One Piece – Halfway Broken

Chapter 107: Summit

It had, in fact, taken until evening for the summit to properly begin. Rayleigh being the neutral party, and thus the one to set the time, he’d done so to give the final arrivals suitable time to prepare. Luffy had, of course, done his own preparations as well. In addition to selecting a slightly nicer wardrobe, he’d also been forced to sort out who he wanted with him. Each party was allowed a max of only three representatives at the table, including their Captain, and it was Luffy’s crew that this most restricted. Hancock would obviously select her sisters. Jozu, Jinbe and Sabo had all come alone. Luffy, however, needed to carefully pick between a number of his crew who had potentially valuable insight.

Usopp, Sanji, Pagaya, Nojiko, Perona, Zoro, and Chopper were the easiest to dismiss. Kaya, Nami and Brook were only a little bit harder. Kaya always had unique insight, Nami was the closest to him personally, and Brook had been around long enough to be aware of much that was now forgotten. None had sufficiently strong expertise to seriously consider, however. The same could not be said for Kuina, Hina, Robin, Yamato and Vivi. Each of whom has serious expertise relevant to the summit.

Hina, a little bit reluctantly, was the one he eliminated from the running first. Her insight into how the Marines operated was potentially invaluable, but she was also the only one of his crew with an actively antagonistic relationship with one of the other sides. Kuina, despite being his second in command and somewhat of an expected choice for that reason, was the next he discarded. While he valued her input greatly, and she was a frequent voice of sweet reason, the remaining three simply had too much to potentially offer.

Robin represented both an incredibly broad general knowledge of the world, along with an asset unique to his own crew. As the only living person known to be able to read poneglyphs, she wasn’t someone to be ignored, and was a potential chip in his side of negotiations. Vivi, despite being the second youngest member of his crew, was both the Princess of a growing regional power in Paradise, and a trained diplomat. Then, to round out his complications, was Yamato. She was not only the single strongest member of the crew, possibly including Luffy, though that was somewhat in question, but also by far the most knowledgeable of any of them regarding the New World. She also had an extremely good relationship with the Whitebeard group, via a long-standing friendship with Ace, though she’d never been a member.

When Luffy had eventually thought to ask why, he’d been startled to discover that Whitebeard didn’t allow female combatants in his fleet. The sole known exception had been Whitey Bay, and there were apparently reasons she’d left Whitebeard’s core crew in favor of creating a subordinate crew. Apparently, while the old pirate had been capable of respecting female fighters, he hadn’t been willing to put them in positions of authority. Regardless of that little nugget of information, the fact remained that Yamato had a positive reputation with the Whitebeard Pirates. Which meant he had three people he really wanted to be part of things, and only two places for them.

In the end Luffy had said ‘fuck it’ and cheated.

Specifically, he’d leaned on the fact that they’d gotten official, written permission from King Cobra allowing Vivi to speak for him, and convinced Rayleigh to add her as a separate party entirely. He’d agreed to it, but only on the specific condition that she not bring anyone else. He’d presented the argument to the other two sides, before allowing it. In particular, he’d pointed out that technically Jinbe and Jozu had an existing relationship as well, yet were supposedly different ‘sides’ of the discussion already.

In truth, Luffy suspected the lack of animosity over the last-minute addition he’d sensed had little to do with that supposed argument. Much more likely, it was the case that all other parties present recognized the potential advantages of effectively including the Alabastian Alliance in the summit. By now, it was widely known that the handful of countries had effectively withdrawn from the World Government…and had enough military might to actually make that stick.

At least with the currently weakened condition of the Marines.

Only Luffy and Vivi had a good idea it was going to keep sticking, as they’d gotten a good look at Alabasta’s training program. For that matter, both they and a few of the other crew had spared time to help create parts of that training program. The country’s military was working hard to beef up its officer core with Haki and Six Powers users, along with leveraging the numerous Devil Fruit users it now had and access to Dial technology for its navy. It only had a handful of Haki users so far, but quite a few Six Powers users, and Hina in particularly had helped that along by sharing more modern training methods for those than had existed in Alabasta’s archives. With Luffy and Kaya both having done their own bests to create Haki training manuals as well, with a bit of extra input from Yamato, Alabasta was slowly becoming a juggernaut in its own right.

