One Piece: Halfway Broken

(Chapters 109 & 110)

Novus Peregrine

Disclaimer: I am, very tragically, not in charge of One Piece. All rights to One Piece belong to Oda Eiichiro and his publishers (so far as I'm aware).

Chapter 109: Deep Dive

“Huh, this isn’t something you see every day.”

Despite Rayleigh’s relatively calm tone, Luffy could tell even he was surprised as he watched the Discovery preparing to dive. Admittedly, Jinbe’s nearly-popping-out-of-his-head-eyes were funnier, but Luffy took a bit more perverse pride in surprisingly the Dark King of all people. Not that he could exactly blame them. Not when Luffy had decided, after getting a personal promise of silence from both of them, to reveal Dis. Both men had been genuinely startled when Dis’s ‘dryad’ form, which had previously been hiding and inactive, showed up and started talking to them. A living ship was a new one to both of them, let alone one that could casually take on a form that let it talk with its crew.

Of course, that had only been the first of several blows to their world views, which had resulted in such visible surprise from Jinbe, and at least a considerable amount of feeling of surprise from even Rayleigh. Luffy had very carefully considered the pros and cons, even running his thoughts by several other members of the crew, but had ultimately decided these two were both trustworthy and that there was too much to gain to leave them ignorant. Which is why, even as the two men watched in fascination, Dis was openly growing the Treasure Tree Wood shell that they used to turn the ship into a submersible. Revealing their ‘source’ of Adam Wood might be a bit of a risk in some ways…but there was a pointed reason to do it.

“I think you can see now why we want someone to teach us ship-coating, rather than just applying the coating, yes? Dis can grow the Yarukiman Mangroves needed to produce the resin used, which means we could apply the coating essentially anywhere. While the wooden shell is sufficient that we could probably make it all the way down to Fishman Island even without a coating, it would attract attention that we don’t really want.”

Jinbe was still at a loss for words, but Rayleigh was once again proving just how used to complete and utter bullshit his life had left him. Luffy, disappointingly, could feel him already moving past ‘surprise’ and into contemplation. Thankfully, he also nodded at Luffy’s half-question, half-observation.

“Yes, I can see the reasons now. I admit, I had wondered just how you escaped the Archipelago so easily. Even with the distraction of events at Marineford, they whipped up a manhunt for you after events there. Albeit a weak one initially, since your other members sunk most of the local Marine ships. Some of the God’s Knights actually descended to look for you, but couldn’t find anything. I take it the Discovery was already underwater and out to sea when the Princess retrieved you?”

Luffy nodded, even as he filed away Rayleigh’s mention of that particular group. He still didn’t know anything about these ‘God’s Knights.’ If Rayleigh did, he would need to see about getting the information out of the old man. The fact that Garp, of all people, thought they were dangerous enough to cut a deal with the WG over? One intended to temporarily protect him and his crew? That said they were a group to be very wary of.

Jinbe finally shook his shock off enough to join the conversation a moment later.

“Not revealing your source of Adam Wood, or the amount of it you can lay hands on, is also quite understandable. It would make you an even larger target than you already are. I will not forget my word to keep this too myself.”

Luffy nodded his thanks, glad he could feel the sincerity in the older man’s emotions. So far, he had a very positive impression of Jinbe, but it had admittedly been a bit risky to reveal this to him. Rayleigh was at least predicable in being against the WG, whereas Fishman Island had a significant and recent history of trying to become a member of it. Something like a limitless amount of Adam might well be a large enough chip to bribe the Celestial Dragons into actually seriously considering that, rather than just toying with the Fishmen and Neptune Royal Family.

Which, so far as Luffy could tell, it what had been happening with the effort. It wasn’t like petitions were legitimately going to move arrogant sociopaths like the Celestial Twats into changing their mind, after all. Doubly so when it would make it harder to get Mermaid slaves, which were a favorite ‘exotic’ they liked collecting. Why anyone in their Royal Family had thought that would work, Luffy wasn’t sure. Naivete, he supposed. Or perhaps a degree of ignorance? Neither were exactly something you wanted to see in people in power, but Luffy was trying hard not to allow that thought to color his opinion of the Neptunes before he even met them.

