That night, the sea breeze scattered the clouds in the sky.
Soft starlight spilled onto the ground. Sakura lay on the beach, admiring the beautiful starry sky.
The well-behaved Leviathan hauled two crates of chilled beer from her belly and placed them beside her.
"Thanks for everything this time. If you ever need help in the future, don't hesitate to come find me at the Kamabakka Kingdom!"
A voice sounded. Ivankov walked through the rocky area and onto the beach.
"Oho, a promise from the Queen of the Okama. I've hit the jackpot."
The sakura-pink-haired girl deliberately gave him an exaggerated salute.
"Such a smooth talker. Good thing you're not really a boy, Haruno, or who knows how many people would fall for you."
Ivankov pulled a beer from the crate next to Sakura and opened it for himself.
"Hey!"
A certain alcoholic, seeing her beer being stolen, let out a fierce dragon-like roar.
"Kuma, Ginny, and I were once slaves of the Celestial Dragons. After escaping that hell, I've always seen them as my younger siblings."
"Seeing them finally come together is truly wonderful."
Ignoring Sakura's faux-ferocious expression, Ivankov took a large swig, his eyes filled with reminiscence.
"Their love story having a happy ending is all thanks to you, Haruno-boy!"
"Then, a toast to love!"
Sakura tilted her head and raised her foaming drink towards Ivankov.
"To love! Hee-haw!"
Two bottles clinked in the air with a crisp sound.
After a few rounds, the two exchanged quite a bit of their medical knowledge, which made Ivankov grow even fonder of the girl before him.
"Haruno-boy, any interest in joining our Revolutionary Army?"
Although Dragon wasn't here, as one of the founders from the era of the Freedom Fighters, Ivankov was fully qualified to extend an invitation to Sakura on behalf of the Revolutionary Army.
"Forget it. I prefer a life of freedom. The Revolutionary Army isn't really for me."
Sakura swallowed a mouthful of beer and shook her head in refusal.
She was never the type to patiently build something. Joining the Revolutionary Army would probably just trouble her comrades, right?
It was better to keep things as they were now… cooperating while maintaining a certain distance. That was best for everyone.
"But because of your actions, the World Government will hunt you down fiercely!"
Ivankov put down his bottle, with a worried look in his eyes as he gazed at Sakura.
"Haha, so it's about time I lay low for a while!"
Sakura turned her gaze to the side, to the line of golden text making faces at her.
"What? You're leaving now?"
Hearing the note of farewell in her words, Ivankov stood up in surprise: "Wait a bit longer. At least let us host you for a while longer."
"And aren't you going to attend Kuma and Ginny's wedding?"
"No need, I'm too poor to afford a wedding gift! Wish them happiness for me! Hahaha!"
Sakura laughed loudly, jumped onto the speedboat, raised the sail, and quietly left the Revolutionary Army's headquarters under the watchful eyes of the three.
"You two, not even going to say a word of thanks?"
On the beach, Ivankov put his hands on his hips and turned to look at the two behind him.
"She probably left in a hurry precisely because she was afraid we'd thank her at the farewell."
His reflective glasses couldn't hide his bright eyes. The understanding Kuma supported Ginny, a happy smile on his face.
"Besides, as long as we're still sailing the seas, we're bound to meet again someday. We can thank her properly then, how about that?"
Holding Ginny's hand carefully, Bartholomew Kuma seemed to want to bestow all the gentleness in the world upon the girl before him.
"Yeah, Kumachi's right! Cough..."
Ginny, still somewhat weak, coughed a couple of times, causing the other two to tense up.
"Really, Big Bro, Kumachi, you're too cautious!"
"You fool, you're the one who needs to take care of yourself right now! Hee-haw!"
The three on the island bickered noisily, just like the days after their escape from God Valley, without any barriers.
…
On the unpredictable seas of the Grand Line, Sakura stood in the middle of the deck.
"I've been out having fun for so long, it's time to go home and rest for a while."
Sakura was about to open the system but remembered an experiment she had wanted to try for a long time.
So, she bit her finger, formed hand seals, and pressed them against the ground. Intricate summoning formula spread across the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Boom!
A small slug dropped out of the smoke onto the ground, looking up in confusion.
"Hmm, it's Sakura! What do you need me for?"
Picking it up and cradling it in her palms, Sakura whispered: "Katsuyu, help me out. Try to see if you can reverse summon me to Shikkotsu Forest."
"It seems you want to use this method to avoid the cost of traveling to and from this world?"
The wise Katsuyu saw through Sakura's plan at a glance and shook her head at her: "But unfortunately, I can't do it!"
"Why not?" Sakura frowned.
"My Reverse Summoning Technique can't lock onto you because I don't have the spatiotemporal scent of this world."
Katsuyu's gentle voice delivered the final blow, leaving Sakura stunned.
"Is it the 'scent of Space-Time' you mentioned when we first met? I thought you meant I had talent for the Flying Thunder God Technique..."
Having also trained in Space-Time Ninjutsu, Sakura could roughly understand what Katsuyu meant now and then.
"Hehe, back then I knew you would show me a different world, so I decisively snatched you up, Sakura."
Katsuyu said contentedly, swaying her soft body left and right.
"Sigh, alright. You can go back now!"
Sakura sighed lightly, moved her finger, and released the summoning technique.
"Sorry I couldn't be of more help."
The Katsuyu in her palm raised a tiny tentacle to wave at Sakura before returning to the Ninja World in a puff of smoke.
"System, return!"
Her attempt to bypass the system and sneak back failed. Sakura could only obediently take out her achievement points to fill the system's bottomless pit.
[Tsk, return settlement begins!]
'Huh? Did you just 'tch' at me?'
[Survival mission calculation: Duration 6 months. Achievement Points issued: 20!]
[Teleportation function activated. Host teleportation cost: 10 points. Leviathan teleportation cost: 800 points.]
'Stop!'
Sakura's eyes widened. She hurriedly stopped a certain unscrupulous merchant from raiding her wallet.
"Leviathan!"
She called out softly to her ship spirit. A girl in a pink raincoat popped her head up from below the deck.
"What is it~ Sakura~"
"I need to go home for a bit. Could you stay in the storage scroll for a little while? Just a tiny bit!"
Sakura clasped her hands together, making a pleading gesture to her companion.
"Hmmph~" Leviathan's small face showed reluctance. "Fine~ Since it's~ Sakura's request..."
"It won't be long, just a tiny bit, partner!"
Sakura rubbed her head, flipped overboard, and landed standing on the sea's surface.
After sealing Leviathan away with a storage scroll, she summoned the system and activated the return function.
[Teleportation function activated. Host cost: 10 points. Special Storage Scroll cost: 50 points. Current balance: 1300.]
[Teleportation beginning! Tch!]
"Hey, you definitely 'tch'-ed at me..."
Blinding light swallowed Sakura, her words lost to the sea breeze.