One Piece – Halfway Broken

Chapter 108: Alliance

The summit had not been settled in a single night. Not that Luffy had expected it to be. Admittedly, he also hadn’t expected what had actually occurred, which was for the summit to have drawn out for nearly an entire week. Truthfully, he expected that none of the participants had expected that sort of duration. But, then, all of them had initially been thinking about the more basic and primitive sort of alliances that happened among pirate crews. Alliances that were often forged in single afternoons, over a few hours of discussion and ritual sake cups, which typically resulted in only very basic and loose agreements.

Even at this summit, which had grown into so much more due to Vivi showing a degree of forethought and ambition that had shocked even Luffy, had started off with a similar step. At least, it had once they’d gotten down to the proper discussions of alliance, rather than baiting the waters to convince each other to bite. That first evening had ended in the minimum success that each group had been looking for from the start, with the more typical conclusion to such alliances in the form of a promise for mutual defense.

Though even that had stretched long into a second night, into the early morning of the third day really, before terms had been defined. Vivi’s ability to move people between islands had made such calls for aid something that needed to be much more tightly defined than usual for various reasons. Not least of which was because it would mean allowing her sufficient familiarity with parts of their territory that she would be able to come and go from whether they liked it or not. Something complicated even farther by the fact that Vivi had outright offered up agreements from the Alabastian Alliance as part of the deal. Meaning that a multiple Kingdom power, one with considerable military forces available, was a signatory to the alliance.

Only the fact that Hancock was a ruler herself, and Jinbe had apparently been given rather broad authority to speak for Fishman Island by King Neptune, had even made the agreements vaguely doable. Jinbe, in particular, was going to need to get his side officially ratified by King Neptune. Though the fact that the Whitebeard Pirates were backing the change would put King Neptune in a position where it was hard to refuse. Not that Jinbe seemed to think the King would do so in the first place, given what else they stood to gain.

In truth, he suspected that the original alliance agreements alone were far more than Jinbe and Hancock had expected to get out of the summit. Even those first stages, which had focused on direct military aid, had resulted in a treaty that would see quite a bit of power coming to the defense of each faction. Assuming it was ultimately fully ratified by King Cobra and King Neptune, at least.

Just as one example, if Fishman Island were threatened, it would see dozens of Kuja, including the three sisters personally, come to its aid. Likewise, it would see a minimum of five members of the Strawhat Crew, led by either Luffy, Yamato, or Kuina, respond. Nor was Alabasta left out, pledging a minimum response of three Devil Fruit users and fifty soldiers capable of using at least three of the six powers or one form of Haki. All equipped, of course, with the Dial weaponry that was now standard for officer level combatants in the Alabasta armed forces.

Combined with the forces local to each power in the first place, that level of additional might would virtually guarantee even a Yonko would consider carefully before committing. It wasn’t quite enough power in one place to prevent a Yonko from committing if they were serious about it, but it was enough to ensure it couldn’t be done casually. Since similar commitments went the other directions, anyone attempting to assail Amazon Lily, Fishman Island, or Alabasta, better come prepared to face a fight only just slightly below the level of Whitebeard’s War. Fewer extreme level combatants, but far more dangerous grunt and mid-tier officer level forces than the Marines had been able to muster. Almost everyone below the rank of Captain had been so much chaff in the Whitebeard War. With the Dial weaponry available to Alabasta, Fishman Karate for the Neptune Army, and an entire tribe of Haki users for the Kuja, such was very much not the case for any of them.

The same wouldn’t quite be true if it was the Strawhat crew who was attacked and called for aid. Even they, however, got an agreement that Hancock and her two sisters, Jinbe and two officers of the Sun Pirates, and three Devil Fruit users from Alabasta would respond if called upon. Given their own crew’s concentration of strength, there were very few pirate crews, or even Marine and WG units, which could face that level of force. Short of CP-0 for the WG or the core crew of a Yonko, anyone else would need to bring a lot of backup. Given just how hard to pin down Luffy and Co would be in the first place, that was a reassuring amount of backup to call upon in an emergency.

