Authors Note - Hinestly, I kinda rushed this. lol
Story Description: Traveling dimensions wasn't unheard of for Sakura. But Kaguya had been defeated and sealed four years ago, during the forth great ninja war. So why the fuck, was she tied to a mast - on a god forsaken ship, surrounded by PIRATES?!
Ships: (Past) Sasuke/Sakura, (Future) Ace/Sakura
Warnings: language, mentions of slavery, injury
Recap..
The boy seems suspicious, as he looks over over. Minutes pass before he gives her a little nod. Still wary but the idea of seeing his parent probably makes it easier for him to trust her.
It takes a bit, but eventually Sakura gets the boy into her arms, allowing him to rest his chin on her shoulder as she walks. Just a bit longer, then she'd get the boy to his family, call Haruta to fill him in, and find Teach.
And maybe, kill some people. More importantly, kill some slavers.
When Sakura arrives at the town, five hours after taking off with the little boy in her arms, she is quick to notice the empty state of the roads. It's still populated, just by some clues alone. Trash cans filled with trash, stalls that have fresh produce, and the occasional bag that looked to be dropped in a hurry. And she was sure if she pushed her chakra out, she'd be able to locate most of the civilians.
It just left her with the question, where were they?
Careful as to not wake the slumbering kid in her grasp, Sakura keeps her steps light as she surveys her surroundings.
As she walks down the road, she almost misses the quiet whistle. But her ears pick it up, and Sakura turns towards the noise. A man, she notes. His head peeking out of the door frame. His features look worried, as he motions to her with his hands for her to come over.
Blinking back any confusion, Sakura makes her way over. Watching as the man steps back inside, unlocking a few more locks from the opposite side before the door swings open.
"Hurry up lass." The man urges.
Sakura watches him warily, but complies. Stepping inside the home.
"You and your youngin' came at the wrong time." The man says as he closes the door back up. Locking it.
Sakura's brows pinch. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The man looks her over, before moving past her further into the house. She follows a step behind him, waiting for him to explain.
"A Celestial Dragon, came to take some slaves." The man pauses, and motions to the couch.
"Been hidin' in our homes, less likely we'll be chosen." He finishes.
Sakura's eyes widen, as she gently places the boy down into the couch. Taking the blanket folded neatly to the side, and unraveling it to place it ontop of his small form.
"That's why the streets are empty then?" She prompts, finally turning her full attention to the man who so graciously let her inside.
"Yeh'. They've been more roudy ever since they' slave escaped. Been searchin' for the fool." The man explains. "Water?" He points to his kitchen.
Sakura nods. "Water's fine."
As the man leaves, Sakura turns her attention to the young boy. A slave, a runaway slave. More specifically, a slave the celestial dragon was looking for. Her eyes look over the boy, before shaking her head.
When the man returns with the glass of water, the two of them sit in silence. And Sakura contemplates on her next choice of action.
She needed to find Teach and any other crew mates of hers that joined him. Haruta said to stay out of the Celestial Dragons radar. So she couldn't be seen with the boy. But she had promised him to bring him to his mother.
'What to do, what to do' she thought helplessly.
"I can tell ya thinkin' hard. Anything I can do ta help?" The man asks. Breaking the silence.
Sakura places her now empty glass down. "Suppose I should introduce myself then. Sakura Haruno. I'm looking for my.. friend. Teach. Last we heard of him was here on this island. But.." she pauses, her gaze dropping the to sleeping boy.
"Ya need me to take care of him then? I don't mind." The man offers. And Sakura releases a sigh of relief.
"If it's no trouble, I'd be grateful." She answers.
The man waves her off. "Ain't nothin' I haven't done before. Best wait til night tho, ain't wanna be roaming the steets incase ya run into those world government dogs."
Sakura withholds a laugh at the insult, and makes sure her bag is secured. Now she just needed for night to fall.
She hears the door click behind her, and loosens her hold on her bag. Rummaging through it to find the den den mushi.
"Twelfth Division Commander Haruta speaking."
Sakura sighs. "Haruta! It's me. Sorry for such a late update." She says into the receiver. She hears something come from the other side, like multiple muffled voices.
"Sakura! I was getting worried. If you don't mind, Marco is here as well."
"No, it's alright. Hello Marco!" She grins, wondering if they can hear the delight in her voice. Something moves, and for a moment it's silent.
"Hey Sakura, have you found any information on Teach yet? I know it's been a day since you've arrived but Oyaji felt something amiss."
Haruta perks up. "Says its something to do with a gut feeling. But everything is alright?"
Marco scoffs. "his gut feeling is probably a stomach ache, Haruta. You know his superstitions."
Sakura chuckles awkwardly. Causing the two to grow quiet with slight worry. "So Haruta, it seems there is.. a Celestial Dragon here. I've already been warned by the locals." She explains.
She hears an intake of breath.
"Do not try anything Sakura, do you understand? Find Teach, and leave the island." Marco instructs, his voice firm and commanding.
And then, does Sakura understand why he is so respected amongst the commanders, and why he was first mate to begin with.
"Got it, don't worry. I'll call you again later tomorrow if anything changes." She says.
