Straw Hats were now alone.
Without Liam's projection, they just sat down, waiting for their ship to travel through a long river of space-time.
Although they were busy with their own ideas.
Zoro was simply sharpening his sword while Usopp was making several metal items that could help him in the next battle.
Nami was tinkering with her Clim-tact, using Sanji to infuse more of the extra lightning into the battery of this staff.
Franky was fiddling with his body while Brook was sipping tea.
Luffy and Robin were sticking close, like really close. It was mostly Luffy lying on Robin's lap, with his face turned towards her stomach.
But they were staying a bit further away from others.
It was Robin's request.
While massaging his hair, Robin softly asked.
"Are you alright, Luffy?"
"Robin, am I doing the right thing?"
Luffy whispered.
"Luffy, for me and for the crew, your decision will never be wrong." Robin smiled and replied.
"You know, I am starting to hate my brain."
Robin became silent at his words because she knew how difficult this decision was for Luffy.
"If I were just as dumb as before, I wouldn't even worry for a second. Even if I knew the strength gap, I wouldn't give it a second thought."
"But now...I feel desperate. I don't know if my choices are right. I don't want to think negatively."
"But I really worried, Robin. I am worried I will lose one friend for another. I am worried I will lose more friends for nothing."
"I hate this, Robin. I hate thinking."
He didn't cry or even speak out loud. His voice was as small as a mouse. But it was full of pain.
Because of his words, Robin couldn't hold back her tears.
Just as it hurts Luffy, it hurts her even more.
Luffy never thought much before. It started after the news of Ace.
After that, Luffy became serious and started thinking. For her and the crew, it was a good thing.
Luffy only had one shortcoming, and it was his brain.
It wasn't that Luffy was dumb. He simply didn't like thinking.
Because of this, he became dumber. Liam changed his habit, forcing him to think about every situation.
This slowly cleared his brain and made him bright.
But as he said, sometimes being able to think wasn't truly a blessing.
On one hand, he had other partners he couldn't lose. On the other hand, he had one partner whom he couldn't leave behind.
This challenged his mental fortitude.
Luffy wasn't afraid of risking his life, but when he thought about risking his partner's life, he became scared.
"Luffy, this is normal, isn't it? Because of Liam, you started thinking. Because of Liam, we didn't go through many painful moments we could've gone through."
"It is normal for you to be afraid. You are not the same Luffy who started from Windmill Village in a dinghy."
"You are one of the Emperors of the Sea. Luffy, you are the Strongest Man in the World."
"Even that thing told you before. You are at the peak of strength in our world. Once we find One Piece and complete our journey…"
Robin slowly turned his head and pointed towards the space.
"We will be able to explore and go on an adventure outside our world. Imagine just how amazing that journey will be."
"So, we need to get Liam back, don't we?"
Her words struck him.
Yeah! He wasn't just nobody. He was the Emperor of the Sea.
He was the strongest in his world. His crew was the Emperor Crew.
So, why was he afraid of losing?
"Thank you, Robin!"
Luffy rose from her lap and suddenly pressed his lips on hers.
Robin was surprised as her pupils dilated. Especially since Luffy had never kissed her outside.
But she savored this kiss. It felt good. Having Luffy's lips on her gave her the strength to face this challenge.
She was also afraid. Unlike others, she was afraid of the mental pressure that Luffy had.
She had seen his transformation. She knew how much burden he was carrying with this decision.
But this kiss truly helped her feel relieved. That burden hadn't disappeared, but now, Luffy was more than capable of lifting it.
After a long time, their lips slowly separated, and Luffy pressed his forehead against hers as he chuckled.
"Robin, will you promise me something?"
"What is it, Dear?"
"Once we save Liam and return to our world…"
He moved his face closer to her ear and continued.
"You will use clones."
When Robin heard that, she immediately understood what he meant. Her face turned red with embarrassment.
Luffy wasn't a guy with kinks, but when he realized she could give him pleasure from a distance, he started asking for more and more.
Until now, she hadn't used her clones.
That's because she wasn't sure how Luffy would handle it.
"Alright then, I can't wait to bring back Liam."
Luffy laughed and walked away.
"Luffy!"
Robin angrily scolded out his name while blushing hard. She understood he was using that reward as a motivation to save Liam.
And, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of it.
But as a mature elder sister of the crew, she quickly regained her normal expression and stood up.
Suddenly, their ship passed through a strange barrier and came in front of a dark space.
But unlike the previous river, it stopped in front of a gigantic land.
They were able to see a large part of this land from afar, but the closer they got, the more massive it felt.
Robin and Sanji quickly noticed something.
"Don't tell me this is the size of our planet, but just as a flat surface?"
"It seems like a perfect battleground to me."
Zoro smirked as he took out two of his swords.
Luffy stood in front of the others and took a deep breath. He turned back and spoke.
"Once we go there, we will be facing enemies stronger than us. But, isn't that how it's supposed to be?"
When Luffy smiled, others smiled with him.
"Liam made our lives better. So, we need to make his life perfect. This will not be a one-time trip."
"We will fight, and we will get stronger here. We will get Liam back and complete our journey."
"Then, we will help Liam return to his world. So, engrave this battle in your mind! It will not be our final battle."
"It is just a start."
As he said, the ship finally reached the shore.
Luffy jumped and landed on the ground. Even though he landed with a considerable force, there was not a single crack on the ground.
Soon, he was joined by others. One by one, they jumped and stood next to Luffy.
They were wearing the usual outfits that they wore during the war. They didn't walk for long before they sensed several people coming their way.
There were nine of them.
A tall man with orange hair stood in the middle. He was the one with the strongest presence.
Next to him stood two people with strongest strongest presence. One of them had black hair and a slender physique, very much like Luffy.
He held a sword sheathed at his waist.
Another was a tall guy with orange spiky hair who held a large katana on his back.
Next to them were finally six people with a similar level of presence.
The ones on the right side were two females and one male.
Of the two girls, one had pink hair while the other had yellow hair. These two girls had a thin build, but not a zero figure like Nami and Robin.
Unlike them, the boy wore a shirt with white pants. The shirt had a red pattern on the front, surrounding his buttons.
He also held a book in his hand, looking quite nonchalant. He wore a robe over his back, with a badge on the right side of the robe.
On the left side, there were two males and one female.
The girl was an average height with silver hair and a pink skirt. She wore a black scarf around her neck with the logo of a bull.
One of the males was a guy with pink hair wearing a black dress and red scarf.
The final one was a man wearing a suit that had the logo of a spider.
These nine were the manifestation of people from the multiverse.
Naruto Uzumaki (Baryon Mode- Unlimited), Ichigo Kurosaki (Bankai), Sasuke Uchiha (MS), Sakura (Kazekage Rescue), Temari (Kazekage Rescue), Yuno (Royal Capital Assault), Noelle Silva (Seabed Temple), Yuji Itadori (Final Battle), and Spiderman (Normal Version)
Versus
Monkey D Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Usopp, Nami, Franky, Chopper, and Broke.
"Everyone!"
"Let's go!"
Luffy shouted as his body flung towards Naruto, with his fist coated in Armament Haki and Supreme King Haki as he punched straight towards Naruto.
Naruto instantly entered Baryon Mode and punched back.
Bang!