Warning! Chapters 19-21 were all released back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss any!

Chapter 21: Shakedown and Recruitment!

"Luffy, you're a mad genius and I may love you for making this ship. I'm afraid, however, that I may have to compete for your hand with Usopp. Kaya will be crushed."

Luffy blushed scarlet at the seriousness of Nami's first sentence, then laughed at the ridiculousness of the rest of it.

"I'm glad you like the Discovery, Nami. I'm fairly certain I'm safe from Usopp affections, but the guns might not be. I think he might try to cheat on Kaya with them."

Nami giggled, ever as she caressed the wheel of their new ship.

"Seriously, Luffy. This ship is amazing. I mean, I knew it was going to be something special. But we hit 20 knots without those engines of yours. And, what, 32 when we maxed them out? And that's not even getting into just how insanely stable and responsive she is. We may not have hit any rough seas yet, but I can feel in my bones that no storm the East Blue has to offer is going to do anything more than make her yawn in disappointment."

Luffy smirked, pleased yet again that even he'd underestimated just how fast the Discovery would be. He suspected, but couldn't prove yet, that it had something to do with the Abilities listed in the ship's status. He'd originally thought those to merely be representations of facts about the ship design. But after the speed tests, he wasn't so sure of that. So far as he was aware, even as a catamaran design the ship shouldn't be quite that fast. Yet there was no question that it was. He double checked the speed measurements himself. And that was after Nami had done the same.

Better yet, that nice surprise nearly paled compared to how well the guns had performed. The isolated set of rocks they'd found to test fire them on were basically gone after Usopp had gotten the hang of ranging on them. They hadn't actually been able to determine their maximum range, since even with Nojiko lifting him up on one of her Crystal platforms and Usopp using a spyglass, their maximum sight range had only been about 4.5 miles…before repeated hits on the rocks had left them nothing to shoot at. Admittedly, even Usopp had been missing far more than hitting with the guns at that range. But he was also rather new to the idea that you might need to do math to hit something with a gun. The fact he'd managed a couple of hits at that sort of range, at all, was amazing in and of itself.

"So, what are we planning to do now, Captain~?"

Luffy twitched at the way she teasingly rolled his title, but took the question seriously.

"Well, there's still one last member of the crew I want to recruit, but it might be a bit harder of a sell. You remember that cook that flirted with you and Kaya at the Baratie?"

Nami blinked, eyes going blank for a moment, before slowly nodding her head.

"Yeah, you talked with him and the Chef about some sort of legendary ocean, right?"

"Yep. The All Blue, a place where the fish of all four oceans can be found. A sort of chef's paradise, at least as far as sea-fairing chefs go. I could tell Sanji was interested. And the way he moved…"

Nami nodded instantly.

"Absolutely. I pegged him almost immediately as a serious fighter. I had to get good at picking that sort of thing out early on, so that I didn't target someone I couldn't handle. Some sort of kick-focused style?"

Luffy blinked, impressed by the observation.

"Yeah. At least I think so. In fact, given the way the old chef acted around him, I suspect Red Leg Zeff considers him an adopted kid of sorts and taught him his personal style. Add in experience as a maritime cook…"

Nami pursed her lips and nodded, obviously seeing how valuable that could be. It was easily one of their weakest points currently. It was relatively easy to stay stocked in the East Blue, and several of them could cook half-decently. But it wasn't the same thing as having a dedicated specialist that knew how to both make the most of their supplies and how to keep a crew healthy with infrequent access to fresh foods.

"Are you sure he'll want to come along, though? Being a Sous Chef is a big deal a lot of places. Something you spend years working up to."

Luffy sighed. Yes, that was the problem. Particularly if Sanji was as stuck in his own mindset of repaying Zeff as Luffy feared he might be.

