Shining Conqueror's Haki

Moreover, his Gum-Gum Fruit had yet to develop moves like Second Gear and was only at the deep purple level, meaning he could skillfully use its basic properties.

But Luffy possessed the disposition of a king as well. The chances of knocking him out with Conqueror's Haki alone were minuscule.

Besides, even if Rayson succeeded by sheer luck, how could he, with his current weak strength, possibly withstand the towering fury of Garp, Dragon, and Red-Haired Shanks afterward?

As the saying went, a wise man did not stand beneath a crumbling wall. There was no need to force himself into such a near-death situation just to obtain powerful traits.

But now... things were different. He had never expected the system to actually allow him to equip the traits of his shipmates!

As long as he joined the Straw Hat Pirates, he would have a chance to obtain Luffy's terrifying traits.

And the effects of the faction fortune trait were exactly as he had expected. Once he became a pirate, his affiliation would change to the pirate faction.

This meant that whenever an iconic figure of the pirate faction died, as long as Rayson was present, he could absorb that person's fortune and greatly strengthen himself.

The most representative figures in the pirate faction were naturally the Four Emperors.

Even people like the Seven Warlords of the Sea, who were nominally affiliated with the World Government but in reality ruled separate territories and plundered legally, should be classified as part of the pirate faction too.

And if he wanted to encounter the Four Emperors, the Seven Warlords, and the other overlords of the pirate faction in the future, what could be a faster route than joining the Straw Hat Pirates?

Whether it was to equip Luffy's incredible traits or to profit from the deaths of powerful pirates through faction fortune, joining the Straw Hat Pirates was undoubtedly the best choice.

Besides, Luffy himself was someone worth befriending. Rayson had already considered joining the Straw Hat Pirates as a backup plan.

Given that he was still not strong enough and the Grand Line remained full of unknowns, setting sail alongside the protagonist's crew was clearly the safest path toward steadily growing stronger.

Now that such tremendous benefits lay before him, there was naturally no reason to hesitate any longer.

"Sure. Then I look forward to working with you, Luffy."

Rayson extended his right hand toward Luffy, his smile brimming with heartfelt joy.

As he looked at Luffy, Rayson could already imagine those heaven-defying, terrifying traits slowly becoming part of himself. Naturally, his smile was especially carefree.

Koby's traits plus Monkey D. Luffy's traits... the future path of piracy was truly something to look forward to.

"Shishishishi! I look forward to working with you too, Rayson!"

Luffy grinned from ear to ear as well.

Rayson had become his first companion since setting sail.

>[You have accepted Monkey D. Luffy's invitation to join the crew and have become a member of the Straw Hat Pirates~]

>[The affiliation corresponding to Faction Fortune (Extreme Gold) has changed to "Pirate Faction"~]

>[You may now begin equipping the traits of Straw Hat Pirates members~ Current available target: Straw Hat Captain, Monkey D. Luffy~]

>[Currently equippable traits: Extraordinary Physique (Deep Purple), Sun God (Extreme Gold), Gum-Gum Fruit [Disguised] (Deep Purple)~ Equip?]

After Rayson confirmed his acceptance of the invitation, the system panel visible only to him appeared.

It was quite user-friendly. The Strongest Trait System listed all three of Luffy's equippable traits, each with an "Equip" option beside it.

Heaven-Defying Backing (Special) could not be equipped because it was Luffy's unique background and network. However, as Luffy's companion, Rayson would be able to indirectly enjoy its protection in the future, so it was not much of a loss.

After pondering for a moment, Rayson chose "Yes" in his mind for Extraordinary Physique (Deep Purple) and Sun God (Extreme Gold).

He chose not to equip Gum-Gum Fruit [Disguised] (Deep Purple).

Before it awakened into the Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Model: Nika, the ordinary Gum-Gum Fruit could only be considered middling among Paramecia fruits.

To unleash noticeable power, its user needed to develop techniques like Second Gear, Third Gear, and Fourth Gear.

And according to the original work, using those Gears consumed the user's lifespan. For Rayson, who could directly plunder others' abilities through the system, such a price was extremely not worth paying.

Once Luffy awakened and obtained Nika's power in the future, Rayson could simply equip Nika's ability directly.

That almost absurd imagination was the true strength of this fruit.

After Rayson made his choice, two new traits appeared in his trait list.

>Rayson's Traits: Navigation (White), Beastly Brute Force (Blue), Conqueror's Haki (Awakened) (Pale Gold), Faction Fortune (Extreme Gold);

>Extraordinary Physique (Deep Purple) (Equipping): [||...]

>Sun God (Extreme Gold) (Equipping): [|...]

Simple and clear. However, compared to direct plundering, this equipment progress bar was obviously much slower.

Extraordinary Physique (Deep Purple) was still manageable. Before long, its progress bar twitched slightly, so at least there had been some change.

But what about Sun God (Extreme Gold)? Its progress bar did not move at all. At least, Rayson could not see any change.

Fine, that was reasonable enough. After all, it was an Extreme Gold trait. Fully equipping it would presumably require a long passage of time.

Fortunately, Rayson had already joined the crew, so there was plenty of time for the equipping process to run. He was in no hurry.

Being able to equip these abilities was already thousands of times better than merely staring at them helplessly before, with no way to get his hands on them.

These traits would belong to him sooner or later.

Later, he could test things again and see whether there was a way to speed up the equipping process.

"Alright! Let's set sail! First, we need to find a small boat. Mine got sucked into that huge whirlpool." Luffy tugged at his straw hat and gave a foolish grin.

Having recruited his first companion, Luffy was in high spirits.

"If we can find a small boat, I do know some basic navigation." Rayson answered with a smile.

That was also why Rayson had plundered Koby's Navigation (White) trait in the first place.

Rayson had not forgotten that in the original work, before Nami joined as the navigator, Luffy had basically drifted with the currents without any sense of direction.

And in the story, it was Koby, relying on his rudimentary navigation knowledge, who guided Luffy to Zoro.

Now that Rayson had kicked Koby out, he naturally needed to take over that trait and temporarily serve as the Straw Hat Pirates' helmsman.

"You can navigate too?! That's amazing! It's so great that you joined my crew, Rayson!" Luffy cried out, his face full of surprise and delight.

"It's only superficial knowledge, really. I'm not a true navigator. It's enough for sailing through calm seas like the Four Blues, but it would be useless on the Grand Line. Luffy, you want to become the Pirate King, right? That dangerous route is somewhere you have to go." Rayson smiled.

"Of course! To become the Pirate King, I have to conquer those seas! I made a promise to someone." Luffy clenched his straw hat, his eyes filled with longing.

Rayson knew that Luffy was referring to the promise he had made with one of the Four Emperors, Red-Haired Shanks.