One Piece: The Strongest Trait System novel Chapter 218

Chapter 218: [218] : [BONUS] - The Sake of Allegiance! Rowen’s Flag!

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"THE SKY SOVEREIGN GRAND FLEET!"

Hearing the name, seeing his comrades’ excited smiles, Rowen smiled as well.

In the Straw Hat Pirates, everyone had their own dream.

Luffy dreamed of becoming the Pirate King.

Zoro dreamed of becoming the World’s Greatest Swordsman.

Sanji dreamed of finding the All Blue.

Usopp dreamed of becoming a brave warrior of the sea.

Chopper dreamed of becoming a doctor capable of curing all diseases.

Robin dreamed of finding the True History, exploring the Void Century.

Brook dreamed of circling the world and reuniting with Laboon at Twin Capes, fulfilling their promise.

Franky dreamed of sailing the ship he built to the ends of the world.

Vivi, who in the original story chose not to join, had now, because of her own decision, joined them, dreaming of becoming stronger, of becoming Rowen’s strength.

Perona dreamed of reuniting with her father, Moria, having his soul enter Kumashi’s body to accompany her.

And as their journey progressed, everyone’s dreams gained a new addition: to make Rowen King!

Rowen looked at the fervent light in his comrades’ eyes and slowly took the pirate flag from Usopp’s hands.

To become a King, a vast force was essential.

The enemy Rowen faced was Imu—and the monolithic World Government. Marine HQ was merely one of its public faces. The true power of the World Government was in Imu’s hands. To defeat such an entity, a massive force was indispensable.

Even in the original story, the Straw Hat Grand Fleet was formed when Bartolomeo and six others drank the sake of allegiance. And the forces Luffy could influence spanned the entire Grand Line.

Without such a vast force, relying solely on Nika, Joy Boy’s crushing defeat 800 years ago was the best cautionary tale.

And the influence Rowen now commanded would only be greater than Luffy’s in the original story. To better command these forces, forming his own Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet was the optimal choice.

Luffy and the others, after the Summit War, deeply understood this. The might of Marine HQ was immense and terrifying.

If not for Rowen’s strength massively increasing several times during the war, even with Rowen, Rayleigh, the Whitebeard Pirates and their 50,000-plus allied forces, they still wouldn’t have been a match for Marine HQ.

Even with Rowen’s power reaching its current level, Marine HQ still withstood the pressure.

Rowen, having achieved his goals, and not wanting further pointless sacrifice and bloodshed, had ended the war. Though it was their victory, it was more accurately—Rowen’s victory alone!

Without Rowen’s strength, especially his possession of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit and the Ice-Ice Fruit, leaving the Navy with no counter to tsunamis—they wouldn’t have given up the war.

In that epic battle, they had all felt their own insignificance. Even Zoro and Sanji, with their strength now at Yonko Commander level, were still unremarkable in such a war. Even a combatant like Luffy, because his Admiral-level strength could only be sustained for a short time, couldn’t truly sway the course of the war.

Their combat power, compared to Marine HQ’s, was still vastly inferior.

And Rowen’s ultimate enemy was the entity above Marine HQ—the colossal World Government.

Rowen had already revealed some details about the World Government’s true power to his now-matured crew. The World’s Highest Authority, the Five Elders, were their next target.

All five were immortal monsters. Plus the combat strength of Marine HQ, and that so-called God’s Knights Rowen had mentioned back in Mock Town.

With just their own strength, even if they fully matured, it still wouldn’t be enough to enthrone Rowen as King.

Once this was clear, the rest was a matter of course. They not only needed to become stronger, but they also needed to gather more allies for Rowen.

Forming the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet for Rowen was the best choice.

After all, many forces would only flock to Rowen’s banner. Only by forming the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet for Rowen, by creating Rowen’s pirate flag—could they gather the most allies under that flag.

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"Shishishi!" Seeing Rowen accept the flag, Luffy grinned cheerfully, incredibly happy.

Luffy didn’t care one bit about any ’Grand Fleet’.

From the beginning, his ship had no subordinates, only comrades. If his comrades needed it, he would risk his life.

Let alone forming a Grand Fleet for Rowen.

Luffy only wanted to be Pirate King, the freest man on the seas; he didn’t want any constraints, only to do what he wanted.

In the original story, he even refused the formation of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. In the end, it became a unilateral pledge of allegiance from Bartolomeo and the others. Even the sake of allegiance was drunk by Zoro—Luffy never truly acknowledged the existence of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.

Luffy wouldn’t form a Grand Fleet, but he knew that to fulfill Rowen’s dream, a vast force was necessary. Forming a Grand Fleet for Rowen—was an incredibly happy event for Luffy.

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"Hmph." Ace, Marco, and the others looked at the pirate flag and smiled.

A pirate flag—for a pirate, was their very soul. Especially in the One Piece world, where spiritual power was the dominant force—a pirate flag was incredibly sacred.

With a flag, they had a pillar of strength.

They would enthrone Rowen as King.

From now on—they would fight under this flag!

"Come on! Rowen! What element should I draw? Leave it to me!" Usopp, the artist behind the Straw Hat Jolly Roger, was incredibly excited.

"What element, hmm?" Rowen smiled.

(A pirate flag’s base was a skull, but each had different elements, the most direct way to identify them. The Straw Hat’s was simple—a skull wearing a signature straw hat.)

Rowen described the element he wanted to Usopp. Usopp blinked, then swallowed hard and began to draw.

Soon, under Usopp’s brush, a flag representing Rowen, the brand new Jolly Roger of the Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet, appeared.

"Huh? Is that... a dragon?" Ace, Marco, and the others stared at the flag, somewhat stunned.

On the flag, a dragon coiled around a skull, exuding unparalleled power.

Initially, they thought it was the Azure Dragon from Kaido’s Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Azure Dragon.

But upon its completion, they realized it was completely different.

This was—a Golden Dragon. A dragon they had never seen before. Far more majestic and powerful than Kaido’s Azure Dragon.

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"Well then. Please drink this sake of allegiance with us!" Marco and the others began to prepare.

Ace, Marco, and the other commanders each raised a bowl of sake. They also poured a cup for Rowen.

(The sake of allegiance—a drinking custom in the One Piece world, where one pirate crew, joining under another’s banner, would drink a ceremonial sake together.)

After drinking this cup—the Whitebeard Pirates would fight to the death for Rowen.

At the same time, everything belonging to the Whitebeard Pirates, including their vast territories, would be inherited by Rowen.

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"WAIT! I TOO WILL DRINK THIS CUP," Jinbe walked over, picking up a cup of sake.

"I am no longer a Warlord. To be able to fight for a great man such as yourself is my honor. May I, from this day forward, also carry your pirate flag? Sky Sovereign?" Jinbe asked, looking at Rowen with utmost solemnity.

During the Summit War, Rowen’s charisma had completely won Jinbe over.

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"What a strong emotional fluctuation..." Everyone present with Observation Haki could feel the intense emotions radiating from Hancock—that love for Rowen was incredibly strong.

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