After Nami left the cabin, Mikita stared at the door for a long time. After a long, she clenched her fist.

‘Adventure! I never thought of being an adventurer. I was just lucky enough to eat a powerful devil fruit and was recruited by the Baroque Works. I always wanted to open a restaurant and relax.’

‘But, going on a grand adventure to find One Piece doesn’t seem too bad.’

Mikita slowly smiled and walked out of the room.

“Miss Mikita, your tea is ready.” Suddenly, Sanji appeared out of nowhere startling her. But, when she saw the tea and looked at the group of pirates laughing and talking on the deck, the smile on her face widened.

She looked at Sanji and said.

“Thank you, Mr. Chef!”

She took the tea and walked down to the deck while Sanji just stood there with a shocked expression on his face.

It was the first time he had seen her smile. After she was forced into the ship by Liam, he hadn’t seen her smile even once. Even when the whole crew was laughing, she would only remain silent.

After a few seconds, he shook his head with a smile and joined everyone.

They laughed. They talked. They drank and they ate.

Two Days Later,

“My brother might be an idiot but he is still my kid brother. So, please take of care him!” Ace said and he jumped on the ground while looking up at the ship. He waved his hand at Luffy and others.

Finally, he walked away and the ship sailed away.

“Nami, how far are we from our destination?” Liam asked as he sat on the corner of the ship while fishing.

“We should reach there by tomorrow.” Nami twisted her waist as she spoke from the deck.

……………………

On Rainbase City,

“Boss, why did you call this meeting all of a sudden?” A young lady with curly hair asked as she sat on a chair. Next to her, there was a man with dark tone skin and a bald head.

He had a serious look on his face. They were none other than

“It seems like some newcomers are trying to challenge me to help the princess. They are coming directly to our base to face us.” Crocodile said with a cigar in his mouth.

“Hoho! Why is Mr. 0 concerned about some small fry?” A man with flamingo wings on his back spoke. He was none other than Bon Clay. 

“Mr. 2, these small fries have some nasty information that I don’t want to get revealed. That’s why I asked for this meeting. Since they are coming for us, we must exterminate them.” Crocodile’s veins popped out a little as he tried to explain.

“And, since they are the ones coming for us, it seems like they have a lot of confidence.” Serious-looking man, Mr. 1 spoke.

“But, they are still the small fries from East Blue, aren’t they? Even the total combined bounty of their ship is barely equal to your frozen bounty.” Miss Merry Christmas spoke.

“While you are right, we shouldn’t overlook the fact that they had already beaten down Mr.3 and Mr.5 alongside their partners.” Mr.1 spoke

“Hoho! Those two are just fools with powerful devil fruits. Even kids can defeat them without devil fruit powers.” Mr. 2, Bon Clay shrugged his shoulders and spoke.

“What do you think, Miss Sunday?” Crocodile raised his head and looked at Robin as he asked.

“Although this group has shown quite a strength, they aren’t strong enough to defeat you. Still, they are threatening enough so we should take care of them.” Robin replied after she thought for a moment.

At this moment, she wasn’t on Straw Hat’s side. So, obviously, she didn’t care if they die.

“Alright then! Prepare for the battle. We will face them head-on. After that, the rebels will arrive at the capital so we will proceed with our plan.”

Crocodile stood up and walked away.

He was holding a bounty poster in his hand. This bounty poster belonged to none other than Liam.

‘It won’t be long. That bastard is still in the new world. Once I find that weapon, I am going after him. Before that, I need to destroy this group.’

As he said, he clenched the poster inside his palm and threw it away.

…………………

“Liam, dinner is ready!”

Sanji shouted.

Liam turned around and stood up. He was feeling down. After talking with Ace for a long time, he didn’t understand why Ace still had to go. Of course, if Ace didn’t go then Blackbeard might come after them.

But, it didn’t matter. Unlike Ace who was acting alone, they were a crew.

