"Mmm, delicious! How do you make this?"
In the great hall of the Upperworld palace, Katsuyu, now shrunk to the size of a water bottle, was devouring a large plate of grilled meat.
Kuina, Tiger, and Enel surrounded her from three sides, watching this shell-less Den Den Mushi.
"Well, how to put it? Her name is Katsuyu. She's going to be a new member of our pirate crew from now on."
Sakura sat at the nearby bar counter, holding a cup.
Her free arm was wrapped around the sulking Leviathan, gently stroking her fur.
"Sakura-nee keeps inviting strange things onto the ship!"
Kuina rested one hand on Masamune, while her other hand poked at Katsuyu's body.
It seemed she was very curious about this sentient Den Den Mushi that had no shell.
"Strange?"
Tiger and Enel glanced at each other, noticing the bulging veins on each other's foreheads.
The two in unspoken agreement rolled up their sleeves and walked towards Kuina.
In an instant, lightning flashes, water currents, and sword lights flew everywhere. The entire palace hall became lively.
"Hahaha, this world is truly amazing!"
Katsuyu, its mouth dripping with grease, looked up and laughed. "The cuisine here can actually make me, who has no sense of taste, feel happiness!"
The three exchanging blows in the distance, Kuina, Tiger, and Enel, keenly detected the information revealed in Katsuyu's words and in unspoken agreement stopped fighting.
"This world?" x3
"Ah, this?"
Sakura propped her face on her hand, meeting their puzzled gazes. "Actually, I am..."
Before she could finish her words, a rainbow light flashed in the eyes of all present who could use Observation Haki.
The members of the Higanbana Pirates in unison turned their gaze towards the northern ceiling. Only the bewildered Katsuyu was still looking left and right.
Boom!
The ceiling was shattered by three massive air projectiles. Then, a dark shadow crashed heavily onto the palace floor, creating several paw-print-shaped craters.
"Kuma?"
Sakura stood up and walked to the edge of the crater. Seeing the man covered in wounds lying in the center, she called out his name.
"Sakura... sorry for the trouble... but can you treat... cough... treat my wife and daughter first!"
Kuma, collapsed in the crater, gasped for breath, coughing up more blood as he spoke.
Kuina and Tiger carried over Ginny, who was also injured, and another pink-haired girl, bringing them before Sakura.
"This is... Kizaru's laser!"
As a doctor, she immediately determined the nature of their injuries and frowned.
'Normally, Kuma, with his wife and daughter, wouldn't be bored enough to actively provoke the Marines.'
'So... was he being hunted by the World Government?'
Thinking this, Sakura immediately raised her head and assigned tasks to her crew members.
"Kuina, Enel, you two go mobilize the Wing tribe soldiers and strengthen security around the Upperworld and Underworld!"
Then she reached out and pinched Leviathan's small cheek. "Stop being angry. You and Tiger patrol the surrounding island clouds. If necessary, cut off the cloud routes connecting inside and outside the island!"
Knowing there was serious business at hand, Leviathan stopped sulking and followed the other companions, accepting Sakura's tasks and leaving to strengthen the island's defenses.
In the vast palace, only a few people remained.
"Katsuyu, help me take them to the operating room!"
Sakura injected Yang Release Chakra into Katsuyu, causing her body to expand and split into three dozens-of-meters-tall giant beasts.
Katsuyu, already possessing some healing abilities and being a mollusk, instantly became the best stretcher.
She carried the Kuma family on her back and followed Sakura into the depths of the palace.
In the operating room, Sakura first examined the daughter of Kuma and Ginny.
While changing the girl into a hospital gown, her eyes fell upon the hardened blue skin on the girl's back, and her pupils trembled violently.
"Nee-chan!" The little girl grabbed Sakura's hand. "Can you treat Daddy and Mommy first? They're hurt so badly!"
"Don't worry, your mommy and daddy will be fine!" Sakura forced a smile at the girl.
She turned and instructed Katsuyu to take the girl out of the operating room.
Then she walked over to the Kuma couple, her tone becoming heavy. "So this is why you were injured? What did you do?"
"It's all my fault. I selfishly asked Dragon for help, and it ended up involving Kuma!"
Ginny's face showed guilt. Large teardrops gathered in her eyes.
"Don't blame Ginny. I was too anxious because of Bonney's illness."
Kuma's large hand reached over from the adjacent operating table, grabbing Ginny's hand.
Their fingers tightly interlocked, feeding the nearby doctor a bellyful of dog food.
"You two, even in the operating room, you have to show off in front of me!"
Sakura's unromantic voice rang out as she forcefully separated them.
She casually formed hand seals and released a shadow clone to perform surgery on them separately, treating their wounds.
During the small talk amidst the procedure, she learned that Ginny had sought Dragon's help because of Bonney's Sapphire Scales disease.
As the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon indeed had a wide network. He immediately thought of his close acquaintance, the genius scientist with technology leading the world by 500 years… Vegapunk!
Upon receiving the news, Kuma took his family to the under construction Egghead Island to seek Vegapunk's help.
However, they never expected the World Government had left surveillance devices on the island.
Finally, under orders from the higher-ups, Kizaru arrived on the island to hunt down the family of three.
Kuma barely managed to escape with his wife and child, and with no other options, used his ability to send himself and his family to Sakura.
"Honestly, you should have just come to me directly when the illness manifested!"
After treating Ginny, Sakura waved for Katsuyu to take her to the ward as well.
She then focused all her attention on Kuma, who was the most severely injured and also the most difficult case.
"But really, it's impressive you managed to escape from an Admiral with your wife and child after having your lung pierced!"
Sakura only dared to say this because Ginny wasn't present. Otherwise, seeing how lovey-dovey that couple was just moments ago, they'd probably start being all mushy again in her operating room.
"Cough, there's no choice."
The itching sensation from his lung regenerating made Kuma cough constantly. "What husband and father could remain unmoved when the two most important people in his life are in danger!"
"Hmph, go recover well, you winner in life!"
Sakura snorted coldly. After bandaging him, she lightly patted his wound, making Kuma wince in pain.
Before being wheeled out of the operating room, Kuma asked, "Regarding Bonney's illness... is it possible not to replace her body? She's only seven. I'm worried she might..."
Hesitating, Kuma explained the reason why he and his wife hadn't come to Sakura immediately this time.
Unlike when Ginny was rescued, at that time everyone was desperate and grasping at straws, so they didn't care about replacing her body.
But Bonney was still so young. Her life's journey was less than one-tenth complete, and she would lose her original body. For the Kuma couple, such a prospect was too tragic.
So, over these years, the two had traveled the seas, hoping to find a method that could cure the disease without replacing her body.
"So, you should have contacted me earlier!"
Sakura patted her slightly protruding chest and proudly raised her head. "So many years have passed. Do you really think my medical skills haven't improved at all? I'm different from the past now!"
Hearing the girl's confident words, Kuma's eyes lit up. "You can do it without replacing her body?"
"I can preserve most of her original body to the maximum extent!"
"Huh?"