Chapter 10: Betting on Straw

May3, 801 WG

Lance stood to the side of the throne room where King Cobra and Princess Vivi were planning to receive the commanding officer. The royals had sent out a missive to the blockade asking to speak with the officer in person, so they wouldn't induce a panic shouting across the water. The reply had been promising in the sense that the Marines would come to Aluburna to talk.

Lance was there to observe the proceedings and intervene if things got out of control. Not that he didn't have confidence in Alabasta's guardians but this close to Reverse Mountain's west side saw a gentler, tamer Grandline. The Marines that were blocking them might have been summoned from further down where things got more concentrated and dangerous.

With Alabasta marked for death, if the Marines guarding them were aware, they might just attack the royals. Either they would remove them and make an example of them to warn other kings or because the Nefetari were one of the founding members and it didn't sit right with the World Leaders to kill one of their own. He highly doubted the later would ever be the reason.

It also appeased his godson's growing anxiety. Luffy wanted to be nearby, even though there was no rational reason for him to be, and it would, more than likely, put Vivi and Alabasta in greater jeopardy. Lance suspected the sudden paranoia was a byproduct of events in recent months. The arrival of his niece, Pudding's ambush, the blackmailing of Law, his own death, the loss of his devil fruit and physical strength, the awakening of his maternal inheritance, and dealing with the Malice of the World that was threatening to possess his friends and burn the world to the ground… It was a lot for a mere nineteen-year-old to have happen to him effectively at once.

Now he was facing another crisis and he was in no condition to just punch his way through it like before. And the consequences for failure would extend far and beyond Alabasta. He had a lot of friends all over the world and they would all be affected if he failed. And the Malice of the World cutting loose was just one possible threat.

Not that Luffy was aware of other threats. Lance hadn't bothered to spell it out because knowing didn't change what they needed to do and would only add to his godson's anxiety. There was simply no need to know at this stage.

While Luffy had fought in previous future-of-the-nation-dependent battles with towering odds, none had the odds so greatly stacked against him as this one. He was as close to helpless as a person could be without being bedridden, and he would have to depend on everyone else around him to resolve the issue. As someone who took his responsibility as captain more seriously than most people credited him with, having to face the reality that he would just be there to wave the flag while his friends risked their lives to do what he couldn't was eating him alive. He always put himself in the most dangerous position to shield his crew, some of whom couldn't survive those same fights if they had to face the same opponents as him.

That was how Lance knew he was taking his responsibilities seriously. Luffy knew he wasn't the smartest. He knew he couldn't navigate. He knew he was a lousy sailor. He knew he didn't have the self-discipline or the attention to detail that could mean the difference between life and death at sea. That was why captains had crews, in his mind, to fill in for their weaknesses. His job was to protect them so they could do theirs. He made mistakes, screwing around when things were supposed to be serious, but managed to charm the most surprising people into being allies or friends.

That was his gift, his strength that no one else on the crew had. It was a rare gift and not one that could be dismissed by anyone that understood how pirate fleets assembled themselves. Pirates were incredibly independent and notorious backstabbers, being able to inspire loyalty in such a group would make that person the most dangerous man in the world. White Beard had held that mantel once. For all Roger's fame, he couldn't inspire that kind of loyalty outside his own crew. White Beard had.

In a sense, Luffy was maturing. His happy-go-lucky, child-like ways were coming to an end. Peter Pan had lost his happiness, his ability to fly and was now banished from Neverland. That happiness could be recovered but it would come from a different source. The games were over, time to grow up, and growing up was painful. Lance hoped he would be around to guide Luffy through what was going to be a very rocky road. Well, they had to get through this crisis first. He pushed thoughts of the future aside as he focused on the present.

Lance felt secure in being exposed, despite being a stranger. He was unknown to the general Marine population having deserted nearly two decades earlier. Many of those that had known him personally had left at the same time, retired, or were too high ranked to be involved in this type of operation. No one else would recognize him.

