One Piece: The Strongest Trait System novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101 - [101] : Giving Skypiea a Taste of Monstrous Power!

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"Rowen! This isn't good!" Sanji yelled from his position on the Knock-Up Stream, noticing a problem.

"Our ship is drifting away from the current! We're going to fall!"

Under the pull of gravity, though the Merry had successfully ridden the initial updraft, her hull was now shifting, gradually moving away from the main column of rising seawater. If this continued, the only outcome was a fatal plunge from the sky.

Just then, the Sea King that had been swept up with them also lost consciousness and began to fall. From this height, even landing in the ocean meant certain obliteration.

Seeing the Sea King's fate, the crew stared wide-eyed.

They weren't worried about their own lives—Rowen's abilities ensured their safety even if they fell—but falling now meant failing to reach Skypiea.

"Calm down! Have you forgotten who the navigator of this ship is?!" Nami declared, a confident smile spreading across her face as she keenly sensed the changes in the atmosphere.

"This is an ocean current, Composed of wind and sea! Even if we leave the water, as long as we utilize the wind, we can continue sailing!" Nami proclaimed with absolute confidence.

"The navigator has given her orders! Let's do it!" Rowen called out, smiling as he saw Nami take charge.

His bond with Nami was already at maximum—he could perfectly replicate the power of her Traits.

Rowen clearly felt both Nami's and his own Climate Sense (Pale Gold) evolving in this extreme environment.

This was why, despite knowing the plot and how to pilot the ship to Skypiea, Rowen hadn't intervened earlier—this was Nami's moment to grow.

With her Climate Sense Trait, Nami just needed a stronger climate weapon to become even more formidable.

Conveniently, Skypiea was home to Dials with various special abilities—using his Munch-Munch Fruit—Rowen could help Nami radically upgrade her Clima-Tact, making it even more perfect and powerful than its original story counterpart.

"OOOHHH!" Seeing Nami's confidence, the crew's spirits lifted.

"All sails open! Control the rudder! We'll use the updraft from this stream to reach Skypiea!" Nami commanded with unwavering assurance.

FWOOSH!

Under Nami's direction, the Merry's sails billowed open. The next moment, her hull completely left the vertical column of the Knock-Up Stream!

But!

WHOOSH!

"The Merry! It's flying!" Carried by the air currents and Nami's perfect command, the Going Merry soared upwards into the sky!

Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper stared, eyes shining brightly, as the Merry flew untethered through the air.

"SUGEEEEEEE! AMAZING, NAMI!" Luffy cheered, grinning broadly.

"As expected of Nami!" Vivi exclaimed excitedly, hugging Nami.

"Hmph!" Nami tilted her chin up proudly, basking in Rowen's fond gaze.

"We must be close now! Skypiea!" Luffy yelled, looking up eagerly at the clouds above.

"Skypiea must be behind those clouds!" Nami declared confidently, pointing towards a thick, impenetrable cloud bank.

Having heard from Rowen, Nami fully believed Skypiea existed.

If so, then the Sky Island, invisible from the Blue Sea below, must lie beyond what was known as cloud fossils—impenetrable Cumuloregalis Clouds.

THUMP!

"Nami, Vivi, Robin—come here," Rowen instructed as the Merry plunged into the cloud bank.

Rowen activated his Smoke-Smoke Fruit, wrapping Nami, Vivi, and Robin in protective smoke tendrils, pulling them close.

"White Blow——!" Rowen's eyes narrowed. He unleashed his smoke, then solidified it, forming a protective barrier around his body.

The cloud layer was filled with water vapor—and this vapor contained a manifestation of sea energy: Seastone particles!

Devil Fruit users would lose their strength in this mist—It was precisely because of these Seastone particles that Sky Islands could exist in the One Piece world.

The so-called Sky Islands were formed from solidified sea energy—Seastone particles carried skyward by air currents, combining with clouds to form island clouds habitable by people.

WHOOSH!

After enduring the turbulent air currents and misty baptism, the Going Merry burst out of the cloud layer!

THUD!

The ship's hull landed softly upon a sea of white clouds.

