"Hurry up and test your new power!" Nami urged. Leno placed his hand on the railing, and in an instant, the Devil Fruit's power wrapped around the entire ship.
"Sugoi! With this, our ship can now take off without charging, and it can float in the sky indefinitely without consuming electricity. This ability is just too convenient!" Nami exclaimed, watching in awe as the ship gently rose into the air.
"And that's not even all. Once I fully develop this power, I'll be able to lift an entire island into the sky—just like the Golden Lion did!"
"You can lift an entire island?! That's insane!"
Over the next few days, Leno spent most of his time with Aileen, sometimes helping Belle-Mère in the orange grove—until one day.
"Aileen, do you want to fly into the sky and see it from above?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Big brother, take me up! I want to see!" Aileen clung to Leno's arm, shaking it nonstop.
At the back mountain, Leno said: "Aileen, don't be scared, okay? Don't blink. Big brother is about to transform!"
"Roar!" A one-thousand-meter-long pinkish-purple dragon appeared before Eileen. The little girl stared up blankly, muttering, "A dragon… what a huge dragon!…" She didn't snap out of it until a huge, ferocious-looking dragon head stretched out in front of her. She then plopped down on the ground.
"Did I scare you?! Come on, get on!" A huge dragon claw extended in front of Aileen.
"Big brother? Sugoi, sugoi!" Hearing his familiar voice, Aileen snapped out of her daze, jumping up and down with excitement.
She clambered onto the enormous claw, looked up at the giant horns, and shouted, "Big brother, I want to go up there!"
Leno's huge dragon eyes flashed with helplessness. So small, and already wanting to perch on my head like a queen.
Climbing along the massive scales, the little girl finally reached the dragon's head, hugging the horn thicker than her entire body.
"Hold on tight—we're taking off!"
"Mhm! Mhm! Mhm!" Aileen nodded furiously.
The giant dragon soared into the sky, gliding above Cocoyasi Village. From the dragon's head, Aileen waved wildly, shouting down: "Mama! Sister! Look at me, I'm flying!"
Below, the villagers gaped in shock at the enormous dragon twisting through the sky—and the tiny figure waving from its head.
"My heavens! A dragon! A real dragon!"
"Such a huge dragon! How could one appear here?"
"Wait—that little one on its head… isn't that Aileen?!"
"Everyone, don't panic! It's me, Leno!" he called down to calm them.
"Leno?! My god, how did he turn into such a massive dragon?"
"Yeah, yeah… that dragon is gigantic!"
"Stupid Leno! So this is his other ability? That's way too much!" Nami stood there slack-jawed.
Beside her, Kuina and Nojiko were equally shaken—the sheer size of the dragon was overwhelming.
Belle-Mère's family was stunned silent, completely dumbfounded until they heard Leno's voice. Then, spotting Aileen grinning from the dragon's head, Belle-Mère snapped, "That brat! She really went up into the sky!"
Next to her, Genzo was smiling with a face full of doting affection. "Well, she's literally flying to the sky, isn't she? Hahahaha… Just as I'd expect from my daughter!"
Belle-Mère rolled her eyes. "And that rascal Leno spoils her way too much!"
After circling the village once, the dragon soared upward, leaving only Aileen's gleeful laughter echoing behind.
High in the sky, amid rolling seas of clouds, the thousand-meter dragon appeared and disappeared between layers, sometimes diving toward the ocean, sometimes shooting into the heavens. Its immense body moved freely, while atop its head, Aileen looked down at the endless blue sea, then reached out to touch the clouds beside her. "Sugoi! Sugoi!" Her face flushed with excitement, and Leno worried she might faint from sheer joy.
That day, countless villagers across the East Blue witnessed a gigantic dragon flying through the skies. Some knelt and prayed, chanting "Auspicious omen!" Others rushed to call the Marines, while some simply stared, dumbstruck.
Thus was born the "Legend of the Dragon in the East Blue." Branch Marine units across regions dispatched warships to investigate, but by then the dragon was long gone. The surrounding pirates, however, weren't so lucky.
Back in Cocoyasi Village, little Eileen was stumbling after getting off the dragon's head. "Little Eileen, are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine…" she mumbled, face twitching, her speech nearly slurred.
And so, the joyful days passed quickly, until the day of departure finally arrived.
After dinner, Leno handed Belle-Mère a Mythical Zoan: Bifang Fruit.
"Aileen's never been one to sit still. This Mythical Zoan, Bifang form, I got it from the Golden Lion. I'll leave it with her," Leno joked.
"This is all you guys' fault for spoiling her, especially you, you brat! I'm losing hair from all the stress," Belle-Mère cursed.
Leno rubbed his neck awkwardly. "She's not that bad… Aileen's pretty well-behaved, honestly."
"Only in front of you! Go ask around the village—whose kids hasn't she beaten up?!" Belle-Mère's headache worsened at the thought. The elders had lectured her time and again, blaming her poor parenting for raising such a wild child.
"Nami was mischievous when she was little too, but never this bad."
"Hey!" Nami protested, but at Belle-Mère's glare, she immediately went quiet.
"When Aileen turns ten, then let her eat it," Leno said after some thought. He also handed Belle-Mère a neatly organized training manual on Haki and swordsmanship.
The next day, at the shore, the villagers gathered to see them off.
Leno, holding a tearful Aileen, walked with Nami and the others. The moment she heard they would be leaving for a long time, Aileen broke down crying, clinging to Leno's leg and refusing to let go, insisting she go with them.
But there was no way Leno would allow it. She was far too young, and after already taking Belle-Mère's two daughters, adding Aileen too might drive Belle-Mère mad.
Finally, he promised her that once she grew up, he would come back to get her. Only then did the little girl calm down—barely. Leno smirked inwardly. By the time she's grown, we'll have already circled the world.
At the water's edge, he set Aileen down, then turned to the crowd. "Thank you all for coming to see us off. We'll be sure to have a smooth journey. Please take good care of yourselves, everyone."
Looking down at Aileen's teary eyes and trembling lips, Leno thought for a moment, then pulled out the great blade Ōtō "Cherry Ten" from his inventory and handed it to her.
"Aileen, this is my most precious treasure. I'm leaving it with you. When you grow up, come find me. Take good care of it, alright?" He gently patted her head.
Aileen clutched Cherry Ten tightly in her arms, tears streaming down her face as she watched the ship sail farther and farther away.