One Piece – Halfway Broken

Summary: Those pesky butterflies...

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

Chapter 39: Town? What Town?

"U-um! Captain! Something is wrong! Look at the sky!"

For just a moment, Luffy thought that Usopp's callout might be a falling ship, or the sky shadows that would have been seen with the original timing of the canon trip through the Grand Line. So far as he knew, they were still a few days too early for that, despite having spent more time in both Drum and Alabasta, then an additional day more on Mauli. But he had no idea how common or uncommon an occurrence such things actually were. A quick glance told him that such wasn't the cause of Usopp's uncertain call out, however. No, there were black clouds on the distant sky…and they weren't the type that spoke of thunder.

No, those were ash clouds.

"Nami! All ahead full! I'll be in to power the engines in a moment! Usopp, get eyes on the shore as soon as possible! Everyone else, clear us for battle!"

The ship surged, Nami engaging the engines with the reserve battery power that would only last a few minutes. That was more than enough time for Luffy to dart into the pilot house and hook up to the generator feed, pumping power down to the engines as the Discovery's speed jumped. The crew scrambled to obey orders, but several were calling out questions. Luffy didn't need to answer, however, as Hina did it for him.

"They're ash clouds! Large scale ones. The sort you only see if an entire town, or island, is burning! Chopper, Kaya, I'd suggest you prepare for a lot of injuries. You might want to contact Vivi and warn her we might need more medical supplies as well."

Luffy nodded at that, quickly confirming that order, assigning Nojiko to get it done. Jaya might be a Pirate freeport, but there would be plenty of civilians there that catered to those pirates. It's not like the pirate crews themselves were going to run the bars, shops, and other such establishments, after all. Luffy wouldn't cry over the deaths of most pirates. But civilians were another matter entirely, even if these ones were likely a bit dubious in their morality given their choice of where to live.

Despite the Discovery's speed, the smoke and ash they'd spotted had been visible from far enough out that it took them nearly forty minutes to properly get eyes on Mock Town. By then Vivi, who had returned to Alabasta even if she was still laying low while there, had responded to Nojiko's coded Den Den Mushi call and returned to the Discovery. As they came into range where Usopp, joined by Kaya and Nojiko on a crystal platform, could see the shore, the sniper's news was grim.

"The entire town looks just…gone, Captain! A lot of flattened buildings, and whatever remains upright has burned. Lots of sunken or burned-out ships where the docks were, too. No sign of people, but I don't see bodies or bones anywhere either. Some of the forest is still on fire, but it looks like the worst of it's over already."

Grimacing, Luffy considered for a long moment. He could scout ahead, but he wasn't sure that was the right idea when they didn't know what had done this. Reluctantly, he eased off the engines, signaling Nami to return purely to sail power. With no obvious, immediate fighting, he'd refrain from direct scouting…but they had other options on the crew now.

"Nojiko, Vivi, Robin! Eyes in the sky maneuver, if you please!"

The three women looked at him, then nodded. They'd spent a good chunk of their last few days of sailing working through the best ways to integrate their new crew members. One of the easiest new additions had been a ranged scouting ability that combined the three mentioned women's Devil Fruits. Even as Vivi used a telescope to open a 'door' between the crystal platform and a spot in the air above the island, Nojiko formed a trio of crystalline balls, which Robin grew eyes on.

Quick testing had proven that Robin's range limit was vastly extended when Vivi had a 'door' open between places, and Vivi could hold such a door open for several minutes at this point. The same range extension was true for Nojiko's control of her crystals and the trio quickly and efficiently deployed their new 'Eyes in the Sky.' Between the three of them, they'd effectively created something like a trio of drones, though only Robin could see out of them. Moments after Nojiko sent them darting through Vivi's 'door,' Robin began to give a more detailed report than Usopp had.

"There are some dead. But it looks like someone has been doing active cleanup, which means there must be survivors somewhere on the island. Signs of salvaging in a few places as well. As for the damage…I think we're looking at your brother's work, Luffy. Lots of signs of fires starting in illogical places, as well as plenty of signs of several other Devil Fruits at work. Including some buildings that look like spherical chunks of them are just…gone. Did this Blackbeard have a Devil Fruit?"

