Rain poured onto the sea, sizzling as it neared the girl's body.
Beside her stood a towering giant, his lion-like orange hair drenched and drooping miserably from the downpour.
Though dressed in a Marine suit, his cape of justice had long since slipped onto the icy surface beneath him.
The giant stood tall, just as he had when he first joined the Marines, swearing to fight for justice, now gazing at the legendary Marine figure before him.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru, I'm done with the Marines!"
"Sauro, that's not something you can just say!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru gritted her teeth, rejecting Sauro's rebellious declaration.
As the Navy Headquarters' chief strategist, she was one of the few who saw the government's true nature.
But having chosen to join the Marines and uphold the world's order and peace, her aging body now bore the weight of that choice.
How could she blame these young souls whose passion still burned brightly?
Tsuru let out a heavy sigh, the tattered yet still fluttering cape behind her feeling unbearably heavy, as if it were suffocating her.
Order demands sacrifice—always has.
"This is the law! Are you really going to make an enemy of the World Government?"
Tsuru tore off her justice cape, pressing her hand to her body and activating her Wash-Wash Fruit ability, cleansing her wounds and the stains of battle in one go.
As a veteran vice admiral, her mastery of her Devil Fruit was unparalleled, and combined with her honed Armament and Observation Haki, she was nearly flawless.
"That kind of law is too brutal. I can't do it!"
"Sorry, Vice Admiral Tsuru, but I'm fighting for the justice in my heart!"
Sauro's massive frame erupted with astonishing power, his aura subtly intensifying.
His Haki—the weapon of will—roared deafeningly, resonating with the clarity of his newfound conviction.
"Hahaha, that's the spirit! Let's raise some hell together!"
Standing beside Sauro, Sakura raised her fists high, a bold grin spreading across her face.
With her current strength, facing a figure like Vice Admiral Tsuru was still too much. Having Sauro as an ally was a huge help.
And you're a giant, I'm basically a giant—we're practically brothers! Isn't it a blast to take on the Marines together?
"Who's teaming up with you, you rotten pirate? Dereshishishi!"
Sauro, never learning his lesson, tried to poke Sakura's head, only to yelp as her heat singed his finger.
He quickly dunked it into the ice below, a wisp of smoke rising.
"Ugh, trouble. The tough ones are teaming up now?"
Tsuru rolled up her sleeves, her fists and arms blackened with Armament Haki.
In an instant, her Haki roared like a collapsing sky, her unassuming frame brimming with boundless power as she swung at Sakura and Sauro.
Her attack was swift and fierce, like a thunderbolt.
Abandoning any intent to hold back, Tsuru no longer saw a child or colleague to save—only enemies.
As a high-ranking member of the government's violent arm, she embodied the cold indifference of its enforcers.
All for order!
"Here we go!"
With an excited grin, Sakura leaped high, dark lightning crackling in the air as flames surged from her petite frame.
Chakra-generated steam evaporated, blending with the rain to form a jet-like propulsion behind her.
Her fist, already imbued with the giant royalty's immense strength, unleashed a thunderous strike toward Tsuru.
Boom!
As their fists collided, the clash of monstrous strength and Haki erupted into a shockwave, sending Sakura flying backward, head over heels.
"Ow! Her Haki—it's drilling into my bones?"
Using Moon Step to adjust her posture, Sakura crashed into an iceberg she'd created.
Her right hand, which had clashed with Tsuru's, throbbed with a piercing pain, especially deep in her bones, filled with a dull ache.
For the first time, Sakura understood what Rayleigh had meant about falling short in a clash of wills.
Despite her superior strength, her fist faltered instinctively upon meeting Tsuru's Haki, disrupting her follow-through and letting Tsuru overpower her.
"So, Armament Haki is the power that bursts forth when your will overcomes the body's self-preservation instincts?"
"No wonder Rayleigh said kids shouldn't mess with that kind of Haki too soon!"
Sakura looked up, frustrated, watching Sauro block Tsuru's punches with his massive palms.
Was it really impossible to stand against the sea's titans without Haki?
No, it wasn't just that—she still had her chakra.
"My techniques are too limited right now. I've gotta squeeze that old man Third for more later!"
Tora-Yu-Mao
Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!
The surrounding seawater began to spin rapidly under Sakura's control, infused with chakra to follow a precise trajectory.
"Hey, Sauro, hold your breath!"
Hearing Sakura's shout, Sauro, locked in combat with Tsuru, let down his guard and covered his mouth and nose with both hands, taking a few hits from Tsuru in the process.
But the spiraling seawater surged into the sky, arcing through the rain before crashing down.
"That trick won't work on me twice!"
Tsuru, never letting her Observation Haki waver from Sakura, crouched low and used Moon Step to sprint along the crashing waves.
In moments, she broke free of the battlefield, landing nimbly on a nearby warship.
"Ugh… gurgle gurgle!"
Sauro was swept to Sakura's side by the falling water, gasping for air as he surfaced.
Struggling to stand, his clothes torn and blood dripping from his forehead, he said, "What are you doing, Sakura? I was barely holding Tsuru back! Now that she's got distance, she'll be even tougher to deal with!"
"Huh? For real? I didn't know!"
Sakura's jaw dropped, staring blankly at Sauro.
"Too young, after all!"
On the warship, Tsuru pressed her hand to the deck, her Wash-Wash Fruit ability spreading to cleanse the negative effects from the soldiers knocked out by Sakura's Conqueror's Haki.
"You lazy bunch, how long are you gonna make an old lady fight alone?"
"Cannon fire, ready!"
At Tsuru's command, the sixty-meter vice admiral-class warship mobilized its sixteen state-of-the-art Marine cannons, aiming at Sakura and Sauro on the distant ice floe.
"A vice admiral's warship at full firepower can level a town in seconds."
"I'll cover you, Sakura—run! Use your abilities!"
Sauro stood tall, shielding Sakura with his massive frame.
Even if Sakura was a pirate, a child so young didn't deserve to die on this cruel sea.
Following the justice in his heart, Sauro puffed out his chest proudly, ready to fight for his beliefs until his final moment.
"Shut up, you big oaf!"
The heat radiating from Sakura faded as her right hand turned to ice, reinforcing the ground beneath them.
The system's escape button was right there. If she wanted, she could flee this sea and return to the safety of the ninja world at any moment.
But was that really okay?
The bold promises she'd made before Captain Roger and the crew, the awe she felt facing the vast ocean and its stories…
One step back, and it would all vanish.
She couldn't run—wouldn't run—even if it meant dying on this path to her dreams!
"I brought you here, so there's no way… no way I'm letting you die!"
Sakura's left hand swept outward, a thick layer of frost spreading from it, instantly forming a massive ice sword.
Gripping the sword with both hands and raising it behind her, dark lightning surged violently.
"That's the Spear of Elbaf? But didn't you fail at it before?"
Sauro paused, raising a hand to stop her.
But Sakura, eyes closed, was lost in recalling every detail of the mural.
In this moment of dire crisis, her heart grew calmer.
滴答!
A raindrop rippled across her mind's lake, and Sakura saw the towering giant wielding that world-shaking spear against the sea.
Will… Haki… forging the path ahead!!!
"I get it now."
A spark flickered in Sakura's emerald eyes, her voice calm, devoid of fervor.
Yet somehow… it stirred the heart.
Rising from deep within was an unmatched anticipation for the future she would create.
In the moment she grasped that will, a smile spread across her face.
Pure joy.
All she could do was answer that emotion with the blade in her hands.
Far off, rainbow light flashed in Tsuru's eyes, her battle-honed Observation Haki screaming warnings.
"No, dodge!"
Tsuru tried to give the order, but it was too late.
Conqueror's Haki lightning tore through the air, and the girl's clear voice echoed across the sea.
"Carve my future—Spear of Elbaf: Vigorous Nation!!!"
In an instant, boundless shockwaves surged from Sakura's ice sword, merging with the storm and rain, a ferocious rainbow of light rising like a pillar connecting heaven and earth.
Sakura boldly declared her will to the entire sea, unapologetic and unrestrained.
As everyone reeled from the young conqueror's unleashed Haki, a world-shaking thunder roared from her blade.
Rain, waves, the sea itself—every obstacle in Sakura's path was shattered by her hand.
In a flash, everything fell apart!
The shockwave swept forward like a raging torrent, countless waves rising as one, crashing toward the two ships.
BOOM!!!