"Yeah, he's going to be a harder sell than everyone else, I think. But that's why I waited until now. Hold up a sec…"

Luffy caught Kuina's eye as she finished up a set of training reps and waved her into the pilothouse. She nodded, cleaned up a bit, and joined them. He repeated his thoughts on Sanji to his First Mate, then elaborated on his immediate plans.

"After a stop at Cocoyasi to pick up Nami and Nojiko's mikan trees, I thought we'd head to the Baratie and make it a base of sorts for a bit. While there's a few up and comers on the bounty scene filling the spots of pirates we took down, none of them are really that notable yet. Which means there's really only one bounty of note left in the East Blue. Normally, it wouldn't be worth bothering with, since he's not that strong on a personal level. But his armada would be a perfect test for the Discovery."

Nami blinked, speaking up in an incredulous tone before Kuina could chime in.

"Armada? You don't mean Don Kreig, do you? He has, like, 50 ships!"

Kuina looked less worried than curious. She knew Luffy wasn't one to go harrying off with no plan, and she gestured for him to get on with it. He chuckled at both reactions, each equally predictable in their own way.

"He does have around that many ships, yes. But he doesn't maintain them all in one place. Frankly, doing so would be moronic even for him. You don't need fifty ships to force a single port to surrender, and holding them all together would be a tempting enough target for the East Blue Marine HQ to actually get off their ass and deal with him. No, he splits his ships up into raiding forces of five to ten ships, has them sack an island, then pull back to some central point that no one has yet identified."

Nami was looking a bit calmer, speculatively pursing her lips and turning her eyes to where the Discovery's guns were currently concealed.

"You want to test the guns properly, by wiping out a few of those raiding groups. It would take a while to hit enough of them to matter, though…"

Kunia nodded along with Nami's statement, finishing it with the logical point.

"Which is why you think it's a good time for it. It will let us thoroughly learn the ship, while returning semi-frequently to the Baratie, to try wearing down the chef you want to steal away."

Luffy grinned, appreciating that he had intelligent crewmates.

"Yep! And the Krieg pirates are enough of a nuisance that the Marine HQ has put individual bounties on their ships, anyway. So long as we can bring in proof of sinking the ships, via photograph or wreckage, we can bring in two million per ship. That makes it a technically worthwhile bounty. Bonus points all around that the Kreig Pirates aren't huge threats, so they'll make good practice for our newer crew, as well as practice in coordinating battles. Which is something we've never really done before. We've always, previously, divided ourselves up into small groups. We have little idea how to work together without getting in each other's way."

Kuina winced at that, even if Nami didn't quite see the same problem. Mostly because Nami was busy looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Wait, that doesn't include me, does it?!"

Luffy laughed.

"Of course it does, Nami. We've been making you train with everyone else for a reason. In fact, you're so close to unlocking Observation Haki that battles like this are a good chance to finally get more than just wild fits of it."

Nami pouted, trying to bite at him as he reached out to pat her head. He avoided the bite easily and ignored her grumbles as he ruffled her hair. She was probably the most combat-adverse member of his crew, including Kaya oddly enough. But she was going to have to get over it sooner or later. Better it be against small fry here in the East Blue than elsewhere…

... ...

"So, Sanji…ready to find the All Blue?"

The Sous Chef, mid-flirt with Nojiko, blinked and looked over at Luffy.

"Pardon?"

Luffy grinned at him. He and the rest were dressed in their combat attire this time, instead of the fancy clothes from before. But Sanji had still recognized them. He also hadn't been able to resist four beautiful women at one table, even if he knew one of them was off limits. Of course, he didn't know that three of them were actually off limits, more or less. But it wouldn't hurt to let him find that out after he joined, so far as Luffy was concerned. Though, to the blonde's credit, he actually seemed to have picked up on Kaya's attachment to Usopp…and actually seemed to be subtly encouraging them? Huh, that was a development Luffy absolutely hadn't seen coming.

