~ As Usual. Bonus Chapter Every 100 Powerstones :)
~ I've added this fanfic to my — there are 18 Advanced Chapters available! If you're interested, check it out below!
"Plunder!" Rowen focused his gaze on Kuro.
VMM! A purple light, visible only to Rowen, flew out from Kuro's body and was absorbed by Rowen.
—[Plunder successful. Acquired Ultimate Technique - Shakushi (Deep Purple) Trait.]—
'Gurgle! Gurgle!' The muscles of the unconscious Kuro began to twist strangely, then seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon, losing all their power.
When Rowen plundered a Strength-type Trait, the target lost all associated power completely.
"What happened to him? That's so weird," Nami commented, feeling a chill run down her spine as she witnessed the scene.
"Just took something from him," Rowen replied with a faint smile.
"Wake him up, Usopp," Rowen instructed, looking at Usopp.
"Eh? Okay," Usopp blinked, then ran over to the unconscious Kuro.
"Wake up! Wake up! Don't catch a cold lying on the ground!" Usopp said, his words sounding concerned, but his actions (likely shaking or slapping Kuro) were anything but gentle.
Badmouthing his father was the one thing Usopp couldn't tolerate.
Under Usopp's rough handling, Kuro slowly regained consciousness.
"Klahadore! Are you okay?" Kaya still found it hard to believe that the butler who had cared for her for three years was actually a pirate.
"Are you awake now? Kuro? No... even if you admit you're 'Hundred Plans' Kuro now, you can't back it up anymore, can you?" Rowen looked down at Kuro with a cold smile.
"That... power... Ngh?!" Kuro was still reeling from the shock of the Conqueror's Haki blast. He shook his head violently, then his pupils suddenly constricted.
"M-My strength... My..." Kuro stared at his hands in disbelief. He tried desperately to stand, but his legs buckled, and he collapsed back onto the ground.
"It's normal to lose control of your weakened body temporarily after losing your power. Relax," Rowen stated, adopting his 'intimidating villain' expression.
"Y-You! What did you do to me?!" Kuro completely lost his composure for the first time, roaring at Rowen.
"Kuro. Bounty: 16 million Beri. Your most unique combat style is the so-called Stealth Foot. An assassination technique using high-speed movement like a cat," Rowen narrated calmly, demonstrating the Stealth Foot as he spoke.
Although he had plundered the combined Shakushi (Deep Purple) Trait, he could naturally still perform the individual Stealth Foot technique.
"M-My Stealth Foot..." Cold sweat drenched Kuro's forehead.
My power... has been stolen?!
"SUGEEE! That's so fast! Were you always this fast, Rowen?" Luffy stared wide-eyed.
"What did you do?! Give me back my power!" Kuro screamed, no longer caring about maintaining his disguise.
Without his strength, forget about peacefully inheriting the fortune and living quietly—tomorrow would be his execution day!
According to his plan, the Black Cat Pirates were scheduled to arrive tomorrow, massacre everyone, force Kaya to write a will leaving him everything, and then kill her too.
As the former captain of the Black Cat Pirates, Kuro knew the ruthless nature of his former crew all too well. Many of them would resent him, their former captain who had faked his death and disappeared for three years.
His previous strength was the only thing giving him the confidence to execute this plan.
But now, powerless? The Black Cat Pirates would probably kill him first!
"You really are Kuro!" Usopp exclaimed nervously, hearing Kuro's desperate admission.
"How could this be..." Kaya covered her mouth, staring at Kuro in disbelief.
But the evidence was right before her eyes. Kaya was kind, not stupid.
She finally understood. Klahadore truly was the infamous pirate, 'Hundred Plans' Kuro.
"Don't worry, Usopp. I took all his power. Even you could easily finish him off now," Rowen scoffed, looking down at Kuro.
To develop a skill comparable to the Six Powers' 'Shave' on his own in the East Blue... Kuro did possess talent.
But getting tired of being chased by Marines and bounty hunters, choosing to fake his death and hide...
And then infiltrating here as a butler for three years, planning to inherit Kaya's fortune through manipulation and murder just to live comfortably...
"Whoa, Rowen! You can take away other people's powers too?! Is that a Devil Fruit ability?" Luffy asked, amazed.
"No. It's an innate ability I was born with. Nothing to do with Devil Fruits," Rowen replied, choosing not to hide his power.
It wasn't just because hiding it from Luffy and the others, whom he'd be living and traveling with, would be difficult and might cause distrust, potentially slowing down the Trait equipping process.
More importantly, within the Haki-centric power system, deliberately concealing one's abilities—playing dumb to outsmart others can leave you stuck as the fool. Like Blackbeard hiding on Whitebeard's ship.
If Blackbeard hadn't found the Dark-Dark Fruit, his 'Disposition' would have continued to shrink due to hiding his true nature, and his thought of 'maybe just living out my days on Whitebeard's ship isn't so bad' might have become reality, turning him into a truly useless freeloader.
Besides, sometimes, revealing your strength wasn't a weakness—it was a terrifying deterrent!
Only by having your abilities sung across the seas as powerful and fearsome could you earn a greater title, forge a stronger 'Disposition', and cultivate stronger Haki.
Backed by Luffy's powerful connections, Rowen didn't need to fear attracting unbeatable enemies prematurely anyway.
If he were to excessively conceal his ability to plunder others' powers, how could he claim to possess the 'Disposition' to stand above all?
Of course, Rowen wouldn't go around advertising his ability to the whole world either. There was a difference between kingly 'Disposition' and foolishness.
The abilities Rowen chose to display were merely the surface layer of his true power.
By the time Rowen decided to reveal more of his combat capabilities strategically—using them as a deterrent to further enhance his reputation—he would already be among the world's peak powerhouses.
At that point, the partially revealed information about Rowen's strength would serve as the ultimate deterrent to the world, further forging his own Haki.
Just like the current Four Emperors—which truly strong individual on the seas didn't know about their powers?
Yet how many dared to challenge them? Instead, their fearsome reputations only made their Haki stronger!
In clashes between such peak powerhouses, Haki was ultimately the deciding factor.
So what if others knew some information? Haki! That was what transcended everything!
Possessing the Born of the Sea (Apex Gold) Trait, Rowen had absolute confidence.
"You're really terrifying, Rowen," Zoro commented. Directly stealing someone's power—such an unbelievable ability genuinely unnerved even him.
Good thing Rowen is our comrade.
"Convert." Rowen issued the command internally at this moment.
Having demonstrated the power and confirmed Kuro's identity, this uncontrollable attack style (Shakushi) was useless to Rowen. Better to use it to strengthen his existing Traits.
—[Conversion successful. Acquired Strength-type Deep Purple Upgrade Material quantity (1).]—
A notification appeared.
"It's over, Kuro," Rowen stated, looking down at Kuro with his 'villain' expression.
"W-Wait! I have something to say!" Kuro stammered, utterly terrified as Rowen walked towards him.
Right now, Kuro was like a cornered, desperate dog!
This man before him... had stripped him... of everything!
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