Dimensional Trader in Marvel

The next day, on the planet Tatooine, in the city of Mos Espa—where Anakin Skywalker lived—a small group of humans dressed in the same clothes appeared.

The city guards glanced at them, but didn't pay much attention.

Tatooine, under Hutt control, was already known for its poor law enforcement and was basically a free-trade center where money could buy anything—even slaves, which had long been outlawed in the Old Republic.

So it wasn't unusual to see a group of similarly dressed people here.

Of course, just because the place was chaotic didn't mean there were no rules. If someone really caused a lot of trouble, the Hutts would make sure they paid for it. Although they looked like fat slugs, the Hutts were one of the first races in the Star Wars universe to master space travel and even build their own empire to rival the Republic. This alone showed their great strength.

Even Jedi didn't want to mess with the Hutts without a good reason.

That's why when Qui-Gon Jinn crash-landed on Tatooine, he had to follow the rules there, even though he was in a tight spot—he couldn't even take a slave like Anakin's mother with him.

But this group of people seemed to have a clear purpose. After entering the city, they didn't wander around, but went straight to the west side.

Due to Tatooine's harsh environment and limited resources, Mos Espa looked very backward. All the houses were made of stone and had round domes. If it weren't for the various types of aliens, robots, and flying vehicles that passed by from time to time, you'd think this was a small town in the Middle East, not part of a galaxy-wide civilization.

Soon the group stopped in front of a small building on the west side of town.

It was a junk shop where used mechanical parts were bought and sold.

As the leader entered the shop, a short, chubby creature with blue skin, sharp teeth, and small, whirring wings flew by.

This was Watto, the owner of the shop, a Toydarian. His species was known for being good at talking and making deals. They were shrewd in business, and in the Star Wars Universe, they were much like the goblins of Azeroth—but not as obsessed with money.

"Hello there! Would you like to buy something?" Watto was pleased to have customers so early in the morning.

But he didn't notice a small head peeking out of the warehouse behind him.

This head belonged to Anakin Skywalker. Watto was the owner of the slave contracts for Anakin and his mother, Shmi Skywalker.

And the group of humans that had just arrived? They were the people Josh had secretly arranged for Anakin—tools that had gone through Yuri's special brainwashing program.

But just because they were tools didn't mean they couldn't think.

Apart from being completely loyal to Yuri, they thought like normal people. That was the scary thing about Yuri's mind control.

Also, they weren't just average people. Their leader was skilled in business negotiations, and the rest were highly trained enhanced fighters.

"Everything," said the leader of the group.

"What?" Watto blinked, confused. His brain couldn't immediately process all the meaning behind that one word.

"I said, I want everything! Everything in your shop—and the shop itself!" the leader of the group said with a smile.

"Hahaha, come on, don't joke like that! Do you know how much my shop and everything in it is worth?" Watto laughed out loud.

But the leader said nothing more. He just made a hand signal, and two of his men stepped forward and dropped two heavy leather bags onto the counter with a loud thud.

...Watto fell silent. Just from the size of the bags and the sound of metal clanking inside, he could tell that there was a lot of money in them. Were these strange people really serious?

"Can I open it and check?" Watto asked hesitantly.

"Go ahead," the leader said, casually spreading his hands.

Watto rubbed his hands together and flew over to the bags. As soon as he opened them—whoa, so shiny.

Inside were piles of gold.

With Watto's sharp eyes, he could tell immediately that it was real, high-quality gold.

"Well?" the leader asked, smiling when he saw Watto shielding his eyes.

"There's a lot, but it's not quite enough," Watto said, closing the bags, his eyes darting around slyly.

Of course, he was just trying to get more money. These two bags were easily worth twice what his shop was actually worth.

"Oh? Greed is a bad habit. In that case, forget it," the leader said with a raised eyebrow, waving his men to take the money back.

"Deal! Deal!" Watto shouted quickly. Damn, with that kind of money he could open a much bigger shop somewhere else. How could he miss this chance?

"Smart choice," the leader said, satisfied, and had his men step back.

Soon both sides signed the contract.

"Anakin, Shmi, it's time to go!" After signing the contract, Watto put the money in a safe guarded by two armed droids and called to the back of the shop.

"Wait, Mr. Watto, I think you forgot something," the leader interrupted.

"What?" Watto looked confused.

"Well, do you remember? I said I wanted to buy everything in the shop—including your slaves. That means the boy and the woman belong to me now, too," the leader said seriously.

"What?! That's not true! They're not part of my shop's goods!" Watto objected immediately.

"Mr. Watto, have you forgotten? On Tatooine, slaves are considered goods. So of course they're included in the contract... or would you prefer we go to the Trade Commission and settle this legally?" the leader said with a smile.

Watto froze. He realized that the man was right. Slavery was illegal in the Republic, but on Tatooine slaves were considered property. He had never gone through a proper slave sale before—he had won Anakin and his mother from Jabba the Hutt in a podracing bet, not bought them.

So... he was tricked without even realizing it?

A Toydarian known for being good at business, actually got outsmarted by a human who exploited a loophole in the deal—if word got out, he'd be laughed at for sure.

