Somewhere near the fighting island;
"This battle is getting more and more dangerous. I am surprised Kaido hasn't spotted us." Nami spoke as she looked at the battle through her binoculars.
These were the only things that kept her updated for this battle.
"Yeah, even Admirals didn't cause so much damage." Robin nodded with a complicated look.
If she had this kind of power or if Ohara had this kind of powerhouse, they wouldn't need to be afraid of the World Government.
Hearing her tone, Nami took a glance at her and said.
"Actually, their powers should be equally destructive. Every single admiral has the power to destroy an island or at least change the very environment of the island."
"You mean Awakening?" Robin wasn't new to these kinds of powers as she had heard Liam talking about it multiple times.
"Yeah, if a Logia awakens, he can essentially change the surroundings of an island permanently. That's why Admirals can't use their full powers casually. At the same time, Liam speculated that Enies Lobby was the result of Light Logia Awakening."
Nami explained.
"I see. No wonder it will always be a day there." Robin nodded. She thought of something and asked.
"Nami, have you noticed something unusual with Liam?"
Nami was stunned for a moment and then bitterly smiled.
"You saw that too, didn't you? I guess, except for a few idiots in the crew, everyone else noticed it."
Robin suddenly made a serious look and said.
"Nami, as someone who has recently experienced it, let me give you some advice. Don't wait for his explanation. Sometimes, you have to take initiative."
Hearing that, Nami got silent. She also knew that, but she couldn't just ask him.
After being with his girlfriend, she was beginning to understand his personality.
Liam couldn't see his friends getting hurt. That was worse than killing him.
So, he trained himself to death until he finally caught up with Monster Trio. She knew he wanted to become Luffy's equal.
Although most of the Straw Hats didn't care about the position in the crew, Liam wasn't the same.
Being a Vice Captain, Liam wanted to make sure he had the power to back up his command. Even if he didn't need to, he didn't think like that.
Except for maybe Luffy and Chopper, everyone knew Liam was preparing the crew for the final battle. Even Luffy knew about it, but he just didn't care.
Because of that, there was a huge pressure on his shoulders.
Maybe they didn't need to care about it.
But Liam was afraid of one thing. Losing a crew member. Accidents do happen, but Liam wanted to prevent that.
This pressure wasn't the reason why she felt unusual about Liam, but it was the reason why she couldn't ask him.
"But I am not even sure what's going on. I don't know how to ask him." Nami gritted her teeth and replied.
"Nami, you don't have to be afraid of failure. There is definitely something wrong with Liam. Even Luffy knows that, but Liam doesn't want to share it."
"We are not afraid of dangers from outside but rather misfortune that comes from the unknown. So after this battle, try your best to convince him, okay?" Robin calmly replied while patting Nami's shoulder.
Nami nodded her head and stared at the island.
'Liam, what exactly are you trying to hide?'
......…
Near Moria's Ship;
"Oh my god, is that a ship?" Vivi screamed in shock as she watched a massive ship looming inside the shadow of the clouds. The dark fog covered almost everything, making it invisible.
"That must be it." Sanji nodded his head as he walked toward the front.
"Then, what are we waiting here for?" Zoro said as he turned toward Vivi.
Vivi nodded and navigated the ship closer to the Moria's ship. But just as they were moving, they noticed another large ship.
Unlike Moria's island ship, this looked more like a normal ship even if it was massive.
"Yo, ho, ho, yo, ho, ho! Yo, ho, ho, yo, ho, ho!"
A musical sound startled them.
"G-ghost!"
Unlike others, Usopp's Observation Haki was much more clear, acting like a clairvoyance. Although he couldn't picture the exact face, it still allowed him to understand the shape and structure.
After him, Sanji and Zoro also sensed a new presence.
"Do you think it is him?" Vivi curiously asked.
"It must be that weirdo Liam was talking about." Franky nodded his head and replied.
"Vivi, skeleton! I saw a skeleton with an afro." Merry's humanoid form emerged on the deck as she shouted.
