Luffy was trying not to cackle outright as she walked out of Rain Dinners with a 'transfer of ownership' document that was verified by no less than three senior Marines and backed by Belphegor himself. The look on Crocodile's face when he realized he wouldn't be backing out of this particular agreement or he'd lose his standing with the World Government and the nobility had been priceless.
Bel certainly thought so, because he was still snickering at the look on Crocodile's face when the idiot realized that there was an actual noble and the son of a Celestial Dragon at the same table with them to act as witness. A known one he couldn't kill without getting into far too much hot water at that!
Luffy made very sure to sign the document and have it registered with the outpost that handled such things before Crocodile found her.
Beside her was the resigned and tired 'assistant' that she had also conned the Warlord out of. The sandy haired boy felt more 'apathetic' than anything when he found out that he would have to get used to a new 'master'.
He wasn't a slave, but considering his power he might as well be.
"Can I have your name?" asked Luffy.
"Master Crocodile called me Prince, but I rather not say what my name is," he said. There was a distinct sense of hopelessness, as if he fully expected to 'retrieve' him at some point.
"Why did he keep you so close anyway?" asked Luffy. Mostly to confirm her suspicion.
"There's no point telling you, he'll just get me back anyways. He always does."
Now she was positive she knew exactly who was before her.
"Really Fuuta-chan, do you honestly think I would let that ass Crocodile keep my little brother hostage because of your ranking ability?" she said irritably.
The young man's eyes went wide in shock.
"What did you call me?" he asked. There was a faint vestige of hope in his expression.
"Fuuta de la Stella, aka the Ranking Prince. Or as I always liked to call you, Fuuta-chan. Did you really think your big sister would let you suffer being held captive by someone like Crocodile the second I realized it was you?" said Luffy gently.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he practically tackled her in a hug. He had been stuck with Crocodile for so long he had almost given up hope of ever getting away from his horrible cage.
"There, there, Fuuta-chan. I promise things will get better, for you and Nico Robin," said Luffy soothingly, wrapping her Sky flame around him like a warm blanket.
Years of tension drained from his form when she did, as he happily reconnected to her Sky, even though he had an Earth Flame.
It had come as a pleasant and unusual surprise to learn the whole 'floating' thing he did was just a manifestation of a partially awakened Earth Flame coupled with a very strong case of clairvoyance. The entire 'ranking planet' was just a coping mechanism that his family had developed early on.
Fuuta happily cuddled against Luffy, staying close to her side. He was even happier when he heard the explosion and two other familiar faces appeared.
"Hey Fuuta-kun!" said Takeshi with a grin.
"Fuuta-nii!" said Lambo with a wave.
Fuuta smiled from the bottom of his heart...he was finally home. Now if his nee-san could permanently get rid of Crocodile he would be really thrilled.
He had little doubt that if his sister ran into Nico Robin, she would find a way to give his other 'sister' a place to belong that she so clearly needed. The two of them had bonded over books and the fact that they were caged in their own ways. She had been one of the nicest to him and would often share tales of things she saw.
"What was that explosion earlier?" asked Fuuta.
"Oh we were just exposing the fact that Crocodile had Dance Powder in the casino," said Luffy cheerfully. "Since I just obtained ownership not an hour ago and haven't had time to explore my new place, there's no way the Marines would be stupid enough to assume I put it there. Besides, worst case scenario I'll get Belphegor to back that it's not mine because he was on the ship with us when we arrived to the town."
Fuuta's expression became flat.
"So that was really Belphegor and Fran back there?" he asked.
"To be fair, I sent Xanxus on ahead with the idealist, Nami's sister and Gin to put a certain...respect...towards a certain member of the royal family into the rebels."
Fuuta looked at Takeshi and Lambo. They didn't bother to hide the wince.
"You sent the Princess to the rebels and told her to act like you whenever it's that time of the month and there isn't any chocolate within range," said Fuuta flatly.
Luffy's grin was so 'innocent' that it was obvious to anyone with a brain it was completely fake. Nami snorted with amusement when she saw it, and all the boys winced.
"Is it really so bad?" asked Nami.
The boys all cringed.
"Nee-san/Luffy without chocolate during that time of the month is a demon. A demon who suddenly loses the patience of a saint and is more than happy to blow people through the walls if they create too much paperwork and then make them do it," said the boys in horrified unison.
"Nee-san would make the devil himself cringe in fear during that time of the month without something to pacify her," said Lambo. Fuuta nodded heartily.
Takeshi mentally went through the date in his head...before he suddenly snorted.
"Actually, does Alabasta have any chocolate? I mean considering this climate..."
Lambo and Fuuta looked at him horrified.
"Are you insane? I hate Crocodile but no man deserves to have Nee-san without chocolate during that time of the month set on them!" said Fuuta.
