Interesting

Characters: Jean Bart. Rating: K. Warnings: None.

Jean Bart had known, ever since Trafalgar Law approached him instead of fleeing the auction house at the first opportunity, that he was in for interesting times. Few captains would see a chance to increase their crew in a weakened slave, and less would take on one they knew the reputation of. That Trafalgar did so marked him as either incredibly stupid, or incredibly confident. Or both, although it took less than an hour for Jean Bart to scrub 'stupid' off the list of possible descriptors for his new captain. 'Cocky' was added, but Jean Bart could deal with cocky as long as he had the strength to back it up.

He did. He also held firm loyalty from his crew, or at least the three that were with him, because there was no way he'd sailed so far into the Grand Line with only four people. That was a definite plus; you could tell a lot about a captain from their crew, and one with such dedicated loyalty was unlikely to turn into a tyrant as soon as they were onboard the ship.

His first impression of his new life was interesting, but in a good way. Trafalgar clearly had a brain on him, which he made full use of for schemes and plots, and Jean Bart could appreciate that. What was slightly harder to get his head around (aside from his ability and the fact that apparently the crew treated being turned into human jigsaws as some sort of bizarre comfort) was when it was announced to the crew just what, exactly, was in their immediate future.

Storming Marineford to rescue a rival captain on a whim? Jean Bart was certain there was no mere whim involved, but if Trafalgar was going to remain tight lipped about his reasons, then who was he to argue? He had thought, then, that there was nothing Trafalgar could do that would surprise him anymore. It was a naïve thought.

A month later, the Polar Tang finally fixed from Mugiwara's destructive spree, Trafalgar revealed a new bombshell.

He was going to aim for one of the recently-vacated Shichibukai positions.

Jean Bart knew a bit about the Shichibukai, having spent far more time on the Grand Line than the rest of the crew, but couldn't for the life of him see how that was going to work. Trafalgar was too young, for a start. Admittedly he didn't know the age of his new captain, but he knew that the only Shichibukai to receive the title in less than a year of entering the Grand Line was Donquixote Doflamingo, and the name by itself was enough to put a shiver down his spine.

Trafalgar thought he could match that monster?

He didn't, to Jean Bart's private relief. It took a particular brand of cruel insanity to rise through the ranks that quickly, and pirate or not he had no intentions of associating himself with that type.

Law did, however, manage his macabre aim of collecting a hundred still-beating (he was very particular on the still-beating; Jean Bart began avoiding the infirmary because there was something so fundamentally wrong with the sight) hearts within the first year of Jean Bart joining the crew. A few calculated impressive orchestrations (Rocky Port had been magnificent; he believed Law's name would be synonymous with that particular incident for several years), and the macabre offering, and he indeed claimed a spot.

Being an active pirate with a frozen bounty was a surreal experience. Law, as always, breezed through the Grand Line and Marejois alike as if he owned them both, for all intents and purposes seemingly unaffected by the change as he methodically took advantage of the position to gain the information he so desperately craved (the fact that Law had for once joined in the party thrown by the crew after his official appointment betrayed otherwise).

Sitting at the controls of the Polar Tang, listening to Law and Bepo discuss directions and adjusting their course accordingly, Jean Bart thought back to his first impressions of this crew he had found himself so solidly integrated in over the past year.

Interesting was certainly the right word. He wouldn't trade it for the world.

Jean Bart doesn't know about Blackbeard, although he still doesn't really count as a 'rookie'... Law is the youngest known Shichibukai, although his bounty is the second-highest of all known Shichibukai at the time of induction (only Weevil's is higher at 480million). Fun facts you probably knew already.

Jean Bart gets used to his new crazy crew eventually... (he's pretty settled by the time we see him on Zou, at least).

Thanks for reading!
Tsari