Ink's Notes:

And so begins Chapter Twenty-One! ...y'know, today I don't have much to say in this part, so let's just go ahead and get started.

Chapter Twenty-One

Vivi adjusted the map in her hands as she rode on Carue's back. She looked up as the group walked along the pathway that lead away from Konoha, before looking back down at the map with a frown. "It still amazes me that there's so much land in your world," she muttered, tilting her head slightly to the right before straightening it out. "Which way should we go?" she asked, squinting at their possible routes. "Do we want to go clockwise? Counter-clockwise? In a random pattern?" Vivi scratched behind her head, turning and holding the map out to Sakura, who was walking alongside Carue.

Sakura took the map from her, looking it over. After about a minute of consideration, she nodded and placed her finger on the map at their current location. "Let's head towards the Land of Rivers and Tanigakure first," she offered, tracing a path on the map with her finger. "Then travel clockwise around the continent, so we go through the Land of Wind, maybe stop in Sunagakure to visit Gaara and the others, then we can stop in Ishikagure, Amekagure and Kusagakure before going to the Land of Earth and Iwagakure, then we'd go to Takigakure, followed by the Land of Sound, the Land of Hot Water and Yugakure, the Land of Frost and Shimogakure, and the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure. Then we'd take a boat to the Land of Water and Kirigakure."

Marco looked down at them as he flew overhead. "How do you even remember all of those names, yoi?" he asked. "I get that they're kind of similar, but I feel like I'd get them mixed up because of that, yoi."

"It was part of our lessons at school," Sakura admitted, laughing nervously. "I did my best to memorize everything we were taught in hopes of using my knowledge to become an amazing shinobi. When it came to knowledge, I was one of, if not the, best in the class, and it also helped me with my chakra control because I knew the ins and outs of how it was supposed to work."

Marco smiled. "That's the kind of talent we need in the Whitebeard Pirates, yoi. Not only would your healing jutsu come in handy in the ship's medical bay, but you'd be great at reading maps and helping determine our route." Sakura began sputtering incoherently, both from the praise and from Marco's insistence that she join his crew, Vivi's laughter at the expression on her face not helping at all. "Anyway, that sounds like a good plan. We might even run into some people from our world during our travels between the villages, yoi." He soared down and began gliding alongside the group. "Say, spotted billed ducks are fast, right, yoi?"

"Yes, they are," Vivi nodded. "Many people believe that they're the fastest animals in Alabasta. In fact, Carue is the leader of the Super Spotted-Billed Duck Squad, who have a reputation for being just that."

Sakura didn't get a chance to ask what that was when Marco's beak turned upwards in a grin. "Then how about we pick up our pace a bit?" he asked.

"I… don't think I'll be able to keep up with Carue, Marco," Sakura frowned. "Nor is there enough room on his back to fit both me and Vivi."

Marco shook his head and landed, bringing the group to a halt. "I never said you'd need to, yoi." He outstretched his wings, and blue flames spun around him as he began to expand. Sakura jumped backwards in surprise as he grew, a marking on his chest matching the tattoo he had in human form becoming more and more apparent until it was fully clear as he reached his full size, the same size he was as a human. "I've been compressing my size to appear more bird-like, yoi, but this is the size I usually am as full Zoan." Sakura blinked, sputtered, and barely managed to get out a squeak as he leaned forwards so he was level with the ground. "Hop on."

Sakura stared, looked at Vivi (who just smiled and motioned to Marco's back), then swallowed nervously, not entirely sure about this whole thing. "Um… are you sure it's safe?" she asked, though she felt like she already knew the answer.

"What, do you have a problem with heights, yoi?" Marco teased. Sakura frowned and shook her head, then threw caution into the wind as she climbed onto Marco's back. She found that instead of being burned by his fire, she was enveloped by a gentle, pleasant warmth, and she felt herself relaxing, so much so that she only barely processed Marco saying, "Hold on, yoi."

Sakura blinked, then yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck as he flapped his wings and soared straight up. It was only when he leveled out about fifty feet off of the ground that she loosened her grip, slowly sat up straight, and took a moment to take in her surroundings. She took a deep breath, then exhaled in awe, looking out at the skies around and above, the trees and village (and Vivi and Carue) below, and the mountains on the horizon. "Incredible…" she breathed out, then looked down at Marco, who was smiling up at her. "We have to do this more often!"

Marco grinned. "Better keep at least one of your hands on my neck until you're comfortable with flying, yoi. Which way are we going?" She pointed towards the Land of Rivers, and Marco nodded. "This way!" he called down to Vivi and Carue, pointing in the same direction with one of his talons. With that, he flapped his wings and began soaring along, Sakura keeping a gentle grip on his neck as Vivi rode Carue on the ground below them. Marco made sure to fly above visible paths so he never lost sight of their traveling companions, but with the two birds doing the moving, Sakura found that they were covering much more ground than they would have been able to if they were just walking or running. She smiled, closed her eyes, and lifted her arms off of his neck, holding them out at her sides like an airplane. Slowly, she let herself get lost in the moment as the wind blew through her hair and Marco's warmth spread through her body, finding herself relaxing and having fun as the two flew along.

Vivi looked up at the two as they flew overhead and found herself smiling. "They're really close, aren't they, Carue?" she asked, and her companion quacked in agreement as he ran along the path, periodically jumping over or swerving to avoid an obstacle. "It reminds me of my time with the Straw Hat Pirates." Vivi brought her hand to her wrist, where there had once been an 'X' marking to prevent the group from being fooled by Bon Clay. The mark had long since faded, but its meaning remained – no matter what happened, it was the sign of their friendship.

Sakura and Marco continued to fly, allowing the actions they were taking to speak for them as they traveled through the sky. Marco smiled, looking down at Vivi and Carue, an idea forming in his mind. "Hey, Sakura…" he spoke up, pulling her out of her temporary trance.

She blinked her eyes open, noticing where he was looking and regarding that area with curiosity. "Yes, Marco?" she asked, moving her hands back to his neck to make sure she was steady.

Marco smiled and looked back at her. "Why don't we have our first lesson on Observation Haki? You can practice it by learning to 'see' Vivi and Carue using it."

Sakura's face lit up in a grin, and that was all the answer that Marco needed.

All right~! As promised, I'm gonna respond to reviews down here~!

Krazyfanfiction1: Thank you~! I'm glad you're enjoying the series! And yes, I think replies would be fun.

Skipper917: Thank you very much! And I do enjoy replying because it's like conversing with the audience.

The Keeper of Worlds: Thank you! ^^

Allykrau: I believe that I shall. As far as who's showing up... well, I'll be giving you guys some hints about that one in the next chapter~

Guest: I will, thanks!

See you guys next chapter, for something a liiiittle bit different~!