Chapter 2: Enzo and the Whitebeard Pirates!
Moby Dick
If it was anywhere Enzo expected to be, it was definitely not on the ship of the Whitebeard Pirates. Why on earth would he be on the ship of a Yonko?
He had absolutely no idea what to do right now. After all, what should he do when he was on the ship of one of the most feared pirates? Not to mention that the Second Division commander was snoring away in the bed next to his.
Calm down, Enzo. You're a tactician. Think.
As Enzo took deep breaths to calm himself down, he found himself being able to think more clearly. He then began to start thinking logically.
One, he was on the ship of the Whitebeard Pirates. Two, Fire Fist Ace was sleeping next to him. Three, he somehow had to escape this ship without being caught.
From what he knew about the Moby Dick from his time with the Guild, it was a really huge ship housing a really huge crew. To get off the ship without anyone noticing would be close to impossible. Moving in the morning was a no-go. He would be sighted and caught faster than you could say "Whitebeard!"
There was just one problem. He did not know the time. Was it morning, or was it in the wee hours of the morning? Unfortunately, he did not know if the infirmary switched off their bright lights at night, as it was on during the two times which he woke up. And even if he managed to sneak out of the infirmary at night, the commanders would sense him immediately.
No matter how good of a tactician he was, it was hard for him to come up with a solid plan that could get past master Observation Haki users. They would sense his presence snooping around and would swoop onto him, leaving him no means of escape. No matter how hard he thought, he was unable to come up with an idea to get him out of this predicament. And that pounding headache definitely did not help either.
Enzo felt much better, though he was still a little woozy due to the sedatives. He realised that most of the cuts on his body have healed miraculously, leaving a tiny just a tiny red line in its wake. All except two. The two deepest cuts from his elbow to his wrists were still there, though expertly stitched up.
They were visible for all to see, and it was becoming more and more likely that they would be permanent scars. Guess one has to be content with getting away from the Guild alive…
Sitting around won't do any good, Enzo decided. He cracked a small smile as he remembered a certain piece of advice that was given to him a long time ago, "When nothing comes to mind, just go for it."
Enzo crept out of bed as quietly as possible. The rhythmic snorings of Ace were in sync with every footstep Enzo took towards the door. As Enzo neared the door, a grin appeared as he realised that he might actually do this.
Enzo placed a hand on the doorknob, ready to swing the door op- "Oi, off so soon already?"
Enzo's blood ran cold. The grin he had on his face was wiped off instantly when he heard the voice behind him. He stood frozen, with one hand still on the doorknob.
Turn behind? Or make a run for it? Facing the Second Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates was definitely not something he wanted to do. Not now, not ever.
3… 2… 1… Enzo twisted the knob as fast as he could as he dashed out into an unknown corridor. He dashed into a random direction as fast as he could. He observed many different wooden doors around him, while the corridors twisted and turned like a maze.
Many of the crewmembers stared at him while he ran past them. After all, who would expect a sixteen year old unknown teen running around the ship, with the Second Division commander hot on his heels?
"Wait up!" Ace yelled as he continued to chase Enzo around the ship. Enzo paid no heed to Ace as he continued to run in random directions, following the route where there were most people as it most probably led to open space. Surprisingly, although everyone they passed looked at them, no one tried to even stop Enzo.
Enzo's heart lifted as he saw light and an exit onto the deck of the ship. Once he got there, he could maybe get a lifeboat and row away. He could maybe jump into the ocean and swim away. Oh wait… he had a Devil Fruit now. Scratch that. Or maybe he could get caught.
Which was exactly what happened. As he turned into the deck of the ship, he crashed hard into a man. As Enzo rubbed his sore temple, he looked up and observed who it was. He saw a man wearing an open purple jacket and grey long pants. A blue sash was tied around his waist, while his chest had a tattoo of the Whitebeard Pirates logo silhouette. His most defining feature was his blond hair which kind of looked like a pineapple (which Enzo would laugh at had the man not been standing so tall in front of him), and his narrow eyes were staring down at him. An eyebrow was raised as the man cocked his head to one side, as if he was trying to get what was happening. The man was none other than the commander of the First Division, Marco the Phoenix.
Enzo's heart was in his mouth as he stared up at the intimidating Marco. As Marco reached out a hand towards him, Enzo shut his eyes tightly, fearing for the worst. Instead, he felt a strong grip on his arm yanking him up, before feeling a firm pat on his back.
Enzo's eyes opened in surprise, and saw the grinning face of Marco staring back at him.
"Yo, finally awake eh?" smiled Marco.
By then, Ace had caught up to them, and clasped a hand on Enzo's back too.
"Boy, don't you run fast. I was trying to ask if you were hungry, there's no need to run away like I'm gonna bite," Ace chuckled.
