Under the cover of night, Robin, tears streaming down her face, pushed open the library door and ran out, forbidden from studying the Void Century.
For the first time, she'd made a friend her own age and earned her O'Hara scholar's badge.
Two joys overlapping, doubling her happiness, should've brought her a dreamlike bliss.
So why—why did it turn out like this?
Back in the library, the world-renowned archaeologist Clover D. let out a heavy sigh.
"Pretty harsh, huh~"
Sakura Haruno stepped out from the shadows of the bookshelves, cutting herself a slice of the cake meant for Robin's celebration and digging in.
"You've got some nerve saying that! Weren't you the one who suggested we kick that kid out?!"
Clover D. crossed his arms, glaring at the girl sprawled casually on the table.
"Hey, Doc, don't pin this on me~"
Sakura stuck out her tongue, a dab of cream on her nose making her look like a greedy kid.
But every scholar in the room knew this cute pink-haired girl was dangerous deep down. Like, say, when she stormed the Tree of Knowledge at dusk and knocked everyone out with her Conqueror's Haki! Absolutely ruthless!
"Whatever. You should leave soon too, unless you want to go up in flames with this island!"
Clover D. looked up reluctantly, wiping a tear from his eye.
Sakura's news had come too suddenly. Even if the World Government's Buster Call warships set out from Navy Headquarters and took the Gate of Justice's currents, they'd reach O'Hara in just five days.
In such a short time, the scholars of O'Hara had no chance of moving the Tree of Knowledge's vast collection of books.
Four thousand years of accumulated knowledge from around the world—priceless treasures of humanity—were about to be destroyed because of the World Government's absurd laws. It was just… infuriating.
"I'm not going anywhere. Find me a place to crash!"
Sakura flipped onto a chair, hands behind her head, legs propped up on the table.
She acted like they were the guests here, even bold enough to demand they whip up a couple of dishes for her. Who did she think she was?
"What's your deal, anyway?"
Clover D. frowned, studying the unpredictable girl.
Normal people would steer clear of this kind of danger, but she was practically diving in with a grin.
Was she reckless, or was this just that lawless pirate spirit?
"Didn't I tell you? I'm here to take on the world!"
Sakura rocked her chair back, flashing a cocky grin.
Messing with the World Government was just a bonus. If she was going to grind for achievements, she'd go for the fattest target to milk for all it was worth.
"Do whatever you want, but don't come crying when the government's agents arrest you!"
Clover D. huffed, leading the scholars out.
Though the old man talked tough, he still arranged a room for Sakura in the living quarters above the library before leaving.
The next day.
Waking up in the towering "treehouse" of the Tree of Knowledge, Sakura stretched lazily on the narrow wooden bed.
After days of drifting at sea, she finally had a chance to pull out her long-awaited prize from the system: the Flying Thunder God scroll!
"Hehe, my precious, let's give you a little check-up!"
Giggling like a maniac, Sakura unraveled the scroll's binding and spread it out on the bed.
The scroll's text was sparse, but the key parts were three etched diagrams.
One showed the pattern that spreads on the ground when using the Summoning Technique, another was a miniature model of the basic sealing technique, Isshi Lantern Array, and the last was a complex, nested spiral pattern.
'Let's see if I've got that legendary spatial perception talent!'
Eagerly, Sakura gathered chakra in her palm, tracing the path of the final diagram.
Crack!
A shattering sound rang out, sharp and faint, as the chakra surge numbed her left hand.
"Hiss!"
Sakura shook her tingling palm, wincing.
"Why? I followed the pattern exactly!"
Not one to give up, she tried again.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The room echoed with the sound of her stubborn attempts for a solid half-hour.
After countless failures, a spark of inspiration hit. Sakura decided to use her Observation Haki to sense the spatial structure.
Raising her arm, she closed her eyes, using her body's secondary sensory system to observe the formation of the pattern.
As the chakra pattern took shape, a multidimensional spatial shadow appeared in her senses—but it was incomplete!
"No wonder the village, despite having the technique, couldn't train more Flying Thunder God users," Sakura mused, opening her eyes.
The completed chakra pattern, now burning with a cyan glow, floated in her hand.
The spatial pattern was multidimensional! Text and drawings were just 2D models, incapable of fully capturing or describing a higher-dimensional spacetime structure.
Following the scroll blindly would lead you straight into a ditch. But without the scroll, you'd probably stumble into a ditch on your own anyway.
Talk about a catch-22.
"The spacetime model's set. Now it's just a matter of grinding it out!"
Rolling over on the bed, unable to contain her excitement, Sakura hugged her blanket and kicked her legs in glee.
Meanwhile, on O'Hara's coast.
Nico Robin, feeling low, kicked a pebble along the beach.
The distant cry of seabirds caught her attention. Looking up, she spotted a massive figure collapsed on the shore.
"Hm?"
Robin ran over, startling several seabirds into flight.
The giant's fingers twitched, and as he struggled to rise, a cloud of sand and dust kicked up.
"Gah!"
The giant made a goofy face to scare Robin off, but she didn't flinch, instead giving him a look like he was the kid here.
Sauro froze, sweat beading on his forehead as he held the silly expression.
Exhausted, he collapsed back onto the beach with a weak groan. "Water… give me water!"
Moments later, after guzzling fresh water from a nearby river, Sauro let out a satisfied bellow.
Turning over, he crashed to the ground, splintering several tall trees.
"That hit the spot!"
"Barely made it out alive. Wonder how Sakura's doing?"
He glanced at Robin, about to thank her, when he caught her shocked expression.
"Sakura? You mean Sakura Haruno?"
"Oh, you know her?!" Sauro's eyes lit up as he pressed, "Where is she? Is she okay?"
"She's staying at the Tree of Knowledge with Dr. Clover and the others," Robin replied, hands behind her back, tilting her head.
At the mention of the Tree of Knowledge, Sauro visibly paled.
"Wait, you're saying this is… O'Hara's Tree of Knowledge?!?!"
"Yup!"
With that, Sauro's injuries overwhelmed him. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
In the final moment before his consciousness faded, he swore he saw a giant "DANGER" sign looming over him.
My life… my life of walking on thin ice!
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