"Such severe injuries, how excessive!"
In a daze, Sakura felt herself being placed into warm flowing water. The seawater instantly sapped her strength, making her go limp even more helplessly in someone's ample embrace.
Soon after, a soft little hand holding a sponge gently wiped over her wounds, cleaning away the dirt.
Bubbles covered her entire body, but that restless hand began exploring up and down.
"Oi, Seira, look, human anatomy is so strange!"
Curiosity mixed with excitement, that energetic voice called out to a companion in a hushed tone.
"Mero, there's no need to be curious about that. You'll have legs too once you're past thirty!"
A slightly more mature voice sounded with a hint of helplessness, followed by the musical note of bursting bubbles.
A heavy object plunged into the water. The splashes collided with the reefs on the shore, making a sizzling sound.
"Such tender skin... though the chest is a bit underdeveloped... Let me see that next..."
Sakura felt that hand seemingly heading in a dangerous direction, sliding everything towards the trench named 'censorship'. She finally couldn't take it anymore.
Enduring the exhaustion, the girl forced her eyes open, "Hey, you're going too far!"
Before her, the lady with long blue hair and an elegant figure looked startled.
Her lower fishtail instinctively swished a few times, the resulting bubbles spraying Sakura's face.
"Ah, sorry, sorry!"
The mermaid apologetically raised the sponge in her hand to wipe the bubbles from Sakura's face.
With the help of the sunlight, Sakura finally saw the breathtaking view before her.
The starry sea was vast, shimmering with illusory light.
A narrow waterway stretched across the sky, with playful rainbow colors shuttling through it.
And Sakura herself was in a body of water. Before her, reefs stood tall, and gorgeous corals willfully displayed their forms.
Countless beautiful mermaid moved gracefully among these coral reefs. Some sat atop sea creatures playing with fish, some looked in mirrors touching up their makeup, and others lazily lay on the reefs sunning their tails...
But without exception, these incredibly beautiful mermaid regarded her with curiosity. Some even swam up to Sakura, lightly touching her.
"Hea... Heaven!"
Although hunger, exhaustion, and the seawater's suppression of Devil Fruit Users made Sakura's voice somewhat weak… Even if she were to die today, she would drag her decaying body to shout: "This is heaven!"
The swarming snow-white figures and the soft forms of the mermaid truly made her linger, reluctant to leave!
'Could there be anything in the world more irresistible than playing in the water with mermaids?'
'Oh, wait, there seems to be something… I'm a Devil Fruit User!'
"By the way, since you're awake, Tiger-sama asked us to tell you that he and his human friend are waiting for you inside the cafe!"
The blue-haired mermaid supported Sakura with her ample figure, which could drown people, delivered her to the shore, and handed her a dry towel.
While Sakura was drying off, she also took out bandages to wrap her injured areas.
The other mermaid, called Seira, also emerged from the water. In her hands, a bubble contained a Ninja Attire patched all over with sunflower-edged patches.
"Your clothes, we mended them a bit... not sure if it's suitable..."
"The sewing skills are quite good! Thank you~"
Sakura took it, gratefully giving Seira a thumbs-up, and pulled her Ninja Attire back on.
"The cafe is on the left at the end of Coral Road. Remember to come find us to play when you have time!"
Mero, the blue-haired mermaid, gave Sakura directions. A group of mermaid gathered behind her, waving goodbye to Sakura.
"So enthusiastic..."
Sakura was utterly enchanted, vigorously wiping the lingering lipstick marks from her face, and ran towards the Mermaid Cafe.
Weaving through the streets of Fish-Man Island, she passed several large new districts under construction. Houses built among coral reefs stood tall, and many mermaid children floated in the air inside bubbles.
The closer she got to the cafe, the more prosperous the surrounding streets became, lined with shops selling pearls, gems, and sea creatures.
The passing mermaids and Fish-men were also attracted by Sakura's strange attire, turning their heads to follow the running girl's figure, causing quite a few collisions.
"Hmm, found it!"
With a sudden screeching halt and a puff of smoke, Sakura stopped in front of a shop with a metal sign.
She stepped forward, and the doors on both sides automatically opened without any mechanical drive, revealing a corner of the most prosperous shop on Fish-Man Island.
"Hey, Sakura!"
At one of the tables, Fisher Tiger, with a drink in front of him, saw her arrival and raised his hand to greet her.
"Awake now, are you, new [Light]?"
The man sitting across from him, arms crossed and body concealed under a cloak, also lifted his eyes.
Sakura walked to their table, sat down without ceremony, picked up the food prepared earlier, and began to eat heartily.
