! ! ?
Aokiji, who had been exuding a powerful chill, suddenly stiffened, his eyes narrowing with vigilance.
In an instant, an overwhelming pressure descended upon him like a god from the heavens.
Despite his ability to control ice, he felt as if his heart had been encased in ice crystals from the underworld, frozen to the core.
"Who's there?"
Aokiji's lips quivered slightly as he turned his gaze toward the young man who had appeared out of nowhere.
And then, in the next second, his pupils contracted in shock, as if he had seen something truly terrifying. His expression shifted to one of surprise and alarm.
"...Dimensional Merchant, Leo?"
He muttered softly, almost as if he was talking to himself, trying to confirm whether he was seeing an illusion.
At this moment, news about Leo had not yet spread widely, but thanks to the Navy's internal communication channels, Aokiji immediately recognized Leo's identity.
Instantly, Aokiji's demeanor changed. The laziness on his face vanished, replaced by a serious expression as he watched Leo warily.
He had no choice but to be serious.
After all, he had seen Akainu, whose strength was nearly equal to his own, beaten into submission...
He couldn't fathom the true extent of this dimensional merchant's power.
Suddenly, a chilling thought crossed Aokiji's mind, causing a drop of cold sweat to form on his forehead.
Could it be that this man intended to challenge another admiral because he wasn't satisfied with beating Akainu alone?
Given Leo's recent actions, he clearly didn't have a favorable impression of the Navy...
One battle in the day, another at night? There are only three admirals in the Navy...
Damn it, and Kizaru managed to escape!
As Leo's seemingly harmless smile spread across his face, Aokiji couldn't shake the feeling of impending danger.
Fortunately...
To Aokiji's relief, Leo didn't launch another attack after blocking his move.
Instead, Leo smiled and nodded at him, saying, "Mr. Aokiji, these two happen to be valuable customers of mine. Could you be so kind as to let them go, just this once?"
At this moment, Leo seemed friendly, his eyes locking onto Aokiji's as though they were old friends catching up after years apart.
However, despite the polite tone, Aokiji knew...
If he refused, he would likely be the next one to suffer Akainu's fate.
As a naval admiral, Aokiji wasn't one to back down easily. But remembering the Fleet Admiral Sengoku specific instructions to maintain good relations with dimensional merchants, he reluctantly nodded.
"Thank you for your understanding."
Leo expressed his gratitude, a hint of satisfaction on his face.
However...
Internally, Leo was filled with helplessness and regret.
Just moments ago, Rotom, the phone responsible for monitoring other trainers, had informed him that Nami and Kuro were about to encounter each other in the Kingdom of Hyde.
With nothing better to do, Leo, curious, realized he was not far from the Kingdom of Hyde and directed Wailord to swim there.
He had been quite excited...
After all, whether Nami or Kuro succeeded in robbing the country, Leo would earn a significant number of points.
But unexpectedly...
Just as Nami and Kuro were about to succeed, another navy admiral appeared out of nowhere!
To protect these two traders he valued, Leo had no choice but to intervene.
But this meant that, due to his interference as a character outside the Pokémon and Pirate worlds, even if Nami succeeded, the system wouldn't recognize her victory.
A whole night of anticipation, and he ended up just watching the show.
All he wanted was to earn some points and collect a bit of "wool" from the Pirate World...
Is that too much to ask!?
As for dealing with the King of Hyde Kingdom?
Leo had no intention of doing so.
From his perspective, he saw everything happening in the Kingdom of Hyde, and it also filled him with a righteous anger.
But...
Leo believed that matters of this world should be resolved by its inhabitants, and he wouldn't interfere too much.
Firstly, because there were too many similar situations in the Pirate World for him to handle.
Secondly, if he intervened, much of the money and treasures in this world would lose their value for point redemption.
So, Leo would only offer guidance and not get directly involved.
In his plan...
Such tyrants with immense wealth and no humanity had already been marked as [BOSS], [Big Boss], etc., just waiting for his group of traders and players to take them down.
He intended to influence the Pirate World little by little through trade.
