Luffy’s Concern

Hearing his words, everyone burst into laughter, while Usopp just nervously rubbed the back of his head.

He was confused as to why Liam would know about his Loli-subduing tactics even though he hadn't made them yet.

But before he could say anything more, Liam continued.

"There is also a swordsman. He is a Sword God from Wano, hundreds of years ago. Moria's fruit allows him to steal the shadow of others and put them on something else."

"With a doctor that can easily stitch dead people, he was able to create several zombies by taking others' shadows. Our future crewmate's shadow is in Ryuma's corpse."

"I don't care about that corpse, but I am very interested in a sword that he has."

"A sword?" Zoro couldn't help but feel excited. Then, he remembered something and asked.

"Don't you already have a sword now?"

Liam shook his head and said.

"I thought I could make a proper sword that could rival the Great Grade Sword, but I was dead wrong. That sword might have a similar level of toughness, but that's not enough."

"It wasn't created by a proper blacksmith. Unlike my sword, that sword is Shusui. It is a Black Blade."

When he said that, Zoro's eyes widened. He almost held the hilt of his sword in excitement.

"A black blade-like Mihawk's Yoru."

Liam nodded.

"Although I am not sure why it wasn't a Supreme Grade Sword, it has the toughness of a black blade, which is perfect for me. I am not a swordsman like you, so for our next battle, that should be perfect."

Hearing that, Zoro slowly calmed down and replied.

"Yeah, you are focused on different things. Besides, I should focus more on making my swords black."

He said while looking at the three swords on his waists.

Great Grade Sword Wado Ichimonji! Cursed Sword Sandai Kitetsu! Skillful Grade Sword Yubashiri!

Among these swords, only Yubashiri lacked power and durability. Except for it, the other two were extremely sharp and had their unique advantages.

Wado was something Zoro carried for a long time, and he would rather die than change it.

Sandai Kitetsu was a cursed blade that suited him the most. And it was also the blade that gave him access to Nine Swords Style: Ashura.

While Yubashiri might lack power and durability, it was much easier to use and convince.

"Anyway, after you defeat three of your enemies..... Hmmm! I almost forgot about that doctor. Chopper, you should go with him."

"I need to go." Chopper pointed at himself with confusion.

Liam nodded and said.

"That doctor is supposed to be your enemy. And, he is also someone who you admire but has taken a wrong path."

Chopper wanted to know more, but Liam didn't explain, telling him that he should find out more independently.

"After you defeat your opponents, you should fight Moria and defeat him as soon as possible. After defeating him, you should capture him."

"Do you need his devil fruit?" Zoro curiously asked.

"Nah! I don't need it, but our future allies might need it. We can keep them just in case."

Liam said. In his eyes, Moria didn't play a huge role after his fight with Luffy.

Though some claim that he might play a huge role, especially after Crocodile established the Cross Guild, he didn't care.

He didn't even keep Crocodile alive, even though he had so many uses in the future. Why would he keep Moria alive?

Others nodded. Although they weren't interested in devil fruit, especially those who had already eaten one, having more fruit wasn't a bad idea.

Especially since they could use it if they came in clutch.

Except for that, Liam didn't have any other tasks for his crew.

"Are you really going to fight him?" Nami walked next to Liam and asked worriedly.

The job of fighting an Emperor shouldn't be given to Liam since he was the vice-captain, not the captain.

Nami cared about Luffy. He was her captain, but Liam was her boyfriend, and she had seen Liam slowly break his limits and grow stronger.

Unlike Luffy, who never seemed to have lost even once, Liam had to go through a lot of difficulties to reach where he was.

So, in terms of fighting, she believed Luffy would be more capable of fighting an Emperor than Liam.

"Don't worry, I will be fine. Kaido is powerful, but he isn't the strongest. There are several people stronger than him, and if we want to continue surviving, we have to get stronger."

Liam spoke calmly as a confident look appeared in his eyes.

But Luffy showed a look of concern. He didn't know why, but after he started listening to Liam about the so-called power level, he understood just how weak he was.

So, he would often believe in Liam. If he didn't think they were strong enough, he wouldn't lose his confidence, but he would also try his best to get stronger.

That was something Luffy learned from Liam.

This was one of the changes that Liam brought to Luffy.

Unlike in the original, where Luffy had to understand the value of strength through loss and suffering, the current Luffy understood it through Liam.

This made Luffy lose one of his core aspects, or as Liam would call it, 'Character.'

Because even though he went through those losses and pain, he still remained the same Luffy. He was mature, but he never lost his smile or confidence, facing challenges head-on and with laughter.

That was no longer this Luffy. Currently, Luffy was more logical, and except for his usual fun with Usopp and Chopper, he would focus more on training.

Certainly, it had its advantages. Since Luffy couldn't understand most of the things, he would let Liam decide.

Normally, Luffy wasn't the type of person to understand others without connecting to him.

But his Observation Haki was special. He could feel the tension and urgency in Liam that he had never felt before.

Even when they fought against an Admiral, Liam never showed this kind of urgency.

There was always a backup plan, but right now, Luffy could sense that Liam was worried about something.

And he had no backup plans. This was what made Luffy think in the wrong direction.

Luffy knew Liam's fear was the same as his. Liam also didn't want to lose any of his crew.

So, the only thing that could make Liam worried was a stronger enemy, someone far stronger than Kaido.

At least, that's how Luffy felt. He didn't know Liam was disappearing from the world.

He had no idea about Liam's origin, so he couldn't make a guess there.

"Alright, Nami, take us to the nearest island." Liam turned his head toward his girlfriend and said.

"We are going there. Don't worry, I have been checking the Log Pose." Nami sighed and walked toward the wheel.

Others also got busy with their tasks, and only Luffy and Robin were left on the deck.

"Is something wrong, Luffy?" After becoming Luffy's girlfriend, Robin was a lot more focused on him and saw his expression change during their conversation.

But since everyone was there, she didn't ask him. Now, everyone was gone, so she was getting more curious.

"I just feel like Liam is worried about something. I have to awaken my Devil Fruit as quickly as possible; otherwise, he might lose his hair."

Luffy spoke with a serious expression.

At first, Robin was confused by his words, but as she thought about it, a smile appeared on her lips.

"Puff! When did you start making jokes?"

"Joke? Did I?" Luffy looked confused.

This genuine confusion made Robin roll her eyes. Yes, Luffy wasn't thinking of that as a joke but was concerned about Liam's hair.

"But you are right. Liam is worried about something, but he isn't sharing it with anyone, not even Nami. So, unless he wants to tell us, we can not do anything about it."

"But it's okay, Luffy. Liam respects you as a captain and us as a crew. If he can't solve it himself, he will ask for our help." Robin spoke as her smile disappeared a little.

"Umm! I am also hoping he will do that. Anyway, I need to eat a lot. I want to defeat Kaido by myself." Luffy puffed out his chest and stretched his hands as he spoke.

"Didn't you hear Liam's plan? You are not allowed to fight him on your own." Robin couldn't help but get concerned about him.

Just like how the original Luffy learned from his mistakes and loss. The original Robin also learned to trust her captain after those incidents.

But this Robin hadn't gone through any of that. She even took a different route to solidify her position in the crew because she didn't want to lose them.

So, she was worried about Luffy and didn't want him to take extra risks.

Sensing her emotions, Luffy smiled and said.

"Don't worry, Robin! I won't die, but I can't become Pirate King without becoming stronger. So, I have to try. I want to defeat Kaido by myself."