“Well, I suppose I should talk to you and Dis about the process of coating, then. It’s a bit more of an art than a science, but with plenty of resin to waste, I should be able to teach you the trick of it without too much effort. The ability to produce more of it, mid-journey, if something happens to the bubble, will help you a lot as well.”

Luffy breathed a sigh of relief at Rayleigh’s agreement. It would likely mean a few days longer to reach Fishman Island, but the hurry wasn’t that critical yet. They’d made good time reaching where they were, which was roughly a day out of Sabaody itself, following a Virve Card of Shaaky in Rayleigh’s possession. They’d make the rest of the trip underwater, then coat the ship in a hidden dock Rayleigh knew of in the Archipelago. That way, they could make the dive down the Fishman Island without revealing Dis’s abilities…

… … …

Between the size of the Discovery, her unusual shape, and the fact that Rayleigh was teaching as he went, it ended up taking almost five days after reaching the Archipelago to finish the coating process. Luffy felt that he at least got the basics down, and Jinbe promised that the Bubble Craftsmen of Fishman Island would help him finish learning. At least, assuming that King Neptune agreed to the Alliance that had been worked out.

The Knight of the Sea seemed extremely confident that the King would agree, and Luffy couldn’t blame him. By now, Jozu would have long-since crossed through to return to the New World and informed the King that the Whitebeard’s Sons had agreed to the deal. Which meant that King Neptune would be in a very awkward position if he didn’t agree to it. An awkward position that stood to annoy several major groups, from the Whitebeard’s Sons to the Albastian Alliance, and possibly even including the Revolutionary Army. Frankly, the Strawhats themselves were likely the least problematic to annoy of those involved, despite Vivi’s Devil Fruit abilities being the lynchpin making the entre thing possible.

King Neptune would be even less likely to disagree, Luffy thought, considering that Boa herself would be in attendance for the meeting. Via Vivi Express, of course. Both to prove that the ability worked, and because arriving that way had allowed Hancock to stay behind and see to some additional defenses now being installed on Amazon Lily. With the first transfer of Dial-Enhanced guns from Alabasta, and the first of Amazon Lily’s trainers off to Alabasta in exchange, the Empress didn’t want to be away from the island longer than necessary at the moment. Technically, even if the Fishman portion of the Alliance fell through, the agreements between Amazon Lily, Alabasta, and the Strawhats had already be cast in proverbial stone.

That wasn’t the focus for the moment, however. First they had to actually get to Fishman Island. Thankfully, while Rayleigh had departed before they dove, they had the best possible guide with them still. Jinbe had, with Luffy and Nami’s permission, taken over the helm, and was now explaining the path he was guiding them on to everyone as they stared out in fascination at the dimming waters around them and the odd fish within it. The view was much more spectacular without the wooden shell they used previously in the way.

“Fishman island rests 32,000 feet under the surface, and the only way to reach it is by traversing a downwelling current. The vast majority of ships use the main current, the one publicly known to exist, but the reality is that there are several such in the vicinity around Fishman Island. The extreme cold of the section of the Red Line directly over Fishman Island helps create them, since it conflicts with Fishman Island’s own Summer Island nature. While few realize it, the Red Line can really be likened to an entire series of linked Islands. Each of which have their own climate, which interact with that of Fishman Island. All of which creates the currents we are using. The path we are taking is to one of the lesser-known currents, which can’t be used without a Fishman guide to read the currents for you.”

Luffy nodded along with that, even if he only partially understood. Still, there was an obvious question.

“Why not take the main current? It’s the path that most ships use, right?”

Jinbe nodded without hesitation.

