It had been two days since Luffy and Robin's date. Though that was just the first date.
The day before yesterday, Kuma returned late at night, bringing the message about Liam's arrival.
Since he could constantly tap himself and teleport, he could easily travel through Grandline in just a few days.
But whenever he needed to transfer someone, he must use his other method that wasn't exactly a teleportation.
He could wrap others in a bubble that he could shoot towards a certain destination. Because of the power and control of his Devil Fruit, the target would reach his destination in two to three days.
But since Kuma himself didn't take long. He easily arrived before Liam. As he got a chance to spend more time with his daughter, he wouldn't waste it on something else.
At the same time, he also went to Baltigo and told Dragon about his recent actions.
Sabo was surprised yet happy. He was genuinely happy about Kuma, who not only cured his daughter but also didn't have to give up his humanity.
Dragon was surprised, but he didn't react much. Although Kuma was one of the first revolutionaries and also a core member, it didn't matter if he joined the Straw Hat Pirates.
After all, it was his son's pirate crew.
He believed his son would have a big battle against the World Government, especially considering the nature of his Devil Fruit.
Until then, he needed to wait.
Unless he was sure that he could take down the World Government, he wouldn't foolishly attack them.
That's why he didn't do something that a Fisher Tiger did. Simply because that might cause a short-term relief to those slaves, but it would also cause long-term problems for other people.
If Celestial Dragon lost a slave, then he would go on to buy three more slaves.
They were already suffering because of the Native Hunting Competition launched by Celestial Dragons every three years.
They didn't need those celestial dragons to get more slaves.
Unless they had to power to threaten the world Government and stop them from making any move against the world.
But that was impossible. If they had such power, they wouldn't wait this long.
That's why he chose to become a Revolutionary from a Freedom Fighter.
Fighting for freedom for the people might sound nice, but what they brought was more chaos and pain.
The more slaves they saved, the more slaves Celestial Dragon got. It was almost like they were sending slaves to the Celestial Dragon.
Even though they were trying to save them.
And with the power of Freedom Fighter, they couldn't resist the World Government, especially their most powerful army, 'Holy Knights'.
Hence, they simply focused on laying low and growing their armies. So, one day, when they had a force that could threaten the World Government, they would make a move.
Dragon knew the importance of Luffy's Devil Fruit. That's also why he never interfered with Luffy's life.
On one hand, it would create more targets for Luffy's head. On the other hand, Nika represented unrestrained freedom, the ability to do anything he desired.
That kind of freedom would be restricted in the Revolutionary Army since they weren't exactly pirates.
So, Dragon was happy. With Kuma's presence, Luffy would be safe even if the Straw Hats encounter the full force of the World Government.
This was exactly what Liam told Kuma. But Kuma didn't reveal the information Liam told him.
Although he was revolutionary at his core, he didn't like betraying people, especially people who trusted him.
After Kuma returned, he also told small things that Liam had asked them to prepare.
Such as Battle Strategy.
Although Liam wasn't sure how much force Sengoku would send, he knew except for the Admirals, he wouldn't send much.
Because they needed their marines to be at their best condition.
Otherwise, they would be fighting a losing war.
Whitebeard had the power to destroy the world, and Sengoku, who had fought him several times, knew this more than anything else.
If they wanted to get a positive result, they must not suffer major casualties.
So, Sengoku would borrow people from the World Government, and considering Luffy's threat to the World Government, he would get some major help.
What worried Liam was whether they would send CP0 agents or Holy Knights.
Then, he remembered something.
While Holy Knights were the most powerful force under the Five Elder Stars, they weren't suitable for this battle.
Because their presence would allow the Revolutionary to make a move against the World Government.
Just like how Dragon was waiting for the Holy Knights to make a move, the World Government was also guarding against the Revolutionary Army.
So, it was almost impossible for them to mobilize Holy Knights for any specific pirate group.
Otherwise, why would they send CP0 agents in a battle between Luffy and Kaido?
On one hand, they didn't want to offend Kaido and lose a precious fighting force. On the other hand, Holy Knights weren't suited for this kind of job.
Holy Knights weren't sacrificial lambs for the World Government. They were elites of the elites, given power by their dear God 'Imu'.
Since the Holy Knights wouldn't come, he believed it would be CP0 agents that would make an appearance.
He wasn't sure of the exact number, but he knew the World Government would do its best to destroy Luffy.
Despite the broken ability of his Devil Fruit, Luffy was still the main threat to the World Government.
So, they would definitely send enough force to destroy the Straw Hat Pirates, or at least kill Luffy.
In this situation, he needed to prepare a backup plan.
Kuma even suggested asking for help from the Revolutionary, but Liam outright rejected that idea.
Not to mention whether Revolutionary could do anything, even if they could, he didn't want to alert Imu.
He knew almost nothing about Imu's power except that he could use the powers of Holy Knight Gunko.
Since the Five Elders and the Holy Knights had a similar kind of regeneration, he speculated that the power belonged to Imu.
This regeneration was scary powerful. He knew the Five Elders not only had regeneration but also immortality.
But just regeneration was more than enough to trouble most people. Because even Luffy in Gear Fifth couldn't bypass the Five Elders' regeneration.
This made him realize just how far away Luffy and others were from being a major threat to the World Government.
Because of his ability to keep up with real-time updates, he knew there was a way to bypass this regeneration.
Otherwise, Luffy would lose because what Luffy lacked in Gear Fifth was endurance.
In terms of raw power and Haki, he was superior to Kizaru. In terms of speed, he was almost close to Kizaru without acceleration.
Only in terms of endurance, he would lose against Kizaru. That was a major problem when his enemies could easily regenerate their lost limbs and body parts.
Because of this, he didn't want to bring the Revolutionary Army to the battle.
Only when Bonney and Law surpassed the strength of Kuma, the Straw Hats pose a real threat to the World Government.
Until then, he planned to let the World Government underestimate them.
So, instead of asking Revolutionary for help, he asked Luffy and others to contact Shakky's Rip-Off Bar and meet Rayleigh.
He also revealed that the Rayleigh might be in an auction sale.
After contacting Shakky, Luffy and others also learned the same information. They went to visit the Auction House.
Although Luffy and others sympathize with the people auctioned in this place, they didn't make any trouble and waited for Rayleigh.
Since Kemi wasn't captured by the slave hunters, they weren't supposed to have any battle in the Auction House.
Because a paramecia devil fruit was sold at the auction, they got interested and decided to buy it. After all, they had a lot of money, and Paramecia represented the unknown.
While it might be bad, it might also be good. Since the fruit wasn't identified by the auction, it was sold at the normal price.
Who would have thought it would cause a clash between Luffy and the Celestial Dragon?
Of course, the fruit wasn't the reason for the battle. It was a spark that lit the conflict.
Because when they competed, Celestial Dragon Charlos found Robin and Nami to be more beautiful than his slaves.
So, he decided to get them as his slaves.
That triggered the conflict. Before even his slaves could remind him of Luffy's identity, his words enraged Luffy.
Luffy loved all of his friends equally. But since he started his relationship with Robin, his 'love' for Robin became a bit more than for others.
If Charlos had said it when they weren't a couple, maybe Luffy wouldn't have been enraged so quickly.
But the moment he set his eyes on Robin and said those words, Luffy blasted his fist at him.
Bang!
And, it was an attack fused with Conqueror Haki.