Three Days Later;
"Luffy! Luffy!"
Usopp, standing in front of the Captain's room, kept banging on the door.
A few seconds later, Luffy slowly opened the door and hoarsely spoke.
"What is it?"
At this moment, Luffy was almost scrawny like an old man. A large dark circle surrounded his eye.
And, his aura was just reeking with depression.
Seeing Luffy like this, Usopp couldn't help but feel depressed.
After all, Luffy had barely eaten anything in these three days. The same Luffy who loved meat more than anything else.
His aura had disappeared. At this moment, his Haki had grown weak as well.
He knew all of this had happened because they hadn't found any clues about Liam.
Since Liam's disappearance, they tried searching for clues, brainstorming ideas, and even contacted Vegapunk, but didn't gain any information.
Thinking about Liam, Usopp's depression disappeared, replaced by a huge grin as he said.
"Luffy, we found Liam's trail."
"What?"
Luffy was stunned for a moment before he shouted in shock.
"Yeah! Let's go! We haven't talked about the situation. We need you."
Usopp grabbed Luffy and pulled him to the meeting room.
Inside the meeting room, everyone was standing around a transponder snail.
"Tako, Luffy is here. Tell us everything!"
When Luffy entered the room, Zoro picked up the microphone and spoke with a serious tone.
Luffa walked in front of the transponder snail, and soon, it started speaking.
"Captain Luffy, we've found Vice Captain Liam in East Blue, but there is a problem with him."
When he said that, Luffy's eyes lit up and his face beamed with joy.
But he noticed others' grim expressions and asked.
"What's the problem?"
"Except for the face that matches him five months ago, he looks nothing like Vice Captain Liam. Even his strength is the same as an ordinary person."
"In fact, we captured him thinking he was impersonating a Vice Captain. But after we captured him, we found even more problems with him."
"He only remembers when his captain was attacked by the Alvida Pirates."
Luffy rubbed his head in confusion and turned his head towards Robin.
She picked up the microphone and spoke.
"So, how did you come to the conclusion that he is Vice Captain Liam?"
"It was thanks to our newly recruited member, Miss Robin. He calls himself a huge fan of the Straw Hat Pirates."
"He has found almost every single detail about the crew, including our past. He even found the identity of Vice Captain Liam."
"I never expected Vice Captain to be a merchant from a small town called Lotusfront. It was thanks to him that we concluded that he is indeed the Vice Captain."
"But his strength is very questionable."
"More importantly, the last thing he remembers is the attack from the Alvida Pirates, but the last time they were spotted was until Captain Luffy defeated Alvida."
After the transponder snail turned silent, Nami whispered.
"Normally, I would've forgotten this, but we did meet on a Passenger Ship during Alvida's attack. At that time, he invited me for a dance."
"I ditched him and went to steal treasures from the Alvida Pirates."
Luffy suddenly remembered something and slapped his head.
"I remember. Liam joined me after I defeated Alvida. But, why would Liam suddenly go back to East Blue?"
Robin rolled her eyes and explained.
"Luffy, it's not Liam. At least, it's not Liam we are familiar with. So, what should we do?"
When Luffy heard her, he turned silent.
He clenched his fist and said.
"It has been three days. Three days and we haven't found any way to find him. Now that he has suddenly appeared, how can we not meet him?"
"Even if he is not Liam, he must be related to Liam, right?"
Sanji smiled and nodded his head.
"Yes, Captain! There are no coincidences. If the last thing he remembers is the time before the Alvida Pirates' attack, it can only mean one thing."
Nami's eyes lit up and her face turned rosy as she thought about it.
"He isn't Liam, but he is somehow connected with Liam. If we can find him, we might find more clues about Liam."
Luffy picked up the microphone and said.
"Keep an eye on him! We will arrive there soon."
"Yes, Captain Luffy!"
The transponder snail's voice turned scary loud and enthusiastic.
After putting it down, Luffy turned towards his crew and said.
