Planning for the Next Battle
"I just had breakfast." Liam swiftly turned his head as he spoke.
Suddenly, his fishing rod twitched. It began to pull down.
"Wow Liam, you caught another big fish." Usopp excitedly looked at the bottom of the ship.
"Fish?"That word entered his ear and the next moment, Luffy's head reached near his fishing rod.
'Is it really fish though?' Liam thought to himself as he slowly pulled a strange creature. It was a man ... a woman... a bird….. no, it was Mr.2.
'Look like crocodile still sent this guy to retrieve Mr.3. Well, his organization truly doesn't have stronger manpower. He has Mr.1 and the lady with him, Mr. 2, and someone who barely made up to the list, Mr.3. Except for them, there was no one else worthy to fight.
"Is it a person? Wow, Liam, you are amazing. You truly caught a person with a fishing rod." Usopp's eyes fell on the man and he looked at Liam with amazement. He couldn't believe that Liam truly caught a man with his fishing rod.
Liam was looking at him as well. Unlike the original, they weren't using Karoo. So, he wasn't sure if he would be lucky to catch this guy. But now looking at him, it seemed like the hook caught its crane set behind him.
"Hello, my friends! I am truly grateful that you saved me despite being from two different pirate crews. Though may I ask for hot soup!" Mr. 2 spoke while sitting on his knees.
"So, you can't swim either huh!" Luffy crouched down as he smiled and asked.
"Yes, I ate a devil fruit." Mr. 2 replied.
"Really? What kind?" Usopp curiously asked.
"Well, since my crew isn't going to find me soon, I will put a show for you." Saying so, he stood up and pushed his hand toward Luffy.
"This is my power."
He slammed Luffy on his face.
"What are you?" Zoro unsheathed his sword while others looked at him with horror.
"Wait, wait, wait, I said this was just a show, right?" Suddenly, Luffy's voice rang from his mouth. It surprised everyone except for Liam who already was standing next to Nami.
"Woah! That's me…" Luffy opened his mouth wide as he spoke.
"Hahahaha! That's identical, right?" Mr. 2 laughed as he asked. Then, he touched his face with his left hand and continued "If I touch it with my left hand, I go back to normal. This is the power of Mane-Mane No Mi."
"Wow! Not only voice but also face." Usopp looked at him with wide eyes.
Mr. 2 moved toward them and started touching them on their face.
"That being said, I don't need to hit you on your face.... Ahh"
Mr. 2 paused when someone caught his hand before he could touch Nami. He turned his head and saw Liam catching his hand.
Liam moved his hand to the side and patted his shoulder.
"You are not bad. But, there are people you shouldn't touch."
Hearing his words, Mr. 2 looked at him with confusion and shrugged his shoulder.
"Well, anyway, I can not only change my voice or face but also my body."
This time though he couldn't show Nami's body.
"Wowwww! Awesomeee! Moreeee" Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp got excited as they shouted at the same time.
"Gahahaha! Not only I can change my face now but also in the future. No matter how many faces I touch, as long as I remember the person, I can easily change."
While saying so, he kept changing into different people, one of them being the king of Alabasta which made Vivi tremble. Soon after his crew came to take him and only then, did the crew learn about his name.
"What? He is Mr. 2?" Usopp shouted in horror.
"Vivi, didn't you know him?" Luffy asked.
"I didn't know. I never met Mr. 2 or Mr. pair." Vivi fell to her knees as she felt incredibly frustrated.
"There is no need to be so anxious. Don't forget we have someone who knows almost everything in this world." Nami suddenly spoke as she stared at Liam.
"Correction! I do not know everything. That being said I did know him which is why I didn't let him touch Nami's face." Liam answered as he singled all of them to gather around him.
"Vivi, call Sanji and Valentine! That girl has some nerve sleeping till the lunch when she can be a perfect training weight for Zoro."
"I won't use her as the training weights." Zoro rolled his eyes and answered.
"I was just kidding." Liam chuckled and waited.
After Vivi called him, all of them gathered around him and sat down.
"So, from the information I've gathered, we know that there are five groups in the enemy's team that works in pair. Basically, there are ten people. We have defeated three of them."
"One of them is with us. That leaves six but actually, Mr. 2 is single. Because he doesn't have a male or female identity, he works alone except for his crew."
"That leaves us to five. Luffy will obviously face Crocodile which means we also have exactly five people. As for those below them, we will handle it. Although Valentine doesn't care about fighting them, I don't want her to fight right now."
Hearing his words, everyone looked at him with confusion.
"You guys all know that we are currently incredibly weak right now, right? Well, the battle is basically the best way to improve. Even for you three." Saying so, Liam pointed at Nami, Chopper, and Usopp.
"I don't care what kind of method you use. You can use trickery, weapons, tactics, and many more but you have to fight. Only then, you will have more confidence to face enemies in the future."
"That's why, Zoro will face Mr. 1, Nami will face Mr. 1 pair, Sanji will face Mr. 2, Usopp and Chopper will face Mr. 4 and his partner. With that out of the way, I will fight against any other normal enemies and step in if someone strong appears."
"Wait, why am I fighting against Mr. 1 pair?" Nami suddenly asked with horror in her eyes.
"Yes, she can't defeat her. Miss Doublefinger will pierce right through her body." Valentine nodded and supported Nami.
"Liam-san, this plan might be risky." Vivi also supported her.
"Liam, you bastard! How could you plan to let Nami-san fight against such a strong woman?" Sanji roared as his jealousy sparked the flames around him.
"Does that mean you are admitting defeat?" Liam stared at Nami and asked.
At this moment, she suddenly paused, and everyone paused. Nami rubbed her hand around the new weapon she got. She got the feeling that Liam had trusted her.
'Then, why am I freaking out? If he is letting me fight, he must know that I would win, right?'
"Well, it is true that you will die. That woman has a devil fruit ability that allows her body to change her body into spikes. It would be deadly since it can easily pierce through you."
"That being said, if you don't want to, I will fight for you. The worst, I will need to use my fist, and might go injured the battle which might worsen my injuries." Liam spoke.
His eyes were filled with sadness that he was trying to reflect on her.
Nami frustratingly clenched her fist and shouted "Alright! Alright! I will do it. Humph! If you dare to fight anyone, I won't show you any mercy."
"Hahahaha! That's the spirit." Liam laughed for a moment but soon got his serious face as he continued.
"Though I am serious. She is deadly. Be careful while fighting her."
Then, Liam looked at Sanji and said "Mr. 2 has an ability to turn into anyone he wants. He can even change his body but I'm pretty sure just the face would be enough to make you useless."
"Ahh! That's why you didn't let him touch me." Nami suddenly realized that moment when Liam stopped his hand. And now, for some reason, she felt frustrated.
"Currently, he doesn't have the power to transform into Nami or Vivi but he might accidentally turn into ladies. During that moment, don't show your face to him especially if it is a beautiful woman. Your lustful face would be enough to give your weakness to the enemy." Liam continued after her.
"My face is not lustful. And, why am I not fighting Mr. 1? Why did you let that moss head fight him?" Sanji roared at him and pointed at Zoro.
"What did you say, Lustful bastard?" Zoro clenched his fist and shouted.
"Come on, you two! Stop for a moment. The reason Zoro is fighting Mr. 1 is because of his devil fruit. Mr. 1 has a devil fruit that allows his body to turn into steel."
"That means without Haki, he will cut your feet in half. And, even Zoro at his current strength might not be able to defeat him."
Saying so, Liam looked at Zoro and said.
"If you don't find what you are trying to find for so long, you will lose against him. That being said, I hope you will realize it during the battle."