“It is. However, that also means that arrivals via that current, which ends near the port that allows entry into the Fishman Island bubble, is watched. Even if they don’t openly interfere, the World Government keeps an eye on who passes through Fishman Island when they can. Likewise, several other major groups, including dissident groups of Fishman that disagree with some of King Neptune’s policies, keep an eye on the main approach. By using a lesser-known current, we can arrive at Fishman Island without complications.”

Ah. This was something that Luffy still knew about from his first life. He had watched the Fishman Island Arc, the last gasp of the original show he’d seen before losing interest and only picking bits and pieces up from others.

“Hody Jones and the New Fishman Pirates?”

Jinbe looked almost as surprised at Luffy producing those names as he had at Dis, it taking the Fishman several seconds to stop staring.

“Yes. Along with one other who is a particular annoyance to the Royal Family. I have to ask, how did you know about him? He has largely been a problem only for those approaching Fishman Island, and none of your crew have ever been.”

Luffy hummed, deciding how to answer that, since it was really meta-knowledge at work. Still, assuming Hody had been operating the same way that he witnessed in the arc of the anime…

“He occasionally spares humans specifically to spread word about him. I imagine he’s done more harm to the idea of peace between Fishman and humans than anyone else alive. Even the World Government are more dismissive of the idea than anything. Also, there are the persistent rumors that he’s been known to brag about being the one to kill Queen Otohime. Though I don’t know if those are true or not.”

Luffy did, in fact, know. At least…probably. There had been things different between his meta knowledge and this reality, after all. Even if they were usually butterfly effects influenced, not all of them were. Still, he doubted this was one such case, as Hody had blatantly and openly bragged about it in the Fishman Island arc. Luffy just didn’t have any way to prove that to Jinbe and could, in fact, feel his disbelief. Which is why he’d phrased it carefully. Best to plant the seed of the idea, without outright insisting it was true.

“I…cannot believe he would go so far. I know he truly hates humans, but Queen Otohime was wildly beloved. No, it is beyond belief that it was a Fishman who killed her.”

Jinbe…it felt like he wanted to believe that, but that there was a seed of dark doubt haunting him. Which is really all Luffy wanted. If they were going to be allies, better Jinbe be on the lookout for the trouble Hody was brewing up. If there was a way to cut that trouble short while they were visiting the island, Luffy was all for it. Yet, he suspected they might not be so lucky. Vander Drecken was likely a problem they could help deal with more easily, but until Hody revealed the depths of his plans, it might be viewed poorly by the common Fishman for an outsider to deal with him. At least some of them hated humans enough to support the psycho, after all, and Luffy had very little concept of how much of the population that was.

Whatever the truth was, Jinbe shrugged off the dark thoughts after a few moments and pointed outside the bubble at…a waterfall? No, that must be the downwelling current they were here for, though it looked very much like a spectacular waterfall under the sea. Luffy felt himself grinning hugely. The Grand Line was so cool.

“There’s the current. I’ll bring us in at an angle so it’s not too rough a transition. I must say, the Discovery is a delightful ship to helm. Normally, you need to tame a sea-beast or hire Fishman-assistance to move so easily under the waves as her engines allow.”

Luffy couldn’t help but puff up with pride a bit at that, even as Dis, hovering around Jinbe in dryad-form, blushed a bit at the praise. There was no time to say anything before Jinbe brought them into line with the deep plume, though. Despite saying he’d make it a ‘gentle’ transition, the abrupt rush of movement still stole everyone’s attention as they were yanked into the current. They were pulled into a steep downward dive, more extreme than anything since their final, barely controlled descent from Wind’s Home. The speed of it caught everyone but Jinbe off guard, while the Fishman himself calmly adjusted the ship to ride the very center of the current.

