One Piece: The Strongest Trait System

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The Human Auctioning House.

This place engaged in the filthiest trade on these seas: Human slave trafficking.

The World Government explicitly forbade human trafficking, but because the owner behind the scenes was one of the Seven Warlords, Doflamingo, this trade operated brazenly on Sabaody Archipelago—

—Even the Celestial Dragons were frequent customers, purchasing slaves to their liking.

The Navy completely turned a blind eye, even euphemistically calling the place a 'Public Employment Security Office'.

It was one of Sabaody Archipelago's landmark establishments.

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Currently, inside a holding cell backstage at the Human Auctioning House...

"Hey, old man. This strong Haki... Who the hell are you?" a Giant asked, his eyes turning towards a white-haired old man sitting in the corner.

As a Giant, he could sense the astonishing Haki radiating from the old man.

Why would someone this strong be here, as a slave?

"I'm just an inconspicuous coating artisan," the old man replied with a smile, taking a large swig from a flask he produced from his coat.

"An extraordinary figure has arrived," Rayleigh mused, his Observation Haki sensing a terrifying presence enter the auction house. A crimson-black light, the mark of Conqueror's Haki, flashed in his eyes.

"Hm?" The Giant tensed. 'Who has arrived?'

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"A-Alright then! Let us begin today's human auction!" Disco, the Human Auctioning House's main announcer and Doflamingo's representative here, stammered, his usual glib tongue failing him as he nervously announced the start of the auction.

Suddenly—

Everyone in the auction hall stared fearfully at the group that had just entered. And at the six figures in shackles, bruised and swollen, sitting dejectedly behind them.

The man with the 3,988,900,000 Beri bounty... Sky Sovereign Rowen!

And the entire Straw Hat crew!

Those shackled, battered figures, following like slaves—were all Supernovas with bounties over 100 million, famous in their own right in the first half of the Grand Line!

'Sky Sovereign Rowen—had captured all these Supernovas and turned them into slaves??' The guests at the auction thought with mounting terror.

Supernovas as slaves. Even Celestial Dragons would covet such prizes. Sky Sovereign Rowen had captured six of them!

WHAT A SCARY MAN!

Some guests, fearing Rowen, quietly slipped out through the back exits. But many others, bold by nature, remained. The opportunity to witness this man's presence up close was very rare—

—Besides, since entering, the man hadn't shown any of the vicious behavior from the rumors, which gave many the courage to stay.

They didn't have the nerve to outbid Rowen for slaves, but just watching would be an eye-opening experience.

Soon, the slave auction began.

One by one, slaves were brought onto the stage, auctioned off like commodities. All the slaves had faces like ash, utterly devoid of hope.

One, unwilling to face a life of slavery, even bit off their own tongue and died on the spot...

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"What a filthy place!" Vivi, as the daughter of the benevolent King Cobra, grit her teeth in anger, watching humans being bought and sold like goods.

Nami's small face was also incredibly grim.

The others too looked on with serious expressions.

Human trafficking was explicitly forbidden worldwide, yet here, it was conducted openly—and the sheer number of slaves was staggering.

"The owner behind this auction house is the Warlord Doflamingo. Because of his Warlord status, and the fact that the Celestial Dragons, who require a vast number of slaves, are frequent customers, the Navy calls this place a 'Public Employment Security Office'," Rowen stated calmly.

This vile business was utterly despicable, whether on Earth or in the One Piece world—yet, because of the Celestial Dragons, it operated brazenly here.

'Filthy' and 'depraved' were the only words for this place.

"Public Employment Security Office? Those Navy guys really have a way with words," Zoro sneered.

"Another Warlord!" Vivi clenched her fists.

Alabasta had fallen into such a state because of Crocodile's Warlord status. And now, because of another Warlord, this brazen human trafficking was allowed to continue.

And the root cause of it all—was the World Government!

The Celestial Dragons!