By the time the Marines had recovered, attacking Alabasta might well cost them as much as the Whitebeard War had. If not more. Doubly so since Luffy’s own crew would throw themselves into that fight due to their relationship with Vivi. The World Government could still almost certainly pull off a victory…if they were willing to bleed so badly to do it that their other enemies might well take vast chunks out of them, the same way others were trying their best to do even now.

In the end, whatever the reasons for the other factions accepting it, Vivi’s presence as a quasi-independent had been allowed. With that taken care of, Rayliegh spoke after they’d all been properly seated.

“Right. No point being overly formal about this shit. I’m only here to step in and smack one of you down if you get too heated. You all have a decent idea what the others want, and at least some idea how they can help. Personally, I’d start with the Strawhats and ‘technically Alabasta,’ since she has the one power most likely to make this alliance worth all of your collective time.”

Rayleigh had waved a hand Vivi’s way, and the lack of surprise on any faces made Luffy’s eyes narrow a bit. They had manifestly not advertised Vivi having the Door-Door Fruit. Some people had almost certainly put together that they had something like it, since they’d used it to get around between distant places a bit too often. But it wasn’t as obvious a power as most, particularly with Vivi more often playing support than direct fighter. Clearly, either Rayleigh had said something to these people…or someone else had.

Jinbe seemed to sense his abrupt displeasure, as he was the first to speak and directed his words Luffy’s way.

“Rayleigh has only suggested that someone on your crew has the ability to allow rapid responses between far flung groups, not specifically how. I personally already knew as much from my connections within the Marines, who sorted out what happened from events at the Archipelago. The current theory is a Devil Fruit, most likely the Door-Door Fruit or the Warp-Warp Fruit.”

Luffy frowned, but Vivi shrugged and spoke up before he could say anything one way or another.

“You are correct. I haven’t precisely hidden my possession and usage of my Devil Fruit, but I haven’t advertised it either. Yes, I’ve eaten the Door-Door Fruit specifically, and can use it to open ‘doorways’ between distant locations. At least so long as I’m sufficiently familiar with the location, it’s useless for reaching anywhere I haven’t already been.”

That wasn’t quite accurate. Technically, Vivi could open Air Doors more-or-less blindly, or based off guess work and a map. Given how shit most maps of the Grand Line were, that method wasn’t terribly useful most of the time. Though Nami’s work was slowly changing that fact as she mapped the Grand Line personally, and Vivi had worked with her at overcoming the issue. With enough effort, Vivi could likely reach most islands in the Blues from any point she was sure of. Such as an island in another of the Blues or the bits of the Grand Line Nami’s personal mapping efforts had pinned down. It wouldn’t be quick or easy, and they certainly weren’t going to admit to it, though. The possibility wouldn’t sit well with a lot of security-conscious people everywhere, making Vivi an even bigger target.

It was Hancock who leaned forward to speak next, sharp interest in her eyes.

“Can you prove it? Not that I doubt you, but the Kuja are not familiar with the specific fruit in question. Can it really allow long-distance movement?”

Vivi, not at all ruffled by the intensity of the woman’s stare or the slight doubt offered, merely held up a hand…and opened an Air Door to the desert of Alabasta. Luffy recognized the view as one from Vivi’s own chambers in the palace. Though without having ever been into them, that fact wouldn’t be obvious to anyone else. The Air Door had been formed at the edge of her private balcony, so all the group looking on could see was the sun sinking down over a desert landscape.

“Alabasta. Specifically, a view from the capital. Is that sufficient proof for you?”

Hancock leaned back, nodding regally, as if the display had been a simple transaction. Luffy’s Empathy was reporting much stronger emotions, though. Conflicting ones that were a little worrying. Sharpening of interest in the meeting in general was fine…but Hancock’s specific desires to have Vivi for her own were considerably more alarming. He got the impression that he’d need to keep a close eye on both of them, as Hancock might well try to simply seduce Vivi out from under him and use her for the abilities. He’d need to make it clear there was more to be gained by allying with them, rather than trying that.

