Liam looked at Luffy with a serious expression.
Luffy couldn't help but look away and whistle.
Liam opened his mouth.
"Thanks, Captain!"
"What are you thanking about? You are my Vice Captain."
Luffy giggled.
"But seriously, Luffy, you are gonna need something else to replace that fruit."
Liam immediately put on a serious expression and said.
"Hey, I really don't think so."
Luffy raised his hand. The Armament-Coated and red lightning of Conqueror's Haki crackled.
Zoro nodded.
"Yeah! Luffy already has such a powerful Haki. Why would he need a Devil Fruit?"
Liam shook his head and said.
"You are not considering Luffy's age. Zoro, you are two years older than Luffy, but you are still weaker than him."
"I am not saying this to downplay you, but you have never stopped training. Before I started training him, his training was basically punching rocks and animals."
"Think about the training that your teacher gave you and compare that to his training. Which one do you think is superior?"
Zoro nonchalantly answered.
"Is that even a question? It's mine."
"That's right! So, even if Luffy had a bloodline advantage, the fact that he was able to get stronger than you is mainly due to his Devil Fruit."
"It's a Mythical Zoan. Even if it's just rubber, have you ever seen rubber that doesn't melt in lightning?"
"This is that rubber."
Liam pointed at Luffy.
Luffy frowned.
"Liam, are you saying I have gotten much weaker?"
He knew he had gotten weaker but didn't know how much.
Luffy was the kind of guy who could only get a proper understanding of his strength after fighting an enemy.
Liam nodded his head.
"You are much, much weaker than you can imagine. Let me put it this way! Ninety percent of your strength came from your Devil Fruit before you started training with me."
"Then, forty percent came from your fruit, thirty percent from your Haki, and thirty percent from the potential unlock plus my training."
"Of course, that doesn't mean much considering even five percent of that forty percent is enough to make you stronger than ninety percent."
Luffy tilted his head in confusion, clearly not understanding any of this.
Robin moved her lips closer to his ears and whispered.
"Without Gear Second, Gear Third, Gear Fourth, and Gear Fifth, your strength will be much weaker."
Luffy finally nodded in understanding.
Liam rolled his eyes and continued.
"Your opponents in the New World have all been pirates for decades, if not half the century. Your main enemy is eight hundred years old."
"Haki will give you a massive advantage against them, but if your body is not strong enough to wield it, then you are gonna be at a huge disadvantage."
Hearing that, Sanji spoke.
"Then, we just need to find Luffy a Devil Fruit."
Liam nodded.
"Yeah! We need to find him a Devil Fruit, a mythical Zoan. I have three Devil Fruits in mind."
"But since I've lost my Gamble powers, only two fruits are feasible options."
"Oh?"
Everyone's eyes lit up.
This was the advantage of having Liam. He knew so much that they didn't have to worry about anything else.
"What kind of fruit is it?"
Luffy also got excited. When he sacrificed his Gum Gum Fruit, he knew this fruit wouldn't reincarnate in his world.
That was the whole point of the sacrifice.
"It's not a god fruit, but it is an artificial mythical zoan modeled after Kaido's Fish Fish Fruit Model- Azure Dragon."
"The other one is a Vampire Fruit that is a bit harder to find and, more importantly, it doesn't suit Luffy's fighting style or even his manner."
"There is another fruit called Yamato no Orochi, but this fruit is in the hands of Orochi and getting it will not be easy."
"Especially since I can no longer use my powers to get that fruit. It's a good thing I've already taken out those fruits from the cards."
"Otherwise I would've lost them as well."
"Kaido's fruit?"
Luffy's face couldn't help but light up.
That fruit was amazing, especially the different usages of that fruit like human beast form, full beast transformation, Fire Breath, Wind Slashes, Tornado, and so on.
Although his usages would be different from Kaido's, it was indeed a fruit that he wouldn't mind using.
Liam nodded and said.
"But since this is an artificial fruit, I am not sure if this will ever be awakened. It's a risky choice."
"Awakening is quite important."
Hearing that, everyone nodded. They all understood the strength gap between Gear Fourth and Gear Fifth.
Liam shook his head and said.
"No, no, no, you don't understand. This might just be a theory, but there is a chance that Luffy's Fruit was just a normal Paramecia Fruit."
"It became a Mythical Zoan Fruit after Nika reached a level of strength where he could do what Luffy does in Gear Fifth."
Robin's eyes widened.
"How is that even possible?"
Liam shrugged his shoulders and said.
"I don't know. This is just a theory, but it makes sense considering Luffy's awakening affects his surroundings like Paramecia while also increasing his strength like Zoan."
"This is just a theory, a One Piece Theory."
"Hahaha!"
When Liam changed his voice to say those last words, Luffy couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Chopper and Usopp joined in while others chuckled.
"No matter what, our journey will not stop here."
Luffy stood up. His eyes drifted towards his crew members. Every single one of them was important to him.
They were his family and his crew. He knew he had a lot of things he couldn't do.
He didn't care about his weakness, just like right now. Because he knew his crew would find a way for him.
He just had to do one thing.
Punch his enemies away!
Luffy excitedly raised his hands and shouted.
"Liam has returned. Although I lost my fruit, our dreams and goals will not stop here."
"Once we return to our world, let's sail into the New World and find the One Piece!"
At this moment, their journey over the rainbow bridge ended as they were suddenly pushed out into the ocean.
Splash!
As their ship landed on the sea, everyone shouted.
"Aye-aye, Captain!"