Chapter 22: Training and Admiral
Chapter 22: Training and Admiral
__________ POV Enel__________
Two weeks was all it took, I went through quite a rigorous training regime, made by none other than Garp himself.
Unfortunately, we didn't have any beast-filled forests on Marineford, so he was forced to improvise a bit in my training.
But after finally pushing through all of that, as well as daily sparring with both Garp and Sengoku (whenever he had the time), as well as quite a bit of meditation, I am now able to materialize my Armament Haki.
It wasn't even that difficult, I could already sense and control haki/spiritual energy due to my mastery over Observation, I just didn't know how to approach the armament properly.
Well, I can't really cover my staff in Haki yet, but this is still massive progress.
I also seem to have an intrinsic talent for both Soru and Geppo, having mastered the two of them in just these two weeks.
To be fair, they are the most useless to me because I could already fly and move at light speed... So I can't really brag about them much.
But this seemed completely astonished both Garp and Sengoku, as well as Hina, who was a bit jealous of how easily I was able to perform the techniques.
Hina is also a person I worry about disappointing with my future separation from the marines.
She has been hanging around Marineford for me basically. She could've left right after handing Sengoku the reports of my little adventure in Jaya, but she's still sticking around and training with me most of the time.
It was together that we had trained the first two techniques. As useless as they seem to be, they might serve me well while undercover.
The upside is also that I now don't even need to use my devil fruit to fly. These two techniques also make for extremely good training for the legs.
Both of my legs have been strengthened noticeably after I started training these techniques, to the point where Garp says it's only a matter of time before I gain some mastery over Rankyaku as well.
This is convenient, as Rankyaku is the next of the 6 powers that I plan on mastering.
With someone like Garp giving me pointers, this is only to be expected though, I get that learning the techniques this fast is unprecedented, but having someone perfectly explain how to do them to you does somewhat dampen that achievement...
Well, at least in my eyes. The two of them seem surprised regardless of that.
I've not done anything besides training eating and sleeping these past two weeks though, and that makes me a bit tired.
I am used to doing repetitive tasks, but training like this is really making me chronically tired. I need to take a short break to avoid burnout in this case.
I did train for three months without many breaks when I was in the Sky Islands. But I was also taking plenty of time to decipher the poneglyphs, something I can't exactly do right now.
So I've decided to take a break, much to Garp's disappointment.
"What? You want to take a few days off?!" The old guy seems almost offended even.
"I mean, I've been hard at training every day for two weeks. I deserve a break!" At this point, I don't really bother to mince words with either Sengoku or Garp.
The two of them have been nothing but agreeable to me. Treating them like anything other than friends would be rather disrespectful on my part.
The fact that they both outrank me doesn't matter much and neither of them seems to mention that whenever we eat in Sengoku's office.
I can understand Garp being friendly from the way he was portrayed in the series. He is an extremely kind character that can find the good in any person and in any situation.
Seeing him burst out crying during Ace's execution was rather heart-wrenching to me back then, now that I know him personally it's even worse... I don't want to see this old man suffer at all.
Sengoku though... He's a bit harder to read.
He is just as friendly as Garp, but I remember him being the devious one of the two of them. Or at least the one with the plan and a secret goal.
I think that he is keeping me close in order to make sure I am a safe individual.
"Well... I guess you're right. But I doubt Sengoku is going to let you rest." Garp said while smiling a bit.
"I realize that, but I also don't think he'd make things too hard for me," I said with a confident smile of my own.
Garp can't really intimidate me at this point, not even when using Sengoku's name.
__________ POV Narration __________
"I think I heard something about you being sent on a mission actually!" Garp said as his smile became broader.
Enel's head immediately snapped in Garp's direction, making his earlobes swing from side to side a bit as the old marine hero laughed at him.
"That's right! How about you go speak to him yourself?!" Garp said as he started walking away and laughing, Enel himself started making his way towards Sengoku's office to get some clarity on the situation.
He waltzed up through the Marine Base, ignoring any gaze directed at him. At this point most of the marines that witnessed his fight with Garp considered him to be Admiral material, so no one got in his way.
Enel reached the office quickly enough, entering instantly without even bothering to knock.
