The cold sea wind carried the sounds of punches, roars, and the clashing of swords...
Lightning flashed across the gloomy clouds, raindrops falling on the girl's short cherry-blossom pink hair.
A circle of defeated pirates lay around her, and the girl herself was somewhat exhausted from the prolonged battle.
"Has it been... three days already?"
Sakura wiped the sweat from her temple, looking towards the center of the storm-wracked battlefield.
Roger's hearty laughter and Whitebeard's deep, rumbling voice intertwined. It seemed it would still be some time before a victor was decided.
Behind her, the air was torn asunder with a violent roar.
The phoenix wreathed in blue flames cried out sharply, its wings folding back as it transformed into a streak of light, its yellow talons aimed directly at Sakura.
"Don't get... too carried away!"
The light of Observation Haki filled Sakura's emerald-green eyes. Her fist clenched for what felt like the hundredth time.
The rocky ground beneath the girl's forward step shattered, spider-web cracks spreading chaotically.
Monstrous, uncontrollable strength roared savagely. The violent wind from the punch shattered forward in a ring shape.
"I've always been serious, you bastard!"
Even without powerful Armament Haki, under the onslaught of this immense force, the blue flames were like wax before a hot knife, being destroyed inch by inch by Sakura's fist.
The endlessly regenerating blue flames scattered. Marco cried out in pain as he was sent flying backwards, embedded into the soil.
'This little girl... is she a monster?'
Pirates fighting nearby witnessed this scene, breaking out in a cold sweat that mixed with the rain and sea spray, wiped away hastily with their own hands.
The battle continued, eventually reaching the fourth day.
The dark clouds in the sky finally receded, and warm sunlight once again bathed the Oro Jackson and the Moby Dick.
Members of the two crews mingled in small groups, exchanging supplies. The main fighters gathered together to drink.
Sakura, carrying bandages and medicinal powder prepared by Crocus, moved around treating the wounded.
A sudden, inexplicable tremor shook the entire island, stirring up colossal waves offshore.
"It's coming?"
Watching the shattered atmosphere and sky, Sakura knew that the Kozuki Family was about to come aboard.
Sure enough, after bidding farewell to the Whitebeard Pirates, the Oro Jackson gained six new crew members.
"Shanks, Buggy, he came aboard. Pay up, two hundred Berry each!"
Sakura grinned mischievously, wiggling her small hand in front of the two boys.
"Why?!"
Bucky looked utterly unconvinced, but he was an honorable gambler. With a trembling hand, he reached into his pocket for his wallet.
This isn't just betting money, it was practically Buggy's lifeblood!
Compared to the stingy Buggy, Shanks paid up much more readily.
But after paying, the boy couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did you know they would come aboard?"
"Of course I heard it with my Observation Haki."
Sakura blinked her left eye and stuck out her tongue, looking pure and innocent.
"Cheating! You cheated!!!"
Buggy, who had lost two hundred Berry to Sakura, turned bright red, steam practically shooting from his head.
Patting Buggy's shoulder, Sakura gave him a playful smile, "This is called 'anticipating the outcome'."
"Dammit!"
"Wahahaha!"
The laughing Shanks dragged the shouting Buggy away.
That night, a banquet was held to welcome Oden.
After eating and drinking her fill, Sakura sat alone on the mast at the stern of the Oro Jackson, enjoying the cool sea breeze.
"Ah, found you!"
Sakura turned her head, looking in the direction of the voice.
A man with a plate-like hairstyle and strange eyeliner drawn on his face with weird greasepaint climbed up.
"Hey, is the oden I made really that bad? Roger told me you have quite an appetite."
"No, it's just... seeing that kind of dish made me a little homesick."
Sakura supported herself on the mast with her hands, her legs dangling in the air.
It had been almost a year since she came to this world. She suddenly missed the peaceful times back in the Ninja World.
Sakura's parents might be ordinary, but they gave their daughter plenty of love and care.
Having never experienced such feelings in her previous life, Sakura cherished their warmth deeply.
But Roger's time was short. To repay his kindness, and the care shown by the members of the Roger Pirates-
That was why Sakura stayed on the Oro Jackson, sailing with them.
'Maybe...after Captain Roger completes his goal, it will be time for me to return to the Ninja World.'
'After all, the Ninja World had its own wonderful ninjutsu, which could also be able to let me become much stronger, right?'
"So you are also..."
Seeing the full moon reflected in the girl's emerald-green eyes, Oden's expression became excited.
"No, Oden-san, I don't know what Captain Roger told you, but I am not from Wano Country!"
Sakura decisively raised her hand, cutting off Oden's misguided fantasy.
"Eh, is that so? I thought I'd met a companion from my homeland."
Oden's eyebrows drooped, the eyeliner at the corners of his eyes seeming to sag as well.
After a moment, having recovered his spirit, he asked Sakura, "But since you're a Ninja, you accept commissions, right?"
"If it's related to Daimyo, or that whole Wano Country system, I must refuse."
Sakura shook her head, her pink hair stirred by the gentle breeze.
"Why? Don't Ninja need a lord?"
Oden leaned forward, hands on his knees. His smile faded as he tilted his head towards Sakura.
In his world, or rather, in his traditional notions, this was what Ninjas were.
They were the swords and knives of the Daimyo, tools who would dedicate their lives and loyalty to them. But Sakura, a Ninja, had refused him, which greatly surprised him.
Then, an impossible-to-ignore spirit erupted from the girl. Dark lightning crackled incessantly in the sky.
The rampant Conqueror's Haki declared the will of a newborn king
"Kozuki, Shimotsuki, Uzuki, Fugetsu... samurai families, hereditary and unchangeable, closed off and backward."
"You, representing the Kozuki Family, are making a request of me. Ultimately, it's still about maintaining Samurai rule."
"Do you think I, who have chosen to become a free pirate, would willingly exert effort for such a despicable thing?"
"And! If a Ninja must pledge loyalty to a lord… I am my own king!"
Oden was stunned by Sakura's blunt and sharp words, his clasped hands frozen mid-air.
It wasn't just because of the Conqueror's Haki roaring before him, but because the man keenly perceived...
Something vast, indescribable with words, was being revealed to him through the girl before his eyes.
A rejection of rule, a critique of decay, and a rebellion against tradition!
'That's it, rebellion!!!'
"That's it, that's exactly it!"
Oden exclaimed excitedly, his face filled with pure ecstasy as if he had discovered a treasure.
He lifted Sakura high into the air and spun around on the slender mast.
"What are you doing?! Put me down, it's dangerous!"
Ignoring Sakura's screams, Oden jumped down from the mast, carrying her towards the banquet area on the deck.
"Roger, Roger, I found what I was looking for!"
Oden ran up to Roger, holding Sakura out in front of him.
The slightly tipsy Roger squinted, looking at the pink-haired, disheveled, and pouting Sakura, and replied to Oden in a serious and thoughtful tone: "Oden, my boy, I know Sakura-chan is cute, but your son probably can't beat her."
"It's not that, you fool!"
Oden, whose eyes turned white and bared shark-like teeth, slapped Roger's shoulder with a loud 'smack'.
"Wahahahaha!"
Unfazed, Roger picked up his sake cup, took a large gulp, and then laughed heartily.
"I'm serious, Roger! This child can definitely achieve the opening of the country I've always dreamed of!"
Putting Sakura down, Oden became somewhat anxious, as if a tangible future was right before his eyes.
But Roger, sitting before him, slammed his cup heavily onto the deck. For the first time, he released his Haki with a tone of warning.
"Oden, do not bind the future of the children!"