One Piece: The Strongest Trait System novel Chapter 37

Chapter 37 - [37] : [BONUS] - The Perfect Employee! Baratie!

~ Thank you, We've hit 900 Powerstones. This is the Bonus Chapter~

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"Sk- 'Sky Sovereign' Rowen?!" Johnny stammered, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he stared at Rowen.

Unlike Zoro, who set out to become the world's greatest swordsman but temporarily took up bounty hunting due to lack of funds, Johnny and his partner Yosaku were professional bounty hunters.

And for bounty hunters, gathering intelligence was paramount.

At the very least, they needed to know every pirate's bounty and gather intel on their combat strength to choose targets they could defeat for a good reward.

Newspapers of all kinds were a primary source of pirate intelligence for bounty hunters.

As the world's largest newspaper, the World Economic News Agency's publication was essential reading.

Although most of its reports focused on the Grand Line, with little coverage given to the East Blue—often called the weakest sea—reading it was still valuable for broadening one's knowledge.

But recently, the World Economic News Agency had dedicated an entire section to the normally overlooked East Blue.

'Sky Sovereign' Rowen! That was the name of the super rookie featured in that report!

The article described him with the incredible phrase: 'A new King is about to be born upon the seas'.

Such an exaggerated assessment naturally left a deep impression on Johnny.

"'Sky Sovereign'? SUGEEE! Your title is so awesome, Rowen!" Usopp exclaimed, looking at Rowen with admiration.

Usopp's father, Yasopp, had left to become a pirate long ago, and his mother had passed away from illness during his childhood, leaving the family with little savings.

Plus, Usopp loved inventing things, which required money.

The World Economic News Agency newspaper wasn't cheap, so Usopp couldn't afford every issue. He bought one occasionally to broaden his horizons and, admittedly, to gather better material for his tall tales.

He happened to miss the issue featuring Rowen.

"And he's even more famous than Luffy—the captain," Nami added with a smile.

For some reason, Nami felt happy hearing about Rowen's fame.

After the incident with Kaya, Nami was slowly starting to understand why.

She glanced at Rowen, a faint blush coloring her cheeks, her gaze almost... tentative.

Actually, before entering the Grand Line, Zoro, known as 'Pirate Hunter', was also much more famous than Luffy.

"I'll definitely become famous! And get a super high bounty!" Luffy declared, fists clenched, full of fighting spirit, not jealous of his comrade in the slightest.

"Captain?" Johnny turned his head, looking blankly at Luffy.

"What? Don't I look like a captain?" Luffy puffed out his chest, hands on his hips.

Nami, Zoro, and Usopp collectively shook their heads.

An idiot prioritizing a musician over a cook right before entering the Grand Line? How does that resemble a captain at all?

"..." Luffy immediately went to sulk in a corner, drawing circles on the deck.

"Unbelievable... That 'Sky Sovereign' Rowen and Big Bro Zoro actually chose you as their captain," Johnny muttered, his perception of Luffy completely overturned.

"By the way, where's Yosaku? Why isn't he with you?" Zoro asked, looking around, finding it strange.

Johnny and Yosaku were partners, always inseparable.

"Yosaku! He...!" Johnny's expression instantly turned grief-stricken.

"What happened?" Seeing Zoro's concerned expression, Johnny carefully pulled Yosaku up from the small boat tethered alongside.

Yosaku's face was deathly pale, looking like he was on the verge of dying.

"Yosaku was perfectly fine just a few days ago! Then suddenly he turned pale white and passed out for days! I have no idea why! His teeth are falling out, old wounds are bleeding again... I don't know what to do anymore!" Johnny cried, looking at his partner's dire condition.

"I took him to that nearby rock island to rest, and then a cannonball suddenly shot over from this ship!" Johnny started sobbing.

"!!!" Luffy and Usopp's jaws dropped.

Oh crap! That was the cannonball they fired!

"S-Sorry!" Luffy and Usopp immediately bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

"If apologies actually worked, we wouldn't need the marines!" Johnny wailed as Yosaku coughed up more blood.

But their joy was short-lived. Yosaku quickly collapsed again. Although Yosaku, being a native of the One Piece world, had decent recovery abilities, he didn't possess a Trait like Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple).

"That is the most needed role on our ship before we head into the Grand Line," Rowen smiled.

No amount of talking beats firsthand experience for Luffy and Zoro.