Chapter 4 – [4] : A Collection of Super Traits!

“Check Traits.”

Rowen thought, feeling energized as he looked at his newly awakened Conqueror’s Haki Trait.

————

Rowen Traits: Navigation (White), Beast Strength (Blue), Conqueror’s Haki (Pale Gold), Faction Fortune (Apex Gold).

Conqueror’s Haki (Pale Gold): Initial mastery of Conqueror’s Haki. Can be precisely controlled to overwhelm weaker-willed individuals into unconsciousness. The weak do not even possess the right to look directly upon a King!

————

Rowen closed his eyes—sensing a formidable—controllable power within him.

With just a thought, he could unleash this power, causing the weak to faint instantly.

He hadn’t expected such a reward for acquiring his first Gold Trait. Not only had his Conqueror’s Haki awakened, but he’d also skipped the two years Luffy spent training with Rayleigh to control it in the original story.

He could already use his Conqueror’s Haki with precision.

When Conqueror’s Haki first awakens, like Luffy’s initial bursts in the story, it’s uncontrollable—an indiscriminate wave of pressure affecting friend and foe alike.

Only after dedicated training can it be precisely controlled to avoid affecting allies. This was the level Luffy reached after training with the ‘Dark King’ Rayleigh for two years.

However, since both stages primarily involved using Haki to intimidate the weak into unconsciousness, the Trait itself hadn’t undergone a qualitative change; it remained Pale Gold level.

Only by evolving further—reaching the stage where Conqueror’s Haki could be preliminarily infused into attacks—would it evolve into a Deep Gold Trait.

That was the level Yamato displayed in the original story.

A Deep Gold combat Trait typically corresponds to the strength level of a Yonko Commander or an Admiral Candidate, or the potential to definitively reach that level.

Although Rowen’s Conqueror’s Haki could currently only knock out the weak,

In the East Blue, there was Virtually no one who could remain conscious when faced with precisely controlled Conqueror’s Haki. It was more than sufficient for now.

Possessing Conqueror’s Haki meant Rowen now held the ticket to becoming one of the truly top-tier powerhouses on these seas.

Once he fully mastered Conqueror’s Haki Infusion and possessed sufficient presence (‘Kingly disposition’), it would upgrade to an Apex Gold Trait, allowing him to reign as an Emperor on the seas.

The so-called Yonko/Admiral level.

Furthermore, because Infused Conqueror’s Haki attacks were so overwhelmingly powerful, their sheer offensive capability surpassed even that of Admirals who couldn’t use the technique.

A full-power strike from such a peak individual could overwhelm Yonko Commanders or Admiral Candidates, who couldn’t even withstand a single blow.

Below the level of Emperors and Admirals, all are mere ants!

Fortunately, Rowen had already secured his pass to reach that level.

With the Strongest Trait System at his disposal, Rowen was confident that fully mastering Infused Conqueror’s was only a matter of time.

“Ahhh, that hit the spot!”

At that moment, Luffy finished devouring all the food Rowen had given him, patted his belly, and grinned widely.

With his Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple) Trait, that amount of food was naturally far from enough to truly satisfy Luffy’s appetite.

But that was because the Trait allowed him to rapidly digest and absorb massive amounts of nutrients to strengthen himself, enabling his astonishing eating capacity.

To simply stop feeling hungry, however, the food had been sufficient.

“Hey, Rowen, are you a pirate?” Luffy asked, looking at him.

“Not yet. I’m just a passenger on this ship,” Rowen replied honestly, not bothering to hide it.

“Then how about it? Wanna join my crew? Be my nakama?” Luffy grinned.

Rowen had already demonstrated considerable strength.

But Luffy didn’t choose his crewmates based solely on strength.

What truly made Luffy decide to invite Rowen was his earlier speech about comrades.

Because of Shanks’s influence, Luffy valued his comrades above all else.

Rowen’s words had resonated deeply with him.

