Luffy’s Understanding

"Sorry, guys, it seems like we can't wait for Liam."

Luffy was enraged, but he didn't forget their main mission. When his fist struck Charlos, it destroyed most of the auction.

"Nami, get the Devil Fruit! Sanji, I will leave that man to you."

Luffy turned toward Nami and Sanji as he gave out orders. Nami and Sanji nodded at the same time.

Nami was given this task because he knew she wouldn't pay for it.

Since they were pirates and this Auction House wasn't any good, why would Luffy stick to the rules and pay for it?

But if he were to take the Devil Fruit, he would still pay for it. It was simply the way he lived.

He couldn't change it, so he changed the person.

After Nami and Sanji left, Luffy turned his attention towards the remaining people. The only person who attracted his attention was a guy with red hair.

Eustass Kid!

"Who is that, Robin?" Since he couldn't recognize him, Luffy simply asked.

"He is Eustass Kid, one of the Supernova like Law. He has the highest bounty among the Supernova." Robin calmly replied.

People like Kid weren't strong enough to make them interested, but Kid was interesting.

Because Liam had put him on a hunting list.

If he were a normal person like Law, he might've invited him.

Yes, normal!

If losing his parents, his country, and the person he found to care the most, he still managed to remain a good person.

It might be simply because of Donquixote Rosinante, but it didn't change the fact that Law went from destroying the world to saving people as a doctor.

On the other hand, Kid was simply just like Blackbeard, except without brains. So, it made sense for him to fail in the future.

Instead of failing in the future, it was better to give this fruit to the Straw Hats.

Because of Liam, they weren't opposed to hunting Devil Fruits, especially from 'Bad People'. What defined bad? Liam couldn't answer it.

His answer was simple.

'If we want a rough life and adventure, we can give up devil fruits. If we want a slightly better adventure, then we might as well just collect devil fruit.'

At least, until Liam was here, he wanted to equip Luffy with everything he needed to become Pirate King.

It wasn't that he didn't have confidence in Luffy. It's simply because he changed Luffy's future.

In just a span of five months, Luffy went from a kid who could barely fight Arlong to an Emperor who could fight Kaido.

In most of his battles, Luffy had a lot of luck or what he would call 'Plot Armor'. But since he was actively destroying the future, the plot armor might not exist.

Sometimes he was even afraid that everything would go back to the original moment he left.

But despite all that fear, he wouldn't stop doing what he must do.

Right now, neither Zoro nor Sanji had the power of Emperor Deputy, but they were already an Emperor Crew.

To improve Sanji's strength, he gave Sanji Goro Goro No Mi.

To improve Zoro's strength, he made a specific yet effective training regimen for his Haki improvement.

Since Sanji had Goro Goro No Mi, his Observation Haki had improved significantly.

While he was trying to learn Advanced Armament, it wasn't easy.

On the other hand, Zoro had a natural advantage while learning Advanced Armament and Advanced Observation Haki due to Breath of All Things.

But improving Haki still required a lot of training and combat experience, so Zoro would often fight Luffy, Liam, and now Kuma to improve his strength.

As for others, he had made some plans.

Hearing Robin's words, Luffy hesitated for a moment, but then he remembered everything Liam had done so far for them and became serious.

"Straw Hat, do you have business with me?"

Kid immediately sensed some hostility from Luffy and Robin. Although Luffy was proclaimed as the Emperor of the Sea, he wasn't afraid of Luffy.

Just like how Luffy wouldn't be afraid of any stronger opponent, he was also the same.

"Yeah, let's fight. I will attack you once. If you manage to defend, I will let you go."

Luffy spoke as he nodded his head.

"Luffy!" Robin hurriedly spoke. She didn't want to let Kid go. Although it wouldn't affect much, she wasn't sure what plans Liam had made with this fruit.

Luffy didn't say a word. He just stared at her for a moment before she sighed a breath of relief and said.

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

Suddenly, the swords and armor around the auction began shaking. Several destroyed pillars of the auction began rising.

At this moment, all of those metallic items began gathering around Kid, slowly covering his right arm.

"What did you say? Straw Hat Bastard, don't be so arrogant!"

Kid roared as he dashed forward with a gigantic metal arm.

Luffy didn't care much. He simply ignored Kid's words and wrapped his right arm with Armament Haki and Conqueror Haki. His hand began compressing inside.

The next moment, before Kid could react, Luffy punched his chest as his compressed hand stretched outward.

[Gomu-Gomu No- Overlord Gun]

The red lightning burst out as the force of his punch broke Kid's chest.

'W-what's going on?'

Kid wanted to stay awake. He did everything in his power to stay awake, but the pressure from that punch was too much for him to bear.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

As those metal pieces began to fall apart, everyone in the auction house became silent.

The chaos caused by the previous punch became stagnant for a moment.

"Kid!"

Killer, the vice Captain of Kid Pirate, roared and spun his knives, rushing towards Luffy. Not only he, other crew members of the Kid Pirates ran towards him with their weapons and attacks.

But before they could move forward, a powerful Aura burst out of Luffy. The red and black lightning crackled in mid-air as this aura began pressing the Kid Pirates down.

In just a few seconds, those pirates began falling one after another.

Until only Killer was awake.

"Robin, let's go!"

Luffy grabbed Kid on his arm and turned around.

"W-ww-wait!"

Killer had to use all of his stamina and mental strength to stay awake. When he saw Luffy taking Kid away, he tried to speak.

But before he could get a sentence out, he realized he had used all of his strength and passed out.

Luffy clenched his fist.

He knew if something happened to him, Liam would be just like this guy. Not just Liam, every one of his crew would do anything to save him.

That's exactly why he did what Liam told him, despite not wanting to do it.

"Luffy!" Robin glanced at him worriedly.

Luffy wasn't the type of person to do things that he didn't like. She understood him when she just joined the crew.

Now, she had a better understanding of that, so she could understand his mood.

Even so, she still underestimated Luffy. While he might be a fool and an easy-going guy, he had a concept of what pirates could and couldn't do.

While he might not be like most of the pirates, if he had to do something for his friends, he would do it.

Yes, he was doing this for Liam, not the other way around.

Before he learned about Liam's disappearance, he might have outright rejected this kind of action.

Unless Kid attacked him. Then, it would be a completely different story.

But after he learned about Liam's disappearance, he became a bit more serious and started taking things more seriously.

On one hand, he had to save Ace. On the other hand, he must keep Liam.

To save these people, he must go all out. He wasn't worried about himself. That was the confidence of a strong man.

But after being with Liam for so long and understanding the importance of his Devil Fruit, he was more worried about his crew.

This was a difference created by their experience.

Without Liam, the Straw Hat crew went through several difficulties and came out on top.

That's why they had an absolute trust in each other's abilities.

But with Liam, they didn't go through all that trouble. While they still had to train a lot and fight stronger opponents, they were guaranteed to win most of the time.

This created a lack of trust mentality. This went further when Liam started teaching Luffy more things.

Luffy didn't doubt his crew. He just understood that there were people stronger than him and stronger than his crew.

Without enough strength, he wouldn't be able to protect them.

Because of these two experiences, Luffy became a bit more cautious.

Looking at her worried expression, Luffy released a deep breath and said.

"I understand this, Robin. This is not just for me. I don't want to lose one friend to save another."