A/N: Thank you to all of those who have shown support of my work through their reviews/follows/faves/views! It means so much to me that you guys appreciate my efforts. And I especially want to thank Black' Victor Cachat, NMTD, and SaminRaran for their constant motivation, tips, encouragement, and help! I honestly don't know where I would be without the support I get from you all!

Happy Reading!

Even as Sakura moved farther and farther away, she could still hear the distant shouts and yells echoing behind her. She scowled. No doubt the stupid riceball was trying to take on all of those Baroque Work people at once. Sakura did feel a slight tinge of regret for not helping, but she quickly shook it away before it could grow into anything more.

He started the fight himself, he can finish it himself, she thought resolutely.

Sakura stopped running for a moment, her eyes carefully scanning her surroundings. There was something wrong. Even with the shouting and yelling, she could just make out the distinct sound of somebody snoring, and that noise definitely didn't belong. Quietly, Sakura leapt off the building and peered inside. The sight that greeted her was…surprising, to say the least.

"You've got to be kidding me," she sighed.

Sanji and Usopp were passed out on the ground, with the cook holding the sniper's hand and murmuring random spurts of love quotes. Next to them was a rather bloated Luffy, who was the source of the snoring. Sakura watched with mild disgust as her captain rolled around in his sleep, completely oblivious to the world.

"More...meh..meat?" he grunted.

"Not even gonna' bother," she muttered before swiftly exiting the room. Waking them up might have been her first intention, but for the moment, they looked pretty safe. Right now, she needed to worry about the learning more about the town, and whatever Baroque Works really was.

As Sakura searched for clues, she kept a mental list of everything she knew. The people in this town were bounty hunters, and part of an organization called Baroque Works with a boss that nobody knew. The top members used numbered code names, and apparently the "officer agents," or whatever, were the strongest of them all. From what Sakura could guess from her conversations with Mr. 9, the smaller the number, the more powerful they were. The island was also a giant cacti, which apparently meant that it was mainly composed of a massive graveyard. To top it all off, there just happened to be a weirdly dressed otter and bird wandering around for some reason. This was only getting better and better.

After quite a bit of time and effort, Sakura eventually had to admit defeat. No matter how hard she searched the town, she really couldn't find anything, other than some random hoards of weapons and more rundown buildings.

This is embarrassing, she thought while crouching down on a rooftop. To have the riceball of all people know more this Baroque Works than she did? Sakura had to step it up if she wanted to be a better spy for her crew. Before she could mentally berate herself even more, screams and yells split through the air.

"How could the agents with code numbers less than 12 lose?!"

"What are we supposed to do now?!"

"We don't stand a chance against the swordsman!"

Sakura turned to see a large group of men dashing past the side of the building that she was on top of.

"Guess he was able to beat them all, huh?" she murmured, "What a show off."

Making sure to remain unseen, Sakura leapt off the building top and silently followed the herd of bounty hunters. Just as they were exiting the outskirts of the town, the group skid to a halt, and she quickly dodged behind the closest building to avoid being seen.

"AHHH! IT'S THE UNLUCKIES!"

"Hm?" Sakura had a mental flashback of Miss Wednesday and Mr. 9 muttering about the "Unluckies" finding them back on the Going Merry. She cautiously peered around the corner to see the group of bounty hunters stumbling back. In front of them, perched on top of a post, were two familiar figures.

"Oh, hey. Otter guy and birdbrain," Sakura muttered, "So…they're the Unluckies?" She watched as the group of bounty hunters stumbled back, all of them visibly shivering with fear. It was almost a little comical.

"We're not running away!" one of the men called out, "We're just…using the bathroom!"

"Guess running on the job isn't something the Unluckies like," Sakura muttered. She watched with wide eyes as the Unluckies dashed straight towards the bounty hunters.

"Hold up."

Huh? Who said that? The deepness of the voice meant it came from a man, but from the angle that Sakura was watching, the source couldn't be seen. She pressed herself harder against the building wall. Whoever it was definitely had a sense of authority in their voice. They weren't some random bounty hunter.

