"Worororo! Those brats. Are they waiting for me?"
A gigantic blue dragon soaring through the sky sensed a lot of presence on a medium-sized island. This island was twice as big as Water Seven Island.
Kaido was originally searching everywhere for Straw Hats, but when he came near the waters of the Florian Triangle, he started sensing two major threats.
Although they weren't threats to him, he could still sense just how strong they were and immediately rushed toward them.
But he didn't expect the Straw Hats to be so bold. They were waiting for him on an empty island.
And since they didn't seem to be living there, it was clear to Kaido that they were waiting for him.
As his body descended toward the island, it almost covered one-fifth of the island with its body size.
......….
"Ho! Ho! That aura was too crazy. I am never going against any of the Emperor." Usopp was panting hard on the side while looking at the dragon from afar.
The ship that they were using was a medium-sized ship made using the roots of Going Merry together with Franky's craftsmanship.
Originally, they planned to take Going Merry, but Merry insisted on staying on the island, so they had to build another ship.
This also worked well with Nami and Robin, as both had no intention of leaving their boyfriends' side.
Even if they were going against one of the strongest people in the world.
"If you can't even go against them, how can we be called Emperor of the Sea? Usopp, you have to be brave."
Chopper is also afraid, but unlike Usopp, he seems to have more confidence in his crew.
As soon as he heard Chopper's words, his cowardly appearance disappeared, replaced by a bragging look as he began to tell the tales of his dream.
"Of course, I am a brave warrior of the sea. How can I be afraid of a long leech? Let me tell you, Chopper, a long time ago I ....."
Zoro, Sanji, and Franky decided to ignore them while Vivi continued to observe the sea current and take them toward the area of the Florian Triangle.
Cause this was covered with dark clouds and barely any light passed through it, she had to remain cautious while steering the ship.
Unlike Nami, she didn't have extraordinary talent in sailing, so she needed more attention and knowledge.
Thankfully, she had been studying under Nami and Robin, so she knew a lot of things about sailing.
Not to mention, she stayed within Baroque works for three years, which helped her understand sailing more than any ordinary person.
"Vivi-chan, I made a chocolate Smoothie for you." Sanji ran out of a small kitchen holding a cup full of smoothies. His legs twirled as he moved closer to Vivi.
"Stinky cook, where is our smoothie?" When Zoro saw Sanji's behavior, disdain appeared on his face as he spoke.
"It's in the kitchen, moss head. You can go, get it." Sanji showed disgust on his face as he spoke while turning toward Zoro.
He didn't dare to show such an expression to Vivi.
"Thank you, Sanji-kun!" Vivi smiled and took the cup as she thanked him. She knew this was a general behavior of Sanji, and if he ever went overboard, she learned to keep him in check just like Nami.
But when she thought of Nami, she couldn't help but think of Robin. A look of envy appeared on her face as she muttered.
"I can't believe two of the females from our ship already have a boyfriend."
Although she spoke in a low voice, Sanji still heard her and said.
"Vivi-chan, you can make me your boyfriend. Your Knight is always here for you."
He immediately got on one knee and held a rose in his hand as he spoke.
Vivi took the rose and smiled.
"Sorry, Sanji, but I don't have any love interest towards you. You should have tried it on Robin before she made any move on Luffy. You might have succeeded."
Hearing her words, Zoro snorted.
"If this guy had tried it, it would've been much better. I don't understand why Liam even let that woman do it. Luffy has no understanding of love, and that woman is just using him."
Everyone on the ship could see that Luffy had no understanding of love. He was just a naive young boy. But there was something more that only Sanji could see.
Sanji shook his head and said.
"You are wrong, Moss Head. Luffy might have no understanding of love, but he isn't a straight man like you. If that was the case, he would've ignored Robin."
"Because Luffy isn't the type of person to use any alternate motive to establish a crew. Even when inviting us, he only did it because we all had a certain dream."
"That's the only reason that he invited us. Otherwise, Luffy would've invited a lot of people, not just us. Even Straw Hat Fleet is a part of Liam's plan, not Luffy's."
