Cross-Brain AN: WARNING, WARNING, and for good measure, WARNING. We get graphic in this chapter. We're getting into some dark subject matter, darker than we've been since Omatsuri. You'll know when to skip ahead when the time comes, but again, because of how many people tend to skip these ANs…WARNING!
"Hey, look! It's really them, it's the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"Sh-Should we run? I don't want to make them mad…"
"You think that they'd give us an autograph?"
"Man, they look so cool! Especially him!"
"Yeah, he's obviously the most handsome of them all!"
"You think I'd be so lucky as to actually touch his glorious shell?"
"Alright, knock it off," I snapped, thwapping my shoulder-pest's 'glorious' shell and bringing the murmuring of the 'crowd' to a dead halt. "You blew it at that last bit."
"Keep dreaming, slimeball~" Su snickered.
"Green-eyed monsters, all of you."
Granted, we had caught a good few whispers in that vein when we first arrived, and there had been more friendly waves (which were typically returned) than fearful visages and slamming shutters. Though I wager that most of the latter belonged to those who were on our bad side just for existing.
But tempting as it was, we didn't dawdle; at this point, the rest of the crew had at least some idea as to my plan for Sabaody, mostly that we needed to have everything ready to go before the rest of the Supernovas caught up with us. And that time was running out fast.
Also, we couldn't put our hard-scammed spending money to work until we actually got said money, so our first stop was still Grove 13. Apparently, the fishmen had finagled an underwater tunnel through the tree roots that was wide enough for Takoyaki 8 to move through, so they had already docked at the Rip-Off Bar. Koala and Sonia didn't want to come onto the archipelago before the situation demanded it, and Tashigi and Popora were waiting for a good chance to slip away and join up with a group of Smoker's Marines that were already on the island. Camie was accompanying us in the same simple yet effective disguise she wore in canon, though this time around her fins beneath the shoes were covered by a couple of convincing prosthetics, courtesy of Franky. She could have gotten there faster underwater, but none of us were taking any chances.
'Course, focused as we were on the destination, that didn't mean we couldn't appreciate the sights as we went.
"Wow, this is all so cooool! WOOOAH! Is that a bike in a bubble?! That looks so awesome! Can I borrow it?"
"Aaaand to the surprise of no one, the prize of 'first to cause trouble on the island' goes to—!" THWACK! "YIPE!"
"Be nice, Su."
"Tell me I'm wrong!"
With that little bit of colour commentary, we all watched Luffy latch onto one of the bubble cycles pedalling along above us, much to the surprise of its rider. The surprise intensified when, not waiting for an answer, Luffy grabbed the handlebars and started pedalling, effectively kicking off the original rider with nary an oblivious thought.
Vivi pinched her nose as she kicked up a gust of wind to cushion the guy's fall. Then, just as smoothly, she offered him a small (in size, at least) bundle of bills.
"My apologies for our captain; he just can't help himself sometimes. Will this be enough to cover the costs?" the princess queried with an apologetic smile.
The guy looked between the bike, the bills, and the rest of us. Thankfully for our anonymity, he seemed more focused on the money than our faces; eventually, he shrugged and accepted the wad. "Thanks for the business, then!" he laughed gratefully before brushing himself off and walking away a tad richer.
Turning away from Vivi's apt display of diplomacy, I looked back up to the bubbles to make sure that no one else was getting in any trouble—and had to double-take at the sight of four other new arrivals enjoying the bubbles as well.
"This is so awesome!" Mikey laughed, backstroking on a bubble as big as he was that, come to think of it, was pretty strong to be supporting his weight. And shockingly enough, his was the tamest form of play.
"But, uh, can't you guys already fly?" Billy wondered.
"THIS IS DIFFERENT!" the dugongs belted out.
"That's just work!" Raphey snickered, grinning like a loon as she spun around inside another bubble.
"Yeah, with Tidal Swim we constantly need to think about it, adjust our posture, our tail-strength, our… bleeergh, my head hurts just thinking about it," Donny mock-gagged as he bounced up and down on his own bubble.
"This, though?" Leo hummed peacefully, sitting seiza on his own bubble, an impressive display of stability given the unstable perch. "This is totally casual, simple, not a care in the—!"
"Oh, there's a good one! GIMME!"
"—wha—WAAAGH!"
Leo's bubble suddenly vanished out from under him, and his zen-esque spiel transitioned into a panicked squawk, courtesy of one overeager human-reindeer.
A mad grin graced Chopper's face as he examined his newly acquired research subject via portable microscope, sitting on a bubble of his own. "Oh, this is truly a most intriguing compound! Elastic and sturdy, possessed of a laudable viscosity yet entirely natural? How fascinating! Oh, and the disinfectant qualities of the sap are top-notch as well!" He leaned back on his perch and smiled thoughtfully, the mania leaking out. "Oh, I should see about visiting some local medical establishments! I can only imagine what kind of applications or advancements the local populace has managed to develop based on the stuff!"
"Same for me!" Usopp laughed as he Shaved from bubble to bubble higher up, close to the altitude where the bubbles naturally popped. "I wonder if they use this stuff for anything else besides those bikes or that coating stuff Cross mentioned!"
