One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

Enel always had a rather intimidating appearance. Typically, if he scared women or children, they would know better and quickly leave.

However, Carrot wasn't the least bit frightened. On the contrary, the sparkle of admiration in her eyes only grew brighter.

"Wow, that was amazing! So cool!" Carrot hopped a few times and landed just two meters away from Enel, her eyes filled with excitement. "Did you really create all those lightning bolts just now?"

"Of course," Enel replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Other than me, the great Thunder God, who else could summon so many lightning strikes so easily?"

"Wow! A Thunder God! That's incredible!" Carrot immediately spread her arms and said loudly, "Lord Thunder God, Karuchuu~"

Enel: "?"

Without warning, Carrot lunged toward him, trying to hug him and rub her face against his.

Just as she was about to succeed, she grabbed nothing but air.

Enel had transformed into lightning, reappearing behind her with a disdainful expression. "You think you can sneak attack me, the great Thunder God? Hmph, go to hell."

With that, Enel raised his lightning-charged hand and swung it toward Carrot.

"Hey, you big idiot, wait a second!" Kaku shouted, trying to stop him.

But before he could act, Takumi had already used Soru and appeared beside Enel, grabbing his arm mid-strike. Thanks to his unique body's immunity to electricity, he easily neutralized Enel's attack.

"Huh? What are you doing?" Enel's face twitched.

Takumi released his grip and said calmly, "She can't die yet."

Setting aside whether Carrot could be helpful for his mission on Zou, Takumi admired her courage. She could have easily escaped earlier, but she had chosen to stay and fight the bloodsucking bugs, even telling him to run.

Besides, Carrot hadn't shown any intent to harm Enel—she was just excited and filled with admiration. Killing her would be unnecessary and unwarranted.

Kaku leapt down from a nearby tree, glanced at Carrot, who was only about 1.3 meters tall, and looked back at Enel with an amused smile. "Do you have some sort of persecution complex? This little girl doesn't have a hint of killing intent. Look at her eyes—it's pure admiration. Did you really need to be so harsh?"

"Admiration?" Enel looked skeptical. He turned to Carrot. "Hey, rabbit brat, do you really admire me?"

Carrot scratched her head, still unsure what had just happened, then nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes! Lord Thunder God, you misunderstood me. It's fine, though! You seem even stronger than Pedro! Please, can you teach me?"

"Teach you?" Enel blinked, confused. "Teach you what?"

"Become my teacher, Lord Thunder God!" Carrot said expectantly. "I want to get stronger. Please teach me!"

Enel: "?"

Kaku burst out laughing. "Haha! Not bad! You've got yourself a little fan. She seems quite sincere. Why don't you take her on as a student?"

"Shut up, you long-nosed freak!" Enel glared at Kaku before turning back to Carrot with disdain. "Why would the great Thunder God teach a little rabbit brat like you? Don't bother me. Get lost before I lose my patience!"

"Don't be like that~" Carrot pouted. "I really admire you. Please, teach me, Lord Thunder God!"

Carrot bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle. "Master Thunder God, I truly want to become stronger. If you accept me as your student, I'll give you my most precious possession!"

"Your most precious possession?" Enel froze.

Kaku's eyes widened in surprise.

Takumi, on the other hand, immediately knew they were misunderstanding her.

Carrot was an innocent and straightforward girl.

Takumi could already guess what her "most precious possession" was.

Enel's face twitched as he said, "I don't mind bold, beautiful women, but… you're just a kid."

"I'm ten years old!" Carrot grinned and pulled a carrot out of her little bag, holding it up with both hands. "Master Thunder God, this is my most favorite carrot. If you accept me as your student, I'll give it to you!"

Enel: "…"

Kaku: "…"

"So… it's just a carrot." Kaku chuckled. "Well, that makes sense. Rabbits do love carrots, after all."

"Are you messing with me?!" Enel snapped. "A single carrot? Do you think I'm that cheap?"

"Huh? Is one not enough?" Carrot looked troubled. "Um… what should I do? Oh! How about I give you half of my carrot stash, Master?"

"No way!" Enel rejected her without hesitation.

Carrot pouted, her eyes filling with determination. "If half isn't enough… then how about I give you all my carrots, Master? Just leave me a few, okay?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Enel roared. "I don't want your stupid carrots!"

Startled by his outburst, Carrot took a step back, tears welling up in her eyes.

Kaku, seeing that Carrot was about to cry, thought for a moment and said, "Not everyone likes the same things. Just because you love carrots doesn't mean others do. If you really want to impress him, try giving him an apple instead."

"An apple?" Carrot's eyes lit up, her sadness instantly replaced with excitement. "Master Thunder God, you like apples? That's great! I know a place where the apples are huge and super sweet. You'll love them!"

"Hmph. You think I've never had an apple? How big and sweet could they possibly be?" Enel sneered. "If you can find me an apple bigger than a human head, I might consider taking you as my student."

"Really?" Carrot's eyes sparkled.

Enel crossed his arms. "The great Thunder God always keeps his word!"

"Yay!" Carrot cheered. "There are apples over two meters tall in Duke Inuarashi's territory. I'll go get one for you right away! Wait here, Master Thunder God!"

With that, Carrot hopped onto a nearby tree and swiftly headed toward Inuarashi's fortress.

Watching her leave with such confidence, Enel frowned in disbelief. "That rabbit must be lying. There's no way a two-meter apple exists…"

"You never know," Kaku said with a smirk. "Remember where we are—the Grand Line, where anything can happen. You've seen a thousand-year-old elephant and a giant tree. Why would a two-meter apple be so strange?"

"No way! I don't believe it!" Enel turned to Takumi. "Captain, I trust you. Tell me, is that rabbit lying?"

Takumi chuckled. "Is your Observation Haki just for show? Don't ask me such stupid questions again."