The second day after the end of the war in the territory of Punk Hazard.
Since Research Facilities One and Two had become scrap due to the rampage of Shinokuni, Sakura had to convert the third research facility into a temporary base for the participants of the Punk Hazard battle to rest and recover.
During the earlier battlefield cleanup, Sakura had acquired a special fruit left behind by Vegapunk in the lowest level of the research facility, as well as two other survivors of the gas explosion.
One of them was currently holding Sakura tightly in her arms like a large cat, having already crushed the newly claimed bed.
Despite being slashed by Sakura just yesterday and directly exposed to the poison gas, she was now active as if nothing had happened, requiring only some bandages. One could only say the innate abilities of the Lunarian race were too overpowered.
"So, how exactly did you sneak into my room?"
The newly awakened Sakura felt her limbs constricted. She struggled a bit to free herself from Sato Sakura's grip, but failed.
"I told them I wanted to sleep with Mother."
The twenty-meter-tall, emotionless girl blinked her emerald eyes, staring expressionlessly at Sakura.
Then, she hugged Sakura even tighter.
'This 'Mother' was such a curious creature!'
'Small, warm, fierce... if you angered her, she'd chop you up dead.'
'So, one must try to please her, not provoke her, and spend more time with her. That way, one could eat their fill every day.'
Recalling the common sense implanted by Vegapunk, Sato Sakura mentally noted it down in a little notebook, planning to compile it into a [Mother Rearing Guide] in the future.
"Sigh... Do I have to completely re-teach her the common sense part?"
Having read Sato Sakura's inner thoughts entirely with her Observation Haki, Sakura sighed, exerting a bit more force to break free from the embrace.
She placed one foot on Sato Sakura's arm, leaning down to meet her gaze. "So, what are your plans from now on?"
"I don't know. I have nowhere to go. Is Mother going to drive me away?"
The emotionless girl widened her eyes as much as possible, trying to look pitiful with her placid face.
This was a trick she learned from the common sense. It was said to generally only work on reliable adults. And since she felt her mother was so strong, she must be very reliable!
"Who said anything about driving you away!" Sakura knocked her on the head. "I meant, if you stay here, you'll have to become a pirate with me!"
"Wherever I go, I'm just a tool. Even if I leave here, the World Government will quickly capture and control me again, right?"
Sato Sakura shrugged nonchalantly, her flat tone revealing her indifference towards the future.
"I could send you to Elbaf. There, you could live an ordinary life."
Sakura took a deep breath, a flicker of heartache in her eyes. "You couldn't choose to come into this world, but I hope you can at least freely choose your own life."
"Then I want to be with Mother. Mother is so reliable, she'll definitely take good care of me, right?"
Beneath her emotionless facade, Sato Sakura was being crafty. Despite appearing stiff, she possessed a clever and clear heart.
"Fine then. Don't regret it later!"
Sakura jumped down from her. "By the way, what's your Mythical Zoan form called?"
"Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Behemoth. The Mythical ability is to control earth and metal."
Sato Sakura activated her ability, sprouting horns and scales. She opened her mouth wide, proudly displaying her sharp fangs to Sakura, her tail held high and wagging constantly.
She looked exactly like the Ninken that the Inuzuka Clan let roam freely on the streets of Konoha Village back in the day.
It seemed the saying that Zoan fruits chose their hosts wasn't unfounded.
"Hmm, a good ability. Put it away now, don't break the research facility!"
Sakura beckoned her to follow.
Sato Sakura obediently retracted all her abilities, sitting quietly in place.
Sakura had already reached the door, turning back to give her a strange look.
"Come on, why are you just standing there?"
Sato Sakura's eyes lit up. Though her face remained expressionless, the corner of her mouth lifted in a barely perceptible smile.
She reached out towards the person standing in the light ahead, grasping the warmth she had longed for.
Meanwhile, outside Punk Hazard waters, a dragon-headed pirate ship was slowly sailing towards the island.
"Whoa, Captain, there's a thorn barrier ahead!"
Yasopp, observing from the crow's nest, warned Shanks below.
With his long-range Observation Haki, he could see that Punk Hazard was now a complete fortress, surrounded by blood-red thorn walls over ten meters high. Huge thorns dripped with purple liquid that sizzled upon hitting the ground, visibly highly toxic.
"To become this cautious right after seizing territory... Her behavior is nothing like during the fight!" Shanks chuckled, shaking his head.
Just as he was about to take out a Den Den Mushi to contact Sakura, the thundercloud layer in the sky suddenly descended, forming a bridge of clouds in front of their ship, leading directly into the island.
"Whoa!"
On the Red Force, many members who had joined more recently pressed against the gunwales, exclaiming in amazement.
"Ahahaha, interesting." Shanks reached out curiously to touch the flowing clouds. "Hey, Beckman, when we get our own territory later, let's get something like this too, huh?"
"Tch!"
Shanks's external brain let out a sigh of exasperation, walking towards the helmsman himself and ordering him to steer the ship onto the cloud bridge.
Several minutes later, Shanks entered the ravaged Punk Hazard.
The two scrapped research facilities had been leveled. Their foundations seemed to have been sliced off, now forming a vast, open square.
On this square, still littered with some debris, the atmosphere was now lively and bustling.
The air was filled with sounds of laughter, the sweetness of fine wine, and the aroma of food.
Mermaids sang, giants beat rhythm, and young Revolutionary Army's soldiers danced joyous steps.
The boundaries of race seemed to blur at this moment.
Shanks spotted the person he cared about in the crowd at a glance, along with the four or five giants who had passed out drunk behind her.
"Kashii, can you handle it or not? If you can't drink anymore, go sit at my daughter's table, ahahahaha!"
Sakura, holding a wine cup as large as the giants', was aggressively matching drinks with a green-faced giant.
"How rude, starting the banquet without waiting for us!"
Shanks kicked off hard from the island's edge, landing on the platform like a cannonball. He crouched down, looking at Sakura with a resentful expression.
"You guys were the ones who came so late!"
Sakura slung an arm around Shanks's shoulder casually, shoving a small barrel of wine into his arms. "Stop overthinking it and drink!"
Clink!
After clinking his cup hard against Sakura's, Shanks tilted his head back and downed a full ten pints of wine.
"Whew, this wine tastes good. Is it from one of the Four Blues?"
Setting down the barrel, Shanks exhaled a breath of alcohol, his face beginning to flush.
Sakura didn't answer, just cocked an eyebrow at him smugly, forming the Ram hand seal.
Then, a vine grew from the ground beneath his feet. Its tip extended into Shanks's cup, and tree sap exuding the fragrance of wine flowed out, filling his cup.
Shanks's eyes widened instantly. "Wow, such a convenient ability! With this, we'll never have to worry about running out of drinks at banquets in the future!"
"Ahahaha, I told you so!" Sakura laughed heartily.
She raised her cup towards Kuina and Tiger in the distance, only to receive looks of unified disdain from both.
'Drink, drink, you'll drink yourself to death eventually, you fool!'
Benn Beckman, who had arrived shortly after, looked like he wanted to say something but held back, 'Such a world-changing ability, in the hands of these two, and the first thing they thought of was throwing a party.'
"Alright, Beckman, don't look so grim all the time. Come try Sakura's wine!"
The swaying Shanks stood up, shoving his cup towards Beckman's face. The arriving Red Hair Pirates' members weren't spared either, being chased around by him.
With their addition, the party atmosphere grew even more heated.
Sakura raised her wine cup, held aloft by Sato Sakura.
"Everyone, today drinks are unlimited! Enjoy the present to the fullest! To victory!"
Everyone present raised their cups high with Sakura.
"To victory!"