As the guns clicked, he could hear a ghostly chuckle right behind his shoulder.. Tied to a pole would do no good, that was for sure. A haunting smirk plagued his mind and felt the time stop, his whole life flashing before his eyes. Starting with that one knock on the door of Isshin Dojo, in Shinotsuki village. A tall man with slick black hair combed back and kind eyes hidden behind circled spectacles has answered him.
Young Roronoa Zoro has demanded one thing: a good, worthy match, bringing his own two jet black katanas. However, Koshiro the Master of the dojo has implied a catch: if he were to lose, he would join him as his student. After beating so many adults in swordsmanship, imagine his surprise when the training sword was knocked out of his hands by the only daughter of Koshiro, Kuina. She was older than him. Better than him. And she was his eternal rival.
They have been fighting for months which turned to years. Zoro has become one of the best students of the dojo, but his 2000th lose to Kuina has made him even more enthusiastic to one day beat her and become the best swords master in the world.
"So what if you're a girl!? Why are you the upset one after you beat me!? Let's make a promise here and now! I will set sail and train, and next time when we meet, we'll fight! To see who's the best swordsman in the world!" Young Zoro has has gotten on his feet. The blue haired young girl has done the same and shook hands. Right after her 2001st victory, where Zoro has been equipped with his swords, while Kuina only wielded her prized Wado Ichimonji.
Call it destiny, unfortune or tragedy, to hear the next day after the oath was made, that his rival has died out of blue. Kuina went inside the cellar to get some polishing rocks, only to fall and break her neck, thus dying instantly. But that's where Zoro has trained and sharpened his Santoryu, after requesting Kuina's katana, and set sailing to fulfill his dreams and chase his ambitions.
Becoming the best of the best has become something really personal. So being tied to a post and getting executed on spot was something so pathetic he could hear her mocking laugh behind him. Only to see a red flash in front of him, right when the sea of triggers were pulled.
"Your bullets...won't work on me!" Luffy yelles and grinned as the masses of bullets bounced back, having the Marine take cover.
"What kind of human are you!?" Zoro yelled in sheer surprise Luffy became his human shield.
"Me? I'm the kind which is going to be the pirate king!" He grinned as Sakura appeared next to his side, in a flash.
"We can chat later, captain." The pink haired girl turned to look at him. "Which one of them is yours? I saw three katanas so I just took them all."
"All three are mine." She raised an eyebrow.
"Three katanas? Is that possible?" Now she was getting interested.. She had seen people fight one lone katana. Or with twin katanas. Or with giant swords, just like Kisame, Zabuza and Chojuro. However, using three swords was strange in her eyes. It was something she had never seen before.
"You will be quite surprised of all the fighting styles in this world, pinky." He smirked as the navy was circling them.
"WHAT ARE YOU THREE CHATTING ABOUT! YOU ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!" They cocked their guns again. Sakura had quickly untied the chakra strings which held the three katanas together and threw them in Zoro's direction, before jumping high in the air. She smirked widely as in a flash, the pirate hunter was freed. Two katanas were held up in each of his hands, while the third was held in his mouth. The tips were pointed at the necks of the navy goons. They gulped down in fear.
"I'd suggest you to not move...or else you will die.." He smirked wider.
Sakura's heel slammed in the ground and the surface groaned in pain as large craters were cracking down the earth underneath her small feet.
"Sugoi!" Luffy's grin grew wider as he looked at his first mate.
"Thanks captain." Sakura's grin mirrored his own.
"Well of course you have some freakish power too." With a swift blade movement, Zoro's captors were thrown back and stood next to Luffy and Sakura, standing taller than both of them.
"I will accept your offer. I will join you and become a pirate. I'd rather become known as a devil but fulfilling my goal rather than die here for nothing." His smirk widened. "However, I have my own goals. To be the greatest swordsmaster in the world. And nothing will stop me from fighting for that." Luffy couldn't help but smirk.
"You're joining the future Pirate King's crew. Not being able to accomplish this goal would disappoint me a lot."
"Fair enough." With his grin widening, Zoro clicked his swords.
The captain looked at Sakura, who simply nodded.