"And lo do I make three!" Brook declared from his position upside down from atop bubble, a peaceful violin tune accompanying him. "Already am I struck by a most beautiful inspiration! I believe I shall compose a new piece, Ode to a Bubble! Ooh~!"
"Okay, that's about enough, you three," I called up, waving to get their attention. "There'll be time for sightseeing later, but right now I think Nami's about to break out in hives—"
"I AM NOT!" our navigator snapped. That she suddenly stopped scratching her arms was totally unrelated, of course.
"—so let's not make the unenviable life choice of keeping her from her hoard any longer than absolutely necessary, m'kay?"
"Actually, I think it's more for the fact that she doesn't have her Clima-Tact assembled right now," Chopper frowned, indicating the disassembled weapon strapped to our navigator's leg. "It's kind of unhealthy, really, given how much of an extension of her mind her Eisen Tempo's become; it would be like Zoro walking around without his swords."
The clank of Zoro grasping his weapons told us just what he thought of that idea.
"You've got that right…" Nami muttered, actively working to keep her twitching fingers from jerking down to her leg. "I know we need to be incognito at the moment and that a living cloud-limb is beyond conspicuous, but sweet Aeolus do I feel naked right now…"
Zoro, Vivi and I actually stopped in our tracks to boggle at her incredulously.
A simultaneous boggling that she met head-on with a glower. "I dress skimpy, but I always wear something!" she snapped, her expression and temper spiking dangerously. "Look, can we just get going? Before I bring out my Tempo for precisely ten seconds, you all are not going to enjoy!"
"Yes, ma'am!" saluted the erstwhile bubble-riders, who were now on the ground.
As we started onward again, the bubbles in my line of sight sparked a thought, and I shot a glance Soundbite's way. "Just realized, take a note for Scorpio: the sheepish assassin could be the queen of this island," I muttered.
Soundbite blinked several times. "…I'm caught between LAUGHING and SHUDDERING."
"Just be grateful that she's on our side," Robin said softly, unconsciously rubbing her wrists.
And that was… well, that, mostly. It certainly wasn't the last time we got distracted by the bubbles on the way. But we still managed to keep up a reasonably brisk pace, so Grove 13 came into view not much longer. With it came the view of the Rip-Off Bar, and a surprisingly nice view it was: dingy, but proud and dignified. A marked step up from the rest of the buildings we'd seen on the way, which were… less than well-kept.
Takoyaki 8 was moored down by the 'dock' set up at the root of Mangrove 13, with Kuroobi and Chew currently manning the boat. Well, I say Manning, but honestly, it just looked like sulking to me. They looked up as we approached and exchanged glances. Then they turned their backs, making a point to look at anything but us.
"Hachi already stowed away his 0.75% cut. The rest is yours to take," Kuroobi muttered darkly, most likely trusting Soundbite to carry his voice.
"Since we're not welcome here or there, just tell Hachi to get us when you're gone," Chew groused. If the way they were angled towards the edge of their vessel was anything to go by, they were clearly about to jump into the water… but…
"Oh, I don't think so," I snapped, an action that Soundbite enforced with a harsh buzzer ringing in front of them. "You two aren't going anywhere; you're getting a front row seat to the show we're putting on later. So plant your asses and hold your tongues."
"…why do you keep dragging us in when we all just want to not see each other ever again?" Kuroobi demanded, and however much he had to ask me, that obviously tore at him.
"Because karma's a bitch and working with Hachi isn't paying it off by half," I deadpanned, not sparing them a glance as I walked past. "Now cram it and sit tight. Before the day is out, my team and I are going to dominate the goal you forsook. And I'd hate for you to miss the opening act on the show that's going to change the whole wide world."
And with that, we marched up to the bar and paused in front of the door.
"So," Conis mused, leaning back to gaze up at the mossy sign curiously. "The person we're here to meet… Shakky, right?" I grunted in confirmation. "What's she like?"
"Eeeh…" I scratched my cheek as I tried to find the best way to describe the character Shakky. "Well, she's sort of like—"
A sudden snickering from my shoulder killed my hesitation dead, and I immediately pushed the door open.
The Rip-Off Bar was just as nice inside as out: quaint, just dingy enough to give the place some attitude, and a healthy blend of comfort and hardiness. The red sofa on one side of the room was vacant; Hachi and Shakky were both situated at the half-circle bar, having a casually polite conversation about something-or-other, while another customer was seated next to Hachi.
…well, I say customer, but from the percussion beat Shakky was idly making with his head and the bartop, something told me he wasn't exactly welcome anymore.
I quickly cleared my throat, getting the conscious pair's attention, and they both beamed eagerly. Or at least, Hachi beamed while Shakky smiled and nodded politely.
"Hey, guys!" Hachi greeted us, three of his arms waving eagerly while the other half gestured at his friend. "I saw your race! So awesome, loved it! I knew you'd be the ones to make it here first, you'd never put down that much treasure without a few tricks up your sleeves! Oh, oh, oh, but here, let me introduce you to an old friend of mine!"
