One Piece – Halfway Broken

Summary: The crew reaches their first stop on the Grand Line! How much will change? How much will remain the same?

Warning! Chapters 26-28 were all posted back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss any of them!

Chapter 28: Cactus Island

Luffy and his crew had ended up spending four days at the lighthouse, simple bad luck having caused them to arrive when the log pose wouldn't set for the destination Luffy was aiming for. Crocus had taken a liking to the crew, particularly to Kaya who was an absolute sponge for his medical advice. Luffy, too, had earned a lot of good will by simple expedient of combining an animal form with his Voice of the World Perk and a bit of spiritual energy to act as a translator of sorts between Laboon and Crocus. It wasn't perfect, but he could more or less understand Laboon and be understood in turn. In general terms, at least.

Which was good, since he wasn't about to pull original Luffy's idiocy and fight the whale to create a 'rivalry.' Thankfully, between them he and Crocus managed to convince Laboon that Luffy and his crew were willing to look for any hints that his crew might still be around. Something Luffy was fairly certain should be the case for at least Brook. Though there was little certainty that he'd encounter the skeletal swordsman. In the meantime, Luffy had pointed out that getting tough enough to fight the seakings of the calm belt was infinitely more achievable than knocking down the Red Line. And Crocus had sworn to help Laboon get stronger so he could do so. The combination had managed to get the giant island whale to knock off knocking into the mountain range. Which had earned Luffy a lot of points with Crocus.

It was for that reason that the old man had warned the crew about the current inhabitants of Whisky Peak, though he admitted that they shouldn't have much trouble with them. Not only were they fellow Bounty Hunters rather than marks, but they had a fair bit of extra food to trade to the town. There was at least some risk that the hunters there would turn on them and try to take their supplies by force instead of trade for it. But there was unlikely to be anyone strong enough there to truly bother a crew like theirs anyway.

Luffy had, of course, thanked him for the information. Even if it mostly lined up with what he had been hoping for, it was valuable to have confirmation. Particularly confirmation that a certain pair of 'announces,' as Crocus called them, had already made one attempt on Laboon and failed. Luffy had been extremely relieved that the description of the female member of that duo matched Vivi's. Hopefully, that meant the butterfly effects hadn't had too much impact here on the Grand Line. Though he knew better than to count on that fact. Particularly since he was already changing things here, too.

Shaking himself as his weather sense kicked in, Luffy eyed their distance from the Red Line and nodded.

"Get ready, everyone! Remember what Crocus told us! The weather here on the Grand Line is crazy, and it's worst of all near the Red Line where so many magnetic fields overlap! Sanji, Zoro, get ready to haul in the sail! We'll power through the worst of it on the engines to minimize the chaos! Everyone else, be ready to handle anything Nami shouts out. Nami? It's your show. Remember, keep an eye on the log pose!"

Nami nodded, then blinked in disbelief as she noted a nearly 70-degree shift since she last did look at the log pose mere minutes ago! Cursing, she spun the wheel and called out orders.

"It's already started! A rogue current pulled us off course! Pull the sails into a quarter and be ready to furl them entirely in a few minutes! Luffy, power the engines please."

Luffy nodded, snapping her a cheeky two-fingered salute before moving to the station next to her. The panels that usually hid the silver handgrips meant to carry his lightning power down to the engines were already pulled away. Hands sparking, he grabbed hold of the molded metal and began pumping current through the ship. The lead-acid battery banks scattered around the Discovery could power most things for a day or two, but the ship's electric engines would suck them dry in less than 20 minutes from a full charge. Long enough for an emergency maneuver or two if such was needed when Luffy wasn't on hand, but far from enough to get them anywhere without him acting as a generator.

Once the simple telltale light lit up for Nami, showing that the engines were being fed current, his girlfriend called out for the crew to take in the sails entirely. Just in time, too, as some wicked looking thunder clouds were rolling in with alarming speed. The massive hail that started a minute later, followed by snow, then waterspouts and raining fish, made Luffy extremely grateful that his place in such weather was in the pilot house. From his nice dry spot playing battery, watching everyone else run around clearing the decks of hail, snow and fish was actually pretty funny…

... ...