Luffy nodded, even if Robin couldn't see it. He'd made a point to ask Ace a few details about Blackbeard. Some he genuinely hadn't known the answers too and which helped him build a better picture of the man. Others where he was just covering for knowledge he shouldn't have had. He'd done the same thing with Dalton and Hina, building as much knowledge as he could of both Blackbeard and his crew.

"The Yami Yami no Mi. Some sort of Darkness or Void control, which manifests as Gravity control of a sort. Apparently, it can either crush or simply devour. Hina, you said that when something is devoured it almost looks like pieces of things were just ripped out, right?"

Hina growled, nodded, then verbalized a response for those that couldn't see her.

"Yes. Hina didn't last long enough to see everything he could do. But she saw bites taken out of buildings and ships, and that he could throw things that he'd absorbed back out at you. He defeated Hina's Black Cage Maneuver like that, just absorbed the spears we launched and sent them back at us."

Luffy nodded grimly.

"Then I'm guessing Robin is right on the mark and Ace caught up to him here. Neither of them would have been overly concerned about Mock Town, of all places, being ground zero for their fight. Any signs of who won?"

Robin was quick to shake her head, opening her eyes a moment later when Vivi couldn't hold the door open any longer as her eyes were dismissed by the distance.

"No. Though that Raft-Like Galleon Hina said Blackbeard was using isn't among the ships sunken or wrecked. Making it likely he may have escaped."

There was a heavy silence at that comment, as everyone realized the unspoken truth. That it could also mean Ace had lost. Luffy knew this Ace was stronger than his canon counterpart due to early instruction in Haki. But had it been enough? Particularly with Blackbeard having a crew of unknown strength with him?

"Well, we'll just have to find out what we can. Nami, aim us for a kilometer northwest of the town. We'll anchor away from the destruction and remaining fires, then head in to check it out…"

... ...

By the time they'd dropped anchor just off the coast of Jaya, all of them had been able to see the devastation of Mock Town with their naked eyes. Leery of any survivors thinking they could take the Discovery and yet not wanting to separate the crew, Luffy had them drop anchor far enough from shore not to be an easy swim for anyone. Between that and having Nojiko seal the entrances to the ship with several feet of her crystal, there wouldn't be much risk of someone trying to make off with the ship. Triply so since Luffy, Kaya, and Kuina would all still be within range of their Observation Haki while investigating the ruins of the town.

Satisfied that they'd made the basic preparations needed to secure the ship, everyone had stepped onto the island of Jaya via the extremely simple expedient of Vivi opening one of her 'doors' between the Discovery and shore. Luffy went through first, tapping into his Fruit to extend his Observation Haki. Doing so, in some cases, could canvas entire islands. Unfortunately, much like Alabasta, Jaya was large enough that even his boosted Haki could only cover around three quarters of the island. He did immediately start picking up a small handful of people, who seemed to be making their way toward the ruins of Mock Town. Shrugging, he spoke up to the rest of the crew as they followed him through Vivi's door.

"I'm picking up a dozen people heading towards where Mock Town was. They don't seem injured, so I'm assuming it's a salvaging party. We might as well go say hello and see if they know what happened here."

He'd attempted to keep his voice light but knew it had fallen a bit flat. He was tense, worried that Ace might have been captured despite any changes he'd made to the timeline. Hopefully, he could find out one way or another soon. Instinctively responding to his tenseness, the crew made little fuss or noise as they followed him toward the ruins. He set a brisk pace, angling towards the side of town where the salvagers were heading…

... ...

"Geeze, Luffy…your brother wasn't holding back."

The comment by Zoro had been the first word anyone had spoken since entering the ruins. The rough, dry comment was certainly accurate though. As they'd walked through what little remained of the destroyed streets, it had been very obvious what Robin had meant by 'fires starting in illogical places.' A meter-deep crater at one intersection, still smoldering with heat, had been the most obvious out-of-place sign so far. But it certainly hadn't been the only one. Slagged metal, walls that had clearly been punched through before catching on fire, a resort hotel that looked like it had been practically melted before it could burn properly. There was no question that a powerful Devil Fruit had done much of the damage…and much of the rest of the damage showed the signs of crushing force or being ripped apart. Signs of pure physical violence were also present, but far harder to attribute to any one person.

