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Description

The third character of my One Piece fan-fic., and the third character drawn by

Rayo Verrani is a smuggler under the employment of the Bugg Family and a member of the Verrani Clan. He is known by his alias “Rayo the Beast.”

Appearance

Rayo Verrani usually appears as a rather thin person with long, black hair tied in a low ponytail. Despite being thin, he is rather muscular, but due to his choice of clothes, most people don’t notice until he removes his upper clothing. His standard clothes are a black suit and pant combo with a white shirt underneath. He also normally wears a pair of black sunglasses that hides his brown eyes, and which are only removed when entering combat. Rayo will rarely be found out of this suit unless he is talked into it or the climate demands it. Much of Rayo’s clothes are high-class, and even his casual clothing (a black vest, with a violet button shirt, and black dress pants) are made of high quality materials. Rayo has several scars on his arms and back, and there are several stitches that he hides using long sleeved shirts.

Personality

Rayo often tries to act the part of a sophisticated person, but because of his short (and slightly explosive) temper, he can come out as a jerk to people outside of his close friends or co-workers. Deep down, Rayo is a kind person and is in fact selfless to the point that he would willingly go out of his way to help anyone in need (though he will often make a show of it first). He is well known for his adversity against reckless or pointless killing, and has come to hate anyone that would take another’s life for any reason (especially those who would go to kill for simple joy). He is very loyal to the Bugg Family he is employed with, and becomes cold to anyone who goes to disrespect the Smuggling King and the immediate family of his boss.

However, Rayo, like most people, does have his faults: He can be very protective of his things, often telling others not to touch anything or getting angry at anyone even mentioning the idea of selling something he has obtained over the years he has smuggled. Rayo can be arrogant in his self-perceived knowledge, though he is often brought back to reality by his younger cousin, Stella, or someone with a more down-to-earth view. He is also very vindictive, and will even stoop to violence when someone mocks his knowledge, family, or principles. He is also very hard to manage if someone makes him angry enough as he will not stop until he is satisfied that he has “punished” whoever angered him. Rayo suffers a lot mentally thanks to having eaten a new brand of artificial Devil Fruit and tries to keep his emotions bottled, often drinking or belittling himself at times when he is truly depressed.

Rayo also tries to be funny, but has a dry sense of humor that often makes other stare at him as though he is an idiot. He also has two very deep obsessions: pocky and history. The first comes from having tasted pocky as a kid while the latter comes from his mother’s own passion with archaeology. Rayo also has a deep empathy towards those he cares about and often gets into risky or stupid situations for caring too much. Rayo is also very careful with his knowledge and prefers to keep quiet about certain subjects like his past, the knowledge he has gained from several historical documents, and the treasures he often hides amongst the many baubles he’s collected.

He is shown to have a deep respect towards other tribes such as the Fish-Men or the giants, and has been capable of acting as a delegate on more than one occasion to other races. He even has made those distrustful of humans in general actually listen to him, though even he admits that he has limits to how well something will go depending on the individual's views/beliefs. He is very clever, often coming up with plans several steps ahead of whatever danger he is currently facing and even capable of improvising when things go south. He does enjoy pointing out whenever someone else is at fault for something, and has no qualms over stating how things would've gone better had they stuck to a plan (especially his).

Relationships

Friends/Allies

Rayo, as one might expect, has several allies throughout the world from his work as a smuggler. Many of these people have lucrative work but there are several high official members within this circle of influence that trust Rayo with their life. Rayo has also taught a few people lessons in combat and has demonstrated a caring side of his towards those he finds similar to himself. One of these people is a young man named Axe, who Rayo taught how to fight and helped escape from the prison that Axe was in.

While not a friend, technically, Rayo also has a deep respect towards the great sage Baba, his first master's master and the healer Rayo goes to when no one else can help him. Rayo often calls on Baba whenever his health or the health of anyone he really cares about is in question. Baba often sees Rayo as a grandchild, doting on him and doing what she can to help him out. She is often flying all over the world, but can always tell when Rayo is in danger or when he needs her to come. Rayo often speaks for her as her voice usually causes others to have headaches for some time.

Rayo has come to be a close friend to Shidyk D. Shade, the “Misfire Guardian” and a former assassin of great infamy. Both normally act as business partners, but the older man has been shown to have become a good friend to the smuggler. Rayo trusts Shade at first only because of his infamy, but later comes to see him as a man that will always come through with whatever Rayo requests. Rayo often feels that Shade could be a bit more responsible, and Shade often thinks that Rayo should loosen up more and express himself. However, the two have an understanding with one another, and know that they have another’s back.

Employers/Co-Workers

Rayo has a surprisingly friendly relationship with his “employer”, Jay Bugg. While both are respectful of each others’ skills and Bugg is known to be fair, they often can be at odds when Rayo asks for money. Bugg normally has to keep Rayo from over-spending, and often finds it hard to believe many of Rayo’s claims (often many of them seem fantastical but end up being true). Overall, however, Bugg relies on Rayo and like with anyone that works under him, will go out of his way to protect Rayo if Rayo ever gets into any real trouble. Despite all of their arguments, Bugg considers Rayo as a reliable employee and has a good heart past all the antics that the Verrani puts him through.

Rayo is very respectful to the “Big Four” of Smuggler’s Cove: Damon Anansi (Head of Security), Hornet (Head of Deployment), Madame Papillon (Head of Maintenance & Resources), and the Ari twins, Red and Black (Head of Communications). Rayo’s boss, Hornet, is the head of the smugglers that go out of the Cove to do business, and Rayo learned all of his business tricks from Hornet.

