This Trait Was Definitely Rayson's

> Buggy's Traits: Cannon Proficiency (blue), Chop-Chop Fruit (dark purple), Unrivaled Connections (special), Conqueror's Haki (unawakened) (pale gold), Child of the Sea (ultimate gold) (invalid)~

A brilliant golden light, as dazzling as Luffy's Sun God Trait, flashed through the void before quickly dimming in an eerie manner~

Buggy's panel was now displayed before Rayson without reservation~

Cannon Proficiency (blue) represented Buggy's talent for making Special Buggy Balls~

As for the Chop-Chop Fruit (dark purple), it was equally unremarkable to Rayson~

Just like Luffy at his current stage, Buggy could only make simple use of this Paramecia Devil Fruit's most basic ability, splitting his body apart for offense and defense~

For now, aside from making Buggy immune to slashing attacks, this fruit's effects were actually rather ordinary~

Even if it awakened in the future, its ultimate potential seemed limited to dismantling the surrounding environment, such as rapidly tearing apart a massive warship~

Although an awakened Chop-Chop Fruit might be quite useful in a melee, a Devil Fruit of this level was not worth Rayson investing too much effort in~

As expected, like his fellow apprentice brother Red-Haired Shanks from the Roger Pirates, Buggy also possessed Conqueror's Haki, though it had yet to awaken~

After all, even after lucking his way into becoming one of the Four Emperors, he was still the man who could rally countless desperate outlaws with a single sentence: "Don't you want to go after that great treasure, One Piece?"~

Moreover, judging from information revealed later in the original story, Buggy's family background likely held some hidden secrets as well~

So Rayson was not surprised in the slightest to see that he possessed Conqueror's Haki~

> Unrivaled Connections (special): As a former crew member of the Pirate King's ship, he possesses an extremely powerful network of connections and can turn danger into fortune~

This Trait was the key to Buggy becoming a Shichibukai in the original story, then rising to the position of a Four Emperor through a series of coincidences afterward~

One could say Buggy's luck was heaven-defying, but without his identity as a former Roger Pirates crew member and his bond with Red-Haired Shanks, there was no way he could have reached that position~

In the pirate world, one could not get far by fighting alone. Connections and circumstances were also part of one's strength~

Just look at Kidd in the original story. Because he lacked Unrivaled Connections, even though his bounty reached three billion Beli after the battle in Wano Country, just like Luffy's, he was directly one-shot by Red-Haired Shanks with a single Divine Departure~

Before the decisive battle, Shanks had even specifically ordered someone to investigate Kidd's background. He did not care about Kidd's recent achievements or the progress of his Devil Fruit awakening~ Once Red-Haired Shanks confirmed that Kidd had no powerful backer and was merely a reckless brute who had fought his way out of an ordinary sea, he mercilessly erased him completely~

However, none of that was the most enticing part~ What truly made Rayson's eyes shine was the final entry~

> Child of the Sea (ultimate gold) (invalid): Born for the sea! Possesses unparalleled talent for swimming and reigns supreme in all seas~ Simply by swimming in the ocean, he can continuously enhance his King's Bearing! This strengthens Haki without limit! (Invalidated because consuming a Devil Fruit caused the sea to reject him)~

Rayson stared at this Trait, his eyes nearly bleeding with intensity~

This was an unimaginable growth-type ultimate gold Trait! Its upper limit was even more terrifying than Luffy's Sun God Trait!

No wonder Buggy had been able to serve as an apprentice on the Pirate King's ship alongside Shanks, and no wonder he had left such a deep impression on Whitebeard~ Even Rayleigh, the "Dark King," had personally said that Buggy's swimming ability would one day surpass his own~ Before eating a Devil Fruit, young Buggy had been immensely proud, daring to provoke Whitebeard to his face and proclaiming that he would dye Whitebeard's mustache red, all because of this confidence~

The source of it all was this Child of the Sea Trait!

In the pirate world, the significance of the sea went without saying~ And a strong person's King's Bearing was the core key to the strength of their Haki~

This Trait not only granted Buggy unmatched swimming talent, but also allowed him to continuously strengthen his King's Bearing merely by soaking in seawater, thereby enhancing his Haki!

If Armament Haki relied on the physical body, and Observation Haki relied on the mind,

Then Conqueror's Haki, this kind of spirit that could not be strengthened through acquired training, could in the original story only be honed by continuously venturing across the seas and defeating powerful enemies~

It was a brutal transformation process built upon the blood and bones of countless failures~

Yet this Child of the Sea Trait allowed its owner to grow stronger endlessly just by swimming in the sea!

This was simply an inconceivable cheating method!

If Buggy had not eaten that Devil Fruit, if this Trait had not been invalidated...

Perhaps the man hailed as possessing the strongest Haki on the seas today would not have been Red-Haired Shanks, but Buggy!

This was a heaven-defying Trait tailor-made for Haki cultivation!

It was perfectly normal for Buggy to have been so arrogant before eating the fruit~ In a world ruled by the sea, anyone with such a Trait would be arrogant!

Sadly, the sea made him, and the sea ruined him~

From the moment he ate the Chop-Chop Fruit and was rejected by the sea, this Trait had been forcibly stripped away and invalidated~

And the pride and bearing that could once have expanded without limit backlashed upon Buggy himself when the Trait was extinguished~

That spirited apprentice pirate had thus fallen into the cowardly clown, Buggy~

When he had clashed with the Whitebeard Pirates back then, he had been so fearless and valiant!

Yet only a few months after eating the fruit, during the Edd War between the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates,

Buggy had turned into a coward who knew only how to cry and scream about running away~

Such a drastic shift in personality within mere months had all been caused by the spiritual backlash brought about by the invalidation of the Child of the Sea Trait!

Everything... made sense now~

Rayson's gaze burned as he stared at Buggy~

This Trait was definitely going to be his!

As for physique, once he equipped Luffy's Transcendent Physique and Zoro's Demon Physique,

Rayson's physical potential would not lose to Kaido's, and in the future, he might even stand shoulder to shoulder with the naturally monstrous Charlotte Linlin~

As for Devil Fruits, with the Trait Plunder System, he had no need to worry about lacking powerful abilities~

And if he could obtain this Child of the Sea Trait as well? Then in the field of Haki, Rayson would unquestionably ascend to the top of the world!

More importantly, Rayson possessed the Trait System, so he did not need to suffer any side effects when using Devil Fruit abilities he had Plundered~

In other words, even if Rayson possessed Devil Fruit abilities, he would not be abandoned by the sea, nor would it cause the Child of the Sea Trait to lose its effect!

Physique, Haki, and Devil Fruits—these were the three dimensions representing the peak of the pirate world's power system...

In every field, Rayson would possess astonishing potential that surpassed everyone else!

"Buggy... you really haven't disappointed me!"