Thankfully, he seemed to have an ally in that. Possibly more than one, given how Jinbe was also eyeing Hancock. But it was Sabo who spoke first.

“For some rather obvious reasons, the Revolutionary Army is interested in that ability. Just as deep, however, is our interest in Nico Robin and her ability to read poneglyphs, as well as the fact you apparently have a Dial Engineer traveling with you. Your crew seems to be filled with unusual talents, Luffy.”

Luffy was relieved to note that Hancock’s laser focus on Vivi diminished at those mentions. Apparently, she hadn’t known about at least Pagaya. Which was fair enough, as he hadn’t really done anything to make himself overly visible just yet. Robin, of course, was hardly secret to anyone with access to decent information sources. The World Government had gone to considerable effort to demonize her and emphasize her danger, for a lot longer than she’d been part of Luffy’s crew.

Seizing the chance to possibly dilute Hancock’s attention farther, to focus it on his whole crew instead of just Vivi, Luffy finally spoke.

“Yes, a Skypiean Dial Engineer, who also has access to Crystal technology from Wind’s Home. As it happens, we’ve also recently gained access to weather manipulation technology from Weatheria as well. Though we’re still working on properly integrating that. Causing a massive storm fit to sink fleets is quite easy, but more nuanced manipulation is a little trickier.”

Of course, it wasn’t weather tech that made them able to summon up a storm ‘easily.’ That was the Discovery’s Storm Cannon. But they didn’t need to know that. Thankfully, his tipping his hand did what he wanted it too, at least to an extent. He could feel Hancock’s focus generalizing to Luffy’s crew as a whole, rather than just Vivi. He frankly hated giving away cards like that without more tangible gain. But having Hancock of all people decide it would be better to try stealing Vivi away was not something he wanted to deal with. Doubly so when he still didn’t know the details of exactly how her Devil Fruit worked.

If, as he strongly suspected, it amplified her seduction abilities…there might be a genuine danger that she might succeed. It wouldn’t end well for Hancock if she tried, but getting into a fight with the entirety of Amazon Lily wasn’t exactly on his bucket list. Better to steer her away from the idea of even trying if he could. Thankfully, whether he’d come to that conclusion as well or not, Jinbe helped Luffy’s efforts along with his own next question.

“Crystal tech? Dials I’m quite familiar with, and I’ve at least heard of Wind’s Home and the Crystal City from a few Sky Islanders that have come through Fishman Island. But I admit I’ve never seen an example of this crystal tech you speak of.”

Luffy nodded at that.

“I’m not surprised. Unlike Dials, a lot of what their crystals are used for is consumable. Not everything, they have some fantastic crystalline building materials that are tougher than most metals, not to mention self-healing. But the most portable usage of their crystal-based technology is consumable. My own sniper, for example, has managed to make incendiary rounds capable of melting through steel and freeze rounds that can encase a target in ice on contact. Yet, since ammo is used when it’s fired, stocking up on the crystals for it would normally be difficult, at best. More of it can be grown from seed crystals. But without certain advantages, doing so is too difficult and too time-consuming to be worth it for most. The world government would likely be extremely interested, since they have the resources to create a supply, but they have incredibly limited contact with Sky Islands.”

Jinbe wasn’t the only one interested now, Sabo, Jozu, Hancock, and even Rayleigh were giving off feelings of intrigue to Luffy’s more exotic senses. In point of fact, while he was still radiating curiosity, Jinbe was now the least interested, followed by Rayleigh. Understandable, really. Fishman didn’t really use projectile weapons, and Rayleigh was likely only curious in that it might be something genuinely new to him. A rarity to the ex-First Mate of Gold Roger. Sabo and Jozu were the most interested, for equally obvious reasons, as the Revolutionary Army and Whitebeard’s Sons made heavy use of firearms and cannon. Hancock’s interest had spiked a bit as well, though to a far lesser extent. The Kuja rarely used personal firearms, but their ship still used cannons.

