"A deal?"
Crocus was taken aback.
Leo's sudden shift in topic caught him off guard, even someone as experienced and composed as Crocus hesitated for a moment before fully processing it.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Crocus awkwardly replied:
"I'm sorry, Sir Leo..."
"Although I too wish to gain great power and reclaim my shadow, I haven't had much success lately. I doubt I have anything to offer in exchange."
Since his last deal with Leo, Crocus had traveled through the Devil's Sea with Laboon, leaving little opportunity to make any money, let alone afford a method to grow stronger.
But...
Leo, seeing Crocus' self-doubt, smiled calmly and replied:
"That's not true, Mr. Crocus."
"Who said you have nothing to trade?"
With those words, Leo raised a finger and flicked it toward the stomach acid sea inside Laboon.
Suddenly, a dark shadow emerged from the depths.
A small, simple safe flew out of the acidic sea, landing gently in front of Crocus.
Snap!
With a snap of Leo's fingers, the combination lock of the safe—which had been submerged in stomach acid for who knows how long but remained intact—began to rotate on its own.
Then... click.
With a soft sound, the safe opened.
Inside, a peculiar-looking fruit lay quietly.
"Is this... a Devil Fruit!?"
Crocus' eyes widened in disbelief. He pushed his glasses up, staring at the fruit with astonishment.
Leo merely smiled in response.
Thanks to the system's insights, Leo knew this safe had been accidentally swallowed by Laboon some time ago. It was so heavy that it sank to the bottom of the stomach, unnoticed by everyone.
Fortunately, the fruit was securely sealed within the safe; otherwise, Laboon would have lost the ability to swim had he ingested it.
Now, the system had recognized Crocus as the rightful owner of the Devil Fruit due to his close connection with Laboon. This allowed Leo to use the fruit for a dimensional transaction.
Unfortunately for Leo, the fruit wasn't anything extraordinary. The system identified it as a basic Zoan-type Devil Fruit: the Hamster-Hamster Fruit.
Besides the usual transformation powers granted by Zoan fruits, this one had no unique abilities. The system appraised its value at 7,500 points—of which one-fifth, or 1,500 points, belonged to Crocus.
The product Leo intended to recommend to Crocus was none other than the Bond Power worth exactly 1,500 points.
---
Some time later, deep within Laboon's acidic stomach...
"Noctowl, use Air Slash!!!"
"Gu~!"
With an ancient cry, Noctowl unleashed an Air Slash that sliced through the sky, cutting across the acid sea.
Whoosh!
The attack cleaved the sea of acid, creating a deep, canyon-like rift in the water, pushing it aside.
Moments later, as the waves crashed back into place, the sea seemed to rain down with a mixture of green gastric acid and seawater.
Brook and the others on the island were left in stunned silence, watching the spectacle unfold.
When the stomach sea finally calmed, one of the pirates murmured:
"Is this... Noctowl's new power? Isn't it a bit too terrifying!?"
"Is this Bond Power evolution really that amazing? Do you think the world outside has changed too?"
"I don't know about the outside world, but..."
"One thing's for sure..."
"Dimensional transactions are real!!!"
In an instant, dozens of eyes darted toward Leo, filled with excitement.
These pirates, having been trapped in the Devil's Sea with no access to outside information, had never heard of the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce or Dimensional Merchants. Even after Crocus mentioned dimensional transactions, they remained skeptical of such absurd claims.
After all, the concept of other worlds and interdimensional travel was beyond their comprehension.
But now, seeing Noctowl's newfound power after the transaction, they were utterly speechless.
Leo, satisfied with Noctowl's display of strength, smiled before turning to Crocus, who was still absorbing the effects of the Bond Power.
"So, Mr. Crocus," Leo asked with a grin,
"Are you satisfied with the evolution power of the Bond?"
Crocus, slightly dazed, began nodding vigorously:
"Satisfied! Satisfied! More than satisfied!!!"
Because his mind was now connected with Noctowl, Crocus knew Noctowl had held back in fear of hurting Laboon. It hadn't even used its full strength!
In other words...
Its true power was even more terrifying than what they had just witnessed! How could he not be satisfied with such overwhelming strength?
Receiving such positive feedback, Leo laughed heartily but then politely bid farewell to Crocus:
"Well, Mr. Crocus..."
"Now that our transaction is complete, I'll take my leave and prepare for the next one."
Meeting Crocus had been unexpected, but finding and trading a Devil Fruit to enhance Pokémon power had turned out to be quite the successful deal.
After a few more goodbyes, Leo's figure flickered and vanished from the world inside Laboon's stomach.
---
"We need to pick up the pace with collecting devil fruit abilities..."
Hovering above the Devil's Sea, Leo sharpened his focus, extending his senses to search for Moria and his crew.
Based on Crocus' situation, it seemed they were closing in on the Thriller Bark, preparing to confront Moria and reclaim their shadows.
Leo wasn't keen on letting the imminent war disrupt his exploration of the New World.
So, he intended to find Moria soon and copy the abilities of three important targets.
After a few seconds...
Leo, who had been deep in concentration, suddenly looked up, the corners of his mouth curling into a mysterious smile.
"Found it!"
Whoosh!
The figure floating in the dense fog vanished in an instant.