"You seemed interested the last time we were here, and one of the only positions I still need to fill before heading to the Grand Line is a cook. Since Nami here," Luffy gestured to his girlfriend, not really minding that just sent a flirtatious wink as Sanji, "wants to map literally the entire world, we're bound to find the All Blue if it exists at all. The chance of a lifetime for you to seek it out!"

Sanji looked surprised, wavering for a moment, but then shook his head.

"Sorry, but I have responsibilities here. I…have a debt to the old man."

Luffy smirked, having already expected that and opened the conversation more to plant an idea than out of any expectation of immediate success.

"Ah, but Sanji…didn't you hear him when were here before? Zeff was looking for the All Blue himself before he lost his crew. There's no better way you could repay your debt to him than by finding it for him. Heck, imagine being able to help him set up his own restaurant there, in the chef's paradise. Instead of here in the boring East Blue."

Sanji looked momentarily arrested at the idea, only to frown and slowly shake his head. Luffy didn't let that bother him. This was only the opening round. Or round two, he supposed, if you counted that initial visit where he'd been fishing for information.

"Well, something to think on anyway. The offer is open and we'll be dropping in from time to time over the next few months. We have a large job that will take us through this region several times. Talk to Zeff, see if he wants you here or out looking for his lost dream, hmm?"

Sanji hesitated, then swept off without a word, not even resuming his flirting. Luffy grinned. That went just the way he'd hoped. Sometimes, you just needed to get people to convince themselves, rather than try to pound a different point of view into their skull…

... ...

"SAIL HO! Multiple Sails!"

The cry from Usopp, where he floated 30 feet above the ship on one of Nojiko's crystal platforms, snapped all of them to attention. Luffy had felt out the Haki signatures of enough people to mean several ships a good ten minutes ago and guided Nami on a loose intercept course. Now, they all waited for confirmation from Usopp, who had by far the sharpest eyes of all of them, augmented by the best spyglass they could lay hands on.

"…Confirmation! Kreig markings on the flag of the closest ship! Looks like at least one of the others has a false merchant flag!"

Several people nodded at that. The Kreig pirates were well known for false flag operations. It would make sense if at least one or two of the ships in this raiding force were marked that way. Likely, they would try slipping those ships right into port, then pounce with the rest of them while the ships already at dock disgorged pirates all over said docks to break any idea of resisting. Scummy tactics, even by pirate standards, and exactly as expected of this particular pirate group. Luffy out of the pilothouse, tossing a comment toward Nami as he did so.

"Run out the guns, Nami. We'll wait until we're much closer, call it just over a mile and a quarter, before we actually fire. But we can prep them now."

The redhead pursed her lips but nodded, reaching under the panel next to the wheel to flip the hidden switches. Even as she did, Usopp was trading places with Nojiko. During their testing, they'd worked out that the best way to operate their guns at far ranges was with a spotter to help call ranging as they zeroed in on a target. Technically, Usopp was the best at that…but he and Luffy were also still the only two that were really fully trained with the guns. For this first active engagement, at least, the two of them would man one of the guns each, with Nojiko calling out ranges and results.

It took another half an hour for them to close far enough, by which point they'd both identified enemy numbers and been spotted in turn. There were six ships in the opposing force, and those ships had turned to create a loose semi-circle formation and come back at their own vessel. The captains of those ships were undoubtably extremely confused why a single vessel, no matter how odd, seemed intent on closing with them. But that was fine. The range was coming down to Luffy's 1.25-mile limit and Usopp had already given brisk orders that had both guns targeting the center-left ship. It and the other centermost ship were the largest, being brigantine-rigged vessels in the 120ft range. A smaller Schooner and trio of modified merchant caravels made up the rest of the raiding squadron, with the two brigantines the only proper warships in the grouping.

