Before all the members of the Nightfall Pirates, silent gazes followed Enel's every step.
As the two sides drew closer, Enel's nerves tightened again. The main reason was the terrifying aura surrounding these Blue Sea people. The closer he got, the stronger the feeling became, as if he were walking straight toward hell.
Yet he had already come this far. There was no retreat.
The distance was short and the time brief, but in Enel's heart, it stretched endlessly, slow and torturous.
When he finally stopped in front of Teach, Enel instinctively knew he was their leader. Teach stood at the center, calm and unmoving, like the eye of a storm.
The rest of the crew watched Enel approach for no clear reason, then glanced at their captain. Since Teach said nothing, they remained silent as well, simply observing.
"Kid, what do you want?" Wallace crossed his arms and looked down at Enel. It was obvious the boy was struggling internally, weighed down by their presence.
Wallace's voice snapped Enel back to reality. Cold sweat broke out across his back.
He had zoned out.
The pressure from the Nightfall Pirates was overwhelming. The closer he stood to them, the heavier it became. After the recent battle, an invisible killing intent still lingered around them, and the mangled corpses nearby only made it worse.
Some of that pressure came from Enel himself. Doubt gnawed at his mind, threatening to drive him mad.
Why would these Blue Sea people agree to anything he asked?
What right did he have to ask them at all?
Teach and the others remained silent, watching him closely, curious to see what he would do.
Enel clenched his teeth. A spark of resolve flared in his eyes.
He was tired of being weak.
That was why he was here. This was a gamble.
Facing Wallace, Enel suddenly dropped to his knees.
"Please let me join you!" he shouted, his head pressed to the ground. "I want to become stronger!"
This was his chance, and he could not let it slip away.
"Just let me get on board. I'll do anything. Please give me a chance."
Enel wanted to sail with these Blue Sea pirates. He was certain they knew how to grow stronger, how to train, how to survive in this cruel world.
Only by following them could he become powerful.
His attitude was unmistakably sincere.
The air seemed to thicken, not with anger, but with surprise.
This bandaged young man had come alone to ask to join the Nightfall Pirates.
They had no authority to decide such a thing. Only Captain Teach could.
Even so, Enel was the first person bold enough to stand before the entire crew and make such a request. That alone took remarkable courage.
Some of the crew quietly acknowledged it. With that level of nerve, this boy was unlikely to remain ordinary.
Teach smiled faintly as he studied Enel.
Enel did not dare to meet his gaze. It felt as if Teach could see straight through him, stripping him bare. The sensation was deeply unsettling.
For a moment, Teach was reminded of himself seven years ago, standing alone before the Whitebeard Pirates. He had been nervous too, but far more confident, because he understood Whitebeard.
Compared to that, Enel was bearing far greater pressure, relying on nothing but belief.
That alone was enough to satisfy Teach.
Enel's talent was not bad either. During his short fight with Luffy, he had shown sharp combat instincts and the ability to quickly analyze an opponent's weaknesses.
He was not arrogant or conceited. At this level, Teach could tell at a glance. The eyes truly were windows to the soul.
Besides, Teach had already considered recruiting him. Why refuse someone who could become a future cadre?
He had not expected Enel to come to him voluntarily. That made things even better. No searching, no coercion. Forcing someone like this would only breed trouble.
"I agree," Teach said calmly. "But before that, you must pass Wallace's test. Only then can you join the Nightfall Pirates as a trainee. To become a full member, you must possess true strength."
He paused, then added, "This is only an opportunity. Fail the test, and you leave. We have no need for weaklings."
Teach turned his head toward Wallace. Wallace nodded at once, understanding his meaning.
He was already responsible for such matters, and he also recognized Teach's special intent.
Normally, the Nightfall Pirates followed a simple rule when recruiting. Strength came first. If someone was strong enough, they became a full member.
If their strength fell short, there was still a chance, provided they had potential. Age and current ability were important factors. There was no fixed evaluation, usually just a fight with one of the crew to gauge their level.
Most of the time, Teach would not even involve himself.
This time was different.
Teach had spoken at length and arranged a special assessment. That alone meant he valued Enel's potential.
The test was almost a formality. Anyone personally acknowledged by Teach usually grew into a cadre-level figure.
Even so, observation still mattered.
Courage was already evident. The rest would be revealed in combat.
Some of the crew were already cracking their knuckles, grinning as they looked at Enel. A chill ran through his body, and he trembled despite himself.
What could be more satisfying than beating a future cadre before he grew strong?
Clemence and Daz Bonez were clear examples of future cadres. Clemence was only fifteen, yet with his talent, relentless training, and the Muscle-Muscle Fruit, few could match him outside the cadre ranks.