Of course, it was only a defensive treaty, so they couldn’t call upon such forces to attack anyone without farther agreement. But that was honestly all any of them were looking for at this time.

The rest of the week had taken that initial agreement, itself very clearly beyond what Jinbe and Hancock had been hoping for, and expanded upon it to a ridiculous degree. A degree that left even Hancock feeling so positively satisfied with the entire thing that Luffy no longer feared her trying anything funny. Doing so would be the equivalent of killing the goose that laid diamonds, rather than gold, and the Empress of Amazon Lily was not nearly greedy or stupid enough to do that. Someone like Big Mom might try it, but Hancock was thankfully less of a deranged egocentric than that. A bit of a narcissist she might well be, but Luffy had come to the conclusion that she was a great deal more pragmatic and practical than her reputation made her seem.

But back on point. All through the summit, it was Vivi that had been the true driving force of the larger agreement and trade additions. To a degree that left all of their heads spinning. Pirates weren’t normally the sort to think in those sorts of terms. Not even ones who were also Empresses, since said Empress was the ruler of a very isolationist state. The need to properly codify actual treaty documentation, instead of verbally given promises, had been what drew out the process so long. Yet, no one could argue with the results.

Fishman Island and Amazon Lily were both getting a steady supply of Dials and Dial weapons, Crystal Tech, a set number of Lunarian Steel weapons, and limited but significant supplies of Treasure Tree wood. Alabasta was getting dedicated trainers in Fishman Karate and Haki, and several useful additional bits. Such as Fishman Island’s knowledge of bubble technology and the materials needed for it, and the Kuja’s access to poisons strong enough to scare even Sea Kings.

Luffy and his crew were getting a fair bit too, of course.

For them, it was more in the form of knowledge and friendly ports than raw materials, for obvious reasons. The knowledge of bubble coating and other Fishman Island technology was being shared with Luffy as well as Alabasta, Chopper and Kaya had discovered there were numerous medicines available they wanted to understand and study, and both the Sun and Kuja Pirates had agreed to cross training arrangements. That last one had come as a surprise to everyone when Luffy suggested it, but made a great degree of sense when he’d pointed out it would be better to understand each other’s strengths before attempting to fight together.

Additionally, the Straw Hats were the only ones getting something directly from the Whitebeard’s Sons. Specifically, in exchange for taking the burden of Fishman Island off the group in a way that didn’t leave a bad taste in their mouths, the Strawhat crew was getting a crash course in how Vivre Cards and New World Log Poses were created. Incredibly valuable information that was tightly held, but not quite so valued as to not be on the table when it got them out of any other commitments.

Lastly, Amazon Lily and Fishman Island would both become friendly ports for them…with a caveat regarding Amazon Lily that only a very small section of the island would be open for males to visit. A dock and small stretch of beach where they could trade or interact with locals was about it, but that was more than enough for Luffy. He was more than aware from how Hancock’s sisters had reacted just how big a concession even that much had been, after all.

All told, the end result was that everyone considered the summit to have been immensely successful. Far beyond their original expectations. Even the Revolutionary Army was happy, as Sabo had gained direct lines of communication with all three island nations involved…and the right to station small numbers of local operatives out of each. Listening posts, more than anything. Yet the locations of Fishman Island and Alabasta in particular were incredibly valuable places to have such a thing, with both seeing quite a lot of traffic it would be useful to know about. Alabasta was only closed to Marine and World Government ships, after all. Not trade in general. While Fishman Island was the only practical way for most non-government ships to reach the New World.

Amazon Lily would be more ticklish, since they’d have to station only female officers there, but they’d been granted permission to have those officers train with the Kuja. Luffy actually had no idea what Sabo had given in like trade for that, as it had been a side deal between the RA and Hancock. But whatever it was seemed to have both his brother and the Empress equally pleased.