Right as Nojiko called out the range Luffy had designated, Usopp called out the order to fire. At these sorts of ranges, even Usopp had limits, and had calculated the two shots for slightly different vectors. His own shot came up short by 50 ft, sending a huge spray up in front of their targets. But the shot from the gun Luffy was manning hit the enemy vessel head on, just above the waterline, a few feet to one side of its centerline. In that instant, the true difference between the shells they were firing and cannonballs was bad brutally apparent. The wooden hull barely even slowed the shell…and Luffy hadn't bothered with making armor-piercing shells, knowing a wooden hull wouldn't require them. Instead, he'd combined his own limited knowledge of explosives with the extensive notes he'd found on the Buggy Pirates ship, and created HE shells. The resulting detonation as that shell went off ripped a 15 ft hole in the enemy vessel that caused it to instantly start listing.

Everyone but Luffy gaped as Nojiko called out the result. Luffy, who had expected it, only let them do so for a moment before calling out to the various crew members he needed to snap out of it.

"Kuina! Evidence! Usopp, target the other warship! Nojiko, ranges!"

His crew shook themselves, with Nojiko instantly calling out information for their next target, Usopp shakily training his gun around while calling out orders for Luffy to traverse his own. Kuina, meanwhile, brought out a Cemeko-mushi with a distance-focus lens and took strategic shots of the ship sinking. That mushi had been expensive, even more so than the inter-island scale den-den mushi that Luffy had equipped the Destiny with. Luffy had never hesitated to spend on anything regarding their ship, though, and the Cemeko-mushi was a perfect way to prove bounties like this one. Despite costing nearly four million belli, the bounties on just these ships would make up for it. Well, maybe not quite, since everyone got their own cuts. But the point stood that it would pay for itself in time…

Despite sinking one of their ships, the pirates had kept on course, either hoping it was a freak shot or that they could close to their own cannon range quickly enough to prevent more losses. Sadly for them, the guns Luffy had designed were special. Each of the 33lb shells they fired did require that the interrupted-screw breech be opened, a new shell loaded, and then the breech closed. But he'd built a hopper that could hold 8 such shells, using a combination of gravity and mechanical assist to allow someone strong enough to load a new shell relatively quickly. At least until the initial ammo ran out. Usopp couldn't have managed it before training with them…but he'd leaned into his fitness, including some strength training once Luffy had shown him the designs for the naval guns. As such, he could manage it with only a little struggle, while Luffy could do it without any effort at all.

All of which meant that the guns fired again less than a minute after sinking the first ship.

This time, both shots missed…but only minor corrections were needed. Less than twenty seconds to correct and fire again, and both shells slammed into the enemy man-o-war and blew its entire forward hull to splintered ruin. The pirates began to react now, clearly freaked out by the rapid losses and trying to scatter. It was much too late for that, however. Usopp shouted retargeting orders for a third ship…which went down two minutes later despite attempts to evade. Nami tacked their ship over toward the east, even as Usopp and Luffy kept up the pressure to the west, erasing a fourth ship even as Nami closed them up with the others. A fifth went down…and then they held their fire. This had been discussed beforehand. They would take the last survivor, in this case one of the caravels, as additional proof of their sinking the others. Not to mention as a way to get their newer crew some real-world experience with boarding actions.

Luffy, Zoro, and Kuina were all three fully capable of creating wind-bursts with their swords at this point. Which let the trio easily deflect the few shots the desperate pirates got off from their own cannons. And then, after running the vessel down…Nojiko, Usopp and Nami boarded her. The pirates, who had been panicked and ready to surrender, foolishly saw a pair of beautiful young women and a single lightly-armed man and thought they'd gotten lucky. They charged instead of surrendering…and the three tore them apart.

The trio had gone in with a plan, though one that Nami hadn't been happy about, as it put her out front for the opening salvo. Despite not being pleased by that, she did her job by landing in among the biggest group of melee weapon users and sweeping the lot of them off their feet with her staff. Usopp and Nojiko, on the other hand, leapt only as far as the rail of the enemy ship and balanced there. With brutal precision, each of them tracked their guns onto the handful of pistol and rifle armed pirates that were trying to draw a bead on Nami…and picked them off in rapid succession. Usopp mostly went for disabling shots. Nojiko went for kills. After so long under the thumb of pirates, she had no mercy left in her for the violent murder-and-pillaging sort of raider.

Of course, pirate ships tended to be crew heavy. Despite being a caravel, there were nearly forty pirates aboard this vessel. Nojiko ran dry in under a minute, taking one pirate out with each of her eight shots and diving into the melee alongside her now hard-pressed sister. Usopp, whose lever-action repeater held fifteen rounds, continued to fire. His shots had to be more careful now that the majority of the pirates were trying to get in close to the sisters, but he steadily eliminated more of them as Nami and Nojiko turned into back-to-back whirlwinds.

It was all over in less than five minutes.

Luffy gave an impressed whistle as he landed lightly on the ship, shifting back to human form from the falcon form he'd taken to watch the trio's back. Kuina and Zoro joined them a moment later, looking impressed, while Kaya joined last looking a little sick. Not unexpected…but she needed to be here too. For more than one reason. First, to get used to the sight of battle and its aftermath. Second, to do exactly what she was doing now. She'd already stepped up to a wounded pirate, knocked him out with a seal, and started to heal him. It was practice, not mercy. These pirates weren't important enough to send somewhere like impel down. They were far more likely to simply be hung by the nearest Marine base. Still, that made them good practice for Kaya's healing, as screwing up was no real loss. He made a note to talk to her about it later, to make sure she was handling it well, then turned his focus back to the trio.

"Well, you three certainly impressed. Sure, none of these were fighters of note. But quantity does have a quality all its own. More importantly…you worked together seamlessly. I'd say that our training in that regard is coming along nicely."

The three returned his praise with pleased smiles…and varying levels of paleness. Usopp was looking shaky, and Luffy added him to the list of those he needed to check on. Nojiko looked completely unphased…which might also be a concern. But he honestly didn't think it was. She showed plenty of compassion for most people. She was simply a lot like Luffy himself had become over time. Able to recognize when it was time for killing, without coming to enjoy the act itself. For both of them it was simply a job that needed doing. Not for the pay, but because these people would hurt others if given half a chance. Leaving them alive and free was akin to consigning innocents to death down the road.

Nami was somewhere between the two. She'd had to kill in self defense before, and certainly seen plenty of death up close and personal. She was, however, a lot less comfortable with it. Which was honestly fine, given he never intended her to be a front-line fighter. Honestly, he was content to see that she seemed largely unbothered by the combat itself, at least. In fact, she looked a little pleased about something…maybe?

"Had a breakthrough, Nami?"

Her smile turned larger and brighter as she nodded.

"Yep! Not completely…but I was able to track Nojiko with Observation through the entire fight! I had flashes of others, too. But I was able to keep track of her and her movements perfectly!"

Luffy grinned, stepping forward to sweep her into a hug and whirl her around. She giggled, a sound that should have been foreign amidst the carnage…but he didn't care about that. Instead, he drew her in for a peck on the lips, then let her snuggle into his side as he congratulated her.

"Congratulations! That's a big step forward! The people we know the feel of the best are the easiest to track, so I'm betting you managed to fully awaken your Observation this time, and just need to practice on different people. We can test it later, both on the ship and at the marine base when we turn this lot and their ship in."

Nami murmured happily, even as the two of them separated to pitch in at securing those pirates still alive…

... ...

The nearest Marine base this time had proven to be Loguetown. It had been somewhere that Luffy had wanted to stop at for some time, but hadn't been quite able to justify doing so as it was a bit out of the way. Still, there were several things he wanted to check on here, and the first one had happened right at the docks. It had, in fact, proven an amusing scene as Kuina came face-to-face with Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, who met them at the docks. Thankfully, they weren't quite as much doppelgangers of each other as the show had claimed, with Kuina possessing a more refined face and significantly more well-sculpted body. She also moved with a far deadlier grace than the Marine swordswoman, making the officer feel visible inadequate, practically having a dark cloud around her as she checked over their evidence. Even so, they were close enough in appearance to get curious looks, as well as a mild question from Kuina if Tashigi was a Shimotsuki.