"Pretty strange for a town to be this lively in the middle of the night, hmmm?" That sounded like a female. Sakura frowned. A guy and girl duo. Kinda' like Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday…

"We always get dragged into crap. Making us go out to the front lines like this." That was the first guy. Strangely, even the Unluckies seemed terrified by the presence of the newcomers. Could it be...were they the notorious officer agents or whatever? That possibility...it did make sense…

*BOOM*

Sakura flew backward and slammed into the ground with a yelp. Rubble rained down around her, and she quickly conjured up a shield as protection, wincing in pain with every piece of rubble that struck it.

"An explosion? How the fuck...did that just happen?" she groaned. Clouds of smoke veiled the area, but Sakura could make out the outlines of a pile of bodies, with the Unluckies perched on top. A few feet away, two blurry figures could be seen. As the smoke cleared, one of them was seen to be a petite woman wearing a yellow dress and toting a matching parasol. The other was a taller man in a dark brown trenchcoat labelled with a number "5." 5...Did that mean...If Miss Wednesday's partner was Mr. 9, was this guy Mr. 5 or something?

"The smaller the number, the stronger they are," Sakura muttered. Ignoring the pain that raced through her body, she released her shield and staggered up. Was it those two who had just caused the explosion?

"If those guys are number agents, then did they just attack their own men?!" Sakura gasped, "How the hell could somebody do that?!"

"Oh, do we have a little eavesdropper?" Umbrella lady turned around so that she was directly facing Sakura.

Shit, I've been found!

"A little girl? You know it's not good to spy on the adults. Why don't you come over so we can teach you a lesson?" Trenchcoat dude said as he stuck a finger into his nose. Oh, gross...

Her brain was urging her to keep quiet and get out, but Sakura could feel every ounce of her blood boiling up. With a barely suppressed growl, she leapt out of her hiding spot, her palm alight with power. Spying may have meant keeping low, but if there was one thing she couldn't stand...

"WHO YOU CALLING LITTLE GIRL, RAISIN HEAD?!" Sakura screeched, her hand smashing into the guy's face before he could even react. She used the force of the blow to leap backward, landing neatly back on the ground.

"Mr. 5!" Umbrella lady cried. So Sakura had been right about who they were.

"Shitty brat. What kind of power is that?" Mr. 5 growled. Apart from a bloody nose, he look physically unharmed, but the pained look on his face showed the impact of Sakura's attack.

"Dammit. I need watch myself," she muttered while extinguishing the glow in her palms. If she kept picking fights every time she was pissed, well, that wouldn't be good.

"Take care of her, Miss Valentine," Mr. 5 ordered as he tried to stave off his bloody nose.

"With pleasure," Umbrella lady, or apparently Miss Valentine, giggled back. Sakura watched as Miss Valentine leapt into the air...and kept rising higher and higher, until she was just a speck in the air.

"5 kilo…10 kilo...50 kilo...100 kilo...1000 kilo…" she sang. Was Sakura just imagining that the lady seemed to be falling….really fast?

"10,000 PRESS!" With a scream, Miss Valentine cannonballed straight down. Sakura barely managed to scramble away before the lady crashed down seconds later. Was she a Devil Fruit user, too?!

"Jeez, lady!" Sakura screeched as she quickly got back on her feet, "You think I'm sticking around for this?!" Without hesitation, she took off running back towards the town center.

"Let's go, Miss Valentine!"

"Kyahaha! Looks like she's headed where we planned to go, too!"

Sakura ducked her head and kept running. While she didn't want to admit it, they were obviously formidable opponents and she didn't stand a chance against them by herself. That left her with one option: Find Zoro or Nami for backup.

"If I gotta' use your tactic of charging in for a fight, rice ball, I needa' play smart," she muttered.

Sakura really really didn't want to admit it, but she was scared shitless. Running away to look for some backup had seemed like a good plan at the time, but she hadn't realized how fast both Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 were. She had been forced to dive and dodge multiple times to avoid Miss Valentine, who somehow seemed to able to manipulate her weight to get heavier, and Mr. 5 also seemed to have his own ability to use his snot as bombs...or something like that. All Sakura knew was that it was gross, and that she definitely didn't want to be hit by one of his boogers. With a grunt, she scrambled up a ladder and leapt onto a building top to find...Zoro?

The swordsman looked completely relaxed, with a bottle of booze in one hand, and his swords lying by his side. He turned to look at her, his expression slightly bored.

"Jeez, can't a guy get a break? What're you doing now, chibi?" he drawled.