Of course, all of this had also changed their immediate plans. After all, Vivi needed to properly visit both Amazon Lily and Fishman Island in order to be able to open her Air Doors to both at need. Given how nearby it was, the Discovery was going to follow the Kuja’s Perfume Yuda to Amazon Lily first, before making the journey to Fishman Island. Luffy was slightly annoyed that it was pulling them away from Rusukaina and the training possibilities there, but only very slightly. After all, Jinbe was sticking with them all the way to Fishman Island, as was Rayleigh as far as the Archipelago. Both had been more than willing to agree to training with the crew in rotations for the duration, so they’d still be getting a lot out of even the weeks of traveling so see the new alliance through…

… … …

Luffy only just barely dodged a shockwave of compressed air and water droplets, though his follow up block a moment later to the Haki-darkened fist of Jinbe was clean and crisp. He released a shock of lightning as he made contract, only for the Whale Shark Fishman to simply tank it with his Haki and keep coming on. The man wasn’t quite as fast or strong as Yamato was, but he was damn close, and his skill with his chosen combat style was considerably higher. Yamato, as well as Luffy when he wasn’t using a sword, were both brawlers at their core. Jinbe was nothing of the sort, being a methodical fighter with a fully formed martial, art of which he was a true master.

The result was Luffy needing to disengage by momentarily turning to lightning and flashing away before another of Jinbe’s brutal palm thrusts caught him. Far from upset that he’d been made to give ground, Luffy grinned…and shifted into his Stormtiger hybrid form. The shift put his physical strength close to Jinbe’s own, while maintaining just a bit more speed than the other man had. If this were a serious fight, he’d have pulled his sword, as well. As it was, the match was one intended to let them get the measure of each other, and Luffy instead reengaged with his fists.

This time he left the lightning part of his Devil Fruit out of things, focusing on the thunder part that let him manipulate sound waves. Far slower, but harder to dodge in some important ways, they also served as a direct, if crude, counter to the shockwaves Jinbe was launching. Stretching his Observation and Armament to the limit, attempting to overcome Jinbe’s greater technical skill, he launched back into the fight…

… … …

Amazon Lily was a gorgeous island, and Luffy wasn’t saying that just because the locals were nearly all gorgeous and very curious about the men allowed on the little section of island where a dock was now being built. It was far remote from the population centers of Amazon Lily, with no previous infrastructure, but that was both understandable and perfectly fine. The fact the Amazons were allowing them to build a dock here as a safe port to base out of and resupply from was a major enough concession that Luffy was more than willing to build what they needed somewhere suitable remote.

Sure, it wasn’t all that likely they would need the port all that often. Yet, it was still a valuable option to have. While Vivi had been steadily increasing the size of the Air Doors she could make, she was still fairly far off being able to create one large enough for the Discovery to travel through. Which meant that, while the crew could move around to various islands easily, the ship could not. Even with the Discovery’s ability to fly and move underwater, crossing the Grand Line took weeks. Thus, having secure, friendly ports to return to on both sides of the line, at Sixis and now Amazon Lily, was just plain useful. For the moment, they were just building a basic dock, as they still needed to head to Fishman Island, but eventually this would be a secondary supply base.

“Ohhhh, so you’re saying that men come equipped with a natural version of pleasure spears! That sounds really interesting, can I see yours?!”

Now, if only they managed to escape without some sort of incident. Hina was thankfully sitting on Sanji, but the latest comment had been directed at a now-blushing Usopp. Luffy quickly dropped the beam he’d been moving and rushed to intercept Kaya before she killed the local woman who had no idea just how close to death she’d just placed herself…

… … …

Hancock’s expression was wary as she seated herself across from Luffy. The fact that she and her sisters were alone with him, Luffy not having brought anyone else to the meeting, was obviously putting her hackles up. Still, there was a good reason he hadn’t, just as there was a good reason he’d requested the meeting at all, in the soundproof room that had been built into their new supply base on the island. Eventually, it would become a Master Bedroom for himself and his ‘harem,’ which duplicated a similar one on Sixis. Nice as the Captain’s Cabin aboard the Discovery was, it had grown a little cramped if Yamato, Robin, and Nami all joined him at night. Something which would only get worse when Vivi eventually did as well.