Still, Watto didn't really lose out. After all, the price for two human slaves wasn't that high. Even if he accidentally got caught in a loophole in the contract, he still made a big profit.

But being tricked like that still left a bitter taste in Watto's mouth.

"Alright, you win... Shmi, Anakin, from now on, this gentleman is your new master," Watto finally said a little helplessly to Anakin—who looked a little excited—and to Shmi, who was obviously nervous about having to change masters again.

Watto knew there was no point in trying to fight it legally with the Mos Espa Trade Commission. On Tatooine, even if law and order were loose, fair trade was still protected.

At least within the cities there was some structure.

Otherwise, Tatooine wouldn't be the famous black market center on the edge of Hutt and Republic territory.

Of course, once you left the city and the protection of the Hutts, it was a different story.

But judging by the way these humans looked and acted, they clearly weren't people you wanted to mess with.

So Watto didn't try to make trouble. He just left with the money—probably the only time in his life he made a profit, but he wasn't happy about it.

Watching him go, Anakin felt both excited and a little emotional.

Even though he was a slave, Watto had treated him quite well. Apart from his bad temper, he had never mistreated them because they were slaves.

"Anakin, as of today you and your mother are free. But according to our leader's plan, you'll have to keep up appearances for a while. Don't worry—none of the work in the shop will be your responsibility anymore," the leader of the group named Anderson said with a smile.

"Of course. Thank you, Mr. Anderson. I'll cooperate," Anakin nodded.

"What? Anakin, what's going on?" Shmi asked, surprised to hear the conversation. She had been worried about being sold again and didn't know what to expect from her new master.

"Mom, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. These people are actually working for my friend. From now on, we're free!" Anakin said and hugged her excitedly.

"Yes, ma'am. Not only are you free, but Anakin is about to begin a bright new path," Anderson said with a warm smile.

"A bright new path? What do you mean?" Shmi asked confused.

"To become a Jedi," Anderson said seriously.

..

Time flew. Over a month later, a luxurious Naboo ship arrived on Tatooine, landing just outside Mos Espa.

Not long after, a middle-aged man in rough robes, a strange Gungan, a beautiful handmaiden, and an adorable R2-D2 droid entered the city.

They were the main characters of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Jar Jar Binks, the real Queen Amidala disguised as a handmaiden, and her little blue astromech droid.

As if drawn by fate, Qui-Gon found his way to the very shop where Anakin was, just as in the original story.

At that moment, Anakin was in the backyard of the shop, assembling a speeder. Meanwhile, the man known as Anderson—the leader of the toolmen—had taken on the role of shop owner and was manning the front.

When Qui-Gon Jinn entered the store and saw a human man behind the counter, he was clearly surprised.

"What do you need?" Anderson asked casually, fiddling with some equipment in front of him without even looking up. In truth, he had been informed the moment Qui-Gon and his group entered the city. He knew exactly who they were—his most important targets.

"We need a J-type 327 Nubian starship hyperdrive," Qui-Gon said, looking around the shop.

"You're in luck," Anderson said, lifting his head. "I'm pretty much the only one in all of Mos Espa who has one. But honestly, the parts for this ship? You'd be better off buying a new one."

Then he turned and called, "Anakin, bring tea!"

Ships like that were like luxury cars on Earth—the parts alone could cost more than the whole thing.

Anderson, who had spent a month learning all about the shop's "junk," now knew the inventory like the back of his hand.

When Anakin heard the code phrase, he quickly ran out and poured water for the guests, acting just like before. But this time, just like in the original timeline, his eyes immediately landed on the stunningly beautiful Padmé Amidala.

"This is the parts list. How much will it cost?" Qui-Gon gestured for R2-D2 to project the information.

"Twenty thousand wupiupi!" Anderson replied immediately.

"Can you take Republic credits?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Republic credits? No, no way. That stuff is worthless here. I only take wupiupi," Anderson said firmly.

"I only have credits. But I assure you they're good," Qui-Gon said, waving his hand subtly.

"No, they're not," Anderson said, shaking his head.

"I said they are," Qui-Gon repeated with another wave of his hand.

"Nope. Not happening," Anderson said again, then grinned. "Enough, Jedi. Don't bother with your little mind tricks. They don't work on me."

Yes, Jedi could use mind tricks, but those were just side-effects of the Force. With a strong enough will, humans could resist them. Compared to someone like Yuri—the true master of mind control—the Jedi's tricks were amateurish. Anderson was completely unaffected.

Realizing that Anderson had just casually revealed his identity, both Qui-Gon and Padmé, who was chatting with Anakin, became tense.

"How do you know I'm a Jedi?" Qui-Gon asked with a frown.

"Because I've dealt with your kind before... and see that kid?" Anderson scoffed and pointed at Anakin. "Try to sense him with the Force."

"That boy? You're saying he has the Force?" Qui-Gon asked, surprised—he hadn't paid much attention to Anakin.

"Heh. Let's not talk about that," Anderson said, brushing it off. "You have bigger worries—like how you want to pay."

"We have no local currency," Qui-Gon admitted with a furrowed brow.

"Well... not having money is not always a problem. What do you say we make a bet?" Anderson's lips curled into a mischievous grin.

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