Not to make it significantly better, but at least to ensure that monsters like the Celestial Dragons wouldn't appear.
This way, he could conduct business in other worlds in the future with peace of mind.
...
...
With these thoughts in mind, Leo maintained his smile while Aokiji, after a brief hesitation, retracted the overwhelming cold air.
Instantly, the lazy aura returned to Aokiji's demeanor.
To avoid getting beaten up, he quickly adopted a harmless appearance. After gathering his thoughts, he said nervously, "I... I didn't expect to meet you here..."
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the Dimensional Merchant Leo that Vice Admiral Garp mentioned, right?"
"Oh?"
Leo grinned.
"Now that Mr. Aokiji knows my identity, I won't waste any more words."
"Although I shouldn't interfere too much in the affairs of your world..."
"Regarding the matter of the Kingdom of Hyde, what they are doing aligns with my interests, so I ask for your understanding."
"No problem at all!"
Aokiji replied promptly, without hesitation.
Although he didn't know much about the situation in this country...
He was reluctant to clean up the Celestial Dragons' messes, but his job forced him to do so.
Now that a dimensional merchant was involved, how could he pass up such a good excuse to take it easy?
Leo smiled and nodded slightly, seemingly appreciating Aokiji's tact.
With a snap of his fingers...
The ice that had encased Nami, Carina, and Kuro shattered, falling away like a crumbling mold.
However, Leo didn't wake them immediately. Instead, he sent a waveguide to the three Pokémon, asking them to carry the trio away.
He still had matters to discuss with Aokiji.
Garp, the "insider," had already informed him about Aokiji bringing money to the East Blue Sea.
Since he couldn't claim the wealth of the Hyde Kingdom for now, he would make up for it through the navy.
Leo smiled and, without any pretense, got straight to the point, saying to Aokiji:
"Mr. Aokiji, our meeting must be fate."
"I wonder if you're interested in making a deal with me?"
"A deal!?"
A flash of icy blue flickered in Aokiji's eyes.
He had thought Leo harbored ill will toward the navy and was just considering how to speak to him.
But to his surprise, the dimensional merchant had proposed a deal.
Aokiji nodded eagerly, a smile breaking through his serious expression:
"To be honest with you, Sir Leo, that's exactly what I had in mind!"
—
—
—
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, less than half a month had gone by. The legend of the dimensional merchant had spread completely across the seas. In the East Blue Sea, rumors circulated that some people had gained the favor of the dimensional merchant and received Pokémon from another world!
Suddenly, more and more people began to set sail, making this once-quiet world bustle with activity once again.
At the same time...
At Naval Headquarters, Marineford, Navy Fleet Admiral Sengoku stared in disbelief at the two fish creatures in front of him.
One was a carp-shaped fish, its body covered in hard red scales with a pair of dull, pea-sized eyes. It remained motionless in the transparent fish tank. The other was a thin, blue-and-white fish with wavy patterns on its body and large watery eyes, as if it was about to cry at any moment.
With a vein throbbing on his forehead, Sengoku glanced from the fish to Aokiji, then back to the fish...
After a long pause, he sighed and looked back at Aokiji.
"Admiral Aokiji, I need an explanation..."
Sengoku struggled to suppress his rising blood pressure as he prepared to hear Aokiji's report.
He had allocated 1 billion in military resources and sent Aokiji to the East Blue Sea to find the dimensional merchant and make a trade.
He expected Aokiji to bring back a high-level combat power comparable to that of an admiral...
But instead, he only brought back a boatload of fish!
"Uh... this..."
Aokiji, standing opposite Sengoku, scratched his head and looked at the Magikarp and Feebas on the table. He couldn't help but wonder if he had been tricked.
Strange!
Everything had seemed fine during the transaction...
"Marshal, please don't be too hasty."
Aokiji forced a smile and tried to reassure Sengoku.
He then started to recall what Leo had told him during the trade, organizing his thoughts before explaining it to Sengoku:
"Marshal, you mustn't underestimate these two Pokémon!"
"They possess truly terrifying and powerful potential!"
(End of this chapter)