"You. You're one of Alvida's crew too, aren't you."
Rowen looked at Koby—the clown reviled by countless people, later known as the "The Hero."
He thought inwardly.
"Read Traits."
————
Koby Traits: Navigation (White), Conqueror's Haki (Unawakened) (Pale Gold), Faction Betrayal (Special), Faction Fortune (Apex Gold).
————
Even though he'd half-expected it, Rowen cursed silently.
A Special Trait—another damn Special Trait.
One Special, one Pale Gold, and one Apex Gold.
And that Apex Gold Trait was already active? Basically the same treatment as Luffy! Was this clown the original author's golden boy or something?!
The threshold for an Apex Gold combat-related Trait was typically an ability on par with an Admiral's strength, or potential destined to reach at least Admiral level in the future.
Of course, non-combat Traits like Nami's Navigation (Deep Purple) or Climate Sense (Pale Gold) operated on a different scale.
Which meant possessing an Apex Gold combat potential Trait essentially guaranteed becoming a top-tier powerhouse, at least Admiral-level, down the line.
But Koby? Him? Did he even deserve that?
And this pathetic excuse for a pirate actually possessed Conqueror's Haki? The disposition of a king?
Looking at Koby, with his thick glasses and utterly cowardly demeanor, Rowen felt a surge of disgust.
He quickly reviewed the Trait descriptions.
————
Navigation (White): Basic navigation skills, suitable for sailing in relatively calm waters.
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.
Faction Betrayal (Special): At a critical moment, will commit an act of betrayal, causing significant losses to their affiliated faction. (Special Traits cannot be upgraded).
Faction Fortune (Apex Gold): When an iconic powerhouse of the user's affiliated faction falls, their 'fortune' or 'legacy' will transfer to the user, greatly increasing their strength. (Requires being near the target when they fall).
————
"..."
Reading the descriptions, Rowen decided to retract his earlier question about Koby being the author's golden boy.
This piece of trash was DEFINITELY the author's goddamn favorite!
No wonder! No wonder this clown, despite being utterly pathetic, could somehow become the so-called "Next Generation Marine Hero."
No wonder when Garp met his end on Hachinosu Island, this clown Koby inexplicably powered up so drastically.
It was all because of this Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) Trait!
This clown basically absorbed all of Garp's "Marine Hero" legacy to boost himself!
"Falls" didn't necessarily mean death—just the definitive end of their era on the seas. As long as Koby was within range when it happened, he could snatch their 'fortune'.
Luffy's power-up on Onigashima—even with his Sun God (Apex Gold) Trait—at least came after Kaido beat him senseless with that club multiple times.
But Koby? Thanks to Faction Fortune (Apex Gold), he just needed to be nearby when an iconic figure from his side fell, and bam—massive power boost.
Combine that with the Faction Betrayal (Special) Trait... it was practically designed to work together.
Rowen finally understood. No wonder this clown had the gall to jump out and try to stop Akainu during the Summit War. And no wonder Akainu, despite his ruthless personality, actually wasted time listening to this clown's whining, delaying things significantly.
He was being influenced by the Trait.
Faction Betrayal (Special): Causes significant losses to their affiliated faction at a critical moment.
From the Marines' perspective, that delay allowed the Red Hair Pirates to arrive, enabled Luffy's successful escape, and let the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates withdraw. Weren't those massive losses?
And later on, it was because of this same clown, Koby, that the era of the Marine Hero, Monkey D. Garp, came to a definitive end.
And then Koby used his Faction Fortune (Apex Gold) Trait to absorb that legacy and strengthen himself.
Back when Rowen was still on Earth reading this unfold, he'd cursed the original author's entire family line more times than he could count.
But now? For Rowen, the stronger Koby's Traits were, the better.
Rowen glared at Koby, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"What? You're one of them too?" Luffy asked, still munching on the food Rowen gave him, looking over at Koby.
"I... I am, but there's a reason—" Koby stammered hesitantly.
"If you're part of Alvida's crew, then stay down."
Rowen had no time to listen to this clown's excuses. He lashed out with a powerful kick, fueled by his Beast Strength, knocking Koby unconscious instantly.
"Rowen! He wasn't even fighting back! Why'd you kick him?" Luffy asked, swallowing his food as he looked at the unconscious Koby.
"Because he betrayed his crewmates," Rowen stated seriously, looking directly at Luffy.
Luffy's personality wasn't exactly that of a naive saint; he just generally didn't attack people who couldn't fight back.
That was probably Shanks's influence.
"Betrayed his crewmates?" Luffy blinked.
"That's right. He's part of Alvida's crew, yet he warned us about them. Betraying your comrades like that—it's the most despicable thing you can do on the seas. Comrades are precious people you should be able to entrust your life to," Rowen declared firmly.
Whether Koby was forced into Alvida's crew or not didn't matter. Right now, his faction was the Alvida Pirates.
On the surface, he acted weak and subservient, doing Alvida's bidding. But secretly, he was constantly plotting to betray them and join the Marines.
Yet, even after joining the Marines, he'd still backstab them occasionally, causing significant losses to their faction. He was the ultimate clown.
Among the Marines, Akainu might be disliked by many for his "Absolute Justice," but Akainu wasn't a clown.
A powerful person could be evil, bad, or extreme—but they absolutely couldn't be a clown.
Koby's very existence seemed designed purely to disgust people.
"Oh, I see."
Luffy nodded in complete agreement upon hearing Rowen's passionate words about comrades.
After all, Rowen had given him lots of food, including meat, when he was starving.
And Rowen's understanding of what comradeship meant resonated deeply with Luffy.
As for Koby? At this point, Luffy had only just met him. Thanks to Rowen's intervention, they hadn't even exchanged more than a couple of sentences.
Luffy's earlier question was purely due to Shanks's influence—not attacking the defenseless.
Now that he understood Rowen's reason for attacking, Luffy almost felt like applauding.
Guys who betray their comrades were exactly the type of people Luffy wanted to punch the most.
"Plunder."
Rowen focused his gaze on the unconscious Koby, his eyes flashing.
To plunder a Trait, the target needed to be in this unconscious state.
Do you think a clown like you deserves to possess Traits like these?!
Gimme that!
VMMMM!
Visible only to Rowen, Koby's Traits flowed out and were absorbed into his own body.
Success!
A grin spread across Rowen's face.
————
Rowen Traits: Navigation (White), Beast Strength (Blue), Conqueror's Haki (Unawakened) (Pale Gold), Faction Fortune (Apex Gold).
————
Talk about an upgrade! A massive upgrade!
Before, Rowen only had the single Blue Beast Strength Trait. Now, he instantly gained one Pale Gold and one Apex Gold Trait.
As for the Faction Betrayal (Special) Trait? Rowen naturally left it behind. Like he'd thought earlier—a strong person could be evil, bad, or extreme, but never a clown. That Trait was purely disgusting.
With the Strongest Trait System, Rowen didn't need to rely on such clownish abilities to gain power.
Besides, Special Traits couldn't be used to upgrade other Traits, making it useless to him anyway.
The Navigation (White) Trait, however, might still have some minor use out on the sea.
—[First-time plunder of a Gold-tier Trait detected. Reward granted.]—
—[Conqueror's Haki (Pale Gold) has been Awakened.]—
A notification screen, visible only to Rowen, materialized before him.
An unexpected bonus! Nice.
Rowen's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
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