"So you're finally here," the bartender purred in a voice so smooth it could have pickpocketed Nami. "Welcome, Straw Hats, to both the Sabaody Archipelago and to my one and only Rip-Off Bar. I'm Shakky, the owner of this fine establishment. Pardon the mess, I'm just dealing with a particularly..." She gave her patron an extra hard bounce off the bar before holding him up in place. "Unpleasant cheapskate at the moment."
"Fifteen percent…" the tenderized mook slurred out miserably. "Is a perfectly acceptable tip…"
THWACK!
"In this bar, it's fifty," Shakky informed him in a desert-dry tone, adding a no-look right cross for good measure. "Now out." And with the briefest flick of her wrist, she flung him straight out the open door, forcing the rest of us to lean, duck or leap out of the way lest we get brained by the poor bastard.
I stayed angled to the side for a bit before finally glancing back at Conis. "So, yeah, she's kind of like that."
"Meep."
"I could learn a few things from this woman," Nami mused with an eager grin.
"MEEP!"
"Conis, you're embarrassing yourself," Su sniffed.
"Oh, is that 'Cottontail' Su I hear snarking in my general vicinity?" Shakky hummed inquisitively, pinning Su in place with a lazy yet somehow intense look. "My, her poster doesn't do her justice. Say, just how attached are you to that tail of yours? I have an old stole I've been dying to patch up, and that looks like it'd do the trick."
"Meep!" the fox yelped, ducking behind Conis's head.
"Shishishi!" Luffy snickered, grinning at the bartender. "Man, you're really funny!" Before I could chastise him for the disrespect, his devil-may-care grin took on an unmistakably sharp edge. "You actually remind me of Shanks and his crew a bit."
Oh. Great. Serious Luffy. Excuse me while we boggle a bit. Shakky, meanwhile, donned a sharp smile of her own. "Ah, yes, the ginger-haired twerp. I remember him."
Vivi twitched and inadvertently let out a small gale of terror. "D-Did she just call one of the Four Emperors a twerp?"
"Well, of course I did," the bartender remarked with a fond smile. "I got to know him when he was just a rookie, though I'll admit that he's done pretty well for himself since then." Her smile became significantly more sincere, and she waved her arm out over the bar. "I've got plenty of stories to share with you if you'd care to come in."
"Would I!?" Luffy squeed, all starry-eyed as he zipped up to the bar and planted his ass in the seat. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"
And that was the signal for the rest of us. The tension broken, we all streamed into the… surprisingly roomy bar, everyone spreading out and getting comfortable at their leisure. Some people planted their hindquarters on the sofas; others seated themselves at tables Shakky indicated for them to fold out; and Hachi, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and I ended up taking the bar.
In short order, the once orderly bar descended into the usual rowdiness, a change that Shakky thankfully accepted with a fond smile. Nami, on the other hand, could only wince at the logical result of a band of rowdy pirates (namely, ours) being crammed into a single, slightly-too-small building. Namely…
"Hey, bet my skullplate is thicker than this table!"
"Not a chance!"
CRACK!
"Well, I'll be damned, cracked clean through. You were right!"
"Gwergh… Yaaaaay..."
Lots of property damage.
Our bursar gave Shakky a long-suffering look that begged forgiveness. "I am so sorry for their… everything," she lamented.
Shakky, however, carelessly waved her off. "Oh, no worries. I'm actually enjoying this, if I'm being honest. The Rip-Off Bar hasn't been quite this rowdy in a long time, and the energy is quite… pleasant. Reminds me of happier days. Why, I might even let you slide on paying for the damages."
"Hey, think your skullplate is harder than this table, too?"
"Let's find out!"
The bartender's mouth twitched slightly at one corner. "Might."
Sighing in exasperation, Nami extended her Eisen Cloud to wrangle the responsible dugongs (Mikey and Raphey, big surprise), hanging them before her and the bartender by their tails. The second mate's expression was completely blank as she stared into the amphibians' puny little souls.
"If your antics make a significant dent in the prize money that we just won, I will take it out of your hides. Got it?"
The pair nodded frantically.
"Good." And with that, her clouds flicked out and tossed the dugongs back out so that they could go back to having fun. Less destructive fun.
Once the latter part was confirmed, Nami turned back to our host. "But speaking of the prize money…"
A knock of leather on wood, and a trapdoor clicked open behind Nami. A trapdoor from which a veritable flood of golden light spilled forth, accompanied by the dulcet tones of an angelic choi—no, that was just Soundbite being overdramatic.
"To the victors go the spoils," Shakky said, waving invitingly. "If you'd care to check that everything is well accounted for—?"
"EEEEEHEEHEEHEEEE!" And it was with that particularly ear-murdering squee of unadulterated joy that Nami literally backflipped out of her seat, diving headfirst into the gold below with enough skill to make an Olympian green with envy. Or, more appropriately in this case, Scrooge McDuck. "MINE MINE MINE! ALL MINE!"
Vivi gave the cackling trapdoor a wary once-over. "Just making sure, but humans can't actually spontaneously transform into dragons from excessive greed, right? That's… just mythology, correct?"
Chopper, also staring at the trapdoor, giggled gleefully. "We'll find out soon enough!"
