Smoker hadn't arrived yet, and Finn didn't have anything urgent to discuss with Stussy.
They sat leisurely drinking tea, while the Queen chatted constantly with Hina. Their laughter could be heard from time to time.
In Her Majesty the Queen's eyes, Hina wasn't her competitor, at least not now.
She had only one rival, and that was Vice Admiral Gion.
Stussy knew very well that Gion's status in Finn's heart was definitely no less than her own. After all, she also knew that when Finn had come to Marineford from the North Blue, he'd basically met Gion as soon as he'd arrived and learned skills with Gion under Instructor Zephyr.
After that, Gion had become Finn's direct subordinate. Now, let alone at Marine Headquarters, anyone who knew anything about the situation in Marineford understood very well that Gion was Finn's most loyal supporter.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be her turn to be the base commander of G-7.
In addition, Gion was very powerful. As the user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and a great swordswoman, she was extremely talented. There was a high probability she'd become even stronger in the future. At the very least, she'd be able to secure a position as an Admiral candidate at Headquarters.
Therefore, whether in terms of seniority and loyalty to Finn or combat strength, Gion had no weaknesses.
But this wasn't the end. There were still others with similar devotion at Marineford. For example, Doberman, who served under Finn, was known to everyone as Finn's loyal subordinate. In the future, he might even inherit the position of G-7 base commander.
Or perhaps Finn's former classmates, Momonga and Onigumo, also had very close relationships with Admiral Finn and were also direct subordinates, though their advantages hadn't yet been highlighted.
But unfortunately, those were all men. Gion was the only woman, and she was actually in a relationship with Finn.
Queen Stussy was extremely envious of Gion's ability to travel together with Finn.
She knew very well that Finn, the Marine Admiral, wasn't someone who could be easily seduced by women. Even for her, it had taken a long time to truly get close to Finn.
Otherwise, with Finn's status and power, partying every night wouldn't be a problem, but he just didn't have much gossip about that sort of thing.
According to Stussy's observations, apart from her, the only people around Finn who could be considered his "own people" were Gion and Hina.
But the only one who could truly compete with her was Gion. Hina wasn't a rival at all right now. At most, she was just a secretary following Finn. Maybe something could develop between them in the future, but not now.
Because she didn't have a Marine identity, she couldn't have a reason to approach Finn at any time like Gion could. Therefore, Stussy paid more attention to details, such as this courtyard, which she'd specially created.
Because of this, she hoped to win over Hina and make her an ally.
This was how the current scene had come about. In fact, it wasn't only Stussy who thought this way. Gion, who wasn't present, also thought the same. Otherwise, how could Gion not see through Hina's little schemes?
But she still treated Hina as her good friend and confidante, in order to win her over so they could fight against Stussy, that annoying vixen, together in the future.
These were things Finn didn't know about, nor did he consider them.
After all, it wasn't a big deal. Even if he knew about it, he probably wouldn't care.
Only Hina, the little lamb, was very clever. She could arrange the tasks assigned by Finn in an orderly manner. It could be said she had excellent administrative abilities.
Otherwise, Finn wouldn't have kept her by his side as his secretary and assigned her many important tasks.
After all, Hina had been a top student at the academy.
But when it came to romance, she wasn't so smart. Now she was caught between Gion and Stussy, but she still thought both sides were "good people" and her good friends.
"Finn is such a careless guy. He must lose things often. It's thanks to you, Hina, being with him. It must be very hard, right?" Stussy asked with a smile.
Hina picked up fallen leaves and tossed them into the flowerpot beside her, nodding as she spoke. "That's right! The Admiral often loses documents. After losing them, Hina have to go find them again, but a few days later, he finds them again in some corner. He just has that habit of putting things in the wrong place..."
Before this, Hina hadn't had much contact with Stussy, and her impression of Stussy actually hadn't been very good. After all, as a Marine, she naturally had certain negative impressions of Stussy, the CP agency boss.
Plus, she had a good relationship with Gion, and she'd occasionally hear her telling stories about Stussy's "dark history." So before meeting Stussy this time, Hina had always thought she was a vixen who'd seduced her Admiral.
But now, after meeting her, she realized that wasn't the case at all. Stussy was a very kind person. Despite her high position, she was gracious and understanding. Many of her words resonated deeply...
A misunderstanding! Those things before were definitely misunderstandings. As expected, you can't draw conclusions without direct contact. What you hear isn't as reliable as what you see!
If she thought about it carefully, it seemed Sister Gion hadn't had much contact with Sister Stussy either, so she must have had a mistaken impression. She must have been misled!
When Hina go back this time, Hina must explain everything to Sister Gion!
