__________ POV Narration __________
"..." Luffy scratched his chin for a few seconds as he took in Enel's words.
He was certainly indebted to Enel, and Luffy was far from the type of person to leave such debts unpaid.
But was he going to put the rest of his crew in danger for his debt?
"Alright then!" The Straw Hat Captain just nodded without putting much thought into it.
In the first place, he wasn't the type to put much thought into anything. And over everything else, he also trusted his crewmates. He trusted in their resolve and their progress over the years of separation.
He couldn't possibly know what the future had in store for them but at the end of the day...
'Everything's gonna be fine anyway!'
Of course, not everyone in the crew seemed to share his relaxed demeanour. Ussop and Nami both feared the notion of going to war against the ruling powers of the world.
Even if they had an equally powerful force as their allies, it was still a risky endeavor.
But Brook did manage to give them a few words of wisdom... The old skeleton noticed the unease and fear in some of his comrades and just decided to speak up.
"Regardless of our captain's choice... A conflict of that size would have affected all of us regardless.
We are pirates at the end of the day, our main enemy was the World Government, to begin with.
It is comforting to know that there are many standing by our side..."
Brook's perspective on things seemed to greatly diminish the anxiety of his comrades, Luffy just laughed a bit at their reactions.
Sanji and Zoro both had serious looks on their faces. They knew that tough times were coming up, so they both knew they had to grow stronger, to be prepared for them.
Zoro was a bit embarrassed at having attacked Enel now, but at the very least his captain wasn't there to see it...
Although, one thing was for sure... Sanji was never going to stop mocking him for being blocked by an earlobe of all things...
Nami and Ussop were both still overwhelmed by the situation, but they managed to find their resolve in the end.
Nami, as the navigator, was going to stick by her crew regardless. And she still had that map of the world to work on, to keep her mind off of things for now.
Usopp knew that he needed guts if he wanted to be a true warrior of the sea as well. He couldn't falter in front of any danger, no matter how large.
Franky was not concerned either. He was well aware of what Brook had said, and the momentary panic caused by the surplus of information didn't make him forget...
He was one of the last people that knew the blueprints to Pluton, the World Government was already his main enemy.
If anything, he now had a reason to build the godforsaken thing. He didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands, but he knew that it was going to be needed.
And maybe, just maybe, their crew were going to become strong enough to protect it from any greedy hands...
'... I guess I should also do that 'upgrade' now...'
The cyborg sighed as he understood just how much work he had in front of him now...
And Chopper...
He still felt a bit afraid, but he knew that he was going to be safe as long as he stood by his friends...
He had vowed to become a monster for Luffy at the end of the day.
The only way forward for him was to gain complete mastery over his Monster Point, that was what he had focused on for two years besides honing his medical knowledge and skills.h
He now did have some mastery over it when using the Rumble Balls, he no longer lost his mind while in it, which was the main thing he was striving for.
'No... I need to master that form without the Rumble Balls... If I want to be of help in the future... I can't rely on them alone.'
The little reindeer clenched his fist(hooves?) while contemplating that further, trying to think of ways he could use his devil fruit differently to unlock the Monster Point, somehow...
Robin could only sigh when looking at her crewmates. She had somewhat expected such a thing to happen.
Thankfully, she wasn't alone in explaining the situation, Enel's presence probably helped Luffy get over the shock of a lot of things much faster.
At the end of the day, Luffy respected Enel quite a lot. Not only had he saved him and Ace, he had also saved Whitebeard, someone that Luffy considered a great old man.
"Thank you for your cooperation... I'll be contacting you through this." Enel handed Luffy a transponder snail while nodding.
"It's on a private line that can't be listened into or shut down remotely... It's the only reason the Revolutionaries have been able to stay in touch with the rest of the world lately..."
Luffy just nodded, not thinking too deeply about what Enel had said, only stuffing the small snail in one of his pockets before smiling a bit.
"This is about the gist of it. The sole reason why I wanted to speak to you personally... Robin can tell you any other details in the future, she was there for the development of most of it."