Thankfully, the worst of the crazed weather around the Red Line faded in a few hours. Though that was long enough to have seemingly properly broken the minds of most of the crew. Luffy had been the only one truly expecting it and enjoyed the sheer looks of disbelief as the crew struggled to recover from their shell shock. Keeping a loose eye on the log pose, having taken over from a mentally-wrung-out Nami who was giving a thousand-yard-stare out at the perfectly nice sunny day they'd eventually sailed into, Luffy called out to the crew.

"Welcome to the Grand Line everyone! Where everything is trying to kill you, nothing makes sense, and the only thing you can trust to be true is the needle of a log pose! And to think, this is the sane part of this ocean! Which the New World veterans call Paradise!"

Luffy only laughed at the glares and looks of disbelief. Admittedly, he'd be in their shoes himself if he hadn't been mentally prepared for it. Even knowing had only taken the edge off the unreality of how rapid and total the weather shifts had been. For Luffy, however, the way the Discovery had borne through it all with near-total aplomb was a long-awaited justification. Oh, he had no delusions that the Discovery was unsinkable, or that it hadn't needed Nami at the helm making sure they kept bows-on to the crazy rogue waves and wildly swinging currents. But there wasn't a lick of damage on the ship, even from the heavy hail, and with Nami to call out orders and the engines to simplify their task, there hadn't been a single moment where Luffy felt the situation was out of control. Giving the ship a pleased, proprietary pat, he sailed on. According to Crocus it should still be half a day or so before they hit the truly stable weather system around Cactus Island…

... ...

Crocus's estimate had been spot on and the call of 'Land Ho!' came from Usopp's place in the crow's nest just as the sun began to sink into the distant ocean. Pleased they'd have a harbor for the night, Luffy was quick to remind everyone of Crocus's warnings as Nami guided them into dock with her usual flare.

"Remember, everyone. This is a town of disguised Bounty Hunters who prefer to take pirate marks from ambush. They shouldn't be too likely to attack us. But you can never know with Bounty Hunters. They might just decide to try and take our supplies instead of trade. Zoro, you and Usopp will look after the ship for the first stretch. I'll make sure to relieve you with another pair so you can take in our first island on the Grand Line, even if it's supposedly nothing too special."

Everyone acknowledged the reminder, even as Kuina joined him again in jumping ship to greet the small party of locals. Luffy grimaced as he realized that, for once, his old memories were understating things when it came to Igaram's ridiculous hair. Still, Luffy could both see in his stance and feel in his presence that the man deserved his position as the Captain of the Alabasta Royal Guard. A quick flick of the eyes above the man's head, where Luffy's simplified HUD now displayed levels when he intentionally looked, showed the man was actually level 38. Though Vivi, who he spotted nearby, was only level 31. Still remarkable for a 16-year-old Princess. But it showed why she would have struggled to keep up with monsters like the Strawhat crew, even before Luffy had spent some time bolstering most of them with extra training.

"Welcome, strangers, to Whisky Peak! Your first stop on the Grand Line! I'm the Mayor of our little town! Tell me, what can our town do for you?"

Luffy stopped his eyes from flicking around, assessing the other Bounty Hunters and finding them mostly goon-grade nobodies. Vivi and Ingrama's partners were the only others with half decent levels, and both were weaker than their companions. He put on a wide smile of his own as he reached out to shake Igaram's hand.

"Ho, Mayor-san! I'm Luffy, the Captain of our little Hunter group. Kuina here is my First Mate. As for what you can do for us? Just a place to stretch our legs and let the log pose reset, along with some idea of how long that will take." Luffy paused as he withdrew his hand. "On the other hand, we happen to be freshly overstocked from Loguetown in the East Blue. The lighthouse keeper said you had a bit of a food shortage issue. If you have belli or items for trade, we'd be happy to help you out a bit."

The 'Mayor' blinked, his smile turning a lot less fake. Huh, apparently Igaram seemed to actually care about the people here to an extent beyond his role as a spy. Well, it wasn't hard to feel empathy for people going hungry, Luffy supposed. Even if those people were criminals unknowingly working against your own government.

"That's fantastic news! We rarely get people willing to trade in this part of the Grand Line! If your Quartermaster and you would join me in my office, I'm sure we can work something out! Ah, and to answer your earlier question, the log pose resets quite fast here. Simply staying overnight should do it."

Luffy nodded, half turning back to the ship.

"ALRIGHT YOU LOT, YOU CAN COME ON DOWN. NOJIKO, YOU'RE WITH US."

The crew, minus Zoro and Usopp, were quick to hop off the ship. None of them bothered lowering the ramp to the dock, and Luffy felt Igaram tense slightly at the sign that none of them were likely to be mooks. The Discovery sat tall enough off the water to make the drop significant. Yet none of his crew had thought twice about the distance or shown any sign that it was unusual to drop 20ft+ from the ship deck to the dock. It hadn't been an intentional show, but that made it all the more telling for the professional guard-turned-spy.

Luffy didn't let him think about it long, quickly introducing Nojiko as his Quartermaster. All the while his brain spun, trying to figure out how to accomplish what he wanted here. If he left the island without intervening, it was likely Vivi would die, and Crocodile would take over Alabasta. Luffy wasn't willing to let that slide, but how was he going to convince Vivi and her guard to break cover if the assassination attempt on them wouldn't happen for weeks yet? He hadn't wanted to plan too far, since he couldn't even be sure they'd be here.

…

…

Actually, why were they here? So far from Alabasta when they'd already discovered what they needed? He mulled that over as they were led to the Mayor's office, and eventually thought he'd figured it out. They didn't have a solution. Only information.

Vivi had figured out who was behind her country's suffering. But that man was a Warlord. Even if she could produce absolute proof to the World Government, it might not be enough for them to willingly move against him. And she was far from having absolute proof. In retrospect, continuing to stay undercover was the right choice. They were trying to figure out how to deal with what they'd found out. Who they could approach, or what leverage they could bring to bear on Crocodile. Grimacing, Luffy realized what the most likely way to get them to break cover was.

Fuck. He really didn't want to bring his grandfather into this. It felt too much like riding the old man's coattails. But without a major bounty on him to make people treat him as a credible threat, he didn't have much choice, did he? Now, how to make this work…

"If you don't mind me asking, what got you into being a Bounty Hunter, Captain? Let alone one intent on hunting here on the Grand Line. I don't mind telling you it's a rare profession here, as the pirates that make it on the Grand Line are a dangerous breed."

Yes! If he wasn't so horrifyingly ugly, Luffy could have kissed the man for the opening! Double so as the man had only asked once they reached the privacy of his office!

"Ah. Honestly, it's a bit of compromise. My grandfather wanted me to be a Marine, you see. But I don't much care for rules and being told where to go. Bit of wanderlust, you know. But he's high-ranking enough that taking other paths would have been risky. Being a Bounty Hunter lets me be on the side of the proverbial angels, unlikely to be bothered by the Marines, while still getting to go where I want and see the world along the way. I think he still hopes I'll enlist as an officer eventually, particularly after we cleared all of the significant Bounties in the East Blue."

Igaram's eyes had sharpened, even as he brought out books that looked like they covered the town's finances. They were too dusty to be real, if this was a proper town. Luffy wondered for a moment if they were even vaguely accurate, before dismissing the thought as unimportant.

"Oh? Well, the East Blue is a bit weak, so I'd be careful with your fights on the Grand Line, at least until you get the measure of the difference."

Luffy didn't have to fake the laugh that bubbled up at that. Seeing Igaram's quirked eyebrow, he grinned.

"Don't worry about that. My Grandfather is a monster. Most Vice-Admiral's are, I'd guess. But getting regular beatdowns by Garp my whole life gave me an excellent idea where I stand."

Igaram had frozen, book half-opened, at the name. Luffy couldn't blame him, even if he was internally bitching about needing the name drop. He seriously, seriously hated that.

