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Vice-Captain.
Hearing Usopp's words, Nami, Zoro, and Luffy all turned to look at Rowen.
Nami felt that Rowen had indeed been acting like the vice-captain all along.
Zoro had no objections either. Rowen had shown him the path forward, how to achieve his ambition. Zoro deeply admired Rowen's 'Disposition' and judgment.
He was perfectly fine with Rowen becoming the vice-captain.
However, the final decision rested with Luffy, the captain.
Zoro and Nami looked towards Luffy.
Luffy blinked thoughtfully.
He remembered how Rowen, right after becoming his comrade, had fully endorsed his dream of becoming Pirate King.
How Rowen had chosen the epithet 'Sky Sovereign' deliberately mirroring 'Dark King' Rayleigh, the Pirate King's Right Hand and Vice-Captain.
And during their journey so far, it was largely thanks to Rowen that he had gained Zoro and Nami as comrades.
Rowen himself was incredibly reliable. The position of vice-captain truly suited him.
But still...
Luffy felt a bit conflicted.
"It's still too early to talk about a vice-captain," Rowen said, looking at Luffy with a slight smile.
"Eh? Why? Being vice-captain would make it easier to command the other members in battle, right? The crew would accept your command more readily," Nami asked curiously.
Although Nami had only joined temporarily, and the official crew currently consisted of only Zoro, Rowen, Usopp, and Captain Luffy himself,
Nami couldn't imagine a more perfect candidate for vice-captain than Rowen.
Even 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro, famous throughout the East Blue, clearly respected Rowen and followed his lead.
Rowen had basically been directing their combat strategy throughout their journey.
"It's not about becoming vice-captain to gain the crew's acknowledgment. It's about gaining the acknowledgment of all comrades first, and then becoming the vice-captain," Rowen stated, his lips curving slightly.
"Hmph." A smile touched Zoro's lips.
As expected of Rowen.
"So cool, Rowen!" Usopp felt like Rowen was practically glowing at that moment.
This is what a real pirate is like!
"Besides, Luffy hasn't finished gathering all his comrades yet. Before he does, before gaining the acknowledgment of everyone who will join, talking about a vice-captain is simply too soon," Rowen added, looking at Luffy with a knowing smile.
This was likely why, even in the original story, the Straw Hat Pirates didn't have an official vice-captain even after defeating Kaido and Big Mom and becoming an Emperor crew.
Luffy cherished and respected his comrades immensely—even those who hadn't joined yet.
Knowing Luffy's personality, he wouldn't designate a vice-captain until the entire crew was assembled.
"Shishishi! Rowen! I'm so glad you're my nakama!" Luffy grinned broadly upon hearing Rowen's words, looking incredibly happy.
This was exactly what Luffy had been conflicted about. Establishing a vice-captain before gathering all the comrades and getting everyone's approval felt disrespectful to future crewmates.
If he appointed a vice-captain now, wouldn't future members feel more like subordinates than comrades?
On his ship, there were no subordinates—only comrades.
Rowen's words—"It's not about becoming vice-captain to gain the crew's acknowledgment, but gaining the acknowledgment of all comrades first..."—perfectly mirrored Luffy's own feelings.
Once all the comrades were gathered, the one acknowledged by everyone would be the vice-captain of his crew!
——
—[Received strong acknowledgment from Monkey D. Luffy. Bond increased. Trait equipping progress increased.]—
——
The equipping progress for the Sun God (Apex Gold) Trait advanced another step.
Rowen smiled slightly.
"See, Rowen gets it! As the captain, you need to be more reliable too!" Nami lectured Luffy, her gaze towards Rowen softening with something new, before turning back to Luffy with exasperation.
"I am reliable when it counts! Rowen said so!" Luffy puffed out his chest proudly.
"Using Rowen's words to make yourself look good? How is that captain-like?" Zoro sighed, covering his forehead.
"Eh?! Is that how it looks?" Luffy's face fell instantly.
"Alright, alright. Everyone gathered here because they acknowledge you too, Luffy," Rowen chuckled at Luffy's reaction, stepping in to support him.
While Luffy might be unreliable most of the time, he was incredibly dependable when it truly mattered.
Luffy's charisma was exceptional. Before setting sail, everyone in the future Straw Hat crew had their own dreams.
But later, everyone added another dream to their list: making Luffy the King of the Pirates.
Rowen had joined the Straw Hats not just to equip Traits from Luffy and the others, and to safely navigate his own growth period leveraging Luffy's connections.
Luffy's character itself was a major reason; Rowen genuinely admired him.
"Rowen..." Luffy felt deeply touched.
"Don't spoil Luffy too much, Rowen," Nami sighed helplessly.
"So, Rowen, how do we find those pirates?" Usopp, concerned for the villagers' safety, looked anxiously at Rowen.
"The current captain of the Black Cat Pirates is Kuro's former first mate, 'Hypnotist' Jango, with a bounty of 9 million Beri."
"If Kuro wants to command the Black Cat Pirates to attack here, he must go through Jango."
"They need to coordinate the exact time for the attack, which means they'll have to meet."
"And Jango... well, he's a rather eccentric individual. He tends to attract attention without even trying. If we head into the village, we should be able to find Jango relatively quickly," Rowen explained with a smile.
Knowing the plot, Rowen could easily work backward from the known events to devise a simple solution for dealing with the Black Cat Pirates.
"SUGEEE! As expected of a master strategist!" Usopp looked at Rowen with reverence.
Just like when they first met, Rowen easily saw through his bluff.
Incredibly strong, possessing admirable character and resolve, and brilliant strategically...
Rowen truly is a real pirate!
"Alright! Let's find that guy quickly and beat him up!" Luffy declared, rolling up his sleeves, ready to charge out immediately.
"Do you even know what he looks like?" Zoro asked, grabbing the back of Luffy's collar and pulling him back.
"Oops! Forgot about that!" Luffy yelled, clutching his head.
"I'll handle finding Jango. You stay here and talk to Merry about the ship," Rowen said, standing up.
Jango... 9 million Beri bounty, hypnotism powers... maybe he'll yield some useful gains too.
"Rest assured, Mr. Rowen! I will do my utmost to build you all a fine ship!" Merry, who had been standing quietly nearby, declared earnestly.
Merry was Kaya's loyal servant, but also acted as a mentor and close friend.
He felt immense gratitude towards Rowen and the others for defeating Kuro and saving Miss Kaya's life.
He was naturally determined to pour all his effort into building them an excellent pirate ship.
Of course, the Going Merry had actually been a project Merry started designing as a child twenty-two years ago. The ship was mostly complete by now.
But some details still needed modification based on Rowen and the crew's specific requirements.
"I look forward to it," Rowen replied with a smile.
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