Swimming Made Him Stronger

"This isn't just a manpower issue! This ship lacks the necessary supplies and defensive measures. There's no way it can guarantee our safety!" Nami stood with her hands on her hips.

"Exactly! We absolutely need a musician!" Luffy raised his fist and shouted in wholehearted agreement.

"A musician? Hahahaha!" Zoro burst out laughing when he heard that.

They were heading to the Grand Line, that hellhole known as the "Pirates' Graveyard," and the most urgently needed resource was actually a musician?

Luffy's way of thinking really was beyond ordinary people.

"You idiot! Rayson, say something! Don't you know a bit about Navigation too?" Nami rubbed her aching temples, utterly exasperated by Luffy's bizarre logic, and could only turn to Rayson for help.

"Breathe... in..."

Having accumulated ample "bearing" through the Child of the Sea trait, Rayson was currently digesting it with his eyes closed. Hearing Nami call out to him, he slowly opened them.

"Relax, Nami. Since you're our guide now, my rudimentary Navigation naturally can't compare to yours. You can decide our course from here on out," Rayson reassured her calmly.

Since Nami was only cooperating with them temporarily and had not fully committed herself, Rayson still could not equip her trait.

Nami's Climate Sense (light gold) trait was not a direct combat ability, but it was still something Rayson greatly coveted.

After all, even the original author had once stated that if Nami's extraordinary talent for sensing changes in the weather with her physical body were combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, her potential might very well surpass Zoro's, making her the Straw Hat Pirates' second-strongest fighter.

Even without the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Nami's destructive power had been quite astonishing later on after she simply subdued Zeus.

It was hard to imagine just how terrifying the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit combined with the Climate Sense trait would be.

Since Rayson intended to claim the Rumble-Rumble Fruit for himself, he naturally would not let this trait slip away.

Still, Rayson was in no hurry. It was only a matter of time before Nami truly joined the Straw Hat Pirates, and obtaining that trait would follow naturally.

As for their route, now that they had a professional guide, Rayson simply washed his hands of the matter and entrusted all planning to Nami.

What he needed to do now was continue accumulating strength.

Under the Child of the Sea trait's constant tempering, his originally light-gold Conqueror's Haki trait underwent a slight change, and an experience bar appeared.

＞Conqueror's Haki (light gold): Basic mastery. Can knock unconscious those with weak willpower (light gold). Current progress [|...]. The next stage is further mastery, allowing Conqueror's Haki to be infused into attacks (deep gold).

Once that experience bar was filled, Rayson's Conqueror's Haki would automatically advance to deep gold.

At that point, he would be able to initially wield Conqueror's Haki Infusion and reach Yamato's combat level from the original story.

Once he advanced to deep gold, Rayson would be able to step into the ranks of top-tier Emperor commanders even by relying solely on Conqueror's Haki.

After all, the power of Conqueror's Haki Infusion was simply too overwhelming.

At the deep-gold level, before his Haki ran dry, he could even barely contend with one of the Four Emperors for a brief while.

This was completely different from ordinary Emperor commanders or admiral candidates, who often could not even withstand a single full-force Haki-infused strike from a Four Emperor.

Among those at the level of commanders and Sweet Commanders, anyone capable of using Haki Infusion was undoubtedly at the very peak of the pyramid.

Although the experience bar grew rather slowly, the precious thing was that Rayson could steadily improve his Conqueror's Haki through the Child of the Sea trait.

The other powerhouses of the pirate world had no such cheating method. They could only keep fighting powerful enemies, building up their "King's Bearing" through battle after battle and slowly tempering their Haki.

This kind of tempering, which could not be shortcut through ordinary training, consumed an enormous amount of time.

Before Luffy burst onto the scene, even giants of exceptional talent like Whitebeard and Roger were generally already past forty by the time they developed their Conqueror's Haki Infusion to its peak.

In the pirate world, powerful figures generally entered their prime around the age of fifty.

Among the current Four Emperors and Marine admirals who dominated the seas, aside from the comparatively young red-haired Shanks, nearly all were veteran powerhouses over fifty.

That was because the accumulation of bearing was simply too slow. It required years upon years of experience and countless victories to nurture.

But Rayson, who possessed the Child of the Sea, could bypass that limitation. He only needed to swim in the sea every day and digest on schedule to grow stronger without limit, until he had completely mastered the cheat-like power of Haki Infusion.

The more Rayson used this trait, the more pleased he felt.

"All right. Sail south for a while longer, and there'll be an inhabited island. If we're lucky, we might be able to get a decent ship there," Nami said seriously as she studied the chart.

"Then let's head there! Meat!" Luffy cheered with both hands raised.

"Don't forget to bring some good booze," Zoro added from the side.

"You guys!" Nami immediately fumed with shark-like teeth bared.

"South, huh..."

Rayson turned his gaze toward the horizon.

He had looked at the map earlier as well. Their next stop was Syrup Village.

Besides being Usopp's hometown, it was also where the Going Merry began its journey, a sailing ship that had carried the tears of countless fans.

Now that Rayson possessed the Transcendent Physique (deep purple), what he needed most urgently was a fully equipped large ship... and a cook.

After all, only a ship large enough could store sufficient quantities of nutritious fresh meat.

This narrow little wooden boat could only carry easily preserved fruit while sailing at sea. Eating fruit alone could not bring the Transcendent Physique's growth potential to its limit.

Rayson closed his eyes once more, silently digesting the bearing brought by the Child of the Sea while tempering the Haki within his body.

Syrup Village, outer coast.

The Straw Hat Pirates' little wooden boat slowly approached the shore.

"Finally, solid ground beneath my feet!" Zoro stretched his arms and relaxed his sore muscles. After curling up in those cramped little wooden boats for so many days, his limbs were nearly numb.

"I thought it felt pretty comfortable," Rayson teased from the side.

Swimming freely through the sea and improving his Conqueror's Haki felt wonderful. Besides, after obtaining the Child of the Sea trait, he had become a favored child of the ocean. Even when squeezed into a narrow boat, he did not feel the slightest discomfort.

"Who can swim as fast as you?!" Zoro shot Rayson an annoyed glare.

Zoro had personally witnessed Rayson effortlessly surpass the ship's speed in the water. He had even suggested competing against Rayson in the sea once, only to be utterly crushed.

During much of their journey, Rayson had actually been swimming alongside the boat.