The whole of Whiskey Peak went silent save for the arid winds blowing in from the Cactus Rocks. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's Day were as stoic and eerily chipper as ever as the Straw Hat Pirates all turned to see Princess Vivi's eyes darting from place to place for an escape route.
"Wait, WHAT?!" Honey Queen broke the silence, "She's a princess?! How the hell do you know?!"
"I knew I recognized her from somewhere," Sally nodded, turning to face her fellow royal, "I saw you at the annual Reverie. Princess Nefertari Vivi, daughter of King Cobra and sole heiress to the Grand Line nation of Alabasta on Sandy Island!"
Vivi then blinked, realizing she had been completely found out, and sighed. She stood up, shaky as her legs were, and glared down the two more elite officers. "Yes, I am. And I know exactly what your leader is doing to my kingdom!"
"Kyahahahaha! Well, that was easy! And here we thought we'd have to beat the answers out of you! Now we can just get on with silencing the little spy!"
The other Baroque Works agents all gasped, both at Miss Wednesday's real identity, and at the sheer sadism Miss Valentine's Day was showing. And what was that about their boss? Nobody was supposed to know who "Mr. 0" was!
Luffy, for one, decided he had had enough and moved in front of the anxious princess. "Why are you so determined to kill her? You're a bounty hunting organization, couldn't you make a ton of money handing her back to her home?"
Mr. 5 nodded. "You got a point there, kid, 'cept money isn't what we want. We were given orders to rat out a nosy princess and then shut her up so she can't ruin the boss's plan."
"Although, since you bring up money…" Miss Valentine's Day reached down to pick up the fallen stack of bounty posters, "Looks like your crew has a heck of a price on it! Guess that means we'll just take you all in after we deal with the princess!"
Luffy just chuckled as the rest of his crew stood next to him, forming a solid line between the fallen agents and the two newcomers. "You want this princess so badly? You're gonna have to go through us!"
"WHAT?!" Miss Mother's Day balked, "Why would you defend us?! We were planning to cut your throats in your sleep!"
"Yeah, and look how that turned out," Desire snarked, "Now shut up and let us handle these clowns."
"But… But why?!" Mr. 8 yelled, "Princess Vivi's information is of critical importance to the safety of Alabasta! Why would a bunch of pirates defend her?!"
"Because we could tell something was off about her," Reiju explained, "She tried to act all haughty and cold but it was all an act."
"Plus, she still carried herself like a royal," Sally mentioned, her swarm slowly emerging from behind, "The kind of prim mannerisms and posture that come from years of training, speaking from experience."
"Tch, fine, die for these chumps," Mr. 5 scoffed, "We'll just cash you in alongside these other losers."
"WHAT?!" Miss Monday yelled, "What about me, Mr. 9, and the Mr. 6 pair?! We aren't spies, we've done everything in our power to help Baroque Works! Why turn on us?!"
"Sorry, honey, we don't have room for failures!" Miss Valentine's Day giggled as she opened her umbrella, "I'm sure the new Frontier Agents we'll pick from the Billions will be super thrilled about their promotions!"
"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's people turning on their friends!" Luffy declared, raising his fists, "Everyone, take these two down!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"You wanna play? Fine, try this!" Mr. 5 reached up to his nose, stuck his finger inside much to the disgust of many of the Straw Hats, and held the small nugget for a minute before flicking it forward. "Nose Fancy Cannon!"
"Get down!" Mr. 6 warned them in time. The crew all ducked as the mucus bits flew over them before landing with a deafening bang.
"What the, his boogers explode?!" Nami gawked, "That's disturbing on so many levels!"
"All a part of my Bomb-Bomb Fruit. Any part of my body can explode. Now, you chaps might be tough, but I doubt you'll be able to stand up to that."
Carina and Makino rushed ahead, clearly meaning to test that. Mr. 5 readied another nuclear nose nugget only for Carina to clap her hands to surprise him. Makino then Shaved in front of him and pulled back for a right hook.
"Repeating Right!" Makino's blow burst on impact, each knuckle making a separate explosion for more precise pain. The bounty hunter fell flat on his side and groaned in pain, especially once Moodie stood above him with her pistol leveled at his temple.
"Now then, don't move if you know what's good for you." Moodie placed a hand on his injured face and let her Chill-Chill Fruit take over, the airy blue mist cooling his skin and making him mumble something about it being too tiring to get back up anyway.
