Chapter 72: Final Preparations
Summary: Buckle up, the ride's about to start...
Chapter 72: Final Preparations
It was the night before Jozu's execution date and Luffy was drumming his fingers as Nami and Kuina sat with him. Both of his companions were clearly still processing the reveal that he could summon Devil Fruits, or Spirit Fruits rather, via the same ability that allowed him to use his inventory. Nami had already known about his 'shop,' it being one of the extra details he'd revealed to her after their relationship started. She hadn't known it extended to Spirit Fruits, and Kuina hadn't been aware of the shop feature at all.
He'd revealed it now only because he was, in fact, thinking about their escape plan for tomorrow. Originally, he'd hoped to be able to use a Coating to go underwater. Combined with the Discovery's engines, the special coating normally used to reach Fishman island would have allowed a pretty seamless escape. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to connect with Rayleigh, who was frankly the only ship coater Luffy would trust at the moment. They didn't have time to vet someone else, nor did he really want to risk less than the best for the Discovery. Not just because she was his baby, but because her profile was extremely non-standard and he had no idea how her twin-hull design would affect the process.
That left his backup option of attempting to find a Fruit to feed the Discovery that would allow them a similar escape. The problem with that, of course, was that they only had a maximum of two additional fruits they could feed the ship before it reached capacity. Just for good measure, it was also hard to predict what, exactly, each Fruit would do to the Discovery. How they worked for a human wasn't how they would work for the ship, as evidenced by the fact that the Discovery had shown no signs of being able to turn into lightning after eating the Goro Goro no Mi.
That made the entire thing far too much like guesswork, and Luffy hadn't wanted to make the guess alone. Nami, already knowing a fair bit more about his abilities than he'd told anyone else, had been an obvious choice to bounce ideas off of. Kuina…honestly Kuina was probably the most level-headed of the entire crew, and his First Mate. Involving her had been the most logical choice out of the rest of the crew. Robin and Hina might technically have had better advice, having seen more of the world and being far more knowledgeable about Devil Fruit interactions.
Unfortunately, neither of them had been on the crew long enough for Luffy to want to let them in on his bigger secrets. Yes, he knew from their Status Panels that they were loyal, but there was only so far he could bring himself to trust such information. He didn't exactly know how his System measured such things, and he didn't have a good enough personal feel yet for either woman to pick out what sort of things might cause rapid shifts in their allegiance. Kuina? He'd known even longer than even Nami, and he trusted her completely. So she'd found herself nominated as his second sounding board.
"Alright…so…what are the options. You said that you can buy any type of Fruit so long as it's not currently in use by someone, right? I assume you've looked through this 'shop' and found some possibilities?"
Proving his assessment of her level-headedness correct, it was Kuina who'd gotten over the revelation first. At least well enough to push on with the topic at hand with that question. Luffy nodded acknowledgement of it and restated a few key details.
"Yes, though it's progressively more expensive for the more powerful Fruits, and the shop is an exchange rather than some sort of monetary purchase. At least when it comes to Spirit Fruits. Money is fine for other things and I've used it to acquire some of our Eternal Poses. I currently have enough credits from feeding other Devil Fruits to the shop via various means to purchase anything up to the most powerful Logia, with only some of the Mythical Zoans being out of the picture price wise. Which, honestly, I don't think I'd try to feed one of those to a ship anyway. Probably not even a regular Zoan, actually. Who the heck knows just what weird effects it would have."
That got a snort from Nami and a wry grin from Kuina. Even considering the concept was weird. What would feeding a Zoan to the Discovery even do? Allow it to transform into a giant battle cat mecha if you gave it a feline model? Shaking that surprisingly awesome concept off, now that he'd thought of it, Luffy went on. He did quietly put a mental pin in the idea for review. Now that he'd considered that, it sort of sounded awesome.
"That leaves Paramecia and Logia Fruits. Frankly, I wish the Float-Float Fruit wasn't currently in use. Or the Kilo-Kilo Fruit for that matter. Either one would be virtually certain to allow the Discovery the ability to fly long distances, which is one of our two possible escape routes as I see it."
Pausing, he pulled a notebook from his inventory, opened it to a specific set of pages where he'd been trying to brainstorm ideas, and slid it across the table for the two women to look it over. He'd carefully blacked out the sections where he'd originally shown having six Spirit Coupons to work with. After some debate with himself during the trips both to and from Asuka Island, Luffy had purchased the Yami Yami no Mi and currently had it safely hidden in his inventory. He didn't want to use the thing, not for the ship and not for his crew, but he bloody well didn't want anyone else having it either.
Still, his remaining coupons could buy any Paramecia or Logia, possibly even a combination of both if he wanted to fill the Discovery's slots entirely. With exceptions only if he choose a particularly expensive combination, as there were a few Paramecias that cost two coupons instead of one and a few Logias that cost three instead of the usual two. In fact, one such Paramecia was a top contender for the list he'd created. Apparently, the Zushi Zushi no Mi wasn't in use by anyone at the moment, and control over gravity would virtually certainly allow the Discovery to finally fly freely. Which, of course, brought him back to the choice they were facing.
"The real question is if we want the Discovery able to fly…or swim. While, ordinarily, no Devil Fruit would allow the latter given that's normally one of their main weaknesses, the Discovery might be an exception. It hasn't started to sink or flounder just because of the Goro Goro no Mi, specifically because it keeps the energy pulled away from its hull and deck, infusing only parts of the ship. That means there's a few Fruits I could come up with that might well be able to help it sink safely below the waves, rather than sailing the skies."
Nami looked intrigued, skimming the list and nodding.
