Fierce winds and torrential rain, lightning and thunder.
The waves danced wildly like furious peaks. Between the dark sea and sky, a silver light hung upside down, connecting the heavens and the ocean.
Boom! Bang! Dang!
The sound of metal clashing mingled with the thunder.
A thrown black iron spear collided fiercely with a suddenly rising ice pillar, smashing into the sea and sending large splashes everywhere.
Law's gaze shifted slightly away from the medical scroll.
He was promptly whacked on the head by an irritated Sakura with a teaching pointer.
"Ouch!"
Tears welling up from the pain, Law tossed the scroll aside in frustration and flopped onto the ground like a petulant child.
"Sakura-san, it's been two weeks! How am I supposed to focus on reading with all this noise!"
"You were the one who said you wanted to learn medical techniques. Besides, you're quite good at Yang Release, aren't you?"
Sakura crossed her arms, watching as Law pressed his hand to his head, a green glow emanating from his palm.
Two weeks ago, unable to resist Law's pleading, Sakura had tried teaching him Chakra. What she initially thought would be a casual pastime turned out to yield unexpected results.
Chakra, as a force connecting people's spiritual energies, resonated perfectly with the inhabitants of this world, who could often turn their will into weapons.
Almost the moment Sakura shared Chakra with him, Law instinctively understood how to wield this power.
Coupled with the unique physique of the One Piece World, after just two weeks of training, Law could already extract and manipulate Yang Attribute Chakra.
And Sakura's own Chakra had undergone some changes after this connection.
From her Observation Haki perception, it seemed to have gained a certain 'origin' quality.
'Sitting up shocked from a near-death illness, only to find I am the progenitor myself?'
"But they're really too noisy!"
Law sprawled on the ground, limbs splayed.
The 'they' he referred to were, naturally, the Marines who had been pursuing them for ten whole days.
Zephyr, the former Admiral renowned for his policy of not killing, had a combat style leaning toward circuitous and defensive.
Battling them felt like being harassed by a well-coordinated wolf pack… keeping their distance and wearing you down with attrition tactics until you collapsed from exhaustion.
But... this was completely different from the intense confrontation Sakura craved.
That old fox Zephyr had people like Sakura completely figured out.
'You want a clash of wills?'
'Hehe, I just won't give it to you! I'll tease and provoke but never fully engage… annoying, isn't it?'
"As expected, anyone who makes it to Admiral isn't someone to be trifled with!"
Sakura pouted discontentedly, her sharp gaze clashing with that of the purple-haired middle-aged man on the distant battleship.
"Haha, did she catch on?"
Zephyr, also standing in the storm, wiped the rainwater from his face.
He then stepped down from the bow, his right arm coated in Armament Haki, and punched Smoker, who was sleeping soundly.
Bang!
"Ouch! What was that for, you old geezer!"
Smoker, now with a large bump on his head, clutched the injury, rolling around on the deck.
"Hmph, it's your turn now. A grown man can't even outlast Hina or that female pirate over there!"
Zephyr's large hand grabbed Smoker and hauled him up to the bow.
"We're about to drive her toward Rubeck Island. The military has set up an ambush there to capture the Donquixote Family."
"If we don't hurry now, once we've driven her into the encirclement..."
Zephyr lifted Smoker like a cannonball, aiming him at the distant Leviathan.
"...there won't be any chance to fight... anymore!"
With a powerful throw, Smoker shot into the sky like a javelin.
Fortunately, as a Logia user, he had developed flight skills. His body turned into smoke as he rapidly ascended.
Finally, with an explosive burst of counterforce, he managed to hover mid-air.
"That damn old man!"
Smoker's cheek twitched, the words squeezed through gritted teeth.
But, complaints aside, he had to remember the old man's kindness, 'At most, I'd just skip the funeral and hide away to shed a few small tears in private!'
Planning this beautiful future in his heart, Smoker dove downward toward the Leviathan.
"Pirate, surrender now!"
Smoker had long learned from intelligence reports that his opponent couldn't use Armament Haki.
Now, as a Logia user, he was going to capture her. He would win!
And then... there was no 'and then'...
Accompanied by dark lightning, the Conqueror's Haki dispersed all the smoke.
A massive storm sword loomed larger and larger in Smoker's pupils until it mercilessly slashed across his stomach, cutting him in two.