Miss Valentine's Day, on the other hand, leapt back several hundred feet in a single jump. Kuina, Desire and Honey Queen all ran after her with the latter shooting jets of pink liquid from her hands. The bounty hunter simply opened her umbrella to block the attack and then jumped straight up into the air.
"What the, she's floating?!" Kuina gaped. Indeed, the yellow-clad bounty hunter was billowing through the dry air with her umbrella like she was weightless.
"KYAHAHA! This is my Kilo-Kilo Fruit! I can change my body's mass to weigh as little as a single kilogram. Oooooor…!"
Miss Valentine's Day suddenly plummeted towards the swordswoman, Kuina figuring something was up so she leapt aside. And sure enough, the ground exploded like an anchor was dropped from the sky.
"…I can weigh as much as ten-thousand kilos! No sword is gonna save you now, ladies!"
"Oh yeah, we'll see how smug you are when I'm done with you!" Desire leapt in with her pipe but Miss Valentine's Day blocked with her umbrella. And just before they could clash again, the bounty hunter opened her parasol and leapt up into the sky once again. She then noticed Luffy was standing by himself as the rest of his crew were either restraining Mr. 5 or getting Princess Vivi back to their ship.
"Ten-Thousand Kilo Press!" she shouted as she fell directly towards Luffy. She cackled as she spotted the captain staying completely still. He must be have been paralyzed with fear! All the better to take him out and then capture the princess! Mr. 0 was going to give a huge bonus for all of this!
She crashed into her target with the force of a meteorite, the earth shaking underneath her. Her hyena-like cackle rang out once again as she got up… Only to find she wasn't on the ground.
"Huh… That's weird… What did I HUH?!"
She looked down to see that her outstretched legs were resting firmly on Luffy's arms, held over his head. And while there was a feet-wide crater around him and the houses surrounding the impact had blown out windows and splintered walls, the pirate himself was still standing.
"WHAT?! HOW DID YOU SURVIVE THAT?!"
"Iron Body and Armament Haki," he grunted, "Gotta admit, I'd be toast without it right now…"
Luffy then thrust his hands up to force Miss Valentine's Day off before following up with a Gum-Gum Pistol to her face. The baffled bounty hunter was out cold when she smacked into the ground. Carina quickly grabbed her umbrella so she couldn't fly away while Alvida tied her up alongside Mr. 5.
All of this left the lower Baroque Works agents floored. Beating them was one thing but to beat a pair of Officer Agents, including shrugging off a ten-thousand kilogram stomp that would've flattened a house?
Luffy then walked up to "Mr. 8" and asked, "So, you're helping Vivi?"
"That's correct. I am Igaram, chief of security for the royal family of Alabasta and Vivi's confidante. Young man, will you listen to a request I have?"
He nodded and thus the Straw Hat Pirates and the now out-of-work Baroque Works Agents were brought together with Alvida and Reiju dragging the unconscious Mr. 5 pair to be interrogated later. As they walked, the princess pulled her cyan hair down and Luffy appreciated how much more beautiful she was now that she wasn't putting up a façade.
"There's a civil war brewing in my country," Vivi explained somberly, "Turning the citizens against the king so that a rebellion emerged. Upon looking into the situation, I found ties to the underground organization Baroque Works."
"So, they aren't just bounty hunters," Nami clarified, "But some kind of insurrectionists?"
"Yes, exactly. Their leader, the one they call Mr. 0, wants to usurp my father from the throne and take over."
"Did you all know about this?" Kuina asked the other agents.
"Of course not!" Miss Mother's Day admitted, "We just wanted a job and some peace of mind!"
"They're telling the truth," Igaram added, "Baroque Works thrives on its secrecy. Each person is given strict orders to follow and any deviance is met with swift termination."
"Wait, why would you be doing this then?" Carina wondered, "I get wanting to defend your home but you're the princess! Don't you have knights or spies who could do this for you?"
"A real royal must fight to protect their home, not rely on the backs of others! The guardians of Alabasta and the Royal Army need to protect the capital in case the Rebel Army strikes! What kind of ruler would I be if I didn't try to stop such a grave threat myself?!"
The Straw Hats could all sense the pure conviction in her voice. They could only respect such devotion to her homeland, Nami and Reiju especially. Luffy turned to Igaram and asked, "So, what do you want from us?"
"Vivi must return home to Alabasta to reveal the truth of Baroque Works inciting the rebellion. The agency has thousands under its command, and all of them will be stationed between here and the kingdom. Luffy, will you escort her home safely?"
