Chapter 18:

Little Fish, Big Sea

The Admiral of the Pirate Amada, the conqueror of the Grand Line, the Demon of Battle, sighed as he watched the small compass on his desk spin round madly. Outside, the waves roared as the heavy ship cut through unpredictable weather. Gin could hear the shouting from deck as his men fought to restrain the thrashing sails.

The compass was actually an old relic from ten years ago, but it felt closer to a lifetime ago. It was a huge metal compass in an ornate black box, well-built and sturdy despite its age. Back when Gin first entered the Grand Line, sailing under the 'infamous' Don Krieg in the first Pirate Armada of fifty ships and five thousand men, they had relied on that compass to guide them. They had been fools. Only Log Poses could be used to navigate in the Grand Line; the magnetic fields were too strong for ordinary compasses to work. The Krieg Pirates were cut in half on the first day alone by the weather, and then even further on the second. More by pure luck than anything else, what little remained of the Krieg Pirates managed to shelter on a small island called Whiskey Peak, while a storm raged around them.

The very thought still made Gin shudder. In the East Blue, the Krieg Pirates had been big fish. In the Grand Line, they were eaten alive.

In the end, it wasn't even the weather that finished them. Don Krieg, in all his foul glory, tried to stay on Whiskey Peak and set up a trap for the next pirates to pass through, to rebuild crew strength and morale and conquer the Grand Line one dirty trick at a time. Back then, Gin followed the Krieg blindly. As it happens, ten years ago, the first pirates that fell into Krieg's trap was a small group of five, led by a brat with a straw hat.

It was a surprise ambush; hundreds of men against five kids. Looking back, the battle had been totally one-sided. The invincible Don Krieg, with all his military might, was pounded into a pulp. Gin fought more furiously than ever before, but he was still kicked in the face so hard that, even ten year later, his neck still hurt. The Krieg Pirates had been crushed.

Gin stared at the compass spinning for a bit longer. The dark shadows under his eyes were worse than ever. He had only recently turned forty, but years of restless nights made him look much older. There are big fish and little fish, Gin thought to himself, and I know which one I am…

The memories of that day, of that crushing defeat, were still vivid. Gin had learnt a lot that day. He learnt what Grand Line level really was. He learnt what a fool Don Krieg is, and he realised that he had spent too long following another man's dream.

And I learnt the type of man I really want to be, Gin thought quietly. The image of a black leg blurring towards his face flickered in front of his eyes.

"We should attack now," Krieg said firmly, interrupting Gin's daydreams. The former Pirate Admiral stood in front of Gin's desk, with a dark scowl on his face. "The men have been too long without a proper battle. We need victory."

Krieg had never really adjusted to being someone's subordinate, but that was fine because Gin wasn't really comfortable being in charge. Still, Krieg needed Gin. Ever since that day, it had become painfully obvious that Gin was the real strength of the crew. If it wasn't for Gin, the crew would never have survived, but they weren't the Krieg Pirates anymore. Gin refused to ever take orders again. His honour wouldn't let him.

"And what do you suggest?" Gin muttered, not looking up from the spinning compass. Don Krieg was a big man, and he wore heavy armour with a small arsenal of weapons. By contrast, Gin was lean, skinny and small. Krieg's armour was polished to perfection and his hair smoothed back almost regally. Gin was still wore shaggy tracksuit bottoms, a grey jacket, with a blue and grey headband.

"There are Syndicate slave ships going in and out of Whalebone," Krieg said loudly. "Big ships, low in the water. We can take them. Let's give the men a victory to be proud of, and let's show the Syndicate that we are a force to be reckoned with."

Gin paused. Outside, the weather was still wild and unpredictable. In this section of the Grand Line, it could change from freezing to summer in an instant. "What about the slaves?"

Krieg shrugged. "I've spoken to a trio of… enterprising fishmen called the Macro Pirates," he explained. "They'd be quite happy to buy Syndicate property at a generous rate. We then use the money to expand our forces."

Gin shook his head firmly. "No," he ordered. "There is no honour in slaves."

A flash of anger burst in Krieg's eyes. Even after a decade, Don Krieg couldn't take orders very well. He still thought of them as the Krieg Pirates. But despite everything, Gin needed Krieg. Gin was useless at commanding the men, or the day-to-day activities of running a ship. Despite Gin's resolution to make it by himself, he would be lost without Don Krieg.

And so here they were; two men that had despised each other for a decade, stuck with each other to try and achieve their dreams. Krieg just wanted power, money and fame. Gin wanted something more. He wanted to be able to stand up with honour; on equal terms to the man he admired so much.

He thought back to all those Baratie supply ships they'd been raiding. It had never been about the pitiful plunder. Sometimes, a little fish just wanted to be noticed by the big ones.

"This isn't about honour! This is about survival!" Krieg roared. "The only way to conquer is to strike hard and dirty! No honourable man is going to–"

"Enough!" Gin snapped, standing up from his desk at focusing on Krieg coldly. His pair of tonfa was suddenly in his hands. Nobody had ever really been able to figure out where he kept on hiding them. "I've made my decision, lieutenant. Now leave."

Krieg paused, uncertainly. Even with all his armour and weaponry, the cold fire in Gin's eyes caused him to hesitate. Gin was stronger than Krieg, and always had been– even if, for a long time, both of them had refused to accept it.

After a few seconds, Krieg fumed furiously and left the Admiral's office, slamming the door so hard it nearly broke the hinges. Gin dropped back to his chair, groaning as he rested his head in his hands. Annoyingly, Krieg was right. The 'Pirate Armada' had been far too long without a major victory.

In the last ten years, they had managed to rebuild their flagship, the Dreadnaught Sabre. It wasn't as polished as the old one had been, but it was still a large galleon and armed to the teeth. After years of Krieg's recruitment strategies, Gin had nearly a thousand men on under his command, even if many of them were weak and fragile out-of-work pirates.

Gin glanced at the old compass, a sudden determination flaring in his chest. It was time to see what a little fish could do, he thought with a grimace, clutching his tonfas tightly. With a deep breath, Gin marched out of his office and on to the deck of the Dreadnaught Sabre.

Krieg was at the front, yelling at dozens of men as the heaved the huge mast into the wind. "Sea wolves!" Gin roared, his voice louder than the wind and waves. "Prepare for battle!"

His words echoed around the ship. Krieg glanced at Gin in shock, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "What's the target?"

"Whalebone," Gin muttered darkly. "Tonight we raid the town."

"Hurry up, human," The Knight of the Sea muttered urgently. "Open this cage before the foreman spots you."

Doflamingo never moved, nor looked even remotely concerned. He peered at the fishman critically.

"Got to admit…" Doflamingo mused. "I have much more experience buying slaves than freeing them."

The fishman's eyes narrowed, a guttural snarl resonating from his throat. He was obviously not human. His skin was pale blue, his body was out of proportion, and there were two slits of gills on either of side of his beefy neck. His body was so broad he was nearly round, but strangely he didn't seem fat. Just a different type of body shape.

"What's your name?" Doflamingo asked curiously.

"Why? Are you looking to buy me too?"

"I suspect you'll try to kill me if I do," Doflamingo said cheerfully. "I just want to know your name."

He hesitated for half a second, with a nervous glance to the deckhands busy with other cargo. Doflamingo would be noticed soon enough. A man dressed in bright pink couldn't be overlooked for long. "Jinbe," the fishman conceded. "My name is Jinbe."

Doflamingo grinned. "Pleased to meet you, Jinbe! Say, are you interested in joining my crew if I free you?"

Jinbe's face contorted in disgust. "I would never work for a human!" He spat. "Leave me here if that's all you want."

"Wow, you really hate humans…" Doflamingo grinned. "Why?"

Jinbe motioned to the chains and the cage. "Do you really have to ask?"

"Fair enough," Doflamingo conceded. Honestly, the cages and slaves brought back old memories. There had been a time when Doflamingo had enjoyed slaves around him just as much as the next World Noble. After years of exile, however, his view had slowly started to shift. Slavery was a bitter reminder of everything he had left behind in Mariejois.

Doflamingo looked a Jinbe curiously. "I'm wondering something; if you want to get out so badly, why not just lie and say you'll join my crew until you get free?"

The fishman snorted. "I told you; I am a man of honour." Jinbe growled. "I would rather die than break a promise."

Doflamingo grinned brightly. It was a good answer. Jinbe was a different species so it was a bit hard to tell, but now Doflamingo suddenly realised that Jinbe was a lot younger than he first thought. The fishman looked either high teens or low twenties. An angry teenager…

There was a shout from the harbour. Another large cage filled with long-arm women and children dropped to the port. Doflamingo mused it over for a while. "Ok, say that I'm debating freeing you," he told Jinbe. "Tell me a bit about yourself first?"

Jinbe glared daggers at Doflamingo. "Why?"

"Just humour me."

"I must seem so quaint to you," Jinbe retorted irritably, looking Doflamingo up and down, scowling at his expensive pink clothes. Jinbe was wearing rags. "Let me guess; you're nobility, used to walking around with your head held high, stepping over all the insects, always having your own way, buying slaves for your own entertainment." His voice turned venomous. "You probably consider my species to be nothing more than fish. Is it amusing talking to a 'lesser creature' like me?"

Doflamingo chuckled. "Oh, if you think I'm bad, you should meet my family."

"Oh?" Jinbe's tone was ice cold. His eyes were furious. Jinbe knew he recognised the stench of 'royalty' on Doflamingo. He had been a small child when the ship carrying a World Noble crashed into Fishman Island, but the memory was perfectly clear. "I was enslaved trying to rescue the man who raised me from Impel Down. Please, tell me about your aristocratic upbringing…"

Doflamingo's eyes glinted. "My mother died of sickness when I was very young," he explained simply. "And as for my father… well… the less said about him the better."

Jinbe paused for half a second. "He's dead?" He asked finally, his voice a bit less confrontational.

Doflamingo just laughed. It was a hearty, genuine laugh, so loud that several deckhands turned and stared. "I bloody hell hope so!" He chuckled, with a vicious gleam in his eyes. "I murdered the bastard."

Jinbe's fists clenched. Around him, the men on the harbour had finally taken notice, muttering to themselves as they walked towards Doflamingo. "You are a despicable human," Jinbe snarled.

"I know," Doflamingo grinned, flexing his fingers in preparation. Suddenly, the future looked like fun.

"Oi, mate!" One of the dockworkers shouted at Doflamingo, still crouched next to Jinbe's cage. "What you doing here?"

Doflamingo pulled himself up off the ground. "Oh, I'm just browsing," he said with a bright grin, turning away from Jinbe to face the approaching crowd of men. They were all big and muscular, wearing short sweatshirts and baggy trousers with boots. "This is pretty nice operation you've got going here. Tell me something; do you guys get dental?"

The deckhands looked confused by the sudden question, glancing at each other uncertainly. Doflamingo's grin just widened. "No?" He said brightly. "Oh, that is a shame."

His hand moved so fast it blurred. Suddenly, strings threaded from his fingertips, before wrapping around one of deckhand's arms. Doflamingo's flexed like a puppeteer, while the man's arms writhed suddenly. The man screamed in shock as he ended up punching his two of his comrades in the face madly, before Doflamingo slammed the man's right knuckle straight into his on chin. There was a dull crunch of breaking teeth.

The maniacal laughter burst from his throat. The string flexed around his body, cutting through any who dared to approach. The workers were screaming. The slaves were banging on the bars of their cage, cheering Doflamingo on. He felt the bloodlust burn through his body. It felt like his blood was on fire.

Jinbe stared at Doflamingo in shock. The pirate was laughing as a fine wire snatched a ring of keys from a dockworkers belt.

"Maybe I am despicable…" Doflamingo laughed, slamming the key into the lock on Jinbe's cage. "But right now, I'm the best friend you have. What does that tell you?"

Jinbe didn't respond. His muscles were bulging and thrashing. Despite his stature and weight, there wasn't an ounce of fat on him. The iron chains protested weakly for a half a second, but then burst open. Jinbe screamed victoriously, blurring past Doflamingo and charging at Syndicate men rushing from the ship.

"Fishman Karate!" Jinbe roared, pulling his arm back while two dozen men leapt at him with cutlasses and spears. "One Hundred Brick Fist!"

Jinbe's hand slammed forward. Doflamingo felt the shockwave ruffle his hair. He blinked, and suddenly there were two dozen men flying through the air. In an instant, Doflamingo realised why Jinbe's cage had been so much more reinforced than all the others.

"I knew you were going to be fun!" Doflamingo shouted, breaking into furious laughter.

Jinbe snorted, snatching up a set of keys and throwing them to the cages of slaves. "You are laughing when you should be fighting!" He growled.

Doflamingo absentmindedly caught a knife out of the air. His grin never faltered. "Now what's the point in being a pirate if you can't do both?" Doflamingo roared.

Suddenly, there were slaves bursting out of the cages and running for their lives. A horn bellowed from the ship, and then Syndicate agents were charging towards the docks, screaming furiously. Doflamingo's laughter was so louder than everything.

With a mighty jump, Doflamingo landed onto of the cage, arms outstretched. "Come on you bastards!" He bellowed. "Let's see what you've got!"

Mihawk and Kuma walked back to the Warship quietly, while the swordsman read through the bounty poster from the Baratie carefully. As the pair walked onto the ship, Crocodile was too busy reading through the newspaper to pay them any attention. Mihawk sat down and started sharpening his sword, while Kuma sat down and waited for something to do.

The minutes passed quietly. After half an hour, Crocodile finally looked up at Mihawk and Kuma, frowning slightly. "Hey," the navigator demanded. "Where's that captain of yours?"

Mihawk shrugged. "How should I know? He went off by himself."

Crocodile's scowl deepened. There was a sudden tingling in the back of his neck that he got whenever someone was doing something stupid. Crocodile pointed his hook at Kuma firmly. "You!" He ordered. "Go find him!"

Kuma looked panicked. "But where –"

"Now!"

With a squeal, Kuma jumped to his feet and rushed down the gangway, stomping so heavily that the entire ship rocked with each footstep. Crocodile watched him disappear into the town, and the returned to the newspaper.

The minutes ticked by slowly. In the background, a faint screaming was barely audible. Five minutes later, Kuma rushed back onto the ship, wide-eyed and panicking. Crocodile glared at him with irritation. Mihawk never stopped sharpening his sword.

"What's happening?" Crocodile demanded.

Kuma gulped. "Well… it's a bit weird…" He stuttered. "I'm not sure how to… I mean… I don't know…"

"Spit it out!"

Kuma took a deep breath. "Doflamingo is in that direction, standing on top of a cage, spinning two men around by their ankles and shouting 'Is that the best you've got?' while a mob tries to charge him." Kuma spat out the words quickly, as if he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

Crocodile sighed. Mihawk dropped his sharpening stone on to the table.

"Oh, not again!" The swordsman muttered with mild irritation.

Kuma's eyes bulged. "Huh? This happens often?"

Mihawk picked up his sword. "Third bloody time this week…"

Kuma looked confused. Mihawk and Crocodile shared a glance. "It's your turn," Crocodile shrugged, carefully folding up his newspaper.

Mihawk stood up in resignation. "Oh, fine," he turned to Kuma. "You come with me. You've got to learn how to deal with situations like this early."

The swordsman slowly started to walk away. Kuma followed him in bemusement. Crocodile just watched them go. In the distance, plumes of smoke were twisting into the sky.

"You bring that buffoon back, preferably alive but I'm really not that picky," Crocodile ordered in quiet drawl, standing up slowly. Mihawk just frowned. "I'll go fetch the cannon."

"Come on!" Doflamingo roared happily, his foot crashing into another man's stomach. Bullets were flying everywhere and the fires were igniting across the harbour, but between the escaping slaves and the crowd of dockworkers it was absolute, glorious pandemonium.

Through the corner of his eye he briefly glimpsed Jinbe snapping through metal cages like they were plastic. Slaves of all different species were spilling everywhere, desperate to escape. Doflamingo's string cut open a flintlock just as the man tried to pull the trigger, sparks flying everywhere. Within seconds, the wooden platform of the harbour ignited into flames.