It was already afternoon when Finn had arrived on the island. Stussy ignored him and spent the whole afternoon handling various matters with Hina. Hina didn't feel tired at all and was very happy doing it.
The relationship between the two progressed by leaps and bounds. It wasn't until dark that Queen Stussy personally prepared a meal and entertained them both.
"When will Smoker arrive?" Finn asked while eating.
Stussy smiled at Finn. Seeing his glass was nearly empty, she refilled it for him. "He should be here in three to five days."
Hina glanced over, feeling somewhat conflicted. "My relationship with Stussy is pretty good now, right? But she also likes the Admiral. What should Hina do?"
Finn didn't notice Hina's internal struggle. Instead, he asked, "I don't quite understand. From the perspective of people in the New World, what's Smoker's situation?"
Stussy took a bite of rice, thought for a moment, then spoke. "His reputation isn't very good. At least among pirates, he's called a 'running dog of the World Government.' But his abilities are quite solid. As a Logia Devil Fruit user and a Marine academy trainee, his foundation is very solid. Over the past few years, he's gained continuous combat experience and made rapid progress. However, he's still young and hasn't fully realized his potential yet. Therefore, despite earning the title of Warlord of the Sea, he's still considerably weaker than the New World's top pirates. However, due to his status as one of the Warlords, most pirates are reluctant to trouble him. After all, he's currently the only one, and no one knows what the title truly entails. What if they provoke him and the World Government retaliates? In short, he can hold his own in the New World."
"I see," Finn nodded.
Queen Stussy's explanation was very comprehensive and detailed. Many things were invisible from the Marines' perspective... But generally speaking, Smoker should be in good condition.
"Do you think my idea is feasible?" Finn asked again.
Stussy was silent for a moment, then nodded. "From a business perspective, this is simply absurd. The so-called Seven Warlords of the Sea, the Marines, and my organization, using Smoker's name to form a trade organization, a chamber of commerce or something similar, is completely outrageous. Are any of us legitimate businessmen?"
Finn laughed when he heard this. It was true that none of them were legitimate businessmen.
But soon, Stussy smiled. "But from a practical perspective, while this is obviously a ridiculous idea, it's highly feasible. Because we're a trinity. Smoker is from your Marines, and I'm yours. We three parties each hold a certain amount of influence with the Marines, pirates, the CP, and the underworld. If we can unite our forces, based on your Marines' existing Calm Belt resources, I can't see any possibility of failure."
"That's what I judged, isn't it? Business talent?" Finn said this with a hint of dismissiveness. He then said in a deeper voice, "Only strength and authority can sustain all of this. Business talent is nothing compared to these things."
"That's right," Stussy nodded.
After a brief pause, Stussy asked again, "Have you discussed this with Smoker?"
Finn shook his head with a slightly embarrassed expression. "No. That guy said there was some misunderstanding with our teacher Zephyr. There's a three-year agreement or something. When I came here this time, I didn't dare tell him directly about it. I just said I had something important to discuss with him and asked him to come meet me at your place..."
Smoker was a stubborn one. He had a rather bad temper to begin with, and after spending more than two years in the pirate world, he might have become even more irritable.
Therefore, Finn hadn't revealed too much to him on the Den Den Mushi. After all, once this so-called 'business plan' was launched, Smoker, as long as he wasn't stupid, would understand it would take more than three years before he could return to Marineford.
By then, he'd definitely resist.
If they talked face to face, Finn could have a proper discussion with him.
But if they were on the Den Den Mushi, this guy might get angry, just hang up the Den Den Mushi, and ignore him. What would he do then?
Would he really let him be a pirate for the rest of his life and never come back?
After all, he was the one who'd gotten him into this situation, so Finn wouldn't go that far.
Although Stussy was somewhat curious about the three-year agreement, she didn't ask any more questions since Finn didn't want to elaborate.
Soon, the three of them finished their dinner, cleaned up a bit, and chatted in the courtyard for a long time. After it grew completely dark, they went back to their rooms to rest.
The accommodation Stussy had arranged for Finn was basically the same as what he had in Marineford, so there was nothing to get used to.
Just when Finn had washed up and was about to lie down to rest, his door, which he'd locked from the inside, was suddenly opened from the outside with a key.
Hearing this noise, Finn said while shaving in the bathroom, "Can't you be a little more reserved? Raiding in the middle of the night isn't what a good girl should do..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Stussy's head poked through the bathroom doorway. With a smile on her face, she raised her eyebrows and winked at Finn. "Oh? I never thought I was a good girl..."
Finn rinsed his chin with water, looked at his neatly trimmed beard in the mirror, then looked at Queen Stussy. "Really? Then I'll have to punish you, you wicked woman..."
"Come on, punish me!" Stussy said with a sweet laugh.
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