A week later, on the southern coast of Seabird Island.
Sakura, sitting in front of a fishing rod, flipped through a newspaper. The news inside made her exclaim, "Oh~, Tom-san's Sea Train is already completed?"
"Who's that? What's a Sea Train?"
Law, who was studying nearby, had his concentration broken by Sakura's exclamation and looked up.
"It's a type of transportation that connects islands. It can break the current situation where people are trapped on isolated islands, forever unable to communicate!"
Putting down the newspaper, Sakura raised the beer beside her chair and offered a toast in the direction of Water 7.
"Eh, he sounds like a great man!"
Law put away his medical book and moved closer to Sakura to read the newspaper in her hand.
"Wait, the front-page headline is your wanted poster, Sakura-san!"
"You're not paying attention to that, but instead looking at other small sections?"
Law, who had snatched the newspaper, spoke excitedly. The sweat on his forehead didn't know if it was from the heat or from being startled by the number on the poster.
"So you're still just a kid. What pirate isn't wanted?!"
Sakura grinned mischievously, raising the iced beer in her hand to press against Law's cheek.
Stimulated by the cold beer, Law shivered, but unlike usual, he didn't argue back with Sakura with full of energy.
"This also means you're leaving again, doesn't it, Sakura-san? There's no helping it... after all, pirates have to wander everywhere..."
Law's tone was somewhat downcast.
During this time living in Pleasure Town, he had made quite a few friends.
The generous and kind old inventor Wolf, the always insecure white bear Bepo, and the two small-time thugs he saved who now follow him, Penguin and Shachi. The bonds formed unconsciously had already become something Law couldn't bear to part with.
"If you don't want to leave, you can stay."
Sakura's offhand remark made Law's pupils tremble violently.
"What are you talking about? Of course, I'll go with Sakura-san..."
Snap!
The sound of a snap echoed. Law felt his mouth blocked by ice.
"Brat, I hate it most when others try to restrict my freedom. If I become your restraint, then Corazon's sacrifice would be in vain, and I would become the kind of person I hate the most!"
Sakura stood up, even leaving her fishing rod behind. She raised her hand to press down on Law's hat.
"Go ahead and choose your own life to your heart's content. You are free now!"
The girl's tall figure stood against the light, passing by Law's small form.
The sea breeze lifted Law's hat, revealing a face already streaked with tears that had been hidden by the brim.
In the afternoon, Sakura, carrying dry provisions, stepped onto the speedboat. Many people who had come to see her off were on the dock.
"Cough, Sakura-san, the thermal seawater desalination device you asked me to modify is finished. By the way, are you sure it's okay with so many damages on the hull?"
The old inventor Wolf leaned on his cane, stroking his beard with his other hand.
"Ah, it's fine. My proud ship is still alive!"
Sakura grinned, placing a hand on the Leviathan's hull and injecting Yang Attribute Chakra.
The Sunlight Tree Eve, possessing life characteristics, rapidly repaired the gaps under the acceleration of Yang Attribute Chakra. In just a few minutes, it was as good as new.
"So cool!"
The white bear Bepo, who had been hiding behind everyone, had stars in his eyes upon seeing this.
But suddenly, Bepo's expression changed, and he lowered his head: "I feel kind of sorry somehow."
"Why are you apologizing for no reason?!"
Penguin and Shachi, with their arms around each other's shoulders and heads pressed together, each gave Bepo a hit.
"It's going to be good weather soon. Time to set sail!"
By releasing thermal radiation through the Odo Odo no Mi and coordinating with Observation Haki to perceive the ocean's thermal circulation trends in nature, she could deduce the upcoming weather changes.
This was an ability Sakura developed recently after reorganizing Gaban's navigator manual.
Sakura loaded the supplies onto the ship and walked towards the Leviathan.
"Sakura-san!"
Law rushed past everyone to the front and gave Sakura a hug.
"You have to take care of yourself out there on the sea alone. Remember to save money properly, don't get dead drunk all the time, fold your clothes neatly,"
"Don't throw your shoes around randomly, remember to take good care of your hair and skin, perfume too, try to be a bit more ladylike... mmph mmph..."
Before he could finish, a fair hand grabbed the tattling Law, covering his mouth tightly.
"Okay, okay, that's enough instructions already!"
Using ice to bind Law and tossing him to the others, Sakura hurriedly escaped onto the Leviathan.
Propelled by flames erupting from the stern, the ship set sail.
By the time the ship completely disappeared from view, the ice on Law shattered.
Standing up, he seemed to sense something. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a kunai engraved with a cherry blossom mark.
The transparent tip of the kunai reflected the boy's genuinely bright smile.
"Take care, Sakura-san!"
"Achoo!"
Under the sea, Sakura, who had activated a coating for underwater travel, sneezed.
In the dim depths, mist gradually spread across the Leviathan.
A small hand clad in a pink raincoat pulled a tissue from the table and handed it to Sakura.
"Oh, thanks, Law."
Sakura subconsciously took the tissue and wiped her nose, then jolted!
'Wait, didn't Law get off the ship?!'
Whipping her head around, she discovered a pink-haired little girl completely shrouded in a raincoat, wearing black rain boots on her feet.
She was tilting her head, hands behind her back, the shadow under her hood seeming to gaze at her.
"Hello~ there~, Saku~ra-chan~"
The child's childish voice reached Sakura's ears, bringing with it a lazy feeling.
Coupled with the fog on the ship, the child's figure seemed faint and indistinct.
"Are you... a deep-sea ghost?!"
The bold Sakura was very curious. She reached out and poked the other party…
'She had a physical body!'
"No~pe~, I am~ Leviathan~ you see~"
Dragging out her words in a long, drawn-out tone, her sleep-inducing voice entered Sakura's ears.
Hearing the girl calling herself [Leviathan], a long-absent legend crashed into Sakura's mind: "A Klabautermann!!!"
"Ye~s~ that's~ right~"
The soft and fluffy Klabautermann jumped up and landed in Sakura's arms.
"But you're a new ship! The will I've placed on you shouldn't meet the conditions for a Klabautermann to be born yet!"
The skeptical Sakura tried to tug at the raincoat on the other's head, finding it wouldn't come off.
"I~ don't know~, but Saku~ra-chan's~ hands have warm~ energy~, and then~ I could~ come out~"
Speaking such a long sentence tired Leviathan out, making her pant heavily.
She lay lazily in Sakura's arms, comfortably swinging her short little legs.
'Yang Attribute... Chakra!'
'Yin Release creates form from nothingness, Yang Release grants life to form!'
Since setting sail, she'd been cutting corners to avoid repairing the ship, injecting Yang Attribute Chakra into the Leviathan to let it grow and repair itself.
'Had that unexpectedly led to the birth of a Klabautermann?'
"Hahaha, that's so interesting! From today on, you're my new partner!"
Rubbing her face against Leviathan's head, Sakura wrapped her arms around her.
"Not~ right~, I've always~ been~ your partner~ you know~"
Leviathan pulled out her two small hands and hugged Sakura's arm.
[Hmph, how affected!]
'Ehehe, someone's jealous~'
After her daily teasing of the system, Sakura put Leviathan down, letting her control the ship to continue sailing.
Just then, the Den Den Mushi installed on the ship suddenly rang.
Sakura opened the cabin door and picked up the receiver with one hand.
"Hello!"
"Sakura, sorry to contact you at this time!"
"Dragon?"