At the cliffside behind Cocoyasi Village, Leno sat cross-legged with Wind Rift laid before him, carefully replaying the battle in his mind. Golden Lion Shiki, as a top-tier great swordsman, possessed extraordinary swordsmanship, overwhelming Haki, and undeniable strength.
Leno meticulously recalled every sensation from that battle—the speed of his strikes, the raw power, and that unyielding will to cut through everything. His mind kept replaying the scenes of that day.
"Nami-sis, what's wrong with big brother? He's been sitting there almost the whole day, he hasn't even eaten lunch," Aileen worried, afraid her brother might go hungry.
Nami also wasn't sure what Leno was doing, so she turned to Kuina. Kuina, seeing both Nami's questioning look and the little girl's worry, smiled softly.
"Don't worry, he's fine. Leno's replaying that battle in his mind. Once he fully digests the insights from that fight, he'll become even stronger!" Kuina said with expectation in her eyes as she looked at Leno.
Just as the girls were discussing what to make for dinner, Aileen suddenly exclaimed, "Look, big brother's getting up!"
Leno stood, suddenly drew his sword, and swung. A massive blue blade of energy shot forth, carving a colossal crack stretching a kilometer across the sea, a fissure that refused to close for a long while.
"Sugoi! Big brother's amazing!"
"Su~… That's… that's way too exaggerated!" Nami gasped, while Nojiko stared in shock.
"Leno has broken through—he's a great swordsman now!" Kuina said, her voice trembling with excitement.
But as they waited, the girls noticed Leno still standing motionless after that strike, sword in hand.
"Something's not wrong, is it?" Nojiko asked anxiously. The others exchanged nervous glances—when suddenly, the blade in Leno's hand began glowing with a scarlet light.
"What's that?!" Seeing crimson arcs of lightning dancing across Leno's blade, the girls felt the very air grow heavy and oppressive.
"I… I feel sick!" Aileen's face turned pale. Then, in an instant, those crimson arcs spread across Leno's body and surged outward, gouging jagged trenches into the ground.
"Shhh!" Raising his head, Leno unleashed another strike, the massive scarlet-charged blade soaring into the sky.
Boom! Over in the village, startled residents looked up to behold a shocking sight: a gigantic slash cleaving not just the clouds, but the sky itself, splitting it wide open, with a massive rift stretching toward the sunset on the horizon.
Bathed in the golden glow of dusk, Leno turned back toward the girls, a radiant smile on his face.
The women stood frozen, staring blankly—first at the rift in the heavens, then at Leno standing in the sunset's glow. Their faces were etched with awe beyond words.
"Is… is big brother a god?!" Aileen murmured dazedly, unable to look away.
The women were speechless. Crackle! In the blink of an eye, Leno appeared before them. "Hey, snap out of it," he waved a hand before their eyes.
"Ahh!" they all cried in shock.
"Big brother, you're incredible!"
"Stupid Leno, that was way too much, you're ridiculously strong!"
"What… what was that just now?" Kuina stepped closer, though her eyes still carried the weight of shock.
"That was Conqueror's Haki infusion. It's the same concept as Armament Haki infusion—just a higher-level application of Haki. Don't worry, you'll learn it too. I'll teach you when the time comes," Leno said with a gentle smile, encouraging her.
He bent down to scoop up little Aileen. "Mua. No, big brother isn't a god. He's just a strong person."
"Big brother's the best! The best! Heehee!" Aileen giggled, clinging to his neck.
"Come on, let's go home and eat!" With Aileen in his arms, Leno started walking back.
"Yay! Dinner time—I want meat!"
"Stupid Leno, wait for us!" Nami and the others hurried after him.
After dinner, they returned from Belle-Mère's house and gathered around the table, sipping tea.
"I've decided—I'll spend the next few days keeping Aileen company. You should all spend more time with your families too, and prepare supplies. In half a month, we'll set sail!" Leno said, glancing around the group.
"Yay! Finally, we're going to sea. I can't wait any longer!" Nami cheered.
Nojiko and Kuina also looked filled with anticipation.
"Kuina, do you want to go home and say a proper farewell?"
"No need. I already went back not long ago. I'll wait until we leave the East Blue to say my formal goodbye."
"That works. After all, according to our plan, we'll pass by Shimotsuki Village anyway," Leno said.
After finishing their discussion, they went back to rest. Right—there was still that safe they had seized from Golden Lion.
With a single slash, Leno split it open. Inside were two Devil Fruits. "Lucky!"
One was the Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit, Mythical Beast model: Bifang. The other was the Paramecia-type Paper-Paper Fruit. Both were god-tier fruits—what fortune! But of course, they were treasures hoarded by a legendary pirate like Golden Lion.
Besides the Devil Fruits, there were also some Berries, a few nautical charts, a golden pistol, and some medical formulas. But Leno had little interest in those. He tossed them into a corner of his inventory, tidied up the rest, and lay down to rest.
At dawn the next day, Leno boarded the Gale and inspected its fittings, checking whether anything needed replenishing. On the third deck, he checked the others' rooms and found them all decorated warmly. His own room had also been neatly arranged.
Just as he was about to recharge the ship, Nami shouted from below: "Leno! Come quick! Look what I found!" Her voice was brimming with excitement.
Leno came down to see Nami holding a strange sky-blue fruit, her eyes sparkling. "Look! I found this in the orange grove this morning—it's a Devil Fruit!"
"This is…?" Leno's eyes narrowed. "The Float-Float Fruit!"
"Huuuh!? The same Float-Float Fruit that Golden Lion had?"
"Yes, exactly that one. Shiki really was a straightforward man—he not only boosted my growth, but also left me his very own Devil Fruit." Leno sighed in amazement.
Nami rolled her eyes furiously. Straightforward? More like you forgot how you lay half-dead in bed for days.
"Come on, hurry and eat it. This was Golden Lion's ability!"
"Alright." After some thought, Leno chose to eat the fruit. After all, its levitation powers would make many things far more convenient.
Crunch. Crunch. In just a few bites, he had finished the Devil Fruit.
Nami gawked. She had been hoping to see him make a fool of himself at the taste, but Leno ate it all without even a grimace. Face calm, brows steady, not a flicker of pain. She felt utterly robbed of amusement.
Leno, meanwhile, was silently suffering. He regretted putting on a show for the sake of looking cool. 'Real men never flinch!' he'd told himself. Now he was paying the price.