"Mom... Mom..."
Looking at the white-haired woman before her, Robin softly murmured, barely able to believe what she was seeing. The figure she had only dreamed of for so long was now standing before her, very much real. For a moment, Robin couldn't tell if this was reality or just another dream. Her hands trembled as she hastily wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes.
Then, unexpectedly,
"Hmm~"
Olvia, who had just been resurrected, softly murmured. Her previously closed eyes twitched before slowly opening. In an instant, a pair of clear, bright eyes—untainted by any trace of dust—came into view, gazing blankly at the world around her, as though seeing it for the first time.
"W-Where am I...?"
Those who return from the underworld often retain memories of their final moments before death, but their consciousness remains disoriented in the face of reality. Olvia strained to open her eyes wider and suddenly noticed a girl in front of her, one who bore a striking resemblance to herself and was staring at her with tear-filled eyes. Behind the girl stood a man and a beautiful blonde woman.
"This is nuS Island," Leo suddenly spoke up, gently answering Olvia's question. He smiled softly and waved his hand, instantly conjuring an extra layer of clothing over Olvia's graceful figure—the very same clothes she had worn before her death, concealing her otherwise exposed body.
Even though Olvia was a mother, her skin was still as smooth and supple as that of a young girl, and her slender legs only added to her allure. This situation left Leo unsure where to direct his gaze, so he wisely chose to cover her up. As the saying goes, "Out of sight, out of mind."
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Miss Olvia," Leo said with a gentle smile.
"Mom!"
Robin suddenly cried out, her voice trembling with emotion. At that moment, she finally accepted the reality that her mother had truly been resurrected. Though she was already twenty-six years old, she flung her arms around Olvia's neck like a little girl and sobbed, "Mom, it's so wonderful! I'm so glad you're back!"
The strength that had sustained Robin for twenty-six years vanished in an instant, and her tears flowed freely, as if making up for all the lost years of emotions she had kept bottled up.
"Ro... Robin? Is that really you, Robin!?"
As Olvia held the crying girl in her arms, a powerful sense of connection surged through her. Despite not having spent much time with Robin, Olvia miraculously recognized her daughter. The two embraced tightly, overwhelmed by the joy and tears of their reunion.
A moment of reunion is worth a thousand words.
Unfortunately, though the scene was deeply touching, Leo, as an outsider, couldn't fully empathize with the emotional reunion. After letting out a quiet sigh, he turned his attention to another matter.
Noticing Kalifa, who seemed to be in shock from witnessing the resurrection, Leo smiled softly. In an instant, he activated his psychic powers, sending a message directly to Kalifa's mind: "Follow me."
This simple command snapped Kalifa out of her daze. She was momentarily confused but quickly realized what had happened and turned her gaze toward Leo. A stiff smile appeared in her bright eyes.
"He knows who I am!?"
Kalifa was startled, but considering that someone capable of resurrecting the dead would easily know her identity, it wasn't all that surprising.
After taking a deep breath and seeing that Robin and Olvia were still absorbed in their emotional reunion, Kalifa nodded obediently, moved quietly to the wall, and followed Leo out of the room.
As soon as she stepped through the doorway, the scene before Kalifa changed. In the blink of an eye, she found herself in a beautifully decorated office. Leo, the dimensional merchant, was already seated in a chair, looking at her with a half-smile.
It's over. He definitely knows my identity!
Terrified, Kalifa took a step forward and anxiously said, "Lord Dimensional Merchant, may I ask—"
"CP9, a secret intelligence agency directly under the World Government. Miss Kalifa," Leo interrupted her before she could finish. "You've been hiding near Miss Robin to find me, haven't you?"
Boom!
Leo's words hit Kalifa like a thunderclap. Although she had anticipated this, hearing it directly from Leo still left her frozen in place.
"This... It's over, it's all over," she thought.
Before taking on this mission, Kalifa had never imagined that encountering a dimensional merchant would bring so much pressure. But after witnessing Leo resurrect a person with a mere wave of his hand, he had become a "god-like" figure in her mind. And here she was, playing a dangerous game, trying to get close to a god...
Kalifa, panic-stricken, opened her mouth to speak, but Leo interrupted her again. Sensing her nervousness, he smiled and said, "It's alright. The fact that I'm standing in front of you means you're qualified to meet me."
A special energy infused into Kalifa's body, gradually easing her panic. But before she could fully calm down, Leo dropped another bombshell. With his hands clasped together on the table, he looked at her with a smile and asked:
"Miss Kalifa, I wonder if you'd be interested in making a deal with me to become a Pokémon Trainer, like Robin?"
"A Trainer?!"
Kalifa's expression changed again, and she looked at Leo in shock. She hadn't expected an invitation to make a deal. At that moment, Kalifa fell into deep thought. More than ten years of spy training had never prepared her for dealing with someone like Leo—a [God].
But she did know how to handle the so-called "descendants of gods," the Celestial Dragons. Kalifa's mind raced as she quickly composed herself. Her cute and innocent demeanor vanished, replaced by the cool and composed demeanor of a seasoned female agent.
"Forgive me, Lord Dimensional Merchant!"
Kalifa knew that all her small schemes were laughable in the face of such a powerful being, so she quickly admitted her wrongdoing.
"I am indeed an agent sent by the World Government. My mission was to make contact with you, sir, and facilitate the World Government's desire to conduct dimensional transactions with you. Please understand, sir, that the World Government bears no ill will towards you. It's just that, given the vastness of the seas, finding you is like looking for a needle in a haystack..." Kalifa explained in a desperate tone, as though her very life hung in the balance.
