Chapter 32: Reasoning and Wait
_________ POV Narration_________
"Hahaha! I can't believe that brat is scamming us like this!" Garp laughed as he slapped his knee in joy.
"I wouldn't call it a scam... He did bring down many pirates, he is at least deserving to be rewarded. I can't promote him again, but since he just asked for some materials urgently, I can provide them..."
Sengoku said as he took off his cap and looked out the window, the concern in his gaze was evident.
"I don't get it, Sengoku... Why are you sending him if you are so concerned about it?" Garp asked to the side, looking at his old friend with a strange smile on his face.
The Fleet Admiral himself looked a bit annoyed by the whole situation.
"You don't get it, Garp. I am not concerned for him, he can take care of himself... I am more concerned about the possibility of a war occurring..." Sengoku took a sip of his coffee as his pigeon sat on his hat and looked at Garp.
"Sakazuki, that brat, he really doesn't like that you chose to not keep that pirate captive, we are supposed to be the authority on the seas, backing down like this might make others look down on us..." Garp said as he crossed his arms a bit.
"Starting a war right now won't benefit any side. The World Government also wants to avoid it, so it really can't be helped." Sengoku said, plenty of frustration etched in his tone.
"Is that why you didn't send someone like Sakazuki there? Well, good choice. I doubt Enel would be one to start a war..."
"Indeed, but I am rather concerned that the Big Mom Pirates would be the ones to attack in this case...
Under better circumstances, I would've told one of the other Admirals to deal with this, as the possibility of them being attacked is extremely low..." Sengoku said as he rubbed his temple in frustration.
"Kizaru and Aokiji are both away on missions, one of them is hard to get in touch with and the other is with the celestial dragons, so neither is currently available..."
"I doubt the Big Mom pirates want war anyway! LinLin isn't exactly known to be too affectionate towards her children." Garp scoffed as he took out a packet of rice crackers.
"This isn't about affection, Garp. This is about pride. Big Mom will most likely act out because we stepped on her toes by capturing Oven, his state is also not that great, he had to be treated by our best doctors already..."
"It's more about how much both sides are willing to lose due to their pride. If an Admiral went, then they wouldn't act up directly, at least. But if anyone with less strength is going, they might return with a few missing limbs..." Sengoku said as he took out a few files to look through them.
"Heh! Sure. I doubt Enel of all people would get himself in that situation. And even if a fight was gonna break up, he can always retreat with his flying ship." Garp had absolute confidence in Enel's abilities at this point, especially after the large 'harvest' he had brought them.
Around 10 billion Beli worth of bounties, 5 billion more than Akainu, and all were collected within 3 weeks.
It showed that Enel was not only capable of navigating through the sea unhindered, but also that the speed of his vessel was nothing to scoff at.
His ship must've flown above all of the storms, which meant that he had been finding pirates using his Observation Haki constantly.
This also meant that he was completely unaffected by the weather of the Grand Line, to the point where Enel might as well have been travelling one of the 4 regular seas.
This was a huge blessing, as there had been reports of huge tsunamis wiping out both pirate crews and marine ships in the Area where Enel had been active, which had also made Akainu return to base a bit earlier than expected.
"As I said. I'm not worried about him not escaping, I'm worried about the Big Mom Pirates not letting this matter go and starting to attack nearby Marine Bases."
"That can't be helped really... Pirates will be pirates..." Garp said as he scowled at the thought of so many marines dying for such a stupid mistake.
"Indeed. And we are the marines. If the Big Mom Pirates insist on completely shifting the balance of the world then we aren't scared to face them. It won't be pretty, but we must do our jobs regardless..."
Sengoku was placed in a rather uncomfortable position, he could only hope that Enel would be able to carry out the task without any issues...
While the two old men were contemplating life, the halls of Marineford were rather lively, as Enel made his way there with a smile on his face... At least until he finally decided to acknowledge the people following him...
"Ok, so it's of my understanding that my mission is more akin to a punishment... So why exactly are you two following me?" Enel said as he scratched the back of his head.
Behind him trailed two people, one of them being Momonga, a marine Vice Admiral that somewhat admired Enel's achievements, and Hina, who was currently recently promoted to the rank of Commodore.
"I am merely here to make sure that your departure is smooth, and I also want to give you some advice regarding the Big Mom Pirates, just to make sure that you are prepared for everything that might come your way."
Momonga said as he crossed his arms, he was rather displeased that Enel had ignored him and Hina for their the entire time they had been strolling the halls, but it couldn't really be helped as he had also not voiced his intentions.
