Trader In The World Of Pirates!!!

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Meanwhile...

As Muzan was trying to figure out Enel's motives, Enel himself quickly regained his composure.

There are always gains and losses.

Although he couldn't personally claim the one million points standing before him, with the right methods, he could still earn them indirectly through "kickbacks" from other dimensional merchants.

Besides...

Even though his maximum combat power was only around level 90, as a dimensional merchant, he could access the vast power of the points system—the so-called 'power of the world'—whenever he needed it.

In this world, unless one was beyond the realm of worldly concepts, no one could resist the power derived from the world's origins.

With this thought, Enel's demeanor shifted. He now bore the calm, knowing expression of a true dimensional merchant, his eyes carrying a faint, mocking smile, as if he had the world at his feet and regarded it with disdain.

"Huh?"

Noticing this sudden change in Enel's attitude, Muzan was taken aback. For a moment, he wondered if there was something wrong with Enel's mind.

"Is this guy... some kind of powerful fool?"

Seeing that Enel remained silent, Muzan's wicked smile widened under the dim moonlight.

"Even though I don't know how you managed to kill those two worthless fools..."

"In that case, you'll replace them and work for me!!!"

'Whoosh!'

Muzan suddenly flung out his arm.

And then, something astonishing happened!

His arm transformed into a grotesque, blood-soaked tentacle, shooting straight toward Enel.

Anyone touched by Muzan's blood would immediately fall under his control.

Killing Yahaba and Susamaru, who he had trusted, proved that Enel was indeed powerful.

The stronger the human, the more of Muzan's blood they could accept, becoming even mightier as demons.

If Muzan could turn Enel into one of his demons, he would gain a new formidable general!

However...

"Yahahahaha~"

"Don't go around touching people with those filthy hands of yours!"

An amused voice rang out, as if spoken by a jaded elder.

As Muzan's tentacle lunged forward, Enel's gaze remained as calm as still water, showing no hint of alarm.

The next moment...

'Crackle!'

A brilliant blue bolt of lightning flashed.

Muzan's tentacle passed cleanly through Enel's body, striking the ground behind him.

The blood Muzan had intended to inject into Enel's veins now seeped uselessly into the shattered stone beneath them.

"What?!"

Muzan's expression shifted, alarmed.

He quickly retracted his tentacle, which reverted into a human arm, before asking cautiously:

"Who... are you?!"

At the same time, Muzan frantically searched his mind, trying to recall whether he had any demon subordinates with large earlobes who enjoyed walking around shirtless.

At this moment, Muzan could scarcely believe his own eyes.

What had he just witnessed?!

A human body had suddenly transformed into pure lightning, and his tentacle passed through it as though it were empty air.

No wonder Muzan was so shocked.

The ability to manipulate elements like that was an unparalleled power, even in his world.

"Me?"

Enel, completely unbothered, casually scratched his ear as he responded to Muzan's question.

Given what he knew about Muzan, it was safe to say he didn't have a favorable impression of him at all.

Furthermore...

A mere "item" destined to be traded for points didn't deserve the honor of conversing with a dimensional merchant on equal terms.

Without even thinking, Enel adopted the same arrogant attitude he used when addressing his subordinates on Sky Island and replied with supreme indifference:

"You're not worthy of knowing who I am."

"But don't worry—you'll find out soon enough."

Enel smiled mysteriously, almost teasingly, like a riddle wrapped in an enigma.

"What did you just say?!"

Muzan, now thoroughly enraged, felt as though this man was looking at him as if he were mere merchandise.

A wave of scarlet fury ignited in Muzan's eyes.

In an instant, he became furious.

Since the death of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, no one had dared to speak to him with such insolence.

At that moment, Muzan made a decision: no matter the risk, he would kill Enel right here and now.

Despite being the so-called "King of Demons," Muzan's character hardly matched his grand title.

Timid, cowardly, insecure, and easily enraged, Muzan's personality was a stark contrast to his power.

Though he had gathered a league of powerful demons, he was so paranoid about betrayal that he scattered them far and wide to avoid them joining forces against him.

After nearly being killed by Yoriichi, he went into hiding, choosing to wait out his enemies by outliving them.

Indeed...

Among the many villains across different dimensions, his abilities were certainly among the most formidable.

But when it came to character?

He didn't even deserve to carry their shoes.

Being stared down by Enel with such disdain pushed Muzan into a state of pure rage.

His eyes bulged unnaturally from their sockets, a terrifying sight.

"Very well!"

Muzan's voice dripped with malice.

"In hundreds of years, you're the first to dare speak to me like this!"

"Let's see if you still have the strength to talk after I'm done with you!"

He was determined to make the arrogant human before him suffer.

'Whoosh!'

Countless droplets of blood sprayed into the air.

Muzan's body suddenly swelled, transforming grotesquely and contrasting sharply with the gentlemanly figure he had presented just moments before.

In the blink of an eye...

A massive tentacle, as thick as a giant serpent, surged toward Enel.

At the end of the tentacle, a gaping, abyssal maw nearly three meters wide opened, poised to devour Enel whole.

In the face of Muzan's attack, Enel remained calm.

Not only did he show no fear, but he even frowned in disgust.

"What a revolting power," he muttered.

As he spoke, his body began to glow with a dazzling blue-white light once again.

Under Muzan's shocked gaze, Enel waved his hand as if in farewell.

"Goodbye, ugly thing. I hope that the next time we meet, you'll be more to my liking."

With those words, the lightning surrounding him condensed and shot into the sky.

A split second later, massive tentacles surged upward, chasing after Enel's disappearing figure.

However...

No matter how fast Muzan's attack was, how could it ever be faster than lightning?

