141 Family Talk and Departure

___________ POV Narration___________

Enel headed to the Sweet city to plan out his next moves as Oven sat in front of his mother, looking at her with a wary gaze.

He wasn't quite sure what Big Mom would want with him, he had made sure not to disrespect or slight her in any way. But it seemed that she still had something in her mind.

'It's never a good thing when Mother singles you out... I hope her recent changes in demeanour will lead to a better outcome for this...'

It was normal for Oven to be somewhat anxious. Their mother had even almost killed off one of their older siblings in a blind rage, stealing most of his lifespan in an instant.

Oven knew that it was unlikely to happen to him, as he had recently been raised to the rank of Sweet Commander, becoming a valuable asset to the Big Mom Pirates, but that didn't mean nothing bad could happen to him.

'Is this because I didn't bother hiding my friendship with Enel? Does she think I was betraying our family in accompanying Enel?'

Oven was in fact quite flattered that Enel trusted him enough to have him watch over his dealings with Linlin.

But it was only now that he thought about what his mother might've perceived from that situation.

"I can almost smell your fear..." Linlin said as she narrowed her large eyes at her son. Her tone was accusatory and serious, her eyes scanning over her son as her large body allowed her to tower over him.

Oven simply gulped. Immediately bowing as his voice shook. "I-I'm sorry, mother..."

"Bah! What are you sorry for?" Big Mom's voice sounded almost amused, a stark contrast to what it was a few seconds earlier, which made Oven widen his eyes in shock.

'... Was she just playing with me?'

"You should avoid looking so guilty, Oven... It will make people think that you have something to hide." Linlin shrugged a bit as she spoke, leaning into her large chair as she adjusted the hem of her pink pirate hat.

Oven was well and thoroughly flabbergasted at that point. Their mother almost never gave them any advice or showed any amount of care towards them...

The only time she did show care, was when she was faced with actual infants. Her love seemed to fade as her children grew up.

So one couldn't really blame Oven for thinking it was unnatural.

"I noticed your progress... Going from being insignificant to the third strongest in the crew in a matter of months... Training with such passion that it put all of your brothers to shame..."

Through all of his shock, Oven noticed another emotion creeping up on him... A strange sense of satisfaction.

Receiving their mother's approval was something that all of their siblings dreamed of. It was why a lot of them struggled to be useful to her.

But she was always cold and callous, which led to them mimicking her behaviour as well.

It was almost in their nature by the time they reached adulthood, cruelty and sadism were activities that all of them partook in, Oven was no stranger to them either...

So what happened? Why would his mother suddenly give him such high praise?

"You've become strong... Yet you still have room for growth." Big Mom looked down at her son, raising an eyebrow as she finally noticed his reaction.

At that point, Oven was kneeling, his fist on the ground before him as he held his head down. His body seemed to tremble.

At first, Linlin was disappointed, thinking Oven was a coward. But then she noticed some water dripping from his face, which only served to make her more confused.

"What's wro-" She was about to ask, but Oven interrupted her, throwing his head up as he shouted.

"Mother! Thank you for the praise! I am undeserving of it... Brother Katakuri deserves it the most among us..."

Oven was beyond elated, that much was clear.

It was now not that difficult for Big Mom to realise that those weren't tears of fear or sadness. Rather, they were caused by either excitement or relief.

'... To show such a strong reaction to such simple praise... I guess I never did pay much attention to their achievements, now did I?'

"Now. You can accept this praise, your big brother is also exceptional, he has long since earned my favour... Although I have rarely voiced it in the past..."

'More like, I only thought of you all as tools... So I saw no need in doing this type of thing...' Big Mom could only sigh to herself at that thought.

Oven looked up at her with stars in his eyes, weirding her out somewhat.

"Now, let us get down to business..." Big Mom said as she crossed her arms.

Oven quickly wiped his tears away, looking up at his mother with a determined expression.

'Whatever she wants of me, I shall do it! Prove that I am truly worthy of her attention.'

After seeing the look in his eyes, Big Mom simply smiled.

"Now... How good is your relationship with Enel?"

___________ POV Enel ___________

It feels... So strange?

It's almost as if I am on a cloud. It was weird having to get used to my own body once again, but it wasn't all that difficult to do.

That soul fragment certainly did its toll on me.

It wasn't just sapping my mind and energy, it was likely also affecting my thoughts to some extent...

At least I think so. It wouldn't really make much sense for me to even consider giving up on my quest.

And yet I had actually thought about doing so and not attempting to go through my deal with Big Mom.

Looking back, it's almost as if these thoughts are not my own. It was almost as if something else was whispering in my ears... Or someone, I guess.

Really, the more it tries to push me away from getting too involved in this world, the more I want to get to the bottom of this entire mystery and reveal the truth to the world...

Still, now that I am done with fixing my soul... At least done enough to be able to use Conqueror's haki properly, I now have a lot of things to do.

Besides actually starting to train my Haki and looking for advanced technique teachers, I also need to actually start studying the Poneglyphs we have already gathered...

Oh, so much work... Thankfully, I still have time. The clock is ticking though. I should try to find the Sky Island, I may have lost the eternal pose on Baltigo, but I still have a piece of Garp's Vivre Card, so that shouldn't be much of an issue.

No, for now, I need to try and find the Revolutionary Army, as well as Akainu and the rest. Pretty sure there are plenty of things to talk about with them...

I need to take them to the Sky Islands, which will become our main base from now on. I will be able to officially start my training and start studying properly when I reach it.

I also need to look for Morgans, but that might be easier said than done. I have no idea where he might've hidden from the World Government. For now, he might have to wait.

His meeting with Robin will also have to be postponed, as unfortunate as it is, the man is extremely slippery. And finding him quickly simply isn't in the cards right now.

I will seek out the Revolutionaries. I'll be leaving Cake Island soon, can't really stick around these parts much longer.

I'll give Big Mom a proper warning about IM and the World Government, but I don't have enough space on the flying islands to house everyone in her family.

I can't exactly float up Islands into the sky and rest them on the Imperial Cumulus... Well, I'm pretty sure the Sky Islands are nowhere near that gigantic fossilized cloud.

I better say goodbye to Oven at the very least. Katakuri as well, if I happen to run into him.

___________ POV Narration___________

Enel went ahead with his plan and prepared to depart the island.

Having one last short conversation with Big Mom, giving her the details of what happened at Baltigo.

It was pretty clear that she was shocked by the situation. And it was also quite clear that she was not quite fully believing Enel, but who could blame her?

In the end, she was left to think about the warnings Enel had given her, as the lightning emperor stepped out of her castle confidently.

'It feels so refreshing... Breathing in the fresh air with such a clear mind...'

"Oi, Enel!" The lightning emperor turned around, looking at Oven with a raised eyebrow.

He immediately noticed that Oven was carrying a large backpack, which made him a tad confused... Enel just assumed that Oven was also going to be off elsewhere, so he didn't question it much though.

"Oven! I was about to just drop by and tell you that I'll be off. Though you might've guessed that already..." Enel smiled a bit as he spoke not bothering with any honorifics as he tapped his metallic walking stick on the ground.

"It is quite obvious that you're about to leave... And I'll also be coming with you!" Oven tapped himself on the chest as he spoke, a confident smile spread on his face as he did so.

"What?"

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Hope you liked the chapter(bit shorter, but it's still here)

Sorry for the last few days, had tests both at work and at uni ;) I failed the one at Uni, but I passed the one at work at least.

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