Trader In The World Of Pirates!!!

[Rose]

[Redeemable: 2000 points]

"Rose? Could it be...?"

President Netero's eyes widened in shock as he quickly enlarged the rose-shaped icon on the screen.

His gaze fixated on the small, delicate sphere displayed before him...

Though he had never seen the real [Rose] with his own eyes, in this moment, Netero was certain—

This was it.

This was undoubtedly the [Rose] he had in mind!

A shiver ran down his spine.

In other worlds, "rose" might simply refer to a beautiful flower, a symbol of elegance and serenity.

But in this world—[Rose] was something else entirely.

The ultimate bomb.

A weapon capable of unleashing destruction in an instant.

A single [Rose] had the power to annihilate an entire city, erasing all life within its radius in the blink of an eye.

And the aftermath? A deadly radiation zone, ensuring that even the strongest would perish within hours.

Even someone like Netero—if exposed—would wither away, his life force drained until nothing remained.

This was the pinnacle of human warfare. The ultimate sin of mankind.

Not a weapon for survival.

Not a tool to fend off foreign invaders.

But a creation born solely for war.

For dominance!

For slaughter!

Shortly after [Rose] was revealed to the world, its sheer devastation forced the world's leading nations to ban its use.

Even production was prohibited.

To maintain global stability, the five most powerful nations had formed an alliance known as [V5]—a governing body dedicated to preventing societal collapse and ensuring the survival of humanity.

Yet, despite the ban, the [Rose] in Netero's possession had been placed inside his body by [V5] themselves.

Their reasoning?

A contingency plan.

Should an enemy too powerful for even Netero to defeat emerge…

Or if he were to fall in battle…

If his heart ever stopped beating…

The [Rose] would activate.

A final, desperate act—taking his enemy down with him.

A weapon of last resort.

And yet…

Even knowing all this, the [Rose] being valued at a mere 2,000 points wouldn't normally be enough to make Netero this agitated.

After all, his collection, though not vast, contained items far more valuable than a single [Rose].

No—what truly made him tremble was something else entirely.

Because according to his knowledge…

There were still over 100,000 [Rose] bombs lying dormant in the arsenals of various nations across the world!

Waiting!

Waiting for the day they would bloom!

100,000 × 2,000…

If his calculations were correct, the answer was—

200 million points!

Netero's breath hitched.

Unbelievable!

Even if he sacrificed his entire life's worth of martial arts mastery and deep understanding of Nen…

Even if he exchanged everything he had…

He would still only be able to obtain 80,000 points.

For the first time, Netero felt the overwhelming, terrifying power of humanity itself.

And what was worse—[Rose] wasn't even difficult to manufacture.

As long as a nation had enough manpower and resources, even small, isolated countries possessed the ability to create these weapons.

A chilling realization struck him.

Because from where he stood—at the very top—he could already foresee what troubled the world's most powerful leaders.

A fear they dared not voice, yet constantly guarded against.

The Dark Continent.

"Perhaps…"

Netero murmured, his gaze sharpening.

"Dimensional trading might just be the key for humanity to set foot on that land!"

A surge of excitement coursed through him.

The very continent that had twice defeated him…

A place he had never been able to fully explore…

The thought alone made his old heart stir with uncontainable anticipation.

In a flash, he pressed the [Confirm Transaction] button.

Instantly, his VIP status and points updated.

But at this moment, Netero paid no attention to how he would spend them.

Instead, he lifted his gaze toward Doflamingo, his expression shifting ever so slightly.

"Sir Dimensional Merchant," he asked, voice calm but carrying an unmistakable weight.

"I wonder… do you know of the Dark Continent?"

"Hmm?" Doflamingo raised an eyebrow before giving a slight nod.

"I've heard a thing or two."

"But I haven't been in this world for long, so my knowledge is limited."

His answer was deliberately vague.

"I see…"

Netero mused, the glimmer in his eyes growing ever more intense.

"In that case, there's something I'd like to report to you, sir…"

—

—

One hour later.

After leaving his contact information and bidding farewell to President Netero, Doflamingo vanished from the Hunter Association's airship.