At least that was his gamble.

In walked the commanding officer in charge of the blockade. He was a middle-aged man wearing a purple kimono under his white Marine jacket and blind. He let a staff feel the ground before him but navigated well even without his sight. Lance bit the inside of his cheek. He matched Luffy's description of Admiral Fugitora. Good news, that meant they might be able to reason with the man. Bad news, if he was the one guarding the mouth of the river, Thousand Sunny would not be able to escape even with her coo-du-burst ability since Fugitora had control over gravity and could pull a flying ship from the sky as easily as he did meteors from the heavens.

King Cobra nodded to the man and said, "Greetings Admiral Fugitora. I hope things have been going well for you since we last spoke at Reverie."

Lance perked his ears at that. So the two had met.

"It would have gone better if we had been able to convince the other nations the Seven Warlords were no longer needed," replied the blind Admiral.

Cobra's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Too much turmoil on the sea for them to let go of that troublesome asset, though, they are going to be more careful to whom they offer it from now on. They lost Jinbei because he refused to fight the man protecting his home island when otherwise he had been a dutiful soldier, then revoked Trafalgar even though he did them the service of taking down Doflamingo, something they couldn't do on their own. Crocodile and Doflamingo embarrassed them with their schemes against nations and Black Beard just used them for his own ambitions. Rather pathetic really."

Cobra then sighed. "That being said, here you are preventing my people from leaving Alabasta. Do you know why you have such an order?"

"Immigration of people on such a mass scale needs to be approved of in advance. That's how it has always been," said Fugitora.

Cobra huffed. "My nation is facing the wrath of Pluton and you don't think it would be wise to move the people away in case the worst should happen?"

Fugitora and his escorting Marines looked shocked and the subordinates glanced at each other in confusion. So, they had not gotten the full story, thought Lance. Now what will they do?

Cobra didn't wait for a response. "That thing was in Moady a few weeks ago. From what I heard, Dragon and his Revolutionaries fought to stop it but failed. It's made the crossing through the undersea passage and is now on this side of the Redline. It was suspected we were the target, your sudden appearance, preventing us from evacuating our people as a precaution, confirms it. Are you really going to be fine with all these people being killed? Whatever animosity I provoked at Reverie from the Gorosei with my questions should be on my head. My people are innocent and should not have to die because of my overstep."

Fugitora clutched his staff tight, his teeth grinding. Lance could only guess at what thoughts the Admiral was suffering under in that moment. No, he could do more than guess. He recognized that expression. He had seen it too many times before when he had been in the Marines. Not always in a mirror.

"How can you be so sure that a weapon of the Void Century is now back and heading here? And for you to think it's the World Government that is controlling it?" asked Fugitora. It didn't sound like an accusation, just someone who was hearing something that he didn't want to believe was true.

This seems to be the proper place for me step in, thought Lance as moved away from the wall. "That would be because of me."

Fugitora turned to face him, probably as a courtesy since he didn't need to look at someone to hear them. Lance felt the brush of haki against him like the kiss of a light breeze. Most people never noticed it, but he never could not notice it, once he learned what it was.

"It's been a number of years since I served the Marines, but I still have a few friends there who tell me things. Particularly, when their orders are running contradictory to their conscience. I imagine there are not that many Marines who aren't bothered by the wanton murder of helpless civilians. They just don't have the power to naysay their superiors."

Lance could leave it at that. It wouldn't identify anyone, nor would it reveal how they had found out about the target. There would be no way to determine who had contacted Lance about the plan. Maybe they wouldn't even bothering trying that hard to find out.

Fujitora's expression grew grave. "Why would they do such a thing?" he hissed.