"He let Robin join our crew because she has a dream. And, knowing Luffy, he would make her realize that this crew wouldn't abandon in any circumstances."
That made Vivi concerned, so she asked.
"Then, why did Robin confess her love to Luffy? You know there is a large gap in age between them. Robin is basically like an elder sister to Luffy."
"Not to mention, with Liam, we could've made her believe that we won't abandon her. There is no need for them to be together."
Sanji scratched his head and said.
"I think Robin likes Luffy, or you could say Robin developed a liking for him during our invasion in Enies Lobby. After that, her fear of abandonment transformed that like into love."
"Well, I also don't understand love that much, but I can see that Luffy also has a similar kind of feelings toward her. Maybe it's because he is no longer just an idiot."
That stunned Zorofor a moment. He couldn't help but remember those early days when Luffy never thought too much.
He did what he liked. He knew that even Luffy rejected Liam because Liam didn't interest him that much.
Only when Liam gives him a unique reason does Luffy accept Liam as his first crewmate. That meant if Liam wasn't present, Luffy would've accepted Zoro as his first mate.
That was pretty much clear because Luffy was the one to show interest in Zoro rather than the opposite.
But now, Luffy doesn't just listen to Liam; he also has his ideas. These ideas weren't just random. They had their reasoning and such, and Luffy started to use his brain more often than before.
'Does that mean Luffy understands Love? No, that shouldn't be possible. At least, not at this stage. So, why did Luffy accept her?'
Although Zoro was just thinking, his thoughts were fully revealed on his face.
Sanji smokes the cigarette and says.
"I think Luffy accepted her because he felt love. Love is random. You don't know when you fall in love with someone, but there is always guidance."
"Robin's fear of abandonment was a guidance for this love. Luffy saw that fear in her eyes and decided to let his heart decide. And, his heart had already fallen in love with her."
"Lufy didn't need to understand love. He just needs to accept her."
Hearing that, Vivi's face darkened a little as she asked.
"Does that mean if someone else had confessed her love to him, he would've accepted her?"
Sanji shook his head and said.
"No, otherwise Alvida would've been his lover, not Robin. As I said, Robin's life transformed into love because of fear; on the other hand, Luffy's growth and hormones give him a small feeling of love."
"That didn't happen with Alvida. Because that growth and hormones would only give him lust, not love. So, I believe it was Robin's fear and frankness that triggered his love."
Suddenly, he saw something that he didn't think he would see. Vivi's darkened expression made his heart ache as he tremblingly asked.
"V-vi-Vivi-chan, could it be you also like Luffy?"
As soon as he said that, Vivi hurriedly grabbed her face as she turned red. She shook her head and said.
"How can that be? I don't love him. Besides, he already has Robin."
Thud!
How could Sanji not see her love? He fell on his knees and started crying.
"This is not fair. What does that idiot have that I don't? Why did Robin-chan and Vivi-chan accept him but not me? This is not fair. Uwaaaaa!"
"Sanji-kun, you are too much."
Vivi stomped her foot on the ground angrily and turned into sand. She hurriedly entered the room and closed the door; her face turned red with embarrassment.
But, with that embarrassment was an expression of loss.
Even now, she didn't know whether she loved Luffy or Liam. She had some interest in Liam while she was starting to fall for Luffy.
So, her conflicted heart made her confused.
......….
(Originally, I was going to pair her with Liam. But as time passed on, I realized this wasn't a harem novel. I didn't plan to write a harem, but I still want to write a harem.)
(Then, I realized a solution. Although One Piece doesn't have romantic relationships in the crew, there have been several moments where Luffy has won the hearts of many girls.)
(This made me realize. If Luffy wasn't an idiot but still had that same attitude and sincerity, I believe those girls would've confessed to him. Well, these are just my thoughts. So, what do you think?)
(Should Vivi be with Luffy or Liam? Should there be a harem? Should I write adult scenes or not? Anyway, this is a book for a general audience, so I am waiting for your response.)