In an instant, he reappeared—high above a rural landscape, miles away.

Suspended effortlessly in midair, his abilities kept him stable.

But suddenly—

His body convulsed.

The screen zoomed in.

His hands clenched tightly, forming claw-like grips over his chest, as if restraining his own heart.

Muscles trembled violently.

A force surged within him.

Something was happening.

And he could barely keep it contained.

But even so, his breathing grew increasingly erratic!

"Fufu, fu, fu, fu, fu, fu,

fu, fu, fu, fu, fu, fu,

fu, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!!"

Suddenly, wild laughter erupted beneath the bright moon.

At that moment, the vast, starry sky seemed to tremble in response to Doflamingo's unrestrained laughter—

as if he wanted the entire world to hear his joy.

His laughter continued for a full five minutes before gradually fading.

Yet the grin on Doflamingo's face remained twisted, stretched to the point where it seemed he might tear his own mouth apart.

No one could blame him for losing himself like this.

After all, anyone who had just heard President Netero's proposal would find it impossible to stay composed!

Doflamingo had always been confident in his place in this world, certain that he would one day achieve the results he sought.

But even so—

After waiting for over half a year, after painstakingly preparing for this very moment—

He never imagined that the culmination of it all would result in such a spectacular display of fireworks!

A transaction surpassing 100 million points!

If this deal went through—

Forget passing his trainee merchant assessment...

He could ascend directly to the rank of a senior merchant and unlock even greater privileges!

"Senior Merchant..."

Doflamingo's laughter ceased. He lifted his head, gazing at the distant full moon, his eyes unfocused, lost in thought—

as though staring into a dream.

Then, suddenly—

A strange glint flickered in his eyes.

But in the next second, all traces of emotion vanished.

"First, I need to report this to Sir Leo."

Though the deal wasn't finalized yet and nothing was set in stone, Doflamingo knew that a transaction of this magnitude required careful handling.

Who knew if special rules applied to deals exceeding 100 million points?

To be honest, for a brief moment, the thought had crossed his mind—

With such a massive sum, could he rise to stand alongside Leo as an equal among the Dimensional Merchants?

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

The merchant training program was one thing.

But more importantly—

Doflamingo was no fool. He knew Leo's status within the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce was far from ordinary.

And why?

Because every time Leo spoke about the Chamber of Commerce, there was something off about his tone—

A subtle indifference.

As if this mysterious and sacred organization, which inspired awe in so many, was nothing more than a trivial entity in his eyes.

Especially when he casually announced its rules—

It almost felt as though Leo himself had written them.

Of course, logically, Doflamingo knew that was impossible…

And yet, he and the others couldn't shake the feeling that Leo held a position of real power within the Chamber.

Even if this was nothing more than baseless speculation—

Doflamingo had always placed immense trust in his intuition.

And that trust had carried him this far.

After all, within the Transdimensional Chamber of Commerce, it was widely known—

Only the strongest beings from S-tier worlds could ascend to the highest ranks of the Chamber.

So even with a Hundreds of Million point deal on the horizon—

Doflamingo knew better than to let arrogance blind him. 

—

—

A night of silence.

By dawn, the Hunter Association's airship had reached its destination.

However, instead of continuing to oversee the Hunter Exam as expected, President Netero left the airship the moment it landed, taking an official vehicle from the association.

The night before, immediately following his conversation with Doflamingo, he had wasted no time—

Using his authority as President of the Hunter Association, he sent out an urgent request for a remote meeting with the V5 leaders.

Though the Hunter Association was initially founded with backing from the V5 nations, in practice, the two organizations held equal standing.

Thus, the moment the V5 leaders received Netero's request—

Preparations for the emergency conference began without delay.

And soon—

A top-level meeting of humanity commenced.

—

Inside a Hunter Association base, Netero sat alone at a conference table.

In front of him—

Five massive screens.

Then—

"President Netero."

All five screens lit up simultaneously.

The figures of the five most powerful leaders in the world appeared before him.

"Good morning, esteemed leaders."

Netero's expression was unusually serious as he greeted them.

Then, without hesitation, he got straight to the point:

"I've called this meeting today because there is an issue of utmost importance that demands our collective discussion and decision..."