The wind-woman shuddered fearfully, flicking her finger to slam the trapdoor shut. "Joy."
Shakky's positive demeanour returned in full force. "Ah, now this truly reminds me of the good old days."
"You mean the days when you knew Shanks, right? Right?" Luffy cut in, eagerly bouncing on his stool.
"Why yes," the bartender nodded, a slightly wistful glint entering her eyes. "Or, well, not I, personally, but our mutual friend 'the coater'... hmm, half fell into, half was volunteered into playing quartermaster aboard the ship he sailed on. I'm sure he'd love to tell you all about it…though unfortunately…" Shakky's gaze sharpened as her eyes flicked to the side. Towards me. "He's not here at the moment. Honestly, I'm not sure when he'll be back…"
Her lips quirked up into a sly smirk. "Though I believe I recall that he said something along the lines of…not wanting to 'make things too easy for them?'"
Neither of my superiors could miss the fact that she was side-eyeing me as she said that, and both glanced at me… or, well, Zoro glanced, while Luffy stared with open, innocent curiosity. Anyway, it was easy to see that this was a test of my savviness. And given that I wasn't in the habit of disappointing people…
"Translation," I sighed in a truly put-upon manner, propping my chin up on my fists with an over-exaggerated huff. "The old coot sold himself for shits and giggles, and he expects us to come valiantly smashing through the doors like a rabid pack of Sea Kings." Though I said all this in a deadpan, the effect was slightly ruined by the smirk I wore. "Well, while I certainly do see the appeal of smashing and crashing with wild abandon… meh, not feeling it at the moment. You don't think he'd mind if we let him stew for a little while?"
Shakky muffled a snicker behind one hand. "Neither he nor I would expect anything less. Well!" She straightened and clapped her hands, neatly grabbing everyone's attention. "So long as you're here, know that the Rip-Off Bar is open to the Straw Hat Pirates for whatever it or I can provide…" She cast a half-amused, half-don't-fuck-with-me look at Luffy. "Aside from bottomless free food and booze, of course. I'll allow you a couple of rounds on the house, but I'd go out of business catering to the likes of you."
"Mah, but I wouldn't eat that much," Luffy complained mildly, obliviously digging his pinky up in his nostril. "Just 'til I was full."
"And that would bankrupt even the biggest restaurant in the world," Sanji deadpanned.
Shakky chuckled and shook her head. "Anyway, as amusing as dangling food before your hungry captain is…" Her gaze narrowed in on me. "If you don't mind me asking, would it be too terribly impolite for me to inquire about whatever… machinations you might have in store for the archipelago? There are oh so many inquiring minds who are dying to know."
As amusing as she tried to make things sound, though, her question sobered me up damn fast, and prompted me to give the order I'd been dreading giving all fuckingday.
"Soundbite. Pump it in."
My snail shuddered miserably but nodded. "ROGER-ROG-ERGH… sorry to do this, everyone… but brace for hell."
And hell was exactly what we heard a moment later.
"—Male. 9 years old. 4 feet 4 inches. 60 pounds. Human. Ginger-haired. Green-eyed. Good potential, should make a few thousand—"
"—escape attempt this week. Need to do something more permanent." "Why dontcha just tear up that leg of hers?" "Cripple the slave, cripple the price." "Nah, man, some people pay more for 'em that way." "Really, now… in that case!" CRACK! "AA—"
"—CAN'T SEPARATE US, YOU HAVE TO BUY HIM TOO!" "I came here for a wench, not a wench's brat. It'd be a waste of my time and money, now and for the rest of his life. Now shut up—" "NOO—!"
"—MMPH! MMMMMPH!" "Try and scream all you want, it won't make any difference. But y'know, most slavers don't like it when their property makes too much noise, might wanna kick the habit now." "MMMMMMMPH!" "Wonder how much you'll go for—"
"—stupid slave, now hold still!" SSSSS! "AAAAAAAA—"
And then… no words. Just periodic cracks, followed by wet squelching sounds and a steady drip, drip. And if you strained your ears, you could maybe, just maybe, hear the sound of whimpering.
Most of the animals curled up. Nami had returned at some point, and her face was darker than her rumbling clouds. Conis, Robin, Merry, and even Sanji all looked to be in varying stages of a PTSD attack. Hachi's entire body was one of despairing misery, curled over the bar, and all six of his hands clamping down on his head, hard. Everyone else, even Shakky, had an expression mixed between disgusted and outraged. Luffy, in particular, looked absolutely murderous, his head bowed and his face shadowed by his hat.
Speaking of Shakky, she stayed grimly silent for a straight minute before she finally took a deep, heavy drag of her cigarette and ashed it in a single go. Then, letting the smoke curl out of her tightly grit teeth like a damn demon, she gave Soundbite a glare that would have peeled the scales off a Sea King. "Turn. That. Off," she bit out.
It only took a tight nod from me for Soundbite to clamp his jaws shut, killing the noise and leaving us with a harsh silence.
