Enel woke in his white room. The walls. The metal bed. The cold blue light. Everything as before. But something was different.
His soul was still trembling.
He raised his hand. No lightning. No power. The Suppression System was still active. But he was not thinking about his power now. He was thinking about that moment. Kain's hand stopping his lightning. The Haki that crushed his will.
"What was that?" he whispered to himself. "How did he deflect lightning with his bare hand? How did he make me lose consciousness?"
He remembered. In Skypiea, he knew Haki. He knew Observation Haki—they called it "Mantra." He believed he was the only one who possessed it. He believed this power made him a god. He did not know there were other types. He did not know there was Armament Haki. He did not know there was Conqueror's Haki.
"Armament Haki..." he whispered. "That was it. A power that makes the body like a shield. A power that stops lightning."
And Conqueror's Haki. The power that crushes will. That makes the strong kneel. That made him faint like a child.
"I didn't know," he said in a low voice. "I thought I was the only one. I thought I was a god. And I was..."
He did not finish the sentence. He could not.
Hours later, the door opened. Miria entered. She carried food and water. Sat on the floor before him. Said nothing. Just looked at him.
"What was that?" Enel asked. His voice was hoarse.
"What?"
"Kain. How did he stop my lightning? How did he make me faint?"
Miria looked at him. In her golden eyes, he saw something he had never seen before. Not contempt. Not pity. It was something else. Curiosity?
"Armament Haki," she said. "It makes the body like a shield. Like steel. Like diamond. Bullets do not penetrate it. Swords do not penetrate it. Lightning does not penetrate it."
"And Conqueror's Haki?"
"Conqueror's Haki," Miria said. "The power of will. The power of spirit. Those who possess it can subdue others. Make them kneel. Make them faint. Make them..." She paused. "...make them know their place."
Enel was silent. He was thinking. He was absorbing.
"I didn't know," he said. "In Skypiea, I knew Haki. We called it Mantra. Some thought it was a spiritual power. Some thought it was a gift from the gods. I... I thought I was the only god who possessed it."
"And you were wrong."
"And I was wrong," Enel repeated. "I didn't know there were other types. I didn't know there were those stronger than me."
"Now you know."
"Now I know." He looked at his hands. "How stupid. I thought I was a god. And I was just..."
He did not finish. But Miria understood.
"Ignorant," she said.
"Ignorant," he whispered.
The next day, Enel noticed something different. When he walked through the corridors—he was now allowed to walk in limited parts of the city—people looked at him. Not as a stranger. As something else.
They whispered. They pointed. They... feared? Or perhaps were curious?
One man stood before him. Middle-aged, rough face, blue eyes.
"You are the one who turns into lightning?" he asked.
"Yes."
"The one Kain defeated?"
Enel was silent. Then he said, "Yes."
The man looked at him for a long time. Then smiled. A strange smile, not mockery, not contempt.
"I have never seen anyone withstand Kain like that," he said. "Most who face him fall from the first strike. You... you endured."
"I did not endure. I fell."
"But you tried," the man said. "That is more than most do."
Then he walked away.
Enel stood in the corridor. He was thinking. "I tried. That's all. I tried. And that made them look at me... as something different."
In the evening, Miria came to his room. She carried something other than food. She carried curiosity.
"News travels fast," she said.
"What news?"
"That a stranger arrived in the city. That a stranger turns into lightning. That a stranger faced Kain. That a stranger..." She paused. "...did not die."
"That is news?"
"In our city... yes. That is news."
She sat on the floor before him.
"Kain is our strongest fighter. For eight hundred years, no one has defeated him. No one has withstood him. You... you are the first who tried."
"And I still lost."
"But you tried," Miria said. "And that matters."
Enel did not understand. In Skypiea, no one would care about trying. They only cared about results. Victory. Defeat. Power.
"Why?" he asked. "Why does trying matter?"
Miria looked at him. In her golden eyes, he saw something he had never seen before. Not curiosity. Not respect. It was something else. Perhaps... understanding?
"Because we know how hard it is," she said. "We know how much courage it takes to face Kain. We know how much willpower it takes to withstand his Haki. You did not know these things. But you tried. And that... is rare."
Enel was silent. He was thinking about her words.
"Kain..." he said. "Who is he?"
"Kain," Miria said. "He was the greatest mind in the Ancient Kingdom. He designed things your mind cannot imagine. He invented energy that powers our entire city. He was... a friend to everyone. He was... family to everyone."
"And what happened?"
"Betrayal happened," Miria said. "Everyone died. And he remained."
"That is why he is strong."
"That is why he is strong," Miria repeated. "He lost everything. And nothing remained for him but strength. And waiting."
The next day, Kain came to his room. Not as usual. He did not come to take him to the interrogation hall. He came to sit. On the floor. Before him.
"Tell me about Roger," Kain said.
Enel looked at him. "Gol D. Roger? The Pirate King?"
"The one who said his treasure was hidden. Who began the Age of Pirates."
"Yes."
"How did you learn of him?"
Enel thought. He remembered the days in Skypiea. Remembered the sailors who visited the island. Remembered the stories he heard.
"A pirate came to Skypiea," he said. "Years ago. He was searching for the Poneglyphs. For the stone manuscripts."
"A pirate?"
"Yes. He was strange. Not like others. He did not steal. Did not kill. He only searched. He read the Poneglyph. Then he wrote something. He wrote in the Poneglyph language itself."
Kain's eyes widened. "He wrote in the Poneglyph language?"
"Yes. He said he found a message. He said he... understood something."
"And what did he write?"
"I don't know," Enel said. "I did not see it. But those who saw said he cried. A strong man like him... cried. Then he left. And never returned."
Kain was silent. He was thinking. His face showed nothing, but his eyes burned.
"Roger," Kain said. "That man... did he know?"
"Know what?"
"Know the truth," Kain said. "About the Void Century. About the Ancient Kingdom. About..."
He stopped.
"About what?" Enel asked.
Kain did not answer. He stood. Looked down at Enel.
"Tomorrow," he said. "Tomorrow we begin your training."
"My training?"
"You told us about Haki. You knew some of it. But you did not know the rest. Tomorrow..." Kain looked into his eyes. "...you will learn."
Then he left.
Enel remained alone in his room. He was thinking. Roger. The Pirate King. The man who cried before the Poneglyph. The man who understood something no one else understood.
"What did you know?" Enel whispered. "What did you know, Roger?"
No one answered.
But he felt something. The same faint pulse. The lightning inside him. Still alive. Still there.
"Tomorrow," he told himself. "Tomorrow I begin to learn. Tomorrow I begin to understand what I did not understand."
He raised his hand. No lightning. No power. But he felt something. Not in his hand. In his soul.
"I am not a god," he whispered. "But I will become stronger."
He smiled in the darkness. A different smile. Not mad. Not arrogant. It was the smile of... a human.