Still, for the moment, it was just an empty room, holding nothing but a table, chairs, and an elaborately decorated box. The whole thing likely seemed fishy as hell to the Empress, but Luffy knew what he was about to offer was damn risky without involving anyone else being in the know about it. He’d just have to hope his offer was taken in the spirit intended, and the secrecy appreciated after the fact.

“I trust you have a point in requesting a private meeting, Captain?”

There was a chill in the Empress’s tone that said it better not be anything that revealed certain sorts of expectations for their alliance. Which was a fair enough assumption, given the soundproofing she’d undoubtedly noticed the moment the door closed. Luffy didn’t react to her tone at all, just as he’d carefully kept from reacting to her physical beauty this time. Instead, he tapped the lacquered box on the table.

“Officially, if anyone important enough asks, the meeting was entirely to pass on the guide contained within this box. A guide that, as it happens, contains some of the secrets to reducing the weaknesses of Devil Fruits. This is very much not knowledge for public consumption, but it is possible to reduce the weakness to seawater to the point a Devil Fruit user can outright swim in the ocean itself. I myself, as well as multiple members of my crew, have successfully achieved this. Ocean water still weakens us, but we can function in it, and are at no risk of drowning.”

All three sisters blinked, looking stunned, and Luffy couldn’t blame them. He had, of course, removed all information pertaining to the fact you could eventually eject a Devil Fruit while keeping the powers. Even he was nowhere close to achieving that, and might not be for decades, so he wasn’t too concerned they’d figure that part out on their own. Of course, given the insane value of such a book, Hancock’s eyes quickly sharpen with even more suspicion.

“You said that was the official reason. Speak quickly, before I take offense on assumptions.”

Luffy nodded, but did not, in fact, hurry. This conversation was not one to be had in haste.

“Let me wipe away the obvious assumptions first. While you are quite beautiful, I am entirely happy with my own romantic situation, and am not interested at all in complicating it. Nor is this an attempt at blackmail. While I suppose the information in my possession could be used for that, I loathe the topic and would never use it that way. Nor would I dare bring up such a sore and secretive subject for any reason lesser than an attempt to farther help you hide it. The soundproofing on this room is entirely because I’m certain you don’t wish certain secrets to be revealed. Jinbe might well already know, given his leadership of the Sun Pirates, and I’m near certain Rayleigh does, but I doubt you wish the information to spread farther.”

Hancock had paled, as had her sisters, as his calm voice went on. The names he’d connected to the ‘secret’ would lead them only to one conclusion. He could see all three of them tensing, ready to attack, but he refused to respond in kind.

“The upper ranks of the Marines are aware of certain secrets, and I’ve had access to some of that information due to my grandfather. The only reason I am bringing this up at all, is because I possess the ability to permanently remove the ‘Hoof of the Soaring Dragon’ brand. Something which would dramatically reduce the chances of anyone that doesn’t already know ever finding out you had it.”

All three sisters blinked, still tense, but clearly processing the dual implications. Both that he knew they had the brand…and that he could supposedly remove it. Luffy, moving deliberately slowly, raised the back of one hand and activated his newest Perk, purchased from the System on the way to way to Amazon Lily.

… … … … … … … …

Spirit Healing (Body Molding): By learning a great deal about the manipulation of Spiritual Energy for healing, you’ve gained the ability to alter the bodies of yourself and others. Cosmetic changes are relatively easy, and prolonged, careful manipulation can also increase aspects like bone and muscle fiber density. Great care must be taken to prevent unbalancing the interconnected systems of the body.