For him, becoming a cadre was only a matter of time.
A fifteen-year-old cadre sounded absurd, but then there were Pito and Kaguya, who were even younger.
Pito had sailed the seas alongside their captain since early on and had even spent two years aboard a legendary ship.
Kaguya was even more terrifying. In combat, he had never lost. Against stronger enemies, he could sometimes turn the tables and kill them instead.
At only thirteen, his Bone-Bone Fruit, like Clemence's Muscle-Muscle Fruit, enhanced the entire body. Muscles or bones, either way, the Devil Fruit transformed the user into a superhuman.
Both were full-body Paramecia types, not localized abilities.
Their reinforced physiques compensated completely for their age, and then some.
Steel-like defense.
Clemence's hardened muscles. Kaguya's unyielding bones.
Crew members who had once beaten Clemence never stopped bragging about it. Anyone who could become a cadre would be a legend someday, and those victories would be lifelong bragging rights.
Because of that, Daz Bonez attracted constant challenges as well. People wanted to teach him a lesson before he fully matured.
Even so, Daz Bonez was no easy target. The Dice-Dice Fruit gave him lethal cutting power, paired with a body as tough as steel. At this level, he was nearly unbeatable.
Only elite members who had mastered Armament Haki or Observation Haki could reliably defeat him.
Those battles only made him stronger. His growth accelerated, and beating him became harder by the day.
This mentality spread through the ship. Defeat potential monsters early, and earn the right to boast later.
Now, many eyes turned toward Enel.
Compared to Daz Bonez and Clemence, he seemed far easier to handle. Steel-like defenses alone filtered out countless challengers.
As for Enel himself, aside from a few exceptions, the children of the Nightfall Pirates were still limited by age, despite a year of brutal training. Not everyone could be like Pito, or possess body-enhancing abilities like Clemence and Kaguya.
Even Daz Bonez was still constrained by his body, building foundations for a future breakthrough.
"Really?" Enel looked up in disbelief.
He had not expected the leader to agree so easily. Just standing near Teach made his chest feel heavy.
This invisible pressure was the aura of a true powerhouse. Some things never needed to be shown. Like Whitebeard, merely sitting there was enough to make weaklings abandon any thought of attacking.
It was instinctive fear.
When the gap in strength reached a certain point, the difference in life itself became apparent, even if everyone was still technically mortal.
The clearest sign of such a transformation was lifespan. Not decades, but centuries, even millennia.
Teach's thoughts drifted briefly.
He could never understand Crocodile.
The man had tried to assassinate Whitebeard alone. The result was predictable. Whitebeard was enraged, Crocodile lost an arm, his crew was annihilated, and he fled back to the first half of the Grand Line.
Later, he even tried to kill Whitebeard using an ancient weapon.
A weapon was only as terrifying as the one who wielded it.
The power to destroy an island in a single shot sounded shocking, but plenty of people in the New World could achieve the same result by other means.
Everyone knew Pluton was a massive battleship. That alone imposed limits. Cannon fire could be dodged. Ships required crews. Kill the operators, and the threat vanished.
There were countless people capable of defeating Crocodile. Once he fell, ownership of Pluton would naturally change.
Now Crocodile had vanished. No one knew where he was or what he was planning.
After the Great Pirate Era began, he had charged into the New World, aiming straight for the title of strongest. His entire crew was wiped out, and after losing an arm, he disappeared.
Many kept an eye on that incident. Crocodile had been one of the more notable pirates of the new era.
Teach and the Nightfall Pirates were the same.
They were already a dominant crew. Moria's Gecko Pirates lurked in the New World, while the Nightfall Pirates had openly displayed their strength, placing themselves on the brink of true dominance.
Dracule Mihawk roamed the world, challenging powerful swordsmen and other monsters alike.
Donquixote Doflamingo controlled the entire underworld of the North Blue.
Douglas Bullet, a monster from the previous era, was still young. After leaving the Roger Pirates, he formed his own force and was counted among the pirates of the new era.
Everyone knew of the rapidly expanding organization in the New World.
The Brotherhood.
Its leader was Devil's Heir, Douglas Bullet, one of the strongest men alive.
Rather than partners, the Brotherhood was a gathering of those who admired Bullet's strength, recognized his future, and needed his influence.
Thus, the Brotherhood was born.
For Bullet and its members, it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Bullet believed in absolute individual strength. He wanted to stand alone at the top.
That did not mean he rejected subordinates.
He was not foolish.
This organization handled everything for him. Information, supplies, preparation. Whatever he needed, the Brotherhood provided it.
All he had to do was grow stronger.