"No, he wasn't. Between that and the types of damage, it's virtually certain he fought Blackbeard here. The question remains what the results were."

Hina was the most visibly tense of the crew, and Luffy wasn't surprised that she felt a bit shaky to his senses. Blackbeard had to be her personal boogey man at the moment, given he'd almost single handedly wiped out her fleet and almost negligently put her out of commission too. Not even treating her seriously enough to kill her. Which, frankly, was actually quite worrying. Luffy had gotten an assessment of her, after all. Both with his System, and by sparring with her since Alabasta. Unlike the rest of the crew, Hina knew all six of the primary Rokushiki. Though she didn't currently have any unlocked form of Haki to go with them. Even so, between her mastery of her Devil Fruit and the Rokushiki, she was quite a bit better than her rank would suggest. Closer to a Grand Line Commadore, rather than a Captain, if Luffy was to judge.

The fact that Blackbeard had completely overwhelmed her put him in an entirely different class. Mostly likely, a class even above where Crocodile had been. Trouble was, Luffy didn't have any real idea how Blackbeard would stack up against him. Ace had seemed to think he could take Blackbeard, even with his crew, which was probably a good sign, since Ace had never once actually beaten Luffy one on one. Though there was no telling how much his brother had grown since the last time they fought, either. His brother had also been a hothead even before the Mera Mera no Mi. So it was doubly hard to say if he was actually able to take Blackbeard and his crew…or overestimating himself.

"We're about to meet our salvagers…and they appear to be monkeys."

Luffy blinked at the seeming non-sequitur from Robin. He'd known they were about to run into the group he'd sensed of course, but...

He only just connected the dots when they all rounded the corner and found themselves face to face with a burly 'man' that looked far too much like an ape, and a portly fellow that looked distinctly like a monkey. The ten crewman scattered behind them were all dressed to match, and every member of both sides blanched in surprise. The Strawhats at their opposite numbers' odd appearance, and the salvagers as the sudden appearance of nearly their own number of strangers. Luffy, who had abruptly connected the dots just in time, managed to speak before anyone else.

"You two have to be members of the Saruyama Alliance I've heard about."

Both sides paused in instinctive reaches for weapons, even as the two leaders of the salvage team gaped. One of them, the ape looking man, recovered quicker than the other.

"That's right! Known far and wide, I'm the great Salvage King Masira! So strong it's rumored I'll become the next Warlord, now that there's an empty spot!"

The other man shot his…brother? His possible brother, a betrayed looked.

"No, no, no! You know that's not true, Masira! They are clearly considering me, the Sonar King Shoujou for the spot! There's even been rumors about it!"

The men both glared at each other, even as Luffy's own crew looked on the scene in disbelief. Luffy couldn't help himself. Despite still being worried about what might have happened to Ace, these two were too much. He snickered, but did manage to get out a half-serious interruption before they could start brawling.

"Welllll, I don't know about that. But I have heard that you two are some of the best salvagers in these waters. Of course, I also heard there was a pirate port here, and that seems to…not be the case any longer."

Luffy waved at the destruction around them and the possible brothers broke off their argument with grimaces. Shoujou was the one that spoke first this time.

"Yeah…actually, maybe I don't want to be a Warlord, after seeing what happened with those two."

The entire salvager group flinched, and it was all the indication Luffy needed.

"Oh? Then you can tell us what happened here? Much of this damage looks like my older brother was here. And I know Ace was hunting a traitor that killed a fellow Whitebeard Pirate in cold blood. From what I'm seeing, I suspect he finally caught up to him…"

Most of the salvagers took a step back as they started connecting dots. To their…credit? Well, sort of to their credit, Luffy supposed, the monkey men didn't. Instead, their eyes widened and they snarled. Marisa spoke again.

"What? He killed one of his own? If I'd known that I'd have helped hold the coward down!"