… … … … … … … …

The back of his hand slowly shifted as he remolded his own flesh, forming into a birthmark shaped like his pirate mark, then equally slowly shifting back. He shifted the skin again, into a circle-like brand, and held the hand out for Hancock to examine. Despite appearing as calm as he could, he was incredibly tense. Giving her the chance to freeze him to stone with direct contact was nerve-wracking. Yet, if this wasn’t going to end in a fight, he needed her to believe. For long moments, she hesitated, but ultimately, she reached out to feel the back of his hand. He willed the shift to happen again, letting her feel as the skin smoothed out to normal.

Her voice was rougher than he’d ever expected to hear it as she spoke.

“How can I be sure this isn’t just you’re shapeshifting at work.”

Luffy grimaced internally at that. Truth be told, he could probably do something of the sort with his shapeshifting, with enough effort. Though he’d never tried anything of the sort. Which meant that it was a legitimate question.

“I can apply it to one of you first, for the others to examine. Or if you know of some Kuja with other scars they’d like to have erased, I could do that too. I set this meeting up with as few people as possible purely for your sakes, not for any care of hiding the ability on my part. Technically, Kaya could likely do this as well, but she doesn’t know about your past, and I would never share it without your permission.”

Kaya couldn’t use Body Molding, as he hadn’t taught her the trick since gaining the knowledge from the Perk. But he had little doubt she could pull it off with a combination of the Sick-Sick Fruit and her own healing. It was a far smaller change than the modifications she’d made the Usopp, after all. Or even than a few general boosters she’d begun providing to the crew.

The emotions all three sisters were radiating were far too complex to sort as they took in what he was saying. Likely even for themselves. Eventually, it was a tense-voiced Sandersonia who spoke.

“He can try it on me. Sister, if this works…”

Hancock released Luffy’s hand, face nearly blank, and slowly nodded.

“It will be a priceless gift if it does. If this is a trick, nothing will protect you or your crew, Monkey D. Luffy.”

The cold words hid emotions that had settled into a horrifyingly painful mix of hope and trauma, so Luffy only nodded. There was nothing he could say at this point that providing proof wouldn’t handle better. Sandersonia hesitated, clearly wrestling with going through with her decision, then grimaced and moved to Luffy’s side of the table. She was tall, far more so than even he was, so when she knelt and fumbled her top off, faced away from him, it brought the brand in question to his eye level even when he stood. Both of her sisters flinched at the reveal, and tensed when Luffy reached out to touch the brand. But then their emotions spiked sharply toward hope and raw relief as, over the course of three minutes, every trace that the slave brand had ever existed faded away. All that was left was smooth skin, completely identical to the lightly tanned skin already present.

It would take several minutes of careful examination, including running Haki through the skin, to prove to them that the change was real and not going to revert. The moment they were convinced, Luffy got a surprise view of Boa Hancock’s breasts as she didn’t even wait to turn away before she had her top off. Thankfully, the fact that he’d gotten a good look at her didn’t even seem to register as she half-asked and half-demanded he remove her own brand as well.

Luffy would never explain to another living soul, not even his lovers, why the sisters had abruptly become far less abrasive in dealing with the crew than before. Nor why he had been gifted with a sizable piece of all three sisters Vivre cards…

… … …

Luffy was basking in the glory of the famed Lap Pillow, curtesy of Robin, as they finally pulled away from Amazon Lily. She was the absolute best at it, with her many hands working away at various tense muscle groups as she ran the fingers of one natural hand through his hair. He could feel the pent-up stress leeching out of his body as she worked, idly enjoying her humming as she read a book aloud while helping him relax. Of his girls, only Robin properly had the patience for this, and right now it was absolutely what he needed.

They’d only been on Amazon Lily for a little over a week, and it had been a productive stop. But the sheer number of near-incidents that had occurred had left Luffy more stressed than he could remember being in years. Even aside from the incredibly tense hour with Hancock, Marigold, and Sandersonia, the rest of the crew had caused their own chaos. Though not all of it had been their own faults.