At this moment, not just Vivi, but everyone's gaze turned towards Rowen. Their resolve to follow him, to overthrow the World Government, hardened even further.

VMM!

A terrifying aura began to emanate, almost uncontrollably.

CRACK!

The seats around Luffy fractured under the immense pressure.

"Luffy?" Zoro, Sanji, and the others looked towards Luffy, whose face was now grimly set.

"I'm going to... BLOW THIS PLACE AWAY!" Luffy growled, suppressing his Conqueror's Haki, looking towards Rowen for approval.

"Of course," Rowen affirmed, looking at Luffy. Having digested so much 'Desire for Liberation', Luffy's heart was now very close to Nika's.

Seeing this blatant slavery, it was natural for Luffy to feel visceral disgust, wanting to utterly destroy this place.

Nika was, after all, the Warrior of Liberation, the emancipator of slaves.

"Luffy's Haki has gotten stronger again," Zoro and Sanji exchanged glances, shocked as they noticed the seats cracking under Luffy's Haki pressure.

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"The next slave up for auction is—a coating artisan," Disco announced. Seeing Sky Sovereign Rowen remain silent, he had breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Though he had messaged his boss, Doflamingo, the moment Rowen entered, the reply was simply to 'proceed as usual'.

Disco assumed this was due to Doflamingo's confidence, he didn't know Doflamingo had already abandoned this auction house...

"He's here," Rowen murmured with interest.

"Who?" Seeing Rowen's intense focus on the white-haired old man, the crew was confused. Even with their Observation Haki, they couldn't sense any powerful aura from the old man.

He was either extremely weak... or his Haki was so overwhelmingly powerful that their own Haki couldn't even detect his presence.

But for Rowen to be interested—it could only be the latter...

Sanji and Zoro's expressions turned serious.

Their current strength surpassed average Marine HQ Vice Admirals, approaching Admiral Candidate/Yonko Commander level. Yet even their Observation Haki detected nothing from this old man.

"A truly extraordinary figure..." Rowen's words made everyone's expressions turn even more serious.

Behind them, the shackled Supernovas also looked on with shock. Several of them seemed to recognize the old man's face, their expressions turning to disbelief.

"THREE BILLION BERI," Rowen bid calmly.

Disco froze completely. The guests in the auction hall also froze completely.

Sky Sovereign Rowen—since gracing this auction house, had bid for the first time.

BUT!

THREE BILLION BERI??

Are you kidding??

Mermaids, coveted by countless slavers, started at only 70 million Beri!

With three billion Beri, how many slaves could one buy??

Why would Sky Sovereign Rowen pay that price for an inconspicuous old man??

And who bids like that?? For an unremarkable old man like him, even if Rowen bid 10 million, no one would compete...

All eyes focused on the old man. Some, sensing something was wrong, began to sneak away.

But!

VMM!

A terrifying pressure filled the air! Those attempting to flee who owned slaves collapsed instantly!

Luffy adjusted his hat, looking up, his eyes cold.

"What a powerful Haki," Rayleigh commented, looking at Luffy with a smile. Seeing the straw hat Luffy wore, a nostalgic look appeared in his eyes.

The straw hat of Roger—the man he had followed for most of his life. The hat symbolizing Roger's will—first passed to Shanks, then Shanks passed it to this man, Monkey D. Luffy.

Rayleigh had longed to meet him.

And—

"I didn't expect Sky Sovereign Rowen would pay that kind of price for an old man like me..." Rayleigh looked at Rowen, a powerful smile on his face.

"Buy you? I never buy slaves. This price is a show of respect—for a legendary pirate. The Right Hand of the Pirate King, Vice-Captain of the Roger Pirates—'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh," Rowen replied, meeting Rayleigh's gaze, his own smile no less powerful.

Rowen, who was about to awaken Nika's power, how could he engage in buying slaves? As he said, the 3 billion Beri was only a gesture of respect for this man.