"Sure!"
Igaram balked. "Wha-? You aren't going to demand a reward?"
"That can come after. This all sounds pretty serious and whoever runs this Baroque Works sounds like a real jerk. Vivi and her home don't deserve to suffer because of whoever this ass is."
Vivi's jaw dropped. "Y-You'll just agree?! But you have no idea who leads Baroque Works!"
"Doesn't matter to me. You need our help, then we'll do it."
The princess could feel tears come to her eyes. She couldn't believe it. After two years undercover, just when it seemed like her time was up, this brave, stalwart man appeared and offered her help when she needed it most.
"Thank you, Luffy. Thank you so much… To think that you'd be willing to go up against a Warlord of the Sea!"
The entire assembly promptly froze as Vivi paled at her own words. Her former coworkers all went white as a sheet. "WHAAAAAAAAT?! A WARLORD?!"
"Oops?"
Nojiko looked over at Igaram, his hand over his eyes. "Does she do that a lot?"
"The princess is the epitome of a noble and selfless leader… But she's always had an unfortunate case of loose lips."
"Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm freaking done with this whole thing!" Miss Monday yelled, "If some government dog is just using us and wants to off us at the first chance, I'm not going to let him!"
The others all nodded… With one exception. Miss Mother's Day looked down as if seriously considering whether or not she should quit. Mr. 6 grabbed her hand and shouted, "Are you mad, my dear?! What could be worse than working under a Warlord who'll toss you aside for a single failure?!"
Luffy could see the gears turning in her mind, clearly weighing a heavy decision. It only made him all the more curious on where this woman came from. It looks like Vivi wasn't the only one hiding a significant secret.
But thankfully for him, the violet-haired woman seemed convinced as was Miss Monday and the princess. The unconscious Officer Agents would be dragged onto the ship to be interrogated, while Mr. 9 and Mr. 6 agreed to stay here. Not only was fighting a Warlord way over their level, but they didn't want all of the bounty hunters here to be left to their own devices.
"Just don't pull the same scam on anyone else, or we'll be back," Nami warned them, both men franticly nodding. Satisfied, she turned to Igaram, "So, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to act as a decoy for the princess, and hopefully buy you all some time before Baroque Works starts pursuing us. I have no doubt that Crocodile will be informed of you're identities thanks to the Unluckies."
"Who?"
"The duo responsible for eliminating all defectors, Mr. 13 and Miss Friday. They must have taken off already. Fortunately, it's still a ways to Alabasta even for them so I'll just-"
"Hold it," Luffy told him, "You leaving from the same port as us?"
"Yes? What's the matter?"
Luffy reached his arm back before stretching forward. "Gum-Gum Grab!"
Everyone watched Luffy's limb extend out over the ocean, wondering what he was thinking until they heard something as his arm returned. "…aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAH!"
They all watched as a tall, tanned woman dressed in purple leather and a cowboy hat like something out of the Old West Blue was being dragged out of the ocean and back onto Whiskey Peak. When Luffy's arm stopped, they could all see her raven black hair from under her hat, her wet feet from being pulled from a skiff and the terrified expression on her face.
Vivi just dropped her jaw. "THAT'S MISS ALL-SUNDAY!"
"Crocodile's second-in-command?!" Igaram balked.
"CIEN-!"
Whatever she was about to say died when Luffy unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, knocking the woman out in an instant. He then turned to face the astonished crowd, "Sorry, I felt something with Observation. Didn't want to tip her off by accident."
"I can't believe it…" Vivi gasped, "How? How do you do all these things?"
"Training, mostly. Don't worry, I'll train you up a little so that jerk Crocodile won't get his hands on you."
As Luffy carried the vice-president of Baroque Works onto the Going Merry to be interrogated alongside the other two, Vivi looked over at the rest of the Straw Hats gathering their things as if this was just another day. As if they didn't defeat an entire platoon of criminals, including the personal assistant of a rogue Warlord, and weren't bringing several enemy agents on board their ship.
She turned to Igaram who had a sagely smile on his face. "You'd best be going, Princess. We wouldn't want to keep your father waiting, yes?"
Vivi slammed into him with a hug, thanking him for staying by her for so long, before rushing off onto the Going Merry. After two long years of waiting, it was time to save Alabasta.
