A warm wind blew, carrying moisture over a large ship shaped like a flamingo.
Dark, oppressive waves crashed against the hull, the hard wood groaning and creaking in protest.
One moment tossed high into the air by the waves, the next plunging into a trough, almost completely swallowed by the sea.
Even in such terrible sailing weather, it was hard to suppress the joy of the people on board at having survived a close brush with death.
"To think we actually managed to escape from that legendary Marine."
Diamante, using a feathered cap to cover the two markings on his face, laughed.
"Fufufu, perhaps this is fate's favor?"
Doflamingo, with thick bandages wrapped around his head and chest, leaned back in the main seat on the deck.
"Hey, hey, Doffy, where are we going now?"
Trebol, whose face beaten out of shape, leaned on a cane, his speech slurred.
"You people really don't get it. At a time like this, we should bring out wine and meat and have a feast!"
An unfamiliar voice interjected, completely derailing their conversation.
The members of the Donquixote Family turned towards the source of the voice, wanting to see who was so bold as to say such a thing during an executive meeting.
Then, they saw that nightmare-like pink-haired girl sitting on the mast, wiping grime from her face with a towel.
"You! Why are you here!!!"
The Donquixote Family's executives bared their shark-like teeth, roaring at Sakura above.
"Fufufu, what? Want to join our ship, Witch?"
Doflamingo raised a hand and beckoned to one of the crew members, signaling him to fetch wine.
"Forget it. All of you together aren't enough for me to fight. Why would I join you? To compete for a Warlord position?"
Narrowing her eyes to avoid the falling rain, Sakura spoke offhandedly.
Though her words were strong, the reason Sakura was on this ship was simple.
During the fight with Garp, the Eternal Pose hanging around her neck had been shattered by the impact.
"You bastard! How dare you insult Young Master! Want to fight?"
Pica said with a shrill voice and dragged his massive body forward, shielding Doflamingo.
"I don't mind. It's your ship, after all."
Sakura, on the mast, fiddled with the broken pose and shrugged at them.
"Enough, Pica. Don't ruin the camaraderie forged through life and death."
The crew member Doflamingo had sent for wine returned earlier. He pulled out a bottle of fine wine originally meant for the Celestial Dragons and tossed it up to the mast.
"Try it. Special supply from the Holy Land. And the Devil Fruit I promised you will be given to you as well."
Doflamingo crossed his legs, his sitting posture arrogant, but he made no attempt to hide his intention to recruit her.
"Oh!"
The brown bottle sloshed with clear liquor. It looked like good wine, making Sakura's eyes light up.
She landed on the deck and took the corkscrew offered by an unnamed crew member.
With a pop, she broke the seal, tilted her head back boldly, and chugged the entire bottle in one go.
"Young Master!"
Hearing Doflamingo's decision, Diamante also stepped forward, a note of caution in his eyes.
The warship originally used to carry the Celestial Tribute had been recaptured by the Marines during their escape.
Now, only a small amount of treasure and two Devil Fruits remained, preserved because they were kept on the pirate ship.
Him offering to give away half of their looted gains made the executives, including Diamante, ache with heartache.
"Say no more. My decision is final!"
Doflamingo's tone was decisive, though he also had a headache over these family members who only saw immediate gains.
What else could he do? She could take on their entire ship by herself. If she decided to kill them and take it by force, who on the entire ship could stop her?
"Flamingo, you're quite interesting!"
Sakura, who could detect emotions with Observation Haki, saw through his thoughts. She laughed and raised the wine bottle in her hand towards Doflamingo.
"Fufufu..."
Doflamingo grinned widely, waving for a nearby subordinate to open a bottle of fine wine for himself as well.
Amid the crisp clinking of glass, the two of them drained the liquid in their bottles.
"Listen up, men! To celebrate our survival, let's have a feast!"
"Wooo!"
With the captain's order, laughter and cheers gradually began to echo across the pink-hued ship.
Unlike the carefree atmosphere on Shanks' crew, Doflamingo's ship had a much stronger sense of hierarchy.
Crew members and crew members, executives and executives… the people were clearly divided by a distinct boundary.
"So, what do you think? I treat my family pretty well, don't I?"
After a few rounds of drinks, Doflamingo asked half-jokingly, his demeanor clearly showing he hadn't given up on recruiting her.
"Forget it. Ever since leaving Captain Roger's ship, I haven't found a ship that gets my blood pumping!"
Sakura tilted her head, her tone full of wistful nostalgia.
Doflamingo choked on his wine, unable to swallow or spit it out.
'What do you mean 'gets your blood pumping'? By your standards, even if we fought our way into the New World, there probably aren't many ships that would satisfy you!'
Thinking this, Doflamingo took advantage of his sunglasses to openly roll his eyes.
"Alright, enough about me. What about you? Still planning to become a Warlord?"
Remembering Doflamingo's future actions, Sakura suddenly thought of someone whose behavior was extremely similar… Rocks D. Xebec.
"Want to know? I-"
Before he could finish, the momentum Doflamingo had gathered was interrupted.
"Is there something special about becoming the king of a member nation? Something that makes you, like that man forty years ago, choose to do anything to become the ruler of a government-recognized country?"
Sakura's words laid bare Doflamingo's entire plan, making his heart pound violently.
"How do you know...? Right, you sailed with that guy Roger."
Doflamingo straightened up, his expression grave.
"To be precise, it's not that I need a member nation. I need a ticket… a ticket to take refuge in the Holy Land! A ticket to the next era!"
Without the slightest concealment, the man before her announced his ambition.
Amassing wealth by any means necessary, participating in the arms trade, instigating wars… all for a simple and straightforward reason:
To survive the coming great catastrophe at any cost.
"Fufufu, the chaotic era is coming soon. People will fight over the remaining living space. Slaughter, war, conspiracy… these will be the main themes from now on. And the Holy Land will be the only refuge!"
"So, become my right hand, Haruno Sakura. With your power and my intelligence, we can surely seize the Empty Throne in the next era and become gods!!!"
The man before her laughed wildly, his newly donned feathered cloak flapping loudly in the sea breeze.
His outstretched arms seemed to embrace the entire world, his surging spirit stirring an invisible Haki that shot into the sky.
"Unfortunately, I'm not interested in domination, Doflamingo!"
The girl's frame was slight, but behind her seemed to be a figure in a red captain's coat opening its eyes, looking down upon all creation.
Between the two, faint black lightning crackled and sparked.
In that instant, they both knew that alliance was impossible. Their ideals and paths were too opposed, destined to make them enemies.
"What a pity..."
"Hahaha, don't worry about that now! Let's just drink!"