The next day, the hungover Shanks woke up in bed. Uta, waiting outside the door, walked in holding a bowl of hangover soup.
"Oh, Uta, you prepared hangover soup for me?"
Looking at the thick soup filled with his daughter's affection, the old father Shanks felt warmth in his heart.
"Nope! Sakura-nee made it! She's already left, said she's going to travel the Four Blues."
"Before she left, she told me to tell you: she'll be waiting for you at the summit. She hopes you won't disappoint her!"
Uta placed the hot soup on the bedside table and sat on Shanks's bed, swinging her legs.
Shanks finished the soup. A warm current flowed down his esophagus, alleviating the acid bloating the alcohol had caused in his stomach.
Putting down the wooden bowl, Shanks gazed through the window at the vast sea outside the ship.
"Is that so? Meeting at the summit?" Shanks's smile couldn't be suppressed, his anticipation nearly overflowing from his chest.
'I really still need to find a way to marry that woman!'
Raising the bowl, he chugged the remaining soup heartily. Shanks walked out of the cabin.
His crewmates had already prepared everything. Their faces, weathered by the sea wind, were full of anticipation.
Taking in everything he had created, Shanks felt a surge of pride and ambition.
He raised his head and shouted, "Everyone, set sail!"
"Woo!!!"
The pirates on the Red Force cheered loudly, raised the sails, and continued writing their adventure.
Meanwhile, in the North Blue, Spider Miles.
Needing to replenish fresh water, Sakura steered the Leviathan towards the city's docks.
Soon, Sakura arrived at the outskirts of the town.
The town was bustling. Although filled with scrap and large warehouses, the smoking chimneys pumping the industrial lifeblood gave the city a kind of steampunk aesthetic.
The extremely lively streets were busy, with people coming and going. The air was filled with the fragrant aroma of grilled seafood. Beer foam from customers in street-side bars slid down the sides of glasses.
After casually asking a passerby for directions, Sakura quickly found the city's most famous restaurant.
Just as she walked in, a waiter enthusiastically greeted her, but his pupils constricted upon seeing Sakura's appearance.
He forced a smile onto his cheeks and asked mechanically, "Welcome. What do you need, customer?"
"Food. Good food. Give me twenty servings of your specialty dishes to start~"
Since it wasn't quite mealtime yet, Sakura decided to get some snacks to tide her over.
The waiter enthusiastically ushered Sakura to a seat, then scurried like a shot to the back kitchen.
In the back kitchen, the owner, who was cooking, was frantically pulled aside by the waiter.
"B-B-Boss! Big trouble! A wanted criminal just came in!"
The waiter pulled open a cupboard, rummaged around inside, then pulled out a wanted poster and handed it to the owner.
"Gasp! 440 million Berry!"
The owner sucked in a cold breath. Greed briefly surged, but upon thinking calmly, he realized he was absolutely no match for a pirate of this caliber.
Seeing the owner's dilemma, the waiter suggested, "We can notify those gentlemen up on the trash mountain!"
"And we can just slip something into her food to keep her here until those important people arrive!"
The owner thought it over and decided it was a good idea. He pulled out a Den Den Mushi from deep within the ingredients and made a call.
In the high mountain factory of Spider Miles, a minor boss of the Donquixote Pirates put down the Den Den Mushi.
As the person in charge of Spider Miles' affairs when Doflamingo was out sailing, he had the authority to directly mobilize the family's various forces in this territory.
This included the Marine Branch 177 stationed in the North Blue, the underworld gangs under the Donquixote Family's name, the extra security personnel on the weapons trade chain...
It was no exaggeration to say that if this force was mobilized, it was enough to launch a war capable of destroying small countries on the sea.
And now, a huge temptation lay before him.
Haruno Sakura, this thorn in the World Government's side. If they could capture her and trade her to the World Government, the Donquixote Family's goals would surely take a great leap forward.
"Boss, what should we do?"
The underworld members standing before the desk all focused their gaze on him, awaiting his decision.
"Still can't reach the Young Master?" The man's eyes were sinister, his hands clasped, propping up his chin.