"Tiger, you're so mean! You actually brought me to Mermaid Island without telling me!"
Amidst the sounds of chewing and swallowing, Sakura tilted her head and chided playfully.
"There's nothing I can do. The World Government is searching for us like crazy, so we can only lay low here for a while."
Fisher Tiger drained the glass in his hand and slammed his fist on the table.
Monkey D. Dragon, who is sitting beside him, slid a freshly printed bounty poster in front of Sakura.
Setting aside the smell of ink, the picture showed a wounded Sakura swinging her battle-axe.
"[Witch], Haruno Sakura. The bounty is..."
"[Witch]... Haruno Sakura."
Totto Land, a nation created by the great pirate, the Queen of Souls, Big Mom.
On this sea stood an island entirely made of imitation food… Whole Cake Island, the capital of this nation!
Charlotte Linlin, whose appearance and figure were no longer what they once were, leaned on a giant sofa, one hand constantly stuffing freshly baked cream cakes into her mouth.
"Trash from the World Government, as usual, can't even come up with a decent name!"
From the bounty's epithet, Big Mom could feel the overflowing perfunctoryness.
She herself had been provoked by some arrogant brats because of the name [Big Mom], though those people had now all turned into sea creatures' droppings.
"A sixteen-year-old brat actually makes them this wary. Could it be..."
Two big words flashed through Big Mom's mind: Special Race!!!
If that were the case, then this girl with the same hair color as her was exactly the target for her collection!
Powerful enough abilities, enticing enough bloodline. If she could make Sakura join the Charlotte Family, she could definitely give birth to very powerful children!
"Perospero, go call Katakuri. Mama has something to tell him! Mamamama~!"
…
Meanwhile, in the latter part of the New World.
A massive ship shaped like a whale sailed on the sea.
A tall man sitting in the middle of the deck held a newspaper in one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other, guzzling it down.
"The brat from Roger's ship, huh? The seas are about to get lively again, gurararara!"
"Pops, didn't we tell you not to drink so much?"
"Shut up! What kind of pirate can't drink?!"
…
Wano Country, Onigashima.
"Wororororo, not a Zoan-type? What a pity!"
The giant beast holding a gourd of sake drank himself into a stupor, then fell to the ground and began to weep loudly.
…
An island in the New World.
"You're finally here, Sakura!"
A red-haired man wearing a straw hat, skewering a wild boar leg with his famed sword and roasting it over a fire, laughed heartily after seeing the newspaper.
"Shanks, is this the one you said..."
His first mate leaned against a large tree trunk, smoking leisurely.
"Yeah, your position as vice-captain was almost lost to her."
"Hmph!"
"Dahahaha!"
The red-haired man vigorously patted the grey-haired man's back, his laughter startling a nearby News Coo.
It flew off, carrying the bounty posters and newspapers detailing the events at the Holy Land Mary Geoise to every corner of the world.
The incredible event created by the young girl and the Fish-man made the entire sea seethe with excitement. Many ambitious individuals also began to move in the shadows.
…
The Four Blues!
"The trash in the Holy Land has decayed to this extent? This is a good opportunity! The Ope Ope no Mi, I must have it!" (T/N: Op-Op Fruit.)
…
The Grand Line, Paradise.
"What an audacious fellow. But it seems this one isn't easy to deal with, I'll have to find other Ohara's survivors. Whitebeard, World Government, just you wait!"
"Another monster on the seas. If I could get her shadow, perhaps the Oars could be animated! Damn Kaido, sooner or later, you'll pay in blood!"
Whether it was jealousy, envy, desire, or hostility, as the fame of the two soared, they would inevitably be swept up in the vortex of the era.
From then on, peace and tranquility would have nothing to do with them.
New World, Fish-Man Island.
"[Witch] Haruno Sakura, bounty: 440,000,000 Berry! Only Alive!"
"Fisher Tiger, bounty: 280,000,000 Berry! Dead or Alive!"
Monkey D. Dragon, sitting opposite the two, read out their bounties.
"Haha, those five old men must be half dead with anger~"
Sakura narrowed her eyes in pleasure, her cheeks stuffed with food, making muffled sounds. Her injuries were rapidly healing as she swallowed the food.
"Alright, enough about those World Government scum!"
Fisher Tiger put an arm around Dragon's shoulder and raised his drink.
"After surviving a disaster, one should celebrate heartily. Save the gloomy talk for tomorrow."
"Come, drink this!"
Dragon and Sakura exchanged a look. The three main perpetrators of the Holy Land's incident, amidst the World Government's frantic manhunt, raised their glasses together and clinked them.
"Cheers!!!" x3