Shoujou nodded firmly…and the crazy thing was that Luffy was almost certain they were serious. They might legitimately have tried to fight. They'd probably have died instantly from what his System was telling him about them, the slightly stronger of the two was only level 28, but they'd have tried. He could honestly respect that. Adjusting his tone slightly to reflect that fact, he spoke again.

"That's the story I got out of my brother when we met in Alabasta, at least. Can you two tell us what happened? Did he get Blackbeard? Are either of them still here?"

The monkey men both scowled, but Shoujou didn't hesitate to speak up.

"Fire-Fist Ace must have been sure his target was here, because he started things off by wrecking every single ship at the docks. Blew them all to hell and lit the remains on fire. I'm guessing he wasn't interested in giving Blackbeard a way to escape, with the man's own ship no where in sight at the time. Most of the locals fled after that, with a lot of the pirates attacking him. But not even that Bellemy bastard could do anything. Didn't even scratch him…"

Shoujou trailed off, and Masira took over.

"Then who I guessed must have been some of Blackbeard's crew attacked. A strong man of some sort, and a sickly guy on a horse? The fat bastard yelled for them to stop, but it was too late. Fire-Fist didn't hold back at all, he completely obliterated the horse rider with his flames, then put a fist black as pitch through the strong man's heart. That scared the shit out of the remaining pirates, who fled, but it pissed Blackbeard off and he went after Fire-Fist in a fury…"

Masira gulped, shuddered, and went silent. But Shoujou had mustered himself again and spoke up, albeit in a bit of a shaky voice.

"Those two…I couldn't even see the move, most of the time. The island shook every time they came into contact. We'd been up north, at our base, when it all started. We got here in time to see Blackbeard's crew killed, but everything else we only heard from the locals that survived. We hunkered down and tried not to be noticed as those two fought. Fire-Fist seemed to be winning, burned the fat guy's left arm off at one point even. But just when it was looking like Blackbeard was done for, a shot came out of nowhere. Your brother must have seen or heard something, 'cause he moved enough that the shot took him in the side. But he couldn't just shift around it for some reason. Dunno why. Blackbeard hightailed it, and Fire-Fist must have been injured too badly to keep up."

Masira took over once more as his monkey brother stopped.

"Blackbeard's giant galleon came close enough for him to get to it, and when Fire-Fist tried to follow, the ship-board-thingy he tried to ride got hit. He barely made it back to shore before collapsing, and Blackbeard sailed off."

Luffy's eyes were hard.

"And what happened to my brother?"

Marisa and Shoujou both gulped but stood their ground.

"You swear he's your brother? No tricks? You aren't after his bounty?"

A sudden light of suspicion lit in Luffy's brain and he took a deep breath. He locked eyes with the brothers, one after the other, willing them to understand.

"I swear it. He's my sworn brother, and I'll never turn on him."

Both monkey men nodded, though it was Marisa alone that spoke.

"We didn't want to just leave him to die. So, once we were sure Blackbeard was gone, we drug him to old man Cricket's place. He's still there, hasn't woken up since, even though we stopped the bleeding. We don't know what's wrong."

Luffy breathed a sigh of relief and bowed low to the brothers.

"Thank you. For saving his life, I, Monkey D. Luffy owe you more than I can repay. If either of you ever need a boon from me or mine, you need only find me and speak it. So I swear."

He stood upright and locked gazes with the surprised pair again.

"Now, take me and my doctor to him. I suspect I know what's wrong, and the sooner we fix it the better…"

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

A/N: Well, well, well...looks like the Butterflies have really started to change some major events. The crew arrived at Alabasta a solid 10 days earlier than they would have in canon, which means Ace didn't have to wait around for them as long either. Which, in turn, meant he caught up with Blackbeard before he would have in canon...

A/N 2: Once per release, I remind people that...I have a Patreon Page! Nothing I write, fanfiction wise, is ever permanently paywalled. That said, I do have Early Access chapters. There is, in fact, roughly another 16,000 words of One Piece - Halfway Broken currently in Early Access (Chapters 40-43). Also, of course, you also get access to my other Early Access chapters for my other stories. There is typically around 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!