Trader In The World Of Pirates!!!

This goal is so ambitious that even Leo doesn't know when he will achieve it.

But it doesn't matter.

A goal must be set high enough to inspire him, giving him the motivation to strive forward.

Otherwise, with his current strength and resources, he could easily find an ordinary world, crown himself king, and bask in endless glory and wealth...

Or he could explore worlds with peculiar rules and live a comfortable and "healthy" life there. Isn't that a beautiful option?

But now that he's made up his mind, Leo won't have any regrets.

After all...

Who says he can't still live a "healthy life" following this path?

...

After Reborn unsurprisingly rejected Leo's proposal...

Leo bid farewell to the Ninth Generation boss and immediately left the Vongola headquarters.

Although the Vongola family is the leading organization in the underground world, under the dragon's head there are the dragon's body, claws, and tail...

Having finally entered the "Reborn!" world, Leo had no intention of letting these families go unnoticed.

After gathering information from mafia families friendly with the Vongola, he quickly took action.

And so, without realizing it...

A month passed by slowly.

...

Eastern Italy.

At a street food stall beneath a high-end restaurant...

Dressed in beach attire, Leo lounged in a chair, searching with his lips for the straw to sip his lemon tea.

After a while, the sharp sound of the cup running dry pierced the air, and Leo finished the drink in one go.

He sighed in mild dissatisfaction:

"Alas..."

"I didn't expect there to be so little to gain in this world..."

"It seems that the majority of the world's power is concentrated in the 7 to the power of 3."

In the pirate world, the main source of power was the Devil Fruits.

But due to their sheer number, the power held by a single Devil Fruit could often be less than that of a famed sword.

In the "Reborn!" world, however, this is clearly not the case.

Here, much of the world's power is condensed into the 7 to the power of 3, making it even more concentrated.

Leo estimated...

The world power contained in a set of the third power of 7 could easily be worth no less than 5 million points!

"It's really troublesome."

Leo sighed again, sitting up and stretching lazily.

During the past month, he had visited more than a dozen mafia families.

However...

Aside from a few larger families that made him smile in the beginning...

The rest had very little wealth.

The last family he visited, even if they gave up all their riches, could only provide around 6,000 points.

While this wasn't a small amount, compared to the hundreds of thousands of points from his earlier deals, it didn't excite Leo anymore.

After all, the other mafia families in the "Reborn!" world barely appeared in the anime, and Leo knew little about them.

To ensure that the Pokémon he traded would be treated properly, he conducted thorough investigations into each mafia family before making deals.

And now, a problem had arisen...

His current workload was entirely disproportionate to the returns he was getting.

As a result, Leo had lost his enthusiasm for the work.

Whenever he saw an interesting place, he'd stop to take a break.

However...

Despite Italy's beautiful scenery, the endless number of thieves had completely dampened his enjoyment of it.

In this country, which had gone through so much during World War II, not only was the mafia, who controlled the nation's lifelines, rampant, but so too were the thieves in the streets.

Many with bad intentions eyed Leo, and some were even bold enough to try slipping a third hand into his pockets.

These unfortunate thieves, however, were met with a powerful suggestion:

From now on, they would dedicate their lives to charity—building bridges, raising orphans, and improving society.

It's foreseeable that in the future, some of these previously unscrupulous individuals might even become part of the "Top Ten People Who Moved Italy."

...

Pushing aside these unpleasant thoughts, Leo reviewed the details of the next mafia family.

No matter how small the gain, it was still a gain.

After all, it had cost Leo 5 million points to find the "Reborn!" world! So far, he'd only recovered less than 2 million points.

There was no way he was going to let this deal slip through his fingers.

These thoughts flashed through his mind.

Just as Leo was about to teleport to his next target...

A notification suddenly chimed from the Rotom phone at his waist.

"Hmm?"

The energy surging within Leo's body instantly dissipated.

After all, very few people in this world had the ability to contact him.

Other than the mafia bosses, only Ace and Reborn could.

Curious, he pulled out his Rotom phone.

As expected, Ace's video request appeared on the screen.

With a thought, Leo answered the call.

The Rotom phone floated into the air and projected Ace's three-dimensional figure in front of him.

"Sir Leo, I'm sorry to bother you."

As soon as the call connected, Ace apologized, looking slightly troubled:

"There seems to have been a minor incident..."

"Oh? What happened?"

Leo furrowed his brow, intrigued.

After all, with Ace and Charizard's strength, no one in this world should be capable of causing them any trouble.

Even the mighty Arcabelo should be keeping their distance.

Ace's projection looked thoughtful as he continued:

"A few days ago, Reborn, who had just returned to Japan, suddenly disappeared."

"At first, I thought he was just away on business."

"But just now, Lambo's Ten-Year Bazooka suddenly dropped from the sky and targeted Tsuna."

"Fortunately, Tsuna managed to dodge it with his own strength."

"Although nothing happened, I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right."

"Given that Reborn is a senior member of the Chamber of Commerce, I thought it was important to report this to you, Sir Leo."

After delivering his report, Ace fell silent, awaiting Leo's instructions.

However...

Rather than expressing concern, Leo's face lit up with curiosity and interest as he pondered what Ace had said.

After a moment, Leo murmured to himself:

"It's that time already..."

