Weeks passed. Enel could not tell how many. Time in this white room stretched endlessly. He slept. Woke. Ate. Drank. Then slept again. Nothing changed. Nothing happened.
His patience was wearing thin.
Every day, someone came to question him. Sometimes Miria. Sometimes Kain. Sometimes Selene herself. They interrogated him about Earth, about the world, about everything that had happened since they left.
"Tell us about the wars," Selene said one day.
"I don't know about wars," Enel said.
"About kings. About kingdoms. Who rules the world now?"
"The World Government," he said. "Nineteen kings founded it. Or twenty. I don't remember."
Selene looked at Kain. His face was cold, but his eyes burned.
"Nineteen," she whispered. "One of them... withdrew."
"I don't know," Enel said.
"Tell us about the pirates," Miria said another day.
"Pirates search for treasure. For One Piece. For everything."
"One Piece?"
"The great treasure. Left by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. They say whoever finds it becomes King of the Pirates."
"Gol D. Roger," Kain said. "That name... I don't know it."
"He died twenty years ago," Enel said. "Before he was executed, he said his treasure was hidden somewhere. Since then, the whole world searches for it."
"And where is it?"
"No one knows. That's the secret."
Kain was silent. He was thinking.
"Tell us about the sailors," Miria said. "About ships. About the ocean."
"The seas are vast," Enel said. "There are four main seas. East, West, North, South. And the Grand Line in the center. The most dangerous sea in the world."
"The Grand Line," Selene repeated. "They used to call it... the Road of Hell."
"It still is," Enel said. "Ships sink there every day. Sea monsters eat sailors. Currents kill anyone who approaches."
"And yet, they go."
"And yet, they go," Enel said. "Because the treasure is there."
"Tell us about the strong," Kain said. "About fighters. About those who possess extraordinary power."
"There are Devil Fruits," Enel said. "Like me. Each fruit grants a different power. Some strong. Some weak. Some..." He paused. "...some make you believe you are a god."
Kain looked at him. Said nothing.
"And there is Haki," Enel continued. "Three types. Observation. Armament. Conqueror's. Those who master it become stronger than any fruit."
"Haki," Kain said. "It still exists."
"It still exists. Few master it. But those who do..."
"What?"
"Are invincible."
Kain was silent. He looked at Selene. Selene looked at him. They exchanged a heavy glance.
"Tell us about the phenomena," Miria said. "About strange things. About anything exceptional."
Enel thought. Remembered stories he heard in Skypiea. Remembered the manuscripts. Remembered things he could not explain.
"There are ancient weapons," he said. "Three weapons of mass destruction. They say they were built centuries ago. Capable of destroying the world."
"Ancient weapons," Kain whispered.
"Pluton. Poseidon. Uranus," Enel said. "No one knows where they are. But everyone searches for them."
Kain looked at Selene. Her trembling hands rested on her staff.
"What else?" Miria asked.
"There is something else," Enel said. "Something I don't understand. In Skypiea, I heard about... Joy Boy."
Selene's face changed. Kain's face changed. Even Miria, who was always calm, showed something Enel had never seen before.
"Joy Boy," Kain said. His voice was barely audible. "What do you know about him?"
"Nothing," Enel said. "Just the name. In the Poneglyphs. In old stories. They say he existed in the Void Century. And that he... promised something."
"Promised," Selene whispered. "Promised."
"What did he promise?" Enel asked.
No one answered. Selene looked at the ground. Kain stood like a statue. Miria stared at him with unreadable eyes.
"Take him to his room," Selene said finally. "We will talk later."
The next day, Miria came to his room. But she carried no food. She carried something else. A look in her eyes he had never seen before.
"The girls," Enel said suddenly. "The three who were with me. Where are they?"
Miria looked at him. "In your ship. We took them days ago."
"Are they alright?"
"Yes. They seem..." She paused. "...of no value to you."
Enel was silent. He remembered the three girls. They feared him. They obeyed him without question. They were... nothing to him. This was true. But hearing it from someone else made him feel something strange.
