Sakura Haruno had a nightmare.
In the midst of a raging storm, giant waves crashed around her, and a demon was urging her to swim faster. At some point, she thought she saw Captain Roger, but before she could yell, "Captain, save me!" she heard him say to the demon, "She's close to awakening." Then the demon, eyes glowing red, charged toward her, shouting, "You don't want to fail at awakening Observation Haki, do you?"
"Sakura! Sakura!"
A murky, sticky voice seemed to call from above the water, bubbles gurgling in her ears.
Uncle Rayleigh's calling me… but I'm so tired… I don't want to deal with him.
Sakura just wanted to sink into the cold, dark sea, letting it swallow her completely.
Boom!
Lightning tore through the stormy clouds, illuminating Rayleigh's devilish grin.
Raindrops fell on Sakura's porcelain-like face, stirring her hazy gaze. A deadly sense of danger shot up her spine, ringing alarm bells in her mind.
Instinctively, she jerked her head to the side, narrowly dodging a rapier that plunged straight down. The blade grazed her cheek, embedding itself in the wooden deck beneath her.
"!!!"
Sakura's eyes snapped open, the cold sensation spreading across her face, banishing her drowsiness. She sat up, panting heavily, ignoring the strands of pink hair sliced by the blade.
"Three months to hone Observation Haki into instinct? Not bad," Rayleigh said, clapping as he stepped forward to pull his rapier from the deck.
"You jerk, Uncle Rayleigh!" Sakura shouted, still sweating from the near-miss of having her head skewered.
Her sweat mixed with the rain, and she stomped her foot in frustration. Heaven knows how she survived these past three months.
Rayleigh's training was brutally straightforward: toss her into the sea to swim after the Oro Jackson. When she was exhausted, they'd haul her aboard, and he'd whack her head with an Armament Haki-infused stick. Ten days ago, when she started sensing the stick's trajectory, the demon swapped it for his rapier.
Part of why the training dragged on so long was Sakura's own Giant Royal lineage. Giants were known for their thick health bars and high endurance. Draining her stamina was no easy feat.
By the end, training often turned into a battle of endurance, with both sides wearing each other down.
"Shanks! Buggy!" Sakura clenched her fists, scanning for those two disloyal punks. Thinking back, they must've known about Rayleigh's brutal training. That's why they were nowhere to be seen when he invited her to "train" that day.
Those jerks—I was too naive!
"Alright, you can deal with them later. Something exciting's about to start," Rayleigh said, stopping her with a raised hand and pointing to two figures on the deck.
On the left was Roger; on the right, Douglas Bullet.
A thunderclap rang out like a starting gun, and both men vanished into the darkness. Through her newly awakened Observation Haki, Sakura saw—
Bullet, manipulating purple energy to fuse matter into his right arm, threw a devastating punch. Roger countered with his sword, Ace, wreathed in searing Haki and crackling black lightning.
Boom!
A blinding white light surged, erupting into a roar that outshone the thunder. Roger's blade, riding the storm, sliced through Bullet's purple matter with ease, sending him crashing into the Oro Jackson's railing and sliding to the ground.
"So strong…" Sakura's voice echoed Bullet's in perfect sync.
Her Observation Haki caught Bullet's Haki fading. She turned to Rayleigh. "Uncle Rayleigh, can he really match you?"
"Of course—if it's not a fight to the death," Rayleigh replied, winking with a mysterious smile.
What's that supposed to mean? Always leaving me hanging with riddles!
Get off the Oro Jackson, you cryptic jerk!
Sakura rolled her eyes and turned to practice her swordsmanship.
Days at sea passed, carried away by the salty breeze. As expected, after losing to Roger, Douglas Bullet chose to leave the crew. Despite his protests, Roger forced him to take a small boat and a ton of supplies.
Thanks to the captain's whims, the crew had to detour mid-voyage. Worse, they ran into the Marines while restocking.
New World—Spring Island Cavarole
"Iron Block!"
Facing Sakura's fist, the Marine in front of her used the Six Powers' Iron Block. A suffocating storm of force erupted as her punch crossed the distance, slamming into him. The unprecedented power sent the Marine flying, coughing blood, crashing through rocks, and passing out.
"Whoa, blocking that gorilla's punch with his body? That's just…" Buggy muttered from atop a boulder, only to freeze as Sakura's murderous glare locked onto him.
Luckily, his next discovery saved his skin.
"Captain! Whitebeard's ship is on the other side of the island!"
Sakura's anger paused at Buggy's shout. If her memory was right, this was where the Roger Pirates would clash with the Whitebeard Pirates.
Which means the Kozuki family is about to board?
Her Observation Haki buzzed with foresight, a red glint flashing in her emerald eyes. She turned toward the forest, sensing a powerful presence rapidly approaching.
"Gun Mimicry—huh? A little girl?" Kozuki Oden, spotting Sakura, relaxed his sword stance.
"What's wrong with being a little girl? I'm not eating your food!" Sakura snapped, raising her fist, already in a bad mood.
But Roger appeared, gently grabbing her hand with a grin. "Hold up, Sakura. Can't let you get hurt!"
With a quick motion, he tucked her behind him, drawing his famed sword, Ace. "Yo, samurai! You ready to face the consequences of targeting my crew?"
"Divine Departure!"
The air tore apart as Roger's Haki-infused slash, crackling with black lightning, struck Oden's wide-open guard. The residual force sent Oden crashing through four or five trees, embedding him in a rock wall.
"Seriously, Captain Roger just wanted to fight, didn't he?" Sakura pouted, glaring at him.
"No time for that now—here it comes!" Roger said.
As his words fell, a towering giant descended from the sky, his massive naginata crackling with red lightning, amplifying his speed and strength. Roger tossed Sakura back, shattering the ground with a step and unleashing a spinning slash that shot out sword energy.
From the clash of their supreme Conqueror's Haki, two ferocious grins emerged.
Roger and Whitebeard's collision ripped the sky apart, blasting a hole in the clouds. The ground shattered, violent winds uprooting trees and sending crew members flying.
Moments later, Roger and Whitebeard stood in the ruins, laughing heartily.
"Hahahaha!"
"Gulalala!"
As their laughter died down, they spoke in unison: "Leave everything you've got!"
Roger Pirates vs. Whitebeard Pirates.
The battle was on.