The Warlords

Chapter 7: Mihawk, lost

Doflamingo was in a bad mood.

That was the best way to describe his time at Gloom Town. The people were horrible, the rum was weak, everything was miserable and, worst of all, it had been over twenty four hours since he had been in a good fight. It had not been a good night.

He had tried to spend the night getting drunk and throwing a party, but the tavern was as bad as the rest of the town and no one else wanted join in his makeshift celebration. The weather was horrible, and worst of all, Mihawk was missing.

His first and only crewmember had disappeared. Doflamingo had spent the morning searching for him, but nobody was willing to talk to him and there was no trace of the swordsman. He was miserable and sick of it, but there was no way in hell that Doflamingo was willing to lose 50% of his crew on his first day.

Right now, Doflamingo was faced with a secretive conspiracy, some sort of terrible monster, a shadowy organisation, and a missing friend.

It took him a few hours, but finally Doflamingo settled on the only solution; he was obviously going to have to beat lots of people up.

Admittedly, it wasn't the most subtle approach. Still, when all you had was a hammer, suddenly everything else started to look like nails.

All he needed to do now was find out who he needed to beat up. That question annoyed him for a while, before finally Doflamingo just decided to take a guess at it. Surely, pure probability dictated that he would find the right person eventually.

A polished black shoe collided with the Baroque Works symbol with force. The door to Crocodile's den burst open, the weak wood splitting into pieces as the hinges were ripped straight off.

Crocodile was sitting at his desk. He didn't look like he had moved at all from yesterday. He didn't even flinch as his door exploded and Doflamingo strutted inside. Crocodile and Doflamingo locked eyes.

"… Can I help you?" Crocodile asked finally, the sarcasm thick in his voice.

"I'm looking for my crewmate," Doflamingo said with a dangerous grin. "He's about this tall; dark hair, lots of bandages, murderous intent, short temper and fondness for sharp blades. Do you want to tell me where he is or should I just start by beating the crap out of you first?"

Crocodile's eyebrow twitched slightly. "And you think I abducted him?"

Doflamingo shrugged. "I honestly don't have a clue. But I believe that excessive violence can solve any problem if you just use enough of it. So, should I start the beating now?"

Crocodile discreetly raised his hook on to the desk. The golden, sharp spike glinted dangerously. It was so large it was more like a heavy gauntlet than a prosthetic limb.

"It is difficult to express in words how little I care about your pathetic crew." Crocodile said slowly, emphasising every syllable as if talking to an infant. "I'm a businessman; I have much more important things to do than abduct your precious little crew member."

Doflamingo grinned. "Well then, you can help me find him in that case."

Crocodile scoffed. "Did you miss the part where I just don't care enough?"

Doflamingo moved in a flash. Suddenly, his foot collided with the wall inches away from Crocodile's face, throwing up pieces of plaster. Doflamigo was looking down on Crocodile, and he flicked his fingers so quickly that whips of string flicked from his fingers and shredded the papers on Crocodile's desk.

To his credit, Crocodile didn't flinch, but there was still a flicker in his eye.

"Trust me," Doflamingo warned. "I can make you care enough."

There was a sound of a gun being cocked. With his other hand, Crocodile had a flintlock aimed squarely at Doflamingo's crotch.

"And how much do you care?" Crocodile said quietly.

Doflamingo laughed. "Looks like we have a standoff. The choice is yours; you either help me find my crewmate; otherwise you take your shot, I get pissed off, and then I slam you face first through the ceiling."

The moment stretched out uncomfortably long, while Crocodile seemed to think about it. After twenty seconds of deliberation, there was a clunk as he dropped the flintlock.

"Alright," he said finally. "Where do we start?"


With a sudden impact, the door to the tavern exploded in a shower of splinters, and two figures walked into the startled bar.

"Do you have to do that every time?" Crocodile muttered, shaking his head.

"But it makes a better entrance!" Doflamingo protested. "Besides, they should be thanking me. The carpentry in this place is awful."

The bartender was staring at the intruders incredulously. His hand automatically went to the rifle behind the bar.

Doflamingo was faster. In a second, string was wrapped around the bartender's arm, holding him in place while Doflamingo slammed his fist into the barman's face.

With a crash, the publican was sent flying into the other side of the tavern. Around them, the other patrons were quickly evacuating.

Crocodile sighed. He really hated unnecessary violence (though he was a huge fan of the necessary type).

"Really?" Crocodile muttered with despair. "What was that for?"

"It's been too long since I've hurt someone," Doflamingo explained with a frown. "I get cranky."

The barman was looking at Doflamingo with shock and fear. "What is wrong with you?" He demanded.

"My friend was abducted last night," Doflamingo said with a grin. "I want you to tell me where he is."

"But I was in here all last night!" The bartender protested. "I was with you!"

"Yes, but you're the only person in this town that I know," Doflamingo reasoned. "So you're the first person I need to beat up. If you can't help, then I've got to go meet new people."

The barman was pale now. Doflamingo was towering over him, intimidatingly. "I want you to tell me everything," he said slowly. "I don't believe that you can live in this town and know as little as you do. I want to know where my friend is, and the longer it'll take, the crankier I'll become."

The bartender shook his head. "You can't hurt me," he protested. "If you make a scene in this town, the Marines will come down on you like a ton of bricks. Captain Nezumi will hear about it; he'll seal off the harbour and you'll never get out alive."

Doflamingo was just about to do something violent, when Crocodile coughed from behind him. "I wonder; do you actually have a brain in your head, or is it hollow?"

Doflamingo paused. Crocodile was talking to him. "Do you have a better idea?"

Crocodile rolled his eyes. "Perhaps a more subtle approach is needed?"

Doflamingo watched with bemusement as Crocodile walked over to the bar, and slowly picked up the ledger under the counter. With almost delicate care, Crocodile opened up the book and started to flick through the pages. It was filled with rows of numbers. Both the bartender and Doflamingo watched him with confusion.

"You keep very detailed records," Crocodile praised after five minutes of silence. "You are a very good accountant."

"Umm… thank you?" The barman was uncertain.

"Hmm. You are the sole proprietor of this establishment, yes?"

The bartender nodded slowly. Crocodile flicked over a page. "Oh, it seems like you've invested a very large amount of time and money into your company."

Barman was looking even more scared now. Crocodile's voice had a sadistic edge to it. It was the voice of someone taking great pleasure in imagining how he was going to torture you.

"Yes… You are a very good accountant," Crocodile said finally. "But unfortunately it seems like you've missed a couple of figures in your tax declarations."

The publican's eyes widened. Crocodile continued, almost conversationally. "Look here, these numbers just don't add up." He pointed to a row in the ledger. "It seems like you've misreported the profit you're making."

With painful care, Crocodile drew out a pencil and started to make corrections. The publican was panicking now. "Oh no, it seems like the tax you're paying has been underestimated." He turned another page. "Severely underestimated."

Crocodile turned on to the man with a predatory smile. "I can only imagine the uproar if the Revenue offices were to receive these ledgers, with all the discrepancies highlighted. It would be such a shame if this entire tavern were to be confiscated by the Government due to your poor numeracy."

The publican was now so pale he looked like he had seen a ghost. Doflamingo was watching with faint admiration.

"That's not funny," the publican said in a quiet voice.

"Oh, believe me, I'm not laughing," Crocodile lied, turning back to ledgers. He circled another number with his pencil. "Oh no, it appears like some of the purchases you've made are equally… dubious. Did you know that Customs fraud is actually a form of a piracy? If this was discovered, it might actually result in time in Impel Down…"

The barman stiffened. "Alright. I'll tell you everything," he blurted quickly. "Just please, for the love of God, put the pencil down!"

Crocodile smirked, carefully keeping a hold of the ledger. "Tell me about this "monster". Where is it?"

The bartender shook his head. "Nobody knows."

Crocodile raised an eyebrow, and opened up the ledger again. The publican caved quickly. "There are caves on the north-east edge of the town! Everyone avoids them, but there have been… disturbances around that area."

