Rising Star

_________ POV Narration_________

Sengoku had decided to stop the fight right there.

He couldn't help his excitement during that entire fight, especially at the end.

Enel had managed to exceed Sengoku's every expectation, the same was true for Garp, who was expecting the fight to end after a few punches.

But the two of them weren't the only ones flabbergasted by these results. Most of the other marines that bore witness to that fight were speechless. The ones that could speak were just gushing about how amazing it had looked.

Hina's calm facade also broke for a few seconds when the fight stopped, a brilliant smile spread on her lips as she looked at Enel with amazement in her gaze.

'Hina knew he was strong... But this is something else entirely.'

She hadn't seen him in action until now, she had only ever read reports of the wounds that the pirates that Enel captured.

After interrogating a few survivors she also knew that he had some type of metal manipulating devil fruit.

She wasn't all that shocked to see Enel able to turn his staff into whatever he desired, but she was shocked at the way he had applied it.

The surviving pirates that he had fought all reported that his fighting style mainly relied on keeping his distance from his enemies and attacking with his devil fruit.

It was only now that Hina realised... The pirates Enel had fought were likely simply not worth engaging, so Enel didn't even take them seriously.

Sengoku had similar thoughts to her. He knew that Enel was at least at the level of a rear admiral just going by his achievements, maybe someone better suited to fighting large groups.

But this fight managed to somewhat contradict that, showing him that Enel was already above most Vice Admirals.

And, just going by the fight he had currently witnessed, he was likely the second fastest person in the marines, Kizaru being the only one able to surpass the speed Enel has shown.

But it did make sense to Sengoku, at least somewhat. Enel was already in his twenties or even late twenties only going by his looks alone. And he had stated that he had been training for this occasion for a while now.

Garp wasn't quite pleased that the fight was stopping, but he turned off his armament haki and crossed his arms all the same.

Enel also took a natural stance as he rested his staff on the ground.

"What's this about Sengoku! Things were just going to get more interesting..." Garp said, not knowing that his enemy was actually seconds away from losing.

"I figured that there is no need to further destroy the training grounds..." Sengoku told his old friend while looking at Enel with a proud gaze.

"It's been a long time since we've had a recruit as promising as you are..." The Fleet Admiral said while stroking his beard.

Garp wanted to brag about the recruits he was training for a second, but he refrained, knowing that Enel was truly on another level compared to them.

The rest of the marines around also started cheering and clapping, any uncertainty about Enel's recruitment was gone from the minds of the people present. All of their jealousy was promptly replaced with admiration.

"To be fair, I don't know how to use Armament Haki, so I would have lost if the fight kept going," Enel said with a sigh.

He didn't need to keep something like that secret, especially since he was in the marines to learn.

Garp widened his eyes at that, Sengoku was also rather shocked.

The power and skill that Enel had displayed was not belonging to the first half of the Grand Line by any means, neither of them expected Enel to not know Armament.

Garp burst out laughing at that, even Sengoku smiled a bit.

"I guess you still have plenty left to learn, you brat!" Garp patted Enel on the back in a friendly manner.

Sengoku did decide to question Enel a bit more. "You don't seem to be a stranger to haki though, I'm guessing you at least have some knowledge about haki types, right?"

"I have mastery over Observation Haki, to the point where I can predict movements. But I've never had any formal teacher for Haki, so I mostly learned it on instinct. Armament simply didn't come to me at all..."

Sengoku's eyes widened a bit at that... Having mastery over Observation Haki to that extent was impressive, but the fact that Enel was self-taught made him a genius. An unpolished gem.

Maybe he didn't have as overwhelming a talent for Armament Haki, but he would surely learn it with them, and his observation was bound to improve to the point of future sight with some guidance.

"That's something kid! I figured you were predicting my moves in that bout!" Garp seemed just as excited as Sengoku, his old friend, but he wasn't bothering to hide it.

"Thanks, old man..." Enel said with a wry smile.

_________ POV Enel _________

It's a bit of a shame the fight had to end so prematurely. I would have lost, but I would've had some more understanding of just how powerful the Marines can get.

Garp is a legendary figure, he might not have been the one to catch Roger, but he had worked alongside the former pirate king in order to take down the strongest Pirate Crew in recent years.

I still remember reading about Rocks D. Xebec and his pirates. The man somehow had most of the current Yonkos under him.

Garp and Roger somehow managed to take down that pirate group.

I at least got to witness his physical strength, but I do know that the true power of people in this world comes from Haki. The stronger one's willpower the more damage their Armament-infused fists can do.

Well, it's better that things ended like this. I don't feel like visiting the local marine doctors for a quick checkup.

After the fight, we continued our talk back in Sengoku's office. Tsuru the Crane also decided to join us, as she became curious about me after my fight with Garp.

Garp himself was in a really good mood, the old marine has been trying to recruit promising young men for a while now. It was clear that he cared a lot about the Marines, so having a recruit as promising as myself would obviously make his mood skyrocket...

I feel a bit bad, both Sengoku and Garp seem to be accommodating and friendly. But I am here with a purpose. I won't be staying for long, a few months at most.

All until the War, where I will be technically betraying the trust they are putting in me.

I need to get a lot stronger if I want to face their rage after such a betrayal.

The one I'll feel the worst about betraying is Garp. The second we got back to Sengoku's office he started giving me advice on how to train my Armament Haki.

Now, advice from someone like him might as well be more valuable than gold. The old guy isn't holding back on the details at all.

Something he said also gives me a bit of perspective on the level I've reached.

"I would give you some pointers on Observation Haki, but if you can predict your opponent's movements then you're already on the right track, I have yet to reach any state of future sight, but my talent with Observation isn't very great."

I may have slightly underestimated my Observation Haki. I thought I was maybe a bit above average, at best, with only my range being enhanced by my Devil fruit.

But I guess the old Enel must've had some inborn talent with Observation Haki even before he had a Devil Fruit. Otherwise, I can't really explain how he got this much mastery over it with barely any training... Well, I guess he was using it constantly, so he did train it...

I've already received my Marine Coat, it hasn't even been a day, and I already have a justice coat draped on my shoulders.

I guess my fight with Garp must've left an impression on anyone that was present at Marineford.

Right now, I was given a room inside Marinford. This will serve as my permanent residence while I train daily for the next few weeks.

With Garp's help and guidance, I'll be able to gain some understanding of Armament Haki in a very short time. At least that's what I hope.

Sengoku also instantly gave me the manuals for the six powers. He said that usually they would be bought by each individual recruit using their respective contributions.

But he said that my contributions are already numerous, and my advancement was a bit too sudden, so I had to gain mastery of some techniques quickly.

Apparently, there is some unwritten rule about Rear Admirals having to have some mastery over at least two of the six powers, otherwise, they would be considered just honorary Rear Admirals.

Sengoku wants to solidify my position even further, so that's why he gave me all of the techniques at once, probably thinking that I'd find which suited me best faster this way.

Well... Now I have a lot of work to do. Better get to training.

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Hope you liked the chapter! Not much else to say today, just kinda feeling out of it for a bit.

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