"I guess I didn't fully introduce myself. I tend not to for obvious reasons. My full name is Monkey D. Luffy, Mr. Mayor. And I assure you I'm well aware of the sort of monsters that walk the world. That just makes it a more exciting place, though!"

To the man's credit, Igaram powered through his surprise a moment later, and nodded.

"Perhaps you do. Now, about that food you said you were willing to trade? How much of it are you willing to spare us? We truly are in a bit of a bind…"

... ...

To Luffy's surprise, it actually hadn't been that hard to make a deal with the town. He should have expected it, perhaps, but somehow the idea that these Baroque Works agents would have a stockpile of diverse weapons and tech from the various Blues had escaped him. A revolver that originated from the South Blue, while more primitive than his own, was something he wanted to study. As was some specialized ammunition for a few other guns. Some medicines, including medical books that came out of the North Blue. A handful of what looked like primitive steam-engine-powered devices from the West Blue.

All of those and more were things Luffy was more than willing to trade for, the chance to get a better handle on the overall tech of the world just too good to pass up. As were the outright benefits of some of the items, like the medicines and medical books. There were even a few history books from the West Blue, likely hinting at the lingering influence of Ohara, even if the island was now dead and much of its knowledge lost.

In exchange for it all, they gave up a bit more than three weeks worth of staple foods. Enough, given how much their own crew consumed, to supply the entire town for almost the same period of time. Which was actually a bit of an unreal moment for Luffy, as he realized that the relatively absurd strength of his crew and their heavy training regimes made them consume almost ten times what an average person would need. A bit of logistics that he would need to keep in mind, though something Sanji at least already understood.

The exchange had made them relatively welcome in town, with plenty of drinks offered up cheap when evening came. Liquor, it seemed, was one thing they weren't in short supply of. Which, come to think of it, also made sense if they'd been looting pirate ships. Luffy kept his own consumption modest, spotting Igaram quietly talking with Vivi and keeping an eye on his crew as the night progressed. He had to admit that he was a little impressed as the old guardsman maneuvered his crew into unknowingly showing off a bit. Miss Monday challenging Zoro and Kuina to arm wrestling competitions…only to lose to both of them was perhaps the funniest. And perhaps the most telling from the fake 'Mayor's' perspective. Luffy had checked the woman's stats, and she was legitimately strong. With a strength score of 97. But Kuina outmuscled her easily, without seeming to struggle, despite her much slimmer profile.

Similar things happened with other crew, Usopp was cajoled into some trick shots in exchange for free drinks, with some of those shots leaving the audience utterly amazed. Rightfully so given how impossible they were. At Luffy's subtle urging, a confused Nojiko 'accidently' slipped and showed off her Devil Fruit while acting a little drunk, as well. Adding to the picture he was helping Igaram paint.

As the night progressed, Luffy's empathy could feel Vivi and Igaram's hopes rising slowly, and wasn't particularly surprised when Vivi attempted a seductress routine to get him alone. Nami bristled at the action, but backed off in confusion when Luffy signed for her to simply follow. Vivi led him out and down an alley…where Igaram was already waiting for them. She turned, looking apologetic, but he raised his hand with a smile.

"If I thought you were actually propositioning me, I'd have said no. My girlfriend would have had nasty things to say. Nami?"

Luffy raised his voice and Nami was suddenly there…whacking Vivi in the head with a paper fan? Where had she even gotten that?

"Ow!"

Luffy snorted, even as Nami's glare lessened.

"No trying to seduce my boyfriend without including me!"

Luffy…did a double take, then rolled his eyes at the mischief dancing in Nami's eyes. She'd cocked her hips in her best sexy pose, carefully framing her cleavage as she thrust it forward, and seemed to be enjoying the way that Vivi was slowly turning red. Amused, but wanting to get on with this, Luffy tapped his girlfriend on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, love. I'm sure if what she has to say isn't good, you can turn her over your knee. It would be fun to watch."