Given that the Going Merry didn't have a proper brig or cell, the closest they could do to restrain the three higher-up agents was to tie Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine's Day up with rope but Vivi warned that Miss All-Sunday had a Devil Fruit that made restraining her near impossible. Fortunately for her, Igaram came prepared and handed her the perfect tool.
Everyone watched as Vivi pulled out a pair of black manacles that she clamped around the unconscious woman's wrists. Even while still unconscious, her body went limp.
"Seastone," Luffy realized, "That's the only other way to deprive someone of their Devil Fruit powers aside from dumping them in the ocean."
"Exactly. Igaram always carried a pair in case someone with powers attacked. Now she'll be as weak as though she's been dunked in the sea."
"Oooooh, my head…" Miss Valentine's Day moaned only to blink and realize she was surrounded by the enemy. "AAAAH! Let me go!"
"Why, so you can sink the ship?" Reiju asked, "Sorry, but we don't feel like have a ten-thousand kilo paperweight. Do yourself a favor and be quiet."
"Mmmmm…" Everyone watched as Miss All-Sunday grumbled and tried to sit up only to still feel weak and lifeless. Her eyes bolted open and scanned around before she calmed down and glanced up. A coy smile still crossed her face.
"Well now, it's not everyday I get swept away by a rugged man. Is this how you've won over all the women on your crew?"
"No, they all chose to join. Now who are you and why are you working for Crocodile?"
"CROCODILE?!"
"Oi, that question wasn't for you!" Desire yelled, only realizing too late she didn't have her trusty pipe to threaten the blonde with.
"And drop the stupid codename," Kuina told her, "We know all about Baroque Works and what they really want."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
Vivi grabbed the restrained woman by the neck and stared dead into her eyes, pure hatred burning in her gaze. "You're starting a civil war in Alabasta! You're planning to overthrow my father! Now cut the crap or else I'll personally throw you to the sharks!"
The others were all stunned by the vitriol on the princess's voice, Luffy could even see Robin give the tiniest gulp that gave away her fear. He was impressed, this woman was a master of hiding her emotions.
After a long, pointed silence, the western-dressed woman sighed. "My real name is Nico Robin, and I'm purely working under Crocodile to have the protection of a Warlord."
"Wait a minute…" Sally paused, "You don't mean…"
"Wanted for 79 million beris? Yes, that's me. I suppose I should be flattered that a member of royalty recognizes me."
"No way, that's more than Luffy!" Nojiko gasped.
"Indeed, and to think I was only eight when I earned that sum…"
Nami just raised her eyebrow. "You seem awfully calm given the situation you're in."
"Well, I know for a fact you wouldn't turn me in as that would risk getting captured yourself. And, since I've come clean about my identity, I feel it's only fair that everyone here does…"
She turns her gaze onto Miss Mother's Day, the woman freezing in terror as a cold smile crossed her former employer's face. "…Isn't that right, Charlotte Custard?"
Vivi, Sally, Kuina, Nami and Alvida all turned white as sheets as they turned to gawk at the violet-haired woman, all recognizing that name instantly. The Charlotte Family, all flying under the flag of the sole female among the Four Emperors, Charlotte "Big Mom" Linlin.
"You… You can't be serious!" Kuina yelled, "She-she's bluffing! What would someone like that be doing here?!"
"Guys, we have to get rid of her!" Nami warned them all, "Big Mom is super possessive of her children! She might be tied into Baroque Works too!"
"HEY!" Luffy yelled, "Everyone, calm down! We don't know if Big Mom is involved, and we're not going to dogpile someone over something like that!"
He turned and glared at Robin. "And besides, we still aren't done with you. Got it?" Luffy let just a bit of Conqueror's Haki out to put her back in her place, the vice president nodding in fear.
Vivi then stepped forward, still glaring daggers. "Now, answer this and only this: What is Crocodile's plan for Alabasta?"
"'Operation: Utopia.' He plans on rallying the people into a rebellion that will overtake King Cobra and support him as their new leader. All agents of Baroque Works have been promised positions in the new government. For instance, I would act as court advisor to him."
"Yeah, and probably his queen…" Desire snickered before Robin shut her up with a glare of her own. No one noticed her swallow a load of bile.
"I can assure you that I have no such feelings towards him. And besides that, Crocodile doesn't actually want Alabasta. He wants something contained within its borders: the location of the Ancient Weapon Pluton."
"WHAT?!" Vivi gasped, "That can't be! Why would he go through all this trouble then?!"
