Buggy's Secret! Super Trait!

"Don't look at me. I'm not a professional navigator~ On the unpredictable seas, I can't accurately estimate the exact arrival time either~" Rayson replied casually, taking a bite of his apple~

The "Navigation (White)" trait he possessed was only enough to keep him from getting lost by identifying directions in calm waters. To accurately predict a voyage, they still needed a gifted professional like Nami~

After Morgan's downfall, Shells Town's supplies had long since been exhausted by the previous tyranny~

Besides, their tiny broken boat had no means of preservation, so stockpiling large amounts of meat was clearly unrealistic~

During long voyages, replenishing vitamins was crucial for preventing scurvy. Cheap, durable, and highly nutritious apples were undoubtedly the best supply choice for now~

"I've got it! Let's eat that!"

Suddenly, Luffy raised his head toward the sky and shouted excitedly~

Zoro and Rayson looked in the direction of his voice and spotted a large bird with a considerable wingspan circling above them~

"Huh? I can't fly. How am I supposed to get that thing down and roast it?" Zoro's mouth twitched helplessly~

"Watch me! Gum-Gum... Rocket!" Luffy grabbed the mast with both hands and pulled in opposite directions, stretching out his arms before using his rubbery elasticity to launch himself high into the air~

"Fine then~" Only then did Zoro remember that his unreliable captain was a Devil Fruit user~

Looks like this guy was useful after all, at least when it came to improving their meals~

Yet a strange, meaningful smile appeared on Rayson's face~

The next second,

Crunch!

The strange bird in the sky accurately clamped its beak around Luffy's head~

"Ahhh! Help!" Luffy's panicked scream drifted down from the sky~

"You idiot! What the hell are you doing?!" Zoro's face twitched violently as he roared in fury, rowing desperately after the strange bird that was carrying Luffy away~

He had wanted to catch a bird to improve their meals, only to become bird food himself?!

In Rayson's vision, a line of system text flickered above the head of the bird flying away:

----

＞Trait (Plot Bird): A bird destined to advance the plot~

----

"Hey! Boat over there! Stop!"

Just as Zoro desperately chased after the bird, three figures floating on the sea ahead suddenly cried out for help~

Rayson looked at the three men bobbing in the water, and the smile on his face deepened~

These should be the Buggy Pirates grunts whose ship and treasure had been stolen by Nami, right?

"Seriously, why do we run into stranded people at a time like this?! Hey! I don't have time to stop and wait for you! Figure out how to climb aboard yourselves!" Zoro roared while frantically working the oars~

Seeing the little wooden boat charge toward them like a rampaging beast, the three unlucky grunts were scared out of their wits. As the boat brushed past them, they scrambled desperately and finally managed to haul themselves onto the deck with every ounce of strength they had~

"Were you trying to ram us to death?!" The three men, still shaken, immediately started cursing Zoro out~

"You're lucky you survived~" Zoro snorted coldly~

"You brat! We're pirates under the great Captain Buggy! Hand over this little boat right now! It belongs to us!" The lead grunt bared his fangs and drew the long blade at his waist with a sharp motion~

"Huh?" Zoro slowly stopped rowing and turned around. His face immediately darkened, and his gaze became as terrifying as a demon's~

A moment later~

"Ha ha ha! We were blind before, sirs! We didn't recognize the famous Pirate Hunter Zoro! And the Sea King Rayson, renowned across the seas! We deserve to die, we deserve to die!"

The three Buggy Pirates members, their faces swollen and bruised and their eyes blackened, now huddled obediently at the stern, rowing hard in Zoro's place with ingratiating smiles plastered across their faces~

"Quit the nonsense~ If you make me lose track of the captain because of your delay, I'll skin you alive~ Row properly~" Zoro ordered coldly~

"Yes! Boss Zoro!"

"Don't worry~ The direction they're heading in happens to be our destination as well~" Rayson said with a smile, pointing ahead at the sea chart~

Everything matched the course he remembered exactly~ Even though he had deliberately prepared apples to keep Luffy from going hungry, the inertia of the plot still made this food-obsessed captain dive straight into that giant bird's beak~

And that giant bird's destination was naturally the Buggy Pirates' current base:

Orange Town~

This town, famous for its oranges, had now become the Buggy Pirates' headquarters~

"Finally got it!" A slender figure clutching a sea chart was running for her life~

It was Nami, who had just stolen the Grand Line sea chart from the Buggy Pirates~

Behind her, Buggy's subordinates were hot on her heels~

"Ahhh! Help!" High in the sky, the giant bird was still flying with Luffy clenched tightly in its beak~

"Captain Buggy! There seems to be an unidentified object above the harbor!" Inside a huge tent erected atop Orange Town, a man with an especially conspicuous red nose opened his eyes~

"Shoot it down~" Buggy ordered coldly~

After the cannon fired, the cannonball struck the bird dead on~ Luffy regained his freedom and fell straight toward the ground, landing right between Nami and her pursuers~

"W-What just happened?" Nami stared at the crater amid the billowing dust~

"Ah, I'm saved! That was a fun trip!" Luffy jumped out of the crater and adjusted the straw hat on his head~

"Y-You are?" Nami stared at Luffy, feeling that he looked awfully familiar~

A flash of realization crossed her mind, and she remembered that handsome face from the luxury cruise ship, the man who had danced with her and told her, "See you around."~

His name seemed to be Rayson, right?

And this straw-hatted boy before her was the person who had been on Rayson's ship when he escaped~

Nami hurriedly looked around, but she couldn't find Rayson anywhere~

"Hey! It's you!" Luffy noticed Nami at that moment too, and a surprised expression appeared on his face~

Just as I thought! He remembers me!

Just as Nami was about to say something, Luffy tilted his head. A puzzled expression appeared on his face, as though question marks had popped up over his head~

"Who are you?"

"..." Nami's mouth twitched hard~

If you don't remember me, why did you look so surprised when you saw me just now?!

"Captain! It's me! The one who knows Rayson!" Seeing the pursuing Buggy Pirates hesitate, Nami quickly calmed down and called out with a smile~

"Oh! You're the thief Rayson mentioned!" Hearing Rayson's name, Luffy finally remembered~