"Not good!"
Before Smoker's cold sweat could even fall, he was engulfed by the storm.
"Moku Moku no Mi User, your compatibility with me is really terrible!" (T/N: Smoke-Smoke Fruit.)
The massive sword, composed of pure thermal currents, voraciously devoured his smoke essence as it passed through Smoker's body, ultimately forming a giant smoke sword. Sakura raised the enormous sword like a spear, adopting a throwing stance.
"Hmph, you like attrition tactics? Then go chase your own sausage!"
With a cold snort, the Chakra within the girl boiled over. The freakish strength of the Giant Royalty was combined with a short burst of Chakra.
With all her might, she threw it! Amidst the roar, it effortlessly traversed the vast distance and plunged into the depths of the sea.
"Not good, Smoker!"
On the battleship, Zephyr's pupils contracted. Forgetting about continuing to pursue Sakura, he directly stepped on the air using Geppo and dove into the point where the giant sword had fallen.
The icy seawater enveloped him but posed no obstacle. His Observation Haki locked onto the location, and he swiftly swam toward the giant sword.
"Serves you right, using me as a whetstone for your students!"
Sakura released a surge of cold air, instantly freezing the sea surface behind the Leviathan solid.
The battleship, loaded with elite Marine trainees, was trapped on the ocean, unable to advance or retreat.
Law seized the moment to activate the device, releasing a coating that enveloped the ship, and they began to submerge.
Half an hour later, they had completely escaped the pursuit range of the battleship.
"Phew, we finally shook off those boring Marines!"
In the deep sea, Sakura leaned back on a deck chair on the deck, muttering a few words.
"Who told you to go out and provoke them? Wouldn't it have been better to just escape properly from the start?"
Law cleaned up a bit around the ship and sat down opposite Sakura.
"You don't understand. The purpose of me setting sail is to travel everywhere and fight."
Sakura raised a finger, wagging it at him.
Law looked at this pirate girl a few years older than him, a doubt rising in his heart: "That's strange. Don't you want to be the Pirate King?"
"That thing is too troublesome, I don't want anything to do with it!"
Sakura shook her head, pulling out an Eternal Pose and a sea chart to start calculating their current position.
After a few minutes of aligning the pose and comparing it with the chart, Sakura exclaimed in surprise: "Not good! How did we end up getting chased all the way to Rubeck Island!"
"Rubeck... sounds somewhat familiar?" Law picked up the sea chart, a flash of insight striking him, "I think Cora-san mentioned he was coming here before. Can we go find him directly?"
Faced with Law's naive request, Sakura didn't know how to answer him.
Because, by now, Corazon should have already landed on the island and encountered Doflamingo, beginning the destined battle between the two brothers.
'But then again, letting Law remain completely unaware of Corazon's feelings would be too cruel.'
After much hesitation, she sighed softly and said, "We can't go find Corazon."
"Rubek, Minion Island, Swallow Island... this is the place he chose to settle things with Doflamingo!"
Hearing this, Law felt his vision go dark, his body swaying.
"What?!"
Thinking of the clumsy Corazon going up against the terrifying Doflamingo, Law's heart raced, his expression growing increasingly grim.
"Why? Why didn't you stop him?!"
Sakura allowed the young boy to throw himself against her, loudly questioning her.
But her gaze meeting Law's didn't waver in the slightest as she spoke frankly: "Because this is a man's resolution. If he wants to take you away to live in seclusion, he must personally sever ties with his past!"
Whether it was his undercover mission for the Marines or his evil biological brother, Corazon needed to rely on his own strength to break away from these things.
Otherwise, even if he fled to the ends of the earth, this past would eventually catch up to him one day.
When that time came, it might even bring danger to Law, something Corazon could never tolerate!
"But... but..."
Law's voice choked up, tears blurring his vision.
"Law, don't interfere..." Sakura's words were cut short by Law, who clenched his teeth.
"Then I'm going too!"
"What?"
"I said, I want to be there with Mr. Corazon to face this! Sakura-san, you were about to say not to interfere with a man's resolution, right?!"
The boy, full of passion, declared his will.
"You guys... every one of you is hopeless!"
A smile tugging at her lips, Sakura filled the ship's tanks. The Leviathan began to ascend toward the sea's surface.
After all, what reason in the world could stop a man from rushing toward the sea?
So, set sail!