Inside the Hijacked Liner, in a secluded storage room.
A short, pink-haired kid wearing thick glasses, looking utterly terrified, was pushing a large wooden barrel. He was stopped by three pirate grunts—one skinny, one fat, one dark-skinned.
"Well now, look what the coward dragged in! Something useful for once, huh, Koby? We were gettin' kinda thirsty," the skinny pirate sneered, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"Th-this belongs to the crew's spoils! If Miss Alvida finds out, she'll kill us!" Koby stammered, looking fearfully at the three pirates.
"She won't find out if you don't tell her. Right, Koby?" the dark-skinned pirate grinned, his expression turning threatening.
"Y-yes! Yes, sir! You're absolutely right!" Faced with the threat, Koby immediately put on a fawning, subservient expression.
"Alright, let me crack this thing open!" The fat pirate raised his fist, ready to smash the barrel open violently.
CRACK!
The next instant, a pair of fists shot out from inside the barrel, connecting squarely with the fat pirate's chin and knocking him out cold.
"AAAAHHH! Slept great!!!"
A boy wearing a straw hat popped out of the barrel, grinning widely and yelling.
"Who the—?!" The remaining skinny and dark-skinned pirates shouted in shock and anger.
"Huh? Why's he sleeping on the floor? He'll catch a cold," the straw-hatted boy wondered aloud, looking curiously at the unconscious fat pirate.
"IT'S YOUR FAULT, YOU IDIOT!!" Both pirates snapped, their faces contorting with rage.
"You little brat! You knew we were pirates, didn't ya?! You lookin' for trouble?!" The skinny pirate drew his sword, leveling it at the boy.
"Got any meat? I'm starving," the straw-hatted boy completely ignored him, turning instead to the stunned Koby.
"LISTEN WHEN SOMEONE'S TALKING TO YOU!" the skinny pirate roared.
"Fine! Have it your way! Die, brat!" The skinny pirate yelled, raising his sword to strike the boy down.
"Hm?" The straw-hatted boy turned, just about to react, when suddenly—
WHAM!
An immense, terrifying force struck the skinny pirate. He went flying backward instantly, the sickening crunch of shattering bones echoing through the room as he slammed against the bulkhead and fell silent.
"Y-you..." The last remaining pirate—the dark-skinned one—stared in absolute terror at the handsome young man who had suddenly appeared.
"Ah... Ah..." Koby watched the scene unfold, paralyzed by fear.
A single bare-fisted strike had silenced that pirate grunt. The sound of his bones breaking was horrifyingly clear and sharp.
That kind of power—it was even more terrifying than Miss Alvida with her iron mace!
"Who're you? You're pretty strong! Why did you help me?" the straw-hatted boy asked, grinning broadly.
"Name's Rowen. I'm a passenger on this ship. These pirates hijacked it, so I'm cleaning them up," Rowen replied with a smile, looking at the legendary Monkey D. Luffy.
Yep. He's real.
Then, his gaze shifted to Koby, who was cowering in the corner like a terrified clown.
Finally. Found him.
A slight smile played on Rowen's lips.
"Rowen? I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet you!" Luffy grinned.
"Nice to meet you too," Rowen replied, smiling back.
"AAAAHH!!!" Just as Rowen and Luffy were introducing themselves, the last pirate grunt let out a terrified shriek, grabbed his two unconscious comrades, and fled as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Oh no! If he goes and gets his buddies, they'll come back and kill you both!" Koby cried out in panic upon seeing the pirate escape.
"I'm hungry," Luffy said, completely ignoring Koby and rubbing his stomach.
"I actually brought some food from the party upstairs. You like meat?" Rowen offered with a smile, pulling out some pre-prepared food.
"MEAT!!!" Luffy's eyes lit up like stars as he stared at the food Rowen produced. He immediately began stuffing his face, devouring everything ravenously.
