Vice Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates

"Hmm! Yawn!"

Luffy slowly opened his eyes and yawned. But just when he was about to sit up, he noticed someone next to him.

Even when he slept with other guys, they wouldn't sleep together. So, Luffy confusedly turned around and saw Robin staring at him with a gentle smile on her face.

"It seems like you didn't recover enough before." Robin spoke as she remembered how Luffy and Liam woke up just after the next day of their battle.

Unlike most of the Straw Hats, their battle was dangerous. Even Zoro or Sanji weren't pushed to their absolute limits by their enemies.

Like their crewmates, Robin knew their strength before the fight. Luffy needed Gear Fourth to fight Kizaru on equal terms, and even then, he wouldn't win.

Not to mention, every time he used Gear Fourth, it would consume his Haki in just a few minutes.

This meant Luffy had to spend his Haki carefully while trying to master Advance Conqueror.

That's why he and Liam had been using Conqueror Haki constantly during their battles.

So, Luffy and Liam were pushed to their absolute limit in this battle. The only reason they woke up so soon was simply because of their faster regeneration.

Luffy had a mythical Zoan fruit that allowed him to recover quickly. Even if he hadn't awakened it, this fruit was still present inside of him.

Awakening would only lead to him recovering quickly during the middle of a battle with other boosts and powers.

Liam, on the other hand, had a natural regeneration that was ten times faster than a normal human.

It was powerful enough to heal his body instantly. Liam theorized he had to take a rest from gaining strength before his body was breaking and reconstructing too fast.

This speed caused him to receive heavier damage.

Because of their high-speed recovery, they need a lot of food, but since Luffy didn't eat anything, he just fell asleep hard.

Hearing her words, Luffy still looked a bit confused. As the memories of the previous day began to play in his head, he slowly realized the situation.

He didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. All he knew was that he had accepted Robin as his girlfriend.

Now that they were in a relationship, he had to do something, but he didn't know why he couldn't think of anything.

It's like he couldn't convince himself to be her boyfriend.

"Luffy, are you alright?" Seeing his confused look, Robin frowned and asked. She was a bit afraid of his denial of their relationship.

"Umm! Robin… Do you... I think..." Luffy tried to make a sentence, but he can't finish it. He was confused about what he should even ask for.

Robin clenched her fist, afraid of listening to his denial, but when he couldn't speak, she spoke for him.

"Luffy, if you don't want to accept me as your lover, you don't have to force yourself. I won't get angry at you."

Although she said that, there was a lot of hidden emotion in her tone. Even someone like Luffy could feel her disturbed emotions.

In an instant, Luffy cheered up, smiled, and said.

"What are you talking about, Robin? I will never, ever abandon you."

His forehead started sweating as his words became a bit dull. He started speaking in slow emotion, but deep inside his head, he was thinking extremely hard for the first time in his life.

'What should I say? What should I do? Will it make her mad? Will it make her sad? I don't know what to do. Should I even ask that question? Damn it, Liam! Why aren't you here?'

After thinking for a moment and cursing Liam in his mind, Luffy finally came up with an excuse and said.

"Robin, I'm hungry. Let's go and eat!"

His reply stunned Robin. But it also made her smile. At least Luffy didn't try to make an excuse to deny their relationship.

For her, it was a great start. She didn't want to leave this crew. She didn't want to be alone ever again. If it meant working hard to be her Captain's wife, then she would do it.

Unlike before, when she had no hopes of finding Poneglyph, she now had those things within her reach.

She was on the crew with two of the most powerful people in the world. Even if they hadn't reached their peak, they were still the powerhouse that could protect.

Originally, her role in finding One Piece made her gain some confidence in this crew. But after living with Liam for a few weeks, she gradually began to fear his existence.

Not because of his lust toward her or his strength but rather his usefulness. That made her afraid. If Straw Hats had someone who could replace her, she wouldn't be able to achieve her dream.

Unfortunately, Liam was too mysterious for her.

As she agreed to his words, Luffy and she walked out of their room.

"Sanji, food!" Luffy shouted.

"Luffy, you are too slow. Food is almost ready!" Zoro's voice came from the kitchen, and Luffy rushed in with Robin.

There, he saw his crew on the dining table, which was now three times bigger than before.

All members of the crew minus Franky were present in the kitchen, including Merry.

"Hey, Captain, are you already so busy with Robin?" Liam showed a lewd smile and asked. Only for him to get a blank stare from Luffy.

"Puchi!" Nami burst into laughter and said.

"Luffy isn't a horn dog like you, Liam."

"What are you guys talking about?" Luffy asked with a dissatisfied expression as he sat in the front seat. It was his seat, the Captain's Seat.

"Nothing!" Zoro looked at Nami and Liam with a disgusted expression and said.

Soon, Sanji put down the food, and they started eating.

"So, Luffy, when are we going to set sail?" Although Liam already had a destination in mind, he still asked since this required the captain's order.

"I thought you had a lot of things to do with that Mayor guy." Luffy replied.

"You remember?" Liam looked genuinely shocked, but then he reacted quickly.

"His name is Iceberg. He will become an important part of Straw Hat Fleet, Luffy. Don't forget his name."

Luffy just nodded, completely forgetting his name and continuing with that nickname.

"So, what are you going to talk with that Mayor Guy?"

Liam helplessly sighed at his nickname but didn't continue to correct him.

"Well, I'm planning for the future, remember? Our main enemy will be the World Government. Soon, the chaos will emerge in the sea, and it will be so chaotic that unless we have a lot of allies, we won't be able to keep everyone safe."

Saying so, he took out several stacks of bounty posters. They weren't related to Straw Hats but rather had the bounty pictures of several other Pirate Captains.

"Who are these people?" Zoro asked curiously.

"They are what people call Supernova. They are new pirates with a bounty of over 100 million berries. They started similar to us, but thanks to my grand training plans, we have long surpassed them."

Liam wasn't shy about praising himself. He also found it amazing that he had turned a crew of misfits into an emperor-level crew in just five months.

Everyone except Luffy rolled their eyes but didn't argue. Even they had to admit the results of his training.

As for Luffy, it was even more obvious. It was pretty much clear to him that his training for ten years was pretty much useless.

But, at the same time, it was also useful in its own right. At least, according to Liam, it had set a solid foundation for him.

Of course, they had taken drugs to increase their strength, but it was all due to Liam's idea.

"They won't join us. They are called supernovas for a reason." Robin spoke her thoughts. She also thought his plan was good, especially recruiting stronger people, but it wouldn't work.

At least, people with such a high bounty would be stubborn as hell.

"They don't have a choice." Liam showed a mysterious smile and took out a newspaper with a title.

[Admiral Akainu has gone crazy]

It was certainly an attractive title. It instantly got everyone's attention. Robin's eyes even darkened.

"You see, after our battle, Marines sent Admiral Akainu, the same marine I hate the most after Green Bull, to destroy these supernovas. I am pretty sure that not all of them will be attacked."

"Some might be able to escape with their whole crew, but most of them will lose most of their crew members. So, we are going to wait and see."

"Wait and see? That doesn't look like your idea." Nami suspiciously glances at him.

"In this case, that's all we can do. I will talk to Iceberg for their information. If we can find them before they are sent to Impel down, we can rescue them and ask them to join our fleet."

At this moment, Luffy became irritated and asked.

"Liam, why would we need to invite those people?"