One Piece – Halfway Broken

Summary: Sneaky sneaking and first bounties!

Warning! Chapters 36-39 were all posted back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss any of them!

Chapter 38: Escape from Alabasta

Their escape from Alabasta was a sneaky affair, rather than a violent one. Forewarned, and needing to operate under the assumption that whoever was set to intercept them was likely already in place given that their plans to leave the island soon had been known, Luffy delayed their departure until deep in the night. It was then that he and his crew took ruthless advantage of several different capabilities that the Marines were unlikely to know they had.

The first such trick was a brutally simple system Luffy had designed for the Discovery. A series of discrete attachment points, ones few people would think much of given the ship's already odd design, were in fact reserved for a specific purpose. That purpose had made Hina shake her head at the sheer simplicity of it, when Luffy revealed that it was designed to allow them to quickly secure black dyed canvas over the Discovery's outer hull. This, plus the relatively dark metal that made up the main mast, did an effective job of blacking out the ship. Combined those facts with removing the ship's bright white sails in favor of only using the extremely quiet electric engines and the Discovery could become a virtual ghost in the night.

That stealth effect was something made doubly effective by the shallow draft that allowed it to hug the coastline…and triply effective by the fact that they headed away from where their Log Pose was pointing. Alabasta was on two of the routes for the Paradise half of the Grand Line and Luffy had been very careful to make sure their Log Pose was locked onto the one that should, in theory, lead to Skypiea. As much as he was a bit leery of facing Enel, he badly wanted access to Dials, making him very unwilling to miss that one chance he knew he'd get at acquiring them in mass.

The thing was, that Alabasta was special for more reasons than just being on two separate routes of the Grand Line. It also happened to have a couple of nearby islands that were too small to generate their own magnetic fields, yet were large enough to have settlements. In the Grand Line, normally finding such islands was incredibly difficult. The ingenuity of the locals, however, had given rise to the means to do so. Going from either of those two settlements to Alabasta itself was as simple as letting a Log Pose set, of course. But going from Alabasta to Mauli or Ruba was a different sort of challenge, though one that locals had long since figured out the trick of.

Specifically, Alabasta had two sets of Eternal Poses, both pointed to islands deeper into the Grand Line. Neither of them would take you directly to the outlying islands, both of which quietly belonged to the Alabasta Kingdom. What they did do, however, was provide two 'locked' reference points for sailing. To Nami's delight, this tactic allowed completely traditional navigation methods, since with just a little mental effort (or a decent set of instructions for that matter) you could adjust to using those two references in place of a regular compass.

The method would get less and less accurate the farther you traveled from Alabasta, to the point where only someone like Nami could have used it to navigate very far. But with the necessary notations and experimentation already long performed by the Alabasta Kingdom, it was hilariously easy for them to set a course for Mauli. Which just so happened to take them farther down the route away from Skypiea/Jaya. Doing this meant that they would be heading out toward their actual destination from a radically different angle than the Marines could possibly expect. Hina had confirmed that even she hadn't had any idea that the two islands and their settlements even existed, despite having been effectively in command of the local Marines. Which was a pretty solid indication that Alabasta had managed to keep them hidden quite effectively.

The reason for that lack of knowledge on the Marines behalf was the same reason that they would only be staying at Mauli for a single day. It and its sister island were, as far as the Royal Family's records said, surviving pieces of Alabasta's original climate. Though their records lacked details, they claimed that sometime in the past, Alabasta had been a regular summer island. Some sort of disaster had struck it, both shattering off pieces of the island and rendering the vast majority of it a perpetual desert. Mauli and Ruba, two of those pieces that had 'shattered,' had somehow retained the original summer island climate. Which, as it happened, meant that they could very quietly provide something like forty-five percent of Alabasta's crops. They also didn't lie very close at all to the routes too and from Alabasta, making ships unlikely to just happen upon them.

This was the secret of how Alabasta hadn't starved under the artificial drought that Crocodile had produced, despite having a population of literally millions. Hina and Robin had both been startled by the reveal, with apparently both the World Government and Crocodile both having previously been baffled how Alabasta had lasted so long as it did under a years-long drought. Its position as a trade hub had explained some of its survival, but both the WG and Crocodile had believed they would collapse much faster than they had. The sister islands were the reason that hadn't happened, as both were considered state secrets, worked exclusively by people extremely loyal to the Nefertari family.

In point of fact, it was only the fact that Vivi had decided to sail out with them, at least as far as Mauli, that had allowed them this option at all. As a member of the Royal Family was part of their crew, the Strawhats could make use of the small and highly loyal community as a final stopping off point before truly leaving the waters around Alabasta. They would do so for only a day, again using the cover of night to get farther along their route and well beyond the distance any realistic patrol cordon around Alabasta would be able to catch them.

Given that the Discovery was, so far as anyone knew, currently the fastest ship in the world…whatever Vice-Admiral had been sent to intercept them was unlikely to catch them at all. Not until long after the World Government was forced to face the wrath of an Alabasta whose princess had been declared a 'pirate,' despite never committing any acts of actual piracy.

