"So, you want to go there and bring back Liam?" Luffy asked, looking at Kuma, who came to ask for permission.
"Yes, two days have passed. He should've already finished talking with Vegapunk." Kuma replied.
"Goodbye then!"
Luffy nodded his head and waved his hand.
Pop!
As Kuma touched his body, he instantly disappeared in front of Luffy.
"Wow! I can't even sense him with Observation Haki. He must've been far away already."
Luffy wasn't surprised that Kuma disappeared. He was just surprised that he couldn't trace Kuma with his Observation Haki.
Although his Observation Haki didn't have as big a range as Enel's, it was still enormous.
Just by staying at the corner of Sabody Archipelago, he was able to sense most of its area.
The entire Sabody was a gigantic forest with several trees acting as islands for its residents and people who came here.
There was a total of seventy-nine trees divided into several different areas.
Each tree was designated by a number from 1 to 79.
From 1-29, every area was a lawless area where pirates and bounty hunters ran amok.
From 30-39, every area was known for its attractions, with amusement parks and several fun rides.
From 40-49, every area was known for its tourist attraction, which meant it was filled with shops and different types of markets.
From 50-59, every area was known for its shipping.
From 60-69, every area was known for local marine headquarters, while the rest of the area was known for a hotel town.
Since they parked their ship near tree No.41, they were in the tourist area.
But none of them had left the ship because they were waiting for someone.
"Nami-san, is there a problem?" A green-haired girl with a fishtail spoke. She was a recent addition to the ship. She didn't join the crew but took the ride to Sabody as a guest.
"Kemi, we need to meet up with some people before we go there." Nami explained with a gentle smile, just like a big sister talking to a little sister.
"Nami, can't we just visit this place? You can talk to Buggy about Bonney and Law's crew." Luffy waved his hands with a pitiful look and asked.
"No, we can't. You have to take this thing seriously, Luffy. Liam won't always be here to help you manage the fleet. Although you don't need to do many things, you should at least be here now."
Nami frowned and scolded him.
Luffy frowned, turning sad as he looked at the island with fading excitement, and sighed.
"Alright, I will wait for Booggey."
"Come on, Captain!"
Bonney appeared next to him and slapped him on the back.
"Cheer up! We can visit Sabody after you handle this issue."
"By the way, Law, why do you get to leave?" Bonney turned her finger at the guy and shouted.
Nami speechlessly stared at the two captains, one former and one current.
"Because he isn't a child like you two. I can understand Bonney since she is only ten, but you should be ashamed of yourself, Luffy. Your performance as a Captain is much more than Law."
Hearing that, Sanji chuckled.
"Give him a break, Nami-san! You know how Luffy is. If Liam hadn't spent every single day breaking common and important things in his mind, he would've run off to the island."
Nami sighed heavily and said.
"That's why I am worried. Liam is only gone for two days, and I can't handle this guy. I am afraid Liam is the only one who can spoil him by doing everything for him."
"That's not the case. Liam likes being a Captain." Zoro shook his head and replied.
Hearing that, Luffy widened his eyebrows and asked.
"Liam wants to take my position."
Bang!
Nami smashed his head and shouted.
"Do you think he cares about your position?"
Suddenly, she turned toward Zoro and blinked.
"He doesn't, right?"
Zoro was speechless after Nami's punch, but he still replied calmly.
"No! He does love being a Captain, but he doesn't care about Luffy's position. Instead, he feels more in debt to Luffy because of his attitude."
Chopper raised his hand and asked.
"Why is that?"
"Because for Liam, everyone in the crew listens to him more than the Captain. But the Captain doesn't feel bad about it, nor does he feel threatened by this."
Sanji explained to him.
Robin walked up to Luffy and pulled him away from Nami, fearing that she would continue hitting him.
Although Luffy didn't feel pain, it was her job as his girlfriend to keep him in check.
After all, he wasn't exactly a normal person. While doing that, Robin spoke.
"More importantly, Luffy's strength is equal if not higher than Liam's. Except for Nami, everyone else treats Luffy as a Captain despite everything Liam does."
"Even for Nami, it is only due to her personal feelings that she treats Liam better. So, Luffy's position in the crew is unshakable, but every single time, it is Liam who decides most of the things in the ship."
Hearing that, Bonney turned her head towards Luffy and asked.
"Are you really that useless except for fighting?"
Luffy shook his head and said.
"No, everything I want to do, Liam knows it. So it doesn't matter if he makes the decision because he knows what I want."
Hearing that, Bonney gave him a suspicious look and asked.
"Are you serious?"
"You have to believe that, Bonney-chan! Liam knows us more than we know about each other."
Sanji had a gentle smile on his face when he said that, but after that smile, his expression turned a bit gloomy.
He couldn't help but remember something.
"Bonney-chan, why don't you take that Hacchi guy and Kemi-chan to your ship for a moment? There is something we need to talk about with Luffy."
Bonney stubbornly snorted and said.
"But I am also a part of the crew now."
"Yeah, Sanji, she is also a crew member." Luffy nodded next to her.
"It's okay, cook! She might be a child, but she has already chosen the path of a pirate. She has seen more blood than a child of her age." Zoro spoke.
Then, he turned toward Kemi and said.
"Can you take that guy with you to that ship for a moment?"
Kemi also understood that they were going to talk about something serious, so she simply nodded.
"Alright!"
Hacchi was standing far away from them, but he still heard them. He nodded, and two of them jumped into the water with a starfish.
"Luffy, there is something that you must know." Sanji took out a newspaper and tossed it to Luffy.
Luffy caught it and read it. When he read the headline, his eyes widened.
"Marines are going to execute Ace. How is this possible? How did he get caught?"
"The problem is not that anymore. I learned something important about Liam." Sanji said, but before he could continue, Robin interrupted.
"Sanji, let me break this to Luffy. You should tell the others."
She said while pulling Luffy into their room.
"Nami-chan, this might be hard to accept, but I need you to keep your calm right now." Sanji spoke with a serious expression.
"What do you mean, Sanji?" Nami narrowed her eyes and asked.
"You should've felt something was off with Liam, right? It's like he is preparing for something big." Sanji asked.
"Isn't it about this war? I am pretty sure Liam knows about this and wants to save Ace." Nami replied.
"Yeah, but at the cost of his life." Sanji spoke.
Nami's eyes darkened as she clenched her fist.
"What are you talking about, Sanji?"
"Yeah, Sanji-san! There is nothing wrong with Liam. How could his life be in danger at the hands of marines?" Vivi supported Nami before she could do anything in rage while shouting at Sanji.
"He is not going to die."
Sanji spoke. He tossed away his cigarette and continued.
"He is going to disappear. Saving Ace means changing the timeline. If we save Ace, Liam will disappear from this world."
"Because Ace's death is a major point in Luffy's life. What Liam is trying to do is change the timeline, and when you play with time, it plays with you."
"Then, can't we just….." Nami couldn't put that word out of her mouth. After all, Luffy did save her village. How could she let his brother die?
Even if she didn't want to save him, she couldn't stop others from saving him.
"So, that's it. That's why Liam was training us so hard. That's why he used Chopper's knowledge to create that potion." Zoro narrowed his eyes as he quickly accepted Sanji's explanation and spoke.
"Even if we don't do anything, we can not stop Luffy from saving his brother, right?" Chopper spoke with a worried expression.
Hearing this, Zoro gave him a serious look and said.
"Chopper, you need to understand this. What this crew does solely depends on Luffy. If he wants to save his brother, we must save him."
"If you can't even follow your Captain's order, then you shouldn't follow him at all."
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