"Yeah, but by the time we reach Alburna..." said Takeshi.
Fuuta and Lambo shuddered at the mere idea.
"It's official, you've spent way too much time with Squalo and Xanxus if you find that idea entertaining," said Lambo. Fuuta nodded heartily.
Chopper...had a rather terrified look on his face if facing Luffy without chocolate during one of the 'heats' she went through every month inspired that sort of instinctive fear in others that transcended lifetimes.
Luffy gave up and cackled.
"It's so nice when boys come well trained on how to handle us girls during that time of the month, right Nami?"
Nami snickered and fist-bumped the other girl with open agreement. This was hilarious.
Xanxus shuddered in absolute horror. He knew this feeling all too well.
"Dear god, I almost feel sorry for Crocodile now," he said.
That got him some very odd looks from the others, particularly Vivi.
"You what?"
"Does Alburna have anything chocolate or chocolate related in it?" asked Xanxus, almost in a panic.
"We live in the desert," she deadpanned. "The odds of anything making it from the nearest port and still being remotely good are pretty much next to zero, even for someone like me. I would have to go to Nanohana just to get any, and it was ridiculously expensive."
Xanxus definitely shuddered now.
"Yeah, I definitely feel pity for Crocodile then," said Xanxus.
"Why?" asked Gin.
"Because if Luffy is strong when she's determined to protect her family or those she's claimed, she's a demon straight out of hell during that time of the month without something to temper her hormone-fueled rage. And considering anyone with sense keeps close track of when 'that' happens to her, there's an almost certain chance that Crocodile is going to be facing a chocolate-deprived Luffy during that time of the month when she's already pissed at him," said Xanxus bluntly. He shuddered. "If he wasn't doomed before, he's completely and utterly screwed if that happens."
"You have to be joking," said Gin.
"Let me put it this way... I was thrilled to be an ocean away when she first started her monthlies this go around," said Xanxus shivering. "She put the fear of the sea gods into hardened bandits and Garp when it started."
That had been hilarious, especially since Ace had already known what would happen before it did. He had cackled for days on the Moby Dick when he learned she had started her monthlies and was beyond happy to be on the Grand Line, far from the line of fire while Garp learned very quickly to run like hell the other direction.
And Shanks had thought he had been kidding when Ace spoke of the terror Luffy could be on her period! He really, really hoped the Yonko came face to face with it when they found each other again.
"She put the fear of the sea gods into the great Marine hero?!" said Gin terrified.
"Like I said...my adorable little sister is a demon during her period," said Ace. "Personally I can't wait for Shanks to see that side of her...should prove hilarious for everyone except him!"
It took far too long for Vivi's liking to reach Yuuba.
It felt like an eternity before Kohza finally came to find who was asking for him, and Vivi remembered Luffy's "plan" to make him either listen to reason or to at least give him a good reason to pay attention!
As if she had practiced this a thousand times (it was more like a thousand and one), Vivi put all the pent up frustration and anger over what was happening into her country into a solid blow against his jaw. Kohza went flying.
"You damn idiot! I spend years undercover trying to find out who is behind the recent problems in our country, and you start a rebellion against the Royal family just because of rumors? Have you never heard of a devil fruit before?!" she shouted.
Kohza's expression when he realized who just punched him, and that she wasn't acting remotely princess-like was hilarious.
"Vivi?!" he said in disbelief.
Vivi glared at him, acting so much like Nami when she was pissed off and ready to deliver multiple headslaps to the boys that Nojiko had to hide her laugh behind her hand.
"Do you have any idea how much crap I had to go through before I was able to track down that it was Crocodile behind Baroque works? That he was the reason why our country has been having so many problems of late?" she snarled.
The more Vivi ripped the rebel leader a new one, for not thinking things through properly, the better she felt. Having someone to vent to and doing something that was overall productive to her goal of SAVING her kingdom was cathartic.
Luffy was right... now wasn't the time to act like a 'princess'. It was time she acted behaved like a female pirate and make the boys see some damn sense for a change.
Either way, there was no way her old friends would look at her the same ever again. They were so used to Princess Vivi that they never saw her as a proper woman before.
Ace's eyes gleamed when he spotted several tattoos. It was time to get to work...good thing he wasn't just Portgas D. Ace... he was also Xanxus Vongola, sneaky bastard and someone who knew the ins and outs of being an assassin.
By the time the rebels cottoned on to the fact that several of their number were falling 'asleep' and not waking up, it didn't take much for Nojiko to find the tattoos on the dead men's shoulders.
Tattoos that belonged to the Millions. Tattoos that indicated they worked for the very man Vivi was working so hard to stop. Tattoos that indicated traitors in their midst.
By the time Ace was done sowing chaos, the damage was done. It didn't take much to realize that Crocodile was playing both sides against each other, because some of the 'new recruits' from the royal army had the same tattoo on their shoulder as well.
