Summary: Proving they actually know how to be more than a blunt object!

  Warning! Chapters 53-56 were all posted back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss any!

  Chapter 54: Investigation

  After the fun with Nami st night cleared his head, Luffy had made several small additions or alterations to the initial pn they'd come up with among the investigation group the night before. It was because of this that, after breakfast, the investigation team had temporarily split up instead of sticking together. He'd realized that five of them moving together, with four out of the five being beautiful women of varying ages, would naturally attract far too much attention. Moreover, they needed to do some narrowing of suspects before they settled on who to focus their more direct efforts on. While there were enough disappearances that Luffy felt it probable that all of the Merchant Houses Lady Nora had indicated might be involved likely were, to some extent, that didn't mean trying to sneak into every single one was a great option.

  Instead, they'd temporarily added Nojiko to their efforts and sent her with Robin and Vivi to do some initial intelligence gathering. The three women would spend the morning visiting each of the four Merchant Houses in question in turn, on completely legitimate business. Nojiko was already known to be the ship's Quartermaster, and Vivi had the training to py at being the ship's Purser. In point of fact, that tter fact brought their attention to the fact that she could easily fill that slot on the crew. Until now, the purser's job had been handled by a joint effort of Luffy and Kaya, but both had other duties. Noting down the possibility of Vivi being a good fit to handle their books, Luffy had pitched the revised pn and gotten nothing but approval back.

  Officially, the trio of women would be taking small gifts of 'excess cargo,' in reality additional materials Luffy had stored in his inventory, to each Merchant House. Their tale would be the same each time. That, with the re-establishment of trade between Skypiea and Wind's Home, they wanted no hard feelings to emerge between any of the major trading groups. They had taken the Crystal Suns offers due to 'previous association,' but were bringing entirely free gifts to the other houses as a 'token of good will' and 'hope of future deals going well.'

  It was entirely believable, and something Vivi's extensive political training would easily let her py off. Subtly implying that she was making up for her 'brash' Captain's disrespect in the interest of better profits going forward. Something these particur merchant houses would be inclined to buy into even more readily than most, given their profit-first focuses. The goods were valuable enough to the locals to make a decent bribe, but of little consequence to the crew, since it was all material that could be easily reacquired cheap from Abasta. Metal tools, preserved foods, and other such sundries.

  The important point, of course, was actually to give Robin more complete access to each property. While she could technically do her scouting without ever entering the Merchant Houses themselves, doing so was slow and mostly blind, with her needing to leapfrog through buildings by individual rooms. By passing physically through each of the suspect compounds, she could more easily feel out the spaces where she could summon parts, allowing her to far more extensively map and investigate each of their four targets. If they were lucky, she might even spot or overhear something telling. More likely, she would simply locate secret rooms, vaults, private offices, and so forth. Pces that would be worth breaking into for more thorough investigation.

  Luffy, Nami, and Hina meanwhile, would make sure to be seen visiting a few more Merchant Houses of there own. Ones that weren't suspected of anything. This would help build an alibi by making sure it wasn't just the suspicious houses being 'bribed.' Something which Hina had been quick to point out was important. One of the fastest ways to make people with a reason to be paranoid more paranoid was to make them feel like they'd been singled out. Whatever the reason. With their pn thus set, the two parts of the investigation team split up and headed for their targets, paying generous tips to a few dock workers to transport crates through the city for them. Something which gave them a chance to see just how wary the workers were of those four Merchant Houses.

  Which turned out to be 'a lot.' They'd needed to both overpay and promise that they would only need to make the deliveries and then could immediately leave. Even then, quite a few had turned away, despite obviously needing the coin. A wariness that the team marked down as yet more proof that Lady Isabule had been correct about something being very wrong here…

  ... ...

  Robin had to admit that she was impressed all over again by Vivi. She'd already possessed a healthy respect for the young Princess. Both for her courage and her ability to adapt. Even Robin herself had only eventually clued into the girl's infiltration of Baroque Works due to her Devil Fruit and many years of paranoia making it virtually impossible to follow her without being spotted. Prior to that, Robin had legitimately had no idea that, of all people, the Princess of the kingdom she was helping a Warlord try and take over had snuck into their ranks. Given how good Robin had needed to become at spotting such things in order to dodge Cipher Pol over the years, that said a lot about the girl's acting ability.

  Now, Robin was beginning to put the pieces together about how the admittedly impressive young woman had pulled it off. There was a massive crossover, it seemed, between politicians needing to disguise the fact they weren't horrifically corrupt and acting. Truly, she realized as she kept half her attention on Vivi's dispy, the stage had lost a world-css performer by simple virtue of Vivi's position of birth. Just as she'd managed to py a rough and tumble bounty hunter older by years than she actually was, she was now seamlessly pying the part of a put-upon purser with a brash Captain who really should let his people do their jobs.

  Less than twenty minutes after entering the Battered Coin Merchant House, Vivi had the most senior representatives that had been avaible eating out of her hand. Commiserating with her subtle compints about her Captain's 'dramatic personality' getting in the way of the best deals, dropping information they probably shouldn't have let fall so easily as she hinted that she didn't feel the Crystal Suns was the best supplier for certain goods. Robin could easily recognize the mastery of people that Vivi commanded as easily as breathing. All the more so because she found herself having to pull back from the magnetism the girl gave off in order to pay attention to what she was supposed to be doing.

  It was actually a little annoying, given that it was draining focus from the attention she was giving her spying efforts.

  Still, at the same time, it also meant that no one was remotely noticing that she'd said little and never given a reason for being here. Given that Vivi seemed able to stall for effectively infinite time, and had somehow wormed them into a private meeting in the section of equally private offices belonging to senior members of the trading house, it mattered little. They'd crossed through much of the compound to get where they were, and Robin had managed to map most of it. Including a rge space, entirely dark within, that didn't seem to have obvious exits or entrances. That space was on a lower level than the main offices and she'd taken carefully note of it, of course. Double so as there were some odd noises in the pitch darkness. Now, however, she was listening in as two men in an office nearby had a very interesting conversation.

  "No luck with the market borers?"

  The older of the two men, with salt and pepper colored hair that had most likely once been properly bck, looked annoyed with the younger he was speaking to. Presumably his junior, the mildly attractive brunette shrugged and shook his head.

  "No. It's obvious at this point that everyone is talking to each other. Either that, or the Suns are quietly warning people off. The market borers are almost as skittish as the dock workers, despite us never having touched them before, since they are a bit too close to home."

  The older man scowled.

  "Damn. It looks like we're going to have to shift to Pn B then. Particurly with Skypiea being open to trade again. If we don't act soon, the Suns might rebound and make all of this fucking pointless."

  The younger was scowling just as harshly as the older, now.

  "We aren't ready, and you fucking know it. We still can't control half of them. They are as likely to rip us apart as the Suns."

  The older man snorted, even though something in his expression seemed to agree. He pulled out a bottle of something potent looking and poured two gsses out for him and his companion.

  "I know, Alec. But the boss isn't going to care. He's obsessed. So long as he can bme it all on the Suns, he won't care how much is wrecked in the process or how many bystanders die. Besides, as you said, Skypiea being open again is going to fuck everything anyway. If we don't act soon, the pn to bme it on the Suns getting desperate won't float. Who the fuck would have thought some random outsiders would end up killing that psychopath for us?"

  'Alec,' hadn't taken more than a sip of his gss, seemingly more uneasy than ever.

  "Ryl, you know I only even agree to this because the Suns wouldn't raise the military needed to deal with him. With Enel gone…"

  The now-identified Ryl shook his head, downing his entire drink in one pull a moment after he did.

  "It's too te to back out, and you fucking know it. Whillem has too much dirt on us both, and you know as well as I do that he only used Enel as an excuse. Fucking bastard has wanted to bring down the Suns ever since Lady Isabule rejected the old, perverted fucker. We've got no choice now, kid. It's go big or go down, and I ain't willing to die just for 'the right thing.' Not when we were right that we needed some sort of defense if that lightning fucker came after us, damn it!"

  The man threw his gss in a sudden burst of rage, Robin instinctively releasing the eye and ear she'd had in the room as a shard of the resulting gss flew towards them. She did her best not to flinch, back in the office with the others, even as she mulled over the conversation. Well, Luffy's pn had certainly paid some dividends. But it appeared the situation might be quite a bit more complicated than they'd been led to believe. Possibly not maliciously. But how much that mattered was debatable…

  ... ...

  Luffy, Nami and Hina explored the Crystal City markets with interest. Not even Hina had seen them the day before, as she'd volunteered to watch over the Discovery with Pagaya while the rest of the crew explored. Thankfully, as their trio had focused on just two Merchant Houses who Luffy hadn't had a negative impression of, but also hadn't made any deals with, there was a fair bit of time for them to explore before they had to meet the rest of the investigation team. All three of them had found quite a bit to interest them among the stalls and shops.

  Nami had managed to find some books and crude maps detailing the White and White White Seas. Luffy had found some extremely interesting metals that apparently came from another Sky Isnd and surprised him by opening up some previously greyed out slots in his System Shop next to Lunarian Steel. Something that also happened when he bought samples of various types of Crystal from the city. Hina had, perhaps, been the most surprising. At least at first brush. Even a little thought had made her particur shopping spree make sense, though.

  She'd wanted a new wardrobe.

  The reasons were, with even that aforementioned little bit of thought, obvious. They'd left Abasta in a rush, with only Hina's personal effects, and most of her clothing had consisted of her custom uniforms prior to leaving the service. She'd had a few changes of civilian clothing, but not many, and most had been rather utilitarian. Jaya and Skypiea had both been a bit hectic, and Skypiea's clothing styles were all a little off kilter because of the wings and general 'angelic' theme that the locals ran hard with.