Under Ace's curious gaze, he slowly raised his head, gave an enigmatic smile, and said to Ace:

"Don't worry."

"If my guess is right, Mr. Reborn has likely been sent to the world ten years in the future."

"The world ten years in the future?"

Ace hesitated, then asked:

"But... isn't the ten-year bazooka supposed to only let someone stay in the future for five minutes?"

"It's been several days since Reborn disappeared."

"Well..."

Leo paused for a moment before smiling and replying:

"With today's technology, you're right—the rocket launcher can't do that."

"But..."

"If it involves future technology, that changes things."

"Huh?"

Ace seemed to understand, but still wasn't entirely sure of what Leo meant.

Leo continued:

"Don't worry, this is just something Reborn and Tsuna are destined to experience."

Next time, if Tsuna and the others get hit by the bazooka again, there's no need to stop them from escaping.

"Also, if you're interested, why not take a look at the world ten years in the future?"

"I have a feeling there will be many surprises waiting for you there."

"What!? The world ten years in the future!?"

Ace finally grasped what Leo was implying.

Although he didn't know exactly what would happen, one thing was clear...

Reborn's disappearance wasn't an accident, but part of a carefully orchestrated event!

The stage of this event was set in the future, ten years from now!

Realizing this, Ace's interest piqued.

He hadn't become an investigator of the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce just to see ordinary sights—he sought adventure in unexplored worlds! 

A journey to the future was exactly what he wanted.

"I understand, Sir Leo!" Ace replied enthusiastically.

He was about to bid Leo farewell and end the call when Leo suddenly stopped him.

"Hold on!"

"Soon, I might have to leave this world and continue searching for a new one."

"Huh? A new world!?"

Ace's eyes lit up, but then he hesitated.

As an investigator, it was his job to explore new worlds, but from what Leo was saying, it seemed he wasn't planning to take Ace with him.

"Sir Leo, I..."

Ace trailed off, unsure of what to say.

But Leo smiled and explained:

"After leaving this world, I plan to return to the pirate world and recruit a new investigator."

"The new world will be explored by new recruits."

"As for why I'm not taking you..."

"It's because, after coming to this world, I can sense..."

"There are still many untapped powers hidden here."

"Your task is to remain in this world and wait for the right moment."

"The future of this world might hold even more excitement than a new one."

"You might even encounter opponents that will challenge your very limits!"

"What?! Is that really possible!?"

Ace's expression brightened, and excitement surged through him again.

He had thought that seeing Tsuna defeat Varia was the pinnacle of this world's battles...

But according to Leo, that was just the beginning.

There were still powers in this world, even greater than he had imagined...

Ace's anticipation for the future adventure intensified.

After Leo gave him a few more instructions regarding the events in this world, the call ended.

As Leo put away his Rotom phone, he wore the same expression of anticipation as Ace had moments ago.

After all, he had dropped a subtle hint to Reborn...

If he could use future technology to create some powerful items, it might lead to a huge point redemption.

Leo was certain that Reborn, having picked up on his hint, would return from the future with plenty of surprises.

And after the future battle, the Arcobaleno would use their power to completely seal the Mare Rings.

At that point...

It should be easy enough to visit the Millefiore family and exchange the now-useless Mare Rings.

Since no one wanted them anymore, why not trade them for something valuable and make everyone happy?

Thinking about the massive points he could earn soon, Leo's energy returned in full force.

As for the next mafia family on his list?

If they couldn't even scrape together 10,000 points, they weren't worth his time!

He'd be better off focusing on finding the next world for trade.

With this thought in mind, Leo called for the waiter, paid for his lemon tea, and then cast his gaze to the distant sky.

"Well... I've been stuck here for over half a year..."

"I'm starting to miss the pirate world a little."

"Maybe I'll visit Jessie and James while Ace and the others are busy in the future world."

Once the dimensional passage was open, time between the two worlds would be synchronized.

That meant even if Leo returned to the pirate world, he wouldn't have to worry about Ace growing old or disappearing when he came back to this world.

Still, quite some time had passed since the passage had been established, and Leo had no idea how much time had passed in the pirate world.

To outsiders, he was a dimensional merchant who had traveled across countless worlds, representing the great Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce...

But in reality, the pirate world was the foundation of his survival.

Only with the pirate world stable could he continue earning points.

So, Leo had a special attachment to that world.

Because points could be lost while traveling through the void...

Leo hadn't collected any points earned by Jessie and the others during their time in the pirate world.

All of it was accumulating.

Perhaps, he wouldn't even need to wait for the Mare Rings—returning to the pirate world might already offer him a huge surprise!

With these thoughts racing through his mind, Leo made a decision.

He surrounded himself with the power of the world's origin, entered the dimensional passage, and quickly traversed the void.

In just a few moments...

When Leo opened his eyes again...

The bustling cityscape had been replaced by the vast, endless ocean.

In an instant!

The world's overwhelming power surged toward him like a tidal wave.

And in his system panel, his points balance skyrocketed...

The original 6 million points balance had now shot up to 8.5 million in the blink of an eye!

It was the exact balance he'd left behind before departing the pirate world.

For a moment, Leo was stunned.

Could it be...

Had he never actually left the pirate world!?