd gritted my teeth and joined the CP agency back then, I wonder if I would have had the chance to take charge of Pleasure Street later?
If there had been such an opportunity, wouldn't it be paradise on earth?
Comparing this to Stussy's current position, Finn suddenly felt that being an Admiral wasn't so appealing anymore. Rather dull, actually...
Hina didn't think as much as Finn. She looked left and right along the way, as if very curious about this famous Pleasure Island.
Seeing this, Finn tapped Hina on the head. "That guy hasn't arrived yet. It'll probably be two days, right? How about I give you a day off and let you explore the island on your own? Don't worry, I'll cover the expenses. I'm traveling on official funds this time, and it's business at Pleasure Street, so I can get reimbursed!"
Hina's face lit up with joy. She was about to agree when she saw Finn's secretly smug look. She suddenly realized what was happening and quickly shook her head. "No! Since this is a business trip, Hina must take on the responsibilities of an Admiral's secretary. Hina must follow you closely."
Hmph, don't think Hina don't know what you're thinking, Admiral. Now you want to get rid of me so you can meet that Stussy woman alone, right? Hina won't let you succeed so easily.
As Finn's personal secretary, Hina certainly knew many of Finn's secrets.
For example, during the World Conference, Finn and that woman Stussy had maintained an ambiguous relationship for a long time. He'd disappear every night and would only be seen the next day. It would be strange if there wasn't something going on.
Basically, this matter was no longer a secret in Finn's circle, but Hina was helpless because Sister Gion didn't seem to care about it.
It was outrageous!
Even Gion didn't care. Although Hina was resentful, she had no right to intervene. She could only deal with it with Finn in secret.
Seeing Hina's serious expression, Finn rolled his eyes and whispered, "Little girl..."
He didn't care about these things. In Finn's opinion, Queen Stussy could probably win over even Gion, let alone the little girl Hina.
If she was willing to meet Stussy, she'd probably be won over by Stussy soon enough.
It was completely asking for trouble, Finn didn't care. He nodded, took Hina, and followed the group of beauties into the town
Soon, Finn and his companions arrived at a restricted area. Unlike the bustling outside world, it was much quieter here. As they walked through a tree-lined path, Finn's eyes widened. His expression showed surprise and something strange.
Hina, standing nearby, was also somewhat surprised. She pointed to the courtyard ahead. "Isn't that courtyard designed exactly like your home, Admiral? It's exactly the same! I thought I was back in Marineford!"
That's right. There was a courtyard in the distance, and from the outside, it looked exactly like the Admiral's residence Finn had been assigned by the Marines in Marineford!
After entering the courtyard, Finn was even more surprised. Even the decorations inside were the same, and even the plants were the same varieties.
As a frequent visitor to Finn's house, Hina practically lived there, so she was very familiar with Finn's home. After entering, she kept exclaiming in admiration, calling it incredible.
After walking into the inner courtyard with practiced ease, Finn saw a slender figure wearing a set of home clothes, like fluffy pajamas with some cute little animals printed on them.
It was Queen Stussy.
However, it was different from usual times when Finn met Queen Stussy. This time, the Queen didn't have that seductive aura. On the contrary, she looked somewhat lazy and casual. The smile on her face was very gentle.
She held a watering can and a pair of small scissors in her hands, as if she were trimming the plants in the inner courtyard.
The moment she saw Finn, she smiled even brighter and waved gently at him. "I'm worried I can't handle it all by myself. Finn, please help me hold this sapling so I can prune it..."
For a moment, Finn felt somewhat dazed, as if this were his home. He'd just gotten off work and come back to see his wife gardening. It was a very warm feeling.
But it was only a moment before Finn collected his thoughts. He couldn't help but laugh. "You're really thoughtful..."
He had to admit that Her Majesty the Queen was truly skilled at capturing men's hearts. In that moment just now, Finn had been thinking about settling down here.
Stussy raised her eyebrows and asked with a smile, "Don't you like it?"
"I like it," Finn said with a smile.
Seeing these two act like this as soon as they met, Hina felt somewhat annoyed. Then, before Finn could move, she ran to Stussy and helped her hold the sapling. She said, "Let me help you."
Queen Stussy's eyes flashed with surprise, then she smiled and nodded. "Thank you very much, Commander Hina."
"You're welcome," Hina said with a serious expression and without a smile.
A completely businesslike attitude.
Before entering the courtyard, the beauties who'd led the way had already left, so there were only the three of them in the yard.
Hina was pestering Stussy over there, but Finn didn't pay attention to her. He walked into the house on his own and felt even more emotional. Even the furniture and supplies in the house were almost the same as his house in Marineford, with only some minor details changed.
How had Stussy figured all this out?
Ah... it seemed when he'd been chatting with her on the video Den Den Mushi, he'd taken her around to show her his house?
Without thinking too much about it, Finn picked up the tea set on the table, poured himself a cup of tea, sat on the comfortable sofa, and looked out into the courtyard.
Then he looked somewhat surprised. "What the hell? It's only been a few minutes?"
Hina, who'd been serious and businesslike just moments ago, was now chatting and laughing with Stussy. Seeing her happy expression, people who didn't know would think she was Stussy's good friend of many years.
I just poured some tea. What on earth happened?
Is this what Her Majesty the Queen is capable of?
Amazing. Simply amazing!
At the same time, on the sea about three days away from Maria Happy Island, a pirate ship with a smoking skull flag was sailing in this direction.
On the deck, Smoker, with a cigar in his mouth, murmured with anticipation in his eyes, "It's been three years. Are you here to arrange for me to return to Headquarters this time?"