Lance's expression softened. Yes, he recognized that expression, that frustration… that disappointment. Dragon had been equally frustrated when Ohara had burned. Fighting with his resolve to stay the course until he was in a position to prevent such tragedies in the future or save Ohara and possibly damn unknown other nations when his actions earned him a criminal's bounty or execution. Dragon had found a way around such future dilemmas, but the regret from not realizing it sooner would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Fugitora was there now, caught between his idealism and the reality he had to survive in order to make his idealistic changes to the world. Lance wanted to tell him Dragon's answer, convince him to act now, but there would be no way to convince him with words. It was a realization that required self-reflection. Any outside argument would only result in stonewalling.

"Now that you understand our plight," said Vivi. "Can you help us? You don't seem to agree with this action."

Fugitora face revealed his inner turmoil and there were several heartbeats where, if Lance were younger and not so jaded by experience, he would have dared hope that Fujitora would agree with the princess. Sadly, Fujitora did not betray Lance's pessimistic expectations.

The Admiral shook his head and said, "My orders are to prevent the people from Alabasta from emigrating. I fear if I don't follow through, they will turn on any nation that takes you in."

Vivi deflated and her father leaned forward and covered his face. Neither had dared to consider the very worst-case scenario, that the ship would simply change targets.

"Can you help us?" cried Vivi, desperation setting in.

Fujitora shook his head, he had already accepted there was nothing he could do except minimize the damage to surrounding kingdoms by following orders and letting Alabasta die.

Lance, however, had a different request.

"You seem like a man with strong ideals and a mind to change the course of the Marines, to ensure this doesn't happen again in the future. Your attempt to end the Seven Warlords was one such change that didn't go well."

Fugitora recovered his composure. "You seem familiar with this subject. Were you once such a man?"

Lance hesitated as he considered what he could and couldn't say to Fujitora. He could tell him the whole truth, but idealism didn't die easily. Dragon had paid a terrible price before he had changed course. If the Admiral was lucky it would never get that bad for him personally, so it would be an apple and orange comparison in his mind.

"No, not me. But there was once an admiral that strove to achieve enough power within the Marines to effect change that would never allow something like this to happen."

"What became of him?" Fujitora's tone revealed that the admiral realized it must not have ended well. Still he asked. What else could anyone do when presented with this example?

Lance looked away then replied, "The Gorosei sabotaged his efforts, driving him away, and destroyed all evidence of his existence within the Marines so he could never influence them again." It was the truth and would also serve as a warning to Fujitora to be careful. It also would prevent him from aiding Alabasta now. Not that Lance believed there would be anyway to convince the man anymore. He didn't want to destroy the order of the world, just change it.

"I understand your position in this debacle, Admiral," continued Lance before Fujitora could say anything. "Perhaps then we can compromise. I ask you follow merely the letter of the order. You came here in ignorance of Pluton and have no idea of its fate. Your orders were to keep 'the people of Alabasta' from leaving. Then do so. Keep the people of Alabasta from leaving. Focus on that one solitary task and do nothing else.

"However, you are to keep only the people of Alabasta from leaving. Nothing was said of non-Alabastans setting sail. So, don't hinder any non-Alabastans' ability to leave. No matter who they are or what they intend, so long as they take no action against you and your command, you let them go unchallenged. And no matter what may be happening off the coast, you hold your position because, if you get distracted by any activity beyond Alabasta's waters, the people of Alabasta may escape the island. So you stay put and don't intervene. Is that acceptable, Admiral?"

Fujitora seemed to stare at him with his sightless eyes while his men fidgeted. Lance knew Fujitora wasn't stupid. He knew he had just told the admiral enough for the man to get a general idea of what Lance was hiding. He snorted.

"So once again, I am betting on straw."

Lance was also not stupid, and he knew immediately what Fujitora meant. He grinned and said, "A rather safe bet, I think. There was once a vice-admiral who had the ability to predict the future but never in a predictable fashion. I don't know if she was fooling around or if she was dead serious when she made her bold declaration without explanation, but she too bet on straw back then. Now let's hope the future she alluded to hasn't been altered from what she gleaned."

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We start to really see Lance's keen insight here as well as get a little more history.