Chopper had nearly been kidnaped by the locals as a new favorite mascot, Kaya had managed to enact revenge on several poor women who probably didn’t even understand what they’d done wrong, and Sanji had a new cult following that he seemed not to know what to do with. The last one, at least, had been amusing, as he kept oscillating between an instinct to flirt with everything attractive and female, and begging ‘Mistress Hina’ for forgiveness. Hina herself felt to Luffy’s senses like she was mostly amused, even if she faked irritation at him well enough to make Sanji repeatedly panic and switch to waiting on her and Perona hand and foot.

He still didn’t know the exact nature of Hina, Sanji, and Perona’s little relationship, and was determined to go as long as physically possible without finding out. It was reigning Sanji’s more problematic behaviors in, and even keeping him from any sort of jealousy over his own situation with Nami, Robin, Yamato, and Vivi. That was good enough for Luffy.

Thankfully, Vivi, Kuina, and Jinbe had all proven remarkably good at diffusing the numerous odd situations that had arisen. Yet that hadn’t kept Luffy from having to put out a dozen near-fires himself, one of them even caused by Yamato, of all people, accidentally getting herself semi-adopted into the tribe by ritual combat in some sort of Arena. One that was well into the island proper and apparently used as a way to establish hierarchy among the tribe. The fact that Yamato had apparently not quite realized its importance, and fought her way all the way to Hancock and had nearly won that fight too, had caused…unexpected issues.

Thankfully, Hancock actually had won, though Luffy privately suspected she might not have if Yamato had still been fresh at that point. In the end, navigating the complications that Yamato had unintentionally caused had been a thorny proposition…which he couldn’t even lecture her for. Firstly, because it would be unfair to her as she hadn’t been warned, second because she’d take it way too hard coming from him, and third because it had ultimately done a fair bit of good in the end. There had been a segment of the Amazons, led by an elder who was a former Empress, who hadn’t been happy with the deal Hancock had made. Having Yamato prove just how strong she, and by extension her crew, were? It had silenced a lot of Hancock’s opposition neatly.

Particularly so when part of the solution had been for Yamato and he to get into a serious match, letting everyone see that he was very much on the same level. A similar match with Jinbe, as well as a few with the locals versus a few of his female crew members, had put farther paid to the doubts and doubters. Doubters who had been shouted down even more once Vivi had started bringing in trade goods from Alabasta…and even let some of the Kuja visit the palace of her home island under very careful guidance.

Apparently, the visit had started a fashion revolution among the Kuja, with them taking a liking to the ‘harem dancer’ style that wasn’t uncommon to see on Alabasta. Something which had farther sent poor Sanji, and Brook as well for that matter, into something of a tailspin. Seriously, he loved his crew, but they were unquestionably a chaotic bunch, and the Kuja hadn’t been much better. If for very different reasons.

As some of Robin’s hands decided he needed a different type of stress relief, and Luffy’s moans and groans changed from relaxed relief to passionate, his exasperation died right along with most of his other higher thought processes…

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

A/N 1: So, Luffy's little scene with Handcock? That would likely have been where I tagged in a slow-burn romantic buildup if she'd won in the relationship polls. I decided to keep the basic idea in, even though she didn't win in said polls, since it still helps explain her attitude toward Luffy and the crew turning positive enough to be useful later. It's...a LITTLE heavy handed, I admit, so hopefully it didn't come off too unbelievable.

A/N 2: Anyone that doesn't want a lap pillow from Robin is clearly a monster. This I stand by with all the seriousness of a thousand fluffy puppies. Which, admittedly, isn't very serious, but the cute level is super dangerous!

A/N 3: You probably know this bit by now, but I need to say it anyway ;-)! Once per release, I point out that I have a P-atreon Page with Early Access content. Chapters 109-113 of One Piece: Halfway Broken are already available there, adding roughly 15,000+ words which will remain in Early Access until next month. Similarly, there are at least a few Early Access chapters there for ALL of my stories, though NONE of them are ever permanently paywalled. Check my profile for the address, or search the web for 'Novus's Fanfiction Works.'