Suffocation.
That's what hit Sakura the moment she stepped into the medical room—a stifling heaviness that made it hard to breathe.
The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant, each breath feeling sticky and oppressive.
"Can't we ventilate this place?"
Sakura glanced back at Ivankov, whose medical expertise wouldn't allow for such a rookie mistake.
"No. Sunlight, sea breeze—any exposure to those will worsen their condition!"
"The conditions at headquarters were rough. To extend their lives as much as possible, I suggested Dragon transfer them here."
Ivankov's eyelashes drooped, his usual cheerful grin fading.
"Are there any diagnostic records? What caused their injuries?"
Sakura stepped forward, grabbing a pair of rubber gloves from Ivankov's operating room.
After putting them on, she approached a soldier's bedside and gently lifted his eyelid to examine him.
"All I know is they were injured during a rescue mission. The exact cause is unclear, but we suspect some kind of toxin."
Ivankov rummaged through a nearby cabinet, pulling out his diagnostic notes and handing them to Sakura.
"Toxin?"
Sakura removed the gloves, her hands glowing green as she pressed them against the soldier's body.
"Hey!"
Ivankov reached out, worried, trying to stop her.
"Shh!"
Sakura signaled for silence, closing her eyes.
Her Observation Haki, paired with chakra sensing, probed the soldier's body—blood vessels, organs, bones, muscles… until it reached his brain.
The moment her senses touched his brain, the soldier's body convulsed violently, jerking away from her hand.
In that final instant of connection, Sakura clearly detected a malicious consciousness lingering within his hollow soul!
"What's going on?!"
Ivankov quickly restrained the soldier, stuffing cotton in his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue during the seizure.
"It's not a toxin—it's a Devil Fruit ability!"
Opening her eyes, Sakura delivered her diagnosis.
"No way! We've tried seawater and seastone. If it was a Devil Fruit ability, those would've countered it!"
Ivankov grabbed four or five straps, securing the soldier tightly to the bed.
"What if the ability doesn't just affect them but takes something from them?"
Sakura tapped a finger on the soldier's forehead, unleashing a burst of Conqueror's Haki.
Under the overwhelming force, he passed out, his convulsions stopping naturally.
"This is a hell of a discovery. We need to tell Dragon now!"
Ivankov jumped up, grabbed Sakura, and rushed out of the ward.
Minutes later, in the palace of the Kamabakka Kingdom.
Ivankov, with Sakura in tow, reported the ward's events to Dragon.
The three then waited for Jiron, the Revolutionary Army's current intelligence officer, to deliver a report on the rescue mission.
Jiron expertly connected the Den Den Mushi, piecing together the fragmented message they'd received that day.
"Bzzzt… This is… bzzzt… Revolutionary Army East Commander Ginny. Don't… bzzzt… approach Sunlight Island!"
The transmission ended, and Jiron pressed the stop button on the Den Den Mushi.
"We acted on this intel for the rescue, but we never saw the ability user who harmed the soldiers…"
Jiron's voice trailed off, his gaze falling silent under the heavy aura of Dragon and Ivankov.
"It's Ginny—missing Ginny!"
After a year, hearing news of Ginny, whom he'd always seen as a little sister, hit Ivankov hard.
He covered his mouth, tears welling in his large eyes.
"Dragon, whether for the soldiers or Ginny, we have to send someone to Sunlight Island!"
"What if it's a government trap? And we don't have any decent forces to spare for intel!"
Dragon clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, before letting out a defeated sigh.
Did he not want to rescue them? Far from it.
The World Government saw the Revolutionary Army as a thorn in their side, constantly sending CP agents to assassinate their commanders and coordinating with the Navy and national militaries to encircle them.
This sudden distress call from Ginny, missing for a year, could very well be a setup.
On top of that, with the Revolutionary Army in its early days, fighting to liberate as many kingdoms as possible, their headquarters and branches were mired in endless conflicts.
Top fighters, including Dragon and Ivankov, were often needed to reinforce distant battlefields. If not for meeting Sakura to help with the rescue, they'd already be on another front.
Jiron could act, but as an intelligence officer, it wasn't fair to expect him to face an unknown, powerful ability user head-on.
"Well, if you don't mind, how about I go check it out?"
As Dragon and the others grappled with their dilemma, Sakura, who'd been watching, gave a casual wave.
"Besides, you asked for my help, and I haven't even cured your soldiers yet."
"Really? Sakura-boy, thank you so much!"
Ivankov, tears and snot streaming, grabbed Sakura's hands, shaking them vigorously.
"It could be dangerous, and you'd be tied to the Revolutionary Army's bad rep."
Dragon paused, then looked at Sakura gravely.
Ivankov's expression grew conflicted too, and after a long moment, he let go of her. "Dragon's right, Sakura-boy. We can't drag you into this."
"No big deal. This sounds like a rare adventure~" Sakura chuckled. "And I'm a pirate—think I'm scared of the World Government holding a grudge?"
Dragon took a deep breath, stepping forward to clasp her hand. "We'll remember this kindness for life!"
With a new goal set, Sakura paused her journey around the seas. Taking a permanent pointer from the Revolutionary Army, she picked an intelligence officer and a young soldier to join her.
Sakura, with her two companions, boarded the Leviathan and set sail for Sunlight Island on the northern side of the Grand Line!
After dozens of days at sea, Sakura and her Revolutionary Army comrades reached a peculiar stretch of ocean.
"We can see the island's outline, Lady Sakura!"
The young Revolutionary soldier, Bunny Joe, lowered his telescope, calling out to the cabin.
The long voyage had shown him the pirate girl's immense strength and vast knowledge, earning her his respectful title without him realizing it.
"Sunlight Island, huh?"
Emerging from the cabin, Sakura wore a white trench coat, tipping her cowboy hat low.
In the distance, the island basked in eternal sunlight, its land dry and desertified from relentless heat.
Standing on the mast, Sakura peered toward the island. The scorching air warped the light, making the whole place look like a mirage.
"Lady Sakura, records say Sunlight Island is surrounded by strong currents. Your small boat might not handle them."
Terry Gilteo, Jiron's deputy intelligence officer, voiced his concern.
"Oh? Leviathan, they say there's a current in this world you can't cross."
Sakura patted the ship's rail, sea spray splashing her face, her bold grin unfazed.
"Don't underestimate me!!!"
A soft, childlike voice rang out as the ship lifted off, sprouting wings and tearing through the waves in a spin.
A piercing cry cut through the blue sea and sky, soaring freely above the heavens.
"It… it turned into a bird!"
The two Revolutionary soldiers clung to each other, eyes bulging like cones, bloodshot with shock.
"Nice work, partner!"
"It's just~ using~ your stamina~"
"Hahaha, you jerk!"
The black wings crossed the raging currents, officially landing on the dreamlike Sunlight Island!