North Blue, Avignon Island.
"This is the most famous tourist city in the North Blue. Also, here's the thing I promised you!"
Doflamingo, standing on the ship's railing, tossed down a purple honeydew melon with a spiral pattern.
"This is the other fruit left from our heist this time. It's suspected to be a Zoan-type, but its information can't be found in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia."
"So, eating it could either make someone incredibly powerful overnight, or it could ruin them completely?"
Sakura caught the honeydew, examining this mysterious fruit.
"Fufufu, who knows? Aren't people like you the ones who love exploring the unknown the most?"
Doflamingo showed a meaningful smile, shaking off the little girl in a maid outfit who was sniffling and wiping her tears on his leg.
Although finding a suitable user for the Buki Buki no Mi was part of it, his choice to give Sakura this particular fruit was mostly due to his mischievous nature. (T/N: Arms-Arms Fruit.)
'Well then, Haruno Sakura, what will you choose? Will you find someone you trust to gamble on this probability, or will you use human lives to test out its abilities?'
"Alright then, we'll part ways here. Next time we meet, we'll be enemies again!"
"Fufufu..."
Doflamingo let out a cold laugh, ordering his crew members to set sail.
Sakura also unfolded the map in her hand and headed towards the town ahead, walking in the opposite direction of Doflamingo's flamingo ship.
The North Blue was vast, even larger than the New World.
This sea contained numerous islands and a great many countries and cities. Among them, Avignon Island was the largest dormant volcanic island in the area.
Its unique geography and hydrological environment fostered this peculiar nation, rich in volcanic mud baths and fisheries. Although it was a non-member nation of the World Government, the people living here were not poor at all.
"They say it's good for the skin. I wonder if it's true..."
Sakura pulled out her sea charts. The thickest one was picked up from Shanks' ship, annotated with many of his personal experiences from traveling in the North Blue.
She raised her hand and pinched her own cheek. Due to long periods of exposure to sea winds and direct UV rays while drifting at sea, her skin was now a shade darker than when she left home.
'This won't do. I must take good care of myself before going back, otherwise I won't know how to explain it to my mother!'
Clenching her fist silently, the girl pushed open the door of this wellness spa.
As soon as she entered the shop, the owner enthusiastically greeted her, his opening words stopping Sakura in her tracks.
"Welcome, guest, please come in."
"Which package would you like, guest? 4998, 6998, or 9998? See which price point suits you. Sign up for a membership now and get a gift!"
'What in the world? Hair washing membership cards have followed me to another world?'
"Mud bath. The most expensive one. No membership, thank you!"
Sakura responded with a cold triple whammy, cutting off all the owner's sales pitches.
Fifteen minutes later, wrapped in a towel, Sakura comfortably immersed herself in mud of just the right viscosity.
Since it was black mud mined from the volcano, it was still slightly warm and carried a sulfur smell.
Applying the mud to her face, Sakura leaned against the wooden boards of the bath, closing her eyes comfortably.
Bathing as a Devil Fruit User was a very unique experience. Volcanic ash contained a large amount of Pyrobroin particles, which would weaken Devil Fruit Users.
Just as she was wondering if she should find a way to overcome this weakness, a noisy sound reached her ears.
"Hey, Cora-san, you idiot! How could this possibly cure me!"
"Just give it a try. Maybe the spots on your skin will disappear after a soak."
"Don't treat me like a child!"
Not far from Sakura, a tall blond man was soaking in the mud with a young boy.
The boy, wrapped in volcanic mud into a ball, roared in anger at the man beside him.
The noisy sound made it impossible for Sakura to sleep. She raised her head angrily.
"Hey! Keep it down in a public place!"
Hearing Sakura's scolding, the man knocked the boy on the head and brought him over to apologize.
"Sorry for disturbing you!"
Opening her emerald-green eyes, Sakura's gaze was immediately drawn to the white spots on the boy's body.
The familiar combination, plus the familiar appearance, and most importantly, having seen similar cases in Crocus's files before, made Sakura blurt out without thinking:
"Hey, you... is that Amber Lead Syndrome?"
The girl's clear voice echoed, and the entire wellness spa fell silent. Panicked gasps arose from various parts of the bath.
Then, many tourists covered in mud climbed up in terror, scrambling out on their hands and feet.
"Weren't they all killed? Why are there still some left?"
"Remnants of White Town? No, don't! We'll get infected!"
"Guards, quickly bring disinfectant and gas masks!"
"Government, contact the government to eliminate this source of infection!"
Moments later, the wellness spa was empty, leaving only the silent man and the boy gritting his teeth.
"Yes, it's Amber Lead Syndrome! So what?!"
With tears welling in his eyes, the trembling boy charged angrily up to Sakura.
"I'll infect you with this disease right now! Look, look!"
The boy's hands wiped the volcanic mud from Sakura's face, revealing features that made the man behind him gasp in shock.
"Hey, Law, stop that!"
The man he called Corazon grabbed the boy's small hands and lifted him up.
"What are you doing, Cora-san? Didn't you see she..."
The boy struggled unwillingly in mid-air, waving his fists and feet at Sakura like a young beast.
"Well, I'm sorry for shouting out your condition. I caused you trouble, my apologies!"
Under Corazon's surprised gaze and Law's hostile stare, Sakura apologized to them.
"By the way, since you know about this condition, can you cure it?"
Clearly recognizing Sakura's identity, Corazon used honorifics in his speech.
The struggling Law in his grasp suddenly quieted down, his head buried deeply.
"Wait, how do you know I practice medicine?"
Corazon's words surprised Sakura, as her medical skills hadn't been exposed much at sea.
"It's the Red Hair Pirates. They spread information about your medical skills." Corazon explained with a gentle smile, "One of our goals for coming out to sea was to find you."
"That guy Shanks..."
Sakura's eyebrow twitched upon hearing this, and she crushed the marble edge of the bath.
"Please, this child has less than a year to live. Please, I beg you, show mercy!"
"No matter what the cost, I am willing to raise it. Just... let him live!"
Not caring about his own dignity, this man, whose heart radiated gentleness, knelt before Sakura for a child unrelated to him.
"To live... such powerful words."
Sakura completely ignored Corazon's plea. Instead, she stood up from the bath.
After rinsing the volcanic mud from her body with clean water, she walked over to Trafalgar Law and looked down at him, saying:
"Kid, tell me, what is your dream?"