Actually, damn it, he was probably playing the wrong cards, if he wanted to interest Hancock specifically. Irritated that he’d given away more that he probably needed to, he still followed through on that thought. Using a bit of slight of hand that concealed reaching into his inventory space, he slid small disks of Lunarian Steel across to each of the others save Vivi. The pinkish metal drew raised eyebrows until he spoke.

“There’s also this. I believe you are all Haki users? Channel a bit of armament into those disks and you’ll see what I mean.”

Sabo was the first to comply, unhesitatingly trusting Luffy not to be up to something funny. He looked startled the moment he did.

“What? Luffy…what is this stuff?”

Curious now, Jinbe and Hancock followed suit, both of them reacting even more strongly than Sabo had. Though it was actually Rayleigh who spoke, startling Luffy when he gave the proper name of the metal without even picking his disk up. Or at least the most common name it was known by.

“Lunar Steel. It takes Haki better than any other metal in existence, at least to my knowledge. I admit, ever since I stepped aboard your ship, I’ve wondered how to hell you had so much of it. The stuff is insanely rare, yet you have access to enough to make the hull of your ship out of it, even if you panel over it to disguise that fact. Of course, the fact you’re now paneling over it with Adam wood of all things doesn’t exactly help you stay inconspicuous.”

Luffy did his best not to glare at the old man for giving that away, as all eyes turned to him.

“As to the Adam Wood, I will only say I recently gained access to a reliable source of it. As for the Lunar Steel…I figured out how to forge it before I ever set sail. I won’t say much, other than that it requires spiritual energy to be involved in the forging process. Not Haki, mind you, but pure spiritual energy. I believe it was originally a Lunarian creation, with that extinct species having gotten the energy via their natural abilities. I’m a smith of considerable skill and got my hands on a small amount when I was younger. It took quite a lot of effort to reverse engineer, but I eventually managed it. Though it then took multiple years and a lot of resources for me to make enough of it for the Discovery’s hull.”

Rayleigh’s eyebrows had risen in genuine surprise, and he pursed his lips as he finally picked up his disk to examine it. After a moment, he shook his head in disbelief.

“The makeup is slightly different than the only other piece of it I’ve ever encountered before. Purer, actually. You could have retired a stupidly rich man just on the back of reproducing this stuff kid. Hell, the World Government probably would have given you your own island.”

Luffy snorted.

“Why the hell would I want that? I’m an explorer, far more than a pirate, even if the WG saw fit to declare me as such despite never committing any actual acts of piracy. Well, not until recently at least. I suppose I did steal a fair bit from the Marines and WG during and after the Whitebeard War…”

Surprisingly enough, it was that offhand comment that got the single strongest reaction from Jinbe so far. He’d been by far the most level emotionally, even when he was obviously intrigued by the disk of Lunarian Steel. Which made the large spike of outrage a sharp contrast. Despite the sharp emotion, the fishman’s voice was level as he spoke.

“Excuse me, but can you expand on that last comment?”

Luffy blinked.

“Stealing from the Marines or not having committed any acts of piracy before that?”

Luffy had his answer from the way the ‘Knight of the Sea’s’ emotions spiked, but Jinbe verbalized it a moment later.

“The piracy bit. I am aware Alabasta had protested your innocence in the affair with Crocodile, but the World Government has listed numerous other charges against you as well.”

It was actually Vivi who spoke up, rather than Luffy, her voice firm.

“Prior to Alabasta, Luffy and his crew acted purely as bounty hunters. They were legally hired, by the Royal Family of Alabasta to deal with Crocodile, after we discovered crimes violating his status as a Warlord. After which, the Discovery and its Captain were granted a Royal Charter as an Exploration and Mapping vessel based out of Alabasta. A charter that had not been rescinded. I have traveled aboard ship as the Royal family’s representative of that expeditionary charter since before they were unilaterally and illegally declared pirates.”

Vivi let the official and formal tone of that statement settle in for a moment.