As they descended, what little light had still been coming from the surface began to fade entirely. Unlike most ships, however, the Discovery was well equipped for the Deep Sea. Floodlights, some from her original design and some Luffy had added only after first developing the ability for the ship to submerge, flickered on. Powered by the potent turbines, themselves powered by the Goro Goro no Mi, the floodlights were more than strong enough to illuminate a sizable sphere around the ship. Something which allowed them to see the increasingly weird sea life that either got caught up in, or was deliberately riding, the current with them.

“Truly, this is a remarkable ship. Even I have rarely seen the Deep Sea so well lit before, outside of the area around Fishman island itself, of course. As you can see, the complete lack of light down here has caused many of its inhabitants to forgo eyes as the developed, with such being normally quite useless down here.”

Even as various members of the crew ooh and aahed over the strange aquatic creatures, many of which Jinbe calmly identified for them, Nami was frowning out at…smoke? She pointed out to what looked like smoke under the water, raising her voice to ask Jinbe about it.

“Are those undersea volcanoes? Those thermal vents looked awfully active to me.”

Jinbe nodded, still calm thankfully.

“They are. If we were taking the Great Plume down, we’d have to worry about possible eruptions. Their heat, contrasting so sharply with the arctic chill from this section of the Red Line, is what creates the main Plume. Occasional eruptions are a serious risk and, combined with Deep Sea monsters and occasional attacks by the New Fishman Pirates, are part of why only thirty percent of all ships that attempt this trip actually reach Fishman Island.”

Usopp and Chopper both paled at that. Neither were exactly cowards, as Luffy remembered them from a screen in his past life. But they weren’t overly fond of hearing things like that either. Nami, who would have made up the final member of the original ‘coward trio’ in another life, barely even blinked. Instead, she only hummed, cocking her head for a moment before nodding and addressing their guide.

“I’m guessing the biggest chunk are those who don’t consider how to properly move around down here. Without the Discovery’s engines, they’d need to either read the currents perfectly, or else tame a sea-beast like you mentioned earlier. Is the current-reading what Fishman guides due for ships that hire them?”

Jinbe smiled broadly as he nodded at Nami.

“Quite! While seventy percent of all ships that attempt the trip fail…that number changes to nearly ninety percent success if you include only those that have a Fishman Guide with them. The Guides Guild is only open to legitimate merchant shipping, and helps maintain vaguely stable trade with the surface. Even the New Fishman Pirates don’t bother ships with one of their guides aboard, so they only have to worry about unlucky eruptions or particularly nasty sea life, such as the Kraken.”

Luffy nearly laughed as Chopper and Usopp breathed a visible sigh of relief. He’d known about all of those risks already, but dismissed most of them easily. Conqueror’s Haki could easily scare off anything that decided they looked like food, and the Discovery was far tougher than most ships. Add in Jinbe of all people as a guide? There had probably never been a safer descent to Fishman Island.

“Ah, we’re nearly at the end of the current. We’ll hit the Deep Current we want in just a few moments…”

Jinbe had steered them to the side of the failing downwelling current, and the ship slowed abruptly as he smoothly transitioned them to another current that was running more calmly along the ocean floor. So calmly, in fact, that it was only the Discovery’s engines that kept them moving at more than a few knots.

“We’ve reached the first shelf, roughly 20,000 feet under the ocean. We’ll need to travel a short way to where the shelf falls off, then descend father down to Fishman Island. Since the island itself is a Summer Island, the downwelling currents don’t carry us that far. Normally, it’s the most dangerous part of the descent for humans, as the Deep Currents are quite slow and leave them open to running out of air or being targeted by foes during this leg. Yet your ship won’t have that problem. At worst, we might need to scare off a monster or two. The pirates won’t bother any ship I’m on. Not even Hody, who disagrees with my stance on things. Nor is this a well-traveled route that they’d keep an eye on anyway.”

