Trader In The World Of Pirates!!!

"Larvesta, use your Silk Attack!"

The dense, demon-filled forest stretched on.

Following Tanjiro's command, a large net of bright white threads shot from Larvesta's mouth, gleaming under the moonlight like a fine, woven fabric. The threads quickly ensnared the Demon before them.

"Why does it feel like there are suddenly more demons?" 

Tanjiro looked at the fifth demon he had caught today, a look of confusion crossing his face.

Today was the final night of the Demon Slayer Trial. 

By tomorrow afternoon, Tanjiro would leave Fujikasane Mountain and officially join the Demon Slayer Corps. But something had changed—just two nights ago, while wandering the mountain, he had only encountered one or two demons. Now, it felt like Fujikasane Mountain had transformed into a "mountain of demons," overflowing with Demons. It left Tanjiro puzzled.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the forest.

In the next instant, Enel appeared before Tanjiro.

"Sir Enel," Tanjiro said, putting aside his confusion to greet him respectfully.

Enel didn't waste time on formalities. He smiled slightly, summoning the trading system into Tanjiro's mind with a wave of his hand.

In just a few seconds, the Demon trapped in the silk threads disintegrated into ash, vanishing into the air.

"Tanjiro, I knew you had potential."

"I didn't expect you to accumulate enough points for Bond Evolution so quickly. You've truly lived up to being my first trader in this world!" 

Enel's praise was genuine, and at the same time, it deepened his understanding of the trading potential in this world.

In just seven days, he had already completed one-quarter of his internship tasks—despite only having one trader.

While the power system of this new world was not as diverse as the Pirate World, its original strength was more concentrated. Power wasn't scattered here.

As long as he kept encouraging people to capture Demons and engage in trades, he could potentially complete his goal of reaching a transaction volume of 1 million within a year or two.

It seemed like… everything was falling into place.

Enel pondered this as he finalized the transaction with Tanjiro.

Before long, Tanjiro, who had successfully purchased Bond Evolution, moved aside to test out his new abilities with Larvesta.

Unfortunately, Larvesta was still only at level 7. After the Bond Evolution, aside from giving Tanjiro a slight ability to control fire, it didn't offer many other immediate benefits.

But even with that, Tanjiro was amazed by the power of Pokémon.

He found an open space and began experimenting with his newfound mental abilities.

Meanwhile, Enel, after exchanging farewells with Tanjiro, transformed into lightning and disappeared from sight.

After a few days of recovery, he had regained the ability to use his Thunder Fruit powers. His Observation Haki had also returned to the point where he could monitor all of Fujikasane Mountain.

Enel was well aware of the question that lingered in Tanjiro's mind—the sudden surge of demons.

The real reason?

As of today, only four trialists remained on Fujikasane Mountain! 

When the trials had started with many participants, each demon would only chase a few individuals. Now, with just four survivors left, dozens of demons were hunting each one.

Naturally, the frequency of demon encounters had increased.

Had it not been for the extraordinary skill of these four, who had slain nearly half of the Demons on the mountain over the past few days, Tanjiro would have encountered even more demons.

However, Enel had no intention of revealing this to Tanjiro.

Knowing Tanjiro's nature, if he found out, he would likely be consumed with grief for the other trialists. That sorrow could slow down his demon-slaying efficiency—a risk Enel wasn't willing to take.

In truth, to accelerate the growth of his transaction volume, Enel had been observing the remaining trialists on Fujikasane Mountain for the past few days.

Initially, he had hoped that they, like Tanjiro, would make good trading partners.

But after two days of observation, Enel's brow furrowed more and more.

Aside from Tanjiro, the other three were… unusual, to say the least.

One was a quiet girl, with a heart that even Enel couldn't read.

This meant one of two things: either the girl had a stronger Haki than Enel, allowing her to block his observations, or… she was mentally unstable, with no emotional fluctuations whatsoever.

Enel quickly deduced that the latter was true.

Such people, devoid of desires, made poor candidates for trading.

As for the other two boys? Each was stranger than the last.

One had a split personality: normally timid and cowardly, hiding from everything, but when he passed out or fell asleep, he would transform into someone even more powerful than Tanjiro, capable of decapitating demons with ease.

The other boy was even more bizarre—he could eat man-eating demons and absorb their power. But his ability had time limits, making it less practical.

Despite their oddities, these three trialists were the most promising potential traders Enel had encountered so far. So, he continued to observe them, waiting for the right moment.

Initially, there had been five people he was watching, but just yesterday, one trialist, wearing a pig's head, had inexplicably escaped Fujikasane Mountain by tearing a hole in the ground. 

All Enel could think was…

Although this world's power system wasn't as developed as the Pirate World's, the sheer concentration of strange phenomena was much higher.

Perhaps only the truly eccentric survived to join the Demon Slayer Corps?

…

…

Time passed under Enel's silent watch.

Before long, the seven-day Demon Slayer Trial officially ended.

Tanjiro, burdened with nearly ten Nichirin swords, emerged from Fujikasane Mountain, his heart heavy.

Even though he had prepared himself, the sight of only four survivors among the original twenty-plus trialists caused a tremor in his chest.