"I'm telling you, killing those vermin is only beneficial to us!" A deep voice spoke out as Enel walked into the room.
A tall figure was speaking to Sengoku in a familiar manner, Enel raised an eyebrow as he instantly recognized who that man was...
A red costume, a marine cap and a white coat, with 'Justice' spelt on the back of it, with the yellow epaulettes that signified the fact that he was in fact an Admiral.
It wasn't hard to tell that his person was Akainu. The Admiral that most people hated in the series. But Enel didn't hate him, to Enel, Akainu was just a driven man and an extremely devoted marine.
He only believed in the justice that the world government propagated, that was the only part about him that made him 'evil'. It was simply because his beliefs in his own justice were unshakable.
Akainu turned around, his eyebrow raised in confusion as he studied the newcomer.
"How dare you enter the Fleet Admiral's office unannounced?!?" Akainu shouted, his confusion turning to anger as he failed to recognize the person that had interrupted his conversation with Sengoku.
"... I always come here this way? Doesn't matter. Admiral Akainu, I am Enel, a pleasure to meet you, but I am here to speak to Sengoku as well. I will wait for the two of you to finish, of course."
Enel's calm tone managed to slightly surprise Akainu, who was expecting the newcomer to at least get startled by his tone and apologize for intruding.
He was about to step towards the newcomer, who he realized was a Rear Admiral due to the colour of his epaulettes.
But right as he took the first step, he could hear Sengoku clear his throat.
"There's no need for the aggression Sakazuki, he is the latest recruit that I've been talking about. Quite formidable in most aspects, but he is still not quite familiar with how the Marines operate." Sengoku was happy enough to inform Akainu of who Enel really was.
Akainu's eyes widened a bit, he looked back at Enel, as the young Rear Admiral just took a seat on the nearby couch, Sengoku's pigeon landing on his head.
"This is the one you've been telling me about then? He doesn't seem like a kid, as you described him. But he is certainly disrespectful. This is why we don't skip the necessary steps in educating our recruits Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
Akainu was quick to start complaining, he was a person that always went by the books, Enel's entire recruitment process seemed like a travesty to him.
Akainu wasn't alone in this, some other higher-ups had raised the issue with him, but he had turned them all away regardless of status.
"I get you reservations, but we've already talked about that. He proved himself in both achievements and fighting strength, he may not have gone through the same channels as you, but he is worthy of his position regardless of that."
Sengoku was quick to defend his decisions with Enel. In a sense, recruiting him had served its purpose, it had worked like a charm and they had a surplus of recruits in the last two weeks.
It worked especially well after Sengoku made a deal with Big News Morgan to publicize the story all over the world, including Enel's fight with Garp, which was told without holding back any details.
A new star rising among the marines caught the attention of everyone around the world, even some of the Yonko's took the news seriously, as it meant the rise of another Admiral-level figure within the marines.
Even if Enel wasn't currently considered as strong as an admiral, the fact that he could fight Garp to a standstill on the day of his recruitment was already enough to warrant the attention of the most prominent pirates.
"Still. I refuse to believe he is worthy of such a rank, personal strength isn't everything within to the marines, discipline is just as important!" Akainu still refused to acknowledge Enel though.
Sengoku was about to open his mouth again, but Enel decided to finally speak up.
"It's a bit awkward that you are technically gossiping about me while I'm in the room, don't you think, Admiral Akainu?" Enel said, not bothering to stand up from the couch as he let Sengoku's bird make a nest on his head.
"Your rudeness should have its limits, newcomer!" Akainu was now prepared to start a fight, at this point, the only thing stopping him from lashing out was the fact that they were currently in the office of his supervisor.
"That's enough, you two! Especially you, Akainu. If you are still inclined about him lacking discipline then how about you actually try to help and teach him?!"
Sengoku was quick to stop any conflict from happening. Although what he said was a bit bothersome...
'Fuck me, this isn't happening...' Was the thought that arrived in the mind of both Enel and Akainu.
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Hope you liked the chapter! Feeling a bit better today, just bought some new creatine and protein powder, so I guess they're giving me some energy after the workout :)))
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