"Wait, hold on, what's Pluton?" Carmen asked.
"One of three weapons built eons ago before the founding of the World Government," Robin told her, "Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus. The one he is after is said to be the world's most terrible battleship, capable of destroying an island in a single attack."
"THE HELL?!" Miss Monday yelled, "That's… Then what the fuck will happen to us?! If he gets this ship, what's he gonna do to Alabasta?!"
"He couldn't care less about the island or its people. If I had to hazard a guess, he may just use it as target practice…"
Vivi shrieked in terror. This was even worse than she could have imagined! Tears rushed from her eyes and she could feel her knees buckle. She was about to fall only for a pair of arms to wrap around her.
"Hey, hey, don't let her get to you," Sally told her, "Your people will be fine. We promise we'll get you home before anything happens…" Moodie and Kaya added to the hug, letting the princess slowly regain control of her breathing.
"She's right," Luffy nodded, "Vivi, you can count on us. We'll never let this jerk get near your father or this thing he wants."
"No kidding!" Miss Valentine's Day yelled, "Take this back to Crocodile, bitch! I QUIT! I don't want a damn thing to do with Baroque Works anymore!"
"Yeah, I can get with that," Mr. 5 said from the deck, making everyone do a double-take.
"How long have you been awake down there?" Carina wondered.
"For the past couple of minutes. I've been listening the whole time, I just didn't wanna make a fuss. But that quitting thing goes ditto for me. I came here for a paycheck, not some freaky plan that involves torching an island. Count me out, too."
"Oh?" Robin quirked an eyebrow, "You do realize that the Unluckies and all of the other agents will be after you, alongside the World Government? Is that what you want?"
"We're already wanted, what else do we have to lose?!" Miss Valentine's Day yelled, "I'm no saint, but destroying an island just to get some dumb weapon is way too far! Stop trying to make us fall in line, since now we know you'll just slit our throats once this whole thing is over!"
"Very well then. I'll be sure to let Crocodile know that you're no longer under our employ, 'Courier' Mikita and Gem 'of the Border.'"
"You can stop quoting their bounty posters," Kaya said sternly, "You're trying to intimidate us, but we all have prices on us too."
Robin just tittered as if this was funny. "If you insist. Is there anything else you want to know?"
"What's your Devil Fruit power like?" Nami asked, only to get some strange looks from the others, "What? She destroyed a bunch of battleships, it must be something big!"
"I ate the Flower-Flower Fruit when I was a child. It allows me to replicate any part of my body on any surface in my line of sight. For instance, I could easily untie any ropes binding me by spawning arms on the wall behind me. I could summon an extra pair of eyes on a wall for eavesdropping while I pretend to sleep. And…"
She gave a wide, sweet smile that didn't meet her eyes. "…I could strangle all of you by summoning arms onto your shoulders and throttling you into you blacked out one by one."
Several ladies stepped back, including Vivi who made a reminder to give Igaram some kind of reward for keeping those cuffs on him. But as the fear of her threat subsided, several of them thought the same thing. That didn't sound like a fruit capable of letting a little girl sink the Marine's biggest ships unless they were held together with duct tape and prayer.
"Alright, that's enough," Luffy said, "Vivi, let her go."
"Wait, what? You're releasing me?"
"Yeah, you've been honest this whole time." He shrugged, as if this was the most obvious outcome. Alvida and a few others wanted to protest but thought against it. Not only would keeping this woman prisoner be an extra issue to worry about, but holding the second-in-command hostage would surely make Crocodile come down on them even harder.
And so, Robin's shackles were undone and she instantly stood up and walked towards the edge of the ship. She glanced at the former Baroque Works agents, all of them promising death if she tried anything. Vivi's heated stare was enough to make her wary to say anything else.
Then her eyes crossed Luffy's. Now it was her turn to look again as she couldn't see an ounce of hesitation or fear in his stare.
"What?"
"You fully plan on going through with this, don't you?"
"Well, yeah. I said I would."
"But why? Looking to court a princess, alongside so many other women? Or to gain favor with a royal?"
"Neither. This Crocodile is a total jackass, and Vivi needs my help."
Robin couldn't stop a hearty laugh before it escaped. "You're serious? You're willing to go up against a Warlord of the Sea, with a former member of Big Mom on your crew, all just to help someone you met today?"
"Yep!" Robin spent far too long studying his face for any sign that he was lying, waiting for him to backstep or give some tell that he was bluffing. It was only after several minutes that the woman's eyes widened.