Enemies

Rayo has several enemies, many of them Marines and New World Government officials, thanks to his business. Top of the list that Rayo considers an enemy, however, is the creator of the artificial Devil Fruits known as NEW SMILES, Dr. Sluggard. Thanks to the creation of the fruits, Rayo lost his swimming abilities and has gained far more trouble due to eating said fruit. Due to this, anything to do with Dr. Sluggard angers Rayo and he will stomp out whatever the mad scientist creates so that no one else suffers like he did.

Family

Rayo's family is rather small but it is one he loves deeply despite the many quirks and faults that his family have. Rayo's mother, Laura Verrani, is one of the remaining Verrani with any passion to the fabled “Promise,” and she is the one person that Rayo cares for more than his dream. Laura is one of the few people that can get Rayo to behave in any manner, and has no problems calling him out whenever Rayo acts like a jerk. His father, Jude, is another of the people who keeps Rayo in line but is a bit more lenient than his wife. Jude often tries to instill his ideals to Rayo, and Rayo has tried many a time to follow in his father's footsteps.

Rayo gets along well with his uncle, Leonard Verrani, and while he considers him to be rather “loud and brash” he does see him as a “gentleman,” and wonders if he’ll be similar when he comes to Leonard’s age. He also gets along with his Aunt, Gloria, and normally considers her a very kind aunt.

The only other elder person Rayo ever considered family was his master, the Sage of the Mountain. Rayo often thought of him as a second father as the man often taught Rayo what the true way of the world was. The Sage of the Mountain took him in and taught him not only how to defend himself but began Rayo's unorthodox style of combat through pressure points and Haki. Rayo also learned of many other subjects from the Sage of the Mountain and the Sage was also the first to help Rayo in keeping his temper in check.

Rayo cares deeply for his siblings/cousins, both older and younger, though he has a larger soft spot for his female siblings/cousins. Serafina Verrani, Rayo’s elder sister, often took care of the younger boy and Rayo often latched himself almost immediately to her when he was asked to play with anyone as a child. Once Serafina grew up and wedded Jay Bugg, Rayo found it hard to know whether he was proud of being a member of the Bugg Family or miffed for now having to work for his brother-in-law (though he admits later that it is the former). Rayo is often at odd ends with Emile Verrani: on the one hand, he respects Emile for his artistic skills, on the other; Rayo can be driven crazy with Emile’s incessant bad habits and seeming lack of motivation life style. He is also often the target for the family's pet, a large dog named Pilot, cuddles (which he hates thoroughly) but doesn't bring harm to the dog as it is his sister's pet.

Rayo is well noted to be doting on his young cousin, Stella, to the point that he will go out of his way to do things for his younger cousin (including buying tickets for great musicians/performers, buying her sweets/juice boxes, allowing her to look at artifacts he’s collected that he would never allow anyone else to, etc.). The two are almost inseparable when they're together, and Rayo often jokes to others that he wouldn't know where his head was if Stella wasn't there to pull on his ponytail and get him back on track. Stella often acts as Rayo's assistant when they are together, and Rayo has been shown to be teaching Stella the path of archaeology (something that the young girl shows to have a liking to). Though the two can bicker, Stella is noted by others to be the only other person than Rayo's parents to drag Rayo back into reality when he becomes depressed or he lets his ego get the better of him.

Abilities and Powers

Rayo has mastered his own style of combat he refers to as “King of Beast” style, a style that he developed through training with the Sage of the Mountain for over two years. This style of combat uses what seems to be Tai-Chi styled combat and knowledge along with powerful fast-paced Shaolin-styled martial arts that mimic the strength and ferocity of the lion in the wild. He is also known to have mastered his mother's whip martial arts, though he admits that he still has a ways to go to be considered a practitioner. Rayo has shown to be quite dexterous and agile, but his true merit is in his strength (with kicks powerful enough to split stone in half). He is a noted Haki user, and can use both the Color of Observation and the Color of Armament Haki well (though he favors the Color of Observation). He is capable of sensing other people’s “auras” through the Color of Observation Haki even from a great distance, and can read people like a book through their auras (often saying how a person has a “wild” aura if they are dangerous, a “soothing” aura for those who kind, etc.).

Rayo is also well known to have both the ability and knowledge to use the Six Powers, a martial arts style that is mostly utilized by both the New World Government and Marines alike. Rayo admits to having been taught this style by his former master, but only with enough to do the basics of the style. He prefers to avoid using it as much as he can due to his own admittance of preferring his own “King of Beast” style (though he does combine the two when necessary).

Despite his boasts, Rayo is surprisingly intelligent in many aspects of life. He is knowledgeable of many myths, stories, and legends as well as many forms of science, laws, and theories. He is also a skilled haggler and negotiator, often being sent by Bugg to deal with problems both internally and externally. Rayo can also form quick plans of escapes when he is cornered or when things aren’t working his way. He is one of the few people in the world who can read the Phoneglyphs without any difficulty after having his family's secret code which utilizes the same alphabet as the Phoneglyphs.

Devil Fruit

At an early age, Rayo foolishly ate one of the earliest Artificial Devil Fruits or NEW SMILES that were available in the black market by accident and gained the ability to turn parts of his body with those of a lion. While some mistake him for eating the Neko Neko no Mi; Model: Lion (Cat Cat Fruit; Model: Lion), Rayo admits that he simply has better control since he ate his Devil Fruit at a very young age and practice with it. Rayo uses this Devil Fruit to increase his strength several times by becoming a half-lion/half-human hybrid and can use his fighting style to greater potential than before by also transforming specific parts of his body with those of a lion (IE. Rayo is able to turn his hand and arm into the head of a lion to cause more damage than with a lion's claw). Rayo also shifts into a full lion form should he need to avoid or surprise his opponent (though it has been noted that he seems to be twice as wild in his full and half-lion form than one should be).

Due to the Devil Fruit being a NEW SMILE, Rayo is known to have become far more aggressive than he was originally. This aggression is later found out to be a quirk of the fruit, that developed into a separate personality that Rayo refers to as “the Beast.” The Beast is considerably vile and nihilistic with violence being its preferred answer to dealing with others or anyone in particular. When Rayo's body is possessed by the Beast, Rayo exerts far greater strength than normal which has caused his body to be damaged from the recoils of overtaxing Rayo's body. Due to this, Rayo prefers to avoid using his Devil Fruit for long periods of time, as he knows how dangerous allowing the Beast control is.

Regulus Impact Palm: An open-palm strike that can send a normal person flying with extreme force. The star Regulus is one of the brightest stars that make up the constellation known as Leo. This attack gets stronger when Rayo is in his hybrid form or uses Haki.

Deneloba Back Strike: Rayo uses his whip to grab someone by the neck, reel them in close before delivering a kick into their stomach capable of breaking a boulder in half. Deneloba happens to be one of the stars that also make up the lion's tail in the constellation of Leo. Rayo can perform this technique in his hybrid form using his tail instead of his whip.

Leonis Claw Barrage: By mimicking a lion's claws, Rayo delivers a series of fast-paced strikes at a person's upper body. If Rayo is in his hybrid form, this attack allows him to use his claws to cut his opponent. Leonis is one of the stars in the constellation of Leo.

Zosma Earth Crusher: Leaping into the air and then using Moon Walk, Rayo delivers a powerful kick to a person's upper body with enough force to cause the earth underneath to buckle and break underneath his opponent. Zosma is another name for one of the stars in the constellation of Leo.

Subra Crash: Rayo grabs an opponent by their arm and jumps into the air with them. While in the air, Rayo delivers a series of blows that stop nerves from sending signals before he throws his opponent into the ground. Rayo then stomps on the stomach of the person he is fighting and restores the nerves to deliver a very painful signal that usually knocks out the victim. Subra is one of the stars in the constellation of Leo.

Al Jabbah Cross: Using his whip (or his claws in hybrid form), Rayo lashes sideways before lashing upwards almost as instantly as he lashed beforehand. Those who are victim of this attack are usually left with a large scar in the shape of a cross. Al Jabbah is one of the stars of the constellation of Leo.

Algieba Twin Palm: Rayo throws his arms back and rushes his opponent before striking said opponent with a double open palm strike that sends most opponent's to their knees. When in hybrid form, Rayo is capable of sending anyone he hits with this flying and can even use a variation of the move that uses air pressure only. Algieba is one of the stars of the constellation of Leo.

Adhafera Rush: Using his whip (or his own fists/claws), Rayo rushes the opponent while lashing in every direction, creating a wall of sorts as he charges. This is used best when against a large crowd and the name Adhafera is actually one of the stars that make up the constellation of Leo.

Ras Elased Borealis: Using his whip , Rayo falls to all fours and grabs an opponent by the neck before he sends them flying upwards before swinging around and launching them. Ras Elased Borealis is the name of one of the stars that make up the constellation of Leo. In his hybrid form, Rayo has been known to use this technique with his tail.

Ras Elased Australis: Using his whip, Rayo falls to all fours and grabs an opponent by the leg before he uses them in conjunction with his whip to cause damage at them and any other enemies. Ras Elased Australis is the name of one of the stars that make up the constellation of Leo. In his hybrid form, Rayo has been known to use this technique with his tail.

King Leo's Sickle: Rayo first catches one of the opponent's arms with his tail in hybrid form or his whip before he rushes forth and delivers a kick that sends the opponent upwards. While they continue to be attached, Rayo then jumps into the air, delivering another kick that smashes the opponent into the ground. Rayo then pulls them upwards with his tail or whip to deliver a drop kick before both slam into the ground with Rayo on top of his foe.

Beast King Impact Claw: Rayo concentrates his “ki” into his two arms and delivers a blow very similar to the Rokushiki technique known as the Roukougan. Rayo can also use this with one arm, though it loses the power and damage by half if so. In his hybrid form, this attack causes almost double the damage than what Rayo can do in his human form.

History

Past Story

Rayo Verrani was born as the only son and second child to Laura Verrani and Jude Verre on Smuggler's Cove. Early in life, Rayo learned that his mother and his uncle were in fact from an ancient line of information of information gatherers from an island that was destroyed nearly a thousand years ago. They had kept this secret from others due to a very old “Promise” that their family absolutely held in the highest regard, at least the ones that could still recall this promise. When Rayo asked them what this “Promise” entailed, however, they would always state that Rayo would need to grow older, stronger, and wiser before they felt he was ready to learn the truth in his mother's side of the family. To that end, Rayo would spend his days studying, learning about the history of his home island, the rulers (the Bugg Family), and devouring every bit of information he could get his hands on. During his days of study, Rayo would end up saving the life of a sea beast known as Triton, a creature with seal and horse-like properties, that he ended up calling Mr. Rey. The two became good friends, and thanks to Rayo's connection and studies, proposed the creation of one of the most unique ships known to the Cove, the Sea Chariot.