Everyone looked at Robin with curious gazes when hearing the Emperor mention her.
They were becoming more and more curious about the way she had sent her time... Especially since she seemed incredibly close to what was essentially the leader of the strongest army in the world.
"Thanks, Enel!" Luffy just gave the Emperor a wide smile as he addressed him a bit more respectfully now.
The Sky King blinked a few times as he realized that Luffy had used his actual name. He decided not to dwell on it though, he had one other important thing with the straw hats...
"No problem... One last thing, Chopper..." The Emperor's head turned to the Human-Raindeer hybrid, smiling as he did so.
The reindeer seemed to jump back for a second, startled at the way he was suddenly brought into the conversation.
Everyone seemed to be just as confused, but Enel didn't leave them stir in confusion for too long.
"Thank you for your efforts in helping the revolutionaries in these times..." The Emperor slightly bowed his head to the good doctor, instantly turning the reindeer shy.
Despite all of his development, Chopper was not any better at taking compliments.
"I only need a few things from you..."
______________________
The Emperor sighed as sat on a dark cloud above the Sabaody Archipelago.
His senses scanned the depths of the sea, sensing the ship of the straw hats going farther and farther into the depths of the sea.
His reunion with Luffy was rather short-lived, interrupted by a few agents.
The Emperor still didn't want to show himself, thankfully there was no need for it.
Zoro had dispatched them all with ease, cutting through them like they were nothing at all.
Sanji also destroyed two more pacifistas to defend the ship, and Franky himself destroyed one with a laser of his own.
Brook and Robin were both on standby, but it seemed that there wasn't any need for the two of them to even get involved.
Only the Skeleton got a bit of action in the form of cutting through a laser in order to defend the ship, but that was about it.
Chopper went and gathered the items that Enel requested diligently, so he missed the entire thing.
After that, the Sky King didn't stick around for long, only giving all of them a short goodbye before they set sail.
He did give Robin one last look, and a warm smile, before vanishing, something that Nami and a few others certainly noticed.
Sanji could only seethe in jealousy, while Nami smiled deviously and skipped over to Robin to ask her for more details.
The answer she got wasn't all that spicy though... 'We're just friends... We're both too busy for anything more, I'm afraid...'
But she did pick up on the underlying message...
'So if you weren't busy you'd be going at it, huh?'
She didn't get any further response, as Robin chose to ignore that, but Sanji ended up digging his teeth into a towel out of frustration.
That at least gave Zoro an opportunity to mock him openly.
Enel obviously still observed all of their interactions as they left. He did that while making sure that there were no more agents and pacifistas left on Sabaody.
It was the Emperor's way of giving the common folk on Sabaody a few hours of peace before he departed.
Lighting bolts fell like rain onto their heads, also striking the empty streets from time to time.
'The Strawhats are already departing, the Government can suspect my presence here all they want, but I have more important things to worry about now.
They won't nuke Sabaody just from a suspicion that I was potentially here anyway.'
The Emperor sighed as he took out a map, looking over it a few times as he charted a course.
'First stop... Vegapunk's Laboratory... I need to see if he knows anything about Xebec's clones...'
The Emperor then sighed and slowly stood up from his blackened cloud mattress.
"This is going to be a long journey..." Enel breathed out a bit of steam before he vanished completely from that place.
Turning into an Electromagnetic Wave and travelling in the direction of Egghead Island at the speed of light.
He was a long way off from controlling it perfectly, but overshooting the island only for a few hundred nautical miles was already decent enough.
'I am getting better... I guess?...
Let's just hope Vegapunk has time for me... And that he isn't too closely monitored by the Elders...'
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you enjoyed today's chapter! Tho it's a bit shorter than usual.
Kinda slower lately, still getting used to a new schedule at work, don't have a lot of time to write during work lately either.
Story Shoutout! (haven't found a new one this week, didn't have much time to read): Who Says All Saints Need to be Good?
Discord, again: https://discord.gg/xQTK8caFEQ
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get 15 chapters in advance (or 10/5 depending on tier)
__________ POV Narration __________
"..." Luffy scratched his chin for a few seconds as he took in Enel's words.