In the blink of an eye, Enel, now transformed into pure electricity, reappeared in the sky, visible but untouchable by the grotesque tentacles below.

After ensuring that Tanjiro had escaped to safety, Enel's lips curled into a half-smile, as if he were admiring merchandise. His gaze shifted to Muzan.

Without a word, his body flickered with lightning and disappeared into the night once again.

"...?"

Muzan, who had just been on the verge of unleashing fury upon Enel, suddenly froze.

An outrageous thought crossed its mind.

Did that guy just now... turn into lightning?

If it hadn't witnessed it with its own eyes, it would've been impossible to believe that a human could do such a thing.

Could it be... that humans have secretly evolved behind his back?

Or perhaps...

He is a different kind of Demon King?

Countless questions raced through Muzan's mind, but no answers came. Tonight was destined to be sleepless.

Soon, a peculiar piece of news spread among the demons:

"Search for a man over two and a half meters tall, bare-chested, with enormous earlobes!!!"

The announcement caused an uproar in the demon circles. None of them expected that one day, they would be tasked with helping their King find a man...

---

Meanwhile, Enel, in his lightning form, effortlessly caught up with Tanjiro using his formidable powers of observation haki.

It wasn't that he feared facing Muzan.

As a dimensional merchant, Enel possessed knowledge of many strange and unusual things.

After all, thunder and lightning naturally suppress demons.

However, Enel was worried that if he accidentally harmed Muzan, and then Tanjiro or someone else captured him, his own power might not be recognized by the system, and Muzan wouldn't be considered his.

If that happened... his million points would go up in smoke!

Following Enel's advice, Tanjiro had been running for some time, not stopping until he was certain he had put a safe distance between himself and danger.

Suddenly, 'crackle!' A familiar flash of lightning appeared before Tanjiro, causing him to halt.

The lightning coalesced, and Enel's form slowly emerged before Tanjiro's eyes.

"Sir Enel!" Tanjiro shouted excitedly.

Although he knew that, as a dimensional merchant, Enel had extraordinary abilities, he couldn't help but feel relieved to see him unharmed.

"Hey, Tanjiro!" Enel greeted casually, as though nothing had happened.

"Now that the annoying trouble's out of the way, we can get back to our previous deal," Enel said with a smile.

"Our... previous deal?" Tanjiro, still high on adrenaline, was momentarily confused. Then it hit him.

Because of the sudden encounter with Muzan's aura, he'd been overwhelmed by hatred.

But thanks to Enel's reminder, he recalled that he still had 2,000 points left to spend!

Yes! With these 2,000 points, he could grow stronger and hunt even more demons!

One day, he would avenge his family with his own hands!

Although he knew that his family could be resurrected, Tanjiro would never forget that day—the hatred born in that pool of blood.

Under Enel's guidance, Tanjiro quickly completed the transaction.

This time, he primarily focused on upgrading his companion, Larvesta.

After the transaction, Larvesta successfully mastered the Observation Haki.

As for Armament Haki and the Six Marine Styles, because Larvesta's combat style leaned more toward that of a mage, and since it didn't possess natural devil-fruit abilities requiring countermeasures, Enel only advised Tanjiro to purchase Shave and Moonwalk techniques for it—both life-saving abilities.

He recommended against buying techniques like Iron Body or Paper Arts, which might give Larvesta a false sense of invulnerability or overconfidence.

If a mage lets the enemy get too close, they've already lost the battle.

To further strengthen Larvesta, Enel recommended a powerful move—Flamethrower. As a fire-type creature, it needed to master this technique, which could be used both offensively and for mobility, allowing it to move swiftly and leap into the sky.

This increased the insect-type Larvesta's agility, making it a far more practical fighter.

Afterward, Tanjiro also stocked up on nutritional supplements for Larvesta—ones that boosted growth, condensed flame energy, and enhanced its eyesight.

In less than a week, thanks to these nutrients, Larvesta would break through level 20 and even approach level 30, dramatically accelerating its development.

And so, as Tanjiro and Larvesta tested their newfound powers, time passed... little by little.

Soon, the night gave way to dawn.

The sky was gradually filled with a pale light, like the color of a fish's belly, before becoming brighter and more intense.

Once again, the sun returned to the world.

Tanjiro, who hadn't slept all night, packed his bags and set off in the direction indicated by the crow.

High above, Enel rode his thundercloud, silently following Tanjiro from a distance, as usual.

As he recalled the demonly battle he had witnessed the night before, a new idea sparked in his mind.

Originally, Enel had planned to imitate Leo's strategy of spreading influence across the New World, attracting a large number of merchants.

But as time went on, he realized that such an operation might not be feasible in this world.

After all, apart from the blood of the demons, there didn't seem to be many items of interest for trading in this realm.

Although the Nichirin Swords could be traded, the points they were worth were limited.

An ordinary Nichirin Sword would only fetch about one or two hundred points at most.

Relying on trading these swords alone to complete the one-million-point internship goal was nothing short of a fantasy.

However...

The appearance of Muzan last night offered a new direction for Enel.

If this world wasn't suitable for widespread trading, why should he cling to a single plan?

Wouldn't it be better to finish the internship tasks quickly and move on to the next world?

So...

All he needed was to train one or a few powerful warriors who could subdue Muzan Kibutsuji and bring them to him for trading, right?

Based on his observations last night, Enel identified three possible routes to defeat Muzan:

Train one person with a combat power of 90 or higher. Train four people with a combat power of 80 or higher. Train ten people with a combat power of 70 or higher.

Given the current state of Tanjiro and Larvesta, it seemed difficult for them to reach the 90+ threshold.

But hitting level 80? That didn't seem too far-fetched.

With this realization, Enel instantly set a new goal for himself...

Find four traders who were both promising and worth cultivating!