"You… Are entirely serious…"
"Yeah. I just said that. You're weird…"
Robin lowered the brim of her purple Stetson to hide her shocked face before adopting the same calm, composed grin she had on before. "Well, think whatever you wish. Your attitude may change when you make such powerful enemies…"
Robin then leapt off the side of the ship, everyone rushing to see that she hadn't drowned herself but had landed on the back of a giant turtle with a padded seat on its massive green shell. The Straw Hat Pirates and all of the former members of Baroque Works watched her sail away, no doubt back to report to Crocodile.
Once she was fully out of sight, Nami noticed something left behind on the deck. She looked down and noticed it was another Log Pose, but one cased in a wooden display that vaguely resembled a palm tree with the words "Kyuka Island" engraved along the base.
"That's an Eternal Pose!" Vivi gasped, "It's specifically attuned to the frequency of one island on the Grand Line!"
"Really?" Honey Queen awed, "So, this will let us skip over to another line of islands? But what's this doing here?"
"Last I checked, that's the island where Mr. 3 and his partner Miss Goldenweek were relaxing in between assignments," Miss Valentine's Day mentioned, "If she's left that here, she wants us to run into them."
"Trust me, that's for the best," Custard warned them, "The next island after Whiskey Peak is Little Garden. Nobody who goes there comes out alive."
"So, she was actually doing us a favor?" Desire doubted, "Eh, whatever. So, what do we do with you all?"
Miss Monday crossed her burly arms "Well, we sure as Hell aren't going back now. And I'm with Mr. 5 here, I came here just to get paid. I didn't sign up for a psycho Warlord to sacrifice us so he could get his hands on a doomsday device."
Vivi looked at the former agents, noticing Mr. 5 was less enthused. "What? I ain't joining this crew, but I'll take a ride to Kyuka Island and then head out from there."
Nojiko and Carina stood on either side of the princess, looking surprisingly calm given the situation. "Trust us, we outnumber them about four to one. They aren't going to mutiny or anything."
"It's not them I'm worried about…"
Luffy stood in front of her, his gaze just as resolute as when he spoke to Robin. "Vivi, your home will be fine. We're going to get you there in one piece so you can stop this war."
The sheer confidence in his voice, the complete conviction in his posture, made Vivi let out a shuddering breath she had been holding in since her cover was blown. "Okay, Luffy, I'll trust you. You have saved me once already, after all…"
"Good, you can count on us! Now then…" He turned to the turncoat agents, "Other than the bomb guy, are the rest of you serious about turning on Baroque Works?" The three women all nodded, not showing any hesitation themselves.
"Cool! From now on, you're part of the Straw Hat Pirates. And that means no more stupid codenames. I want to know who all three of you really are."
Miss Monday shrugged. "My name is Clarisse, been hired muscle ever since I could remember. Bounced around the South Blue from island to island until the gang I used to work for got busted by an undercover Marine. I like training and the occasional romance novel."
"Heh, we can work with that," Kuina chuckled, Alvida and Desire looking just as excited. Sally and Kaya were intrigued as well, both of them had a fond love of literature.
Miss Valentine's Day removed her hat to reveal her short blonde locks, looking far more rational. "My name is Mikita, and I'm currently wanted for 7.5 million beris. I was trying to save up money in my home in the West Blue when I got caught up in a drug trafficking operation. That's why my poster calls me 'Courier' and I was hoping that I could use Baroque Works as a second chance. My goal is open a chocolate shoppe like my parents had."
"Ooh, a pastry chef?" Carmen said with a grin, "I must admit dessert is an area I could use improvement on."
"Same here," Reiju nodded, "As long as you don't sink into the floor, we can always use another set of hands in the kitchen."
And with that, everyone turned to the violet-haired woman towering even above Luffy. She just sighed. "Yes, it's true. I'm Charlotte Custard, and I'm one of Big Mom's children. But before any of you think otherwise, let me make something perfectly clear…"
She took the sword strapped to her side and tossed it over the deck, lowering down on her knees and feet before Luffy. "…I despise that woman with all my heart. She's a madwoman, a beast and a tyrant who treats everyone, especially her own kids, as soldiers in her army. I ran away two years ago because she was going to marry me off to seal an alliance with another crew."
"Are you serious?!" Moodie gagged, "Treating her own daughters as bargaining chips?! How revolting!"