Okay. So he wasn't beyond his own mischief, and Vivi's now completely scarlet face was absolutely worth it. So were Nami's giggles as she failed to hold her pose a moment later, shoving his shoulder.

"Luffy!" She turned to stare at the pair with them. "Now, what did you actually want, if it wasn't a kinky threesome?"

Vivi tried to speak, stuttered, and had to be saved by Igaram.

"Ma-ma-ma. Ah. My companion and I were hoping that you might be for…hire. There's a particular bounty that we want taken, but it's beyond our means. It would be quite a reputation booster for you, however."

Luffy nodded. So that was the angle they were going to play. There were problems with it, but he couldn't speak them until they'd identified the target.

"I'm certainly willing to listen. Though I have to admit some surprise that Baroque Works would need outside help."

All three of the others in the alley stiffened. Nami side-eyed him, but it was Vivi who finally got over her stutter to speak.

"What! How did you know?"

Luffy laughed.

"A few of your agents weren't quite circumspect enough, calling each other by numbers or code names when they thought I couldn't hear. I looked into possible competing groups before I left the East Blue, and the Baroque Works name and practices popped up. Somehow, though…I get the feeling I'm still missing something."

There was a subtle exchange of glances between the disguised Princess and Igaram. The older man grimaced but nodded. Clearly he wasn't happy about this idea, but didn't think they were going to stumble into a better chance anytime soon. Vivi straightened and turned to lock gazes with him, her body language changing in an impressive display as it went from 'Vamp Seductress' to 'Regal' in an eyeblink. Damn. He had not been expecting her to be able to pull of the stern royalty look. It made sense, but he hadn't expected it. It made her seem a lot more like a Princess Leia, instead of the naïve teenager he'd been expecting. Stupid of him, he supposed, given that she had successfully penetrated Baroque Works.

"You are, indeed, missing a piece. My real name is Nefertari Vivi, Princess of the Alabasta Kingdom."

Nami stiffened in surprise, then frowned and raised an eyebrow at Luffy when he didn't look surprised. Ummm…oops? Well, he'd just ignore that for now!

"Alabasta? That's a pretty major trade hub. If I recall what little information I have on the Grand Line routes correctly, it's one of the few islands multiple routes cross through. What is their Princess doing undercover as a Bounty Hunter? And for an organization with a sketchy reputation, at that."

There was a tiny hesitation in Vivi's regal expression, before she committed.

"A year ago, a shipment of Dance Power was used to frame the Royal family of Alabasta for a drought in the Kingdom. A rebellion began to form against our rule, and we were desperate to discover who had done this. I and Igaram, the Captain of the Royal Guard, discovered that a criminal organization known as Baroque Works might be behind it, and went undercover in an attempt to find proof. We worked our way up the organization until, recently, we were able to identify the man behind the group. That identity made everything else make sense, even if we don't yet hold conclusive proof of his misdeeds in our hands."

Luffy hummed. That was about what he'd thought. And seemed to be in line with what he remembered as well. Good, even if butterfly effects might have reached here, this much at least seemed unchanged. Which honestly made sense, given that any plan of Crocodile's had likely been several years, or more, in the making.

"Understand, if I reveal who that is to you, it will put you at risk. If you are not interested in helping…"

"It's most likely Crocodile."

Luffy blinked. Mostly because that hadn't come from him. Everyone looked to Nami, Vivi outright gaping at her. Nami just shrugged.

"We made sure to find out as much as we could about the major players before entering the Grand Line. The current Yonko, Warlords, and higher-ranking Marines. What their abilities were and known personalities. There's a lot of holes in what we know, but I remember the information we do have said Crocodile had set himself up playing hero in some desert kingdom. That's Alabasta, right?"

Vivi nodded, eyes huge as Nami seemed to invalidate all her hard work. Nami shook her head and disabused her of that notion quickly.

"I couldn't have guessed that without you being here and revealing who you were, Princess. The fact that you know, but that you're here rather than at some Marine base somewhere, means that whoever was behind it was a very big fish. One with enough pull that the Marines wouldn't want to touch him without absolute proof." Nami grimaced. "That's a problem in and of itself, though. Warlords have their bounties Frozen."