I filled the silence by slowly grinding my teeth and rhythmically drumming my fingers on the countertop, the only thing keeping me halfway sane. "Let me spell it out for you guys: we have set foot into the slave trade capital of the Grand Line. For who-knows-how-long, people on all sides of the law have disappeared into the dark corners of this archipelago, never to see the sun again. Think what happened to Moria's victims, only three hundred times worse. This archipelago is big. It is beautiful…"
I slammed my hands on the table. "And above all else, it is a trap. And more than that, it is a trap that the World Government is fully aware of and allows to continue functioning with impunity so long as the slavers keep providing them with both product and generous donations in return. This market will not crash any time soon, so long as it is left to its own devices."
I slid off my stool and stood heavily on the floor, grimly cracking my neck to the side.
"I've had two plans in mind for this island for a while now. One of them, I'm putting off for as long as possible, but the other is going to be set in motion before the day is out."
I paused, gazing over my crewmates one by one.
"I spent most of our stay on Skelter Bite discussing plans and procedures with every contact I have and then some, and there are only a few things left to set up. I'm asking all of you for your help in this because when the rest of the Supernovas get here, I'm setting my biggest plan yet into motion. We're going to devastate the slave trade." I let out a sharp huff. "True, there's no way we'll be able to completely destroy it, but if the plan works, the damage we do today is something it will never recover from."
I slowly turned to look at Luffy. "So. All that being said..." I spread my arms patiently. "Your orders, Captain?"
The rubber man turned his murderous eyes my way, and my bravado faltered as I realized that some of that anger actually was towards me.
"All you had to do was tell us, Cross. Did you really think we'd need to hear anything like that to want to stop it?" he demanded.
I felt sweat bead on my face, and I swallowed nervously, resisting the urge to tug at my collar. No sane person would ever want Luffy to be legitimately angry at them. Still, that question demanded an answer, and I mustered up enough courage to at least look him in the eyes. "I wasn't trying to… convince anyone, Luffy. I merely sought to appropriately… motivate. And unless I missed my mark?" I paused and allowed the sensation of pure, malicious intent that permeated the room to wash over us. "I accomplished that in spades."
Luffy kept me pinned for a few more seconds. Then, to my immense relief, he nodded. And it really said a lot about just how much our crew valued Luffy's word when that one, single motion absolutely galvanized the room's atmosphere into something out of this world.
A light cough drew our attention, and we all looked to Shakky, who was back to leaning over her bar… but this time, her stance was more reminiscent of a looming gargoyle.
"For the record," she drawled tersely, obviously recovering from our little 'experience'. "The only reason 'our mutual friend' and I haven't done anything about this mess is that if we did, we'd get the full weight of the Marines crashing down on our heads, and while the rest of these islands might be scum, this bar is our home. But, so long as you think you have any better ideas…"
She gave us all a grin that was as sharp as a knife and ten times as deadly.
"I own properties in every district of this Bacchus-forsaken cesspit, and I have many a person who trusts me, and many more who owe me favours, whether they like it or not. Anything you could wish for, I'll happily provide…" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Provided it goes towards lancing the rot out of this place."
"…anything, you say?" I queried, turning to her with an anticipatory look.
The bartender scoffed but relaxed into an almost smug sense of amusement. "Anything that wouldn't go against the spirit of your crew, wise-ass."
I allowed myself a light chuckle before schooling my expression, while hers remained unchanged despite the gravity of the situation.
"We're going to need a base of operations," I started, speaking and pacing at the same time. "As complete and thorough a map of the archipelago as you can manage, names and locations of both your most trusted informants and the most ruthless slavers you know—"
"—a crack hit squad ready to mobilize, a pot of hot coffee, twelve jammy dodgers and a fez!"
I didn't so much as glance at the snail as I snatched him from my shoulder, slapped him upside-down onto the bar, and spun him like a top.
"YEEAAARRRGH!"/"Wheeeeeee!"
I felt my eyelid twitch at the fact that he was crying out in both fear and enjoyment at once, but what else was I expecting from the slimeball by this point?
Meanwhile, Shakky just nodded and started writing the requested information… though, given how much she was writing and the smirk on her lips, there were going to be some extra 'gifts' added to that care package.
"Anyway," I coughed, looking over my crew. "I've got tentative plans for all of you, but I'm open to other ideas if you've got them. So, to start—"
"Cross… can I help?"
All attention fell on the fishman in the room, who, despite wringing his hands, looked as determined as the rest of us. "I-I've been a disgrace to the mark on my forehead for too long," he said, more to himself than us. "This won't make up for everything I've done, but it'll be a start. I'm strong, I'm fast, and I can cover everywhere around and beneath the island where you can't—sorry, most of you can't cover," he corrected, glancing at Boss. "B-But please, is there anything that I can do?"
I took a moment to consider matters—and most definitely made sure to spend that moment trying to ignore the hole Nami was glaring in the side of my head. But, ultimately…
"Yeah, I can think of a few ways that you and your… associates can be of appropriate use," I agreed. "You think you can keep them under control long enough for them to do some good for once?"
"I've been doing that for the last four months, Cross," Hachi nodded, slamming his fists into his palms with… perhaps a bit too much glee. "If they won't play nice, I'll make them."
"Glad to hear it," I nodded gratefully. "Now then, from the top… here's how it's going to go down."