"I suppose that you want the boss battle, Luffy." A nod was just enough for her to take a step back, her hands moving in seals. Snake, boar, ram, bird. A grin split her face in two.
"Fuuton: Reppusho!" (Wind Release: Gale Palm) Her palms slapped together as a powerful wind gush which parted the sea of navy soldiers in two sides. Each of them were doing their best to remain in place, but they were eventually flown to their opposite sides. Morgan's eyes narrowed as he was thrown a couple of feet back, but landed on his feet anyways.
Sakura looked at Zoro.
"You take left and I take right? Is that fine with you?"
"You can know it." They split apart and started bitting down the army of mariners, clearing their way out, leaving Luffy to fight Morgan, one on one.
The rosette's right hand glowed a deep blue, while her green eyes bled red.. The four-pointed pinwheel Sharingan analyzed the field and she disappeared in the crowd. They barely had the time to react as they couldn't do nothing but drop their guns and hit the ground unconscious. Sakura wasn't set to kill. There was no satisfaction in killing an enemy much weaker than you. They weren't even enemies, just civilians dressed in matching uniforms and armed with guns which couldn't kill monster-humans like ninjas, devil fruit eaters or simply skilled combatants. Hitting the pressure points on the back of their necks left them unconscious, but their bodies were still littering the ground.
Sakura has brushed Ririka's shirt off the dust and turned over, to hear Luffy cry out.
"GOMU GOMU NOOOOO BAZOOKA!" Sakura's eyes widened in awe as his fists collided with the Lieutenant's face, almost knocking over his iron jaw.
'Sugoi...'
'The kit's interesting, ne?' Matatabi licked her paw and stretched, grinning like a Chesire cat. Sakura just nodded in agreement. Just as spectacular was Roronoa as well, using his Santoryu style. Something she had never seen before once in her years on the battlefield.
Sakura stood by Luffy's side, as he punched Morgan's face multiple times. One for Rika. One for Zoro. One for letting his son do as he pleased. One for Sakura. One for the whole village, and then a shout caught their attention.
''S-STOP RIGHT THERE!" Her green eyes narrowed as Helmeppo was shakily holding a flintlock pointed at Coby's head. "If you move I will kill him!" How that guy kept waking up over and over after getting knocked out so much was a wonder. But Sakura has grown attached to the pink haired boy, in all those few hours spend together. Maybe because they both had pink hair? Who knows. But she knew he was scared, so the pinwheel in her left eye spinned fast as the blonde fell into a deep sleep, as soon as they made eye contact. The flintlock was dropped in the process and one last punch sent the Lieutenant into unconsciousness.
"Well...it seems that we are done here." Zoro and Sakura joined Luffy as he got up. There were still reinforcements who did no hostile sign towards the trio. Their jaws' slackened as they started cheering.
"W-why are they cheering?" The short boy cleaned his glasses in his shirt as he spoke, just as surprised as them.
"Maybe because...they are free? Let's just go, I'm hungry.."
"YASSS FOOD!" Luffy raced towards Foo Food Restaurant, while Sakura walked calmly behind him.
"So..this is our captain, huh?"
"Yes."
"He looks pretty strong."
"Yea he is."
"He has no idea what he's really doing, right?" Sakura stopped in her track, sighing.
"No, he hasn't." She shook her head. "But he will become the Pirate King, I know that." She shrugged as she entered the restaurant. As soon as she stepped her foot inside, Sakura has been tackled in a hug by Ririka.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Kiddo. The rumors spread all the way here, are they true?" Coby blinked behind his round rimmed glasses.
"They are, miss! The village is free!" He announced happy but still polite. Rika jumped from downstairs and tacked everyone in a hug. Ririka has let go of Sakura.
"Well, there's a bathroom upstairs, everyone can get cleaned up while I'm getting ready lunch. And don't worry, it's all on the house!" The older woman grinned and disappeared in the kitchen.
"YOSH! Let's eat!" Luffy grinned widely. The pink haired ninja walked upstairs to pack her stuff. She walked inside her small bedroom and grabbed the scroll inside the Akatsuki cloak. She rummaged through her bag and undressed.
'A new chapter in your life begins, Kit. Are you sure if that's what you want? To become a pirate like your father has?'
