"What do you mean she escaped? An admiral, five vice admirals, and twenty warships couldn't stop her?!"
In the holy land of Mariejois, in the Chamber of Authority, the cane-wielding elder actually lost his cool and bellowed into the Den Den Mushi.
"Sorry, Saint Satan, but her space powers were just too tricky~"
The voice on the other end was lazy, punctuated by the click-click of nail clippers.
"Fine. From now on, CP will take point on her case. If they need backup, the Navy cooperates—no questions asked."
The three pillars of the World Government (Enies Lobby, CP, and the Navy) were supposed to be equals.
But as punishment for this failure, Satan deliberately dropped the Navy's priority below CP's, putting them under CP command for this mission.
"No problem. We'll give full support," came Borsalino's breezy reply, like he couldn't care less.
Report finished. Click. The snail went silent.
"Sigh… now what?"
Izambaron V. Nasjuro's hawk-like eyes flicked to Satan.
They'd both vouched for the plan. If that person decided to dig deeper, they'd be in the crosshairs too.
"…Hide it?"
"Seconded." ×4
The five in the chamber exchanged looks and fell into rare, heavy silence.
"Hee-hee-hee. I'd love to see Yellow Monkey's face right now!"
On the Leviathan's deck, Sakura lounged in a beach chair. The ship's all-purpose sprite had already set out a spread of food.
"We… actually got away?"
Barney Joe glanced back at Daylight Island—now just a smudge on the horizon—his face still pale.
"What, want me to turn around and drop you off?"
Sakura speared a chunk of meat with her fork and talked around it.
"PLEASE NO!"
The kid snapped to attention and bowed stiffly.
Terry Gil Deo unhooked the white Den Den Mushi and set the receiver down. "Still, slipping out of a Buster Call led by an admiral? Miss Sakura, you're incredible."
"Of course!"
Sakura tapped the side of her nose, grinning like keep the compliments coming.
[Heh~]
"Oh, System—thanks for the save."
[Notice: Achievements unlocked — "Enemy of the Celestial Dragons," "Nightmares No Longer Hurt." Reward: 600 points.]
[Current balance: 1,340]
"Wait—where's the missing hundred? You skimmed me again?!"
[Notice: Using Celestial Dominion for one minute in the dream requires record rollback. Playback?]
"…Nah, forget it."
Sakura deflated. She had needed the System to bail her out at the end. A little skimming was fine.
[Heh!]
The ship sailed into the Calm Belt. Sails furled automatically.
Coated in resin, Leviathan dove, parting the sea and slipping beneath the surface.
A full week later, guided by the two men, they reached the Revolutionary Army HQ: Baltigo.
There, Sakura teamed up with Ivankov—who'd rushed to base—to diagnose Ginny.
"Sapphire Scale Disease?! Those government bastards did this to Ginny?!"
In the exam room, Ivankov smashed the table and heaved with rage.
"It's less a disease, more a runaway bloodline factor modification," Sakura said, sighing over the report and cell slides.
Because the damage was genetic, neither medical ninjutsu nor Ivankov's Amprio Healing Hormones could fix it.
After brainstorming, Sakura pitched a wild idea:
Harvest healthy cells → grow a clone body → anchor the soul with a chakra seed → extract soul, personality, and memories → transfer into the clone.
"That… that means killing Ginny once, right?"
Ivankov's giant face twitched. He staggered back and slammed into the wall.
"Let's try it. You were gonna need my help anyway, right?"
Bartholomew Bear—Meatball Fruit user—poked his head through the window.
"…Bear!"
Ivankov broke into sobs.
Only those who'd witnessed their bond knew how much pain lay behind the gentle smile of the man in front of them.
"Let's go with that plan!"
Ivankov was a wreck, so Sakura took charge and green-lit the treatment.
Once decided, the entire Revolutionary Army poured resources into it. Dragon risked CP assassination attempts to steal cutting-edge equipment from the government.
Over the process, Sakura and Bear grew close from constant treatment talks.
Two weeks later—Baltigo hospital OR.
Sterilized. Three figures in white coats stood between two operating tables.
"Ready?"
Sakura took a deep breath. As lead surgeon, her gaze was steel.
"Do it. Whatever happens, I'll carry it."
Bear's smile was soft, but the hands that had saved countless lives were trembling.
"Here we go!"
Sakura formed seals. Chakra-coated palms pressed against a patch of Ginny's skin still free of scales.
The injected cells immediately started siphoning her physical and mental energy to build their own chakra.
The drain twisted Ginny's frail face in pain.
"Amprio Excitation Hormones!"
Face torn with conflict, Ivankov followed the plan and injected.
Squeeze every last drop of life potential from this body to maximize chakra conversion.
Cough-cough!
Ginny hacked up blood. Breathing turned ragged.
"Faster—vitals are dropping!"
Ivankov clenched his fists, voice cracking.
"Almost—chakra imprint needs time!"
One hand on Ginny's forehead, Sakura tracked the soul-chakra fusion.
Chakra spiraled from the gut, spread through meridians—but soul and memories stayed locked in the brain. Chakra couldn't breach the final zone.
"Damn it—is the trauma making her resist?"
Sweat beaded on Sakura's brow as monitors screamed.
Stalemate.
Then Bear stepped forward and knelt.
"Ginny… we promised, right? We'd eat until we're stuffed and never go hungry again."
"We'd travel the world, see every view you wanted."
"So please… wake up! Ginny!!!"
Tears spilled, splashing the hand he cradled.
The lover's plea reached the girl drowning in her deepest nightmare.
A finger twitched.
The iron wall of resistance wavered—just enough.
Chakra surged into the brain.
The moment it touched, the girl's soul finally had a vessel.
"NOW, BEAR!"
No hesitation. Bear opened his paw-pad and slapped.
The soul—untouchable by the Meatball Fruit until now—was perfectly ejected, wrapped in chakra light.
A bear-paw bubble floated in midair, cradling a pink-haired girl in glowing flames.
"Beautiful!"
Sakura guided the bubble into the clone, sealing the transfer.
Yang Release chakra sparked across the new body, flooding it with life.
Monitors beeped—heart rate, brain waves, oxygen—all climbing.
"Did it work…?"
Ivankov's eyes were bloodshot, fixed on the girl.
Sakura clapped his shoulder, flashed a huge grin, and dragged him out.
Silence.
Only Bear's soft sobs echoed.
Then—a hand lifted, gently wiping his tears.
"Bear honey… you're so loud!"
"Ginny… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—waaaaah!"
The quiet crying turned to wails. He pulled her close and never let go of the miracle in his arms.
"Bear honey… marry me. I'll make you happy."
"Mhm."
Love—defying death—tied their fates together once more.