Here it was Igaram's turn to interrupt.

"Ah. That is technically true. Yet also not. What actually happens is that amnesty is granted to a Warlord by the Marines. Their bounties won't increase and Marines will ignore them. However, the actual bounty technically remains active. Nominally, the reason for this is because the Warlords are a somewhat dog-eat-dog organization. The understanding is that, should another pirate succeed in taking out a Warlord, that pirate would be given the bounty and offered the newly freed position. This has happened several times in the past."

Luffy frowned. That…made a twisty sort of sense. It forced the Warlords to remain sharp and insured any that were inactive would be targeted by rivals that wanted the spot, forcing the Warlords to do their job as a control mechanism on powerful pirates. There was a problem though.

"So, we could cash in his bounty still…but the World Government might not exactly be happy about that. We aren't pirates, so they'd be out a Warlord without someone to replace them."

Vivi grimaced but nodded.

"There is a risk in that. But, since we will also raid his facilities for proof of his criminal acts, we can hopefully prove he was in big enough violation of his status that the World Government won't do anything about it. Particularly if we formally contract you as Bounty Hunters to deal with him. That will grant you more legal protection…"

Luffy nodded, though he thought it was a bit naïve of her. There was a chance, particularly given who he was related to, that the World Government would let it go. On the other hand, it would be a hell of an embarrassment for them, and declaring Luffy a pirate, then offering him Warlord status, might seem like a reasonable solution to that embarrassment. It would make him more biddable, as legitimate Bounty Hunters were not subject to Marine oversight at all, where the Warlords at least sort of were. He figured it was fifty-fifty which way the coin would land.

On the other hand, Luffy very much intended to try recruiting Robin. Not just out of sympathy, but because her ability to read poneglyphs was potentially critical if he ever wanted to reach Laugh Tale. And Nami's Dream, at least, required that. As did, admittedly, Luffy's own burning curiosity about just why that place was so important. If he succeeded in his attempt to recruit her, he'd be marking himself as an enemy of the WG regardless. So, did the gamble really matter? Particularly when the alternative was to ignore people that needed help? Besides, he was sick of having to drop his family name. One way or another, it would establish his reputation independently if he took out a Warlord…

"We'll do it."

Nami grimaced.

"Captain…"

Luffy grinned at her.

"You don't want to tell Nojiko you refused, when the situation is so similar to your own, do you? Remember why Arlong was free the in first place…"

Nami flinched, then sighed and nodded.

"Fine. But I reserve the right to say this was a bad idea if we all die horribly."

Luffy snickered at that, but let Nami have her grumbling. The fighting she'd done so far, with the focus of helping free the slaves of Tequila Wolf, had gone a long way to overcoming Nami's tendency to avoid conflict. Even if it would never be her first choice like it was for some of the crew. Turning his attention to Vivi and Igaram, Luffy asked the next important question.

"Now, how are we going to do this, exactly? Are you simply going to abandon your cover?"

Vivi, eye shining brightly with new hope, explained the plan. As he listened, Luffy had to admit that the plan was sound. It might actually buy them a little time. Though Luffy suspected it would only matter up until the point Croc would become aware of their knowledge in the first place. However that had originally happened. Who knows, though? Maybe he wouldn't become aware until it was already too late…

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

A/N: Whisky Peak. I'm not entirely happy with how contrive the end result of this feels. Unfortunately, it was one of the few places I needed to at least loosely resemble canon. The other islands will have much larger divergences...

A/N 2: Once per release, I remind people that...I have a Patreon! Nothing I write, fanfiction wise, is ever permanently paywalled. That said, I do have Early Access chapters. There is, in fact, roughly another 16,500 words of One Piece - Halfway Broken currently in Early Access (Chapters 29-32). Including the first lemon for the story ;-).  There are also early access chapters of my other works there as well, typically totaling 40-60k words of various works in early access at any one time. I always appreciate any support, since it helps me free up more writing time...but most of all I hope you just enjoy the stories!