Alvida's Traits

"Since that's the case, finding a navigator who can handle that devilish sea is the obvious choice," Rayson said, recalling the figure he had seen dancing not long ago.

"Hehehe! I'll definitely find more companions! I absolutely will!" Luffy put his straw hat back on and laughed optimistically.

Boom!

Just then, a massive figure smashed through the ceiling of the deck and crashed down before Rayson and Luffy with the force of a wild boar.

"So you two brats are the ones causing trouble for me?!"

An exceptionally ugly, bloated woman whose features barely looked human gripped a heavy iron club and bared her teeth as she roared, exposing a cavernous mouth.

Quite a few pirate grunts were sprawled around the hole in the broken deck overhead, watching the scene.

"You don't look like the pirate hunter Zoro," Alvida said, sweeping her gaze over Luffy and Rayson. A vicious smile twisted across her venomous face.

"Zoro?" Luffy looked utterly confused.

"Koby! You useless piece of trash! Are you still alive?!" Alvida roared at Koby, who lay nearby. When she received no response, her boar-like face twisted with irritation.

She did not care whether Koby lived or died. She was merely annoyed that she could no longer hear his usual sycophantic flattery.

"Who's this rude old lady?" Luffy asked curiously, pointing at Alvida.

"!!!" The pirate grunts at the opening went pale with fright, scarcely daring to breathe.

"Haha! She's Iron Club Alvida, with a bounty of five million Berries," Rayson said, unable to hold back a laugh.

"Read traits."

Rayson then fixed his gaze on Alvida.

> Alvida's Traits: Iron Club Wielder (Blue), Extremely Thick Skin (Blue)

> Iron Club Wielder (Blue): Allows the user to easily wield a heavy iron club that ordinary people cannot even lift.

> Extremely Thick Skin (Blue): Even if she fell from a ten-story building, fat armor thicker than a wild boar's would keep her completely unharmed.

Seeing Alvida's traits, Rayson could not help laughing.

"Extremely thick skin"—that description really was fitting.

Luffy's words, combined with Rayson's laughter, felt like a tremendous insult to Alvida.

"Die! You little brats!" Alvida roared, swinging her enormous iron club down at them.

Whoosh!

Rayson kicked off the ground with his beastly strength while Luffy leaped nimbly alongside him. They passed through the hole Alvida had smashed open and landed steadily on the main deck.

"I'm not some little brat! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who'll become the Pirate King! Nice to meet you!" Luffy said with a wide grin.

"Who cares what some runt like you is called?!" Alvida leaped up after them.

"What a terrifying old lady," Luffy sighed.

"Little brat!" Alvida's eyes turned crimson as her fury reached its peak.

The grunts below knew it was time to act. If they did not show some initiative, the enraged Alvida would surely smash their heads in with her iron club later.

Amid shouts of battle, the grunts surrounded Luffy and Rayson, hoping to win through sheer numbers.

"Hey! It's not fair to gang up on us!" Luffy shouted, preparing to use his rubber abilities to fight back.

"Leave it to me."

Rayson raised a hand to stop Luffy.

A dark red glint flashed through his eyes.

"Rayson! Can you handle so many of them?" Luffy asked with concern as he watched Rayson face the Alvida Pirates alone.

"Don't worry. Against trash like this, my methods are far more efficient than yours, Luffy," Rayson said with a smile. The dark red gleam in his eyes seemed to flicker faintly.

"Trash? You sure talk big for a little brat! Do you think you're the pirate hunter Zoro?" Veins bulged on Alvida's forehead. Combined with her boar-like appearance, she looked even more hideous.

At that time, "Pirate Hunter" Zoro's reputation rang especially loudly throughout the East Blue pirate circles.

Even people with bounties exceeding ten million Berries were quite wary at the mention of his name.

"Zoro? Of course not. But..."

Rayson's eyes narrowed sharply. Then, the deep red light in his pupils condensed into something tangible and erupted outward with terrifying violence.

"Remember this name: 'Heavenly King' Rayson! The man who will stand above the heavens in the future!"

Bzzzz!!!

Conqueror's Haki erupted with a thunderous burst.

Crimson-black currents of lightning roared through the air.

Every member of the Alvida Pirates struck by that horrifying aura, including Alvida herself, wore expressions of utter terror as their bodies froze in place.

The next moment, their eyes rolled back in unison, and they collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Thud! Thud!

Bodies toppled crookedly across the deck.

The entire pirate crew was wiped out in an instant.

Under the pressure of Conqueror's Haki, the weak were not even qualified to look directly at a king!

The crimson glow in Rayson's eyes gradually faded.

"That's amazing!!!"

Luffy stared dumbfoundedly at Rayson, who had taken down everyone, including that rude old lady, with nothing more than a glance.

His eyes widened as he shouted excitedly.

It had to be said that Luffy was truly good at providing his companions with positive emotional support.

Seeing Luffy's exaggerated expression, coupled with the exhilaration of unleashing Conqueror's Haki for the first time, made Rayson feel immensely satisfied.

"But... I think I've seen this power somewhere before. Something similar seemed to have happened when I was little," Luffy said after his excitement faded, resting his chin on his hand as a thoughtful look flashed through his eyes.

He remembered being captured by thugs with his brother as a child. Just when he was in danger, those thugs had suddenly passed out.

"This is called Conqueror's Haki. People with weak wills will faint immediately in its presence," Rayson explained calmly as he looked at Luffy.

The scene in Luffy's memory was most likely when "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace had first awakened Conqueror's Haki to protect the young Luffy from danger.

But afterward, Ace deeply hated the blood flowing through his veins—the blood of Pirate King Gol D. Roger—and sealed that power away forever.

Rayson would not judge Ace's choice.

He was not Ace and had not experienced those painful events from Ace's past. He would not stand on the moral high ground as an outsider and casually declare, "It's stupid to refuse to use power."

After all, Ace's mother had died because of the Marines' brutal hunt for Roger's bloodline.

And throughout his childhood, the world had cursed him because of that bloodline, as though he should never have been born at all.

In terms from Rayson's previous life, this was a typical childhood trauma caused by family background. Ace merely wanted to escape that shadow.

But if he had not sealed away his Conqueror's Haki back then, with his potential, he might not have met such a tragic end in the original story.