"The world is actually this vast..."
Cold rain beat against the boy's face, tears mixing with raindrops as they slid from the corners of his eyes.
Yet, there was no remorse on his face, only a smile filled with immense anticipation for the future.
The pink-haired girl appeared in his line of sight, bending over and blocking the sky: "Well? Still want to continue?"
Zoro shook his head. "I lost."
Then he reached out, grabbed the scabbard from the muddy water, and tossed it towards Sakura.
"This is?"
Facing the spinning scabbard, Sakura reached out and caught it.
"Scabbard for the Great Grade Sword, Muramasa. For the one in your hand."
"Before I left, Sensei told me to bring it, said to return it to its true owner!"
Zoro got up from the puddle, sheathing the Wado Ichimonji and his other sword.
Then the boy sat formally before Sakura, placing the two swords to his left and right.
'No wonder. So it was a cursed sword clinging to her.'
Sakura sheathed the sword and looked back at the girl on the gunwale who was feeling too guilty to meet her gaze.
Swords are lethal weapons. No amount of beautiful language can cover up that fact.
And among them, cursed swords and evil blades are the anomalies that crown all lethal weapons, often devouring their users' lives as a symbol of their rebelliousness.
Kuina's current state was most likely due to this cursed sword recognizing her as its master, but her weight in fate wasn't enough to subdue this fierce weapon.
'So either let her set sail and grow stronger quickly, or simply find a greater singularity to warp fate.'
"Ahahahaha, I was wrong. I take back what I said before. That old man really is a good father!"
The pink-haired girl grinned, her smile unrestrained and wild.
Her Observation Haki spread out several kilometers, sensing a smiling man push up his glasses and leave quietly.
"Hey, pirate!"
Zoro's call in front of her brought Sakura back to her senses. He pressed his hands on the ground, his head thumping down heavily: "I leave Kuina in your care."
"What foolish thing to say? She's my comrade now!"
Sakura smiled, raised her hand, and tossed the Muramasa onto the ship.
She also grabbed the rope ladder Leviathan threw down and was pulled onto the speedboat by the automatically retracting rope.
Kuina, sitting cross-legged on the gunwale, held the Muramasa, her eyes lowered, bidding farewell to the boy below: "Zoro, I'll leave the Wado Ichimonji with you for now."
"If you lose to me in the future, I'll take this sword back from you, you know!"
Hearing this, Zoro got up from the ground, raised the Wado Ichimonji, and shouted: "Damn pirate, I won't let you have your way!"
"After I become a bounty hunter, I'll arrest you and take the Muramasa back too!"
The ship gradually sailed out of the port. The line of sight between the boy and the girl was also obscured by the increasingly blurry curtain of rain, until they could no longer see each other.
"Ah, how nice, childhood friends chasing after each other~"
Kuina, who had slid down from the gunwale, turned her head and saw those emerald eyes watching her mockingly from where they were leaning on the deck chair.
"Doesn't Sakura-nee have someone to say goodbye to as well?"
Kuina narrowed her eyes and jutted her chin towards the dragon-headed battleship approaching nearby.
"Robin!"
Seeing the quiet girl standing on the large ship, Sakura did a kip-up from the deck chair.
"Looks like your injuries are no problem now." Robin, leaning against the bulwark, tucked the hair by her ear. "Well then, let's part ways here."
"Take care, Robin!"
Sakura smiled and waved at her. The Revolutionary Army's cadres also swarmed to the edge.
"Farewell, Sakura-san."
"Be careful not to get caught by CP, Haruno-boy."
"Don't forget about Sorbet Kingdom. We'll be waiting for you there!"
Revolutionary Army's cadres and soldiers of all shapes and sizes waved at the pirate before them.
Although their time together wasn't long, they were all deeply impressed by this girl who could drink them all under the table.
Even though their identities were different, sincere feelings could still connect them.
They only hoped that when the glitz faded, they could still share drinks and laughter when they met again!
"Ahaha, see you on the seas!"
Sakura pulled Leviathan, telling her to activate the coating. Then a huge wave crashed, carrying the farewells from the two ships into the deep sea, gradually dissipating.
…
Setting off on their journey again, a certain pirate crew's tour of the East Blue began.
Bathing in the sea breeze, the girl in a bikini lazily lay face down on the lounge chair. Kuina beside her was applying sunscreen to her back.
"By the way, is it really okay for us to be this leisurely?"
After finishing with Sakura, Kuina patted her back, indicating it was her turn to apply it to Kuina.
"Now, now, haven't you heard the saying? A person's greatest wealth is their own leisurely time!"
Sakura, who had gotten up, took the item from Kuina's hand, placed one hand on her hip, and spoke with an air of authority.
"What kind of nonsense is that?!"
Kuina, who had climbed onto the chair, let out a sigh and gloomily buried her head in her elbows.
She trembled when the cool sunscreen touched her skin.
Then she turned her gaze to Sakura, glaring at the unremarkable area.
"Being small is so good, Sakura-nee. You don't have to worry about it affecting you during fights at all."
Kuina raised a hand and pressed on her own chest, rubbing it.
Her breasts were starting to develop too.
'If only I could be a boy, or end up the same size as Sakura-nee in the future, how great would that be!'
Bang!
A pink fist descended from above, delivering punishment upon Kuina.
"Brat, you should be happy you can still grow!"
Sakura, puffing her cheeks in anger, stood up and turned to walk into the cabin.
Just as she was about to pull open the refrigerator door, she bumped head-first into Leviathan, who was floating out.
Simultaneously, the cups the petite ship spirit was carrying were knocked over, spilling juice all over the floor.
"Mou~ Sakura-chan, weren't you sunbathing on the sterncastle?"
"Kuina's sunbathing, so I came in to get some things."
Sakura bent down and cleaned up the messy floor with Leviathan.
After finishing the cleaning, she sighed with feeling: "Leviathan's specifications are a bit cramped for three people, aren't they?"
Hearing this, the ship spirit trembled, nervously hugging Sakura's arm: "You don't~ have another ship outside, do you?!"
"Like hell I do!"
Sakura extended a finger and poked Leviathan's little forehead.
Ever since Leviathan ate the Devil Fruit, the two had been inseparable on land and sea. When would she have had the chance to find another ship?
"Wait, don't make it sound like I cheated! I just wanted to see if we could enlarge you a bit!"
"Oh~ enlarge a bit~"
Leviathan's expression was teasing as she puckered her lips and blew at her own bangs.
"Have you been reading some inappropriate things lately?"
Sakura stepped forward, grabbed Leviathan in one swoop, and pinched her little face, pulling it outward.
"No~ I won't dare next time~!"
"My main body is already set~ and modifying it now would be major surgery~"
Leviathan, her cheeks pinched red, slumped to the ground, holding the reddened areas with her hands.
"True, we also have to consider the impact on you."
Sakura crossed one arm over her chest and rubbed her chin with the other hand, contemplating feasible solutions.
[~]
'System?'
Seeing the system, which hadn't shown up for a long time, appear, Sakura looked stunned.
[Notice: Wood Release Chakra can be utilized in combination with Leviathan's biological characteristics for expansion.]
'You mean I can get Wood Release now? But since when?'
[Playing back task record now: Achievement obtained: 'Liberator of Goa Kingdom', Achievement Points: 300]
['Convertible Boat, Still Happy?', Achievement Points: 100]
['I Have Nine Heads, Can You One-Shot Me?', Achievement Points: 100]
'Tch, these task names...'
Sakura didn't even want to comment on the system's wonderful naming ability anymore. But right now, the more important thing was the mansion inside Leviathan's belly!
'Enough talk, System! Let me add the points!'