"We've arrived. Above the sky—" Rowen dispersed his smoke, smiling at Nami, Vivi, and Robin nestled in his arms, and then at Luffy and the others collapsed on the deck.

(Rowen hadn't used his powers to protect Luffy and Chopper, the other two ability users, deliberately. He wanted them to experience and adapt to the Seastone particles. Resistance to it could be trained. After adapting, while they still couldn't use their Devil Fruit powers, at least they wouldn't be completely helpless. As for Vivi and the others, Rowen would find other ways to make them stronger; they didn't need to endure such hardships.)

(In the One Piece power system, due to inherent factors, females were generally weaker than males in both physique and spiritual strength. This meant, whether it was Devil Fruit abilities or Haki, women were unlikely to reach the absolute ceiling of the world's power. Thus, Rowen's primary focus for combat training was Luffy and the others—

For Nami and the others, power was only a tool to achieve their dreams; they didn't pursue ultimate strength like Luffy and Zoro did. On these seas, power ultimately served dreams; Rowen wouldn't force Nami or Robin to become overwhelmingly strong—

As for Vivi, now that she desired strength to help fulfill her own dream—Rowen wasn't worried. Since becoming a Sand Human, Vivi's power was growing at a rate that surpassed even Rowen's initial expectations. She was perfectly attuned to the Sand-Sand Fruit; at this pace, Vivi might awaken her Devil Fruit abilities very soon. When that happened, Vivi would be stronger than even Crocodile at his peak.)

"So thoughtful, Rowen..." Robin commented with a smile, looking at Luffy and Chopper, who were sprawled on the deck, weakened by the misty clouds.

Robin's form of address had already changed.

While she still referred to Zoro as 'Mr. Swordsman', she now called Rowen by his name, no longer 'Mr. Sky Sovereign'.

"So... there's water in the clouds that weakens ability users too," Vivi murmured, reluctant to leave Rowen's embrace, even snuggling closer cutely.

"SUGEEEEEEEE! Look, everyone! The ship is really on the clouds!" After a moment's recovery, Luffy sprang up with an energetic flip, his eyes shining as he looked around.

"It's true... So magical... like a dream," Nami whispered, her own eyes sparkling as she took in their surroundings.

"YOSH! The brave warrior of the sea, Usopp the Brave, is going exploring!" Usopp immediately prepared to jump into the White Sea for a swim.

"Calm down. You can't swim here. The buoyancy is different from the Blue Sea. If you sink, you'll fall right out of the sky,"

Rowen interjected, stopping Usopp's foolish act.

This idiot... sometimes it was hard to tell if he was cowardly or just incredibly reckless.

"EEEEK!" Hearing the terrifying consequence, Usopp burst into tears.

Good thing Rowen warned him!

"This is the White Sea, at an altitude of 7,000 meters. To reach Skypiea proper, we need to go up to the White-White Sea, at 10,000 meters," Rowen explained, pointing towards the sky even higher above.

"That's right! The Log Pose isn't pointing straight up anymore, but diagonally upwards! Everyone—Skypiea is in that direction!" Nami exclaimed, looking at the needle in her hand, her eyes gleaming.

"But how do we get up there? There's no Knock-Up Stream here," Luffy wondered, looking around.

Just then, Chopper, who had been scanning the surroundings with binoculars, suddenly yelled, "Everyone! A ship!"

Chopper was incredibly excited.

There were others like them, people from the Blue Sea below!

Up here in the sky, such a sight felt wonderfully familiar.

But the next moment—

BOOM!

The ship Chopper spotted suddenly exploded.

"THE-THE SHIP WAS DESTROYED!" Chopper cried, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Hm?" Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji simultaneously frowned, turning towards the direction of the destroyed ship.

Their Observation Haki sensed killing intent from that area—and that killing intent was now heading towards them!

"Are they here?" Rowen also looked in that direction.

WHOOSH!

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

WHOOSH!

"White Blow——!"

FWOOSH!

"Sandstorm——!" Vivi, though sweating from exertion, activated her Sand-Sand Fruit power.

WHOOSH! BANG!

His ultra-draining techniques like Haōshoku Coating were currently unusable until he adapted—But with a short period of acclimatization, Rowen and the others would be able to move freely.

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