"Rowen, you're a really good guy!" Luffy mumbled between mouthfuls, grinning.
Rowen just chuckled at that.
The 'merit' of feeding Luffy—does a clown like Koby even deserve to witness it?
Rowen then turned his attention fully to Luffy, activating his System inwardly.
"Read Traits."
A blinding, brilliant golden light flared into existence.
————
Luffy Traits: Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple), Conqueror's Haki (Unawakened) (Pale Gold), Powerful Connections (Special), Sun God (Apex Gold), Gomu-Gomu Fruit [Disguise] (Deep Purple), [Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika (Unawakened) (Apex Gold)].
Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple): Possesses physical capabilities far exceeding ordinary humans. Can rapidly absorb vast amounts of nutrients to strengthen himself. Incredible stamina provides ample fuel for Devil Fruit abilities. (Physique-type Traits can level up as the owner's body grows stronger).
Conqueror's Haki (Unawakened) (Pale Gold): The disposition of a king, possessed by only one in several million! Cannot be acquired through training. Initial mastery allows the user to overwhelm weaker-willed individuals into unconsciousness with sheer willpower.
Further mastery enables basic Conqueror's Haki Infusion (Deep Gold). Complete mastery of Infusion, combined with sufficient personal presence, allows one to reign as an Emperor on the seas (Apex Gold).
Powerful Connections (Special): Possesses one of the strongest networks of relationships in the world. If facing a fatal crisis, has a chance to turn disaster into fortune.
If pushed into a truly desperate situation, may randomly trigger one of the following effects: Pursuit by 'Fire Fist' Portgas D. Ace at full power; Intervention by 'Hero of the Marines' Monkey D. Garp's 'Fist of Love'; Arrival of 'Revolutionary Leader' Monkey D. Dragon; Rallying of the entire Red Hair Pirates crew led by Emperor 'Red-Haired' Shanks. (Special Traits cannot be upgraded).
Sun God (Apex Gold): The Sun God of the current era, a warrior who brings hope to the people. As long as people's hope remains, he can rise again stronger than before, fighting on endlessly.
Gomu-Gomu Fruit [Disguise] (Deep Purple), [Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika (Unawakened) (Apex Gold)]: Appears to be the Paramecia-type Gomu-Gomu Fruit (Deep Purple), but is actually the legendary Devil Fruit, the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika (Apex Gold).
————
Golden Legendary!
Absolutely stacked! What an insanely powerful setup.
Even though Rowen had expected something impressive, seeing it laid out like this still made him incredibly envious.
And this was Luffy just setting out to sea. Compared to other pirates, he was operating on a completely different level—it was almost unfair.
Hmm, Sun God (Apex Gold)? Rowen contemplated this Trait. It was currently Luffy's only active Apex Gold Trait.
Other potential Apex Gold Traits, like the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika itself or the fully mastered Conqueror's Haki Infusion, were still dormant.
So, the Sun God (Apex Gold) ability: "As long as people's hope remains, he can rise again stronger than before, fighting on endlessly."
Ah, so that's why he kept getting back up over and over again when fighting Kaido in the original story.
Rowen understood now. What a ridiculously broken Trait.
But when he saw the Powerful Connections (Special) Trait, even Rowen, who knew the original plot inside and out, almost couldn't keep a straight face.
This was the first time Rowen had ever encountered a 'Special' Trait.
Yep, definitely the adventures of a super-privileged kid, complete with a 'summon the entire Red Hair Pirates crew' buff.
Forget about actually beating Luffy—even if you managed to push him into a corner, if this Trait triggered and Garp, Dragon, and Shanks all showed up together? Even Whitebeard in his prime would probably be overwhelmed.
However, Rowen's target wasn't Luffy. It was—
"You. You're one of Alvida's crew too, aren't you."
Rowen turned his gaze towards Koby—the boy who would later be known infamously as the "Hero"—and stated calmly.
<><><><><><><><>
~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter