Meanwhile, completely unaware that his goal had been achieved and that his front-page story was about to spread across the entire world, Rowen—was currently using his Navigation (White) skill to sail with Luffy.
"Landfall ahead. That's our destination—Shells Town," Rowen announced, comparing the approaching landmass to his sea chart, a smile gracing his lips.
After a tedious journey on the open sea, nothing brought more joy than spotting land. Seeing your actual destination? That doubled the happiness.
Thanks to Rowen's advance preparations, this trip, unlike Luffy's previous solo voyages, didn't involve starving for days.
Plus, this stretch of the East Blue was remarkably calm. So, for Rowen, equipped with the Navigation (White) Trait, the journey had been relatively smooth.
"Shishishi! We got here so fast! Guess we really do need a navigator for the Grand Line! Oh, right! And a musician too!" Luffy declared enthusiastically.
Before Rowen joined, Luffy's entire journey consisted of aimlessly drifting in the small boat he'd brought from Windmill Village.
Experiencing the speed and precision of reaching a destination like this just once had gotten Luffy completely hooked.
But since Rowen had mentioned his own navigation skills weren't sufficient for the Grand Line, finding a proper navigator naturally moved up Luffy's priority list.
Of course, a musician was still essential.
"A musician, huh? Not a bad idea," Rowen chuckled, amused by Luffy's priorities.
Luffy's fixation on having a musician was real. Though, in the original story, the Straw Hats wouldn't get one until they confronted the Warlord, 'Gecko' Moria.
Rowen had already confirmed through his System during their voyage:
Although the Seven Warlords were nominally affiliated with the World Government, they were fundamentally still powerful pirates, belonging to the Pirate Faction.
Within the Pirate Faction, they were the most prominent figures right below the Four Emperors.
Taking down a Warlord would also trigger Rowen's Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) Trait.
If that was the case, then confronting Moria would truly kill two birds with one stone.
Moria's current strength was among the lowest of the Warlords—practically a free meal delivered right to their doorstep.
But before Moria, there was another troublesome Warlord they'd have to deal with.
The Warlord 'Sir Crocodile'—user of the Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit, Crocodile.
Rowen's eyes narrowed slightly.
The Sand-Sand Fruit, even among Logia types, was easily a top-tier powerful Devil Fruit. Acquiring that ability alone, based purely on the fruit's power, guaranteed at least Warlord-level strength.
Add Haki into the mix, and reaching the level of a Yonko Commander or Admiral Candidate would be relatively easy.
Of course, Rowen's true ultimate target among Logias was that fruit—the one considered practically invincible even within its own category: the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Speed, offensive power, destructive range—all rolled into one. A cataclysmic force of nature. A practically perfect Devil Fruit ability.
That was a Devil Fruit ability Rowen absolutely had to obtain.
Through his research into the Trait System over the past few days, Rowen had received confirmation: he could possess multiple Devil Fruit abilities.
The System could turn Devil Fruit powers into Traits and allow him to plunder them. Each plundered Devil Fruit ability existed as a separate, distinct Trait.
Furthermore, because he was turning others' abilities into Traits and equipping/using them—rather than directly eating the fruits—
Rowen could wield the plundered Devil Fruit powers without suffering the standard side effects of eating a fruit (like weakness to seawater or inability to swim).
And even if he acquired multiple Devil Fruit abilities, since each power existed as a separate Trait, there was no risk of them conflicting and causing him to explode.
Considering Blackbeard's unique body structure, which allowed him to contain multiple Devil Fruit powers,
Rowen's System—which converted powers into individual Traits and negated the side effects—was arguably far superior.
Theoretically, there was no upper limit to the number of Devil Fruit abilities he could possess.
In that case... the Sand-Sand Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika...
All these powerful Devil Fruit abilities—he wanted them all!
But before that, Rowen needed to focus on strengthening himself as much as possible.
After all, in the future, both Crocodile (user of the Sand-Sand Fruit) and Enel (user of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit) were arguably defeated largely due to Luffy's protagonist plot armor.
Rowen preferred to hold his destiny firmly in his own hands.
Besides, unleashing Devil Fruit powers required immense stamina and a strong physique as fuel.
Therefore, Traits that enhanced his physical capabilities were what Rowen needed most right now.
And conveniently, apart from Luffy, there was another man in the Straw Hat crew destined to possess one of the most formidable physiques on the seas.
The Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro.
Rowen steered the small boat towards the shore, looking at the town ahead—Shells Town—a slight smirk playing on his lips.
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"Weird. Why are the people here so scared when they hear the Marine Captain's name?"
While searching for Zoro, Luffy, being his naturally outgoing self, directly asked the townsfolk for directions.
But while their fear upon hearing Zoro's name was understandable, they seemed even more terrified when they heard the name of the local Marine Captain, Morgan.
"Marines aren't always the good guys for civilians. A corrupt Marine can cause even more destruction than some pirates," Rowen commented slowly.
Knowing the original story, Rowen understood this was because the Marine Captain here, 'Axe-Hand' Morgan, ruthlessly oppressed the townspeople.
For ordinary citizens, pirates were naturally detestable. Most pirates weren't like Luffy and his crew—who were, strictly speaking, more like adventurers chasing a dream.
However, aside from a few extremely vicious pirates who engaged in wanton murder and pillaging, most pirates primarily harmed civilians through robbery.
After all, the more atrocities they committed, the higher their bounty would climb, attracting stronger Marine pursuit and drawing the attention of bounty hunters.
While robbery was certainly bad, it was nothing compared to someone like Morgan, who abused his power to exploit the people under his command.
Or even worse, scum like Captain Nezumi—one of the key figures responsible for allowing Arlong to tyrannize Nami's hometown unchecked. That was a true nightmare.
If civilians encountered vicious pirates, they could still seek help from good Marines. But if they encountered corrupt Marines like these? That was a disaster where calling for help was utterly futile.
Rowen, having come from Earth, despised such corrupt individuals the most.
As they walked, the two eventually arrived at their destination.
The Marine base of Shells Town.
A man was tied to a crucifixion post in the courtyard.
The Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro.
"Look, Rowen! That must be the guy!"
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~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter