__________ POV Narration __________
"HAH!"
With a heave and a grunt, the shirtless, tall blond man punched in front of him.
His figure seemed to blur as the wind rolled off of his fists, his knuckles touched the rock in front of him.
A large crashing noise resounded throughout the island, and the rock was immediately broken to pieces.
The strike didn't stop there, it continued, breaking more and more parts of the mountain as dust rose and spread throughout their surroundings.
In less than a second, cracks spread out around the island, the earth and rock breaking off as Enel's fist cleared off around one fourth of the mountain in front of him.
Behind him stood Garp, his drill instructor and former Marine Hero.
The old man turned young and looked at his student and captain with his arms crossed.
'This will have to do for now...'
Although strong, Enel's punch was still lacking in Garp's eye. While he had discipline and perseverance, Garp could see that Enel was not going to be able to consistently pull off such powerful hits without getting exhausted.
But their training time was ending, Enel said that he had a lot of things to do, and he couldn't continue being closed off on that island while the rest of the world moved around him.
'He's mainly a Devil Fruit and Observation Haki user... But now he at least has a decently powerful physical body and Armament Haki to fall back on in case those fail him...
He's also still far from reaching Conqueror's coating... But I'm sure he'll learn it before the war starts.'
Despite Garp begin critical of Enel's results, he was still astounded by his progress, all things considered.
Enel had gone from being relatively weak for New World Standards in Body Strength to being strong by those same standards.
He was still nowhere near as strong as the top of the world physically, but he was strong enough to hold his own.
It was certainly a drastic jump. But it was attained through gruelling training.
Enel's genetic and inborn talent sure played a role though.
After all, Enel's physical strength before he had ever bothered to train himself was already above most pirates in the first half of the Grand Line.
Genetically speaking, Enel was as much of a freak as Garp was. His talents just didn't seem to lie with Armament Haki as much as Garp's talents did.
Garp, in terms of Armament, was the strongest in the world, easily. He could go toe to toe with the strongest in the world with JUST his Armament Haki.
He hadn't even developed proper future sight, as he didn't have much talent for Observation, but his outrageous physical strength managed to overwhelm any opponent.
"Was that enough, Garp..." Enel panted a bit as he looked at his drill sergeant with a somewhat tired gaze.
The Sky King could barely wait to go and take a long bath, eat some proper food, and sleep for an entire day after the training was over.
He did also have a lot of work to do, pressing matters that needed his attention.
He himself was satisfied with his physical strength, believing it to be decent enough to try and look into awakening his devil fruit.
"That was enough... Good job kid." Garp did consider picking on Enel for a bit but decided to just be a supportive teacher instead.
Enel already had a lot on his plate. Mocking him in order to motivate him to train harder wouldn't work too well since he was going to take a break from extensive physical training for now.
"That's... I wasn't expecting you to actually praise me... Did you eat something bad today?" Enel looked at Garp with a confused gaze, a bit of concern was etched in his tone.
Garp could feel his blood boiling, he clenched his fist as he considered reminding Enel that he could still dish out a Fist of Love even if he wasn't training him anymore.
"Hah... Stop joking around and go relax for a bit. The others have already finished their training too, I bet that Oven friend of yours will want to compare results."
Garp ended up just ignoring Enel's slight jab and throwing him the keys for the collar that was still around his neck.
Enel caught the key with a pleased glint in his eyes. That glint died down as he then eyed Garp cautiously.
"So I'm free to go? No other tricks or surprise beatings as a final test or something?" The Sky King felt the need to ask such a question... After training under Garp for so long, he expected something strange to happen.
"What, you want a beating?! I can sure give you one you little shit!" Garp cracked his knuckles, causing Enel to sweat a bit.
"Nah, I'm good. I'll just..."
The Emperor wasted no time in taking off his restraints and took a deep breath as his body became filled with strength.
"Go..." The second that last word left his mouth, the Emperor vanished, leaving Garp behind on the destroyed mountain range.
The old Marine Hero just shook his head and spat on the ground, grumbling a bit as he turned around and jumped away.
Enel quickly arrived back at his cabin, well, it was now more accurate to call it Bonney's cabin, not much of his stuff was there, but it was empty, and he wanted some alone time.
He had started to enjoy it during his training, having nobody to debate with but himself. It gave him a lot of time to reflect on things. Things he could've done better, or worse.
He had a lot on his plate and a lot ahead of him, so he needed a short break from it all...
He immediately went and filled a large basin with water from the river, tapped it with his palm and heated it up, before he finally sat down in it.
"Haaah~..." The tall man's legs were stretched above the basin, and his hands dangled to the side as he dipped his torso into the water.
The Devil Fruit user relaxed for a while, letting the worries and filth wash off of him before he opened his eyes.
'Good thing I can still take a relaxing bath as long as I don't submerge myself all the way up to my neck...'
It was one of the few weaknesses of being a Devil Fruit user, not being able to swim.
Whether it was sea water or regular tap water, Enel would sink like a hammer if he let himself be submerged too deeply.
'I wonder if Awakenings affect the weaknesses of a devil fruit... Would my body still react in the same way to water?
Or would my body automatically start ionising the water molecules around me and controlling them subconsciously?
Would I be able to train such a reflex on my own?'
So many questions, but Enel knew he didn't have all the time in the world to find them out.
Water was not that great of a weakness regardless, as he could already control it. But it never hurt to overthink things of that nature.
Enel was about to get up from his relaxing bath, but he realized that someone was approaching his cabin...
The Emperor used his 'sensor' to feel the appearance of that person, although he already know who it was...
A woman dressed in a long sarong skirt and a short-sleeved leather vest with a V-neck line, showcasing a good amount of cleavage.
The woman also had long hair, reaching all the way to her hips.
The Sky King had already recognized her as Robin.
He would have felt her approaching him earlier, but he had been so immersed in his bath that he hadn't bothered with his surroundings.
He had just gone through a long period of not using his devil fruit at all, and he was still getting reused to the surplus of information he constantly had to process.
Some mistakes could be excused, especially since he was essentially in the safest place on the planet.
The wooden door creaked as soft knocking could be heard.
"Enel, are you there? Garp told me you were done today...
'...'
Enel looked around his cabin and realized that he was essentially sitting in a wooden tub in the middle of the room, really hard to miss to anyone entering the house.
He also failed to consider what he would wear upon leaving his bath, he only had his tattered training clothes, and his other clothes weren't in the cabin, but in one of his other 'homes' on Skypea.
His staff was also not with him, as he had no need for it during training, and didn't bother going to retrieve it before taking a bath.
So, instead of bothering to go get dressed, the Emperor just grabbed a bed sheet and wrapped it around his midsection.
It looked more like a towel since he was much bigger than a regular human, but it was enough to make him decent.
'I shouldn't worry so much... This isn't so different from some of the stuff I wear...'
"I'm here, you can come in..." The Emperor sighed as he walked to the side and grabbed a small towel, wrapping it around his wet hair.
"Sure~" Robin didn't seem to shy away from intruding. It was already suspicious enough that she had figured out where he was...
'Did she specifically track me down with Observation?...' Enel almost couldn't help but ponder on that as the Black-haired Woman walked into the cabin.
Her eyes seemed to widen a bit when seeing his form before a small, surprised smile reached her lips.
"Hoh? Growing bold are we?" The woman leaned slightly forward, looking up at Enel with a devilish smile as she made it a point to lick her lips 'seductively'.
The Devil's Child always loved seeing the Emperor's reactions to her teasings... It was strangely satisfying to see such a mature and serious individual turning slightly red and grumbling.
"... Haah..." Enel shook his head and sighed a bit at her blatantly obvious teasing attempt.
This time, his reaction was similar. And as always, it was short-lived.
Enel always recovered quickly from her teasing, and he didn't even seem to dwell on it for long.
The two of them had already somewhat figured the other out during brief periods of time they spent training together.
The more Robin found out about Enel, the more impressive she found him.
The more she talked to him, the more 'human' he felt... But when thinking of who he actually was... Of what he was actually doing... It was difficult to believe really.
He was a man that had already achieved what many wouldn't even be able to comprehend, let alone dream of. Yet he was so... Normal.
He smiled when complimented, he cussed her out when she went too far with her teasing, and he joked around and laughed with her when they were eating their food...
Hell, he even tucked her in whenever she fell unconscious at the end of training. Even though he knew that most of the time she was just pretending in order to get some light skinship that didn't involve getting beaten up.
There was nothing 'extraordinary' about the way he carried himself around her. But he somehow still proved to be more than even extraordinary...
"So... What can I help you with, how come you're seeking me out?" Enel tilted his head after the short period of silence, breaking Robin out of her thoughts as he showed him yet another mischievous smile.
"What, I need a reason to look for you? You're so cruel... Even after all those times when you cradled me to sleep..."
Robin faked wiping away a tear from her cheek as Enel just rolled his eyes at her antics.
"I, at most, just put you to bed, you were the one hugging me 'in your sleep'. I keep telling you that the 'sleepwalker' excuse doesn't work..."
Unfortunately for Robin, Enel was already well-versed in turning the teasing right back at her. He also now had enough ammunition as he had spent enough time studying her habits.
"I-I'll just get to the point then... Don't want to take up too much of your first free day in a while..."
Robin shook her head and gained a more neutral expression as her eyes narrowed slightly.
'Trust me, we'll be spending more time together regardless...'
"The time is almost here... I need to start making my way back to Sabaody... I was wondering, can you take me there? I'm sure my captain wants to speak with you as well..." Robin cupped her arms as she asked, seemingly pleading.
In doing so, she also accentuated her ample bosom while looking up at Enel with a pleading look.
Enel scowled as he realised she was trying to use her 'feminine willes' to get easy transportation...
'Either that, or she just wants to spend more time together... Either way...'
"I was going to volunteer to take you there regardless... We're departing tomorrow by the way." Enel just started wiping his hair more thoroughly with the small towel wrapped around his head.
"Ooh? That's great!" Robin immediately perked up, somewhat losing her mischievous demeanour as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Enel's midsection.
The Emperor blinked a few times, somewhat taken aback by the physical contact, but not really complaining about it either.
The Sky King let the hug continue for a few moments before he coughed a bit and decided to break it up.
"Yeah yeah... You should go pack up, we'll have plenty of time to talk more about stuff during our trip."
"Right...~" Robin let go of him in a slow manner, stretching her arms around as a large smile appeared on her face.
She then turned around, swaying her hips from side to side as she walked towards the door of the cabin.
"I am a bit disappointed though..." Robin turned her head one last time, gaining a glint in her eyes.
Enel just raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Well... After all that teasing, all the leaning forward and presenting my 'assets'... There was still no reaction down there... I am just disappointed..." Robin brought a finger to her lip as she spoke in a mock seductive tone.
Enel just rolled his eyes at her, again.
"I'm afraid I'm long past my teenage years... It'll take a lot more than some joking around and cleavage to get any reaction of the sort..."
Robin didn't seem at all discouraged by Enel's comments, however. She merely continued smiling as she responded.
"Oh? I guess I'll have to work harder then~! See you tomorrow morning!"
After that, she simply walked away, making sure that her hips were swaying from side to side, almost hypnotically, only for Enel to slam the door shut and get back into his bath tub.
'Jeez... How am I even supposed to handle her?'
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter! Tired af today, still trying to keep up the daily uploads tho ;)) Anyway, I'm off to slep
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster(Vegan Cult) on Patre_on, you'd also get 15 chapters in advance (or 10/5 depending on tier)
__________ POV Narration __________
"HAH!"
With a heave and a grunt, the shirtless, tall blond man punched in front of him.
His figure seemed to blur as the wind rolled off of his fists, his knuckles touched the rock in front of him.
A large crashing noise resounded throughout the island, and the rock was immediately broken to pieces.
The strike didn't stop there, it continued, breaking more and more parts of the mountain as dust rose and spread throughout their surroundings.
In less than a second, cracks spread out around the island, the earth and rock breaking off as Enel's fist cleared off around one fourth of the mountain in front of him.
Behind him stood Garp, his drill instructor and former Marine Hero.
The old man turned young and looked at his student and captain with his arms crossed.
'This will have to do for now...'
Although strong, Enel's punch was still lacking in Garp's eye. While he had discipline and perseverance, Garp could see that Enel was not going to be able to consistently pull off such powerful hits without getting exhausted.
But their training time was ending, Enel said that he had a lot of things to do, and he couldn't continue being closed off on that island while the rest of the world moved around him.
'He's mainly a Devil Fruit and Observation Haki user... But now he at least has a decently powerful physical body and Armament Haki to fall back on in case those fail him...
He's also still far from reaching Conqueror's coating... But I'm sure he'll learn it before the war starts.'
Despite Garp begin critical of Enel's results, he was still astounded by his progress, all things considered.
Enel had gone from being relatively weak for New World Standards in Body Strength to being strong by those same standards.
He was still nowhere near as strong as the top of the world physically, but he was strong enough to hold his own.
It was certainly a drastic jump. But it was attained through gruelling training.
Enel's genetic and inborn talent sure played a role though.
After all, Enel's physical strength before he had ever bothered to train himself was already above most pirates in the first half of the Grand Line.
Genetically speaking, Enel was as much of a freak as Garp was. His talents just didn't seem to lie with Armament Haki as much as Garp's talents did.
Garp, in terms of Armament, was the strongest in the world, easily. He could go toe to toe with the strongest in the world with JUST his Armament Haki.
He hadn't even developed proper future sight, as he didn't have much talent for Observation, but his outrageous physical strength managed to overwhelm any opponent.
"Was that enough, Garp..." Enel panted a bit as he looked at his drill sergeant with a somewhat tired gaze.
The Sky King could barely wait to go and take a long bath, eat some proper food, and sleep for an entire day after the training was over.
He did also have a lot of work to do, pressing matters that needed his attention.
He himself was satisfied with his physical strength, believing it to be decent enough to try and look into awakening his devil fruit.
"That was enough... Good job kid." Garp did consider picking on Enel for a bit but decided to just be a supportive teacher instead.
Enel already had a lot on his plate. Mocking him in order to motivate him to train harder wouldn't work too well since he was going to take a break from extensive physical training for now.
"That's... I wasn't expecting you to actually praise me... Did you eat something bad today?" Enel looked at Garp with a confused gaze, a bit of concern was etched in his tone.
Garp could feel his blood boiling, he clenched his fist as he considered reminding Enel that he could still dish out a Fist of Love even if he wasn't training him anymore.
"Hah... Stop joking around and go relax for a bit. The others have already finished their training too, I bet that Oven friend of yours will want to compare results."
Garp ended up just ignoring Enel's slight jab and throwing him the keys for the collar that was still around his neck.
Enel caught the key with a pleased glint in his eyes. That glint died down as he then eyed Garp cautiously.
"So I'm free to go? No other tricks or surprise beatings as a final test or something?" The Sky King felt the need to ask such a question... After training under Garp for so long, he expected something strange to happen.
"What, you want a beating?! I can sure give you one you little shit!" Garp cracked his knuckles, causing Enel to sweat a bit.
"Nah, I'm good. I'll just..."
The Emperor wasted no time in taking off his restraints and took a deep breath as his body became filled with strength.
"Go..." The second that last word left his mouth, the Emperor vanished, leaving Garp behind on the destroyed mountain range.
