The Transforming Haki!

As their eyes met, Nami returned his gaze with a gentle smile~

She understood in her heart that Rayson had not tried to comfort her with empty platitudes like an ordinary person would. Instead, he had proven it to her through his actions:

When the time was right, as long as she said the word, Rayson and his pirate crew would truly risk their lives for her~

Companions... huh...

Nami lowered her gaze, carefully turning that word over in her mind~

"Set sail!"

At the harbor, Nami had already tied her family's little boat tightly alongside a small speedboat that had once belonged to the Buggy Pirates, preparing for them to travel side by side~

Luffy stood energetically at the bow, shouting his declaration of departure~

Splash!

His response was the dull sound of something heavy hitting the water~

"Rayson! Why did you suddenly jump into the water?! Seawater makes my whole body go weak!" Luffy yelped, shrinking back to keep the spray from splashing him as he watched Rayson bobbing in the water with concern~

"I just wanted to go for a swim!" Rayson laughed freely amid the waves~

It was simply unbelievable!

He felt as though every one of the countless pores across his body was overflowing with exhilaration~

Is this the power of the Child of the Sea? Being among the waves feels like returning to my own warm bedroom~

Nami leaned against the railing, watching Rayson swim leisurely through the water with a rather complicated look in her eyes~

Rayson in the sea had an utterly different bearing from Rayson on land~

Free, composed...

There were countless beautiful words that could describe him~

If she had to sum it up as concisely as possible, then it would be this: Rayson in the vast ocean seemed to be glowing from head to toe~

＞Child of the Sea (Ultimate Gold) activated~ King's Bearing increased, Conqueror's Haki strength increased~

＞Child of the Sea (Ultimate Gold) activated~ King's Bearing increased~

However, Rayson soon noticed something unusual~ After the initial, obvious jump in the strength of his Haki, the subsequent notifications only said, "King's Bearing increased"~

As he swam forward through the water, Rayson pondered the changes within his body~

Could it be...

Rayson flipped lightly in the water and landed back on the deck~

"Breathe... in..."

He took a deep breath, letting the sea-scented wind fill his chest and lungs as he carefully sensed the ocean's energy within it~

＞Accumulated King's Bearing began to digest, Conqueror's Haki strength increased~

＞Accumulated King's Bearing digested, Conqueror's Haki strength increased~

The consecutive panel notifications confirmed his guess~

So that's how it is~

A satisfied smile spread across Rayson's face~

The "King's Bearing" acquired through this cheat-like system had not been forged through blood and corpses~

The Child of the Sea trait had essentially transformed the "spirit" and Conqueror's Haki that could not be tempered through conventional means into something that could be strengthened through a particular kind of "exercise"~

And any training naturally required a recovery stage afterward~

It was easy enough to understand by applying common knowledge from Earth's fitness training~

Exercise could make muscles grow, but they did not grow instantly at the moment of training. After working out, one needed to eat and absorb nutrients before the strengthening could finally be completed~

The Child of the Sea strengthened Haki through the same process~

Using the Child of the Sea to swim in the ocean and raise his bearing was the equivalent of "eating"~

To truly grow stronger after "eating," he needed to "digest" and "absorb" the accumulated bearing before it could finally feed back into his Haki~

No wonder Buggy had been so arrogantly overbearing before he ate the Chop-Chop Fruit in the original story!

Top-tier powerhouses like Roger possessed especially immense spirit, but when they were not deliberately releasing their Haki, they would never act with Buggy's almost idiotic level of wild arrogance~

The reason was that Buggy had not awakened Conqueror's Haki. He could not "digest" the enormous amount of bearing produced by the trait~

As a result, he could not fully control the terrifying presence nurtured by that Ultimate Gold trait. Over time, he had become an empty-headed, overconfident clown who did not know his own limits~

The Child of the Sea trait could only fully display its effects for someone who had awakened Conqueror's Haki!

Still, even with the additional digestion step, it would never slow Rayson's path to becoming stronger~

After all, he was not an actual fish. He could not stay submerged in seawater twenty-four hours a day~

The buffer period for digestion and absorption happened to fit perfectly with his daily routine~

Feeling the Haki within him steadily growing stronger in a gentle manner, Rayson smiled softly~

This feeling of constantly transforming really was comforting~

Somewhere in the East Blue, a sailboat flying the flag of the Buggy Pirates had been tied alongside another small boat as they sailed side by side across the sea~

Luffy was clearly extremely displeased about setting sail beneath Buggy's flag. He dreamed of having a pirate flag of his own~

But that flag had been painted onto the sail, and they had no choice but to raise it if they wanted to make good time~

Luffy was about to complain when a sharp glare from Nami immediately stopped him~

Just like in the original story, Luffy had left a large bag of treasure behind in Orange Town to support its post-disaster reconstruction, earning himself a fierce scolding from Nami~

However, although she rebuked Luffy aloud, Nami was not truly angry deep down~

The miserable state of Orange Town inevitably reminded her of her hometown, Cocoyasi Village, which was barely surviving beneath the brutal rule of the Arlong Pirates~

Being able to help Orange Town rebuild was originally what she had hoped to see~

At the same time, she became increasingly certain that Rayson and his group were completely different from the pirates who only knew how to burn, kill, and plunder~

As she recalled the words Rayson had spoken earlier, waves stirred within Nami's heart~

Should I... rely on Rayson and the others?

But Arlong and those fish-men are no different from monsters. Can Rayson and the others really defeat them?

I've worked so hard, and I'm almost done gathering the hundred million Berries needed to buy back the village~ Is it really necessary to take such a risk now?

Besides... can anything that bastard Arlong says really be trusted...?

No! I can't keep overthinking this! Otherwise, what was the point of all the hardship I went through to gather those hundred million Berries?!

Nami stared blankly at the chart in her hands, her thoughts in turmoil, before forcefully shaking her head~

Right now, her priority was to plan a proper route for these guys~ With their current setup, heading for the Grand Line would be no different from seeking death~

"Just as I expected~ Challenging the Grand Line in boats this small is ultimately far too reckless~" After calming herself, Nami seriously pointed at the chart, then looked at the two small wooden boats simply tied together beside her~

"Looks like we really do need to recruit more companions~" Luffy sat at the bow, chewing on an apple as he commented unhurriedly~