He was used to people with lower rankings at least saluting him, that was when he wanted to speak to Enel. But that never happened...
He didn't want to appear forceful either, so he ended up awkwardly following the Rear Admiral around because he didn't really know what to do.
"That's nice, thanks Momonga... What about you, Hina?" Enel asked with an odd smile on his face. He remembered Sengoku mentioning something about Hina being in his room, but was rather unwilling to bring up the subject with her directly.
"Hina wants to come with you!" The pink-haired woman crossed her arms as a scowl rose to her face.
She was rather displeased that Enel was being sent alone to deal with the Big Mom Pirates, she knew Enel could take care of himself as well, but she also felt quite concerned for him.
"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen..." Enel said as he tilted his head to the side a bit, looking at Momonga and Hina with a bit of appreciation.
"B-But-" Hina was about to protest, but Momonga stopped her.
"Commodore Hina, I understand that your friendship with Rear Admiral Enel is making you worry about him, but I assure you that Fleet Admiral Sengoku would never have sent Enel on this mission had he thought he would be unable to finish it properly."
Momonga was extremely straightforward in his beliefs, and he didn't for once consider that Enel was going to have trouble returning from this mission.
He was a fiercely loyal person, he didn't question Sengoku's decisions for one bit, and he also knew that Enel had shown enough merit to be promoted to Vice Admiral already.
The only reason a promotion wasn't going to happen anytime soon was that Enel's addition to the marines was rather sudden. He didn't have all of the training necessary to go any further than an honorary Rear Admiral rank.
This was because he still had to go through a few classes to teach him how to lead his marine ship properly. Enel had been constantly postponing that though, as he didn't see any use in those classes.
"Momonga, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but the truth is that this mission is still plenty dangerous. Alone, nothing will be able to stop me from escaping, but I am unsure if I can protect someone else at the same time..." Enel said as he shook his head a bit.
Hina's mood instantly plummeted with those words. She disliked the thought that she would be somehow inconveniencing Enel in his mission.
Both Momonga and Enel noticed her mood reaching rock bottom.
The Vice-Admiral simply took a few steps away awkwardly, not wanting to intrude on what he thought was likely something personal for the other two.
Enel heaved a sigh in frustration as he wondered about how the people he was interacting with would react to his eventual 'betrayal'.
"Hina, I know that you are strong. But I wouldn't say you are strong enough to face something like the Big Mom Crew yet."
Hina looked up at Enel with sadness in her gaze, but she couldn't exactly deny his words, she truly had no place in a conflict with pirates of that level... At least not as she was right now.
"You can take this time to train a bit, and you can join me in my next mission, how does that sound?"
Enel was quick to placate her, though he was well aware that this was likely going to be his last mission with the marines.
In a sense, he could've left already, he had gained training in Armament Haki, and he had all of the manuals for the 6 powers. But he still wanted to be there for the War, and he felt like doing one last mission for the marines.
Enel was not an ungrateful person, dealing with the Big Mom Pirates would be his way of thanking the marines for the help they had given him.
'Soon, the war of the best will take place. I will take advantage of this journey and train constantly, I should have enough time to brush up on all of the 6 powers...'
After that Hina simply nodded and said her goodbyes, she didn't stick around any longer, likely going right back to start training without Enel.
"I'm glad you were able to convince her, Rear Admiral Enel..." Momonga had still not left though.
"... Yeah," Enel said as he wondered how he was going to transport his prisoner.
"Sir Enel, If I may. The Big Mom Pirates are a ruthless bunch, much like the majority of other Pirates... If you can, I recommend simply dropping off Oven at the shore on one of their islands and retreating back to Marineford."
Momonga said as he stroked his beard for a second.
He knew that Enel was strong, and he was obviously confident in Sengoku's choice, but he also didn't want to see the new rising star of the marines get hurt for no reason.
"I appreciate the advice, Momonga. I will likely take my leave in a few days time... First I need to collect some things that I requested from the Base, then I will be able to transport the prisoner without any issues."
Enel said as he nodded his head in appreciation.
"Very well, I wish you good luck, Enel. Since you are leaving soon, I will send proper descriptions of Big Mom's Crew and their known abilities to your quarters... It's better to be prepared for anything."
Momonga also nodded, and then he took his leave.
Enel gave one last smile before his face returned to being neutral, as he was left to his own devices.
'I can't wait for them to bring it over... Seastone is a material that I didn't think I'd get my hands on any time soon... I guess things are looking up.'
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