Tashigi had been visibly startled by that question, bit admitted that her grandmother had been. Which…actually explained a lot. Both her looks and the apparently genetic predisposition toward sword obsession that the entire family seemed to share. It also, when Kuina properly introduced herself, helped to cut the tension the Marine had gained upon seeing Wado Ichimonji. Apparently, being the heir to a famous sword style was enough to make up for the woman's apparent dislike of bounty hunters. Between that and the fact that the Petty Officer was a professional, they were able to get everything verified quickly. It did need to be signed off on by a lieutenant, but he apparently trusted Tashigi's work…or the obvious crush the man had on her played a role. Either way, they got paid for a few small bounties the pirates themselves had, along with the 12 million for six of the Krieg Pirate ships being dealt with.

The crew quickly split up their cuts, then split up themselves as well, as they all wanted to check out the various things Loguetown had to offer. Nami waffled for a bit, before joining Luffy instead of her sister, as Luffy was headed for the Gold Roger Bar to see if they could get their hands on a log pose. The fact it gave them a bit of alone time together was just a plus. Despite the fact that they were technically dating, everyone had been busy enough in the three months since their first date that they hadn't actually had that much of an opportunity to explore their relationship. Something Luffy hoped to change now that he wasn't quite as consumed by the ship and training.

"So, what do you know about this bar? And you said there were other things you wanted to check on?"

Luffy chuckled, amused since one of those things he'd already gotten a clue about at the docks. Tashigi had been a partial answer, but keeping his ears open had provided a bit more information. Possibly.

"I already got one answer I wanted. There's supposed to be a pretty good Marine Captain here, with a high success rate. I suspected he had a Devil Fruit and wanted to know what it was, just in case."

Nami nodded, but seemed confused about what he thought was funny.

"Well, I heard him being called the Clay, the Brown Hunter. Given the number of jokes that name immediately brought to mind, I couldn't help but wonder how much hell he's gotten for it."

Nami blinked, then giggled…which did interesting things to the chest that was wrapped around one of Luffy's arms.

"I'm guessing he's got either a Paramecia or Logia fruit that lets him control earth in some manner. Either clay specifically, or just earth in general and he took Clay as his name. I'd like to get a look at him, just so I can pick him out of a crowd if possible, but it's not a big deal if we can't."

In reality, of course, Luffy wanted to know if it was Smoker. The fact that he'd sold the Smoke-Smoke fruit to his System Store meant it might not have been in the same place for the man, or more likely the Marines who'd likely supplied it as a reward, to get their hands on. If his guess was right, then Smoker was simply a nickname the man had been given or chosen to take after being given a Logia Fruit. It certainly made a lot more sense than someone with a name like that just lucking their way into a Fruit that fit it. Another potential butterfly effect. But one he could only confirm by getting a good look at the Marine Captain. For now, he answered Nami's earlier question.

"As for the Gold Roger Bar, I don't know a lot. I did ask around a bit about it after Zeff mentioned it the first time, but only found a few rumors. The only consistent one is that it's run by an old man named Raoul, who has some way to get the occasional item from the Grand Line. Nothing outright illegal, but some critical items like log poses and Devil Fruit guidebooks. Stuff the Marines don't like getting around but can't really stop."

Nami nodded. Luffy had told her what little he knew about log poses, and she was fascinated by the idea. As well as fully understanding how important it was to get their hands on one. The two of them continued to chat as they worked their way through the general area the bar was supposed to be in. A few questions to locals got a mix of suspicion, rolled eyes, and one or two honest answers. Well, given that the bar was apparently frequented by pirates, it was to be expected, Luffy supposed.