"Explain."

"People don't like talking about the monster. People who investigate tend to disappear. There are strange men around the north-east edge of the town, and they… use the monster to keep people away," the publican said in a hushed voice.

"Who?"

The publican hesitated. He was scared. "There are men who worship the monster. They feed it. Nobody knows why or who they are, but anybody who talks about it just… disappears."

The man was trembling now. "This is a bad town," he whispered, wide-eyed. "The Marines keep us on a tight leash, and these men… they're disturbed individuals… They brought the monster here; they feed it, just to keep the Marines out of the town…"

Crocodile nodded. He stood up with a smirk, and straightened up his suit.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Crocodile said finally, before calming walking out of the town, carrying the ledger with him. The bartender looked ready to kill himself.

Doflamingo watched in silence, before he burst out laughing and following Crocodile out the door.


Meanwhile …

Mihawk groaned as he came back into consciousness. He had been stripped and chained onto a stone wall. Everything was dark, and his head still throbbed from where his attacker blindsided him.

Slowly, as his eyes adjusted, he started to make out details. He was in a cave; it was dark and damp. He was standing in three inches of water, but his arms were held tightly behind him by rusty chains. His sword was nowhere to be seen, and that made him angrier than anything.

He grunted as he tried to break free. The chains rattled but where held tightly. There was a chuckle from in the darkness.

"Looks like our guest is awake…" A snickering voice came from in the darkness.

Mihawk just grunted again, and tried harder to break his chains. The metal rang in the dark.

"A fidgety little one, isn't here Buchi?" Another voice called out. There were splashes of footsteps approaching Mihawk.

"Aye, Sham. Skinny, little thing, though. Barely bigger than a morsel."

As they got closer, his two captors came into sight. One was an overweight man with a black and white cat outfit, wearing a hat covering one eye, with cat ears on it. The other was skinny and hunched back, wearing a navy blue shirt with grey buttons, also with cat ears. They were both distinctly feline, and smirking at him.

Mihawk kept on trying to force the chains. His captors kept on sniggering, pointing at him like he was a piece of meat.

"This one's got lots of injuries mind," Sham commented, inspecting Mihawk's scars critically. "What did you cut yourself shaving or something?"

"The little runt tried to put up a fight as well," Buchi complained. "Stupid kid."

Mihawk bit his lip, ignoring the pain. His feet pushed against up the wall, trying to break free.

"Oi!" Sham warned, watching him with vague amusement. "Don't kill yourself now. That comes later. We've got something planned for you."

With a wordless scream of determination, Mihawk redoubled his efforts. His muscles strained with pain. His bones ached from the effort. The chains rattled. He didn't care about the pain, he just kept on pushing.

Either the chains break or my arms will, Mihawk promised himself, but either way, I'm getting free.

"Are you deaf or just stupid, boy?" Buchi mocked. There were metal claws attached to his fingers, which he scraped against Mihawk's throat. "We've got you now. You're nothing more than a pigeon in the claws of a cat. We could kill you at our pleasure."

Mihawk let out a final scream of exertion. His body ached, and his heart was pounding, but there was no way in hell he was giving up. Finally, he felt the chains buckle, and then the next second the rusty links were breaking apart.

Both Buchi and Sham looked shocked. Mihawk's expression was murderous. The full force of his unblinking, unwavering gaze focused on the unlucky pair.

"A pigeon?" Mihawk snarled, nursing his bloodied wrists. "Oh, you've got the wrong bird there."


Author Notes:

I'm away over the weekend, so I figured I would upload this chapter tonight.

This has got to be one of my favourite chapters, mind. Doflamingo and Crocodile have a brilliant partnership – I could honestly write an entire buddy-cop story focused solely on them arguing.

This chapter is slightly shorter than usual, but it definitely deserves to be on its own.

Next Wednesday: An extra-large chapter concluding the Gloom Town Arc! Action and plot twists abound.

The title of that chapter is called "The Liars"; let's see if that gives you a hint…