-o-
"B-B-B-But we don't carry that much bronze at a time!"
"Awwww… you're sure you don't?"
"Yes! Positive!"
"Maybe if you checked in the back—?"
"We're a market stall, we don't have a back!"
"…what about brass?"
"For the fifth time, sir—!"
While Usopp watched the doomed salesman try to do the impossible and make Luffy see reason, he tried to smile at his captain's familiar and oft-amusing antics. The better to sell the idea that he was watching his captain rather than his surroundings. Usually, that was pretty easy. But after what he'd heard... what he knew was happening in the shadows, just out of his sight… well, it was surprisingly difficult.
And it was in pursuit of putting an end to those shadows that Usopp and his crewmates were out and about in Sabaody's tourist district, raising the biggest ruckus they could and getting as many eyes on themselves as they could manage. It was already public knowledge that the Straw Hats were present on Sabaody, so there was no putting a lid on that. But what could be controlled was where people thought they were.
Hence, the ruckus, providing the perfect distraction so that their crewmates could dig into the rotten woodworks of this archipelago undisturbed. And not just a distraction, but observation, too. Cross had told the crew that he wanted as complete a picture of the pseudo-island as possible, and it was their job to both attract attention and learn about the archipelago's civilian inhabitants.
All three of the 'immature' pirates were playing a part. While Luffy was abysmal at being subtle, there was one talent in the espionage family that he excelled in: getting a good read on people. Usopp's eyes were the sharpest on the crew from his sniping abilities and paranoia, and Brook… well, he was no slouch either, given how skilled he was at reading his audiences. Although he wasn't much help in the subtlety department, even with the welding mask and gloves he had chosen to wear from Pappug's new wardrobe to hide his bare bones, he was still prone to… other tendencies.
"Oh, excuse me, young miss. May I see your panties?"
BONG!
"My utmost apologies," Usopp ground out, tapping his hammer in his palm in silent threat. "He's a bit of a troublemaker on our crew. Seriously, you'd think he'd learn after, what is this, the eleventh time now?"
"I'm afraid I've lost track by now! Yohohoho!" Brook chortled.
"Just keep him away from us," the young woman said in disgust, the older man with her scowling down at Brook's still-prone form as they wandered off.
Brook kept up his chuckling and offhanded demeanour for a few more moments - right up until they turned a corner, at which point his mood darkened. "The father was going for a weapon," he solemnly observed.
Usopp nodded in agreement, sweeping his gaze over the onlooking crowd. "And while others were looking, the locals were too scared and resigned to do anything, and the tourists thought whatever they thought was going to happen was funny."
Brook dusted himself off and stood back up, slowly scanning the throngs of people coming and going. "Everyone here is armed in some way, be they civilian or tourist. But where the civilians carry them for self-defence…"
"They're not just expecting something. They're eager for someone to start a fight," Usopp finished.
"I hate this already," Luffy rumbled, now beside them and drumming his fingers on his pipe. "Everyone around here either can't or won't fight back, or they'll just jump in when a fight starts, and not for the fun reasons."
"AT LEAST THE chain smith hunting is helping you scout out BRONZE STORES FOR MY—AHEH, I MEAN… YOUR STATUE?" Soundbite hastily amended. "SPEAKING OF WHICH, there's another store two groves ahead of you."
In spite of themselves, Brook and Usopp snorted in laughter from the 'slip of the tongue'. However, said amusement died quickly with Luffy's conspicuous absence in the mirth. Something that Soundbite noticed as well, given how fast he snapped back into seriousness.
"But you're right, Cross has noticed something off, too," he said. "For some reason, the people native to Sabaody don't like the so-called 'local culture', WHILE THE TOURISTS LEAN INTO IT WITH GLEE… WE'RE DIRECTING THE OTHERS TO FIND OUT MORE, CROSS THINKS IT COULD BE USEFUL."
Silence fell for a moment, save for their footfalls. After a few steps, Brook spoke up:
"You know, even with the experience on my original crew, I must admit that it's odd to be part of a group of pirates that…" He slowly rolled his phalanges, trying to find the right words. "Care so much."
"Mmm…" Usopp rubbed his chin, incapable of properly refuting his crewmate's words. "Would it help for me to point out that we're going to be making out like kings if everything goes right?"
"That does put me on more familiar footing, yes," the skeleton nodded in agreement.
"I only need one reason to do this."
The two pirates turned to see that their captain had doffed his hat and was staring down at it with a grave expression.
"I never wanted to be a hero," Luffy said quietly. "But when I think about what Shanks would do…" He trailed off, his expression contorting into a heavier frown. Then he shoved his hat back on his head and looked up. "Soundbite. Connect me to Cross," Luffy said.
"Roger, Roger. Yes, Captain?" came the commies' voices, shifting smoothly from one to another.
"Why hasn't Shanks… or Whitebeard, or someone else done this already?" Luffy demanded. "I know how strong they are from meeting their crewmates on Skelter Bite… so why not? They could do it all by themselves if they wanted to, and the Government wouldn't be able to stop them."
There was silence for a few seconds before Cross heaved a tired sigh.
