Raijin Island, a small island in the first half of the New World, is constantly shrouded in thunderstorms. Lightning strikes torment everything on the island at every moment.
Upon setting foot on Raijin Island, Leno noticed that almost every person walking around on the island carried an umbrella, and the raging lightning overhead didn't affect the people underneath.
"Hey, newcomer, an umbrella for 1,000 Berries. With this, you won't have to fear the thunderstorms above your head," a bald man offered while holding up an umbrella.
"1,000 Berries for an umbrella?! That's daylight robbery," Leno muttered. He wasn't short on cash, but this was outrageous — back in Cocoyasi Village, even the fanciest umbrella cost barely 10 Berries.
"Don't underestimate this umbrella. It's made from a special material unique to Raijin Island. It's lightning-proof! Just that alone is worth the price," the bald man insisted confidently.
After some haggling, Leno bought one for 500 Berries and continued forward. Before long, a small town appeared ahead.
Towering pillars surrounded the town, holding up a dome-like barrier that shielded it completely from the falling lightning. People bustled about inside, entirely unaffected by the storm outside. Leno clicked his tongue in admiration.
Entering the town, he folded his umbrella and walked toward the center, stepping into a small diner.
He walked into the town and put away his umbrella. He strode toward the town center and entered a small restaurant. While the owner was serving his food, Leno asked, "Boss, your town is quite unique. Does that thing over your heads really protect you from lightning?"
"Oh, guest, you must be new here. That's our island's unique insulating material. In the past, we didn't have this. Then, someone discovered this material and organized everyone to collect and use it," the owner said. "Before we discovered this material, we had a terrible life. We couldn't even leave our homes for most of the year, unlike now."
"Truly, as the old saying goes: 'Where venomous snakes dwell, the antidote is within seven steps.' How apt," Leno remarked with a smile.
That night, he rented a courtyard house to rest.
The next day, after asking around, he learned that the mountain outside the town was the place where lightning struck the densest. He recalled how when Akainu and Aokiji fought, they permanently altered the terrain and climate of the battlefield.
Leno suspected Raijin Island might be a remnant climate phenomenon left behind by a previous Rumble-Rumble Fruit user who had reached the awakening stage. After all, Punk Hazard became half-frozen, half-flaming after the Admirals' battle.
Reaching the mountaintop, Leno immediately assumed his Amaru Form "Thunder God". Bathed in the downpour of lightning, he found that his body in this form slowly absorbed the surrounding electricity.
Activating Observation Haki, he sensed all the lightning converging toward him. The more he drew in, the thicker the crackling became, until finally a massive column of blue-violet lightning engulfed the peak.
"Look over there! What's happening on that mountain? I've never seen lightning that thick!" a villager cried out.
More villagers began noticing, pointing at the massive gathering of lightning.
Eventually, it formed a blinding pillar of purplish-blue light, connecting heaven and earth like a colossal spear that illuminated half the sky.
At first, people gossiped about the spectacle. But when nothing else happened except that the island's lightning slowly diminished, their worry faded. As time went on, they gradually got used to the sight of the giant light pillar, barely sparing it a glance after a few days.
One day, a villager suddenly shouted, "Eh? Hey! Where's the lightning? Why's it gone?!"
His voice drew others' attention, and soon, everyone noticed — the lightning that had ravaged the island for centuries had disappeared. Their gazes turned to the light pillar, which was now visibly shrinking until it vanished.
They stood dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Then, with a deafening boom, a colossal bloom of lightning exploded where the pillar had vanished. Electricity surged across the island and even beyond, denser and fiercer than ever before. Thankfully, the town's insulating material held, or it would have been destroyed.
The people sighed in relief as their eyes instinctively turned back to the mountain peak.
There, Leno slowly rose from his meditative pose, clenched his fists, and smiled with exhilaration.
His Rumble-Rumble Fruit had awakened. The moment he absorbed the last lightning, enlightenment flooded his mind. He was lightning, and lightning was him.
With a mere thought, he could shape an eternal thunder domain, split into countless forms, and create all things from lightning.
He vanished from the peak, and at the town's entrance, a bolt of lightning struck down—only to reveal his figure landing gently on the ground.
Back in town, he ate and then collapsed into bed, utterly drained.
Two days later, refreshed, he returned to the same diner.
"Hey, boss, why don't I see any pirates around this town?" Leno asked curiously.
"There are, just not often. Many rookie pirates make this their first stop in the New World. But because this place is a gateway, the Marines maintain a strong presence. Most pirates just resupply here and move on. So, you rarely see any causing trouble."
"I see," Leno nodded.
Leaving the diner, he went back to the mountain and assumed his "little dragon man" form, covering himself entirely in Armament Haki while letting lightning strike him.
Leno's idea was a good one: to use lightning to temper his body. The lightning felt like a slight tingle at first with his Armament Haki, but as time went on, the Haki slowly faded, and the crackling sounds were accompanied by the smell of roasting flesh. In just a moment, his entire body was scorched. Then, the granulation tissue under the charred skin slowly wriggled and grew new skin and flesh. The powerful self-healing ability of the Mythical Zoan was on full display. He endured the torment of constant destruction and regrow, and his physique slowly grew stronger. The abilities of his Mythical Zoan "Azure" Dragon Fruit were also slowly being developed with each passing moment.
A day later, burnt and tattered, Leno returned to the diner and devoured food enough for a hundred men, leaving the owner staring blankly as he staggered back to his house to sleep.
Days passed. His routine became simple: mountaintop, diner, home, sleep. The longer he stayed at the summit, the stronger he grew — and the more he ate.
Under the relentless punishment of the lightning, time slipped by. Two months passed in a blink. Leno found himself oddly intoxicated by the feeling of becoming stronger every day through pain.
On the summit, no longer a "little dragon man" but now a towering "great dragon man" over five meters tall, he stood proudly. His once pink scales now shimmered with a faint purple glow. He knocked on them with his hand, and they made a "clanging" sound. He drew Wind Rift and swung it hard at his left arm.
Clang! Only a thin white mark appeared. Leno's eyes shone with excitement.
He looked at the faint mark, then at his still-unscathed body after ten straight days of punishment, and burst into wild laughter.
"Success! I did it! Hahahahahaha…!"