One Piece – Halfway Broken

Warning! Chapters 109 & 110 were posted together, returning readers make sure you pick up where you left off!

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, he 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 quite confident 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 Fishmen 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. He’d just been doing what he felt was right. Nor did he think events going as they had was 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 akin to 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.”

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

AN 1: I...don't know where the fuck this chapter came from. In truth, Luffy's existential crisis was real, in a way. When I first started writing this version of Luffy, I legitimately didn't have a plan for what his goal was. I thought that was okay, honestly. 'Alex' was only 16 when he bit it in the plane crash, and Luffy's only 18-19 even now. No one really knows what they want or who they are at that age. Or almost no one, at least, you do get the rare few old souls and oddballs.

The farther I got, though? The more I changed things and Luffy drug the whole setting into another direction? Well, the more of a problem it became that he didn't really know what he was doing. In a very real way, the character literally had his own existential crisis as things started hammering together, because I, as his writer, hadn't given him a specific purpose. Somehow, that resulted in...this. I don't hate it, and I'm kinda interested to see where it goes myself, odd as that may sound. It's a sort of accidental exploration of a part of the 'coming of age' story that rarely gets mentioned. But I admit to a little trepidation of how readers are going to react, because it's a very odd divergence...sort of?

AN 2: 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 111-114 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.'