'Matatabi...do you remember what my dream has been as a child? Before I was enrolled in the Academy.' The blue bakeneko stretched and licked it's paw, thinking.
'I remember you wanted to be the Pirate Queen.'
Sakura nodded affirmatively.
'Yes. Luffy is another kind of person. He has a good heart and his past is not tainted like mine. He may had his hardships but his hands are not tainted with innocent blood. Do you know what I'm saying?'
'I'm not sure, kit...'
'Maybe giving up my dream could redeem myself. My new dream is to...see Luffy become the Pirate King. That's what I'm doing to do.' She smiled to herself as she got ready her outfit. Something really easy to move in. Jeans were constricting, and feeling her breasts bounce in her shirt was annoying. They were sensitive as well. So the first thing she did was wrap it tightly with bandages, to not get in her way. Then a fishnet shirt followed, along with a black short-sleeved shirt. Like all her tops, the Uchiha clan crest was proudly displayed on the back. But only because the clothing and weaponry were provided to the Uchiha clan by Neko-baa-chan and the nin-neko. And because those two were strongly affiliated, the shirts and products always had the clan crest printed, proud of it.
She had opted for standard shinobi pants. Black, baggy, comfy, and easy to move in.. However she wore black combat boots, and strapped a pouch to her left leg.. Her eyes landed on the senbon.
"Sakura. I couldn't help but notice your improvements on using your Shunshin." A twelve years old Sakura has been sitting in front of her genin sensei. Hatake Kakashi. This happened 4 years after the massacre, and like everyone else in the village save for the council, he was unaware of the truth. Why was she sitting there placed in a genin team instead of disappearing with Itachi? That's a story for another time. Right now, the important point is totally different.
"I suppose, Kakashi-sensei." She replied shyly, hearing her skills praised.
"You're very close to surpassing Uchiha Shisui-" he could see her flinch as he pronounced his name. "But I was thinking that you could move on to the next step." He passed her a scroll. Flying Thunder God Technique. Her green eyes widened.
"But this technique was-"
"What made my sensei, Minato Namikaze famous. It earned his nickname, the "Yellow Flash". The same technique which was made by the Nindaime , as well. But I think that you're ready for it. You're a prodigy, after all." The silver haired masked ninja smiled with his lone, visible eye and ruffled her pink head.
"But be careful. It's a very advanced S-class technique."
"I will! Thank you sensei!" She smiled and bowed before walking away, holding the scroll. Naruto and her cousin have been practicing water walking, a thing she had learnt since she lived in Arlong's Park.. So that's why she had gotten something new to practice on. And because of her particular fondness of Shunshin and her mastery of using it without any cloud traces left, this was obviously the next step.
She has read the scroll, performed the jutsu perfectly and had it working in just a few hours. The theory was easy too. You had to place a seal on a location, person, tool, or anything else. Your body enters in an inter-dimensional void, which teleports you to the marked spot. The 2nd Hokage was using regular kunai marked with his technique seal to teleport. The 4th Hokage was using his special kunai marked with his own seal. Sakura's mark was much different and less refined but it did the trick. It was composed with the kanji for 'blooming', the kanji for 'blood', the kanji for 'family', and the kanji for 'protection'. Because that's what her purpose was. On top of that, her Magenkyo Sharingan has helped her greatly. Flying Thunder God was more like a summoning technique, rather than an improved Body Flicker. It involved space-time ninjutsu, something which she was already accustomed with.. Her father has been performing tons of these before. But she had to keep her Sharingan a secret. For now, she had to find a method for quick teleports on the battlefield, but she neither wanted to copy Nidaime or Yondaime.
Kicking a rock, she had removed the seal from the kunai throwing post where she had practiced teleporting to and walked outside. She had walked past her soaking wet teammates which were bickering. Apparently, Sasuke got the water walking first, not surprising at all, and Naruto was just mad about it because he lost a bet, so they didn't even see their teammate passing by. She also happened to bump into Genma on her way back home.
"Watch where are you going, kid. What got you so down?" The brown haired tokubetsu jounin was sort of her teacher as well. She had several sensei to learn from, and Genma was her favorite, next to her own team instructor.