“I have born witness to no acts of piracy by Captain Luffy or his crew, until the destruction of the Human Auction House and the Marine Base at the Sabaody Archipelago. An action which, given the blatant illegality of the Auction House and the corruption obvious in the local Marines ignoring it and the pirate flag it was operating under, cannot itself be considered piratical. The official and legal position of the Alabastian Alliance is that the Discovery and her Captain remain an officially authorized exploration and mapping expedition.”

Open surprise had appeared on every single face but Luffy and Vivi’s at that. Apparently, the full details hadn’t been public knowledge. Jinbe, in particular, showed visible outrage along with his surprise. His voice was coldly steady when he spoke again, though it was clear his simmering anger wasn’t pointed at anyone present.

“I see. Thank you, Princess, for the additional, clarifying information. I was unaware that such a grievous miscarriage of justice had occurred. I admit, learning this has dramatically increased my willingness to negotiate certain things in this summit.”

Huh. The Fishman actually meant that statement about it being a miscarriage of justice. Luffy supposed he’d come by his Knight of the Sea title legitimately. He was vaguely aware, from information gathered in this life, not from his original, that Jinbe had originally been an officer in the Neptune Army. The exact details of why he’d left to join the Sun Pirates were unknown to Luffy, but he abruptly suspected it had nothing to do with piracy and everything to do with ideals. It would explain a great deal, about both his reputation and how he was acting now.

Still, it was a bit past time that he stopped being the only one showing cards on the table. Luffy apparently wasn’t the only one to think that, either, as he was beaten to shifting the conversation by the one faction representative who had yet to speak up. Jozu, having mostly stuck to observing the back and forth, spoke now to get them back on topic.

“As interesting as all this is, I do believe we’ve drifted fairly far from the point of this summit, though for a justifiable diversion in explaining why the Strawhats are potentially critical to any agreement. I admit that even just the utility of the Door-Door Fruit might have been enough to interest the Whitebeard’s Sons. The potential force multipliers if they can supply Dials, this Crystal Tech, and possibly even Lunarian steel, were all certainly worth knowing about. Yet, unless we can come to some sort of useful agreement, such details are worthless. I believe it is past time we all be upfront about what we are looking to get out of this.”

There was only a moment or two of pause before Jinbe and Hancock nodded in agreement, while Sabo just shrugged. In many ways, the Revolutionaries merely wanted any agreement between the groups here to become publicly known. Mutal defense or trade, it almost didn’t matter to them, so long as it was enough to worry the Marines and World Government. With Luffy and Vivi both nodding along in agreement as well, Jozu spoke again to fully shift the direction of their conversation.

“I’ll go first, I suppose, since my own group’s interests are the most limited here. Frankly, we’re looking for a deal that will let us withdraw fully from Fishman Island, without letting Big Mom take over. That would require either a commitment of people long-term, or a way to rapidly deploy against any threat to the island. The Strawhat crew offer the latter, but don’t have the reputation alone to prevent someone trying their luck in the first place.”

Jozu paused for a moment to gesture toward Hancock, before continuing.

“Hancock, as a former Warlord, you have that reputation, at least when added to Jinbe’s own. While she’s still contesting with the Whitebeard’s Sons, Big Mom isn’t likely to risk pushing two of the strongest former Warlords into outright opposition. What you don’t have, is the ability to either deploy enough fighters long-term, or rapidly transit to Fishman island if it’s under attack. On the flip side, you’re also in a similar position of looking for allies, and being directly allied with Jinbe and considered a valued associate of the Whitebeard’s Sons would offer that. With, unfortunately, the exact same potential problem that the Sun Pirates can’t reach you quickly enough to offer support. On their own, they could at best offer vengeance if Amazon Lily was wiped out.”

Jinbe had nodded calmly along in the right places, with Hancock giving only a curt nod and mild scowl at the end of Jozu’s summary. The Whitebeard division commander wasn’t done just yet, directing his next wave toward Luffy. But before he could actually speak, Vivi interrupted him.

“You believe that the Strawhats are the potential link in the chain that could make the alliance functional. My own Door-Door fruit would solve the rapid deployment issue between each island. Doubly so as Alabasta has access to White Den Den Mushi for an encrypted communication link. Enough to supply an alliance like this with multiples each.”

