One Piece: The Strongest Trait System-Chapter 218: [] : [BONUS] - The Sake of Allegiance! Rowen’s Flag!
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.
At that time, Jinbe had thought, what an honor it was to be able to fight for such a man. Now that this man was forming a Grand Fleet, Jinbe certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity.
"Jinbe," Ace smiled, looking at his friend with whom he had once fought.
Luffy and the others also smiled happily at Jinbe.
They all liked Jinbe.
Even Nami, who had hated Fish-Men because of Arlong, had been influenced by the Knight of the Sea’s character during their time together, her views on Fish-Men changing.
Just as there were scum among humans, there were scum like Arlong among Fish-Men. And there were also men like Jinbe—worthy of the title Knight of the Sea.
"Of course," Rowen smiled, looking at Jinbe.
(Though in the original story, Jinbe joined the Straw Hat Pirates as their helmsman, now he would bear Rowen’s flag. The result was the same. Jinbe could still helm the Merry.)
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"Um... Can I join too?" A somewhat unconfident voice reached everyone’s ears.
"The Pirate Empress?" Everyone turned, exclaiming in surprise.
One of the Seven Warlords, the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock!
Why was she here??
"Hahaha, I brought her here. Hancock really wanted to see you, Rowen," Rayleigh stated with a smile, standing beside Hancock.
Rayleigh, along with Shakky and Fisher Tiger, had rescued Hancock. After so many years, Rayleigh viewed Hancock as a daughter, much like Perona’s relationship with Moria.
In the original story, when the Blackbeard Pirates attacked Amazon Lily, Rayleigh went to face Blackbeard for Hancock’s sake.
Hancock, though too proud to show it, also deeply respected Rayleigh.
At this moment, Rayleigh looked at Rowen with some emotion.
Rayleigh, with his close relationship with Shakky, could instantly see Hancock’s current state.
Lovesickness...
The curse of every generation of Kuja Empresses. It struck when one truly fell in love with a man, causing immense pain, even threatening one’s life.
He hadn’t expected Hancock to fall in love with Rowen.
Rayleigh sighed, but wasn’t too surprised. Rowen’s personal charisma was unparalleled. Especially considering Hancock’s past.
Rowen orchestrating the Mariejois incident must have had a huge impact on Hancock. Plus, at the end of the Summit War, Rowen’s display of equal respect for every life held a fatal attraction for Hancock.
Combined, even though they hadn’t interacted much, Hancock falling for Rowen wasn’t surprising at all.
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"A-Am I... not allowed?"
Hancock, usually so arrogant, who often struck her signature looking-down-on-everyone pose and declared—"Whatever I do will be forgiven, because I am... beautiful,"—was now timidly fidgeting, twisting her fingers, her voice filled with uncertainty.
"...." Even the Pirate Empress, before the man she truly loved, went from proud to insecure.
"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.
"The Pirate Empress... is in love with Rowen?" Nami stared blankly at the peerless beauty.
She, Vivi, and Robin were all incredibly beautiful and proud of their figures. But compared to this Pirate Empress, they were still a step behind.
Even Nami and Vivi had to admit, the Pirate Empress truly deserved her title as the World’s Most Beautiful Woman.
But now, they were suddenly told the Pirate Empress was in love with Rowen??
Rowen and this Pirate Empress had barely interacted!
"Ahem... I know you have Nami and the others, Rowen, but, um..." Rayleigh blushed slightly.
Hancock’s emotional fluctuations were too strong; they couldn’t be hidden from anyone.
To introduce Hancock to Rowen, knowing he already had Nami and the others... Rayleigh was not skilled at such things.
But for Hancock, whom he viewed as a daughter, Rayleigh had to try.
"Hancock is actually very nice, and..." Rayleigh was about to say more, but was interrupted.
"Welcome, Hancock," Nami walked up to Hancock, her beautiful face blooming into a smile as she extended her hand.
"Eh?" Rayleigh was completely stunned.
Then, looking at the expressions of Nami, Vivi, and Robin, he understood.
Hancock’s combat strength, they all knew it. And Hancock also possessed Conqueror’s Haki; her future potential was limitless.
As long as she could provide assistance to Rowen, they could accept Hancock?
"...." Rayleigh felt a surge of envy towards Rowen at this moment.
He really found some good women...
"Nami... Th-Thank you," Hancock also knew from Rayleigh about Rowen’s situation with Nami and the others. But having completely fallen for Rowen, Hancock could accept this; it was better than being rejected outright
Thinking of never seeing Rowen again made Hancock feel suffocated, a pain like death itself...
Her lovesickness was that severe—which was why Rayleigh had brought her here.
Now, Nami’s action showed Hancock the attitude of Rowen’s women. Her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude as she took Nami’s hand.
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"Hancock became a Warlord to protect Amazon Lily from the Navy. But by joining your Grand Fleet, as long as your pirate flag flies over Amazon Lily, the Navy won’t dare to attack. She doesn’t need to be a Warlord anymore. And the strength of Amazon Lily is considerable; they can be a great asset to you,"
Rayleigh explained, looking at Rowen.
"Hah," Rowen said nothing, just raised his cup of sake.
Ace, Marco, and the other Whitebeard Pirate commanders, and Jinbe, all solemnly raised their cups.
Hancock also excitedly, somewhat clumsily, raised her cup.
GULP! GULP!
Rowen looked around at everyone, then laughed heartily and downed the sake in his cup in one go.
Ace, Marco, and the others, Jinbe, and Hancock, also downed the sake in their cups.
The Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet’s Jolly Roger—the flag with a Golden Dragon coiled around a skull—was raised on this island, fluttering in the wind!
At this moment—
The Sky Sovereign Grand Fleet was officially formed!
The Whitebeard Pirates, the Kuja Pirates, and Knight of the Sea Jinbe—had joined.
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