Liam Versus Kizaru Part 1

Zoro gave a small bow to his opponent and left, with all three of his swords in the sheath.

While his battle ended, Liam's battle with Kizaru began with a long conversation.

"Vice Captain Liam, we never got to fight before. I wonder how strong you have gotten." Kizaru spoke with a weird smile as he placed both hands inside the pockets of his pants.

"I am also very excited to fight you. Akainu is a maniac, so unless I am stronger than him, I won't fight. But you are different, aren't you? How about we take it slow and stage this battle?"

Although Liam didn't mind fighting Kizaru, he still wanted to preserve his strength and luck for the future battle.

He truly didn't want to push his luck in this battle.

While he had access to Advanced Haki, Kizaru also had access to advanced forms of Haki except for Conqueror, which he didn't possess.

But Kizaru had Pika Pika No Mi.

Light Speed was his base speed. He could multiply that speed several times based on his strength and stamina.

And based on the monstrous physique of an Admiral, Liam believed that he could fight for a long time while maintaining his speed movements.

So if he wanted to defeat Kizaru, he had to be able to hit him.

"Oh, I can't do that. This time, I am tasked to kill you. If I go back empty-handed, my superiors might not like it."

Kizaru still had that teasing smile on his face as he spoke.

Hearing that, Liam narrowed his eyes.

He knew Kizaru was the guy who would follow the orders of his superior without any question. He didn't understand why he was so fixated on following others' orders, even to the point of killing his best friend.

He knew Kizaru wouldn't share this kind of secret with him. So, he thought of something else.

He was wondering what were truly his true superiors were.

"Tell me, Kizaru, do you follow the World Government or the Fleet Admiral?"

Hearing that, Kizaru showed a look of surprise as he didn't expect Liam to ask such a question.

He still had that nonchalant attitude while replying.

"Of course, I follow the orders of the World Government. Marines are the forces of the world government after all."

"Then, what if your Fleet Admiral breaks up with the World Government? Fleet Admiral is the highest position in the Marine so you should logically follow his order."

"So, will you follow the orders of the Fleet Admiral or remain the soldier of the World Government?"

Liam asked while making his expression a bit more excited.

Kizaru remained silent for a moment before replying.

"Of course, I will follow the orders of the Fleet Admiral. After all, I am a Marine, and my superior is the Marine Fleet Admiral. But I am curious. Why do you believe that Marines would break up from the World Government?"

Liam doubted his words for a moment, but without understanding his true intention, he could neither believe his words nor disregard them.

But he was interested in having this conversation with Kizaru. Among the three admirals, the easiest to win was Kuzan, while the hardest one to win was Sakazuki.

The weirdest one to win was Kizaru. Because he didn't know what Kizaru wanted.

He felt like someone who would follow the orders without any hesitation, but he still had his feelings.

Just like when he killed his best friend, Vegapunk, even though it was painful for him, he still did it.

The question was, did he do it because the Marine was the World Government, or did he do it because he considered himself a worker of the world government?

"Who knows?"

Liam gave him a meaningful smile and continued.

"When humans are pushed to the corner, they can bring out unexpected results. Haven't you noticed just within fifty years, there has been more than one pirate who had a chance of shaking the foundation of the World Government?"

"When that time comes, do you believe Marines will choose to work with the World Government? Even if it is Akainu, he isn't someone who will follow the orders of the World Government like a dog, especially with his fiery attitude?"

Hearing that, Kizaru narrowed his eyes and asked.

"Do you plan to split the Marines from the world government? If I remember correctly, even if you do help Marines to split from the World Government, you will still be our enemies."

"Besides, how can a pirate help a marine?"

"Hehehehe! Hahahahaha!"

Liam burst into laughter when Kizaru asked this question. He never thought of Kizaru as a naive person, but this time, whether by instinct or by his belief, he asked this question.

This question made him laugh so hard that his laughter almost reached other islands. But only Luffy and Sanji could hear him.

Kizaru's face turned ugly when he saw Liam laughing at his obvious question. But then, he remembered an incident from thirty-five years ago and asked.

"Do you think it will be a situation similar to Rocks D Xebec?"

"Of course!"

Liam answered without any hesitation.

Kizaru was speechless but curiously asked.

"Why do you think so? I am quite intrigued by your information."

Liam gave him another meaningful smile and said.

"Because Luffy is the protagonist of this world. You have stayed with Vegapunk for so long, you should know what protagonist represents, right?"

"The final winner is the protagonist. The protagonist doesn't have to be a good person or a bad person. But, to become a protagonist, he must have an antagonist who opposes the protagonist in every way."

"So, what could be better than a group of people who behave worse than a pirate, whose ideals of suppression oppose Luffy's ideal of freedom, and whose destruction will only liberate the world?"

"The World Government is a perfect enemy to Luffy because the World Government is the biggest pirate group."

Hearing his words, Kizaru's expression turned ugly.

He didn't feel much about the World Government, but the Marines still worked under the World Government.

Didn't this mean they were working under a pirate crew?

But he didn't refute Liam's words. Not because of the actions of the world government, but also because of their power hierarchy.

He wasn't aware of the presence of the Supreme Ruler, but he knew there was someone above the Five Elders.

It's just that he only knew about it from the older generations.

Knowing this much was already enough for him, as he didn't want to learn more and cause trouble for himself.

But he was quite curious why Liam would call Luffy a protagonist.

"I am a bit curious, Vice Captain Liam. Why can Monkey D Luffy become the protagonist?"

Hearing this question, Liam knew that Kizaru was interested. He just wanted Kizaru to believe that the World Government can be overthrown.

Only then would he help Kuzan break up with the World Government.

Otherwise, an obstruction from the Admiral could become quite troublesome for a Fleet Admiral.

After all, the Admirals were the backbone of the Marines.

Liam knew he could only live here until he changed the next event. After that, he would disappear.

If Luffy were to be with this crew all by himself, it would be truly troublesome.

Because Kaido and Big Mom would join hands.

Kid was dead, and Luffy wouldn't stay behind in the paradise after saving Ace. Which meant Law wouldn't get enough time to grow.

So, the Straw Hats wouldn't be strong enough to face the Emperor's combined force by themselves.

Adding the marines and the world government on top of that, the Straw Hats wouldn't even get time to breathe.

Either they would lose some members of the crew, or they would be annihilated by the combined forces of the World Government and the Marines.

As for Emperors, yes, they were troublesome for Luffy, but Ace would still be alive alongside Marco and other powerful Whitebeard commanders.

With their help, Luffy would have an easier time facing the Emperors.

But against the World Government, it wouldn't be so easy. Especially if the Marines didn't separate from the World Government.

So, Liam wanted to grab as many Marine powerhouses towards Kuzan's camp.

This conversation with Kizaru only opened up a possibility for Liam.

"Of course, he is the protagonist. You just spit it out yourself. Think about it for a moment. What makes someone a protagonist?"

Kizaru felt a bit confused, so he focused on his words, and suddenly, an idea came to his mind.

"You mean his father and grandfather?"

"Not just them! There is also Shanks, Rayleigh, Gaban, Alabasta Kingdom, Sky Island, and even Luffy's two brothers."

"To become a protagonist, one must be special. Otherwise, any random person can become a protagonist. But not any random person can save the world."

"Luffy has connections with the strongest people and has inherited the blood from two of the most powerful people. So, what do you think, Kizaru?"

"Do you want to wait until you lose some important people to realize the evilness of the World Government and switch sides, or do you want to prevent such tragedies by switching sides right now?"

"Or, do you want to remain a cog in the machine?"