  Something they'd all noticed about Wind's Home almost immediately was that it was positively cosmopolitan in comparison. As befitted the closest thing the White and White White Seas had to a trade hub, there were all types here. The wings of Skypieans were present in some numbers, but so were the long ears of Birkans, and more standard-fvor humans of various sizes and color as well. There were even some odd folks with feathers under their arms, who seemed able to fly short distances without the need of Dials.

  The result of that mixing was a healthy trade in a wide variety of clothing styles. Something Hina noticed and took advantage of. Of course, Nami being Nami, she'd jumped on the bandwagon immediately and started trying clothes of various kinds on as well. Much as with Nami's simir spree in Loguetown, Luffy supposed he should be suffering in the manner of all men traditionally forced to accompany women shopping. Now, just as then, he failed to understand why those other men compined. Watching two gorgeous women try out a bunch of clothing, including swimsuits and little-bck-dress equivalents, didn't at all seem like a waste of time to him. The fact that Hina was amused enough by Nami's attempts to get her into skimpier outfits that she went along with modeling some of them, even posing like a proper model with an amused smirk on her lips, certainly added some delightful sights that made him grateful for his enhanced memory!

  Regardless, while Hina stuck to reds and golds for a lot of things, she shifted her style away from the near business-suit that she'd worn as a customized officer's uniform. Seeing her in far more casual clothing like belly-baring T-shirts and loose pants certainly changed her image quite a bit. But Luffy was quite ready to admit that she looked damn good in them. Something which he didn't hesitate to tell her, increasing her amusement even as she visibly appreciated the honest compliments. By the time they finished at the market and went to meet the rest of the team, she'd acquired a dozen new outfits and discarded her old near-uniform with an untensing of shoulders that told him a lot. The fact he could feel her emotions, which had been confused and subdued since she joined, lightening up quite a bit, was more than worth a little time being the audience for a fashion show.

  Particurly given how good the woman had looked in a sling bikini…

  ... ...

  The food at the dockside tavern was pretty interesting. Fresh catch of the day might seem ordinary to the locals, but none of the crew were anywhere close to used to the odd marine life of the White Sea. Some sort of very ft fish, which Luffy supposed had been infted in some fashion, was joined by an equally interesting seaweed analog. It was cheap food, and nowhere near the quality Sanji regurly made for them, but worth experiencing just for the novelty value.

  More to the point, the tavern was noisy enough to hide the details of any conversation. They could have retreated to the Discovery for complete privacy, of course, but the ship was likely to be under observation. Better they not be seen leaving it again. If they simply checked into a local inn, it wouldn't be too odd. Lots of sailors preferred their shore leave to on shore rather than always retreating to their ship, after all. But returning to the ship for an evening meal, then leaving it again after the night fell fully would look quite a bit more suspicious.

  Which meant that the tavern would have to do for their next bit of pnning.

  "So, that's the total of what I discovered, Captain. I identified a much rger suspiciously hidden area at the Battered Coin. But a bit of cross checking on the names seems to indicate that the actual leader of whatever this group is, is the head of the Fated Winds. Which would be better to check out is, I think, a matter of priorities. Missing people are more likely to be at the Battered Coin. Incriminating evidence is more likely at the Fated Winds. Both of the smaller Merchant Houses involved, the Fleeting Sea and Profit's Embrace, have less of a chance of turning up anything, I think. There were no particurly standout conversations or hidden areas involving them. I suspect they are more into the dirty money and trade side than the abduction and rebellion. If you can call it a rebellion."

  Luffy nodded, chewing on some of the seaweed…bites? They weren't quite chips, but they'd been fried in some sort of oil for certain. Quite tasty, but also not what he should be focusing on. Mentally he chewed over Robin's report as well, which was honestly more informative than he'd expected. Her catching that single conversation at the Battered Coin had, in all honesty, been worth all the effort on its own. Even if it had also opened up something of a can of worms.

  If the Crystal Suns really had refused to build up a military presence to try and defend against Enel, that was stupid and irresponsible to the people they were supposed to protect. But he suspected rather strongly from some of the other bits of the conversation Robin had reyed, that whatever the conspirators had done in response was far worse. Still…

  "I think we need to find out just how bad whatever these people have done is. There's a big difference between conspiring to unseat an economic rival and some sort of conspiracy toward uncontrolled murder and getting away with it. I think we should investigate the hidden area of the Battered Coin first. That's most likely where these 'uncontrolble' elements they want to use against the Suns are. Depending on what we find, we might need to either take very swift action or, if we're lucky, simply move on to find suitable evidence of conspiracy at the Fated Wind's that we can take to the Crystal Suns."

  The rest of the group mulled that over, though it was Hina that ultimately responded.

  "Hina approves. If this is just a local rivalry that's turned mildly criminal, the Crystal Suns can handle it through legitimate legal channels, with the popuce on their side. But if they've brought in uncontrolble outside help, or…worse options…we might need to interfere more directly. Hina thinks we should investigate the Battered Coin tonight, if we can."

  That seemed to decide everyone else, as there were quick murmurs and nods of agreement around the table. A moment ter, Nami took over the discussion as their resident expert at sneaking into pces she had no business being…