"Skeleton? It must be the one Liam was talking about." Vivi thoughtfully answered.
"Umm! Let's invite him, then."
Considering the decision of the Captain and the Vice Captain, Zoro decided to act first. He walked closer to the ship and shouted.
"Hello! Is someone here?"
"Idiot, you are shouting in the wrong direction." Sanji roared from the deck. Zoro had gone to the back of the ship which was closer to Moria's Ship rather than the Ghost Ship.
"Yo, ho, ho!"
As the ship reached closer, Sanji saw a skeleton. If he didn't know before, he would've been frightened by this sight.
But this didn't faze him.
"Hey, are you a musician?"
"Yo, ho, ho, yes, My name is Brook, and I am a musician of Rumba Pirates." Brook was surprised by Sanji's calm expression but he quickly replied.
"Do you think you can come here?" Sanji pointed at his ship and invited.
Normally, people wouldn't do this. After all, they were part of different crews.
But Brook was anything but normal. He simply nodded with a surprised look on his face and jumped.
"Woah!"
Sanji was surprised when Brooke jumped.
"This guy can jump." Vivi muttered.
"Ghost! He must be a Ghost." Since Liam didn't tell much about Brook, Usopp was still scared of him.
Even if he had, Usopp would still be scared. Because that's what he does.
"Usopp, Liam has told us about Brook. He is our new crew mate, right?"
Chopper spoke. They didn't know a lot about Brooke but they do know his connection with Laboon.
That's why even though Sanji, Vivi, Zoro, Franky, and Chopper were meeting him for the first time, they weren't disgusted by his appearance.
"Bro, I salute you."
When Brook landed on the deck, Franky immediately gave him a salute and started crying. That's what he wanted to do for a long time.
After all, the story of Laboon and Brook did make him cry a lot.
"Is he okay?" Brook was completely stunned by Franky's antics. He simply pointed at Franky while looking at Sanji and asked.
"Don't worry about him. We are Straw Hat Pirates. Our Vice Captain knows about you, and after listening to your story, we decided to invite you to join our crew."
Sanji politely extended the invitation.
"Oh, Okay!"
Brook remained stunned for a moment and then nodded his head.
"So fast!"
Chopper and Usopp shouted in shock. In their eyes, Brook didn't even think before agreeing.
"Can we have a meal? I haven't eaten anything for a long time." Brook said while patting his empty stomach.
"You are casual."
What else Sanji could say? He nodded and walked toward the kitchen.
"We have already eaten. I will make some food for you."
Saying so, he entered the kitchen.
"Brook-san, aren't you curious why we invited you and why we know you?" After hearing their conversation, Vivi also wanted to talk to their new crewmate.
"Miss..."
Brook paused for a moment and fixed his bowtie before kneeling in front of Vivi.
He gently looked at Vivi and asked.
"Miss, can I see your panties?"
Suddenly, the ship became silent.
Bang!
Suddenly, Sanji flashed above Brook and kicked him on the head.
"You bastard, Vivi-chan's panties belong to me."
"Sanji!"
A gentle call came from behind. When Sanji turned around, Vivi punched him in the face.
"My things belong to no one."
"Not even Luffy?" Suddenly, Merry appeared next to Vivi and teasingly asked.
"Merry!" Vivi suddenly turned red before angrily rubbing Merry's cheeks. She asked.
"Who taught you these things?"
"Well, you guys."
Merry innocently replied.
"Woah! Miss, can I see your panties?" Brook was stunned by Merry's sudden appearance but he immediately asked the question that he wanted to ask the most.
Bang!
"Shut up!" Vivi smashed him on the head. She no longer had that same stunned expression instead she was looking as furious as Nami.
"It looks like someone is going to take Nami's job." Usopp whistled.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Sanji sensed something. In an instant, his expression changed from a lustful smile to horrible anger.
His body turned into a bolt of lightning as he suddenly appeared in front of Vivi and spun.
Others didn't even get a chance to react. Zoro was surprised but he knew Sanji would never hurt a woman so he didn't do anything.
"You bastard"
Bang!