"This is an educated guess, not my knowledge, but I'd hypothesize—ah, reckon—that it's because they're on the other side of the Red Line. The Four Emperors rule the New World, and transferring enough manpower to this side to do what we're doing would be painting a target on their backs, both for the other Emperors and the Government, because they wouldn't take this lying down. Not that we're going to give them any choice. But bottom line? They have too much on their plate."
"…and what about Sonia's crew? What about Dad's crew?" Luffy pressed, a slight tinge of frustration tainting his voice.
Cross let out a negative-sounding grunt. "The former lack the power to withstand the consequences, and the latter already have their sights set on the root of the problem. But even then, their forces are spread thin all over the world, and this is just one region. Forces here means islands that either don't throw off the World Government, or that fall back under it. Slaves out there, slaves here. It's a hard choice, but it's one that has to be made. And with any luck, our actions today will alleviate some of the pressure."
Luffy mulled that information over for a bit, his face reddening some from the influx, before he nodded in acknowledgement. "The past doesn't matter. What matters is now," he reminded himself. "We'll get back to making noise and looking for metal, but where's everyone else, Cross? What are they doing?"
"Right now? They're spread out across the archipelago. Half are still on their original jobs, but I've redirected others based on new information."
-o-
"Franky and Merry have made contact with the local criminal underworld and are getting a better perspective on how things are structured around here. They're en route to meet with the leader of smugglers in the northern groves, Bomoss, as we speak."
Despite how reliable a business slavery was with the World Government's willful blindness, a surprisingly large number of the island's criminals were not involved in the market. There were several reasons for this, among them market competition, simple disinterest in that side of crime, and the fact that being criminals did not mean they lacked standards.
"And if anyone alive should know that better than anyone, it's me," the cyborg chuckled, grinning with a hint of malice at the dumbstruck group whose warehouse he had barged into. "After all, I ran crime on Water 7. So finding you guys? Not that hard."
"So now, the only question we need answered at the moment…" Merry mused, swaying back and forth on Franky's shoulder as she idly drummed her fingers on her cannon's barrel. "Is which side of wrong you're on?"
That apparently hit a nerve, and the band of thugs in front of the pirates visibly bristled in both body and weaponry.
"You wanna say that again, pipsqueak?" a broad-shouldered bruiser snarled, slamming his fist into his palm.
"Yeah, yeah, say it again!" a scrawnier cutthroat with a dead eye hissed as he flipped a knife in his fingers. "We ain't like those rot-headed newts! And we'll cut anyone who says we are!"
That comment got a confused glance between Merry and Franky. "What do you mean, 'newts'?" Franky asked.
The thugs got even tenser, and some even looked to be on the verge of attacking…
"It's slang."
Before a rough and accented voice cut through the air, the criminals all relaxed. They parted ranks, allowing a grizzled, middle-aged man wearing a worn leather bush hat to walk up. The man gave the Straw Hats a searching look before nodding at his men, who all returned to shifting their ill-gotten crates about like they'd never been interrupted.
The man—the smugglers' leader—returned his focus to the Straw Hats. "It's slang," he repeated. "For slavin' scum, seein' how they keep toadyin' up to the Celestial Dragons. And you best bet your bottom bubble that there ain't a one of those bleedin' slaver bastards who's a truly green-blooded Sabaodian, like my boys and me. We're smugglers, forgers, traffickers. We deal in goods and contraband, we rip people off, yeah… but we do not deal in flesh, and if ever I found out that any of mine did, I'd tie 'em to a bubble and float 'em up until it popped!" The man punctuated his mini-rant by slamming his fist in his palm.
A pause, while the man collected himself, and then he gave the two pirates a respectful nod and tipped his hat to them. "The name's Bomoss, and I'm the leader of the Double Dozen Smugglers. Whereas you two are Merry and Franky o' the Straw Hat Pirates. What can I do for you? If you're lookin' for goods, we can get you a reasonable enough price, but in terms of coatin' we'd need to outsource, in which case me and mine'll be takin' our own cut of things. Or, maybe…" The smuggler boss's gaze sharpened slightly. "You lookin' to do somethin' a little bit more… local, perhaps?"
The pirates shared another look, and a nod from Franky prompted Merry to stow her gun and respond. "We're here for information. Criminals, smugglers especially, know their cities better than anyone else, and we need to know this archipelago like the back of our hands before the day is over. So, we came to you."
"'Know the archipelago', eh? Sounds simple 'nuff…" The grizzled man gave the pirates a wry smirk. "You Straw Hats… you lot really don't know jack 'bout our home, do ya?" He waved off their nascent protests with an indulgent chuckle. "'Nah, it's alright, it's not like most anyone knows or cares past our roots anyways. So, if'n you're askin'..." He waved them over to the side of the warehouse and indicated an empty crate for them to sit on. "Allow me to educate ya."
Taking the cue, the cyborg took a seat, and Merry slid off to take her own, he and the ship-girl giving grateful nods to the smuggler.
"We appreciate this," the cyborg politely said. "And for starters, the entire reason we're here is to get answers on what has our tactician stumped: he doesn't get how there could even be a criminal underground we could talk with in a place like this, and I gotta say, I kind of agree with him."
