"Noooooo!"
A roar came from the surroundings. Nobody knew what was happening. The entire crew, except for Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, was panicking.
Naruto had already left.
At that moment, their boat suddenly appeared in front of them, sailing in a straight, rainbow-colored pathway.
"Wait, did we pass?"
Nami's eyes were in a state of disbelief as she stared at her ship.
A voice rang in the cosmos, its tone filled with anger and hatred.
"Yes, you passed. You cheated, but you passed."
Luffy didn't know where the voice was coming from. Unlike Naruto, who saw this presence, Luffy had no clue.
He pulled his lower eyelid and said.
"It's your fault for forcing them to do something they didn't want."
"I promised to give them rewards and change their destiny, to give them the happy life they always wanted."
Luffy suddenly put down his hand as his playful demeanor disappeared, replaced with strong anger.
"Who are you to decide their happiness by controlling them like puppets?"
The voice in the cosmos became hoarser.
"Shut up! You are just a little brat who hasn't even grown up. You didn't even lose your brother. You don't understand what it means to lose someone."
At this moment, it paused as it realized something.
Luffy didn't speak, but his anger was boiling. Instead of Luffy, Sanji pulled out a cigarette, lit it up, and released a puff of smoke.
"Idiot! You understand nothing. You watch our lives from outside, trying to believe that by changing something you can make us happy, but you never understand the truth."
"It's every day, every moment that we spend with joy, living our lives to the fullest, where we are truly happy."
"Every one of us has lost someone close to us, someone who holds dear in our hearts. Luffy didn't lose his brother, but he felt that pain."
"The pain didn't vanish. It was just suppressed. Sabo didn't die, but for Luffy, for ten years, he was dead."
"Saul didn't die, but for Robin, for twenty years, he was dead. Some of us truly lost our loved ones, but those wounds slowly healed."
Sanji looked high into the sky and said.
"Loss is not something you are to decide to change. It's something we decide to live with."
"That guy Naruto decided to go back and save his family because he doesn't trust someone like you who can't even understand his pain."
"I know what you're doing. You are trying to release your anger on us. Too bad! You can't even reach us."
When Sanji said that, the voice silently disappeared.
Luffy didn't feel the presence, but he felt strangely free. He looked at Sanji with confusion and asked.
"Why can't he reach us? Aren't we just here?"
"Idiot! Do you think that thing will send us here without properly arranging everything?"
"If it knew we're gonna lose, why even send us here? It sends us here because we don't need to worry about Godly being like that voice."
Sanji scolded him and answered.
Robin's eyes flashed with surprise as she said.
"So, that thing had already made the preparations in case we win somehow?"
Sanji shrugged his shoulders.
"I am just guessing. Otherwise, there is no way that person won't do anything to us. Didn't you hear the anger in his tone?"
"He told us that we cheated, but he couldn't do anything. He tried to control Naruto, but Naruto slipped out of his fingers."
"But I bet he will retaliate against us and Naruto in one way or another."
Hearing his words, everyone's expression except Luffy's changed drastically.
This was a God. It wasn't like those Celestial Dragons. This person could create their world and obviously destroy it.
Luffy saw their expressions and waved his hand.
"Didn't you see what Naruto did? Can't we just do the same?"
"Luffy, our power system is completely different."
Sanji exclaimed, trying to get this statement through his Captain's thick skull.
Luffy nodded and said.
"But we have Haki."
"Luffy, Haki is strong, but that guy literally tore the space and left this place. His energy was shaking this entire cosmos."
Usopp shouted, almost bursting into tears.
"Then, we will just make our Haki stronger."
Luffy continued with a similar statement.
At this moment, Zoro and Sanji narrowed their eyes as if they had gained some kind of understanding.
Sanji released a puff of smoke and said.
"I bet you are the only person in our world who can think like that, Luffy. Well, that's exactly why you are my Captain."
Zoro grinned.
"That's right! If our Haki is not strong enough, then we will just get stronger."
