The afterglow of the setting sun scattered, the sound of distant tides echoing.
The coast of Foolshout Island was filled with the smell of gunpowder. The Marines and government agents who had been detaining the Fish-men were also caught in the explosions.
When Sakura arrived, the ground was pitted with craters, rubble, and debris everywhere. Wounded, both pirates and Marines alike, lay all around.
Seeing the scene before her, she felt a moment of dizziness and cried out hoarsely, "Madman! He even attacked his own people?"
"Higanbana Sakura! Hand over Fisher Tiger!"
The still-active Marine commander, Rear Admiral Strawberry, raised two long swords towards Sakura.
"Order your soldiers to gather all the wounded immediately! I will treat them!"
Sakura dashed forward so fast that Strawberry didn't even have time to swing his swords.
Simultaneously, his beard was grabbed by Sakura, forcing him to bend down and meet her gaze.
The pain made Strawberry, whose eyes were perpetually squinted, widen them in anger. "Damn pirate! Why should I listen to you?!"
"Fool! Are you going to watch all these lives be lost? Whether it's saving people or fighting, I'm ready for either!"
The will of a conqueror burned fiercely. An unmatched spirit condensed into Conqueror's Haki, impacting everything around.
Strawberry, thrown to the ground, bore the brunt of that violent pressure, gripping his twin swords unwillingly.
His gaze swept over the many wounded groaning in the dust, then back to the girl running rampant with Haki.
Finally, he seemed to reach some kind of resolution.
"All Marines, cease hostilities, gather the wounded!"
A loud shout echoed across the entire battlefield, finally bringing a semblance of order to the chaos.
Amidst the vast clouds of gunpowder smoke, identities of pirate, Marine, or World Government agent ceased to exist.
There were only fellow travelers cooperating fully, struggling against death.
The soldiers capable of sailing with Kizaru were all elites. They could at least follow orders.
Under Strawberry's organization and mobilization, the wounded were quickly accounted for.
"This... the number of wounded is just too high!"
The few medical corpsmen attached to the warship let out a sharp cry after counting.
Those with minor injuries had already been excluded. Those seriously injured by the blast impact numbered over five hundred.
There were a hundred patients with severe burns, over twenty of whom had internal organ damage and were in critical condition.
"Leviathan, get them out!"
Sakura patted Leviathan's body. It immediately spat out Kuina and Fisher Tiger.
Although Leviathan had used her ability to block part of the explosion's damage while they were inside her, the two were still in very bad shape.
"So many wounded... how are you going to treat them all?"
Strawberry, who had already sheathed his weapons, walked over, looking puzzled at the girl before him.
"I told you, I have a way!"
Sakura bit her finger, formed hand seals with her arms, and slammed them on the ground. As Chakra surged, intricate summoning rune spread across the ground.
Poof!
White smoke shot into the sky. The silhouette of a giant beast writhed within. A massive slug broke through the smoke, poking its head out.
"Sakura-chan, it's been so long since you last summoned me!!!"
Katsuyu lowered her head, her two vertical eyes staring blankly at Sakura as she complained.
"A... a slug?!"
Strawberry, who had never seen such a large slug, opened his mouth wide and instinctively took two steps back.
"Katsuyu, no time for pleasantries! There are wounded!"
Sakura raised her fist and bumped it against Katsuyu's head.
"Hmm?"
Katsuyu looked up, gazing towards the battlefield behind her.
After witnessing the many severely injured patients, she let out a sigh. "Ara ara, this is really terrible!"
"Let's go, Katsuyu!"
Sakura pressed her palms together then opened them, placing her hands on Katsuyu's skin. A massive amount of Yang Attribute Chakra poured into Katsuyu's body.
"Understood!"
Katsuyu suddenly raised her upper body, then, coordinating with Sakura's Chakra, split apart violently.
A tide of Katsuyu clones pressed down, covering over five hundred wounded in an instant.
The Chakra of the Mystical Palm Technique was evenly transmitted to every injured person, repairing their damaged bodies.
[Katsuyu: Immense Network Healing]
"Hey! Are you saving people or killing them?!"
The Marine medical corpsmen watched, their eyes almost popping out of their sockets. After recovering, they charged over to Sakura in a huff to protest.
The girl opened her emerald eyes, dark lightning flashing in her pupils. "Shut up! If you're really that idle, go prepare medicine and bandages! Don't get in the way here!"
"You...! Are you looking down on us medical corpsmen?!"
The medical corpsmen, ordered around like errand boys, flew into a rage. They jumped up, ready to prove the worth of the Marine medical system, but after one glance from those cold eyes, they promptly shut their mouths and stood down.
'Hmph, errand boys it is.'
'What's wrong with being an errand boy?!'
Under Sakura's healing, the vital signs of the numerous soldiers and pirates gradually stabilized.
The watching medical corpsmen went from indignation to shock, finally losing all color, their mouths agape.
"Why can just being covered by a slug heal serious injuries? A Devil Fruit power?"
The medical corpsmen knelt on the ground in despair, pounding the ground with their fists.
After all, anyone who had practiced medicine diligently for so many years, only to be outdone by someone who just ate a fruit, would have their confidence shattered.
Sakura shouted at the 'errand boys', "Don't slack off! Come help with the bandaging!"
"Oh, oh, coming!"
Immediately snapping out of their despair, the medical errand boys grabbed their supplies and ran over.
Sakura led them in cleaning and bandaging the remaining wounded, and categorizing the immobile patients to be sent to their respective ships.
The treatment of the wounded lasted all night. Only when the sky began to lighten did Sakura find a large tree to lean against, sitting down and wearily burying her head between her knees.
"How terrifying~. With medical skills of this level, no wonder the World Government sent CP0 after you repeatedly."
From the other side of the large tree, a certain Marine Admiral, who had long since broken free from his restraints, sat down reading a freshly printed newspaper.
Actually, Kizaru had escaped Leviathan's technique last night.
But after rushing to the coast and finding Sakura treating everyone, he had silently intercepted the World Government agents for her, staying with Strawberry to watch over her all night.
"So? Not arresting me?"
Sakura didn't look up, just raised a fist wrapped in Armament Haki and shook it.
"Arrest who? Are there pirates and Marines here? Aren't there only doctors and patients?"
Kizaru put down the newspaper, raising his head with a look of confusion.
He exuded an aura of a patient's family member, none of the previous tension remaining.
Hearing his playacting, Sakura laughed. "Justice of the ambiguous, you."
"Well, I've always been clever since I was a child~"
Kizaru sighed lightly, shook the newspaper, folded it, and turned into a stream of light flying towards the distant warship.
"Sakura-san!"
Jinbei, who had recovered relatively quickly, also walked over and bowed respectfully to Sakura.
"Cut the formalities."
Sakura waved her hand impatiently. "Tiger is still unconscious. You're in charge of the Sun Pirates for now. What are your plans next?"
Jinbei ached with a headache, putting a hand to his forehead, and glanced back at the pirate ship full of wounded.
"Although this is somewhat shameless to say... could you please take in Big Brother Tiger?"
"Huh?"