"There it is!"

Luffy breathed a sigh of relief as Nami spotted it, a real hole-in-the-wall. Which, he supposed, also made sense. Though it meant this was the third time they'd passed its general location.

"Good eyes, as always, Miss Navigator. Now, let's hope it was worth the effort, hmmm?"

The bar was nearly deserted as they entered, only an old man behind the bar and a single Marine Officer…with muddy-brown hair and Captain's Insignia. The old man was scowling at the Marine, who turned to raise an eyebrow at them as they entered. He blinked and his gaze sharpened at the obvious weapons they carried, but the sharp stare lasted only a few seconds as he failed to match them to any description he knew. Shrugging, the man Luffy recognized would have been Captain Smoker in another life, bit out a last word to the bartender.

"Just put the new bounty posters up, Raoul. It's not like your clients don't like seeing pictures of themselves. Point of pride, right?"

The bartender scowled, but didn't push the bundle of posters away, turning his focus on his new customers. After a moment, his scowl returned and he addressed them.

"Bounty hunters. Nothing for you here. Clay has scared off all my usuals with his chokehold on the route into the Grand Line."

Luffy grinned, not letting the scowl bother him. He tipped his hat, making a point to draw attention to it.

"Not here for anything bounty related. We only go after the nasty sort of pirates anyway. Dreamers that actually follow a purpose like Roger's have nothing to fear from us."

The scowl lessened and curiosity sparked in the old man's eyes.

"An odd statement from a bounty hunter, particularly one wearing a hat like that."

Luffy laughed and sat himself at the bar.

"Two ales, please. Make it a good one and I'll tell you about the pirate that gave me this hat. He's a man I still look up to and hope to meet again once I head to the Grand Line in a few months."

Raoul must have seen something he liked, as he skipped the standard ales, pulling a pair of drafts from a barrel under the counter. He slid them to Luffy and Nami, both of whom made appreciative murmurs at the earthy undertones. Malty, rich, with a hint of something like coffee to it. Definitely something not from the East Blue. Raoul grinned as Nami said as much, sipping her ale far more calmly than she normally tossed the low-quality stuff back.

"You're right, miss. Good spot. That stuff is called Smith's Dark, and it's from West Blue. Bit hard to get these days, but I still have a fair bit of it held back. I believe your young man owes me a story for it, though."

Luffy chuckled, taking another appreciative sip.

"An appropriate one, I think. If I remember right, the man who gave me this hat was from the West Blue. Though, I doubt all that many people remember that little detail. Most people probably assume he's from the Grand Line. He was found and apprentice to Gol D. Roger quite young, after all…"

That name, 'Gold' Roger's real name, got Raoul's instant, undivided attention. Luffy grinned, already knowing he had the man just for his tossing out that little detail. Settling in, he spun the tale of how Shanks and his crew had come to spend a year in the East Blue. He kept the name of the village out of it, so no one would be able to track down the people involved, but he was free with other information. More than enough detail to convince Raoul that it was all real…and even enthrall his girlfriend, who hadn't heard much about those days. He liked to think he was a pretty good storyteller, and he managed to keep the two spellbound for an hour and a half as he told about some of the antics and personalities of the Redhair crew. They were a good audience for it, laughing and exclaiming in all the right places…and in Raoul's case providing more of that excellent ale. As Luffy drew the stories to a close, the old man shook his head at the offer of pay for the drinks.

"No way, kid. The stories were more than enough payment for the drinks. Besides, I have a feeling you didn't come here by accident. So I'll likely make a belli or two off you anyway."

Luffy grinned shamelessly at that. Time to get to the reason they were here!

"Yep! One not-so-little detail I learned from Shanks and his crew is that regular navigation is near completely useless in the Grand Line. The weather is too crazy to make navigation by the stars reliable, and compasses are useless because of the magnetic fields crisscrossing the entire ocean. The only way to navigate is via log pose."

