"Ugh~ it's so big~ I can't eat anymore!"
On the deck of the Leviathan, Sakura and the ship spirit, wearing a raincoat, lay on the ground simultaneously.
Only one seemed completely drained, while the other had her belly swollen like a round ball.
"Adam Wood, what a special timber. It actually consumes so much Chakra."
Sakura gasped for a couple of breaths, supporting herself on the storm railings as she stood up.
The Leviathan had now expanded from its original small speedboat form into a large, triple-hulled composite speedboat.
However, the entire interior of the hull was filled with growing branches. The electrical system and water desalination modules needed to be repaired again.
Fortunately, the coating sections weren't too problematic, as some motors just needed their power supply adjusted to be operational again.
Having witnessed the entire ship undergo such a dramatic transformation, Kuina felt her entire worldview being overturned.
'How could this be? Could wood still grow after being made into a ship?'
'And even if it could grow, why would it grow its own composite triple hull?'
'Good grief, did biology and physics just cease to exist?'
Sliding down against the wall to sit on the floor, Kuina cried out hoarsely, "This isn't scientific at all!"
"Haha, science." Sakura and the Leviathan scoffed simultaneously.
"By the way, Leviathan, is it okay if I break off a bit of these grown branches to study?" Sakura asked, having regained some strength, as she pressed her hand against one of the protruding branches.
"No problem~ they're just like grown-out fingernails~"
The overstuffed Leviathan lazily waved her hand and merged back into the ship's structure, dragging her round body along.
Afterwards, Kuina and Sakura performed some temporary fixes on the ship's hull to get it moving again.
"The lowest deck is in terrible condition. Refitting it will cost a fortune."
Kuina emerged from the cabin, her face covered in dust, reporting the situation to Sakura.
Clearly, the girl who had just joined this pirate ship was also aware of the current impoverished state of a certain great pirate.
"If only some rich sucker would show up right now!"
Sakura also wiped the dust from her face and let out a light sigh.
Boom!
A cannon shot shattered the conversation between the two. A cannonball from a naval warship fell from the sky, plunging into the sea beside the Leviathan and sending up a column of water!
The fog on the sea ahead dispersed, revealing a massive Marine Battleship in their line of sight.
The huge sail had the number 77 written on it, and the cannon at the front was still smoking.
"Cough! Pirates ahead, listen up! Surrender your weapons immediately!"
At the bow of the warship stood a man with purple hair, wearing a heavy uniform and a Justice Cloak.
He was combing his peculiar hairstyle with one hand while holding a megaphone with the other.
"This is the Commander of Marine Branch 77 in the East Blue, Commodore Pudding Pudding!"
"If you surrender your weapons now, I can guarantee you won't be mistreated before reaching Enies Lobby!"
Instantly, the two on the Leviathan turned their shadowed faces towards him, their pupils gleaming with light.
"The Commander of Branch 77?"
Sakura opened her mouth, exhaling white mist, her arms hanging loosely as she swayed her body.
"A rich sucker!"
The corrupted Kuina also grinned, following in Sakura's footsteps.
In the distance, Commodore Pudding Pudding, who had personally led the team to arrest the pirates, righteously began his second broadcast.
Behind him, countless Marines from Branch 77 stood ready, awaiting the final outcome.
"Darn it, are they planning to resist stubbornly?"
After waiting for a long time and seeing no white flag raised from the pirate ship, Pudding Pudding threw the megaphone aside and loudly ordered, "Open fire!"
With the sounds of mechanisms engaging and chains pulling, the cannons on the warship slowly turned, aiming one by one at the verdant pirate ship ahead.
However, the next moment...
"Ice Age!"
From the suddenly arising eternal storm, pale ice and snow blew towards them.
A fish that had just leaped out of the water was instantly frozen, suspended in mid-air.
The surging waves also solidified under the terrifying low temperature, halting along with everything else, transforming into a pure white snow field!
Frost spread inch by inch across the ground. The Marines on the warship, their eyes bulging, jumped with all their might to avoid the first wave of freezing cold.
But upon landing back on the deck, hard ice pillars still climbed up their bodies, freezing their legs in place.
"Ah, I'm frozen!"
"Sir, the cannonballs are all frozen too!"
"It's terrible, the steering gears are jammed with ice!"
Trembling voices rose from the warship as the elite Marines, who had been performing their duties, fell into chaos.
But the majority of the regular Marines had been frozen along with the ship's structure the moment the frost arrived.
"What kind of joke is this... Is this Admiral Aokiji's ability?"
Commodore Pudding Pudding, who had served in Headquarters and had broader knowledge than ordinary soldiers, remained calm.
He was just about to order the soldiers to retreat, but two shadows descending from the sky kicked up a large amount of smoke, making him cough.
A pink-haired girl dressed in black Ninja Attire and a red captain's coat walked out of the smoke.
Beside her was another girl wearing a patterned shirt.
"You are... Higanbana - Haruno Sakura!"
Commodore Pudding Pudding recognized the famous great pirate at first glance.
He never expected that after committing such crimes, she would still dare to swagger around in the East Blue!
'What about the World Government! Come and help!'
'Sending branch Marines, who can't even handle the Paradise region, to deal with a pirate of this level? If you don't want to pay our salaries, just say so, no need to go through such convoluted methods!'
"You're the Commander!"
Sakura walked up to the man with the golden epaulets on his shoulders in a few steps, grabbed his lapels, and hauled him out of the ice.
"Hmph, pirate, I will not yield!" Commodore Pudding Pudding was very firm. "You'd better leave this place quickly, otherwise Justice will not let you off!"
"Commodore Pudding Pudding, stop provoking the pirates, you'll be killed!"
The still-conscious Marines around them wept, loudly dissuading the man from his actions.
"Silence! If we don't stop them here, the thousands of common folk in the East Blue behind us will be harmed. Is that the result your hearts of Justice wish to see!"
Pudding Pudding's voice was hoarse, his head trembling from the extreme cold but held high, his unwilling eyes meeting Sakura's gaze with intense brilliance.
"Rare to see a Marine like you in the peaceful East Blue."
Sakura loosened her grip, dropping him onto the frozen deck.
No matter how much the Marines, as the violent arm of the World Government, cleaned up the mess for their superiors, there were still those among the lower ranks who always held justice in their hearts.
For example, T-Bone, who was later killed by the very civilians he protected, or this branch commander before her, who died fighting Arlong to save a village...
The will of these men, walking the path of justice, deserved respect even from an enemy like Sakura.
To not do so would not only insult them but also belittle herself, their adversary.
"Pirate! What is your purpose in coming here!"
Struggling, Pudding Pudding drew his sword, got to his feet with difficulty, and pointed the blade at the two.
"To do what pirates do… plunder! Marine!"
Sakura used Soru, flashing to appear behind Kuina, and gave the girl a push on the back.
"Go on, Kuina, take care of him!"
The girl, stumbled forward by the push, was full of question marks, trembling as she raised a finger to point at herself.
'Me? Fight a Marine Commodore?'