Kohza was not happy, and realized Vivi might actually be telling the truth about something being very wrong. That maybe it wasn't the royal family they had to fight against.
Robin stared at the tiny body before her. She hadn't really believed the rookie pirate would stand a chance against Crocodile. That he would be just another statistic.
Except when Luffy confronted Crocodile, to buy "Vivi" a chance to escape, Robin quickly realized several facts she had taken for granted were turning out to be fake.
Fact one: Vivi was not with the Straw Hats at the moment.
Fact two: At some point Luffy had managed to convince Fuuta to take a chance on the Straw Hat crew as his only means of escape.
Vivi was one thing, but Fuuta had been around Crocodile to know that the man would never allow him out of his control as long as he was alive.
Fuuta was the entire reason Crocodile was a warlord in the first place. The man was strong enough to maintain control of the unusual asset that was the "Ranking Prince", and the World Goverment was content to let the pirate have him so long as they were allowed access to his rankings. After all, that way they wouldn't have to waste resources keeping him "protected".
Fact three, and this was the thing that threw Robin for a loop: Luffy was the mystery woman who won Rain Dinners off Crocodile two days ago, shortly before the Marines were alerted to the stockpile of Dance Powder that he hadn't had a chance to move to Alburna.
Since she had only arrived that day, and had won the casino less than two hours previously under the watchful eye of two high ranking Marines, there was no way she could possibly be responsible for it's presence there. Which meant someone close to Crocodile, or even the warlord himself had to be the one stockpiling the stuff.
The man was in a great deal of hot water and was sinking fast at this rate.
It was a very calculated plan of attack, and Robin had to wonder if the pirate had planned this from the very beginning.
"You sent the princess on ahead, didn't you?"
"Shishishi... Like I would be stupid enough to follow her idea and confront him directly, only to try and contact the rebels after," said Luffy proudly. "Easier to send her to the rebels with a few others to watch her back and take chunks out of Crocodile's power base while he's too busy trying to take out a rookie pirate captain to realize he's been had."
Robin had to appreciate the simplicity of the trick. Crocodile certainly didn't expect Vivi to go on ahead with a small group, or that Luffy would successfully distract him by taking not only his most important asset, but also one of his main sources of income from him legally.
"Why are you hiding the fact you're a woman though?" asked Robin finally.
"Do you have any idea the amount of crap female pirates have to go through after puberty in order to be taken seriously? Besides, at least this way I don't flash everyone when I kick their ass," deadpanned Luffy.
Robin conceded that point.
"What do you plan to do now?"
Luffy made sure there was no one around to hear what she said next. Robin was mostly amused...right up until Luffy said something that no one should know about. The secret message in the Poneglyph that had taken the scholars on Ohara decades to decode that they had mostly taken to their grave. Only she knew the hidden cipher.
"How?!" demanded Robin, holding Luffy by the shoulder's desperately. How did this girl know the cipher well enough to decode it so quickly?
Luffy had an odd expression on her face.
"Believe me, it took forever before I realized I wasn't imagining things and that a certain idiot had been reborn as well. If Ace hadn't confirmed he found the same hidden message in the one you gave me from the Poneglyph, I would happily stayed in denial. I swear, if I have to keep cleaning up his mess I am going to find a way to drag that idiot out of the afterlife purely to kick his ass for the trouble he causes," said Luffy.
"How. Do. You. Know. The. Cipher?" Robin bit out.
"Because in my past life, I was the descendant of the idealistic idiot who made it. I swear Giotto has the worst handwriting, and don't get me on the spelling errors he kept making! At some point he started making them deliberately and claimed it was a cipher, when in reality he just refused to fix the mistakes he made. Next thing you know all the others after him started making their own 'errors' and claiming it was a cipher, making it a tradition," ranted Luffy.
The second she figured out what happened, she introduced her head to the desk she was practically chained to. Repeatedly. To the point it took Reborn to make her stop when he found out what was going on.
Unfortunately she was forced to make her own cipher, even if the thought of repeating the same 'errors' made her cringe, mostly because if it wasn't tradition Reborn would have taken her to task about it in a heartbeat.
Robin looked like she was near a breakdown. To have someone decipher the hidden message so easily and claim to know who wrote it... there was little wonder why.
Luffy didn't think twice about her actions.
Robin didn't need empty platitudes right now. She needed someone to anchor her to the here and now, not what happened to her home island.
She hugged the older woman and let her Sky flame gently nudge Robin's Cloud. Offering a place where she could drift freely, to have a place of unconditional acceptance where it was okay to pursue her dreams like she wanted without fear of betrayal.
Robin stiffened, before she relaxed slightly. However her Cloud wasn't convinced just yet. She would have to try again once she dealt with Crocodile once and for all, and claimed Alabasta as her territory.