—

—

Perhaps, it was due to the restrictive nature of Nen.

But in the Hunter World, humans were far more pure than those of other worlds.

Pure goodness.

Pure evil.

Pure devotion.

And—

Pure greed.

Greed and desire—

The two forces that humanity could never escape.

And in this world—

They were more visible than ever.

For centuries, human civilization had written its warnings in blood—

Again and again, history had proven that stepping foot onto the Dark Continent meant certain death.

And yet—

The greed of mankind was endless.

Whenever humanity has attempted to invade the Dark Continent using its own strength, it has only led to catastrophic disaster for the entire human race.

But—

The hymn of mankind is a hymn of courage!

No matter how perilous the journey, humans have never ceased their exploration of that forbidden land.

Time and time again, there are those who refuse to be deterred by the threat of death, venturing into the Dark Continent in search of the unknown.

Even though their expeditions have ended in ruin and tragedy, human ambition has never wavered.

Even the V5, an organization created to safeguard humanity, has secretly entertained the idea of exploring the Dark Continent on multiple occasions.

Though these proposals have been rejected by the higher-ups every time—

Everyone knows the truth.

If they remain stagnant, clinging to the fragile paradise they've built, then eventual extinction is all that awaits them.

All they need—is an opportunity.

—

—

"So... is this why you called for an emergency meeting?"

The room was silent.

On-screen, the faces of the V5 leaders remained unreadable as President Netero laid everything bare—

The dimensional transaction, his rejuvenated body, the powerful and controllable mysterious Pokémon, and—most importantly—his proposal to trade [Rose] for an enormous sum of points.

A heavy silence followed his words.

Then—

One of the leaders tapped the table, breaking the tension.

"The Silvercrest Republic agrees to provide our entire [Rose] stockpile for the dimensional transaction."

However—

"There is one condition. The personnel for this expedition must be selected exclusively by V5 and the Hunter Association."

"Furthermore, all intelligence gathered from the Dark Continent must be made public, and any resources or discoveries must be shared with the Silvercrest Republic!"

"Of course!"

At those words, Netero—his youthful vigor restored—rose swiftly to his feet, his very presence radiating newfound strength.

And then—

One by one, the voices of the other leaders followed:

"The Storm Veil Kingdom also agrees. Our terms are the same as the Silvercrest Republic."

"The Federal Union of Arcadia agrees."

"The Grand Republic of Solaris agrees."

"The Cyber States of Neo-Gaia agrees."

Just as expected—

Greed in this world is pure and boundless.

The moment they confirmed that Netero was telling the truth, they all accepted his proposal without hesitation.

Because Netero wasn't the only one who coveted the Dark Continent.

The human world had reached its limits.

Without war, without conflict, there was no room left for expansion.

If they wished to progress, there was only one path forward—

They had to step into the Dark Continent!

Either they failed, and humanity was crushed beneath the weight of its own ambition—returning to square one overnight...

Or—

They succeeded, establishing a foothold in the Dark Continent, and pushed further into the unknown.

This was the inevitable course of history.

And no one—

Not a single person—

Could stop it.

Even without the dimensional transaction, sooner or later, they would have launched another expedition into the Dark Continent.

—

After several rounds of negotiation, Netero and the V5 leaders swiftly finalized an agreement on how the resulting benefits would be divided.

At the same time—

The V5 nations mobilized their resources, ramping up mass production of [Rose], while also purchasing stockpiles from smaller neighboring countries.

They were determined to maximize their profits from this unprecedented deal—as quickly as possible.

—

—

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

One month later...

And in that time, one event dominated the human world—

The grand-scale recruitment for the expedition to the Dark Continent.

Yes.

This time, V5 not only declassified information about the Dark Continent but also openly called upon the strongest individuals across the world to join the mission.

Across every nation, recruitment sites were established, attracting warriors, adventurers, and scholars alike—

Each one eager to test their mettle and earn a place on this historic journey.

And at the same time.

  In the headquarters of the Hunter Association, Doflamingo, who was called over by Netero, was staring at the five heads of state in front of him with the corners of his mouth raised...