That statement got every set of eyes except Luffy’s and Rayleigh’s locked on her instantly. White Den Den Mushi were hard to come by, so much so that only the Revolutionary Army was known to use them routinely. They did exist elsewhere, but in such small numbers that even groups like the Yonko might only have access to handful of pairs, at best.

It was, of course, actually Luffy that had access to them through his System Store. But he and Vivi had discussed this beforehand, with the intent of both giving Vivi a card to play and making it more believable. Alabasta was both a major trade hub, and one of the largest, most ancient, and most populous countries on the entire Grand Line. It was completely believable that they might have access to a breeding program for White Den Den Mushi. One that they’d kept quiet until abruptly needing them after breaking with the World Government. Since Luffy had sold a number of them to King Cobra, to spread to his new Alliance, even if they had spies to fact check with, the story would hold up. Something the Revolutionaries, in particular, might attempt. If only because so many White Den Den Mushi outside their control might alarm them.

“I do believe you’re being a bit…small, in your thinking, however. While your original plan has value, and I believe it merits discussion, you also now have the Alabastian Alliance sitting at this summit. Regular trade has been established between Alabasta and Skypiea, and Alabasta’s considerable industry has been turned to creating Dial-enhanced defenses. Naval guns and defensive tower emplacements several times more powerful than any existing cannons are among the major items in production. Guns which are able to easily outrange and outpower even those of Marine battleships. Meanwhile, both the Sun Pirates and Kuja have something Alabasta would be deeply interested in acquiring. Specifically, instructors in Fishman Karate and Haki, respectively.”

Luffy could sense both the complete surprise and wildly surging interest in the other factions at the table. He, himself, was only partially surprised. Vivi had brought up the idea of offering an under-the-table trade deal as part of this summit, even before he’d cheated like a cheating cheater to get her a seat at the summit. Her deciding to co-opt the entire thing for an even larger deal than the summit was theoretically based upon didn’t come completely out of left field as a result. But he had to admit he hadn’t quite expected her to go all in like this.

Not that he couldn’t understand why she’d want to push the bolder option. Humans had been known to be capable of learning Fishman Karate before. Not easily and not often, given the basic differences in physical power between the races. But it had happened, and the training for the use of the Six Powers that Alabasta was forcing its more talented people though might just give them the conditioning to pull it off. Combined, Fishman Karate and the Six Powers would make those trained with both devastating. Doubly so if equipped with Dial or Seastone weaponry. Add in the Kuja potentially teaching more people Haki, with their entire population having codified how to learn it, and it would represent another major boost to Alabasta’s ability to survive the eventual backlash from its withdrawal from the WG.

The fact that Luffy had already passed onto Alabasta’s industrial works how to build the first generation guns that the Discovery had started off with? Which was why Vivi had been able to make that claim about out-ranging Marine Battleships? Well, taken altogether it would make any country equipped with both elite fighters and static defenses a nightmare to assault. Of course, the guns wouldn’t do as much for the Fishman, but regular access to Dials to enhance their weaponry most certainly could. Impact Dials, in particular, would likely be a devastating addition to Fishman combat, given their superior physical strength and durability as a starting point.

It was Hancock who managed to process all the implications first and smiled like a shark.

“Well, perhaps there is more to be had here than a simple alliance I was unsure the value of. I think we need to spend some time properly considering just what sort of things we might all have to offer each other…”

There was general agreement all around at the comment, but before anyone could get too far into the weeds, Luffy raised a finger and a point.

“I agree, but I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, let’s figure out if we can all actually agree to basic terms that would allow us to work together at all. Then we can worry about exactly what each of us can offer each other. For the moment, I believe it’s enough we all realize the other parties here do have things of value they’ve brought to the table.”

Jinbe, Sabo, and Jozu were all three quick to nod approval of that, and Hancock at least didn’t fight it. So Luffy took that momentum and brought up the first important point.

