One Piece: The Strongest Trait System novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7 - [7] : Plenty of Time for Nami Later!

"Oh, I see! 'Sky Sovereign'—that really is a cool title! Shishishi!" Luffy beamed after hearing Rowen's explanation about the epithet.

Becoming the Pirate King was Luffy's entire goal for setting out to sea. Having his very first crewmate acknowledge his dream so strongly naturally made Luffy incredibly happy.

—[Detected increase in bond with equipping target. Trait equipping progress increased.]—

Seeing the notification only he could see, Rowen's eyes gleamed.

Just as I thought. There are ways to speed up the Trait equipping process.

Bonds, huh? Very fitting for this kind of world.

Noticing the significant jump in the progress bar for Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple), and the fact that the Sun God (Apex Gold) bar had finally started moving, Rowen allowed himself a small smile.

Choosing the epithet 'Sky Sovereign' wasn't just because it fit the One Piece world and appealed to Rowen's own aesthetic sensibilities from Earth.

More importantly, using the reasoning behind the title was Rowen's way of testing the Trait equipping speed.

Luffy's dream was to become Pirate King; Rowen's explanation naturally strengthened their connection.

And since Luffy was the target for equipping Traits, Rowen needed to test if improving their relationship would accelerate the process.

Now, it seemed clear that it worked.

Heh. Worth making that slightly dramatic speech.

Rowen scanned the sky but didn't spot any News Coo birds.

Then again, in the One Piece world, News Coos were practically omnipresent. Rowen, who hadn't awakened Observation Haki yet, couldn't pinpoint their exact location anyway.

But he'd know soon enough from the next news report whether his chosen epithet had spread across the seas.

After all, when it came to Conqueror's Haki, the president of the World Economic News Agency, Morgans, definitely knew its significance.

Despite some later complaints about too many Conqueror's Haki users appearing in the New World, if you actually counted, fewer than twenty individuals in the entire original story were confirmed to possess it.

And those weren't even all active in the same era.

Possessing Conqueror's Haki truly meant having the disposition of a King.

Because awakening Conqueror's virtually guaranteed the ability to learn both Observation and Armament Haki, and ensured the user could train their Haki to a reasonably high level at minimum.

In other words, simply awakening Conqueror's Haki meant the user inherently possessed the potential for at least Warlord-level strength.

For a Conqueror's Haki user to emerge in the East Blue—that news definitely had enough weight for Morgans to make a story out of it.

Anyway, now that he'd joined the main crew, Luffy's Powerful Connections (Special) Trait meant Rowen didn't need to worry too much about attracting unbeatable pirate or Marine pursuit before he was strong enough.

So, there was no real need for Rowen to keep a low profile.

That concept of "disposition" or "presence" mentioned in the story was likely a crucial factor in Haki strength. Therefore, acting humbly or staying low-key was probably detrimental for aspiring powerhouses in the One Piece world. _{frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓}

Look at Blackbeard—hiding his ambition on Whitebeard's ship before getting the Dark-Dark Fruit. Because he played the part of a harmless underling for too long, his own kingly disposition withered, to the point where he actually considered just living out his days on Whitebeard's ship.

In the One Piece power system, pretending to be weak to ambush the strong ('playing the pig to eat the tiger') ultimately just turned you into a real pig.

Only by building a fearsome reputation, using the blood of other strong opponents as stepping stones, could one reach the pinnacle of this world.

"Alright, we took care of these guys! Let's hurry up and find a boat so we can set sail again!" Luffy grinned, looking at the Alvida Pirates littering the deck.

Swish! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Just as Luffy finished speaking, cannonballs slammed into the deck of Alvida's pirate ship.

In the distance, Marine warships were rapidly approaching.

"Marines! As pirates, we gotta make a quick getaway! Let's go, Rowen!" Luffy exclaimed. He was certainly familiar with Marine ships; his own grandpa commanded vessels much larger than these.

"Got it." Rowen smirked slightly.

He had no intention of plundering Alvida's 'Super Thick Skin' Trait.

Fat held absolutely zero interest for him.

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WHOOSH! SPLASH!

Isn't that the guy from the liner earlier?

"Rowen?" Nami murmured the name, then quickly steered her own boat away using her superior navigation skills.

The sea's enormous. What are the chances of running into him again?