"You're thinking something like the Munch-Munch Fruit might enhance the Discovery's ability to transform itself based on what it's 'eaten.' Which would allow it to turn into a submarine relatively easily. One made with materials like Lunar Steel or some of Nojiko's crystals. Meaning it might even be able to reach depths like Fishman island without needing a Coating. That would be a major advantage, both now and in the future."
Kuina nodded but noted the flipside of the argument immediately.
"Yet any of those options are far more speculative. Meanwhile, there's no question at all that the ability to fly would be valuable. We know the White and White White Seas exist, after all. Finding a patch of either would be a fantastic place to hide after our plan tomorrow, in point of fact."
Luffy leveled a wry grin at the pair.
"Congratulations, you've quickly stumbled upon the same dilemma I did. Tactically and strategically, either are great options, though I think going underwater would probably be better for hiding and sneaking when we need to. It's also the one harder to guarantee we'd get the right result with, though. Also, you have to admit that a flying pirate ship is just plain cooler."
Both women snorted at his last argument, but their lips were twitching too. He knew they secretly thought flight would be more awesome for a pirate ship too, even if they wouldn't so easily admit it! Better give them an excuse!
"Also, flight would allow us to easily pass over the Calm Belt. I've considered possibly spending a small amount of time in one of the Blues, in particular doubling back to the East Blue for Vivi to get waypoints for islands that might be targeted because of us and our actions. Going over the Calm Belt to do so would be the easiest way to accomplish that sort of thing. Under means dealing with the massive, and massively powerful Sea Kings that make the Calm Belt their home."
Both women cringed at that idea. Personally, Luffy suspected he and Yamato could chase all or almost all of them off with Conqueror's Haki. But he wasn't entirely certain of that fact, not having a true frame of reference for just how powerful those Sea Kings actually were. Still, when Nami spoke up a moment later, it was obvious she was abruptly favoring flight.
"I like that idea, and you're right about being able to fly being the easiest way to do it. I'd hate for the Conami Islands to suffer for Nojiko and I being identified as being from there. Frankly, I sort of doubt the World Government actually knows where we're from, but I'd rather be able to go to help them if they need it."
Kuina frowned, then nodded firmly.
"Unfortunately, they almost certainly can tie Zoro and I to our home. While I have no real desire to go back there, or have any contact with my father at all, I would like to be able to defend it if the worst should happen."
Yeah, Luffy wasn't touching that if he didn't have to. Kuina hadn't exactly left on the best terms with her father. Nor was he going to mention that Kaya and Usopp would also potentially need to worry. They obviously got the point, and Luffy himself had no real stake in the matter. Considering Foosha Village was Garp's home, not even the most crazy and obsessed within the Marines would target the village, and the asshole nobles that ran the rest of Goa Kingdom as a whole could burn for all Luffy cared. Still, it was obvious which direction both women were leaning.
"Flight, then?"
Nami looked torn, while Kuina looked neutral. Finally, Nami shook her head and sighed.
"No. As badly as I want the ship to fly and as much as I agree we need to look in on the East Blue…you and I could, either of us, easily carry Vivi over the Calm Belt. My Pegasus form has insane flight stamina and a lot of speed, and a few of your larger flight forms could do it too. Escaping tomorrow, though? That could be rough, depending on how the cards play out. Worse, almost all of our likely opponents will be able to use Geppo or Devil Fruits to chase a flying ship. Virtually none could chase us very far under the waves, though. There's a reason the World Government has never pressed the Fishmen too hard. It's just flat out difficult for them to operate underwater in serious strength."
Luffy winced, then sighed as he realized Nami was right and that his strongest argument for 'flying pirate ship' wasn't as strong as he'd thought it was. Blast. Reluctantly, he nodded his agreement.
"Okay...fine. Then, which of the Fruit ideas do you two think has the best shot of letting us pull off underwater travel?"
The discussion would go on for hours, and only reach a conclusion that quickly as they all needed to be well rested in the morning…
… …
Luffy had remained awake just a bit longer than his already sleeping lover. They'd had some great 'tomorrow we might die' sex, with Nami completely passing out on round eleven. He'd made sure to clean her up, and fully intended to follow her into the sandman's embrace shortly. He, however, had one more thing to do. Part of him didn't want to, given that it now took a hell of a lot longer for him to accrue extra stat points. Yet, given what they would face tomorrow…it would be moronic not to go into battle with every advantage he could get.
Within reason, at least.
He wasn't going to spend his accrued Perk Points, as new abilities tended to take time to adjust to. More critically, he didn't have a specific threat to prepare against that wasn't already covered by his existing Perks. Stats, though, he adjusted to almost instantly these days and there was no question that the boost they provided could help against a wide range of threats.
The real struggle, of course, was where to put them. Part of him wanted to dump them into harder-to-raise stats. The other part of him knew that every stat was effectively hard to raise at this point, and was painfully aware of the physical gap between himself and Yamato…or Garp. Closing the physical gap somewhat would likely do him more good at this point. Sighing, he struck the best balance he could and spent down his entire total of 74 points.
… … … …
Stats:
Strength: 250
Dexterity: 205
Endurance: 211
Intelligence: 150
Wisdom: 127
Charisma: 150
Luck: 143
… … … …
The strength boost would put him much closer to Yamato's power, if still a bit short. Rounding out intelligence and Charisma to 150 just felt right. The rest, he dumped into Luck, knowing full well they could use all of the Luck they could get tomorrow, in case things went badly wrong. Which, given the brazen nature of their plan, was absolutely possible. Satisfied, if feeling slightly naked without any points in reserve, Luffy closed his System Window and settled in next to Nami to sleep.
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
A/N 1: No, I'm not revealing which Fruit they picked for the Discovery yet. Rumors that I haven't done so because I'm still sorting through the best options are, I assure you, most probably exaggerated...