The old Marine Hero just shook his head and spat on the ground, grumbling a bit as he turned around and jumped away.
Enel quickly arrived back at his cabin, well, it was now more accurate to call it Bonney's cabin, not much of his stuff was there, but it was empty, and he wanted some alone time.
He had started to enjoy it during his training, having nobody to debate with but himself. It gave him a lot of time to reflect on things. Things he could've done better, or worse.
He had a lot on his plate and a lot ahead of him, so he needed a short break from it all...
He immediately went and filled a large basin with water from the river, tapped it with his palm and heated it up, before he finally sat down in it.
"Haaah~..." The tall man's legs were stretched above the basin, and his hands dangled to the side as he dipped his torso into the water.
The Devil Fruit user relaxed for a while, letting the worries and filth wash off of him before he opened his eyes.
'Good thing I can still take a relaxing bath as long as I don't submerge myself all the way up to my neck...'
It was one of the few weaknesses of being a Devil Fruit user, not being able to swim.
Whether it was sea water or regular tap water, Enel would sink like a hammer if he let himself be submerged too deeply.
'I wonder if Awakenings affect the weaknesses of a devil fruit... Would my body still react in the same way to water?
Or would my body automatically start ionising the water molecules around me and controlling them subconsciously?
Would I be able to train such a reflex on my own?'
So many questions, but Enel knew he didn't have all the time in the world to find them out.
Water was not that great of a weakness regardless, as he could already control it. But it never hurt to overthink things of that nature.
Enel was about to get up from his relaxing bath, but he realized that someone was approaching his cabin...
The Emperor used his 'sensor' to feel the appearance of that person, although he already know who it was...
A woman dressed in a long sarong skirt and a short-sleeved leather vest with a V-neck line, showcasing a good amount of cleavage.
The woman also had long hair, reaching all the way to her hips.
The Sky King had already recognized her as Robin.
He would have felt her approaching him earlier, but he had been so immersed in his bath that he hadn't bothered with his surroundings.
He had just gone through a long period of not using his devil fruit at all, and he was still getting reused to the surplus of information he constantly had to process.
Some mistakes could be excused, especially since he was essentially in the safest place on the planet.
The wooden door creaked as soft knocking could be heard.
"Enel, are you there? Garp told me you were done today...
'...'
Enel looked around his cabin and realized that he was essentially sitting in a wooden tub in the middle of the room, really hard to miss to anyone entering the house.
He also failed to consider what he would wear upon leaving his bath, he only had his tattered training clothes, and his other clothes weren't in the cabin, but in one of his other 'homes' on Skypea.
His staff was also not with him, as he had no need for it during training, and didn't bother going to retrieve it before taking a bath.
So, instead of bothering to go get dressed, the Emperor just grabbed a bed sheet and wrapped it around his midsection.
It looked more like a towel since he was much bigger than a regular human, but it was enough to make him decent.
'I shouldn't worry so much... This isn't so different from some of the stuff I wear...'
"I'm here, you can come in..." The Emperor sighed as he walked to the side and grabbed a small towel, wrapping it around his wet hair.
"Sure~" Robin didn't seem to shy away from intruding. It was already suspicious enough that she had figured out where he was...
'Did she specifically track me down with Observation?...' Enel almost couldn't help but ponder on that as the Black-haired Woman walked into the cabin.
Her eyes seemed to widen a bit when seeing his form before a small, surprised smile reached her lips.
"Hoh? Growing bold are we?" The woman leaned slightly forward, looking up at Enel with a devilish smile as she made it a point to lick her lips 'seductively'.
The Devil's Child always loved seeing the Emperor's reactions to her teasings... It was strangely satisfying to see such a mature and serious individual turning slightly red and grumbling.
"... Haah..." Enel shook his head and sighed a bit at her blatantly obvious teasing attempt.
This time, his reaction was similar. And as always, it was short-lived.
