Suffocation!
When Sakura entered the medical room, what she encountered was a stifling atmosphere so heavy it was hard to even breathe.
The smell of disinfectant hung in the air, and every breath felt thick and heavy.
"No ventilation?"
Sakura's gaze turned to Ivankov behind her. With his superb medical skills, he wouldn't make a rookie mistake.
"Mm, sunlight, sea breeze… contact with these will worsen their injuries!"
"The conditions at headquarters were harsh. To prolong their lives as much as possible, I suggested Dragon move them here."
Ivankov's eyelashes drooped, and the always-raised corners of his mouth gradually fell.
"Are there any medical records? What caused their injuries?"
Sakura walked over and picked up a pair of rubber gloves from Ivankov's operating room.
After putting them on, she walked to the bedside of one soldier, pried open his eyelid for examination.
"I only know they were injured during a rescue mission. The specific cause is unknown, the suspected type of injury is poison!"
Rummaging through the surrounding cabinets for his own diagnostic records, Ivankov handed them to Sakura.
"Poison?"
Sakura, upon hearing this, took off the rubber gloves. A green glow emanated from her hand as she pressed it against the body of one soldier.
"Hey!"
Ivankov reached out worriedly, wanting to stop her.
"Shh!"
Sakura signaled for him to be quiet, then closed her eyes.
Observation Haki combined with Chakra perception probed into the wounded soldier's body: blood vessels, internal organs, bones, muscles... all the way to the brain.
The moment her perception entered the brain, the soldier's body suddenly convulsed violently, breaking free from Sakura's hand.
In the last instant before the connection broke, Sakura clearly detected a malicious consciousness within their hollow souls!
"What's going on?!"
Ivankov urgently pressed down on the soldier's body, stuffing cotton into his mouth to prevent him from biting off his tongue during the convulsions.
"It's not poison. This is… a Devil Fruit's ability!"
Sakura opened her eyes and gave her diagnosis.
"Impossible! We've already tried seawater and Seastone. If it were an ability, it shouldn't be able to resist them!"
Ivankov pulled out four or five leather straps and tied the soldier on the sickbed up tightly.
"What if the ability isn't about exerting influence, but about taking away something from them?"
Sakura raised a finger and pressed it against the soldier's head. Conqueror's Haki suddenly erupted.
Under the intense spiritual pressure, he passed out, and the convulsions naturally stopped.
"This is truly an unexpected discovery. We must inform Dragon immediately!"
Ivankov jumped up, grabbed Sakura, and quickly ran out of the ward.
A few minutes later, inside the palace of the Kamabakka Kingdom.
Ivankov, bringing Sakura, reported the events in the ward to Dragon.
Then the three of them waited together for the report from Jiron, the current Revolutionary Army's Chief of Intelligence, on the beginning and end of the rescue incident.
Jiron, the intelligence officer, skillfully connected the Den Den Mushi, using the residual electrical waves to reconstruct the message they received that day.
"Bzzz... This is... bzzz... Revolutionary Army East Army Commander Ginny, do not... bzzz... approach Sunlight Island!"
The message ended. Jiron pressed the stop button on the transcribing Den Den Mushi.
"We went to rescue based on this message. As for the ability user who harmed the soldiers... we didn't see them either..."
At this point, Jiron's voice gradually faded into silence. He looked silently at Dragon and Ivankov, whose auras were oppressive.
"It was Ginny! It's the missing Ginny!"
Hearing news of Ginny, whom he had always regarded as a younger sister, after a year, Ivankov covered his mouth, huge tears welling up in his eyes.
"Dragon, whether for the soldiers or for Ginny, we must send someone to Sunlight Island!"
"What if it's a government trap? And we can't spare any decent combat strength for reconnaissance!"
Dragon clenched his fist, a vein throbbing on his forehead. Then he sighed dejectedly.
Was it that he didn't want to rescue them? Not at all.
The World Government saw the Revolutionary Army as a thorn in its side, constantly dispatching CP Agents to assassinate various army commanders, and often cooperating with the Marines and national armies to besiege and annihilate them.
Receiving a distress call from Ginny, who had been missing for a year, out of the blue, they couldn't determine if it was a trap.
Furthermore, this was during the early days of the Revolutionary Army's establishment. To liberate as many kingdoms as possible, the Revolutionary Army's headquarters and various branches were already deeply mired in the quagmire of war.
The top fighters within the Revolutionary Army constantly needed to provide timely support to battlefields in far-off seas. Similar battles were almost endless.
Even Dragon and Ivankov, who were present, would have long been dispatched to other battlefields if not for receiving Sakura to help save people.
Jiron could be dispatched, but he was an intelligence officer, so one couldn't expect him to fight head-on against an unknown powerful ability user.
"Um, if you don't mind, how about letting me go take a look?"
Just as Dragon and the others were at their wits' end, Sakura, who had been observing, waved at them.
"Speaking of which, you asked for my help, but I haven't managed to cure your soldiers."
"Really? Haruno-boy, thank you so much!"
Ivankov, full of snot and tears, immediately grabbed Sakura's hands and shook them vigorously.
"This could be dangerous, and you might also be implicated by the Revolutionary Army's notorious reputation."
Dragon hesitated for a moment, then looked at Sakura with a grave expression.
Ivankov's expression also became conflicted. After a long while, he finally let go of Sakura: "Dragon is right, Haruno-boy. We can't implicate you."
"It's fine. This is a rare adventure~" Sakura chuckled lightly, "Besides, I'm a pirate. Would I be afraid of the World Government's hatred?"
Dragon took a deep breath and stepped forward to grasp her hand: "We will remember this kindness for the rest of our lives!"
After confirming the new direction, Sakura put her journey around the world on hold. She obtained an Eternal Pose from the Revolutionary Army and selected one intelligence officer and one young soldier.
Sakura took them aboard the Leviathan and headed for Sunlight Island in the northern part of the Grand Line!
After dozens of days of sailing, Sakura and the Revolutionary Army's members traveling with her arrived in a certain sea.
A very special sea.
"We can already see the outline of the island, Sakura-sama!"
The young Revolutionary Army's soldier, Bunny Joe, put down his telescope and alerted the people in the cabin.
The days of sailing had allowed him to witness this young female pirate's immense power and profound knowledge, so he unconsciously began using an honorific for her.
"Sunlight Island?"
Sakura, who emerged from the cabin, wore a white windbreaker and raised a hand to lower the brim of her cowboy hat.
In the distance, the island was bathed in sunlight that never seemed to set. The land had become parched and sandy from the long hours of scorching heat.
When Sakura stood on the mast looking towards the island, the scorching air blurred the visible light, making the entire island appear very illusory.
"Sakura-sama, according to records, there are very strong circumnavigating currents around Sunlight Island. Your small boat might not be able to resist them."
The intelligence officer serving as deputy under Jiron, Terry Gilteo, voiced his concern.
"Eh? Leviathan, someone says there's a current in this world you can't cross."
Sakura reached out and stroked the ship's rail. Spray from the waves splashed on her face, but it didn't affect her heroic smile in the slightest.
"Don't~ under~estimate me!!!"
A soft, childlike voice rang out. The ship lifted into the air, grew wings, and tore through the waves while spinning.
A high-pitched cry pierced the blue sea and sky as it soared freely through the heavens.
"It... turned into a bird!"
The two Revolutionary Army soldiers clung to each other, their eyes bulging like cones, bloodshot.
"Oh! Well done, partner!"
"After all~, it uses~ Saku~ra's stamina~"
"Hahaha, you!"
The black wings crossed the mighty current, officially landing on this dreamlike island, Sunlight Island!