An underworld member holding a Den Den Mushi shook his head, "The environment in the Grand Line is unpredictable. Young Master and the others might be on an island that blocks transmissions."
"Of all times..." The man's fist slammed onto the desk, shattering the solid wood table into pieces.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was right before his eyes, but at the critical moment, he couldn't reach the person in charge.
At that moment, another communication came from the city. After the underworld member responsible for communications hung up the receiver, he said, "Boss, the restaurant owner has successfully drugged her!"
Finally, greed placed its weight upon the scales, shattering the high walls built by reason.
The atmosphere in the office grew increasingly feverish. The man shot to his feet, pushed open the door, and declared:
"Let's go, we'll capture her and offer her to Doffy!"
"Tsk! Is this thing really that hard to catch?"
Under the dim lighting, empty bowls and used skewers were scattered messily on the table. The young woman finished her tenth drink, her smile radiant.
"Y-yes... it's mainly that gathering the manpower is quite effort-intensive."
The owner's smile was stiff, his hand holding the sedative sweating profusely.
'Twenty doses. A full twenty doses of sedative. Even a smaller-sized Sea King should be unconscious by now.'
'But why is this girl still laughing carefreely, even having the leisure to chat with me about Sea King fishing problems?
'Ah, members of the Donquixote Family, please hurry!'
The restaurant's owner didn't know how many times he had prayed in his heart, but the surprise came suddenly.
The young woman before him suddenly yawned, then plunged headfirst into the empty plates.
"It worked... Hahaha, I did it!!!"
The owner was ecstatic. A pirate worth four hundred million, captured just like that!
Unable to resist humming lightly, the owner instructed the waiters to tie the young woman up with ropes, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Donquixote Family.
Before long, a large group of men in black suits, armed with firearms, surrounded the restaurant. The leader, draped in an overcoat, forcefully pushed open the restaurant door.
"Sirs, we've already captured her!"
The owner's face, which had been stiff for so long, blossomed into a flower-like smile. He lightly clasped his hands, rubbing them together near his face.
The man looked at Sakura, tied up tightly and unconscious, and finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Well done!"
Hearing the praise, the restaurant owner seized the opportunity, "Then, about the protection fee for this shop of mine..."
"I can decide this for you. Your shop is exempt from protection fees for life!"
The man in the overcoat waved his hand grandly, generously granting the reward.
"! Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
The owner, with every wrinkle on his face smoothed out with relief, stood behind the man, thanking him profusely.
"However, isn't exempting just one shop a bit too little?"
A clear voice rang out behind the two men, causing them to start.
"Ha? Don't you know when to quit?!"
Clicking his tongue, the gangster with a Kansai accent threatened in an intimidating tone.
The man turned around-
But he found that the subordinates responsible for the encirclement behind him were all pale, their bloodshot eyes fixed dead on something behind him.
Looking down, he discovered that the pink-haired young woman was squinting her beautiful eyes, meeting his gaze.
"I…"
Bzzt-!
Dark lightning abruptly erupted. The resulting shockwave shattered all the surrounding glass windows. An invisible wave swept over everyone present, but specifically avoided the restaurant owner.
The will of the conqueror impacted every person's fragile sanity, causing the gangsters' eyes to roll back as they collapsed to the ground.
Sakura patted the dust off her clothes and stood up, picking up a wet towel from the table to wipe her hands.
"Sigh, the local gangs really have no manners."
To just fall asleep when a guest arrives… How rude!
In the restaurant's owner's eyes, the young woman's figure grew larger and larger, finally stopping right in front of him.
"Miss... can we settle this peacefully?"
The owner revealed a smile uglier than crying.
"What do you think?"
Sakura grabbed him by the collar and threw a mighty punch with her right fist.
Boom!
A violent, tremendous force spread out. The entire restaurant suddenly collapsed. The owner's body shot out of the rubble, disappearing into the horizon.
Amidst the billowing dust, Sakura picked up a Den Den Mushi that was chirping loudly.
Answering it, a deep voice came through.
"Diego, what matter requires you to use the emergency Den Den Mushi?"
"Flamingo, although I just said it, I need to reiterate: your local gangs really have no manners!"
"Haruno Sakura?!"