Of course, life wasn't easy for the young man as one day when joining his family to seek employment as a smuggler, he found an odd fruit in a barrel of apples. Taking a bite, Rayo immediately learned that what he had eaten was not only a Devil Fruit, but a new breed of artificial Devil Fruits. Having lost his ability to swim, Rayo swore that he would get the man who had created the fruit and kill him. Everyone who witness this declaration, however, knew that something was off and Rayo's family decided to send Rayo out to meet a man known as the Sage of the Mountain to learn how to keep his temper under control. The Sage proved invaluable to Rayo, and thanks to this teachings, Rayo was able to return home almost the same man he had been two years before eating the fruit. On his return, however, he learned that his father's family had abandoned their daughter and his cousin, Stella Verre, due to her suffering from albinism since birth.

Rayo was furious at this, and grew more so when his father revealed that his side of the family had always been like this. Seeking perfection in everything and anything abnormal was sent somewhere else to not tarnish their image. To their surprise, Rayo suggested adopting Stella into their family and raising her as best as they could. Rayo's parents agreed and so Stella entered their life as soon as Rayo's older sister, Serafina, ended up marrying the next lord of the island, Jay Bugg. Stella was difficult to be open with her new family, but with Rayo willing to share his stories, Stella soon began to love her new family, especially her new big brother.

Life as a Smuggler & the Promise

Once Rayo was in his twenties, he decided that he needed to travel the world so that he could always return with new stories for his family. Thus, Rayo decided to become a smuggler and joined the Bugg Transportation Services that his brother-in-law, Jay Bugg, ran. While he was offered a high position thanks to his sister at first, Rayo declined and asked to be hired on normally as a smuggler. He insisted on this as Rayou knew that a high position would mean he wouldn't be capable of traveling as often as he could. Bugg haggled with Rayo a bit and the two agreed that Rayo would work under Hornet as a smuggler, but do odd jobs for Bugg whenever he called that normally would be out of the question for most smugglers under Bugg's employment. While not ideal, Rayo agreed and began his job as a smuggler under the banner of the Bugg Family.

As it turned out, Rayo's commission for the Sea Chariot became a boon to his work as it would go undetected by many who hunted down smugglers. With Mr. Rey's help, Rayo was able to go to places that no one in his field could go and delivered food, treasures, and even information that would normally not be available to others. Bugg would always be grateful to Rayo's hard work, and Smuggler's Cove was prospering for many years due to this. During his travels, Rayo ended up meeting many interesting people such as a young man by the name of Axe that he liberated from an underground fighting pit. Axe would also become something of a “younger brother” to Rayo and Rayo trained the young treasure seeker before leaving him with the weapon that would make the young man iconic.

During his travels, Rayo went to Bad Law Island to fulfill a deal on behalf of his employer, and things were looking well. At least, they were until the man he had been making a deal with ended up becoming a target for the infamous Shidyk D. Shade. Furious on what Shade had done, Rayo let loose with all his might and after two days and one night of combat (though Rayo could never recall that time), he somehow had found himself as Shade's newest friend. Rayo dislike the man, but the two ventured together for a time and he ended up warming up to the assassin despite their different values. Rayo would run into Shade more often, and eventually owe Shade a favor. This favor came to be a little later when Shade asked Rayo to help him smuggle a young lady by the name of Jinko Ichiume out of the organization that Shade worked for. Rayo was friendly enough to the girl and gave her money, clothes, and food after they had successfully escaped their pursuers.

After the daring adventure, Rayo returned home where he was finally given permission by his mother to learn of her family's “Promise.” Over a thousand years ago, the Verrani clan lived in a faraway island that had been in constant battle with their enemies. The clan was made up of orphans of the many wars who had decided to stick together and sought whatever fortune they could through storytelling. They became well known for their stories, so much so that the king of the island eventually invited them into his home and indulge of their many tales. The clan's reputation became so great in fact, that rulers from across the seas would try to invite them but the king of the island would deny the invitations. One day, however, a ceasefire between the island and one of their enemies was finally reached, and the enemy nation promised to try to convince their allies in stopping the senseless war. There was one condition: They wanted a Verrani to attend the peace talks as a show of good faith and to entertain the guests for the talks.

The king debated this for many months before he finally agreed to the condition with one single member of the clan entering the enemy nation. This was a grave mistake as the enemy nation not only killed the dignitaries but tortured the member of the Verrani for any secrets that they knew. Sadly, the member returned to give the news and admitted to giving away one great secret that their island had held for many years. The king was furious and would've executed the man, had not a little girl from the clan stood in the way and began to tell story after story to everyone present. Then another member joined her, and another, and another until the entire clan was using their stories to try and defend their fellow clansman. The king was moved by their loyalty and so stopped the execution under a faithful promise to the clan: They would wander the seas from that day onward, gathering every bit of information across the seas they could find before returning to their home to tell the king or his descendants all they had witnessed.

This was the fated “Promise” and the beginning of what was later known as the Tome of the Verrani, a series of indestructible books said to hold secrets from nearly every corner of the seas. Rayo was moved by this tale, and made his dream to find his clans lost history as he set out to sea on another job for Jay Bugg.

Present Story

Under Construction

Trivia

Rayo's Dream is to find all of the Tome of Verrani, a series of books said to have been written by the Verrani family for over a thousand years.

Rayo is capable of keeping several items in his jacket. As a running gag, most people when they see the amount or size of these items ask him, he always responds with “natural talent.”

Rayo's favorite meal is a well-done steak with a baked potato.

Rayo's favorite snack is Pocky, especially cookies and cream or chocolate flavored ones.

Rayo has a bounty of 244 million on his head.

Rayo enjoys the scent of lavender and meditation when not studying any historical artifacts he may have encountered. He states it helps him stay focused.