Even the less courageous of the crew settled down at that, and Sanji broke up the quiet as they all watched the sea life with questions about how some of it tasted. Jinbe seemed surprised by that at first, before cheerfully pointing out some Fishman and Mermaid staples and delicacies. Some sounded delicious…other a bit suspect, causing Luffy to wonder just how different Fishman tastebuds were…

… … …

Ultimately, after a plunge another 12,000 feet down to the bottom of the trench Fishman Island resided in, they did have to run off a couple of larger Sea Beasts with brief bursts of Conqueror’s Haki. Aside from that, the remaining trip had been otherwise uneventful. Not eventual, that was, until a far greater light began to radiate in the water and they were all left marveling at their first sight of Fishman Island itself. It was now above them, a vast sphere of the same sort of Bubble that surrounded their ship. Luffy scratched his head at that, not having considered before just how it was doing that. After all, the whole point in the Bubble Coating was to make a ship sink to the bottom. When he asked that, Jinbe surprised him with a laugh.

“You know, I think you’re the first human I’ve ever heard ask that? Not that it is secret, mind you. Most are simply too overwhelmed by the other impossible things by this point to ask, I suspect. The answer, however, is part of the defenses. Fishman Island isn’t surrounded by a single Bubble, but two layered Bubbles. This both keeps it from being accidentally popped…and makes it nearly impossible for ships to enter without going through one of the locks. The space between those layers is filled with air, you see, so a ship can’t just sail through without falling. The air keeps the island itself buoyant as well, resulting in it resting at the center of the current here, rather than on the ocean floor itself!”

Huh. That was actually extremely clever. Though he admittedly sort of wondered why they’d decided to create an air pocket down here at all, when all their people could breathe water. It seemed like it was quite the risk, given even the World Government would have been hard-pressed to bother them down here if the entire island was under the water pressure that existed 30,000 feet down. He decided not to ask that particular question. He suspected the original answer had long since been lost, and any answer he got now would be as much political as truth.

It also didn’t matter, as for the first time Jinbe really abused the fact that the Discovery had its own potent engines. Instead of guiding them through natural currents that would draw them toward the main entrance of the Bubble, he used that power to curve them up and around the island, hugging the edge of the lighted zone. Doing so resulted in giving them a slow reveal of the island, from what Luffy knew had to be Mermaid Cove to Coral Hill and more. The double-layerd Bubble warped the image they were seeing too much to make out fine detail, but the effect was still beautiful.

Which wasn’t why Jinbe was doing it.

“Dis. Can you flash the signal I asked for please?”

Jinbe had been unfailingly polite to Dis’s construct, once he got over his shock at her existence, addressing her as often for permission as Luffy himself. Some Captain’s might have been annoyed by that, but Luffy was only amused…and a little bit approving, to be honest. Dis was as much a member of the crew as any of them, so asking her permission to make use of her features was only polite. Particularly since Jinbe was an outsider. Of course, Dis still looked to Luffy for approval, but he only nodded. The Fishman had already discussed this with him.

In response to his nod, Dis dimmed most of her lights, but strengthen a single floodlight that would be starkly visible against the inky black of the Deep Sea they were skirting the edges of. Using that floodlight, she flashed a signal in the direction of a second Bubble, one that rested on top of the main Fishman Island Bubble. That smaller Bubble contained the Palace…and also happened to contain one of the only other entrances to Fishman Island. A private dock that was very rarely used. It existed entirely to receive VIPs, either from the likes of the World Government or Whitebeard’s people. Jinbe and the Sun Pirates were likely on the list that might have been received there as well, which explained why he even knew about the dock.

The signal was rather important for a singular reason.

Den Den Mushi are only barely functional down here.

In truth, it’s more accurate to say that they really aren’t. Fishman island relied on creatures called Territorial Sea Slugs as a relay for Den Den Mushi signals. It worked, but it meant that there were a very limited number of Mushi on the island, and they were more vulnerable to both disruption and signal interception. Hopefully, the White Den Den Mushi that they would be providing could at least partially mitigate that issue, but there weren’t any of them on the island yet. Which was part of the reason they didn’t have a formal agreement from King Neptune yet. The King had almost certainly been informed of the Summit results by messages passed via Jozu as the Whitebeard Division Commander passed back through. But, aside from a brief coded message to indicate roughly when they would arrive, there had been no direct contact between Jinbe and the King since the former Warlord left.

