Seeing the notification screen appear, Rowen didn't hesitate. He mentally selected 'Equip' next to Demonic Physique (Deep Purple) and Asura Aura (Special).
As for Three-Sword Style and its 'stronger-than-a-hyena' bite strength... he'd leave that one for Zoro himself.
Watching the progress bar begin to fill for Zoro's Demonic Physique (Deep Purple), alongside Luffy's Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple) which was already about a third of the way equipped, Rowen smirked.
Soon. This ticket to becoming a true monster will be completely mine.
"Whoa, so cool!" Luffy exclaimed, fascinated by Zoro's unique three-sword stance. He always loved weird and interesting things.
"Attacking the Marines here... I guess I really am a villain now. But..." Zoro lifted his head, a fierce, beast-like grin spreading across his face as he looked at Luffy.
"I'm going to become the world's greatest swordsman. If you prevent me from achieving that ambition, you'll have to apologize by committing seppuku."
"Shishishi! If the comrade of the future King of the Pirates didn't have at least that much ambition, I'd be the one worried!" Luffy grinned back.
"Gomu Gomu no... WHIP!" Luffy stretched his leg like a whip, kicking away the Marines who had been behind Zoro.
"Rebel!" Seeing that 'Sky Sovereign' Rowen, the one he feared most, wasn't making a move, Morgan roared and charged forward, swinging his axe arm wildly.
"Three-Sword Style - Oni Giri (Demon Slash)!"
A spray of blood erupted as Zoro unleashed one of his strongest techniques at the time—Oni Giri.
Caught by Zoro's Demon Slash, Morgan's eyes rolled white, and he collapsed heavily to the ground.
"We won! Shishishi!" Luffy cheered, throwing his hands up.
"Your Captain's down! Anyone else wanna fight?!" Luffy yelled, rolling up his sleeves.
"C-Captain Morgan... is defeated?" The few remaining conscious Marines looked at each other hesitantly.
They all tossed their weapons into the air.
"Alright! Morgan's defeated! We're free from his tyranny!" The Marines erupted in cheers and celebration.
"What? They're happy their Captain got beat?" Luffy looked surprised.
"Well, most people who join the Marines in this era genuinely want to help civilians. Scumbags like Morgan are the exception, not the rule," Rowen explained. Even though he was now a pirate, he didn't completely dismiss the Marines.
For ordinary people, the Marines often did provide safety in these chaotic times.
Pirates like Luffy, who were essentially adventurers and sometimes even saved local populations, were extremely rare. Plus, they were constantly moving; they couldn't offer consistent protection to civilians.
That was why many countries sought protection under the banner of an Emperor—having a fixed territory provided a sense of security for the people.
"Mah, guess you're right. Shishishi! These Marines don't seem so bad," Luffy mused, nodding in agreement.
"You two really are different from most villains," Zoro commented, surprised. A slight smile touched his lips.
His word was his bond; having agreed to join, he would follow through. But joining a crew that wasn't inherently evil was definitely something to be happy about.
His decision to join wasn't just because he was threatened with death and wanted to pursue his dream.
More importantly, he could sense that Luffy and Rowen were fundamentally different from the vicious pirates who pillaged and murdered.
Especially Rowen. A man who could say "a child's sincerity is more precious than gold" couldn't be truly bad.
Besides, this man possessed that unbelievably powerful ability, Conqueror's Haki.
And the man recognized by someone like Rowen—Luffy, the captain—must have something special about him too.
Now, it seemed his instincts were correct.
—[Bond with Zoro increased. Trait equipping progress increased.]—
A notification appeared, causing Rowen's lips to curve slightly upwards.
Yep. Definitely works.
"Ah... starving..." Just then, Zoro suddenly collapsed.
Having gone twenty days without food, the fact that he could even defeat Morgan moments ago was solely thanks to Rika's rice balls.
"Big brother! Come eat at my place!" Rika invited happily.
"Food! Can we come too?!" Luffy immediately shouted excitedly.
"Yes! Of course! You big brothers saved our town!" Rika beamed even brighter.
"Rowen, let's go! Food!" Luffy urged, looking at Rowen.
"You guys go ahead. I got word there's a map of the Grand Line in this Marine base. I'll go grab it first," Rowen said, looking towards the base building.
"Okay! We'll go on ahead!" Luffy grabbed the exhausted Zoro by one ankle.
"Hey! You idiot! D-Don't tell me..." Zoro, completely drained of strength, felt his eye twitch.
"Time to eat!" Luffy started dragging Zoro by the ankle, picking Rika up in his other arm, and dashed off towards the restaurant following Rika's directions.
Zoro, meanwhile, was being dragged along the ground by his foot.
"You damn bastard! At least carry me!" Zoro's enraged shouts were drowned out by Luffy's excited yells.
"I'll kill you someday! You jerk!"
Rowen chuckled, watching the classic, comical scene from the original story unfold.
Then, using his System, he quickly located Morgan's office.
"Just as expected. Nami already opened this safe. But she left this behind... Definitely one of the 'Coward Trio'," Rowen muttered amusedly, looking at the piece of paper in his hand. It had the Buggy Pirates' Jolly Roger drawn on it and text reading:
"Took the map - Yours Truly."
Trait (Safe): A safe that was opened by Nami, then closed again.
With the valuable map gone, Nami had cleverly left this note behind to avoid drawing Marine attention to herself.
Rowen wasn't disappointed about missing Nami. Without Observation Haki, catching a skilled infiltrator like her wouldn't be easy.
Besides, he wasn't worried. They'd be meeting soon enough, at Buggy the Clown's location.
"Buggy... the Clown, huh."
Rowen's gaze turned thoughtful as he looked at the paper.
An apprentice on the Pirate King Gol D. Roger's ship, alongside the current Emperor, Red-Haired Shanks.
Apparently, during the clash between the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates back then, Buggy had actually left a stronger impression on Whitebeard than Shanks did. What exactly made Buggy special? It was something Rowen had always wondered about while reading the original story.
After all, in the story, Buggy later became a Warlord primarily by leveraging his status as a former Roger Pirate to gather strong followers, and having that fact broadcast during the Summit War.
Then, through a series of sheer coincidences and relying heavily on his "Emperor Fathers"—Mihawk and Crocodile—he somehow stumbled into becoming an Emperor himself.
His actual combat performance, however, was consistently abysmal.
But now, facing Rowen and his Strongest Trait System, whatever special qualities Buggy possessed wouldn't remain hidden for long.
"You were valued by Roger, just like Shanks was. I hope you can offer me some pleasant surprises, Buggy."
Rowen took the paper and headed towards Rika's family restaurant.
~# Keep the Chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter