"Perona?"
"The pirate who tried to destroy this country has been defeated by us. As a reward..."
"Starting today, you're part of the Donquixote Family, fufufufu!"
Moria laughed heartily. If the Boss was good at rescuing kids, then so was he.
"My name is Gecko Moria!"
"Donquixote?"
Perona, who had never left her island before, looked a little dazed. Wasn't Donquixote a merchant caravan? Her father had even bought her a sound snail from them once.
"Heh, fufufufu! Boys, welcome the new member—time for a feast!"
"Ooohhhh!!!"
...
Late at night.
After Perona had fallen sound asleep, a group of crew members sneaked over to Moria.
"Captain Moria, do we really have to go back to that godforsaken place?"
"Yeah, Captain, Heavenly Yaksha is terrifying!"
"This is our chance, Captain—let's run away!"
Woken by the noise, Moria's face grew darker with every word he heard.
But the desperate-to-be-free crew didn't notice. They just kept rambling.
"Besides, Captain, you already fulfilled your promise to Heavenly Yaksha."
"We don't owe Doflamingo anything anymore."
"..."
"Enough!"
Moria roared, his fists clenched tight, coated in a glossy black shine.
Memories from the past four years flashed through his mind. He spoke in a low, heavy voice:
"In the beginning, as your captain, I failed you all."
"I took away your freedom. Now, I'm giving it back."
"Anyone who wants to leave—go now."
He had been spared once. His life had been saved once.
The debt had yet to be repaid. And besides—
He wanted to see the view from the very peak of this world.
"Captain..."
...
As for the conflict between Moria and his crew?
Doflamingo, of course, knew nothing about it.
He was passing the time during their voyage by entertaining himself.
Splash!
Beckman was gripped by a massive hand and shoved into a pool of water on the deck.
The suffocating feeling crept closer, like death itself approaching step by step.
Eyes bloodshot, Beckman stared through the blurry water, locking onto the owner of the hand.
Feeling the unmistakable sensation of being completely overpowered.
Doflamingo grinned with satisfaction.
"Fufufufufu... not bad. That look in your eyes!"
Whoosh!
Beckman was yanked up, gasping desperately for air.
Blood-red hands clawed weakly at the massive hand choking him, as he rasped out:
"Shanks... what about my crew...?"
"Trash without value? They're all dead, of course."
One by one, Doflamingo casually snapped Beckman's fingers.
Ignoring the man's feeble struggles, he dunked him back under.
Probing the ripples of emotion inside him.
"Oh, and Shanks? He got down on his knees and begged me before he died."
"Impossible... glug glug—"
Choking, Beckman swallowed more water in his panic.
Doflamingo closed his eyes again, calmly studying the subtle use of Conqueror's Haki.
Originally, he had planned to find Beckman's weakness and crush him completely.
After all, in the North Blue, it was child's play for him to track down everything about a man.
But Beckman was a bit nobler than Yasopp.
No family, no kids—just a pure drifter.
Left with no better option, Doflamingo had to use... rougher methods.
Which, truthfully, he enjoyed even more.
...
Above the deck of the Numancia Flamingo, a glass canopy hung overhead.
Beneath it dangled a mummified figure.
Mihawk's head throbbed painfully as he slowly came to.
The first thing he saw upon waking from days of unconsciousness...
Was that loathsome pink figure, moving around below the glass.
The haze cleared from his mind in an instant, and he instinctively asked:
"Why didn't you kill me?"
"Because it's more fun this way!"
Doflamingo replied without even turning his head, casually shoving the newly-breathing Beckman back underwater.
Mihawk was not like Red-Haired Shanks.
Mihawk was a loner—no sprawling networks of allies, no inherited wills, no murky ambitions.
Pure and simple.
A man who lived to cross swords with the strong.
Doflamingo wanted that power for himself.
And most importantly—Mihawk's foolish father, like Doflamingo's own, was long dead.
Shaking off the bandages on his head, Mihawk dropped down to the deck.
He quickly realized—there were no other restraints on him.
Picking up Yoru, the black blade resting nearby, Mihawk asked:
"'Fun'? So you're just letting me go?"
"NONONO."
Tossing the half-dead Beckman aside, Doflamingo stood up.
The sunlight cast his long shadow over Mihawk.
"You owe me."
"You challenged me recklessly—and I forgave you. That's one life you owe."
"I beat you within an inch of death, then saved your life. That's two."
Even with Mihawk's cold temperament, he couldn't help but twitch at Doflamingo's shameless logic.
Doflamingo, naturally, ignored the reaction.
The strong didn't need to make sense.
He went on:
"Option one—serve me for five years. Earn back your freedom."
"Option two—if you want to avenge your new buddy Shanks, pay your debt right now with your life."
Mihawk sat cross-legged, placing Yoru across his lap, slipping into the Zen-like stillness of a master swordsman.
"Shanks and I... we fought once. Maybe one day we would have been friends."
"But that future—you've crushed it yourself. Fufufufufu~"
Doflamingo laughed.
Good. They were only acquaintances.
Another mercenary added to his roster.
...
Beckman, left out to dry for a bit, started to regain some strength.
Doflamingo casually resumed his earlier routine, dunking him again without missing a beat.
"Hey, Doffy—"
At the prow of the ship, steering the Numancia Flamingo, Smoothie yawned and asked lazily:
"Why not just turn him into one of the lab's vegetables?"
"...."
Doflamingo opened his eyes and gave the girl a helpless look.
"He's not a Devil Fruit user. If he becomes a mindless corpse, he's worthless."
"Smoothie, quit slacking. Get us to Dressrosa faster."
"Okay!"
Smoothie answered, a little gloomily.
She glanced toward the cluster of tiny Tontatta people partying nearby, a flicker of envy flashing in her eyes.
If only she could live like them—no worries, no burdens.
Sensing Smoothie's mood, Doflamingo added casually:
"Smoothie, once we're done, I'll take you to Lover's Lane for a stroll."
Lover's Lane?!
Smoothie's eyes instantly lit up, and she perked up, full of energy again.
"Yes, Doffy!"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg