"Wano Country?"
"Where was that?"
Sakura expressed her unfamiliarity.
Since Roger's words that day, Oden had never brought the matter up with her again.
Perhaps he considered it too shameful to place the long-cherished wish of opening the country on a child's shoulders.
So, during the subsequent journey, Oden had taken good care of her and occasionally taught her some swordsmanship.
In Sakura's eyes…
As a comrade fighting side-by-side, Oden was someone she could trust with her back.
But as a lord, or as a politician-
The foolishness, naivety, and recklessness he carried... would one day become the sharp blade that pierced his heart.
It wasn't that Sakura hadn't advised Oden to focus on being a pirate, or to return to Wano and become a great Samurai.
But every time this topic was discussed, it always ended with Oden's prolonged silence.
Perhaps this was the ideological imprint that Oden, as part of Wano's Samurai, could not escape.
The sea breeze carried the pirates' cheerful songs, the waves rolled up one magnificent spectacle after another on this vast sea.
Reverse Mountain, Skypiea, Water 7, the Bridge of Tequila Wolf, Sabaody Archipelago, Fish-Man Island...
A journey embodying countless fantasies unfolded before Sakura's eyes.
"The world is so vast. I really hope I can explore those unknown places on my own ship someday!"
Sakura's emerald-green eyes looked towards the island ahead. Her childhood yearning for the world stirred within her, a feeling long absent.
The sea swallowed the tremor of dreams, the sky laughed heartily in the rainstorm, and the girl laughed along.
"Isn't that a matter of course?"
Roger's voice sounded behind Sakura. He ruffled the hair Sakura had carefully arranged.
"This world is incredibly vast, so dream to your heart's content."
"As long as you're willing to take a step towards your dream, the will of freedom will never be defeated!"
The spirit on Roger's body continuously rose. The belief of a conqueror almost materialized, covering everything, dominating all phenomena.
Despite dragging around a terminally ill body, despite being unable to walk, sit, or lie down without Crocus's medicine...
It was precisely this Roger whose Haki displayed a power like an insurmountable chasm.
Dark lightning tore through the dark clouds, clearing the wind and rain from the Oro Jackson's path ahead.
Finally, they reached an island rumored to possibly conceal a Poneglyph.
…
New World, [The Furnace and The Icebox], Vulcan Island
According to intelligence gathered by the intelligence officer, Spencer, this place was once a winter island.
Later, it seemed a falling meteorite activated an underground volcano, eventually forming the unique landscape of a glacier surrounding a volcano.
"Ah, why is it Uncle Gaban?"
Sakura, wrapped in a fur coat, stepped onto the snowfield, grinning as she joked with Gaban behind her.
After landing on the island, Roger suggested splitting up to search for clues about the Poneglyph.
And Sakura happened to be paired with Scopper Gaban.
"Heh, I haven't even complained about you being a little deadweight yet!"
Gaban, who also often looked after the children on the ship, grabbed a small handful of snow and tossed it retaliatorily into the back of Sakura's collar.
"Brr!" Sakura shivered.
Turning her head, she found Gaban behind her, covering his mouth and snickering.
"You bastard, prepare to die!"
Sakura clenched her fist and charged at Gaban.
"Ehehe, you can't catch me!"
Gaban dodged nimbly, landing in front of Sakura with a backflip and making a funny face at her.
Just as the two were roughhousing, the red glow of Observation Haki flashed instantly in both their pupils.
Sakura looked at Gaban, saw him nod at her, and then released the snowball in her hand.
On the ice field covered in pristine white snow, large clouds of smoke suddenly erupted from the ground, blocking their vision entirely.
High-temperature spears stained with dark red bloodshot pierced through the smoke screen, their blazing tips aiming straight for the vital points of the two.
"Attack together. Use the move I taught you."
Gaban reached one hand to the small of his back, his five fingers gripping the handle of an axe before pulling it out.