Rayleigh was ridiculously strong—

Though old, his Haki remained at its peak. As Roger's second-in-command, Rayleigh's combat power and Haki were second only to Roger himself.

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"The Pirate King's Right Hand?? Vice-Captain of the Roger Pirates??" Hearing these titles, even the Straw Hats, now members of an Emperor-level crew, gasped in shock.

This was a truly great figure, a legendary pirate!

The Supernovas also broke out in cold sweat.

Sky Sovereign Rowen and Dark King Rayleigh...

Meeting here!

Disco was now utterly stunned, then his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

BOOM!

With his target found, Luffy no longer suppressed his Conqueror's Haki!

A terrifying wave of Haki exploded outwards like a storm, roaring violently!

All the remaining auction guests, Disco, and the auction house guards all went white-eyed and collapsed, completely unconscious!

"Monkey D. Luffy... I've been wanting to meet you for a long time," Rayleigh commented, seeing Luffy's action, a look of approval in his eyes.

Slavery was something Rayleigh and Roger both despised.

But Rayleigh, having been to Laugh Tale, knew that even if he destroyed this auction house, he couldn't stop the global slave trade.

As long as the Celestial Dragons existed, slavery would never end. And acting at the wrong time would achieve nothing meaningful—just as when they reached Laugh Tale and laughed, saying they had arrived too early.

But now... perhaps the time was right. Rayleigh looked at Rowen, then Luffy, and smiled.

"Want to meet me?" Luffy, having vented his anger, reverted to his usual simple-minded state, tilting his head at Rayleigh.

"Here isn't the place to talk. Follow me," Rayleigh said, then casually reached up and removed the explosive collar from his neck.

These collars were used to control slaves; trying to escape would detonate them, killing the slave instantly. But for a powerhouse of Rayleigh's level, it was a joke.

"You're too slow," Rowen commented, watching Rayleigh about to help the other slaves remove their collars, then snapped his fingers.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Air Doors instantly opened.

RUMBLE!

Accompanied by the sound of thunder, Rowen's figure flickered around the hall, appearing beside all the slaves!

With a swift motion of his hand, all the explosive collars on the slaves' necks were removed, then detonated harmlessly in the air mid-hall.

"The World's Strongest Devil Fruit User truly lives up to the name," Rayleigh commented, impressed by Rowen's actions.

With Rayleigh's eye, he could tell that both the Door-Door and Rumble-Rumble Fruits had been mastered to their absolute peak by Rowen, fully Awakened.

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—[Side Quest Reward Triggered: A Legend Never Dies!]—

—[Objective: Have Silvers Rayleigh formally re-emerge, letting the name 'Dark King' resound across the seas again!]—

—[Reward: The Pirate Faction 'Fortune' of the legendary great pirate, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh, at his peak!]—

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A series of notifications appeared before Rowen's eyes.

Another reward quest, after the Shandora one!

Rayleigh was currently retired, completely withdrawn from the center stage of the seas. Though still a major figure as the Pirate King's Right Hand, his fame couldn't compare to the current Four Emperors.

But in Roger's era, Rayleigh was undoubtedly one of the Pirate Faction's signature figures, in no way inferior to the current Emperors!

The 'Fortune' of such a figure at his peak—under the effect of Faction Fortune (Apex Gold)—how much would it strengthen him?

Rowen looked at Rayleigh and smiled.

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"Let's go," Rowen stated, standing up, looking at Rayleigh.

He led the crew, and the captured Supernovas, towards Rayleigh's base on Sabaody—Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.

And as they exited the Human Auctioning House—

BOOOOOOM!

A terrifying bolt of lightning descended from the sky.

The Human Auctioning House was instantly reduced to a pile of rubble.

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—[Desire for Liberation obtained. Extracting...]—

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Rowen absorbed the 'Desire for Liberation' from freeing these slaves, then converted it into another 'knot' and sent it into Luffy.

Then, the group followed Rayleigh to Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.

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