Even if Blackbeard has some powerful people, Straw Hats would grow even more after the Alabasta battle.

He didn’t know how to feel about Ace.

‘Sigh! In the end, I can’t change a person’s heart. No matter how much I know about this world, I can’t change Luffy or Ace or Zoro, or anyone else. I can’t make Nami betray the crew if I am her lover.’

‘This part of this world feels so unique. Even though there are some betrayers, this world has filled with the most loyal people. Gin, Arlong, Mr.1, Perona, Killer, Bepo, King, Beckman, Marco, Katakuri, Zoro, and Rayleigh.’

‘They are probably the most loyal people to their captain. Our crew has the most loyal people but the same thing goes for other crew, especially Roger and Whitebeard.’

‘I finally understand one thing. I might be able to change the outcome but I can’t change one’s heart. Even if I reveal things that I shouldn’t have…….. Damn my mouth! That must be one of the dumbest mistakes I have ever made.’

‘But, it didn’t change anything, did it? The crew didn’t care about Luffy’s devil fruit. Luffy didn’t care if he was the Joyboy of this world. And, Ace got some information about Blackbeard.’

‘Whether he survives or dies, I can’t decide.’

Liam opened the door and entered. As soon as he entered, the thoughts in his mind disappeared from a single sight of his crew eating together. Luffy was still stealing Usopp’s food.

Zoro was satisfied by booze. Sanji was still fawning and serving three ladies. And, Chopper was laughing at Usopp but ended up getting his food stolen by Luffy.

And, Luffy ended up getting slapped by Nami and kicked by Sanji.

‘At the end of the day, this is all I want.’

Liam slowly smiled and walked toward the table.

“Liam, if you keep walking like that, Luffy would finish your food.”

Suddenly, Liam’s background turned dark.

‘Food………’

“Hell no! This isn’t what I want.”

Liam jumped toward Luffy who was almost on the verge of picking up Liam’s plate. He kicked Luffy in the face and took the plate in his hand.

“You guys, don’t disturb the dinner!”

Nami slammed her hands on the table and shouted. Because of Liam’s flight, her food had fallen down from the table.

“Nami-san, you shouldn’t care about them. Here, I have made some fish soup for you.” Sanji immediately made a hot soup with the leftover fish and served it to Nami in an instant.

“Hey, I want some.” Luffy shouted but instantly got kicked by Liam and Sanji.

“Captain, you need to control your hunger, or else, we will enter poverty before finding one piece.” Liam said as he rubbed his foot on Luffy’s face.

Luffy slapped his leg and stood up. He put his hands on his waist and his face suddenly melted.

“But, I am feeling hungry.”

“You just finished three people’s dinner.” Sanji roared at him while pointing his finger at Usopp and Chopper.

“But, I am still feeling hungry.”

Luffy grumbled and suddenly, an idea came to his mind. He rushed in front of Vivi. He grabbed her hands and asked.

“Vivi, once I kick crocodile’s ass, you will feed me till I burst, right?”

Vivi nodded her head.

“Good!”

Luffy rolled his invisible shelve as he walked toward the door.

“I am going to kick that guy’s ass with my new technique and eat till my stomach bursts out.”

Bang!

For a moment, there was nothing but silence inside.

“That was weird.” Usopp touched his chin and said.

“That was definitely weird. Didn’t he already eat food equal to all of our combined? Why is he still saying that he is hungry?” Nami spoke.

“Is it related to the new technique he just said? Liam, do you know anything about it?” Sanji looked at Liam and asked.

“If it is a new technique, then we can’t let him use it.” Liam’s eyes turned serious.

“What do you mean?” Zoro asked.

“The reason why he is feeling hungry is because of loss of energy. His body doesn’t have enough stamina to use that technique without drawback. Of course, if that technique is what I am thinking.”

Liam touched his chin as he spoke with a serious expression.

‘Did he create the Gear Second already? Isn’t it too soon even for him?’