"Everyone, let's go back to East Blue!"
"Captain Luffy, would you like me to use my powers?" Kuma softly asked.
Luffy thought for a moment and nodded his head.
Although this would consume a lot of Kuma's power, he was partially a cyborg. So, he would be able to hold on for quite some time.
Suddenly, Nami spoke.
"Wait, Kuma, we need your powers, but not now."
"Huh? Why?" Luffy confusedly asked.
"We can easily pass through a normal sea, but we need Kuma's power while crossing the Calm Belt."
Nami took out the map and pointed at the East Blue.
"To return there, we need to cross the Reverse Mountain or Calm Belt. Considering how we don't have much control at the top."
"I think choosing the Calm Belt is a better option. We can directly cross the Calm Belt and enter East Blue since we are still in the first half of the grandline."
Hearing that, others nodded their heads.
It was much better to let Kuma slap their ship when approaching the Calm Belt. After all, it was the fastest route to the East Blue.
"Is that so?"
Luffy nodded his head, but he didn't understand half of the navigation stuff. If it wasn't for Liam and Robin, he wouldn't even understand ten percent of it.
Soon, the ship started sailing towards the Calm Belt.
As soon as their ship moved, there was a huge turmoil in the Marine Headquarters.
"Are you sure the Straw Hat Ship is approaching the Calm Belt?"
"Yes, sir! It has been eight hours. They haven't changed their route."
"Keep an eye on them! I need their real-time info."
"Yes, Sir!"
As he heard that, Sengoku slapped the microphone on the Transponder Snail.
He placed his elbows on the desk and asked.
"What do you think? There has been no sighting of Liam for three days, and now, they are heading towards East Blue. Something doesn't feel right."
"Could it be Liam returned to East Blue using Kuma's power?" Vice Admiral Tsuru asked.
But she quickly shook her head and continued.
"There has been no movement from their ship for three days. If Liam had returned to the East Blue using Kuma's power, it would've been a normal thing."
"And under normal circumstances, there is no need for the crew to remain silent for three days, especially a crew with young pirates."
"Garp, what do you think?" Sengoku turned towards the old man, who wasn't trying to sleep for the first time.
Garp suddenly came to his senses and answered.
"I don't know. I am more curious about his state during the war. Don't tell me you didn't notice it?"
Sengoku nodded his head and said.
"It was weird. I could only feel half of his body as if the other half had somehow vanished."
"Originally, I thought he was using Observation Killer, but I was proven wrong when I saw his invisible other half."
"That's why I am very confused. Could it be that he is dead?"
There was a deep silence in the room.
It was unbelievable to them that some of Liam's caliber could die so easily.
At this moment, Aokiji opened his eyes and said.
"Do we really need to discuss this?"
"What do you mean, Aokiji-san? This is an important discussion about an Emperor crew." A Vice Admiral spoke.
Aokiji didn't even glance at him. He looked at Sengoku and said.
"No matter what happens to Liam, it doesn't change the fact that the Marines lost this war."
"Are we going to waste our time talking about these irrelevant topics, or should we do something about our loss?"
At this moment, Akainu looked at his fellow admiral with astonished eyes.
He never expected someone to close the topic about Straw Hats, and that person happened to be Kuzan.
Tsuru looked at him and said.
"Then, what do you suggest?"
Aokiji spoke.
"We lost this war. We lost people's trust. We are nothing but stray dogs trying to hold the banner of justice."
"You can't expect the public to trust us if you don't start over."
Akainu's eyes narrowed while Sengoku stared at him for a long time before asking.
"So? You want us to gain public trust first?"
Aokiji stood up and spoke.
"Pirates won this war. There will be more of them, and more civilians will suffer. Instead of targeting these emperors, try to destroy and suppress upcoming waves of pirates."
At this moment, he reached for the door and said.
"Sengoku-san, a little guy once told me something interesting. If Marines can't even understand who they are protecting, they will not be the ones to save this world."