The light signal was thus a way of letting them know he was back, and that they needed to discreetly prepare the VIP airlock and dock at the Palace for the arrival of the Discovery. Luffy stared in curiosity, trying to see if there was some sort of return signal, but failed to spot anything of the sort before Jinbe spoke up.

“They say they will be ready for us in fifteen minutes. Prepare yourselves, we will be docking soon. If you wish to change, or make any other preparations before meeting the Royal Family, you should do so now.”

That comment from Jinbe got a rapid blink…then an equally rapid scramble from several female members of the crew. Including both Vivi and Nami, who seized him by an arm each to drag him towards the Captain’s Cabin. Ah, nuts. He was going to have to wear something at least a little formal, wasn’t he?

Chapter 110: Fishman Island

“~It’s right this way, the way hey-hey! Marching to the throneroom, jolly and gay~!”

Luffy had only just met the three Princes of Fishman Island five minutes ago, and he already wanted to strangle two of them, and only the third was saving his impression of the trio. Seriously, singing everything, or ending every sentence in a musical scale were very irritating quirks. Why, of all the people in the world, did these two have to be accurate to their cartoonish counterparts?! Sanji and Usopp were proof that people didn’t have to be! Why these two?! Sighing, be focused as best he could on Prince Fukaboshi, who was thankfully acting as the primary speaker for the trio of royals.

“So, Jozu did pass along the contents of the agreement then? Was King Neptune accepting of them?”

Fukaboshi seemed as ready to ignore his brothers as Luffy was, but made a somewhat non-committal noise.

“Father isn’t unhappy with the terms. They are quite generous in many ways. Yet he was unwilling to say yes or no without meeting you. Hancock he has…met before. But you are something of an unknown, and a potential issue for us in relations with the World Government, whom we still seek peace with. As good as the deal is, he’s uncertain if it is worth the virtual certain animosity that will come from the Celestial Dragons if we fly your flag alongside that of the Kuja and Sun Pirates. In truth, I suspect he would have rejected the idea instantly if not for the involvement of the Alabastian Alliance. They…complicate matters.”

Luffy blinked at that, trying to work out what the Prince meant. Thankfully, Vivi seemed to get it immediately, being far more politically savvy than he.

“He’s considering that there may be an alternative route to peace with the surface, then? I am virtually certain that my father would happily offer that peace where the World Government has rejected it for so long.”

Oh. That would explain things. While the center of the WG’s power being almost literally on top of their heads would still be a problem, an actual peace treaty with a rising power block in Paradise might offer the Merpeople and Fishmen something that WG had always refused. It would be a riskier path to peace, given no one had a clue how the situation in Paradise was going to play out in the long-term. But the Fishman had been trying to get recognition from the WG for centuries. The possibility of any lasting agreement with the Surface, even if it was from a smaller power, might be considered better than being strung along for still longer.

“Yes, Princess. The Nefatari family have always been one of the few that voted, without fail, for our peaceful inclusion in Surface affairs. We have not forgotten…nor have we ignored the fact that one of the founding members of the World Government being so angry as to leave it is not a good sign for said government. Nor was the belligerence that caused them to wildly disrupt the balance of the world by forcing Whitebeard to War.”

There was unhappiness in the Prince’s voice as he admitted that, causing Luffy to hum a bit in thought. He genuinely hadn’t considered just how events must have shaken Fishman Island. It sounded, however, like it might have shaken them in the direction of looking for…alternatives. He found himself feeling very out of his depth. He hadn’t really intended to cause so many cascading effects with the actions he’d taken. Nor did he think they were entirely his own doing. King Cobra deciding to go all-in and break off from the WG might have been something he helped enable, but the truth was he hadn’t intended it. Not really.

