Rayson's Prestige!

"That's true~" Nami chimed in with a light laugh~

"But Rayson acknowledges me as the captain! Shishishi!" Luffy grinned broadly, completely unfazed by his companions' teasing~

"As captain, you can't rely on a crewmate like Rayson too much! You need to act more like a captain!" Nami reprimanded him half-jokingly~

"Huh? Isn't Rayson the vice-captain?" Usopp suddenly interjected~

In Usopp's eyes, someone as powerful and composed as Rayson naturally ought to be the vice-captain~

"Vice-captain~"

At Usopp's question, Nami, Zoro, and Luffy all turned to look at Rayson~

Nami felt this deeply. In her mind, Rayson had always played a role much like that of a vice-captain~

Zoro had no objections either~ Rayson had once pointed out the path ahead for him and guided him toward fulfilling his ambitions~ Zoro sincerely admired Rayson's broad-mindedness and decisiveness~

Zoro strongly approved of Rayson becoming vice-captain~

However, the final decision still rested with Luffy, the captain~

Zoro and Nami immediately shifted their gazes to Luffy~

Luffy blinked thoughtfully~

He recalled how, when Rayson had first become his companion, he had unhesitatingly acknowledged Luffy's dream of becoming the Pirate King~

He also remembered the deeper meaning behind Rayson's deliberate choice of the title "Heavenly King," echoing the Pirate King's right-hand man, Dark King Rayleigh~

And throughout their journey so far, it was only thanks to Rayson that he had been able to meet companions like Zoro and Nami~

Rayson himself gave people an exceptional sense of security. He was more than worthy of the position of vice-captain~

Yet Luffy still felt somewhat conflicted inside~

"It's still too early to discuss the vice-captain position~" Rayson said with a smile, breaking the silence as he looked at Luffy~

"Huh? Why? Wouldn't having a vice-captain make it easier to direct the other members in battle? Everyone would listen to your orders more readily too, right~" Nami asked, her face full of confusion~

Although Nami had only joined them temporarily, and the official crew currently consisted of just Zoro, Rayson, Usopp, and Luffy~

In Nami's view, no one was more suited to be vice-captain than Rayson~

Even Zoro, the "Pirate Hunter" who was fairly renowned in the East Blue, held Rayson in particular respect and followed Rayson's opinions in all things~

Along the way, Rayson had indeed been the one guiding everyone's course of action~

"A vice-captain isn't someone who takes the position just to earn everyone's recognition~ Only after gaining the recognition of every companion will that identity naturally take shape~" Rayson said, a faint smile lingering on his lips~

"Hmph~" Zoro looked approving. This was exactly who Rayson was~

"That's so cool, Rayson!" Usopp felt that Rayson was especially dazzling at that moment~

Now that was the true spirit of a pirate!

"Besides, Luffy hasn't gathered all his companions yet~ Before then, discussing who should be vice-captain is clearly premature~" Rayson explained with a meaningful smile as he looked at Luffy~

That was probably why, in the original course of fate, even after the Straw Hat Pirates defeated Kaido and Charlotte Linlin one after another and rose to become one of the Four Emperors, they had never established an official vice-captain position~

Luffy cherished his companions greatly. Even if someone had not yet joined the crew, he still gave them ample respect~

Given Luffy's nature, he would never casually appoint a vice-captain before all his companions had assembled~

"Shishishi! Rayson! I'm so happy you became my companion!" Hearing Rayson's stance, Luffy immediately broke into a wide grin, his mood soaring~

That was the root of Luffy's earlier hesitation~ In his eyes, hastily appointing a vice-captain before all his companions had gathered and given their approval would be disrespectful to those future companions~

If he appointed a vice-captain now, wouldn't members who joined later feel more like subordinates than companions?

On his ship, there was no hierarchy, only companions who weathered every storm together~

And Rayson's words—"become vice-captain only after gaining every companion's recognition"—perfectly aligned with Luffy's feelings~

Only after every companion had come aboard, and everyone jointly chose that person, would he be the rightful vice-captain of Luffy's ship!

Received Monkey D. Luffy's strong approval~ Bond deepened; trait equipment progress increased~

The equipment progress bar for the "Sun God (Ultimate Gold)" trait advanced by another large amount~

Rayson felt a flicker of joy in his heart~

"See? Rayson is so sensible! As captain, you need to be more reliable too!" Nami scolded Luffy irritably, but when she looked at Rayson, there was a softness in her eyes that had not been there before~

"I'm very reliable when it counts! Rayson said so too!" Luffy puffed out his chest and declared proudly~

"Using Rayson's words to prop yourself up? What kind of captain behavior is that~" Zoro sighed and rubbed his forehead helplessly~

"Huh?! Is that so?" Luffy's expression immediately fell~

"All right, all right~ Everyone gathered here because they recognize you too, Luffy~" Rayson chuckled at Luffy's awkward state and helped him out~

Luffy might usually seem absurd and unreliable, but when something truly important happened, he had never let anyone down~

Luffy's charisma was one of a kind~ Before setting sail, every member of the Straw Hat Pirates had their own pursuit~

But after fighting side by side, everyone had silently added another vow in their hearts: to help Luffy ascend the throne and make him the Pirate King~

Rayson had chosen to board this ship not merely to benefit from its traits and grow steadily, or to use the connections behind Luffy as a safeguard~

Luffy's own character and principles were also a major reason; Rayson genuinely admired him~

"Rayson..." Luffy's eyes brimmed with grateful tears~

"Rayson, don't spoil him too much~" Nami sighed sweetly, utterly helpless~

"So, Rayson, where are we going to find those pirates?" Worried about the village's safety, Usopp pressed anxiously~

"The current captain of the Black Cat Pirates is Kuro's former subordinate, the hypnotist Jango, whose bounty is nine million Beli~"

"If Kuro wants to manipulate the Black Cat Pirates into launching an attack, he must do so through Jango~"

"They need to discuss the exact timing of the attack face-to-face, so they will definitely meet~"

"And Jango... his behavior is strange. Even when he isn't deliberately drawing attention, he stands out remarkably~ As long as we take a look around the village, we should find his trail soon enough~" Rayson analyzed~

Knowing what would happen next, Rayson could naturally work backward with ease and devise the most direct plan for dealing with the Black Cat Pirates~