Marvel: Trading with Worlds

"It's confirmed. He's incredibly powerful."

"One of his abilities is spatial manipulation, similar to the Door-Door Fruit. He can appear suddenly inside a sealed conference hall with locked doors and windows. He also has control over flames."

"His fire can burn my seastone weapon and even threaten the very naturalization of a Logia user. If he attacks me, I'm dead!"

Smoker reported to Naval Headquarters through a Den Den Mushi, relaying everything he had learned.

"It's not a Devil Fruit, are you all idiots?! I just said the flames burned through my seastone weapon! According to him, it's magic."

"Instead of wasting time asking me, you should have the World Government's intelligence agency investigate!"

"And stop sending me to deal with this—I'm a Marine Colonel, not a negotiator!"

With that, Smoker angrily hung up.

The incompetents at HQ kept dumping everything on him, a branch colonel. Good thing Tashigi wasn't around today—otherwise, it would've been even more humiliating.

The opponent had beaten him without even moving—sitting leisurely on a bench, no less. If word got out about this, what Marine star? It was all just empty talk.

"Colonel Smoker…"

Tashigi's hesitant voice pulled him from his thoughts. She had been watching him the whole time, sensing his unusual frustration. Normally, he could have a rational discussion with HQ, but lately, he'd been snapping at them the moment they disagreed.

Smoker turned, his voice sharp. "Tashigi!"

"Yes, Colonel Smoker!"

"Notify all soldiers—training exercises are doubled from now on. If they stay this weak, how the hell are they supposed to protect civilians from pirates?"

Tashigi's eyes widened in shock. "Double? Colonel, isn't that a bit—"

"Triple it!"

"Yes, sir! Understood!"

She knew from the look on his face that arguing was pointless. With a sharp salute, she hurried off to inform the rest of the branch.

Meanwhile, the calm seas rippled once more following a new statement from the World Government.

Crocodile, the Sand-Sand Fruit user, had been executed for treason and other crimes.

And the man who had defeated Crocodile had now become one of the new Seven Warlords of the Sea.

'Mage' Kain pent.

Magic existed in the One Piece world, seen in various performances and even in pirate names, but true magic was still an unfamiliar concept. Kain pent was likely the first person to gain fame purely for using magic.

Even the World Government had no records of magic, meaning the rest of the pirate world had even less knowledge of it.

However, in their official announcement, the World Government went out of their way to exaggerate Kain's image—claiming he was a businessman with an intense hatred for pirates.

According to them, if given the chance, he would round up every last pirate, refusing to sell them even a single gun or bullet.

"' Mage' Kain pent… influenced by Marine justice?"

Nico Robin read aloud from the newspaper, a teasing smile on her lips.

"'As a child, Mr. Pent even swore to one day eliminate the last pirate and bring peace to the seas. Boss, was this really your childhood dream?'"

She turned to Kain, amusement dancing in her eyes.

After setting sail earlier, she had bought the newspaper from a passing News bird, only to stumble upon this hilariously absurd claim.

"My childhood dream was to marry seven wives. I never had any intention of driving away pirates. Robin, did I ever give them permission to print this nonsense in the newspaper?"

Kain carefully read through the article. It was obvious that the World Government was trying to stir up hostility between him and the pirates.

 While the newspaper didn't explicitly state it, the implication was clear—it painted him as being far too close to the Marines.

Nico Robin smiled knowingly. "You probably let them handle it however they wanted when you got impatient. But with your current strength, the seven wives dream should be achievable."

"Dreams naturally change with power." Kain waved his hand dismissively. "But let's not dwell on that. There'll probably be plenty of pirates coming after us now. Robin, when we return, I'll lend you the fire dragon. Let it hunt sea beasts on its own. Any enemies it can't handle, leave them to me."

The fire dragon Kain was referring to was currently hitched outside, pulling their chariot.

It had grown over 60 meters long and required a massive amount of meat daily. Every so often, Kain would stock his pet bag with cattle, sheep, basilisks, and green snakes—he had even signed a contract with a large ranch to ensure a steady supply.

But in the world of pirates, food wasn't an issue. The fire dragon could even dive for short periods, and as long as it avoided large Sea Kings, it had little to fear.

Its sheer power and flames made it a formidable force—capable of unleashing 100-meter-long fire pillars while flying. In the first half of the Grand Line, there were few pirates who could even put up a fight against it.

Robin's eyes lit up with excitement when she heard Kain was lending her the fire dragon.

"With the chariot too?" she asked hopefully.

Their dragon chariot was what Kain and Robin were currently traveling in.

It had ten large rooms, five living rooms, various storage areas, a kitchen, entertainment rooms, and more—basically a moving fortress of luxury.

Though Kain had designed it for convenience, he was so used to Apparating that he rarely had a reason to use it.

After a moment of thought, he sighed. "Fine. You can use everything except my room. Consider it a vice president's perk. Just don't slack off when it comes to handling the Devil Fruits."

Robin beamed with joy. "Of course, boss. I won't let you down."

Not only did she have a new identity, but now she had access to such an incredible vehicle. She had truly made the right choice.

Crocodile?

Who's that?

Her boss was Kain Pent now—and she had no regrets.

Before long, the two arrived near Gaya Island.

Rumors had spread that a Knock Up Stream had erupted there recently, and Robin had sent people to investigate.

Kain casually cast a waterproof and moisture-proof spell on the fire dragon before commanding it to fly straight into the sky.

At over 10,000 meters, even Kain's fire dragon struggled a little.

But it persevered, soaring higher and higher.

At 6,000 meters, it pierced through the clouds—and beyond them lay a vast sea of clouds.

….

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