Description

The third character of my One Piece fan-fic., and the third character drawn by

Rayo Verrani is a smuggler under the employment of the Bugg Family and a member of the Verrani Clan. He is known by his alias “Rayo the Beast.”

Appearance

Rayo Verrani usually appears as a rather thin person with long, black hair tied in a low ponytail. Despite being thin, he is rather muscular, but due to his choice of clothes, most people don’t notice until he removes his upper clothing. His standard clothes are a black suit and pant combo with a white shirt underneath. He also normally wears a pair of black sunglasses that hides his brown eyes, and which are only removed when entering combat. Rayo will rarely be found out of this suit unless he is talked into it or the climate demands it. Much of Rayo’s clothes are high-class, and even his casual clothing (a black vest, with a violet button shirt, and black dress pants) are made of high quality materials. Rayo has several scars on his arms and back, and there are several stitches that he hides using long sleeved shirts.

Personality

Rayo often tries to act the part of a sophisticated person, but because of his short (and slightly explosive) temper, he can come out as a jerk to people outside of his close friends or co-workers. Deep down, Rayo is a kind person and is in fact selfless to the point that he would willingly go out of his way to help anyone in need (though he will often make a show of it first). He is well known for his adversity against reckless or pointless killing, and has come to hate anyone that would take another’s life for any reason (especially those who would go to kill for simple joy). He is very loyal to the Bugg Family he is employed with, and becomes cold to anyone who goes to disrespect the Smuggling King and the immediate family of his boss.

However, Rayo, like most people, does have his faults: He can be very protective of his things, often telling others not to touch anything or getting angry at anyone even mentioning the idea of selling something he has obtained over the years he has smuggled. Rayo can be arrogant in his self-perceived knowledge, though he is often brought back to reality by his younger cousin, Stella, or someone with a more down-to-earth view. He is also very vindictive, and will even stoop to violence when someone mocks his knowledge, family, or principles. He is also very hard to manage if someone makes him angry enough as he will not stop until he is satisfied that he has “punished” whoever angered him. Rayo suffers a lot mentally thanks to having eaten a new brand of artificial Devil Fruit and tries to keep his emotions bottled, often drinking or belittling himself at times when he is truly depressed.

Rayo also tries to be funny, but has a dry sense of humor that often makes other stare at him as though he is an idiot. He also has two very deep obsessions: pocky and history. The first comes from having tasted pocky as a kid while the latter comes from his mother’s own passion with archaeology. Rayo also has a deep empathy towards those he cares about and often gets into risky or stupid situations for caring too much. Rayo is also very careful with his knowledge and prefers to keep quiet about certain subjects like his past, the knowledge he has gained from several historical documents, and the treasures he often hides amongst the many baubles he’s collected.

He is shown to have a deep respect towards other tribes such as the Fish-Men or the giants, and has been capable of acting as a delegate on more than one occasion to other races. He even has made those distrustful of humans in general actually listen to him, though even he admits that he has limits to how well something will go depending on the individual's views/beliefs. He is very clever, often coming up with plans several steps ahead of whatever danger he is currently facing and even capable of improvising when things go south. He does enjoy pointing out whenever someone else is at fault for something, and has no qualms over stating how things would've gone better had they stuck to a plan (especially his).

Relationships

Friends/Allies

Rayo, as one might expect, has several allies throughout the world from his work as a smuggler. Many of these people have lucrative work but there are several high official members within this circle of influence that trust Rayo with their life. Rayo has also taught a few people lessons in combat and has demonstrated a caring side of his towards those he finds similar to himself. One of these people is a young man named Axe, who Rayo taught how to fight and helped escape from the prison that Axe was in.

While not a friend, technically, Rayo also has a deep respect towards the great sage Baba, his first master's master and the healer Rayo goes to when no one else can help him. Rayo often calls on Baba whenever his health or the health of anyone he really cares about is in question. Baba often sees Rayo as a grandchild, doting on him and doing what she can to help him out. She is often flying all over the world, but can always tell when Rayo is in danger or when he needs her to come. Rayo often speaks for her as her voice usually causes others to have headaches for some time.

Rayo has come to be a close friend to Shidyk D. Shade, the “Misfire Guardian” and a former assassin of great infamy. Both normally act as business partners, but the older man has been shown to have become a good friend to the smuggler. Rayo trusts Shade at first only because of his infamy, but later comes to see him as a man that will always come through with whatever Rayo requests. Rayo often feels that Shade could be a bit more responsible, and Shade often thinks that Rayo should loosen up more and express himself. However, the two have an understanding with one another, and know that they have another’s back.

Employers/Co-Workers

Rayo has a surprisingly friendly relationship with his “employer”, Jay Bugg. While both are respectful of each others’ skills and Bugg is known to be fair, they often can be at odds when Rayo asks for money. Bugg normally has to keep Rayo from over-spending, and often finds it hard to believe many of Rayo’s claims (often many of them seem fantastical but end up being true). Overall, however, Bugg relies on Rayo and like with anyone that works under him, will go out of his way to protect Rayo if Rayo ever gets into any real trouble. Despite all of their arguments, Bugg considers Rayo as a reliable employee and has a good heart past all the antics that the Verrani puts him through.

Rayo is very respectful to the “Big Four” of Smuggler’s Cove: Damon Anansi (Head of Security), Hornet (Head of Deployment), Madame Papillon (Head of Maintenance & Resources), and the Ari twins, Red and Black (Head of Communications). Rayo’s boss, Hornet, is the head of the smugglers that go out of the Cove to do business, and Rayo learned all of his business tricks from Hornet.

Enemies

Rayo has several enemies, many of them Marines and New World Government officials, thanks to his business. Top of the list that Rayo considers an enemy, however, is the creator of the artificial Devil Fruits known as NEW SMILES, Dr. Sluggard. Thanks to the creation of the fruits, Rayo lost his swimming abilities and has gained far more trouble due to eating said fruit. Due to this, anything to do with Dr. Sluggard angers Rayo and he will stomp out whatever the mad scientist creates so that no one else suffers like he did.

Family

Rayo's family is rather small but it is one he loves deeply despite the many quirks and faults that his family have. Rayo's mother, Laura Verrani, is one of the remaining Verrani with any passion to the fabled “Promise,” and she is the one person that Rayo cares for more than his dream. Laura is one of the few people that can get Rayo to behave in any manner, and has no problems calling him out whenever Rayo acts like a jerk. His father, Jude, is another of the people who keeps Rayo in line but is a bit more lenient than his wife. Jude often tries to instill his ideals to Rayo, and Rayo has tried many a time to follow in his father's footsteps.

Rayo gets along well with his uncle, Leonard Verrani, and while he considers him to be rather “loud and brash” he does see him as a “gentleman,” and wonders if he’ll be similar when he comes to Leonard’s age. He also gets along with his Aunt, Gloria, and normally considers her a very kind aunt.

The only other elder person Rayo ever considered family was his master, the Sage of the Mountain. Rayo often thought of him as a second father as the man often taught Rayo what the true way of the world was. The Sage of the Mountain took him in and taught him not only how to defend himself but began Rayo's unorthodox style of combat through pressure points and Haki. Rayo also learned of many other subjects from the Sage of the Mountain and the Sage was also the first to help Rayo in keeping his temper in check.

Rayo cares deeply for his siblings/cousins, both older and younger, though he has a larger soft spot for his female siblings/cousins. Serafina Verrani, Rayo’s elder sister, often took care of the younger boy and Rayo often latched himself almost immediately to her when he was asked to play with anyone as a child. Once Serafina grew up and wedded Jay Bugg, Rayo found it hard to know whether he was proud of being a member of the Bugg Family or miffed for now having to work for his brother-in-law (though he admits later that it is the former). Rayo is often at odd ends with Emile Verrani: on the one hand, he respects Emile for his artistic skills, on the other; Rayo can be driven crazy with Emile’s incessant bad habits and seeming lack of motivation life style. He is also often the target for the family's pet, a large dog named Pilot, cuddles (which he hates thoroughly) but doesn't bring harm to the dog as it is his sister's pet.

Rayo is well noted to be doting on his young cousin, Stella, to the point that he will go out of his way to do things for his younger cousin (including buying tickets for great musicians/performers, buying her sweets/juice boxes, allowing her to look at artifacts he’s collected that he would never allow anyone else to, etc.). The two are almost inseparable when they're together, and Rayo often jokes to others that he wouldn't know where his head was if Stella wasn't there to pull on his ponytail and get him back on track. Stella often acts as Rayo's assistant when they are together, and Rayo has been shown to be teaching Stella the path of archaeology (something that the young girl shows to have a liking to). Though the two can bicker, Stella is noted by others to be the only other person than Rayo's parents to drag Rayo back into reality when he becomes depressed or he lets his ego get the better of him.

Abilities and Powers

Rayo has mastered his own style of combat he refers to as “King of Beast” style, a style that he developed through training with the Sage of the Mountain for over two years. This style of combat uses what seems to be Tai-Chi styled combat and knowledge along with powerful fast-paced Shaolin-styled martial arts that mimic the strength and ferocity of the lion in the wild. He is also known to have mastered his mother's whip martial arts, though he admits that he still has a ways to go to be considered a practitioner. Rayo has shown to be quite dexterous and agile, but his true merit is in his strength (with kicks powerful enough to split stone in half). He is a noted Haki user, and can use both the Color of Observation and the Color of Armament Haki well (though he favors the Color of Observation). He is capable of sensing other people’s “auras” through the Color of Observation Haki even from a great distance, and can read people like a book through their auras (often saying how a person has a “wild” aura if they are dangerous, a “soothing” aura for those who kind, etc.).

Rayo is also well known to have both the ability and knowledge to use the Six Powers, a martial arts style that is mostly utilized by both the New World Government and Marines alike. Rayo admits to having been taught this style by his former master, but only with enough to do the basics of the style. He prefers to avoid using it as much as he can due to his own admittance of preferring his own “King of Beast” style (though he does combine the two when necessary).

Despite his boasts, Rayo is surprisingly intelligent in many aspects of life. He is knowledgeable of many myths, stories, and legends as well as many forms of science, laws, and theories. He is also a skilled haggler and negotiator, often being sent by Bugg to deal with problems both internally and externally. Rayo can also form quick plans of escapes when he is cornered or when things aren’t working his way. He is one of the few people in the world who can read the Phoneglyphs without any difficulty after having his family's secret code which utilizes the same alphabet as the Phoneglyphs.

Devil Fruit

At an early age, Rayo foolishly ate one of the earliest Artificial Devil Fruits or NEW SMILES that were available in the black market by accident and gained the ability to turn parts of his body with those of a lion. While some mistake him for eating the Neko Neko no Mi; Model: Lion (Cat Cat Fruit; Model: Lion), Rayo admits that he simply has better control since he ate his Devil Fruit at a very young age and practice with it. Rayo uses this Devil Fruit to increase his strength several times by becoming a half-lion/half-human hybrid and can use his fighting style to greater potential than before by also transforming specific parts of his body with those of a lion (IE. Rayo is able to turn his hand and arm into the head of a lion to cause more damage than with a lion's claw). Rayo also shifts into a full lion form should he need to avoid or surprise his opponent (though it has been noted that he seems to be twice as wild in his full and half-lion form than one should be).

Due to the Devil Fruit being a NEW SMILE, Rayo is known to have become far more aggressive than he was originally. This aggression is later found out to be a quirk of the fruit, that developed into a separate personality that Rayo refers to as “the Beast.” The Beast is considerably vile and nihilistic with violence being its preferred answer to dealing with others or anyone in particular. When Rayo's body is possessed by the Beast, Rayo exerts far greater strength than normal which has caused his body to be damaged from the recoils of overtaxing Rayo's body. Due to this, Rayo prefers to avoid using his Devil Fruit for long periods of time, as he knows how dangerous allowing the Beast control is.

Regulus Impact Palm: An open-palm strike that can send a normal person flying with extreme force. The star Regulus is one of the brightest stars that make up the constellation known as Leo. This attack gets stronger when Rayo is in his hybrid form or uses Haki.

Deneloba Back Strike: Rayo uses his whip to grab someone by the neck, reel them in close before delivering a kick into their stomach capable of breaking a boulder in half. Deneloba happens to be one of the stars that also make up the lion's tail in the constellation of Leo. Rayo can perform this technique in his hybrid form using his tail instead of his whip.

Leonis Claw Barrage: By mimicking a lion's claws, Rayo delivers a series of fast-paced strikes at a person's upper body. If Rayo is in his hybrid form, this attack allows him to use his claws to cut his opponent. Leonis is one of the stars in the constellation of Leo.

Zosma Earth Crusher: Leaping into the air and then using Moon Walk, Rayo delivers a powerful kick to a person's upper body with enough force to cause the earth underneath to buckle and break underneath his opponent. Zosma is another name for one of the stars in the constellation of Leo.

Subra Crash: Rayo grabs an opponent by their arm and jumps into the air with them. While in the air, Rayo delivers a series of blows that stop nerves from sending signals before he throws his opponent into the ground. Rayo then stomps on the stomach of the person he is fighting and restores the nerves to deliver a very painful signal that usually knocks out the victim. Subra is one of the stars in the constellation of Leo.

Al Jabbah Cross: Using his whip (or his claws in hybrid form), Rayo lashes sideways before lashing upwards almost as instantly as he lashed beforehand. Those who are victim of this attack are usually left with a large scar in the shape of a cross. Al Jabbah is one of the stars of the constellation of Leo.

Algieba Twin Palm: Rayo throws his arms back and rushes his opponent before striking said opponent with a double open palm strike that sends most opponent's to their knees. When in hybrid form, Rayo is capable of sending anyone he hits with this flying and can even use a variation of the move that uses air pressure only. Algieba is one of the stars of the constellation of Leo.

Adhafera Rush: Using his whip (or his own fists/claws), Rayo rushes the opponent while lashing in every direction, creating a wall of sorts as he charges. This is used best when against a large crowd and the name Adhafera is actually one of the stars that make up the constellation of Leo.

Ras Elased Borealis: Using his whip , Rayo falls to all fours and grabs an opponent by the neck before he sends them flying upwards before swinging around and launching them. Ras Elased Borealis is the name of one of the stars that make up the constellation of Leo. In his hybrid form, Rayo has been known to use this technique with his tail.

Ras Elased Australis: Using his whip, Rayo falls to all fours and grabs an opponent by the leg before he uses them in conjunction with his whip to cause damage at them and any other enemies. Ras Elased Australis is the name of one of the stars that make up the constellation of Leo. In his hybrid form, Rayo has been known to use this technique with his tail.

King Leo's Sickle: Rayo first catches one of the opponent's arms with his tail in hybrid form or his whip before he rushes forth and delivers a kick that sends the opponent upwards. While they continue to be attached, Rayo then jumps into the air, delivering another kick that smashes the opponent into the ground. Rayo then pulls them upwards with his tail or whip to deliver a drop kick before both slam into the ground with Rayo on top of his foe.

Beast King Impact Claw: Rayo concentrates his “ki” into his two arms and delivers a blow very similar to the Rokushiki technique known as the Roukougan. Rayo can also use this with one arm, though it loses the power and damage by half if so. In his hybrid form, this attack causes almost double the damage than what Rayo can do in his human form.

History

Past Story

Rayo Verrani was born as the only son and second child to Laura Verrani and Jude Verre on Smuggler's Cove. Early in life, Rayo learned that his mother and his uncle were in fact from an ancient line of information of information gatherers from an island that was destroyed nearly a thousand years ago. They had kept this secret from others due to a very old “Promise” that their family absolutely held in the highest regard, at least the ones that could still recall this promise. When Rayo asked them what this “Promise” entailed, however, they would always state that Rayo would need to grow older, stronger, and wiser before they felt he was ready to learn the truth in his mother's side of the family. To that end, Rayo would spend his days studying, learning about the history of his home island, the rulers (the Bugg Family), and devouring every bit of information he could get his hands on. During his days of study, Rayo would end up saving the life of a sea beast known as Triton, a creature with seal and horse-like properties, that he ended up calling Mr. Rey. The two became good friends, and thanks to Rayo's connection and studies, proposed the creation of one of the most unique ships known to the Cove, the Sea Chariot.

Of course, life wasn't easy for the young man as one day when joining his family to seek employment as a smuggler, he found an odd fruit in a barrel of apples. Taking a bite, Rayo immediately learned that what he had eaten was not only a Devil Fruit, but a new breed of artificial Devil Fruits. Having lost his ability to swim, Rayo swore that he would get the man who had created the fruit and kill him. Everyone who witness this declaration, however, knew that something was off and Rayo's family decided to send Rayo out to meet a man known as the Sage of the Mountain to learn how to keep his temper under control. The Sage proved invaluable to Rayo, and thanks to this teachings, Rayo was able to return home almost the same man he had been two years before eating the fruit. On his return, however, he learned that his father's family had abandoned their daughter and his cousin, Stella Verre, due to her suffering from albinism since birth.

Rayo was furious at this, and grew more so when his father revealed that his side of the family had always been like this. Seeking perfection in everything and anything abnormal was sent somewhere else to not tarnish their image. To their surprise, Rayo suggested adopting Stella into their family and raising her as best as they could. Rayo's parents agreed and so Stella entered their life as soon as Rayo's older sister, Serafina, ended up marrying the next lord of the island, Jay Bugg. Stella was difficult to be open with her new family, but with Rayo willing to share his stories, Stella soon began to love her new family, especially her new big brother.

Life as a Smuggler & the Promise

Once Rayo was in his twenties, he decided that he needed to travel the world so that he could always return with new stories for his family. Thus, Rayo decided to become a smuggler and joined the Bugg Transportation Services that his brother-in-law, Jay Bugg, ran. While he was offered a high position thanks to his sister at first, Rayo declined and asked to be hired on normally as a smuggler. He insisted on this as Rayou knew that a high position would mean he wouldn't be capable of traveling as often as he could. Bugg haggled with Rayo a bit and the two agreed that Rayo would work under Hornet as a smuggler, but do odd jobs for Bugg whenever he called that normally would be out of the question for most smugglers under Bugg's employment. While not ideal, Rayo agreed and began his job as a smuggler under the banner of the Bugg Family.

As it turned out, Rayo's commission for the Sea Chariot became a boon to his work as it would go undetected by many who hunted down smugglers. With Mr. Rey's help, Rayo was able to go to places that no one in his field could go and delivered food, treasures, and even information that would normally not be available to others. Bugg would always be grateful to Rayo's hard work, and Smuggler's Cove was prospering for many years due to this. During his travels, Rayo ended up meeting many interesting people such as a young man by the name of Axe that he liberated from an underground fighting pit. Axe would also become something of a “younger brother” to Rayo and Rayo trained the young treasure seeker before leaving him with the weapon that would make the young man iconic.

During his travels, Rayo went to Bad Law Island to fulfill a deal on behalf of his employer, and things were looking well. At least, they were until the man he had been making a deal with ended up becoming a target for the infamous Shidyk D. Shade. Furious on what Shade had done, Rayo let loose with all his might and after two days and one night of combat (though Rayo could never recall that time), he somehow had found himself as Shade's newest friend. Rayo dislike the man, but the two ventured together for a time and he ended up warming up to the assassin despite their different values. Rayo would run into Shade more often, and eventually owe Shade a favor. This favor came to be a little later when Shade asked Rayo to help him smuggle a young lady by the name of Jinko Ichiume out of the organization that Shade worked for. Rayo was friendly enough to the girl and gave her money, clothes, and food after they had successfully escaped their pursuers.

After the daring adventure, Rayo returned home where he was finally given permission by his mother to learn of her family's “Promise.” Over a thousand years ago, the Verrani clan lived in a faraway island that had been in constant battle with their enemies. The clan was made up of orphans of the many wars who had decided to stick together and sought whatever fortune they could through storytelling. They became well known for their stories, so much so that the king of the island eventually invited them into his home and indulge of their many tales. The clan's reputation became so great in fact, that rulers from across the seas would try to invite them but the king of the island would deny the invitations. One day, however, a ceasefire between the island and one of their enemies was finally reached, and the enemy nation promised to try to convince their allies in stopping the senseless war. There was one condition: They wanted a Verrani to attend the peace talks as a show of good faith and to entertain the guests for the talks.

The king debated this for many months before he finally agreed to the condition with one single member of the clan entering the enemy nation. This was a grave mistake as the enemy nation not only killed the dignitaries but tortured the member of the Verrani for any secrets that they knew. Sadly, the member returned to give the news and admitted to giving away one great secret that their island had held for many years. The king was furious and would've executed the man, had not a little girl from the clan stood in the way and began to tell story after story to everyone present. Then another member joined her, and another, and another until the entire clan was using their stories to try and defend their fellow clansman. The king was moved by their loyalty and so stopped the execution under a faithful promise to the clan: They would wander the seas from that day onward, gathering every bit of information across the seas they could find before returning to their home to tell the king or his descendants all they had witnessed.

This was the fated “Promise” and the beginning of what was later known as the Tome of the Verrani, a series of indestructible books said to hold secrets from nearly every corner of the seas. Rayo was moved by this tale, and made his dream to find his clans lost history as he set out to sea on another job for Jay Bugg.

Present Story

Under Construction

Trivia

Rayo's Dream is to find all of the Tome of Verrani, a series of books said to have been written by the Verrani family for over a thousand years.

Rayo is capable of keeping several items in his jacket. As a running gag, most people when they see the amount or size of these items ask him, he always responds with “natural talent.”

Rayo's favorite meal is a well-done steak with a baked potato.

Rayo's favorite snack is Pocky, especially cookies and cream or chocolate flavored ones.

Rayo has a bounty of 244 million on his head.

Rayo enjoys the scent of lavender and meditation when not studying any historical artifacts he may have encountered. He states it helps him stay focused.