Sakura had a thousand things she wanted to say, ranging from a garbled explanation of everything she had just experienced, to curses directed at the rice ball for looking so damn bored and using his stupid nickname (when was he ever going to stop?), but all she managed to choke out was, "I brought company."

Both she and Zoro glanced over the edge of the building to see Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 below them. Sakura also noted that the 9 duo, a guy with extremely large hair, a duck (but why?), and surprisingly, Luffy, lay below them as well, though the snoring Luffy looked to be the only one who was unhurt.

"What even happened here? And what's with the duck?" she muttered.

"Took my own advice and won a fight, no thanks to you," Zoro replied nonchalantly.

"Shut up."

"Whatever."

"I'm surprised you managed to get this far, little girl," Miss Valentine called out, "Though it looks like you'll have to wait a bit. We have other pressing issues to address." Sakura scowled. Would they never learn to stop calling her a little girl?

"You lost to only one swordsman? What a shame, Mr. 8," Mr 5. said, as he looked at the big haired guy, who at the moment was struggling to rise to his feet. Sakura raised her eyebrows. So big hair was also a number agent?

"They don't look very strong," Zoro noted.

"He sneezes bombs and she gets super heavy," Sakura replied through gritted teeth, "Actually a lot scarier than it sounds."

"For somebody like you, maybe."

Sakura's response was a punch to his head.

"How stupid. This is the difference between you weaklings and us!" Miss Valentine giggled as she twirled her parasol.

"You came here just to laugh at us?" Mr. 8 groaned. Even from a distance, Sakura could see the wounds that covered the man's body. She glanced at Zoro, who seemed unperturbed. Just how much damage had the swordsman caused?

"That's only a part of it. We do have another duty," Mr. 5 responded calmly.

"Oh yes! Thank you very much! The swordsman stands no chance against you and your abilities, Mr. 5!" Mr. 9 wheezed from where he lay a few meters away from Miss Valentine.

"That's right! Please take care of him!" Miss Wednesday, who kneeling by her partner, added.

Sakura watched curiously as Mr. 5 stayed unmoving. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked softly, "You think we came to the Grand Line to help you?"

"This is getting interesting," Zoro whistled softly. Sakura ignored him.

"What? Why are you guys here then?" Mr. 9 sputtered.

Mr. 5 smiled grimly. "The Boss said that somebody knows his identity, and our company's principle is that everything must be kept hidden. To have a person know who the Boss is, well, that shouldn't be allowed."

"It seems that there is some royalty from a country who snuck into Baroque's Work," Miss Valentine announced. Royalty? Somebody who snuck in? Sakura wasn't sure what was going in, but this definitely wasn't small news.

"Woah woah woah! I might be wearing a crown, but that doesn't mean I'm royalty!" Mr. 9 stammered.

"We're not talking about you, idiot," Miss Valentine spat back.

Sakura carefully studied the reactions of the others. The duck was quacking loudly, a sound that ruined the seriousness of the situation. Mr. 8 and Miss Wednesday were both strangely silent, with hardened expressions on their faces. Could it be…?

"I think we should get our captain out from there. Something's about to happen," she murmured quietly. Surprisingly, Zoro only grunted in response and both of them crouched at the building edge. Keeping perfectly silent, Sakura leapt down and landed on the ground, just to the side of the confrontation between the Baroque Works agents. A few seconds later, Zoro landed beside her.

"The betrayers are apparently the same two people who have secretly disappeared from the country of Alabasta," Mr. 5 announced. Sakura hesitated. What was Alabasta? And why exactly were there people sneaking into the company?

"IGARAPPA!"

Sakura felt something shove her facedown into the ground, just as what looked like multiple guns appeared in Mr. 8's hair and shot out numerous bullets. Groaning, she managed to wriggle around and come face to face with Zoro, who was crouching on top of her with one hand latched onto Luffy's (still asleep) vest. Sakura immediately felt herself turn bright red with embarrassment.

"What the-get the hell off me!" she all but screamed while elbowing Zoro's face.

"I just saved your life, idiot chibi!" he growled back. Sakura stared at him. Saved her life? Oh. As she glanced at the wreckage, she realized that if she had been standing, some of the bullets would have definitely hit her. Oh.