"I must agree, that's truly reprehensible," Sally nodded, kneeling down to offer her comfort, "And given how many children she has…"
"How many could that be?" Makino dared to ask.
"Eighty-five. I'm among her oldest, her sixth daughter and sixteenth overall. In particular, I was from a set of triplets. My immediate brother happens to be Cracker."
"One of the Three Sweet Commanders?!" Nami gasped, "He's wanted for 860 million!"
Nojiko raised an eyebrow. "Why do you have so many pirates' bounties memorized?"
"Because when you go around stealing from pirates, you wanna make sure you stay away from the big shots!"
"Agreed," Carina, Alvida, Honey Queen and Desire all nodded sagely.
"Yes, my brother is one of the most feared fighters in our crew and he takes after my mother in the worst ways. Violent, arrogant, and utterly convinced that being bound by blood makes me automatically fall in line. And my younger sister Angel is only slightly better. But I just wanted a life of my own, one where I'm not under the heel of a bloodthirsty glutton who considered getting a mountain of candy a priority over treating us as human beings!"
The others all balked. That had to be an exaggeration. What kind of rational adult, let alone one of the world's most infamous pirates, would consider satisfying her sweet tooth more important than the life of a crewmember?
Unfortunately, Luffy remembered the stories Shanks would tell about the other big-name pirates from his side of the Grand Line and everything Custard confessed lined up. By all accounts, Charlotte Linlin was a spoiled brat of a five-year-old in an massive old woman's body, and one that could casually rip apart buildings and ships as if they were made of tissue paper. The whole of the Totland Archipelago was her territory, its inhabitants forced to grind out a tribute of sweet treats every month or else suffer her wrath.
All the while, the crew felt their suspicions fade. To hear a woman over forty whimper and sob over what was supposed to be her family and almost being sold off like cattle made even Vivi and Mikita squirm.
Luffy then offered her a hand up. "Custard, I swear to you that my crew is nothing like that. A pirate's crew are the greatest treasure they can have. If anyone tries to hurt you, I won't stand for it."
"You say that now. The second they find out I'm here, they'll start trying to bring me back."
"Then they better send someone like that Cracker guy, because it'll take a whole lot to separate my crew."
Custard looked up and saw the other women staring at her, but not in suspicion or alarm. It was with sympathy, the first she could remember seeing in decades. She slowly returned to her feet and grabbed her blade once again.
"I'll hold you to your word, Captain Monkey D. Luffy. And I'll also put your swordsman through her paces."
"Hehe, sweet!" Luffy smiled while Kuina had her hand resting on her katana, ready to spar here and now if not for the moon still high in the sky. Vivi then looked around as the rest of the crew started to mingle and real feeling of hope blossomed in her chest.
"Hang on a little longer, Father. I'll put an end to this. Isn't that right, Carue?"
"QUAAAAAAAA!" The horse-sized duck with a wooden barrel around his neck, a giant blue woolen cap, and a brown saddle over his back, brayed as he saluted one wing like a military officer.
"Wait, where did that come from?!" Honey Queen yelled.
"Oh, did I not mention Carue? He's my steed, I thought I mentioned him coming onto the ship after me…"
Carina slid a hand over her face. "Okay, princess, should we tie a knot around your finger, or can you please get your head straight yourself?"
While the princess pouted at that, the three new members were led down to the ship's quarters to pick out their hammocks. Mr. 5, or Gem as he was really named, elected to bunk on the deck in a sleeping bag since he could clearly tell bunking with almost twenty women would be awkward beyond belief.
Soon Luffy was left in his quarters staring at the compass pointing to their next destination. He wondered what would happen on this Kyuka Island. But in the meantime, he had three new crewmates to get up to speed along with Vivi. He hoped the weather would stay nice so he could properly introduce them to Haki, the Six Powers, and the truth about Imu.
YEEEES! At long last, I can finally write my favorite character in One Piece: Nico Robin! Unbelievably sexy (doubly so with Stephanie Young's voice), phenomenal character arc, awesome original powerset, and a great source of deadpan humor all rolled into one compelling package! Oh, but we also have Miss Monday (henceforth known as Clarisse in this fic) Mikita and a surprise Charlotte Custard! That last one came from an idea spitballed in the comments and I loved it, so here she is! And one more change: we are NOT going to Little Garden. Don't fret for Dorry and Broggy, though, they'll still get some resolution. Someone else can help sort their duel out while Luffy deals with Baroque Works head on, next time!