The sharp axe spun several times in the air before being caught by Sakura.
"Really, what kind of adult teaches a girl how to use an axe for no reason?"
Although Sakura complained verbally, her right hand raised the heavy axe high, her fingers gripping tightly, knuckles grinding.
"Stop complaining and get on with it."
Black lightning patterns spread unrestrained across Gaban's axe. His intimidating spirit shook the snow from the air.
Guided by this senior's Haki, Sakura swung her axe alongside him.
"Eighty… Tribal Leaders!" x2
Sakura's voice overlapped with Gaban's.
The axe light cut through the storm, their Haki shook the entire area.
Boom!!!
In that instant, the slashes imbued with Conqueror's Haki collided with the spears.
An unimaginable terrifying force tore through those high-temperature spears and sent the ambushers clad in white animal pelts flying.
First, they were sent flying backwards, then tumbling, finally sliding across the ground. By the time they stopped, not a single one had any strength left to fight.
"So, what did I tell you? Your strength isn't suited for swords and knives!"
"You've been learning from Roger and the others for so long and still haven't become a sword master. That path just doesn't suit you."
Gaban walked over laughing, taking the axe Sakura handed back to him.
"Sigh."
In truth, Sakura knew herself that her Giant Royalty's physique wasn't suited for practicing swordsmanship.
The Giant combat techniques perfected over long ages in Elbaf were her ultimate destination.
However, what little girl would want to carry around a thick stick all day, wandering the world?
There's no way she would do such thing!
Crack... crack crack crack....
"Huh? Did you hear a strange sound?"
The sudden sound made Gaban frown.
In that instant, it seemed he thought of something, his expression turning grim.
"Sakura-chan..."
Before Gaban could finish his sentence, due to the earlier Conqueror's Haki-infused attack, the ice layer beneath their feet suddenly shattered.
"Eh, waaaaaaah!"
Sakura was stunned for a moment, then the familiar sensation of falling from a great height returned.
The massive fissure in the ice was like a giant maw. Darkness instantly swallowed Sakura and Gaban's figures, even masking their sounds within the wind and snow.
After falling for several dozen seconds, Sakura and Gaban crashed onto the bottom of the crevasse.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, are you okay?"
Gaban endured the pain, got up from the ground, and looked around for Sakura.
Puff!
The girl's head emerged from a nearby snowdrift. She vigorously shook the snow clumps from her hair.
"I'm fine!"
Sakura grabbed the hand Gaban extended and used his strength to pull herself out of the snowdrift.
"Where did we fall to?"
Sakura looked around. They were surrounded by black rock.
Faint light seeped from the rocks, illuminating the entire passageway constructed from smooth stone.
"Look at this!"
Gaban, who had been examining the rock wall with his chin in his hand, pointed at the wall before him.
Sakura stepped forward. Reflected in her emerald-green pupils were several enormous murals.
From left to right, there were four carvings in different styles. Each mural's surface seemed coated with a special layer.
The first depicted a snow-covered volcanic crater. One day, a world-engulfing flood submerged the high mountain, and later an island formed on its summit.
The second depicted many people. They brought a large, square monolith here and used their technology to build a massive ruin to safeguard it.
The third recorded that these people's technology began to be lost. The new generation that multiplied enshrined the technology left behind by the older generation.
On the final mural, a strange plant grew under their worship. These small figures donned animal pelts, raised the weapons left by their ancestors, and became the guardians of the ruins.
"The history of this island?"
Sakura, who had some understanding of the truth hidden by the World Government, exclaimed in surprise.
"Wahaha, how could it be? Probably just the fantasies of the local natives."
Gaban retorted nonchalantly, twirling a finger in his nostril.
'How could there possibly be a flood that submerged mountains? If such an absurd thing was history, I, Scopper Gaban, would eat my axe right now!'
"Shall we go in and look? The Poneglyph Captain Roger is searching for might be inside."
"Let's go!"