"Yeah sure, so can you please get off of me now, rice ball?" she mumbled, ducking her head in embarrassment. Zoro muttered something under his breath but obliged. Both of them sat up, being careful to look in the opposite directions.

"Igaram! IGARAM!"

Miss Wednesday was staring at Mr. 8, who was kneeling face down on the ground. Her blue hair had come loose from its tight ponytail and flew wildly around her head. Why did they seem like the ones who had gotten attacked when it was Mr. 8 who had fired the shots? And what was Miss Wednesday yelling? Eat a ham? Dammit, why did Sakura have so many questions that she couldn't answer?

"Didn't work!" Miss Valentine giggled. She and Mr. 5 looked completely unharmed from the attack.

"It seems that the betrayers are Igaram, the leader of the Royal Guard of Alabasta, and the Princess of Alabasta, Nefertiti Vivi!" Mr. 5 announced, as he held up a picture that unmistakably depicted a smiling Miss Wednesday. However, she looked completely different in the picture, with bangs and a warm smile.

Igawhat and Nerferwho? Sakura glanced from side to side, trying to take in the whole situation. She watched as Mr. 5 slowly stuck his finger into his nose.

"Oh, shit, not the booger bomb," she moaned.

Zoro raised his eyebrows. "Let's get going."

They had both risen to their feet and were about to make a break for it when a loud bang suddenly sounded behind them, and and rather charred Mr. 9 was sent flying against the side of a building. At the same time, Sakura let out a yelp as something grabbed onto her ankle.

"That's a scary booger," Zoro muttered.

"I told you. It's a booger bomb," Sakura agreed before looking down to see Mr. 8 desperately clutching her ankle, "And what the hell are you doing, pasta head?"

"Please! The swordsman was unmistakably strong, and if you're with him, you must be, too! These two have Devil Fruit abilities, so I don't stand a chance. Please protect the princess!" the man begged.

"Let's go, Carue!" Sakura turned just in time to see Miss Wednesday (or the princess apparently) hop onto the duck, which had been quacking loudly the whole time. Both of them immediately took off, with Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 right behind.

"I umm...uhh," Sakura stammered. What was she supposed to do?

"We don't have time for this! Let's go, chibi!" Zoro yelled as he attempted to lug the still unconscious and bloated Luffy away.

"The kingdom of Alabasta will repay you for doing this! I beg of you!" Mr. 8 continued to plead.

"A great prize!? That's pretty interesting!"

Huh? Sakura, Zoro, and Mr. 8 all looked up to see a grinning Nami perched on the building top. "Would a billion belli work?" the navigator continued with a wink.

"Nami?!" Zoro exclaimed.

"I was wondering where she went," Sakura muttered.

"So your real name is Igaram, and that other girl, Miss Wednesday, is actually the princess Vivi of a country called Alabasta?" Sakura asked incredulously.

Igaram nodded. "We had to go undercover. It is necessary for the safety of our country."

"I still don't get how you can stay so active after drinking so much just a few hours ago," Zoro muttered in Nami's direction.

"Pretty good at the whole pretend game, aren't I? I'd say I rank right up there with Sa-chan!" she replied cheerfully. Sakura frowned. Was that a compliment? What had they done while she was still hiding on the ship?

"So, you willing to pay me a billion belli, Mr. Royal Guard man? You need our help if you don't want the princess to die," Nami asked as she crouched in front of Igaram, who was visibly beginning to sweat.

"I-I'm just a soldier! Where am I going to get that amount of money!" the man cried.

"Oh? Is the princess worth less than some money? All you have to do is pay," Nami replied, a cheeky smirk on her face.

"That's pretty threatening," Zoro muttered.

"I think Nami's the scariest out of us all," Sakura agreed.

"If you can help the princess, I'm sure you can work out an agreement with her!" Igaram manage to cough out.

"Oh, that's easy!" Nami cried before turning back to Sakura and Zoro, "Ok, guys! Go get them!"

"You're the one who wants the money, do it yourself!" Zoro cried angrily.

Sakura sighed. "I'll go find her." As much as she wanted to stay out of it, she was aware that Nami would force them to one way or another. Plus, both Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 had called her a little girl, and that really pissed her off. Ignoring the reactions of her nakama and Igaram, Sakura dashed off.