At the same time...
A surprise visitor appeared on the distant, eerie three-masted ship.
---
Meanwhile...
A new battle strategy meeting was taking place aboard the terrifying barque.
Inside the long-unused castle conference room, Moria's enormous, rotund body was wedged into a massive chair.
To his left and right sat Ghost Princess Perona, the brilliant surgeon Hogback, and the invisible man Absalom.
Moria continued to eat an unknown snack, his eyes glinting malevolently as he gazed at his companions.
After a while, he suddenly asked:
"Those pests haven't shown up in a while, have they?"
"Looks like they've finally given up."
He resumed snacking, as though the issue was of little importance to him.
Absalom, however, immediately voiced his concerns, unable to hide his unease:
"Moria-sama, the enemy is cunning. We can't let our guard down!"
Absalom couldn't help but shudder as he recalled the old man who had easily located him and impaled him with a harpoon. The baldness in his heart quivered with fear.
Had it not been for Hogback's medical expertise, Absalom doubted he'd even be sitting at this conference table now.
Perona, uncharacteristically, silently nodded in agreement. Normally confident in her Negative Ghost's power, she had been shaken when Crocus' skilled use of Armament Haki rendered her technique useless.
Not to mention the strange owl that could locate her real body in an instant...
A chill ran down Perona's spine at the thought. If Moria hadn't arrived in time that day, she might have become a real ghost.
The enemy's strength was beyond their expectations, and even though Moria seemed relaxed, none of them dared to fully lower their guard.
Moria, however, noticed the expressions of his subordinates and a nostalgic look flashed in his eyes.
While the trio seated around him now fit his goals...
They were still far weaker than the comrades who had perished in the New World.
The fact that an old man wielding two types of Haki had them trembling like this was proof of that.
Unbidden emotions stirred within Moria. He didn't bother to correct his subordinates' fears, instead flashing a grin that revealed his sharp fangs. His voice echoed with dark amusement as he said:
"Kishishishishi!"
"You're frightened by a mere old man!"
"Don't forget, we have the Demon Oars now. No enemy can stand against us!"
"Kishishishishi!" Moria's laughter filled the room.
Suddenly, a shadow resembling Moria himself appeared behind him and drew back the heavy curtains of the conference room.
Through the window, they could see a massive red figure reclining on a hillside, as though lounging in a chair. The giant held a large, rough-hewn teacup, casually sipping hot tea.
"Huh?"
Sensing the gazes of Moria and the others, Oars slowly turned his head. His face remained expressionless as he calmly asked: "What is it?"
It was clear to all of them—Oarz now housed Crocus' shadow, a gift from Moria.
Though Crocus was old, he had once sailed with the Pirate King, Roger. His shadow was filled with immense combat experience.
Freed from Crocus' aging body, his shadow could now unleash far more power through Oars than it ever could in his prime.
This was the source of Moria's confidence.
When he learned that he had captured the shadow of one of Roger's former crewmates, Moria was overjoyed. He had always wanted to find a powerful pirate's shadow for Oars, but he had never expected to claim the shadow of someone from the Pirate King's crew.
"Kishishishishi!" Moria's mocking laughter reverberated through the room.
Staring out at the distant Oars, Moria spread his arms wide before clenching his fists, fury flashing in his eyes.
"Wait for me, Kaido!!!"
"With the power of the immortal Demon Oars, I'll find you soon in the New World!"
"Then, I'll make you feel what it's like to lose your comrades!!!"
Boundless hatred surged from Moria as he poured all his hopes into the Demon Oars.
But just then...
A voice suddenly interrupted from behind Moria.
"Oh? Are you looking for Kaido too? You'd better hurry then. Doflamingo, your fellow Shichibukai, recently gathered a powerful force and is already preparing to face him."
"Who's there!?"
The unexpected voice sent a chill through Moria, freezing him in place. He turned sharply, waving his hand as the Shadow Dancer formed from his shadow transformed into a dark spear, thrusting toward the speaker.
But...
Clang!
With a soft metallic hum, the shadow spear was caught between two of Leo's fingers.
As Moria turned to face him, Leo looked up, meeting his gaze with a calm smile.
"I apologize for the intrusion…"
"But Mr. Moria, with your current strength, if you challenge Kaido, the only thing waiting for you is death."
Leo's friendly smile seemed harmless enough, yet in that moment, Moria glimpsed a vision of his own death reflected in Leo's deep eyes. A bone-chilling fear gripped Moria's heart.
The shadow spear instantly disintegrated into a swarm of bats and returned to Moria's feet.
Eyes filled with caution, Moria stood ready for battle, keeping his gaze locked on the unexpected visitor.
At that moment, Perona and Absalom swiftly closed in around Leo.
Absalom shouted:
"Who the hell are you!?"
Having narrowly survived the ordeal with Crocus, Absalom now harbored a deep wariness and hostility toward anyone who suddenly appeared on the island.
However...
Leo responded to the Moria Pirates' tension with another friendly smile, raising a hand in a calming gesture:
"There's no need to be so nervous. I didn't come here to cause trouble."
"I just noticed some of you are in a rather bad situation, so I thought I'd ask…"
"Have you considered making a dimensional transaction?"