Enel always recovered quickly from her teasing, and he didn't even seem to dwell on it for long.
The two of them had already somewhat figured the other out during brief periods of time they spent training together.
The more Robin found out about Enel, the more impressive she found him.
The more she talked to him, the more 'human' he felt... But when thinking of who he actually was... Of what he was actually doing... It was difficult to believe really.
He was a man that had already achieved what many wouldn't even be able to comprehend, let alone dream of. Yet he was so... Normal.
He smiled when complimented, he cussed her out when she went too far with her teasing, and he joked around and laughed with her when they were eating their food...
Hell, he even tucked her in whenever she fell unconscious at the end of training. Even though he knew that most of the time she was just pretending in order to get some light skinship that didn't involve getting beaten up.
There was nothing 'extraordinary' about the way he carried himself around her. But he somehow still proved to be more than even extraordinary...
"So... What can I help you with, how come you're seeking me out?" Enel tilted his head after the short period of silence, breaking Robin out of her thoughts as he showed him yet another mischievous smile.
"What, I need a reason to look for you? You're so cruel... Even after all those times when you cradled me to sleep..."
Robin faked wiping away a tear from her cheek as Enel just rolled his eyes at her antics.
"I, at most, just put you to bed, you were the one hugging me 'in your sleep'. I keep telling you that the 'sleepwalker' excuse doesn't work..."
Unfortunately for Robin, Enel was already well-versed in turning the teasing right back at her. He also now had enough ammunition as he had spent enough time studying her habits.
"I-I'll just get to the point then... Don't want to take up too much of your first free day in a while..."
Robin shook her head and gained a more neutral expression as her eyes narrowed slightly.
'Trust me, we'll be spending more time together regardless...'
"The time is almost here... I need to start making my way back to Sabaody... I was wondering, can you take me there? I'm sure my captain wants to speak with you as well..." Robin cupped her arms as she asked, seemingly pleading.
In doing so, she also accentuated her ample bosom while looking up at Enel with a pleading look.
Enel scowled as he realised she was trying to use her 'feminine willes' to get easy transportation...
'Either that, or she just wants to spend more time together... Either way...'
"I was going to volunteer to take you there regardless... We're departing tomorrow by the way." Enel just started wiping his hair more thoroughly with the small towel wrapped around his head.
"Ooh? That's great!" Robin immediately perked up, somewhat losing her mischievous demeanour as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Enel's midsection.
The Emperor blinked a few times, somewhat taken aback by the physical contact, but not really complaining about it either.
The Sky King let the hug continue for a few moments before he coughed a bit and decided to break it up.
"Yeah yeah... You should go pack up, we'll have plenty of time to talk more about stuff during our trip."
"Right...~" Robin let go of him in a slow manner, stretching her arms around as a large smile appeared on her face.
She then turned around, swaying her hips from side to side as she walked towards the door of the cabin.
"I am a bit disappointed though..." Robin turned her head one last time, gaining a glint in her eyes.
Enel just raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Well... After all that teasing, all the leaning forward and presenting my 'assets'... There was still no reaction down there... I am just disappointed..." Robin brought a finger to her lip as she spoke in a mock seductive tone.
Enel just rolled his eyes at her, again.
"I'm afraid I'm long past my teenage years... It'll take a lot more than some joking around and cleavage to get any reaction of the sort..."
Robin didn't seem at all discouraged by Enel's comments, however. She merely continued smiling as she responded.
"Oh? I guess I'll have to work harder then~! See you tomorrow morning!"
After that, she simply walked away, making sure that her hips were swaying from side to side, almost hypnotically, only for Enel to slam the door shut and get back into his bath tub.
'Jeez... How am I even supposed to handle her?'
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you liked the chapter! Tired af today, still trying to keep up the daily uploads tho ;)) Anyway, I'm off to slep
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster(Vegan Cult) on Patre_on, you'd also get 15 chapters in advance (or 10/5 depending on tier)