He was slowly realizing that he might actually have caused less disruption if he’d just been an idiot like original-Luffy and screamed to everyone about being King of the Pirates. The fact he wasn’t at all interested in that title, and just wanted to both do the right thing and be left alone to explore all the really interesting places…was apparently more disruptive than an outright power grab. He had to admit that he hadn’t seen that coming, and wasn’t sure what to do now that he found himself, literally, in deep waters.

He shook that thought off, again, even if he knew he really needed to stop and put some thought into just exactly what his end goal actually was. They were about to enter the Throne Room to speak with King Neptune. Right now wasn’t exactly the best time to be having…an existential crisis? That wasn’t quite what it was, really, but something in that vein, at least. As they entered the throne room properly, he pushed aside his other thoughts to focus on the needs of the moment.

… … …

“…and so that’s Alabasta’s perspective on it, in addition to that of the Straw Hat Expeditionary Crew. As for that of Kuja, we will have to summon them for them to give their side. Do you wish for me to do so now?”

King Neptune nodded calmly as Vivi wrapped up. To Luffy’s pleasant surprise, while his greeting had been cheerful in the vein of his two more obnoxious sons, the giant merman had quickly settled into seriousness much more like his eldest’s. Vivi had, as they’d agreed in advance, taken the lead on giving a brief presentation of their side of things, which she’d just finished. The King now held up a hand to Vivi’s question, however.

“Not just yet, jamon. I wish to ask a question of your Captain first. He is the true uncertainty in this matter, jamon.”

Luffy blinked, but nodded and gestured for the King to ask. The King pinned him with a surprisingly piercing stare…and Luffy blinked again as he felt a hint of Observation Haki in that scrutiny. Huh.

“I understand the desires of the other parties in this proposal, jamon. Amazon Lily wishes protection much as we do, and Alabasta has taken a stance against what is deems betrayal by the World Government, jamon. Even the Whitebeard’s Sons, their need to focus on holding their territory against challengers is obviously their motive, jamon. But you, Captain, are a mystery. What is it you want, jamon?”

Blast. Maybe he shouldn’t have put off that existential crisis after all? The way the King had asked that, it was very clear he was asking something that Hancock or the Whitebeard pirates hadn’t thought to. Hancock, for all that she was technically an Empress, thought like a pirate. Which means she’d taken the simplistic idea that Luffy was chasing a dream at face value. King Neptune had spotted the flaw in that immediately, as forming an alliance like this, one that was more a full-blown treaty than the usual sort of pirate alliance, wasn’t really something pirates did.

The problem was that Luffy wasn’t fucking sure why he was doing this.

From the start, he’d thought to himself that he’d ignore the original ‘plot’ of the series, unless it came after him. He had no desire to be ‘King of the Pirates,’ and was no revolutionary either. Yes, slavery disgusted him, and he’d cheerfully watch the World Government falter and fall…but it wasn’t a driving purpose for him. The one thing he’d really shared with the original Luffy was that he just wanted to be FREE and go on an adventure. He had, he thought, a much better idea of what that meant than the original idiot would have. But that shared desire had led to him making some of the same choices.

No. Actually, that wasn’t true, was it?

Original Luffy had been obsessed with being the Freest Man in the World, just as much as being the King of the Pirates. In fact, he’d wanted the latter purely because he believed it would make him the former. It was something that had resonated with his old self, who’d hated the stifling hell of most people lived under in his original world. Call it typical teenager syndrome if you wanted to, but he’d looked at the future and seen nothing but a rat race that just…didn’t appeal. He’d been a dreamer born in an age that had forgotten how to dream. One in which the powers that be tried to force everyone into the same exact shape for packaging into a neat little box, like some sort of Good Citizen™ production line. Even the rich and powerful hadn’t been immune, stuck in the exact same box, even if theirs was gilded and made of glass instead of cardboard. A transparent attempt at fooling them into thinking they weren’t just as trapped.

It had been easy to adopt Luffy’s perspective of wanting to be ‘The Freest Man in the World.’

It had resonated with him on a tablet screen, and he’d aped the motions willingly when he’d fallen into this life. The thing was, though…that he was smarter than original Luffy had been. Which meant he’d actually understood that the powerful were never free. Even in a world like this one, perhaps especially in a world like this one, power didn’t mean freedom. No, it was a chain that shackled you to fighting others who were powerful, powers like the World Government and Yonko hemming you in.

Gol D. Roger hadn’t been the Freest Man in the World…he’d been one of the most trapped. Something he’d understood, in the end, Luffy thought. He’d understood that his choices had meant he’d never meet his son. That, for his son to be even remotely safe, he’d have to rely on the honor of another to protect him. He’d set the Great Pirate Era in motion with his death, but he’d still died. His only real freedom in the end had been in choosing his death, and he’d known that would be the case from the very moment he’d started his last voyage.

If Luffy had truly wanted to be free, he’d have found a few hot girls and fucked off to an island like Sixis that literally no one gave a single fuck about. The System would have made making a private paradise no one knew existed easy, really.

No, power didn’t make you free.

Original Luffy had never been free, either, despite everything. Because he cared too much. At best, it could be said that version of Luffy’s ideal of freedom had been very similar to Roger’s. Simply living without regrets, until someone managed to kill him. His freedom had come from the determination that he would do a thing, and the consequences be damned.

‘I’ve set myself to become the King of Pirates and if I die trying then at least I tried.’

‘If I die fighting for it, that’s fine. I will fight.’

‘If you don’t take risks, you can’t create a future.’

All things that Luffy would have said, ones that had resonated with who he’d been before. Hell, even that version of Zoro had shared the same philosophy, stating it even more simply.

‘If I die here, then I'm a man that could only make it this far.’

There was another quote that had been even more potent in a way. Not one of Luffy’s, but his father. It, perhaps, resonated even more strongly.

‘There can be no happiness in a world where the undesirables are thrown away.’

Nojiko, Hina, Vivi. He’d accepted their dreams easily, even if they were more about saving people than they were personal dreams. He’d done that because, at the core of it, he’d known something about himself that he wouldn’t have been able to put into words. Something that both did and didn’t match what the original Luffy would or could have been. It wasn’t quite like what Dragon had said, because Luffy genuinely didn’t give a flying fuck who was in charge, the way his ‘father’ did. Luffy wanted to be FREE, but his definition of what that meant was a little different…and it applied to more than just himself. Which is why their dreams hadn’t phased him at all.

It wasn’t quite a proper answer, he didn’t have one of those yet and wasn’t sure he ever would. But he looked King Neptune in the eye and said the only thing he could.

“It’s been said that the only way that evil can flourish, is if Good Men remain silent. I refuse to be silenced, and I won’t let anyone else be silenced either. Not if I can help it. Not even if it costs me my life. I’m no conqueror, I don’t care about titles, reputation, fame, infamy, money or power. I don’t give a damn if I hold land, if people bow to me or spit on me. I don’t care if I’m loved, feared, hated, or admired. I am free, there are no chains on me, and I will break the chains on anyone else I see. I don’t hate the World Government or the Marines, the Yonko or any other petty tyrant. In truth, I don’t care about them at all. I’m just going to keep moving forward, and fix what is in front of me. Whatever that may be.”

There was a long, long moment of silence as the throne room laid heavy with something that wasn’t quite Luffy’s Haki. It was an intent. Not weaponized as Haki would have been, instead simply…present, and it lingered in the aftermath of his statement. Then, King Neptune stirred, smiled, and turned to Vivi.

“Summon the Empress, if you would. It appears we have a Treaty to sign.”

<<End Current Content>>