Raoul grinned.

"And someone told you I was the person to come to for those. Though, as a bounty hunter, I'm curious about who told you. My normal clients would usually steer clear of you."

Luffy shrugged, figuring another name drop wouldn't hurt.

"Chef Zeff of the Baratie. Formerly Red Leg Zeff, of course."

Understanding bloomed in the old man's eyes and he nodded.

"Makes sense. He always did have an eye for the good ones. Sent one or two my way back before Clay took up the post here. None sense then though. Not sure if that's the drop in quality recently, or just him wanting to keep them out of Clay's hands if they were worth knowing at all."

Luffy shrugged ignorance, and the old man only mused to himself for a moment or two longer before he fished under his shirt for a key…and turned to insert it into the rear edge of the bar itself. A moment later, there was a click, and a cleverly hidden section of the bar lifted up. There, neatly in a row on a wooden dowel, was a trio of log poses.

"As it happens, since so few pirates have come through of late, I actually have a few on hand instead of needing to put you on a list. Only one per client, and they aren't cheap. Four million belli flat, no exceptions or discounts. Not even for that most excellent story."

Luffy didn't hesitate for a second.

"Done! And I'll double it if you have solid information on the basic routes through Paradise. Or a Devil Fruit guide."

Raoul laughed…but reached under the bar and produced a thin hand-copied notebook.

"Don't have any of the Devil Fruit Guide's on hand, though I'll keep an eye out for them if you want. Might snag one before you head to the Grand Line, since you said it would be a few months yet." He tapped the notebook. "This, though, is a flat million extra. It contains a very bare-bones outline of the known seven routes through paradise. Not much more than a general description of the major islands they hit, along with a slightly better description of the first island in each route. Enough washouts make it back alive from those to make the islands better known. Can't guarantee it will be up to date, of course."

Nami practically pounced on the notebook, actually shoving money at the man. Who laughed…though not as much as Luffy, who knew how tight-fisted his navigator usually was. This though, was part of her dream. Knowing about the routes, even a little, would help her start her own mapping efforts. There was something to be said about trying to cross-reference the generally known knowledge about the islands with the something resembling normal navigation, after all. You might not be able to reliably navigate by stars on the Grand Line because of the erratic weather, but getting the occasional rough position fix was absolutely doable. And meant it would be possible to start drawing a general outline of a map just from what was in that notebook. Hopefully.

Luffy didn't haggle over the log pose either, of course. Even as Nami started devouring the simplistic information in the notebook, he bought the sturdiest looking of the three and put in a request for Raoul to keep an eye out for the Guide. He didn't actually need it, of course. His System had better details on all Spirit Fruits, even those currently in use, after all. But having it would help explain how he knew so much about the Fruits, and could identify many of them, to other people. Including his own crew. He'd explained about his ability to 'sense' someone's level and shown them the Inventory. But the greater details of the System, like the System Shop, were things he didn't intend to share. Less because of trust, and more because what they didn't know couldn't hurt them either. Nor could it be forced out of them by some of the nastier Fruits out there…

They left the Gold Roger Bar a few minutes later, with Luffy only managing to get Nami to let him store the notebook away safely by reminding her she'd wanted to shop for clothes. He supposed, in true put-upon male fashion, he ought to be dredging that. The truth was, though, that given the sort of things Nami preferred to wear? He was looking forward to the show far more than he was dreading it…

... ... ...

A/N: Once per release, I remind people that...I have a Patreon! Nothing I write, fanfiction wise, is ever permanently paywalled. That said, I do have Early Access chapters. There is, in fact, roughly another 15,500 words of One Piece - Halfway Broken currently in Early Access (Chapters 22-25).  There are also early access chapters of my other works there as well, typically totaling 40-60k words of various works in early access at any one time. I always appreciate any support, since it helps me free up more writing time...but most of all I hope you just enjoy the stories!