“Oh, so you’re a pirate too?” Rowen asked, pretending not to know, a smile playing on his lips.

Just as planned. He invited me.

Preparing the meat beforehand and giving that speech about comrades definitely worked.

Not only did it prevent any issues regarding Koby, but it also significantly boosted Luffy’s opinion of him.

So, should he accept the invitation from this future Emperor, the current Sun God?

Rowen’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.

“Yep! I’m the man who’s gonna be King of the Pirates!” Luffy declared, his mouth stretching into that infectious, signature grin, teeth bared.

—[Invitation detected from Monkey D. Luffy. Accept? ]—

—[Accepting allows equipping Traits from affiliated crew members.]—

—[Upon acceptance, the affiliated faction for Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) will be updated to Pirate Faction.]—

A notification screen, visible only to Rowen, appeared before him.

This made Rowen blink instinctively, thinking he must have misread it.

After carefully rereading and confirming he hadn’t made a mistake, a flash of genuine surprise and delight crossed Rowen’s eyes, despite all the High-tier Traits he’d already acquired.

What an incredible, unexpected bonus!

It would be a lie to say Rowen wasn’t extremely envious of Luffy’s Traits. It was arguably one of the most potent potential combinations in the entire One Piece world.

But actually plundering them? That was impossible.

Even though this was Luffy just starting out, before awakening Nika’s power,

And his Gomu-Gomu Fruit, without Gear Second and other developed techniques, was only at the Deep Purple level (meaning he could skillfully use its basic properties),

Luffy was still likely too much for the current Rowen, who only had Beast Strength and a basic Conqueror’s Haki

 blast.

After all, Luffy also possessed the disposition of a King. The chances of knocking him out with just a Haki blast were slim.

Besides, even if Rowen somehow won, could he—still relatively weak and undeveloped—possibly handle the inevitable retaliation from Garp, Dragon, and Red-Haired Shanks?

As the saying goes, a wise man doesn’t stand under a crumbling wall. There were plenty of other ways to acquire powerful Traits without putting himself in such immediate, overwhelming danger.

But now… things were different. He hadn’t expected the System could allow equipping Traits from fellow crew members!

By joining the Straw Hat crew, he could potentially access Luffy’s incredible Traits.

And the Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) Trait worked just as Rowen suspected—becoming a pirate would align it with the Pirate Faction.

This meant that whenever iconic figures of the Pirate Faction met their end, as long as Rowen was present, he could potentially absorb their ‘fortune’ and significantly boost his own power.

The most iconic figures in the Pirate Faction were naturally the Four Emperors.

And arguably, the Seven Warlords of the Sea—though nominally affiliated with the World Government—mostly operated their own pirate domains and possessed legitimate rights to plunder; they likely counted as part of the Pirate Faction too.

And what faster way was there to eventually confront the Emperors, Warlords, and other iconic figures of the Pirate Faction than by joining the Straw Hat crew?

Whether it was equipping Luffy’s super Traits or positioning himself to benefit from the fall of major pirate figures via his Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) Trait, joining the Straw Hats was clearly the optimal choice.

Besides, Luffy himself was quite admirable. Rowen had already considered joining the Straw Hats as a viable option anyway.

Since Rowen wasn’t fully developed yet, the Grand Line still held uncertainties. Traveling with the main protagonist crew offered the safest path for him to grow stronger steadily.

And now, with such a massive benefit waiting for him? There was no need for further hesitation.

“Alright then. Looking forward to working with you, Luffy.”

Rowen extended his right hand towards Luffy, his smile radiating genuine brilliance.

Looking at Luffy, it was as if Rowen could already see those amazing super Traits slowly becoming his own. Naturally, his smile was incredibly bright.

Koby Traits plus Monkey D. Luffy’s Traits… the future is certainly looking exciting.

“Shishishishi! Looking forward to it too, Rowen!”

Luffy grinned back just as brightly.

Rowen was his very first crewmate.

<><><><><><><><>

~# Keep the Chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!

~# Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep