"Hey, you're a major power in the Grand Line! Don't you have any way to confirm the princess's location?"
Inside the palace of Alabasta, Sakura stood on the throne, grabbing Cobra by the collar and shaking him.
"Sakura, be a little gentler..."
Tiger interceded from the side, trying to prevent the King of Alabasta from being killed on the spot.
"Let... let go of me, I will help you!"
Stammering, Cobra managed to force the words out of his throat.
In truth, from the moment Sakura and Tiger had stormed the palace, he had already begun to believe that Vivi was not kidnapped by them.
Just as Sakura had said, Cobra, learning from the previous incident where Vivi was kidnapped by sand bandits, had specially commissioned someone in the New World to create a Vivre Card for Vivi.
After making contact with Sakura and Tiger, he confirmed that the Vivre Card had not shown any significant abnormal movement, proving the kidnapper was not one of these two.
"There is Vivi's Vivre Card in my pocket. Tear a piece off to search for her!"
As soon as Cobra finished speaking, Sakura released him, letting him fall to the floor.
She took the Vivre Card from his pocket and tore off a small piece. The tiny scrap of paper floated in Sakura's hand, faintly pointing towards the sky.
"Good, let's go!"
Sakura and Tiger exchanged a glance and nodded.
Just as the two were about to leave the palace, Cobra shouted, "Wait, esteemed guests! Could you please save my daughter as well? I can agree to any condition!"
"Any? Then I want to see the Poneglyph inside your royal family's mausoleum!"
Sakura's figure flickered. She grabbed Cobra's hand, her eyes shining.
"Sakura, Kuina and Leviathan..."
Fisher Tiger, standing to the side, sighed and held his head.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot the main task!"
Sakura smacked her own head, grabbed Tiger, and started running outside. "Cobra, remember the condition you agreed to!"
The two ran out of the palace. Sakura activated the power of the Odo Odo no Mi.
Large amounts of steam gathered, carrying her and Tiger as they began flying towards the sky indicated by the Vivre Card.
Barging through the cloud layers, they arrived at an altitude of nearly ten thousand meters.
Sakura finally saw the artificial sky island composed of five islands floating above.
"Well then, let's start with a greeting first, so no one can say I wasn't 'respectful' enough to the senior!"
Taking a deep breath, Sakura revealed a smile.
Amidst the crisp sound of shattering, the moment her spiritual pressure erupted.
In the high altitude where starlight flickered, a strand of dark lightning soared straight up, piercing the clouds, shattering the barriers of wind and storm, and looking down with contempt at the five miraculous islands before it from within the dark, pitch-black firmament.
"Come out here, Shiki-!!!"
Accompanied by the tremor of thunder, the impact of Conqueror's Haki descended upon the sky island.
Walking amidst the wind and snow, the golden-haired man puffing on a cigar suddenly looked up towards the center where the lightning raged.
"Hey, you two, get out of here first. Seems like someone has come to visit me!"
Shiki raised his hand and clenched it in the air. The rubble beneath Indigo and the chimpanzee's feet formed a platform, carrying the two rapidly towards the palace.
He himself levitated into the air under the effect of his ability, flying towards the distant center where the dark lightning raged and roared.
"He is here!"
Sakura's eyes narrowed. She tightened her grip on Tiger's arm slightly. "Tiger, I will hold him off here. You go to the island to find them!"
"Alright!"
The tall Fish-Man nodded and was immediately flung towards the sky island by Sakura.
A golden shadow passed him by but showed no intention of stopping him.
After all, on these seas, Captain versus Captain, King versus King, was an unspoken rule of mutual understanding among pirates.
"Shihahaha! What presence! You are quite the formidable one!"
His golden hair danced wildly in the wind, a carefree, wild smile on his face.
Shiki hovered higher in mid-air, looking down at Sakura's face.
Suddenly, memories of the Edd War surfaced, recalling that young girl who had dared to throw a punch at him back then.
The two faces gradually overlapped, causing Shiki to feel somewhat dazed for a moment. "I see. It is you! The brat from Roger's ship!"
Ten years of silence, a life of ease, had made Shiki somewhat forget the scenes of sailing the seas in the past.
The old-timers left the stage one after another, and a new generation of pirates began to show their prowess on these seas, even becoming powerful enough to come and challenge him to his face?
However... he, Shiki, was not so old he could not fight anymore!
Thinking this, Golden Lion flicked the ash from his cigar and sneered, "So, what business do you have with me? Planning to join my ranks and rule the world together with me?"
"I have no interest in domination, Shiki."
Sakura drew Kumotsuna, wrapping it in Armament Haki. "Also, return my companions!"
"That answer, just like that bastard Roger's, is truly unpleasant!"
"But this is… just perfect!"
Shiki clicked his tongue, a cruel smile blooming at the corner of his mouth. "You know the rules of pirates, right? If you want something, come and take it yourself, Shihahahaha!"
Doing a flip in mid-air, Shiki slashed through the air with the famous swords attached to his feet, sending out a majestic wave of sword energy.
[Zanpa!]
Even though using his feet, this swordsmanship honed between life and death could still outshine the vast majority of swordsmen on the seas.
A massive golden slash flew towards her. Its sharp aura gave Sakura a slight stinging sensation.
"Old lion, just you wait!"
Sakura raised her sword. Amidst the surge of Armament Haki, dark lightning flowed.
The sword's edge swept through the air, howling as it unleashed a huge black slash.
[Aramitama!]
Boom!
The Haki-infused slashes collided. A violent gale erupted. Apart from the islands still under Shiki's ability, the surrounding clouds, mist, and storms were all blown away by this gust.
"Roger's swordsmanship? I want you more and more, baby-chan!"
Golden Lion spat out his cigar stub, pulling a new one from his coat and lighting it.
His ability lifted his body as he dove towards Sakura.
"You are someone who lived through that era too. You should understand!"
"What Great Pirate Era? That thing Roger the bastard started with his life, how can it be occupied by a bunch of fools only playing house?!"
Spinning nimbly in the air, Shiki slashed at Sakura with the swords on his feet. The two Great Grade Swords, Kogarashi and Oto, clashed with Kumotsuna, creating a shower of sparks.
Using the weight from his ability to wrestle with Sakura, Shiki spread his arms wide in a wild manner, reaching out to her.
"If you are Roger's successor, then join forces with me, Higanbana brat!"
"Let these hothouse flowers, and that lofty World Government, feel once again the terror that real pirates can bring!"
Clang!
Sakura tightened her grip on Kumotsuna. A massive amount of Chakra steam erupted from her body. The burst of Boil Release combined with tremendous strength sent Shiki flying back in an instant.
"Stop going on and on about the world. Have you forgotten how the last guy who plotted to conquer the world met his end?"
Using her ability to stir heat currents, Sakura artificially created a massive storm and hurled it at Shiki.
"Shihahaha, so I have already learned from his failure!"
Shiki's gaze suddenly turned grave. "Moreover, I have mastered a drug that can cause beasts to evolve. If you join me, we can go capture even stronger beasts and produce more soldiers."
"When the time comes, the World Government will also tremble before this terrifying power."
"So, how about it? Want to join forces with me?"
With a wave of his arms, the wind and snow from the surrounding islands converged towards him in large amounts, condensing in the air to form several lion heads that roared, opening their huge maws to collide with Sakura's storm.
After a tremendous roar, the gale and blizzard swallowed everything.