He was certainly indebted to Enel, and Luffy was far from the type of person to leave such debts unpaid.
But was he going to put the rest of his crew in danger for his debt?
"Alright then!" The Straw Hat Captain just nodded without putting much thought into it.
In the first place, he wasn't the type to put much thought into anything. And over everything else, he also trusted his crewmates. He trusted in their resolve and their progress over the years of separation.
He couldn't possibly know what the future had in store for them but at the end of the day...
'Everything's gonna be fine anyway!'
Of course, not everyone in the crew seemed to share his relaxed demeanour. Ussop and Nami both feared the notion of going to war against the ruling powers of the world.
Even if they had an equally powerful force as their allies, it was still a risky endeavor.
But Brook did manage to give them a few words of wisdom... The old skeleton noticed the unease and fear in some of his comrades and just decided to speak up.
"Regardless of our captain's choice... A conflict of that size would have affected all of us regardless.
We are pirates at the end of the day, our main enemy was the World Government, to begin with.
It is comforting to know that there are many standing by our side..."
Brook's perspective on things seemed to greatly diminish the anxiety of his comrades, Luffy just laughed a bit at their reactions.
Sanji and Zoro both had serious looks on their faces. They knew that tough times were coming up, so they both knew they had to grow stronger, to be prepared for them.
Zoro was a bit embarrassed at having attacked Enel now, but at the very least his captain wasn't there to see it...
Although, one thing was for sure... Sanji was never going to stop mocking him for being blocked by an earlobe of all things...
Nami and Ussop were both still overwhelmed by the situation, but they managed to find their resolve in the end.
Nami, as the navigator, was going to stick by her crew regardless. And she still had that map of the world to work on, to keep her mind off of things for now.
Usopp knew that he needed guts if he wanted to be a true warrior of the sea as well. He couldn't falter in front of any danger, no matter how large.
Franky was not concerned either. He was well aware of what Brook had said, and the momentary panic caused by the surplus of information didn't make him forget...
He was one of the last people that knew the blueprints to Pluton, the World Government was already his main enemy.
If anything, he now had a reason to build the godforsaken thing. He didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands, but he knew that it was going to be needed.
And maybe, just maybe, their crew were going to become strong enough to protect it from any greedy hands...
'... I guess I should also do that 'upgrade' now...'
The cyborg sighed as he understood just how much work he had in front of him now...
And Chopper...
He still felt a bit afraid, but he knew that he was going to be safe as long as he stood by his friends...
He had vowed to become a monster for Luffy at the end of the day.
The only way forward for him was to gain complete mastery over his Monster Point, that was what he had focused on for two years besides honing his medical knowledge and skills.h
He now did have some mastery over it when using the Rumble Balls, he no longer lost his mind while in it, which was the main thing he was striving for.
'No... I need to master that form without the Rumble Balls... If I want to be of help in the future... I can't rely on them alone.'
The little reindeer clenched his fist(hooves?) while contemplating that further, trying to think of ways he could use his devil fruit differently to unlock the Monster Point, somehow...
Robin could only sigh when looking at her crewmates. She had somewhat expected such a thing to happen.
Thankfully, she wasn't alone in explaining the situation, Enel's presence probably helped Luffy get over the shock of a lot of things much faster.
At the end of the day, Luffy respected Enel quite a lot. Not only had he saved him and Ace, he had also saved Whitebeard, someone that Luffy considered a great old man.
"Thank you for your cooperation... I'll be contacting you through this." Enel handed Luffy a transponder snail while nodding.
"It's on a private line that can't be listened into or shut down remotely... It's the only reason the Revolutionaries have been able to stay in touch with the rest of the world lately..."
Luffy just nodded, not thinking too deeply about what Enel had said, only stuffing the small snail in one of his pockets before smiling a bit.
"This is about the gist of it. The sole reason why I wanted to speak to you personally... Robin can tell you any other details in the future, she was there for the development of most of it."
Everyone looked at Robin with curious gazes when hearing the Emperor mention her.