Enzo stared at the scene before him with confusion. This… wasn't how it was supposed to be. When he was in the Guild, the Yonkos were portrayed as merciless and bloodthirsty, with a ruthless crew following them. He had never heard of the Whitebeard Pirates being so amiable before.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" probed Ace.
"Boy's probably hungry, bring him to the dining hall," said Marco.
Ace wrapped an arm around Enzo and began to drag him to the dining hall. The Second Division commander tried to strike up a conversation along the way, however Enzo remained quiet, still conflicted on the inside.
As they reached the dining hall, Enzo saw another familiar person inside. The man had a brown pompadour hairstyle, and had a black goatee around his chin. There was a scar running down his left eye, and he had a friendly gaze. He was dressed in a posh uniform, with calf-long pants and brown shoes. The man was Thatch, Fourth Division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.
Thatch was currently munching on some takoyaki for an afternoon snack, and raised up a hand at Ace when they entered.
"Oi, Thatch. Our newcomer here is hungry, go fix him something. While you're at it, might as well make me something too," Ace said.
"What a glutton…" muttered Thatch as he complied.
"Says the one who is having takoyaki at such a random time," retorted Ace.
As Thatch went to whip something up, Ace brought Enzo to a dining table and sat down beside him. The dining hall was huge, and it was occupied by three long dining tables. It was able to fit the whole of the crew at once, and everyone would have their three meals at the same time. Of course, there were some crewmembers who would come here at odd timings and request for food, and they were never denied.
"That was Thatch, the main cook for our ship. He has a team of cooks under him but food made by him are the best on the ship. He is also insanely strong, being the Fourth Division commander," Ace explained.
As Thatch returned, he held in his hands two sumptuous bowl of curry rice, piping hot and emitting a mouth-watering smell. He placed the two bowls in front of Enzo and Ace, and invited them to have a try.
Ace required no invitation as he hastily dug into the food, shoveling mouths of hot curry into his mouth, unbothered by the heat. Enzo, on the other hand, stared suspiciously at the food and did not touch it, even though he was ravenous.
"What's wrong? I didn't poison it, you know, or else fireball there would have dropped dead by now," laughed Thatch.
Ace stopped just for a moment to flip Thatch the bird, before digging back into his food. Enzo stared at the food longingly, his stomach grumbling. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try…
As Enzo dug in, he scooped a small portion of curry and rice and put it in his mouth. His eyes widened as it has been so long since he had something this good. The taste was, in simple words, like heaven. It reminded him of home, very long ago, before he even joined the Guild. Enzo hesitated no more. He ate faster with every bite he took, and soon, his eating speed matched Ace, ravenously wolfing down the delicious meal.
As Thatch and Ace watched, they both gave warm smiles at this young teen who had begun to open himself up.
"So, what's your name?" Thatch asked, attempting to strike up a conversation.
Enzo stopped eating midway. He had learnt not to easily trust people, and not to reveal any information that could potentially be used against him. But these people seem nice enough… Enzo contemplated telling them whatever they wanted to know. But he still did not know if he trusted them enough…
"Enzo," Enzo said simply.
"Oooo… Enzo, eh? That's a nice name!" complimented Ace.
"Where are you from?" questioned Thatch.
Enzo's eyes immediately narrowed, and he put down the spoon in his hands. An air of menace rose around him, which was not gone unnoticed by the two commanders.
"Whoa, whoa," Ace began as he raised both arms up, "If you don't wanna share about it, it's fine. Don't need to go all psycho on us here."
Enzo took a deep breath and calmed down. The aura around him dissipated immediately. "Sorry," he mumbled.
A silence hung in the air while Ace and Thatch surveyed Enzo. Then, all of a sudden, they both burst out laughing, while patting Enzo on the back. "BAHAHAHAHAHA! You don't need to be so courteous around us!"
Enzo looked up in confusion, not knowing what they were laughing at. However, a growing feeling of happiness was growing in his heart. Even though he had no idea what was causing it, his heart began to feel warm. The happiness spread throughout his body, and before he knew it, "KEHAHAHAHAHA!"
Ace and Thatch both froze, looking at him for a moment, before they continued laughing, patting his back once again. This time, Enzo patted them back, and they were laughing their hearts out in the dining hall. Even though they did not know each other very well, even though they had been with each other for less than a day, what people saw in the dining hall were three brothers laughing contentedly, their bond stronger than anything in the world.
A/N: Welcome back everyone! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I mainly wanted it to be a development chapter between Enzo and the commanders. In the next chapter, we'll be exploring more of Enzo's Devil Fruit. And a shocking revelation will come to light! So look out for that! Anyways, if you enjoyed the story, leave a review or PM me to let me know about it! It'll help greatly! Bye!