Robin's eyes widened in surprise as she slapped her fist on her palm and said.
"I see! Haki is the manifestation of our Willpower. When our Willpower can be sustained by our bodies, Haki manifests automatically."
"That means the stronger our body becomes, the stronger our Haki gets. As long as our Willpower doesn't stop growing, our Haki will keep getting stronger."
Her words brought surprise to other members of the crew. Unlike Zoro and Sanji, they didn't understand Luffy's underlying meaning behind his words.
On the other hand, Robin was exceptionally smart. So after getting a few clues, she immediately understood.
Her understanding helped others understand as well.
Chopper looked at Usopp and asked.
"So, if we get stronger, our Haki will also grow stronger?"
Usopp nodded.
"Yes, indeed! Haki is our Willpower. You have seen Luffy's Conqueror Haki grow."
"At first, it was strong but not that powerful. But after Luffy fought Kaido on that island, his Conqueror Haki became stronger."
"The more enemies he fought, the stronger it became. After Luffy went to that world, saved Ace, and returned, his Conqueror Haki became even stronger."
"So, as long as he keeps getting stronger, his Haki will grow stronger, and Armament Haki is the power to attack untouchable powers."
"That means even if that person is a god, as long as Luffy's Haki gets stronger, he can punch the God."
"Wow! So cool, Luffy!"
Chopper's eyes sparkled with joy as he turned towards Luffy.
Zoro rolled his eyes.
"He might get stronger in the future, but for now, he has gotten weaker. Can your current body handle your Conqueror Haki?"
Unlike before, Luffy didn't release his Conqueror Haki immediately; instead, he shook his head.
"It can, but I will get tired pretty quickly."
Zoro nodded.
Robin worriedly said.
"It's best if we can get some training, especially for Luffy. According to Liam, Luffy has incredible talent, but his growth was mostly sustained by his Devil Fruit.
"So, if you want to retain his strength, you must get a few years of training. You also need some rest."
Luffy waved his hand.
"We can talk about that later. For now, let's just bring back Liam! Don't forget why we came here."
Luffy pointed at the rainbow bridge that was taking them away.
"Liam!"
Nami clenched her fists, anxiously waiting as their ship crossed several universes, moving towards Liam's universe.
"Luffy, this time we won because of our opponents."
Sanji decided to stir the conversation, bringing it to their previous matches.
"Ahh! I didn't. I defeated that blond woman fair and square."
Usopp immediately raised his hand.
Zoro gave Sanji a puzzled look and said.
"My opponent blinded both of his eyes just to kill me."
On the other hand, Chopper happily shouted.
"My opponent gave me an easy win. He said we shouldn't be afraid of sacrifices. From now on, I will never be afraid of anything."
Franky gave his iconic pose before saying.
"My opponent was dead set on killing me."
Brook moved his cane and burst into a laughter of joy.
"Yohoho! My opponent was a good boy. He gave me the win."
Robin chuckled.
"My opponent wasn't that bad."
Sanji muttered.
"Am I the only one who got a tough bastard who was trying to hold back as much as possible?"
Nami raised her hand.
"My opponent was cold and calculated. He didn't hold back."
Hearing that, Luffy chuckled.
"Our opponents had their own personalities. Naruto was conflicted. He wanted to give me the opportunity to save my friend, but he also wanted to change his past."
"Eventually, he figured out the solution by himself. He just used the strength that he got from this place and used it against the one who gave him that strength."
"He broke free from needing to choose. I bet we will meet him one day."
Just as he said that, their ship suddenly passed through the membrane of a universe, and the ship stopped.
Their bodies stumbled forward, transforming from 2d to 3d as they fell into a portal.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
All nine of them fell into a medium-sized room. There was a tall man with a jacked body, sitting on a chair, turning the pages of One Piece Manga.
Just as he turned around, the look on his face froze.
Luffy, wearing his straw hat, raised his hand.
"Yo, Liam! We're to pick you up."