After finishing her explanation, she bowed deeply, her low neckline revealing a deep and mysterious cleavage in a show of sincerity.
She remembered how, before starting this mission, Spandam had advised her to use any means necessary to succeed. But seeing how Leo had barely even glanced at Olvia's exposed body earlier, Kalifa couldn't help but smile bitterly to herself:
"How could such a terrifying existence be swayed by mere physical allure..."
After Kalifa finished speaking, Leo's smile took on a more mysterious quality. With a wave of his hand, an invisible force gently lifted Kalifa back to an upright position.
"Miss Kalifa, there's no need to worry," Leo chuckled softly. "As I said, if you're standing before me, you are destined to meet me. You have the qualifications to make a deal with me."
"But..." Leo's tone suddenly shifted, causing Kalifa's mood to change instantly.
With a sigh, Leo continued, "At this moment, it seems you're not ready to make a decision for yourself."
Kalifa understood Leo's meaning instantly, even though his words were somewhat cryptic.
Because she had been trained and brainwashed by the World Government from childhood, Kalifa at this time was simply someone who would sacrifice everything for her mission.
In other words, deep within her subconscious, her life belonged to the World Government, and everything she possessed also belonged to them.
This was obviously not what Leo wanted to see.
Sure enough, after understanding the meaning behind Leo's words, Kalifa parted her lips slightly and responded cautiously:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Dimensional Merchant, I have no intention of making a trade at the moment."
"However, if it's possible, could I pass on this opportunity to the World Government?"
"Please trust me, sir! The World Government will definitely meet all your demands!"
After saying that, Kalifa bowed once more.
She knew her request was rather bold and that she was daring to alter the [God's] wishes.
However, at this moment, Kalifa felt she had to do whatever it took to complete her mission.
This is CP9, the world's top espionage organization trained by the World Government!
"Is that really what you think..."
Leo sighed softly, but instead of discussing the trade further, he shook his head regretfully and said:
"I'm sorry, Miss Kalifa, but the current World Government does not yet qualify for dimensional transactions."
Even though the World Government had vast resources and could fulfill his requirements for traversing worlds almost instantly, Leo was unwilling to trade with them so early.
Firstly, doing so would allow the World Government to dominate and once again firmly control the world in their hands—a scenario Leo was keen to avoid.
In a world without conflict, people would lose the drive to move forward.
And once that drive is lost, whether it be combat skills, scientific research, weapons, or legendary swords—things created by humans that constitute the world's original power—would eventually wither and fade away.
For sustainable development, Leo needed a world that was constantly changing.
Only through change could the world's original power have the potential to grow, aligning with the "Purpose of the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce" that Leo had fabricated.
Secondly, as a fan of the pirate world, Leo himself was not fond of the World Government's methods.
Now that he had become a god-like being, he naturally wanted to shape the world according to his preferences.
World government? He wouldn't trade with this force until one side had the power to challenge the World Government.
Leo's refusal felt like a sharp blade cutting through Kalifa's expectations.
She froze on the spot, unsure of what to say.
But as she bowed deeply, she didn't see the meaningful smile that once again appeared on Leo's face.
"Miss Kalifa, you are the first person to refuse a trade with me since I came to this world."
"Could you please tell me what it is about dimensional transactions that makes you unwilling to trade?"
Leo's slightly apologetic voice suddenly reached Kalifa's ears, sounding more like that of a motivated employee eager to please.
This humble tone immediately filled Kalifa with fear.
She frantically waved her hands and said in a panic:
"No! No! Please believe me, it's not that I don't want to engage in dimensional transactions."
"It's just that everything I have belongs to the World Government. If I were to make a trade, it would be on their behalf."
"But doing so would go against your expressed wishes, so to avoid angering you, I don't dare make any transactions with you before you agree to trade with the World Government."
After speaking, Kalifa lowered her head in shame, feeling unworthy of Leo's favor and unable to meet his gaze.
But at this moment, Leo smiled.
"I see," he murmured softly.
"Miss Kalifa, you are indeed the World Government's top agent, but in doing so, your future seems too bleak."
Leo sighed softly, his tone full of regret.
Kalifa blinked in confusion and asked, "Sir, what do you mean by this?"
Leo chuckled softly, then snapped his fingers and said gently:
"Why don't you come and see for yourself? Come on."
Snap!
With the snap of his fingers, Kalifa's vision suddenly blurred, and she found herself no longer in the office but in a place extremely familiar to her.
Enies Lobby.
Hovering above Enies Lobby, Kalifa immediately recognized it as the headquarters of the CP9 department.
Just as she was feeling disoriented, Leo's voice appeared in her ears once again.
"This is Enies Lobby two years from now—a future scene projected by me using the power of a dimensional merchant."
"Of course, due to the overwhelming power of time, some characters in the projection may appear slightly blurred."
"Enies Lobby two years later!?"
Kalifa ignored the latter half of Leo's statement and was once again shocked by Leo's god-like abilities.
Her eyes widened, but she never doubted the truth of Leo's words.
Because with such a terrifying existence as the dimensional merchant, there was no need to lie to her.
But it was precisely because of this that she was even more astonished.
In the future projection before her, Enies Lobby was being attacked by a group of pirates whose faces were blurred and whose identities were indistinguishable…
(End of this chapter)