"I am of no value to them either," he said. "That's why I'm here."
Miria looked at him. Said nothing.
"I'm tired," Enel said suddenly. "Tired of this room. Tired of the questions. Tired of being weak."
"That is not up to us."
"It is up to you," Enel said. "You are the ones blocking my power. You are the ones imprisoning me here. You are the ones who are afraid."
"We are not afraid."
"You are afraid," Enel said. "Afraid of what you don't know. Afraid of strangers. Afraid that I might be stronger than you. That's why you block me. That's why you imprison me. Because you know that if I regained my power..."
"What?" Miria asked.
"You would not be a match for me."
A long silence. Miria stared at him with her golden eyes. Then she stood. Left the room without a word.
Hours later, the door opened. Kain stood there. His sharp face expressionless.
"Come," he said.
Enel followed him through the corridors. This time, they were not heading to the interrogation hall. They were heading somewhere else. Somewhere wider. Somewhere different.
Kain opened a massive door. They entered a wide hall. Its walls were of the same white metal, but higher, wider. The floor was dark, shiny, like a mirror.
"What is this place?" Enel asked.
"The battle room," Kain said.
Kain stood in the center of the hall. Looked at Enel.
"You said we were afraid. You said we feared your power. You said we feared you might be stronger than us."
"Yes."
"I will show you."
Kain raised his hand. Pressed something on his wrist. A faint sound was heard, as if something had opened in the distance.
And suddenly, Enel felt something he had not felt in weeks.
The lightning.
His power returned. Not fully. Not as it was. But it was there. He felt energy flowing through his body. Felt electricity racing in his veins. Felt strength returning to his hands.
He raised his hand. Looked at his fingers. They sparkled. They ignited. They were... alive.
He laughed. His wide, mad laugh, the one he was known for.
"It's back!" he shouted. "My power is back! Here I am! Here I am again!"
He looked at Kain. The bald man stood in place, arms crossed, his face expressionless.
"You made a great mistake," Enel said. "You thought I was weak. You thought I was just a stranger. But now..." He raised his hand to the sky. Energy gathered in his palm. Blue lightning crackled, glowed, roared. "...I am a god! I will make all of you my slaves!"
He released the lightning. A massive spark, huge, destructive. It shot toward Kain like an arrow of light.
Kain raised his hand.
And did not move.
The lightning struck his hand. Light exploded everywhere. It blinded Enel for a moment. He heard thunder deafening his ears.
Then he saw.
Kain still stood. His hand extended. The lightning... the lightning scattered around his hand like water around a rock. It did not touch him. Did not hurt him. Kain was diverting the lightning with his bare hand.
"What..." Enel whispered.
Kain was not finished. He lunged at him like a shadow. Enel did not see his movement. Did not sense him. The speed was supernatural. Before Enel could react, Kain's hand was on his mouth. His other hand was on his neck.
He could not breathe. Could not move. Could not form lightning.
"How..." he tried to say. "How did I not foresee... how did you catch me..."
Kain looked at him. His cold eyes stared into his. Then something happened.
Enel felt a wave. Not physical. Not electrical. It was something else. Something he had never felt before. It pressed on his soul. It crushed his will. It made him want to surrender.
Conqueror's Haki.
He could not resist. His power was still weak. His spirit was still exhausted. His body was still healing.
His knees gave way. His will gave way. Everything gave way.
He lost consciousness.
When he woke, he was back in his white room. White walls. Cold metal bed. No windows. No furniture.
He raised his hand. No lightning. No power. The Suppression System had returned.
He sat up. Felt pain in his neck. In his mouth. In his soul.
He remembered what happened. The lightning. Kain. The hand that stopped his strongest attack. The Conqueror's Haki that crushed his will.
"What was that?" he whispered.
No one answered.
But he knew now. These people were not weak. They were not afraid. They were stronger than him. Much stronger.
And he had to learn.