The sound of the sea echoed over the ocean. Fisher Tiger, lying in the ship's cabin, opened his eyes.
Looking at the unfamiliar ceiling, a sharp pain shot through his forehead.
"That's right! Everyone!"
Dragging his heavily wounded body, the tall red Fish-man rushed out of the room and made his way along the corridor to the deck.
But when he pushed open the deck door, he was met with a scene of peace.
Sakura was holding Leviathan, lying on a deck chair, enjoying the warm sunshine.
Beside her, Kuina, bandaged, was meticulously swinging a wooden sword.
"Yo, Uncle Tiger, you're awake."
Sakura pulled a bottle of sherry from a wooden crate beside her and tossed it to Tiger.
"Sakura-nee, he's still seriously injured, isn't he?"
Kuina commented, picking up the towel around her neck to wipe the sweat from her chin.
"Kuina, haven't you heard? Alcohol is medicine for wounds!"
The pink-haired girl grinned, giving the kendo girl a thumbs-up.
"Lying to children will bring divine retribution!"
Scornfully giving Sakura a thumbs-down, Kuina turned back to her sword practice.
"What about everyone? What happened to the Sun Pirates?"
Fisher Tiger stepped forward, opened the bottle, and took a large gulp.
"Let's start with the conclusion: you've been sold to me by the new leader of the Sun Pirates!"
Sakura smiled, opening a bottle for herself and clinking it against Tiger's.
"Pfft, cough cough! What did you say?"
Tiger spat out the wine in his mouth, spraying a small rainbow into the air.
'What happened?'
'Did the Sun Pirates rebel, kick me off the ship, and sell me to another pirate?'
"Sigh, Sakura-nee, you're so mean."
Kuina couldn't stand it anymore. This Fish-man had protected her during the previous battle and explosion, which was why his injuries were so severe he'd been unconscious for a full week.
With her conscience bothering her, she stepped forward and explained to Fisher Tiger what had happened over the past week.
After the Foolshout Island incident, Jinbei, deeply aware of the World Government's hostility towards Fisher Tiger and finding himself at a dead end, had entrusted Tiger to Sakura's care.
Simultaneously, Jinbei himself took on the leader's role while the Sun Pirates were leaderless.
However, due to his lack of sufficient authority, he couldn't reconcile the conflicts between the two factions on the ship, ultimately leading to a split within the Sun Pirates.
Later, incidents occurred where scattered Fish-men attacked civilian villages and were captured, causing anti-Fish-man sentiment fostered by the World Government to soar to unprecedented heights.
To prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Jinbei chose to lead the Sun Pirates in voluntarily submitting to the World Government, becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
This, however, meant that Fisher Tiger could never return to the Sun Pirates, which had now become a political symbol of sorts.
"I see." Tiger downed the rest of his wine in one go. "That's fine. That guy Jinbei did well, very well..."
The heavy burden he had carried for so long was lifted, giving him a sense of exhilaration, as if he had broken free from a cage of fate.
"Perhaps everything was arranged by fate from the moment I first met you."
"Fate?"
Sakura cast a disdainful glance at the sky. "That thing is just a pile of crap, isn't it?"
Black thunder roared in the void. The conqueror's spirit stirred the sea, raising colossal waves.
The sky also seemed affected by this aura. Dark clouds gathered rapidly, and a storm filled Leviathan's sails.
"We are pirates! The freest people in the world! How could we be foolish enough to be ruled by fate?"
Sakura reached out to Tiger, her hand forming a fist, as if tightly gripping something.
"If it refuses to stand by my side, then I will plunder fate itself!"
Fisher Tiger felt her rebellious will, his mouth agape, unable to speak.
Behind her, Kuina and Leviathan also sat down, smiling broadly.
"So, will you join us? Fisher Tiger!"
Sakura spread her fingers, her pale palm held open as if containing the entire world.
"Then, this foolish one asks for your guidance."
Fisher Tiger raised his hand and grasped Sakura's.
Sakura grinned, turning to shout at the other two: "Let's have a party!"
Leviathan and Kuina, arm in arm, happily raised their fists.
"Whoa!"
…
Marine Headquarters. A Battleship that had sailed for a week from the West Blue slowly entered the crescent-shaped bay.
Later, inside the Headquarters building.
Sengoku sat at his desk, his face as dark as stormy water, his gaze fixed on Kizaru.
"She can really do something like that?"
Kizaru, lounging on a nearby sofa, trimmed his nails nonchalantly. "Look at what you're saying~ My firsthand account as someone who was there, plus the intelligence from the staff office, isn't that reliable enough~"
"Then why the hell didn't you arrest her, you bastard?! You even let the Higanbana crew get away!"
Sengoku roared, pounding his fist on the desk, the muscles on his face twitching.
'An ability capable of large-scale, indiscriminate healing… this was power that could easily sway the outcome of a war.'
'A doctor capable of such feats held immense value anywhere. No wonder the World Government wouldn't even allow a dead-or-alive bounty.'
'This was no ordinary pirate anymore. She needed to be dealt with severely!'
'Wouldn't it be wonderful to capture her, stuff her into the Headquarters' medical bay, and have her treat wounded day and night?'
"Well, starting a fight with her under those circumstances would have wiped out my entire unit. Not to mention her ship's ability counters mine."
Kizaru picked up his teacup nonchalantly and took a small sip of hot tea.
Sengoku's brows were furrowed enough to trap flies. He stared intently at the latest intelligence report delivered by the intelligence division.
Combined with Kizaru's account and the bounty updates from the staff office, the status of Sakura and her pirate crew members was as follows:
The large speedboat that ate the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Mythical Zoan: Night Sparrow - Leviathan. Bounty: 550,000,000 Berry.
Fish-Man adventurer, secondary instigator of the Slave Liberation Incident, former captain of the Sun Pirates - Fisher Tiger. Bounty: 380,000,000 Berry.
An eleven-year-old sword master and user of a cursed blade - Shimotsuki Kuina. Bounty: 80,000,000 Berry.
Finally, the captain leading these maniacs - Higanbana Sakura. Bounty: 1,240,000,000 Berry.
The crew's total bounty had reached a staggering 2,250,000,000 Berry.
Without a doubt, after this rapid expansion of its members, a new and highly threatening pirate crew had formed, despite having only four members.
"Let's see how the World Government plans to handle this."
Sengoku shook his head helplessly.
After all, many matters concerning Sakura had been handled by the World Government from the start. They couldn't just suddenly dump it all on the Marines, could they?
At the same time, in Mary Geoise, the Five Elders also received the report on this mission.
"As expected, Sakura interfered. And Fisher Tiger was rescued by her and joined her pirate crew!"
Warcury scattered the new bounty posters on the tea table, sighing as his large mustache quivered.
"And she rejected our invitation."
Nusjuro, leaning against the sofa with his sword, let a hint of regret show in his tone.
"But Abyssal's report says they collected a sample of her blood on site? How was that done?"
Mars raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking towards the figure leaning on a cane.
"Yes, she left it behind herself." Saturn nodded to them. "I have already ordered Dr. Vegapunk to begin clone experiments on Punk Hazard. We should have a finished product before long."
Ju Peter, unusually sitting on the sofa, let out a relieved sigh. "This should provide an explanation for that person."
"Now then, we should discuss how to deal with this individual!"
"How about... leaving it to the Marines?"
"Seconded!" x4