"Hahaha, your daughter ran off with that kid!"
In the palace of the Upperworld, Enel was munching on an apple with great relish, an exceptionally bright smile on his face.
"Ugh!" Sakura slumped to the ground, the hem of her coat falling, and raised a hand to cover her chest, as if a knife had pierced her heart.
The usually emotionally reserved Sato Sakura had actually sneaked out with Ace. At this moment, while Sakura was gratified by her daughter's choice to defy her orders, she was more heartbroken over her daughter being lured away by that brat.
'She's only five years old!'
Mentally calculating what shape she would beat Ace into when she caught him later, Sakura raised her eyes and stabbed a ferocious gaze at Enel. "Your Observation Haki should be able to sense the entire island. Why didn't you report when they ran away?"
Her raging will ignited the flames of her spirit. In the air, the sound of steel grinding seemed to continuously erupt, just like the wailing of countless prisoners being tortured, surrounding Enel's ears.
Watching the girl steadily approach him, Enel's forehead dripped cold sweat. "W-wait a minute! I was busy building the Celestial Realm for you! By the time I could break away, those brats had already escaped!"
This was a lie. He had sensed Ace convincing Sato Sakura to leave early on using his Observation Haki, but had simply found it amusing and let them go to sea.
But enjoying the show in the moment felt great… the consequences afterwards would surely be a disaster. That described Enel's current situation.
Having completely immersed himself in the entertainment, he had completely forgotten that his captain's Observation Haki was just as unreasonably strong… and more importantly, she could read minds!
"You bastard, you did that on purpose!" A rainbow light flashed in Sakura's pupils, her anger growing stronger.
Enel waved his hands in the air. "Wait, let me explain..."
Seeing she had no intention of listening to his explanation, he without hesitation turned and fled.
However, a hand coated in Armament Haki was faster than him, directly grabbing his arm.
"Enough talk. Prepare to die!" Sakura roared.
Then, her other fist, almost burning, whistled out and viciously slammed into Enel's head, shattering his Haki defense and smashing him into the ground.
Cracks spread across the earth. Strands of scorching firelight spread, stinging the eyes with burning pain, impossible to look at directly.
"Hmph!" Having vented on Enel, her mood improved considerably.
With a cold snort, she called for the nearby Wing tribe soldiers to carry him away. Sakura walked out of the palace alone.
There were still more important matters to attend to. As for Sato Sakura and Ace, she would let them roam the seas for a while first.
These past two years were still part of the turbulent period when Shanks was seizing territory and ascending to Emperor.
With him and Sakura guarding the gates of the New World, the Government and Marines couldn't reach in, so the two youngsters wouldn't face direct pressure from the world for now.
Walking to the outskirts of the Upperworld, Sakura raised her hand and snapped her fingers. "Leviathan!"
Surges of darkness spread. The ferocious outline of the Night Sparrow flashed and was gone. The shadow under Sakura's feet shifted, opening a huge mouth to swallow her, then soaring into the sky with her.
When sunlight fell again, Leviathan had already brought Sakura above the clouds.
Surrounding them was a black sea formed from sea clouds containing a high concentration of Pyrobroin particles. Endless lightning ran through the sea clouds, extremely dangerous.
The encircling lightning, coupled with the sea clouds that restricted Devil Fruit abilities, made Leviathan the only means of transportation capable of entering and leaving this area.
Sailing inward from the outer sea for about several dozen nautical miles, the endless dark clouds in the sky rapidly dissipated. Then, one could see an island composed entirely of pure white island clouds.
Layers of lightning's fierce light scattered down, like a mirage, revealing a gorgeous city atop the clouds. Tall and solemn buildings seemed to stretch to the end of the sky. Faintly, one could see people with wings growing from their arms rising and falling like birds...
Those were the Wing tribe!
The natives of Miracle Island who had evolved by consuming IQ, given this race name by Sakura after moving to the sky.
Sakura had exchanged a haven, absolutely free from outsider invasion, for the Wing tribe's service.
Furthermore, the creation of this artificial Celestial Realm served another purpose!
It was the new Holy Land she had built for Katsuyu to perfect her own Sage Mode!
The ramming prow of the Leviathan pushed aside the island clouds, sailing all the way to the deepest part of the island.
In a forbidden land covered in forest, a huge slug slowly raised its head. However, judging by its appearance, it seemed somewhat listless, with many wrinkles on its skin.
"Katsuyu, how's the construction of the Senjutsu Pool coming along?"
Sakura jumped off the ship and slowly walked to the slug's side.
"It's gone. Not a single drop left!"
Katsuyu Sage's gentle voice carried a hint of grievance. It shook its head forcefully.
Its contractor was simply a demon. She had summoned one-tenth of its body and left it here as a relay, day and night refining Natural Energy for her, converting it into the slime for the Senjutsu Pool.
As a result, its originally plump and round slug body had become this shriveled, thin state.
"Ah, I quit! I'm going on strike!!!"
Katsuyu Sage's massive body writhed, making a huge fuss.
"Alright, once the pool is finished, I'll take you out to play!"
Sakura's single sentence made Katsuyu quiet down.
Leviathan, nearby, could even discern an emotion called anticipation on its otherwise expressionless body.
"Actually, it's already built! When do we leave?!"
Katsuyu's eyes lit up, immediately deciding to hand over the work.
"You..." Sakura amusingly punched it lightly. "Once I pass the inspection, I'll take you out to play!"
Saying this, she undid her clothes and walked towards the large slime pool before her.
"Oh~!"
Leviathan raised her small wings to cover her face, but her small eyes peered through the gaps in the feathers, staring at the girl's lovely figure.
Then, she witnessed the most terrifying thing she had ever seen.
The pink-haired girl, upon stepping into the lake, dissolved! Skin, muscles, organs dissolved, yet under a strange power, rapidly regenerated.
White mist instantly filled the entire pool, making the bewildered ship spirit feel as if she had stumbled into some kind of slaughter scene.
"Murder!!!"
Leviathan's sharp wail echoed throughout the sky island.
The petite ship spirit opened her mouth wide, her eyes bulging from their sockets, as she prepared to rush forward and save her.
"Hey, don't interfere with her training!"
Seeing Leviathan about to rush over, Katsuyu Sage, worried Leviathan would be harmed by contact with the Senjutsu Slime, used its tail to hold her down.
"She will die... her body split apart... turned into a mess!"
Leviathan's eyes were bloodshot. Gritting her teeth, she began to transform into her beast form. The shadows around her, under her control, also began to writhe, forming sharp shadow thorns emerging from the ground.
"Wait, Leviathan!"
Sakura's voice rang out. Having repaired her body with Creation Rebirth, she had already walked out of the pool.
Seeing the two poised for a tense standoff, she called for Leviathan to stop and retract her ability.
The tear-streaked ship spirit was finally released by Katsuyu and immediately threw herself into the girl's bosom.
"Sorry, sorry! Next time I'll definitely explain it to you in advance!"
Feeling Leviathan's lingering fear, Sakura gently patted her back.
"You bastard! You scared me to death! Wuwuwu!"
Leviathan buried her head in Sakura's chest, her sobs intermittent.
"How is it? Pure enough quality? Can you take me out to play now?"
Katsuyu flipped its head downwards, leaning towards the two.
Sakura good-naturedly raised her hand and flicked Katsuyu's antenna. "You... can't you read the mood?!"
Although the effect couldn't completely match the large pool in Shikkotsu Forest, it was just barely sufficient as a new location for Sakura to practice her Sage Art.
So she changed her clothes, picked up Leviathan, and waved to Katsuyu.
"Let's go. I'll show you this world!"