Everything after that proceeded as expected.

The two daughters of the Demon Slayer Corps' leader managed the aftermath.

During this time, Genya attempted to yank out the little girl's hair, only to be stopped by Tanjiro.

After selecting the ores to forge their Nichirin swords, the trial officially concluded.

And at long last, Tanjiro was on his way home.

But this time, aside from the Larvesta at his waist, Tanjiro also had a dimensional trader from the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce with him—Enel!

Having yet to find suitable trading partners, Enel decided to accompany Tanjiro on his journey after the trial. According to Tanjiro, once he officially joined the Demon Slayer Corps, he'd be assigned missions to eliminate demons. With Enel by his side, they'd be able to swiftly defeat demons and trade them for points, minimizing any risk of mishaps.

Moreover, Tanjiro had a mentor waiting for him—Sakonji Urokodaki, a seasoned demon hunter and trainer. Enel believed that if the Demon Slayer Corps trusted Urokodaki with such a pivotal role, the man was certainly no ordinary figure. Perhaps Tanjiro's master could even open up new trading opportunities for him in this world!

---

A few days later, at Urokodaki's residence...

Sakonji Urokodaki sat with a steaming cup of tea, staring in shock at Enel, who was sitting casually across from him. After a long moment, Urokodaki sighed deeply, his voice trembling with excitement.

"I never imagined the world could be so vast."

Urokodaki had no doubt about Enel's identity. Whether it was Enel's ability to transform into lightning or Tanjiro's sudden ability to control fire, everything felt undeniably real. The concept of trading demons for power lit a fire within him. He slapped his legs enthusiastically, exclaiming, "Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

Without hesitation, Urokodaki knelt before Enel, tears welling in his eyes. "Dimensional Lord Merchant, please grant me some time. I must head to the Demon Slayer Headquarters immediately and report this to the master!"

"Of course," Enel replied with a smile.

Just as Enel anticipated, Tanjiro's master was elated at the idea of exchanging demons for power. Unfortunately, having recently retired, Urokodaki no longer had access to the Corps' crows for communication, so it would take nearly two months to reach headquarters on foot.

Wasting no time, Urokodaki began packing his belongings. He was so focused on reporting the news that he even forgot about Tanjiro, whom he had just recently trained. His mind was fixated solely on spreading the word to the master of the Demon Slayer Corps. The thought of sacrificing demons for power was the dream of every Demon Slayer—if this had been discovered sooner, the Corps could have saved many lives.

Filled with newfound determination, Urokodaki rushed out the door, despite his age. Fortunately, his strength remained intact, or he might have never made it to headquarters alive.

---

Inside the cabin...

Watching his teacher disappear into the distance like a whirlwind, Tanjiro extended his hand, blinking in confusion. He hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye.

"Master is quite... eager," Tanjiro remarked with a sheepish smile. But he quickly composed himself, turning to Enel with a serious expression.

"Sir Enel, you've seen Nezuko's condition... Is there anything in your shop that can turn her back into a human?"

Caught up in Urokodaki's excitement earlier, Tanjiro hadn't had the chance to ask about his sister's situation. Now, he inquired with urgency.

However, Enel shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Tanjiro. I've assessed your sister's situation, but it appears that her body has been too deeply influenced by this world's original power. Items from other dimensions won't work on her."

"At present, the only way to fully save her is to become a VIP6 member of the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce, granting you access to world-level powers."

"Is that so..." Tanjiro's face fell in disappointment, but he quickly regained his resolve. Clenching his fists, he muttered, "It doesn't matter! At least now I know Nezuko can be saved!"

"To reach VIP6 status, I need to collect 100,000 points. If each demon gives me 100 points, that means I'll need to sacrifice 1,000 demons!"

"And as Larvesta and I grow stronger, the demons we defeat will yield even more points... Maybe I won't need to eliminate that many after all!"

Tanjiro's words acted like a form of self-hypnosis, bolstering his confidence. A few minutes later, his eyes gleamed with determination, and he turned to Enel, bowing deeply.

"I understand, Sir Enel! Thank you!"

Straightening up, Tanjiro grabbed the Poké Ball at his waist. "I want to train Larvesta at the forest training grounds. Would that be alright?"

"I'll join you," Enel replied, still in high spirits after Urokodaki's reaction. His trading ventures seemed to be progressing smoothly, so he didn't mind offering Tanjiro some guidance.

The two quickly gathered their things and headed toward Tanjiro's old training grounds. When they arrived at the large boulder Tanjiro had once split with his sword, he couldn't help but pause, gently running his hand over it, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

It was only after defeating the Hand Demon that Tanjiro learned about Sabito and Makomo, Urokodaki's former disciples who had perished during their own trials at Fujikasane Mountain. Over the past two years, their spirits had been with him, guiding his training.

Lost in thought, Tanjiro shared with Enel the details of his experiences during those two years. After hearing the story, Enel fell silent, pondering for a moment before speaking.

"Tanjiro, if I told you that Sabito and Makomo could still be resurrected... but it would cost 5,000 points per person... would you be willing?"