They were becoming more and more curious about the way she had sent her time... Especially since she seemed incredibly close to what was essentially the leader of the strongest army in the world.
"Thanks, Enel!" Luffy just gave the Emperor a wide smile as he addressed him a bit more respectfully now.
The Sky King blinked a few times as he realized that Luffy had used his actual name. He decided not to dwell on it though, he had one other important thing with the straw hats...
"No problem... One last thing, Chopper..." The Emperor's head turned to the Human-Raindeer hybrid, smiling as he did so.
The reindeer seemed to jump back for a second, startled at the way he was suddenly brought into the conversation.
Everyone seemed to be just as confused, but Enel didn't leave them stir in confusion for too long.
"Thank you for your efforts in helping the revolutionaries in these times..." The Emperor slightly bowed his head to the good doctor, instantly turning the reindeer shy.
Despite all of his development, Chopper was not any better at taking compliments.
"I only need a few things from you..."
______________________
The Emperor sighed as sat on a dark cloud above the Sabaody Archipelago.
His senses scanned the depths of the sea, sensing the ship of the straw hats going farther and farther into the depths of the sea.
His reunion with Luffy was rather short-lived, interrupted by a few agents.
The Emperor still didn't want to show himself, thankfully there was no need for it.
Zoro had dispatched them all with ease, cutting through them like they were nothing at all.
Sanji also destroyed two more pacifistas to defend the ship, and Franky himself destroyed one with a laser of his own.
Brook and Robin were both on standby, but it seemed that there wasn't any need for the two of them to even get involved.
Only the Skeleton got a bit of action in the form of cutting through a laser in order to defend the ship, but that was about it.
Chopper went and gathered the items that Enel requested diligently, so he missed the entire thing.
After that, the Sky King didn't stick around for long, only giving all of them a short goodbye before they set sail.
He did give Robin one last look, and a warm smile, before vanishing, something that Nami and a few others certainly noticed.
Sanji could only seethe in jealousy, while Nami smiled deviously and skipped over to Robin to ask her for more details.
The answer she got wasn't all that spicy though... 'We're just friends... We're both too busy for anything more, I'm afraid...'
But she did pick up on the underlying message...
'So if you weren't busy you'd be going at it, huh?'
She didn't get any further response, as Robin chose to ignore that, but Sanji ended up digging his teeth into a towel out of frustration.
That at least gave Zoro an opportunity to mock him openly.
Enel obviously still observed all of their interactions as they left. He did that while making sure that there were no more agents and pacifistas left on Sabaody.
It was the Emperor's way of giving the common folk on Sabaody a few hours of peace before he departed.
Lighting bolts fell like rain onto their heads, also striking the empty streets from time to time.
'The Strawhats are already departing, the Government can suspect my presence here all they want, but I have more important things to worry about now.
They won't nuke Sabaody just from a suspicion that I was potentially here anyway.'
The Emperor sighed as he took out a map, looking over it a few times as he charted a course.
'First stop... Vegapunk's Laboratory... I need to see if he knows anything about Xebec's clones...'
The Emperor then sighed and slowly stood up from his blackened cloud mattress.
"This is going to be a long journey..." Enel breathed out a bit of steam before he vanished completely from that place.
Turning into an Electromagnetic Wave and travelling in the direction of Egghead Island at the speed of light.
He was a long way off from controlling it perfectly, but overshooting the island only for a few hundred nautical miles was already decent enough.
'I am getting better... I guess?...
Let's just hope Vegapunk has time for me... And that he isn't too closely monitored by the Elders...'
__________________________________________________________________
Hope you enjoyed today's chapter! Tho it's a bit shorter than usual.
Kinda slower lately, still getting used to a new schedule at work, don't have a lot of time to write during work lately either.
Story Shoutout! (haven't found a new one this week, didn't have much time to read): Who Says All Saints Need to be Good?
Discord, again: https://discord.gg/xQTK8caFEQ
If u want to support me look up VeganMaster on Patre_on, you'd also get 15 chapters in advance (or 10/5 depending on tier)