“Obviously, Hancock and Jinbe are after protection for their islands, but I and my crew are explorers. Meaning a lot of what we will want out of this is access to friendly ports and information we don’t have. As well as access to any poneglphs that might be within your territories, as some of them are required to map the final stretch of the Grand Line.”

That comment brought them all up short, Hancock and Jinbe in particular looking visibly surprised. It was Jinbe who voiced the obvious question.

“You…are intending to go all the way to Laugh Tale?”

It was a loaded question. For more reasons that one. After all, it was widely regarded as the most likely resting place of the infamous ‘One Piece,’ as well as a major sign of who would become the next King of the Pirates. Luffy didn’t flinch in the slightest.

“Of course. One of our major goals is to map the entire world. Another,” Luffy paused to wave at Robin, who had remained silent until this point, “is to discover the Rio poneglyph so that the mystery of the Void Century can be resolved. What comes after? I don’t have a clue. But those are goals that I will not allow anyone to get in the way of. Not even allies. No matter how valuable those allies have the potential to be.”

For long moments, everyone at the table leaned back to reassess him with this new information. Of the group, only Jozu might truly take exception to the idea, and only if someone in the Whitebeard remnants had declared an interest in the One Piece and becoming the King of the Pirates. So far as Luffy knew, Ace appeared to be the primary leader of that remnant, and his brother had never had that particular dream. In fact, his Daddy Issues™ most likely meant he’d actively steer away from that idea if anyone tried to push for it. So it probably wasn’t an issue. But only probably. Better to get such points across up front so there was no confusion on the point.

It was surprisingly Hancock who finally broke the silence.

“That’s no issue for the Kuja. Based on how they’ve always acted, whatever is on that island getting out can only hurt the World Government, who are no friends of ours. Allowing you to map Amazon Lily might be a bit more of sticking point, given our own rules. But possibly not a large one, so long as the person doing the mapping is female and does not map any defensive points.”

Luffy nodded gratefully at her.

“Our navigator is the one doing the mapping, and Nami is most certainly female. In fact, of my sixteen crew, nine are female. So that particular restriction isn’t a problem…mostly. We’ll need to work out an adjustment or exception to your female only rule if we are expected to be on your island to participate in its defense. While two of our strongest are female, I would not be willing to send them into a fight I could not attend myself.”

Hancock nodded curtly, apparently having expected that much. When Sabo and Jinbe quickly followed up with their own lack of issue with his stated goals, things were looking positive. Yet, Jozu hesitated.

“…the Whitebeard Pirates are not currently in possession of any of the Road Poneglyphs. As such, I see no issue with that aspect. Agreeing to allow you access to our ports might be possible, but would need to be negotiated. Most likely with Marco, rather than myself.”

Luffy nodded, recognizing there was at least a partial non-answer and dodge in Jozu specifying the poneglyphs specifically. He hadn’t said that trying to reach Laugh Tale might not be an issue, after all. Still, Luffy would take what he could get for now. It would be over a year, at minimum, before he needed to worry about that. By which time either the Whitebeard’s Sons would be defunct, or have a better handle on what they were planning to do. For now, even the ports weren’t all that important. What he actually wanted from the New World was the skills to make things like Vivre Cards. Jozu didn’t need to know that for now, though.

“Right. Well, we’ve made progress then, and I think we can make some more common ground easily enough. Such as all of us agreeing that dealings of any sort with slavers would not be tolerated by the others…”

Luffy grinned at the firm, cold nods from Hancock and Jinbe. Hancock’s even coming with a brief spike of Conqueror’s Haki that she quickly reigned in, but which certainly served to underline her opinion.

“…so let’s get down to sorting out if there are any issues we do have fundamental disagreements on. If we can clear anything of that sort out, we can get at least a basic non-interference agreement in place, then work from there.”

There were quick agreements all around at that, and discussion was soon flowing thick and fast as various points were offered up for comment or debate…

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A/N 1: Whew. This was a long chapter with a lot of back-and-forth. Hopefully, the political/alliance discussion wasn't too boring. I tried not to drag it out, but it kinda needed to happen, in order to outline just how much each side was potentially getting out of the deal.