Franky waved his hand around, indicating the warehouse. "We thought you were all slavers here, but instead we're finding out that barely any locals are slavers at all, not even your criminals. But, how are there 'locals' to begin with? And… in terms of 'criminals', how come there are 'police' here too, or a 'government'? Don't the Marines usually run the show on places as small as this?"
"Actually, you got that little tidbit backwards, ya clankin' bloke," Bomoss groused. "First off, those white-hatted arseholes being here's a new thing. Up 'til Roger popped the top on his Era, they left well enough alone. 'Fore then, we ran things on our own, for a length o' the word…" He heaved a tired sigh as he scratched the back of his neck. "But really, them bein' here ain't changed things much either way."
He huffed and clapped his hands together. "Right, let's start at the beginning: everything there is to know about Sabaody comes straight back to its location. Fun fact 'bout this here bundle o' trees: It's literally the single closest island ta Mariejois in all the six seas. And that makes it one of the biggest crossroads in the entire dang world. And an intersea-crossroads means intersea trade.
"You're right that there wasn't ever a native people on these here trees, like a lot of other islands, but that doesn't mean we ain't got our roots." The smuggler paused to proudly thump his own chest. "Sabaodians are basically people whose families stuck around hundreds of years ago, makin' money off of everyone else who came through, and then just kept on stickin' 'round makin' a livin' like that 'til today. We stuck around long enough that we even started making this place ours, and makin' our own rules. It's why we've got our own government and all that, our own culture. We've got blood from all over the world mixed in here; heck, in case my voice ain't clued you in yet, my da's blood hails from the deep South."
"Oh, yeah, I'd wondered…" Merry muttered.
"Anyway, like I was sayin': trade. Times were that Sabaody was the biggest tradin' hub in all the world, and to a level, it still is. You wanna pass somethin' from one Blue to another, easy money says it'll land here first before poppin' off to where it should go." The smuggler leader then scowled and chopped his hand to the side. "But back then, slaves weren't our bread and buttah! They were there, yeah, but that was a long time ago, and they were everywhere, so it wasn't nothin' special. 'Least, Sabaody slaves weren't nothin' special…" Another huff, and he glanced away. "'Till some arse-headed bastard got it in his head to up the game, and provide a product nobody else could match or find elsewhere."
"Mermaids…" the pirates darkly concluded.
"Merfolk in general, more like," Moboss nodded. "See, thing you gotta understand, mates? Just like how you'll never find a Sabaodian who's a slaver, you'll never find one of us hatin' on the scalenecks either. And why would we? They're our neighbours, we live right next to the blokes, we know they're just like everyone else! But to everyone else, they're monstahs, and monstahs sell big. And when one blighter started makin' hard gold for scales, a lot of other bastards started doin' the same. And this held steady for a bit… 'till the scalenecks wised up, and stopped makin' themselves easy to catch." The smuggler sighed, and his head fell. "But by that point, the chum was in the water."
"Because the slavers had funds and an appetite for more…" Franky slowly deduced. "They didn't drop the slave trade, they doubled down."
"Damn right they did!" the criminal snarled, slamming his fist on the crate. "When they couldn't make money on scales, they started sellin' flesh by the truckload, and especially to the World Nobles. And when demand for the 'quality product' of our waters started bloatin' up, others came sniffin' around for a cut of things too. Made things right nasty 'round here for a while, true 'nuff…" Bomoss's scowl deepened. "But things didn't get outright rotten 'til two hundred years ago."
"Two hundred…" Frowning, Merry counted on her fingers before stiffening in realization. "Wait, isn't that when slavery was officially outlawed by the World Government?"
"Yeah. Officially. 'Course, those bastards'll let anything slide for the right ditty, and gold sings nice and pretty." Several snickers echoed out from the warehouse, and Bomoss snapped his head and a paint-peeling glare in that direction. "YEAH, I KNOW THAT RHYMED, SHUT IT AND GET BACK TO WORK! Ugh, anyway…" He shook his head. "When the law passed, most other slavers in the world couldn't make themselves worth enough to the Marines to be worth keepin' alive, but the ones squattin' in our groves did. They let their gold sing right in the ears o' the Nobles, and for that, Sabaody became a blind spot. Not just for them, but for the entire damn flesh market. A specialty became a monopoly, or damn close to it." The smuggler spat to the side in disgust. "Now it's not just all goods that come through Sabaody. It's all chains, too."
"We Sabaodians, we hate what our home has become with every inch of our beings…" he sighed, slumping in his seat. "But it ain't like there's much we can do about it. You tourists, you've always had the power. More weapons, more strength, more goods and gold." He waved his hand dismissively. "Heck, even the Marines don't give a darn; if it ain't pirate and has the gold, they don't see a thing. Our homes have become a glorified playground, nothing more. A stagin' ground, meant for everyone else's use to exploit their grimmest vices. Means we can't change how it's used… no matter how much we hate it. All we can do is watch."
"…Let me guess: the local government is just as messed up," deadpanned Franky.
"Hah! Guvner Prefectus and his cronies… yeh, lemme tell you all 'bout them."