"Urouge, your ability is something like the power of causality, right?"
"As expected of a 'god.' That's exactly it. After eating that fruit, I gained this ability!"
Hearing Leno casually reveal his Devil Fruit power, shock flashed across Urouge's eyes.
He had only just obtained this ability and had never once used it in front of anyone else. Yet the 'god' had already seen through everything.
"Mm, very good. This ability suits you well."
"How did you—"
"Gu gu gu—"
The fruit was already eaten. What else could he say?
He was just about to ask how Leno had ended up here when his stomach suddenly growled like thunder.
"I've been on this island for two days already. There's nothing here to eat except one kind of fruit, so…"
Seeing everyone's attention drawn by the sound of his hunger, the burly Urouge felt a bit embarrassed as he explained what he had been through over the past two days.
When he had first drifted to this island, he was full of confidence, thinking that with his abilities, there was no way he would starve to death.
His plan was simply to survive until he encountered a passing ship and hitch a ride away. But to his utter disbelief, there was absolutely nothing on this island.
After hearing his story, everyone was left torn between laughter and sympathy. This was truly a case of 'even the cleverest cook can't make a meal without rice.'
Leno then waved his hand casually, and a large pile of food ingredients appeared out of thin air, all of them supplies he had collected earlier.
This godlike display of creating things from nothing left Urouge utterly stunned. The reverence in his gaze toward Leno deepened even further.
"So, tell me. Why are you here, and how did you come down from Skypiea?"
"Reporting to the 'god,' it happened like this…"
At the mention of this, Urouge's expression turned bitter.
It had truly been an accident-filled and perilous journey. Slowly, he recounted his experience of descending from Skypiea.
Some time ago, a group of pirates had caused trouble on Sky Island and were chased down and wiped out by the Skypiea Guard near Urouge's territory.
The pirates' ship was abandoned by the guards afterward. Out of curiosity, Urouge boarded it to see if there was anything useful to scavenge.
Not long after he got on board, the entire ship was caught by a rare ocean current from Skypiea and dragged down. Fortunately, his luck held, and he didn't die from the fall.
After drifting to this island, unable to find any other food, he gorged himself on that single type of fruit, only to accidentally eat a Devil Fruit.
After hearing such a bizarre story, Leno and the others couldn't help but sigh. Then Leno asked,
"So what are your plans from here on?"
Hearing this, Leno fell into thought. Should he let Urouge continue along his predetermined path or not?
In his memories, this guy wasn't particularly outstanding, but compared to nameless figures, he was still considerably stronger.
Right, didn't this guy once defeat one of the Big Mom Pirates' Sweet Commanders?
And since he had already eaten a Devil Fruit, there was no need for him to return to Skypiea to rejoin the guard.
Letting him venture out into the sea might prove useful someday.
With that thought, Leno looked up at Urouge, who was already drooling as he stared at the roasting meat, and said,
"Since you've already come to the Blue Sea, then go out and make your mark on the seas. Go see how vast the world really is."
"By your command, 'god'!"
Hearing Leno's arrangement, Urouge immediately pulled his gaze back and bowed respectfully.
In truth, his own thoughts weren't much different. Since fate had brought him to the Blue Sea, he might as well follow the will of heaven.
Besides, he was only around forty years old, the perfect age to venture out. Following divine guidance to see the world wasn't a bad thing at all.
With his abilities, he should be able to carve out a place for himself.
Seeing how obedient he was, Leno thought for a moment and continued,
"After we eat, I'll take a look at your strength. I might arrange some special training for you over the next few days."
"After all, you're the first from Skypiea to venture out after me. You can't go embarrassing Skypiea's name in front of others."
"I will obey the divine will!"
Urouge replied with excitement. He hadn't expected such a bonus. He had personally witnessed the strength of the Skypiea Guard.
Smashing enemy weapons barehanded, catching blades with empty hands, and that mysterious technique that turned parts of the body black—truly incredible.
And the reason the guard members were so powerful was because they had all been personally trained by the 'god.'
To think that he himself could now receive personal guidance from the 'god'—this was an opportunity beyond anything he could have hoped for.
Leno had also considered that Urouge probably hadn't come into contact with Haki yet at this point, so he planned to pass on the training methods over the next couple of days.
After all, in the early stages, whoever mastered Haki first would gain a far greater advantage.
At this moment, Yamato, who had been listening quietly the whole time, suddenly spoke up. She excitedly waved the kanabo in her hand and said,
"Then let me test his strength later!"
Ever since losing to Leno in a contest of physical prowess, Yamato's outlook had shifted, and she had begun focusing more on tempering her body.
Of course, she still hadn't realized she'd been fooled by Leno and simply believed her own strength was lacking.
Now that she'd run into this burly guy who looked physically powerful, she immediately wanted to test the idea forming in her mind.
Besides, his weapon was somewhat similar to hers, so his fighting style was probably right up her alley.
Seeing Yamato's excited expression, Leno felt the urge to roll his eyes. That battle-hungry personality of hers was really hard to fix.
"Fine, you do it then."
"It's been a long time since everyone last fought. This uninhabited island looks like a pretty good battlefield, so why not—"
Stirred up by Yamato, Leno himself grew interested. This might be a good chance to see how strong everyone had become.
As he thought about it, Leno's gaze swept over Kuina and Hancock in turn. Even now, he wasn't entirely sure what level those two were at.
As if sensing his intent, Kuina raised an eyebrow, a hint of eagerness flashing across her face.
Seeing this, Leno couldn't help but laugh. Were they really about to rebel?
In that case, he might as well go all out. He looked around at everyone and said with amusement,
"This time, I'll be your opponent as the captain. One-on-one or all together, I'll take you all on."
"Consider it a trial for you. No backing out."
The moment Leno finished speaking, the few who had been chatting idly felt their scalps go numb.
Chopper and Carmen nearly burst into tears on the spot, staring at him in disbelief.
Fight a monster like you? Are you serious?
You know exactly what our strength is like. Are you trying to kill us?
Damn it, that's just bullying!
Before they could even voice their objections, someone beat them to it and agreed outright.
"Sure. I've been wanting to see just how big the gap between us really is."