How exactly that would all tumble out would be an interesting case study. Particularly given that Robin had added another canon to Alabasta's position by not-so-innocently mentioning that King Nefertari could now legitimately claim to have stood in the room and watched Nico Robin translate the location of Pluton. She hadn't shared that location, of course. But the World Government didn't know that and they could no longer count on the secret being unknown. Nor could they call King Cobra's bluff that the information would 'find its way to the right people,' if something happened to him.

It was underhanded, nasty…and Luffy fully approved. After all, anything that made the stupid bastards who'd labeled his crew as outlaws just to try and put a leash on them was good in his books. The fact that it would virtually certainly ensure that no one could move against Alabasta without years of spy work to assure themselves King Cobra didn't actually know anything was a nice bonus. If Luffy had his way, by the time they were sure it was safe, Alabasta would have become a juggernaut that they didn't dare move against anyway. It was, after all, the only external pressure point the WG might try to use against their crew in the future. None of the rest his crew had ties deep enough to any island that said island couldn't simply renounce them.

As Nami made a silent adjustment to push them away from the Alabasta coastline with no sign they'd been spotted, Luffy smirked. He had no intention of making it easy for the World Government to villainize him. Even if he knew they'd do it anyway…

... ...

Three days later, there was a pause in the mid-morning training as a News Coo arrived. Usopp, on lookout just in case the Marines managed to catch up to them after all, had spotted the gull coming in and called it out. All of them were aware what was expected to happen, now that they'd left Alabasta, so training quickly trailed off as Luffy met the Coo and paid it for the delivery. For a moment he considered teasing them by focusing on the paper. There was virtually certain to be an article about the topic, after all. Dismissing the thought as potentially funny but too likely to make his crew riot, he instead skipped to the meat of their expectations…the newest set of bounty notices. He quickly peeled off a pair that weren't related to his crew, then spotted the chunk that were. Quickly shuffling them, he nodded, and held up a hand theatrically.

"As expected from our formerly-inside source! Myself, Kuina, Zoro, Nojiko, and Sanji have had bounties issued on us. They appear not to have realized Robin's presence yet, as her bounty has not seen an update. Going from lowest to highest…"

Luffy waited a few heartbeats for the tension to build.

"…Sanji is the first bounty!"

The chef cursed, even as a few cheerful jeers were shot his way.

"That said, it's a respectable first bounty! Twenty Million for 'Black-Leg Sanji.' With a very interesting photo too!"

Luffy couldn't help but grin as he turned the poster around, having barely been able to keep it in at seeing a real-world version of the 'artist sketch' from the anime of his past life. Sanji's cursing turned to a horrified choking noise as he saw it, even as the rest of the crew stared…then broke down into laughter. It took several minutes for everyone, Luffy included, to get control of themselves. He was fairly certain he'd even seen Robin chuckling, and she'd remained fairly stoic and aloof with the crew so far. Struggling to refrain from another round of laughter as he put the poster down, he moved on.

"N-now, next up is Nojiko! With a respectable 30 million bounty, the Crystal Queen seems to have left quite an impression on the Marines!"

This announcement got far more cheers and approving comments as Nojiko was congratulated on getting a striking name. The fact that she looked regal-yet-bloodthirsty in the snapshot taken of her mid rain-of-crystal-shards was a marked contrast to Sanji's poster. It certainly made her look rather violent, which was likely the intent, but there was no question the photo fit the new name quite well.

"Next, Zoro! With a sizable jump at 50 million, and the new title of Oni of Blades!"

Zoro looked caught between scowling at the fact he'd lost out to Kuina, and happy with the title and fierce look they'd caught. He'd been mid Oni-Giri strike when whoever had snapped the shot got it, which might explain their choice of names. Moving on before Zoro could deicide if he should grumble or not, Luffy pointedly highlighted the likely reason for the next bounty as he listed it.

"For the First Mate of the 'Stawhat Pirates,' we have a 65 Million bounty for Shimotsuki Kuina the Sword Saint!"

Cheers came from all around, in particular from the female crew aside from Robin, though Luffy's paranoia sparked just a bit. How had the Marines landed on the exact same title for Kuina that his System had been using? Come to think of it, they'd labeled Zoro an 'Oni' while his system called him 'Fiend.' Which was a little too similar too. Was it coincidence? Or something more? He'd certainly be checking their entries later, when he had a chance to do so subtly.

"And finally myself! For a cool 100 million, we have Strawhat Luffy! Which is a super boring name and I'm going to have to send in a protest!"

His crew laughed at the comment, even as Luffy wondered if that title was something simply set in stone by fate. The picture, at least, had changed. Without the Gomu Gomu no Mi influencing his growth, he was considerably taller and more muscular than canon Luffy would have been. Though he was still built on a swimmer's lines, rather than Garp's blocky bulk. Still, looking bloody and grim, likely right after returning from his fight with Crocodile if he judged right, he certainly made for a far more menacing image than the stupidly grinning fool that would have been on Luffy's original poster.

"270 million for a newly declared crew. That's quite a bounty…particularly if we add my own current 79 million to it. We're certainly going to attract attention, Captain."