Follow the explosions. Sakura found that to be a handy tip as she raced through the town, her palms already alight with energy. She smiled with satisfaction when she turned the corner and found the Miss Wednesday (or the princess or whatever) and the duck running straight towards her, with Miss Valentine and Mr. 5 close behind.

"I'm a bomb man. I can make any part of my body explode with the Bom Bom fruit. No mission is impossible for me!" Sakura heard Mr. 5 say as he dug a finger into his nose. Oh shit, that wasn't good. She dashed forward, ignoring the yells from the princess, and extended her hands just as Mr. 5 sent the booger flying.

"Booger Bullet!"

"Love Shield!"

The booger exploded directly on Sakura's shield, causing her to let out a cry of pain. She immediately released the shield and hopped around in agony. It almost felt like her insides were burning to a crisp. So this is what a bomb feels like?

"Fucking shit! Ow ow ow ow!" she groaned, "So not doing that again, shitty hell ow! And that's just gross, man! Who uses snot as a weapon?!"

"You're the officer agent from before!" Sakura turned to the princess and the duck staring at her, both wearing expressions of shock and distrust.

"An act to get you to trust me. And I'm busting my ass trying to save you, so would it hurt to be a little nicer?!" Sakura retorted. She turned back to Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, both of whom looked mildly surprised to see her.

"The little girl from before. What reason do you have for helping the princess of Alabasta? And just what power do you have?" Mr. 5 asked.

Sakura grinned and let a flare of light erupt in her palm. "Just felt like saving some damsels in distress today. And you're not the only ones who know what a Devil Fruit is. Heart Heart fruit. I'm a...uhh...love woman...or lover? I don't know, something like that."

"Love? How lame!" Miss Valentine shrieked with laughter, "I've never heard of a more stupid ability!"

The words had barely even left the woman's mouth when Sakura had leapt forward. With one hand, she grabbed onto Miss Valentine's dress. The other was alight with a brilliant ball of energy, which Sakura drove directly into the woman's face.

"Love's Suffering!" she screeched. Miss Valentine toppled straight into the ground, where she lay screaming and clutching her chest.

Sakura, who had landed a few meters away, watched calmly. "The worst pain I've ever experienced came from losing the ones I love. That's what you're feeling right now. Do you still think my power is stupid?" she asked ominously. Vivi, the duck, and Mr. 5 stared wide eyed at her as Miss Valentine moaned in the dust.

"What did you do to my partner?" Mr. 5 growled. Sakura glanced over to see him picking his nose once more.

Sakura immediately readied herself. "She had it coming. Her fault for insulting me."

Mr. 5 extracted his finger, and a rather large piece of snot could be seen at its tip. Oh, that was just disgusting. Deflecting another bomb would hurt, but Sakura had no other choice. She slowly raised her hands just as the snot was flicked at her, but before she could create another shield, a figure jumped in front of her and cut the projectile in two. Two streams of explosions sounded behind them, but Sakura remained unhurt.

"...Rice ball?" she murmured. Indeed, Zoro now stood in front of her with a disgusted look on his face.

"I just cut snot! Gross!" he yelled.

"Stop trying to save me! I was doing just fine!" Sakura cried angrily.

"Whatever, chibi, just let me handle this!" Zoro said, not even bothering to look at her.

"Weren't you complaining about doing this a few minutes ago?!"

"I have my own reasons, so shut up!"

"Just who are you guys?" Sakura turned to see the princess staring in shock at both of them. Before she could give a reply, a yell interrupted everybody.

"ZOOOOOROOOOOO!"

"Is that Luffy?" she muttered while peering into a distance. It did seem like a round, bloated figure was approaching them, "Where did the hell has he been this whole time?"

"Took him long enough," Zoro grunted before calling out, "Oi, Luffy, we don't really need your help anymore. Go back to sleep."

"SHUT UP! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE! LET'S FIGHT ALREADY!"

"...What?!" Zoro and Sakura both cried in surprise. For some reason, Luffy's face was filled with anger, and he lumbered towards them with his fists raised.

Sakura carefully walked backward and stood behind the princess and duck, both of whom looked extremely confused at the situation. "I guess you're right, rice ball," she murmured nervously, "You can take care of this."

Zoro scowled. "Are you fucking kidding me!?"