The battles began the next day.
Kain said nothing. He came to Enel's room in the morning, gestured for him to follow, and took him to the battle room. The same wide hall, the dark shiny floor, the high white walls.
Kain stood in the center. Looked at Enel. Then pointed his finger.
"Attack."
Enel did not understand. "What?"
"Attack. Use your power. Everything you have."
Kain raised his hand. Pressed something on his wrist. Enel heard the same faint sound he had heard days ago. And suddenly, he felt the lightning return. Energy flowing through his body. Electricity racing in his veins.
He did not hesitate this time. Did not boast. Did not say he was a god. He raised his hands and released the lightning.
A massive blue beam shot toward Kain.
Kain raised his hand. Stopped the lightning. Redirected it. The beam veered off course, struck the wall, left a black mark on the white metal.
"Again," Kain said.
Enel released another lightning bolt. Stronger. Faster.
Kain stopped it again. With his bare hand. Easily.
"Again."
Enel released again. And again. And again.
Each time, Kain stopped the lightning. Each time, he did it effortlessly. He stood in place, unmoving, not breathing hard. The lightning scattered around his hand like water around a rock.
After an hour, Enel was exhausted. He breathed heavily. His body trembled. His power was depleted.
"Enough," Kain said. "Tomorrow."
Then he left.
The next day, the same.
Kain came. Took him to the battle room. Gestured. Enel attacked. Kain stopped. Repeated. Ended.
And the day after. And the day after. And the day after.
Weeks passed. Every day Enel fought Kain. And every day he lost. He never came close. Never touched him. Never made him take a step back. Kain was like a mountain, unmoving, untiring, showing no effort.
Enel tried something new every day. Once, he tried to surround Kain with lightning from all directions. Kain raised both hands together, spun around, and dispersed all the lightning in a moment.
Once, he tried to electrocute the floor beneath Kain's feet. Kain leaped into the air, stood on the ceiling of the hall, and looked down at Enel.
Once, he tried to use Observation Haki to predict Kain's movement. He could not. Kain was still, unmoving, giving no signal. He was like a stone.
Once, he tried to run at him at lightning speed, to strike him with a fist charged with electricity. Before he could reach, Kain's hand was on his face. He did not see the movement. Did not feel it. He found himself on the ground, looking at the ceiling, not knowing how he got there.
"How?" he asked.
Kain did not answer. Looked at him. Then left.
On the thirteenth night, Enel sat in his room, thinking. He had not progressed. He fought every day, and lost every day. He learned nothing. He did not understand how Kain did what he did.
The door knocked. Miria entered.
"Kain is happy," she said.
Enel looked at her. "Happy?"
"Yes. I have not seen him happy in a long time. You... excite him."
"I lose every day."
"That does not matter to him." Miria sat on the floor before him. "Kain does not need someone to defeat him. He needs someone to fight him."
Enel did not understand.
"Kain is our strongest fighter," Miria said. "For eight hundred years, he has found no one to challenge him. Everyone fears him. Everyone knows he is invincible. Even Selene, at her peak, feared facing him."
"So he wants..."
"He wants to fight," Miria said. "Not to train you. Not to teach you. Just to fight. Because you are the only one who came. Because you are the only one who tried. Because you..." She paused. "...because you are not afraid of him."
"I am afraid of him."
"No," Miria said. "You are afraid of defeat. You are afraid of weakness. You are not afraid of Kain. And that matters to him."
Enel was silent. He was thinking.
"Will I ever master it?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Miria said. "But Kain does not care. He just... wants to fight."
On the fifteenth day, after the daily battle, Kain did not leave immediately. He stood in the center of the hall, looking at Enel, who lay exhausted on the floor.
"Tell me about the pirates," Kain said.
Enel looked at him. He breathed heavily.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Their movements. Their methods. How they fight. How they think. How..."
He stopped.
"How what?"
"How they evolved," Kain said. "Since we left. Since eight hundred years. The world changed. People changed. Fighting changed. I want to know how."
Enel sat on the ground. He was tired, but he began to speak.
"Pirates differ," he said. "Some rely on brute strength. Big swords, big muscles, they do not think much. Some rely on tricks. Poisons, schemes, stabbing in the back. Some..." He paused.
"Some?"
"Some rely on freedom. No plan. No strategy. They just... go where the wind takes them."
"Like who?"
"Like Luffy," Enel said. His voice changed slightly. "The one who defeated me."
"Luffy," Kain repeated. "Tell me about him."
"Stupid," Enel said. "Does not think. Does not plan. Just... hits. And bites. And never gives up. Never."
"And how did he defeat me?"
"Because I... did not listen," Enel said slowly. "I thought I was a god. I thought no one could touch me. And his body was rubber. Lightning did not affect him. And I..." He stopped.
"You what?"
"I thought my power was enough. I did not evolve. Did not learn. I stayed as I was. And he... grew."
Kain was silent. He was thinking.
"There are other pirates," Enel said. "Some use Devil Fruits in ways you would not imagine. Some combine them with Haki. Some..." He paused. "Some invent new techniques. Things we have never seen before."
"Like what?"
"Like the one who stretches his body like rubber. Like the one who creates parts of his body. Like the one who..." He thought. "...who bursts into flames. Who freezes. Who disappears. Who copies himself. Every day, a new pirate appears with a new way."
Kain looked at his hands. He was thinking.
"And you?" Kain asked. "Did you invent anything?"
Enel was silent. He remembered. In Skypiea, he thought he had reached the peak. He did not try to learn more. Did not try to evolve. He was confident in his power.
"No," he said. "I invented nothing. I thought I was complete. And that was my mistake."
Kain looked at him for a long time. Then he said, "Tomorrow. We fight again."
"I know."
"But this time..." Kain paused. "Try something new."
Then he left.
On the sixteenth day, Enel tried something different.
He did not attack directly. He stood in place. Closed his eyes. Tried to use Observation Haki. Not to predict Kain's movement—that was impossible. But to feel something else. To feel the emptiness around Kain. The space he occupied. The way he moved.
Kain stood in place. Unmoving. Not breathing loudly. Giving no signal.
But Enel felt something. Not movement. It was... presence. Kain filled the room. Kain was the room. Everything around him was part of him.
He opened his eyes. Released the lightning. Not in one direction. In all directions. A web of electricity covering the entire hall.
Kain raised an eyebrow slightly. Then raised his hands. Redirected the lightning. All the web, all the beams, veered away from him. But this time, it was not easy. He had to move. He had to turn. He had to exert a small effort.
Enel did not touch him. But he made him move. Made him exert effort.
The battle stopped. Kain looked at Enel. In his eyes, Enel saw something he had never seen before. Not coldness. Not stillness. It was... satisfaction.
"Better," Kain said. "Tomorrow."
And left.
That same night, Miria came to his room. She carried a small smile.
"I heard you made him move."
"A little."
"Kain does not move. Ever. For years, I do not remember him moving in battle. Today... he moved."
"I did not touch him."
"It does not matter," Miria said. "You made him move. That is more than anyone has done in a long time."
Enel was silent. He was thinking.
"Why does he fight me?" he asked. "You said it is not to train me. He just wants to fight. Why?"
Miria looked at him. In her golden eyes, he saw something he had never seen before. Not curiosity. Not admiration. It was something else. Sadness.
"Kain was a fighter before he was a scientist," she said. "Before our kingdom fell. Before everyone died. He loved fighting. He loved challenge. He loved feeling alive."
"And now?"
"And now... no one can match him. No one dares. No one makes him feel alive. Except you."
"I lose every day."
"But you return every day," Miria said. "That is what matters to him. That you return. That you try. That you do not give up."
She stood. Looked at Enel.
"Kain is not a teacher. He does not know how to teach. But he knows how to fight. And if you keep returning... perhaps you will learn something. Not from his words. From his movements. From his fighting. From..."
She paused.
"From what?"
"From your failure," Miria said. "Failure teaches more than success. Kain knows this. That is why he returns every day. That is why... you are still here."
Then she left.
The next day, Enel returned to the battle room. He was tired. He knew he would lose. He knew Kain was far stronger than him. But he returned.
Kain stood in the center. Looked at him. In his cold eyes, Enel saw something. Not challenge. Not anticipation. It was something else. Passion.
"Today," Kain said. "Tell me about the Shandia."
Enel looked at him. "The Shandia?"
"Yes. Those who lived with you in Skypiea. Who danced the Dance of Fire. Who said the word..."
"Shandora," Enel said.
"Shandora," Kain repeated. "Tell me about them."
Enel sat on the ground. He was tired from the daily fighting. But he began to speak.
"The Shandia..." he said. "They preserved memory. They danced every night. Repeated words they did not understand. Moved their bodies in movements whose meaning they did not know."
"And what did they mean?"
"I don't know," Enel said. "But they said fire never dies. Memory never dies. Those who left... return."
Kain was silent. His face showed nothing. But his eyes burned.
"Shandora," Kain said. "An ancient word. It means..."
He stopped.
"It means what?"
Kain did not answer. He stood. Looked at Enel.
"Attack."
Enel rose. Raised his hands. This time, he did not release lightning directly. He thought. Remembered the movements of the Shandia dance. Remembered how their bodies moved. How fire danced.
He made the lightning move. Not as a straight beam. As a dance. As fire. Circles. Waves. Curves. Rising and falling.
Kain looked at the lightning. In his eyes, Enel saw something he had never seen before. Not coldness. Not stillness. It was... wonder.
Kain raised his hand. Stopped the lightning. But this time, it was not easy. He had to move more. Had to turn. Had to exert effort.
The battle stopped. Kain looked at Enel.
"Again," he said.
He did not say "tomorrow." He said "again."
Enel smiled. A small smile. Then attacked again.
And failed again.
But he returned. As he did every day. And Kain was there. Waiting. Fighting. Watching.
And in his cold eyes, there was something. Something like... passion.