There was a mix of amusement and warning in Robin's voice that leveled out the atmosphere just a little, though it remained upbeat. Luffy kept it that way when he simply grinned and pointed out that such things cut both ways.

"Of course we are. But that's just as useful as it is dangerous, Robin. As I'm sure you of all people is aware. Very few are the bounty hunters that will go after a crew with a collective bounty that high. Most pirates in Paradise will be wary of the same, for that matter. The Marines were, effectively, a lost cause from the start since they are the ones that pulled this dirty trick. In truth, the size of the bounties are more good than bad in the end."

Hina was quick to nod sharp approval of that, voicing her own thoughts a moment later.

"Hina agrees. The bounties are high ones, as well. Likely, the Marines were expecting to have to freeze them almost immediately when you accepted the Warlord position, and thus set them higher than they might have for first timers. Something easy enough to justify given that you supposedly killed a 'King' and then took out a Warlord as an encore."

Luffy nodded. It made sense.

"Well! If pirates we are, then pirates we are! Time to celebrate and settle on what we're using as our flag now, shall we?"

More cheers came at that, with suggestions about their potential Jolly Roger quickly starting to flow…

... ...

Luffy looked on in satisfaction as the last stroke of their new mark was made on the Discovery's massive mainsail. Perhaps in reaction to too many of their titles being far too close to what would have happened in the canon-that-once-could-have-been, Luffy had flatly refused the idea of using the Jolly Roger that the original Strawhat crew would have come up with. Instead, this flag had been far more heavily personalized. It did, admittedly, still feature the Strawhat on the skull of the original symbol. That, sadly, was a bit unavoidable with his crew having gained the moniker 'The Strawhat Pirates.' From there, however, it differed radically.

The first major difference was in the 'crossbones' to the skull. Instead of traditional bones, one of the 'bones' was made up of Wado Ichimonji on one side of the skull, and a katana featuring the distinctive, blood red and ripple patterned blade, the metal made in the manner of Damascus steel that Zoro's 'final' trio of blades had ended up being. They weren't anything remotely as simple as steel, of course, actually being a titanium-carbide-lunarian steel alloy that took spiritual energy insanely well. All while being durable to a degree that even Meito blades would struggle to match. Not that Luffy was even remotely as skilled as those that had made the Meito blades, of course. It was just that the materials he had to work with were enough better to have closed the gap a great deal. The end result was extremely distinctive and made up the flip side of that particular 'cross bone.'

The other 'cross bone' had similarly been replaced by a weapon. Specifically, a bone-white iteration of Nami's current Climatact. Assuming they eventually met Brook, Luffy mentally figured they would likely replace half of that with his sword blade. For now, everyone had easily accepted the argument that there were simply no other weapons, aside from his own jian, that could have taken the spot. Since he was already represented with the Hat, his argument to use the full Climatact as one 'bone' had been accepted.

Of course, those were only the first changes, as each current crewmate was represented. Nojiko and Robin were represented in the background of the flag, where a deliberately faded rendition of the Great Tree of Knowledge, painted ragged and torn, was embraced by a circle of crystal shards. A pool of water in which differing fish from many oceans swam rested at the tree's base for Sanji. Robin had cracked a bit at the inclusion of her own image, her emotions visible in a way they hadn't been since she'd come on board. No one had been so gauche as to comment…but Kaya had embraced the woman and surprisingly not been rebuffed.

Kaya's own addition came in the form of a stethoscope, looking like it was dangling from the 'neck' just below the skull. Chopper's was in the form of a small set of antlers made of sakura blossoms that peeked out through holes in the Strawhat. Usopp's came in the form of a pair of goggles with aiming reticles on them that covered the Skull's eyes. Hina, who had needed to be poked and prodded more than any of the others, had finally allowed the crossed out, stylized letters BC to be 'tattooed' on one cheek of the skull. It was, apparently, the unit patch of her Black Cage Corps, which had been completely annihilated save for herself on Drum. With her defection, it would never again be a symbol flown or honored by the Marines, so Hina decided to take the cross outed version as her own symbol…and as a way to remember those she'd lost under her previous command.

All in all, the end result was far busier looking than a traditional pirate Jolly Roger. Some might even have called it a little overdone, despite the high quality of the artwork that they had managed between them. But that was okay. They hadn't set out to be pirates in the first place, and not a single one of them really felt the need to be 'normal' by pirate standards. They would fly the flag, wear what was supposed to be a dishonor and insult from the Marines with pride. But they would do it their way. No matter what anyone else thought of that fact…

Just as Luffy groped for something inspirational to say, he was saved by the need when Nami glanced down at the Log Pose at her wrist and did a double take.

"Captain! The Log Pose…it's pointing up! I mean, I know you said it was a thing…but…"

But she hadn't quite believed it. Luffy didn't mind. Instead, he laughed.

"We're making Sky Island our next true stop then, folks! But first, we're going to need information! Nami, break out the Eternal Pose I gave you labeled 'Jaya!' We're headed to the pirate haven of Mock Town. We can kick some ass, get some answers, and hopefully leave for the White Sea from there!"