The crowd was rough and disorganised. No one was quite sure who they were fighting, and Doflamingo was in the very middle, his strings slicing through everything. There was a scream as suddenly three men collapsed with a swipe of air. Mihawk was instantly by Doflamingo's side, his sword cutting through everything so quickly it was a bloody blur.

Kuma was at the entrance to the harbour, hesitantly trying to tiptoe around the thrashing bodies. A group of men tried to charge at him, causing Kuma to trip and land face first on the ground, crushing at least half a dozen men under his bulk. The whole harbour rocked with the impact.

"Oh, hey guys!" Doflamingo laughed, waving to Kuma and Mihawk while absentmindedly cutting through two men at once. "Come on in! There's plenty for everyone!"

Mihawk scowled. It was a brawl between deckhands and escaped slaves more than a proper battle. He felt mildly embarrassed even using a sword. "Alright, alright, let's get out of here already!"

"Not just yet!" Doflamingo called, pointing to Jinbe. "I've made a new friend!"

The fishman grunted, ripping through the last cage with his bare hands. A scrawny teenage girl jumped out of the cage in relief, running through the crowd and into the town.

"I am no friend of yours, human…" Jinbe growled darkly, before jumping into the air with powerful legs. His webbed hands wrapped together as he brought both palms down against the pier with bone cracking force. The wooden planks shuddered for half a second, before splitting straight through the centre. The whole harbour cracked to pieces.

"My work here is done!" The fishman muttered, before diving into water. Doflamingo had to dance over the planks of wood to avoid landing in the water. Most of the Syndicate workers on the harbour weren't so lucky and ended splashing into the ocean.

"Hey!" Doflamingo shouted to Jinbe in annoyance, but the fishman had already flashed away into the dark sea.

"Come on, let's get out here!" Mihawk snapped, grabbing a hold of Doflamingo and pulling him away. Kuma stumbled to his feet and stumbled after him. Whatever was left the dock was still burning brightly, while most of the dockworkers tried to scramble out of the sea. The Syndicate ship was already drifting away slowly on the current, dragging a chunk of flotsam behind it.

Escaped slaves darted everywhere, some of them muttering appreciation to Doflamingo but most just running for their lives. The pirates ran from the harbour, just as a group of large men blocked the entrance.

These weren't dockworkers or deckhands. A group of a dozen men blocked the path, all wearing black suits and carrying weapons. The two men at the front appeared to be in charge. One was tall and fat with slender arms, thick lips and blond, parted hair, wearing a large, ill-fitting black suit and grey running shoes. The man had a hulking cannon almost as big as he was slung over his back, and a large baseball bat on his belt.

The other man stood at the front. He was tall with tanned skin, broad shoulders and unkempt blond hair. His eyes were round and bulbous, with a scar above his right eye and a green sash tucked into his belt. He stared at Doflamingo and his group with clear annoyance. Behind him, all the other men took aim with pistols.

"What the hell is going on here?" The man with broad shoulders demanded irritably, rubbing his eyes slowly.

Mihawk slowly lifted his sword. Kuma took a step back. Doflamingo grinned. "Thank god you're here!" Doflamingo laughed. "It'd be boring if we left without a proper fight!"

The man stared at Doflamingo for a second, before a wide, almost insane grin split through his face. One of the few remaining dockworkers staggered to his feet.

"Foreman!" The dockworker screamed desperately. "Foreman Bellamy! These guys charged in here and freed all of the slaves. They don't even–"

With an annoyed scowl, Foreman Bellamy snatched a pistol of one of the men behind him and shot the dockworker straight in the head. The shot rang in the air. The dockworker dropped to the ground. Nobody said a word.

"What a piece of trash," Bellamy growled, dropping the pistol absentmindedly. "I give these guys the simple job of just unloading a ship and then everything goes to hell. Guys like that have no place in the Syndicate."

"Sshhippp – iiisss –" The fat man stammered in a slow voice, drawing out each syllable.

"Yes, I see that ship is floating away," Bellamy snapped, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, why did I have to pick the short straw and get partnered with you?

Cautiously, Mihawk stepped forward, brandishing his blade. "Well, this has all been fun, but I really need to get going," the swordsman muttered sarcastically, glaring darkly at Bellamy. "And you're in my way."

Bellamy's mad grin returned. "No one's going anywhere. Anyone that messes with Syndicate business has a very short life expectancy."

"That's strange," Mihawk growled. "The same thing could be said for people who stand in my way!"

Mihawk moved in a blur. He cleared fifty feet in under a second, his sword slashing downwards with lightning speed. Bellamy was faster. With a sudden crack, his fist burst out from his wrist, stretching a dozen feet and colliding with Mihawk's head. The force sent the swordsman crashing to the ground with a knuckle shaped indention on his forehead. There was twang like a metal spring.

Kuma's mouth dropped open. Even Doflamingo looked momentarily speechless. Bellamy just laughed as Mihawk's body collided against a huge white rib bone.

"What's the matter?" Bellamy mocked, his grin stretching from ear to ear as he laughed like a hyena. "Surprised? You might have been a big deal in any other sea, but this is the Grand Line. Punks with Devil fruit powers are a dime a dozen here."

Doflamingo attacked in an instant, using the biggest weapon that came to mind. Unfortunately, that weapon happened to be Kuma. His string wrapped around Kuma's legs as he spun the fat teenager forward. Kuma stumbled, crashing towards the Syndicate men like an avalanche of muscle and fat.

All the men with guns fired furiously, the bullets bouncing off Kuma's body like insect bites. A ton of bricks wouldn't have had so much momentum.

Bellamy looked momentarily surprised, until the fat man with puffy lips stepped forward slowly, raising a skinny arm. Suddenly, Kuma's huge mass came to a halt.

Doflamingo blinked. Without any particular difficulty, the fat man was holding Kuma's body off the ground. Bellamy smirked.

"Spring Death Knock!" He shouted, just as his arm transformed into a coiled metal spring, compressing as his muscles tightened. With a flash, his fist shot outwards, colliding against Kuma's face with enough force to generate a shockwave. Kuma wobbled for a couple of seconds, and then collapsed to the ground with a huge thud.

"Do you really think you're the first rookie that has tried to mess with Syndicate?" Bellamy snorted, slowly walking towards Doflamingo. "You've got the arrogance and the flash but none of the strength for this age of Piracy. Fools like you don't understand your place until guys like me put you in the ground."

Doflamingo dived forward, string spinning everywhere. Bellamy's legs transformed into springs, pulsing as he leapt upwards into the sky. Doflamingo tried to block, but it was too fast. Belamy's foot slammed into his chest with enough force to take his breath away. His teeth clenched. His vision blurred.

"Fools like you…" Bellamy's voice cut through Doflamingo's fading consciousness, cold and mocking. "…You're nothing more than little fish."

He barely even glimpsed the blow coming. The right hook took him off his feet and sent him flying backwards. As his body hit the cold ocean, everything went numb.

Doflamingo couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. His lungs screamed for air, but the water consumed everything. Within seconds, he couldn't even see the sunlight anymore as his body dropped like a stone.

The ocean swallowed him whole. Little fish… Doflamingo thought desperately, just before everything went black.

Jinbe stared at Doflamingo's sinking body quietly, his gills breathing easily in the water while webbed hands cut easily through the water. On the land he was fat and awkward compared to his grace and elegance in the water. Doflamingo wasn't thrashing anymore. He was sinking deeper and deeper into the murkier water.

"You're lucky that I'm a man of honour," Jinbe murmured quietly, before wrapping webbed fingers around Doflamingo's shoulder and pulling him upwards.

Author Notes:

Just to make things clear: In this AU, when Don Krieg entered the Grand Line, Mihawk wasn't around to cut up his ships. That means that Krieg wasn't chased out of the Grand Line, and never attacked the original Baratie. Instead, Krieg set up shop on Whiskey Peak (which was empty because Baroque Works wasn't established), but then the Straw Hats (with Sanji) ran into him there and beat him in a different location.

Also, after numerous delays, I've finally bit the bullet and decided to change the official release schedule for this story to a chapter every two weeks. I'm also uploading new stories this week, which is one of the reasons I've got to cut back my release schedule.

Next chapter (two weeks time on Sunday): 'Honour'