[U.T] Ch 23: Cheat Activated!

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"Show my traits."

At Luen's command, a glowing screen appeared in front of him.

[Luen]

→Traits:

•Basic Navigation (White)

•Beast Strength (Blue)

•Conqueror's Haki (Light Gold)

•Faction Fortune (Super Gold)

•Born for the Sea (Super Gold)

•Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple)

•Beast Physique (Deep Purple) [Loading…]

•Demonic Aura (Special) [Loading…]

•Sun God (Super Gold) [Loading…]

— — —

Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple) — loaded successfully.

Luen could feel the food he hadn't even fully digested yet, being rapidly broken down by his body at an incredible rate, instantly turning into energy and flooding his body with strength and vitality.

His stamina and power had gotten a massive upgrade across the board.

With this deep purple-tier combat trait, Luen now had more tools at his disposal than just Conqueror's Haki. He was becoming a serious threat.

[Higher-tier trait detected. Beast Strength (Blue) converted into nutrients.]

A new line of glowing text appeared in front of him.

The first blue-tier trait he got after arriving in this world had now fulfilled its purpose.

Normally, blue-tier traits couldn't be used as upgrade materials. But this wasn't an upgrade. The higher-tier Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple) had overwritten the lower-tier Beast Strength (Blue) and absorbed it, turning it into nutrients to boost Luen's body even further.

That kind of overwrite only happens once for every trait though.

From now on, any new blue-tier physical traits he gets can't be converted this way.

Only traits that are light purple or higher can be used to further evolve his Superhuman Physique.

Still, Luen could feel his body get just a little bit stronger from the conversion.

Yeah, the difference between blue and deep purple is huge—but hey, even scraps of meat are still meat.

Right now, in terms of raw physical ability alone, Luen was a bit stronger than Luffy.

This battle with the Buggy Pirates had been way more rewarding than Luen ever expected.

He didn't just unlock Born for the Sea (Super Gold) but also the Superhuman Physique (Deep Purple) he copied from Luffy had also finished loading.

Even the Sun God (Super Gold) trait was making slow but steady progress.

Now he just needed to finish loading Zoro's Beast Physique (Deep Purple) and he'd finally be where he wanted—pushing his body's potential to the absolute limit in the world of One Piece.

Luen clenched his fists and felt the raw power surging through him. His lips curled into a small smile.

Once a trait finishes loading, he can fully control and use it—so there was no risk of being overwhelmed by the sudden spike in strength.

...

"Thanks for the meal. Time for us to head out," Luen said to Mayor Boodle.

Right now, all Luen wanted was to dive into the sea and really feel what it meant to be Born for the Sea.

"Wait!"

Boodle suddenly stood up and bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle to Luffy, Luen, and the others.

"Words can't express how grateful I am. Thank you. Thank you for saving this town."

Tears streamed down the old man's face.

"Hehehe, don't mention it! Relax," Luffy replied with his usual wide grin.

Luen smiled too and looked over at Nami.

Their eyes met, and Nami returned the smile.

She understood. Luen wasn't the type to offer empty words of comfort—he showed it through actions.

When the time came, if she asked, he and Luffy would risk their lives to help her. No questions asked.

So this is what it feels like… to have real crewmates.

Nami lightly bit her lip, her emotions hard to put into words.

"We're setting sail!"

Down at the port, Nami had tied their little boat side-by-side with one from the Buggy Pirates. They'd sail together.

Luffy stood at the bow, full of energy, yelling out with excitement.

SPLASH!

In response, a burst of seawater flew up—Luen had jumped into the sea.

"Luen! What are you doing?! You know seawater makes me weak!" Luffy shouted, scrambling back from the spray.

"I just felt like swimming, that's all," Luen called out with a laugh, floating effortlessly in the water.

It felt amazing. Absolutely freeing.

Every fiber of his being felt alive. Like he truly belonged here.

This was the power of Born for the Sea (Super Gold)—he wasn't just swimming, he was thriving.

From the boat, Nami watched Luen laugh and move with complete freedom through the waves. Her eyes sparkled a bit.

There was something different about him now.

He looked... free. Confident. Radiating with power.

You could use all kinds of words to describe him in that moment.

But if she had to sum it up in one sentence—it was like Luen was glowing.

[Born for the Sea (Super Gold) activated.]

[Capacity increased. Conqueror's Haki strengthened.]

[Born for the Sea (Super Gold) activated. Capacity increased.]

[Born for the Sea (Super Gold) activated. Capacity increased.]

[...]

...

But then Luen noticed something odd.

After the first message about his Conqueror's Haki strengthening, the system just kept repeating the "capacity increased" line.

He kept swimming, focusing on the subtle changes in his body.

Wait a minute...

He launched himself out of the sea and landed back on the boat.

"Huff... Inhale..."

He took a deep breath, letting the sea air fill his lungs—and immediately, another update popped up:

[Capacity absorbed. Conqueror's Haki strengthened.]

[Capacity absorbed. Conqueror's Haki strengthened.]

Lines of glowing text streamed past.

Ah... now it made sense.

Luen grinned.

Unlike some brutal, blood-based ritual to boost power, this method was almost elegant.

Born for the Sea (Super Gold) didn't just make his Capacity (his strength or potential) stronger—it made it trainable.

And like any training, once you build something up, you need to rest and recover before it becomes permanent.

It's just like working out. You break your muscles down, then you eat, digest, and grow stronger.

Same thing here: sailing and swimming through the sea with Born for the Sea was like "eating" strength—and now came the digestion part, where his Haki actually grew.

No wonder Buggy was so cocky before he ate the Chop-Chop Fruit.

Buggy, without awakening Conqueror's Haki, couldn't digest the extra power that Born for the Sea gave him—so he came off as arrogant and overconfident, not strong.

In the end, Born for the Sea (Super Gold) only unlocks its full potential if you've awakened Conqueror's Haki.

But even with that extra digestion step, it didn't slow Luen down one bit.

He's not a fish—he's not going to be in the sea 24/7 anyway.

This "digestion" phase was the perfect downtime.

Feeling his Haki growing stronger by the minute, Luen smiled again.

This... this was a damn good feeling.

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