"Gomen, Genma-sensei. I'm trying to master a jutsu, but it's really complicated. I mean, there's just the seal of confrontation, and I made my own formula, but I need a quick way to spread it on the battlefield in order to be useful..."
The brunette scratched his head a bit as he chewed on his senbon.
"You could try to opt on something small and barely visible, you know. So you can carry lots at the same time."
Sakura's eyes landed on the senbon he was chewing on.
"Genma-sensei you're a genius!" She quickly snatched some senbon from his pouch after tackling him in a hug and ran off. He just blinked, looking after her.
"Well damn straight I am."
And that's why Sakura shoved the whole senbon set in her pouch. They weren't silvery colored, they were light blue, as the entire structure was covered in her formula. She had years of time to master the Flying Thunder God, and spreading several senbon on every inch of the battlefield covered the entire area of teleportation. That's how her small change innovated the famous technique.
Tying her hair in a low ponytail, just like how Itachi would do, she walked downstairs, hiding her scroll in her pouch. Her cloak was stored neatly, and her ring sat on her ring finger. It was slate blue with the kanji of Sky resting on top. It was Orochimaru's. When he deflected the Akatsuki after attempting to steal Itachi's body, his ring was given to her. It normally worked on her pinky finger but it was too large for her, so unless they weren't extracting any Tailed Beasts, it rested on her ring finger.
Sakura sat down at the table and started eating. Luffy was devouring steaks after steaks, while Zoro had his mug refilled with booze. He was already full, but there always was enough space for alcohol.
"I don't get it. How the hell can you eat so much?" The green haired sword master asked as Luffy reached for whatever food was left in front of Zoro. He simply shrugged.
"Also, where's the rest of our crew? Our ship?"
"Right now there's just me, Sakura and you!" And he pointed towards a small boat which was docked outside. Sakura sweatdropped, and he face palmed.
"Damn."
"Oi! We'll get bigger, no worries! We are pretty strong! Plus we will recruit more members, and get a huge fleet!" Zoro just cursed drinking down his mug.
"Well...I have faith in you, Luffy." Sakura smiled lightly.
Zoro sat his mug down and looked at Sakura. His eyes wandered slightly bellow her shoulders.
"Have your boobs shrunk or something?" Her smiled dropped and her fist raised above his head, smacking him down.
"Fucking pervert." She grunted. Coby chuckled shyly at the scene displayed, before the doors of the restaurant flew open. Several navy soldiers filled the area, with Commander Ripper leading them. He cleared his throat to get their attention. They all stopped whatever they were doing to look at what he had to say.
"In the name of the Navy we want to thank you for freeing us, but we couldn't help but hear that you're pirates, so we'll have to ask you to leave, the island. However, we won't contact the main base." The crowd outside booed. They all had gathered outside the small restaurant/tavern as the navy shooed away their heroes.
Luffy blinked and shrugged, fixing his hat on his head and smiled.
"Thanks for the yummy food, lady!" His other two crewmates got up as well. Coby however sat down, gripping his cup of tea in his hands nervously.
"And you? You're a pirate as well, aren't you?" Coby's trembled even more as Ripper's gaze was fixed on him. Luffy stopped in his tracks and walked over, punching him hard. Their eyes widened as Luffy retracted his fist.
"There's no way he could be a pirate! Straw Hat hit him really hard!" Coby had a hard time stopping crying as he was lifted on his feet.
"Thank you! Thank you, Luffy-san! Sakura-san!" He cried as he ran outside after them, the small veil of the boat being let down. A wide smile broke on Sakura's face as she bent down and poked his forehead with her index and middle fingers before getting on the boat with the rest of them.
"Become a great marine, Coby!" Luffy and Sakura yelled back as the boat departed. To everyone's surprise, the pink haired boy saluted the small group of pirates, and one by one everyone joined.
"We will never forget you, Straw Hats!" The three of them sat down and started paddling away.
"Straw Hats...? I like the sound of that..." she smiled and pushed Luffy's hat playfully over his eyes. He laughed merrily.
"Hey!" Zoro chuckled and opened a bottle of booze, laying in the boat, with his bandana tied around his arm, and his swords leaned against him.
"So where off?"
"To the next island!"