The three say goodbye, telling her they'd fill in Oyaji once she leaves. Happy with the news, she clicks off and places the den den back into her bag. Just in time for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Teach's chakra should be easy to find, it was dark. It set her on edge most of the time. But at least it is proving useful now. Finding a nice spot to sit, Sakura closes her eyes and breaths.
Her chakra leaves her body, her sensing range expanding little by little as she scans over the small, barely noticable chakra signatures. Passing over the ones that felt relatively normal. Slowly, as she forces herself to stretch out her sensing range- her chakra sprinkles out. But it does barely anything to her large reserves. Years of expanding them coming in handy.
'If only I was a natural sensor like Tobirama Senju, this would be easy.' She thinks, a little envious.
She can feel the forest she had found the boy, nothing. Even the beach, where she had arrived on. Nothing over there. She focuses on the opposite side of the island. More homes, with normal chakra signatures. A few walked around, but most felt stationary.
The man was right, people were more on edge with that Celestial Dragon around.
To the East then, something flickers, just enough to gain her attention.
"To the East then." She murmurs, opening her eyes and standing up.
Taking one last look at the house, Sakura spins on her heel and trudges down the road. Keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any suspicious sounds or movements. But thankfully, nothing pops out as the walks. Making her way through a thick forest, a little ways from a dirt path. Her pace isn't too fast, and the eventually reaches her destination.
"Thank.. god" A voice croaks, and Sakura's head snaps down towards the ground.
Her eyes widen, and she quickly kneels. "D..Did Oyaji send you?" The man, a crewmate, whispers. Before hacking up a glob of blood.
Hands growing green, Sakura closes her eyes and focuses on the damage, only to gasp. "Broken ribs, a pierced lung- hey, hey stop moving or you'll do only more damage to yourself!" She scolds.
The man shakes his head. "I..m as good as dead." He murmurs, voice growing more sluggish. No doubt from the lack of blood in his body.
"I can fix this." She sneers through clenched teeth.
The man blinks, before breaking out into a smile. "You.. shouldn't." He replies.
Sakura freezes, before shaking her head at his words. "Shut up and let me do my job."
"How.. how can I face.. Oyaji.. I'm a coward.. I couldn't even.. even kill him.. traitor.." the man starts, but his words turn harsher as he speaks.
Sakura mends the man's ribs one by one, listening to him talk. Confusion flickers through her face as his words register. To keep him awake, she decides the best course of action is the keep him talking.
"Traitor? Him? What are you talking about?" She asks.
'2 more to go, then I'll work on his lung and other injuries' she thinks.
"T-Teach.. the b..bastard. We.. we were.. backstabbed. I tried, to make a run.. for it. But his.. his friends found me." He man says.
Sakura's blood runs cold. And her hands pause, green fading away. She could feel her heart beating from her chest. Teach? A traitor?
Was he really even in danger? Or was he trying to cover up something shady? Could this.. Sakura shakes her head. She had to see things for herself. See actual proof before she went on to accuse someone whose been on the Whitebeard Pirates Crew for much longer than her.
"I got you, don't worry. Do you.. think you can make it back to the town?" She asks, once she finishes healing.
Sakura helps the man stand. Whose name she learns is Kelio. He nods his head, clutching his stomach where most of the unhealed bruises laid. "I can, thank you Sakura." Kelio whispers.
Sakura bites her lip, keeping herself from saying anything more before sending him on his way. Watching his back as he retreats back into the forest.
Sakura's eyes turn back to the ground. Happy to see footprints still in the mud. Enough to follow the tracks back to wherever Kelio had ran from. As she gets deeper into the forest, she notes more footprints joining the mess. It was difficult to note how many exactly, but it was more than three. Not counting Teach. His footsteps would be much bigger.
She comes to a clearing, and her nose wrinkles at the smell. Hand coming up to clog her nose with her fingers.
As she peers past the bushes, her heart drops. Seven bodies laid on the forest floor. Still warm, but cooling. Someone has stab wounds on their backs, and other with their throats slit. And they all carried Whitebeards mark.
Fumbling with her bag, Sakura reaches around and pulls out the den den. Dialing the number quickly, her foot tapping anxiously on the ground.
"Twelfth Division Commander-"
"Haruta! It's me! Look." Sakura interrupts, her voice panicked. The line grows quiet.
"They're dead, Haruta. Minus Kelio." She says.
"Oh no.. shit. Okay, and what ofTeach? Is he apart of the.. dead as well?" Haruta asks.
"no.. no he's not. I haven't found him." Sakura says. But she decides against voicing her worries. She didn't need to cause an uproar on the ship. Especially if she turned out to be wrong.
"Okay.. are you alright? Would you like to come back to the ship?" He asks.
Before Sakura can answer, another high pitched voice speaks. It doesn't come from the Den Den. Instead, it comes from in front of her.
"Look! Look at this! Aren't you just perfect!"
Sakura snaps her head up, the new stranger emerges from the forests edge. A short, fat man. Ugly, with a large bubble like thing around his head. Don't even get her started on the clothes. Too expensive to have come from this island.
"Haruta?" Sakura whispers, watching as a few men appear from beside him. Guns in their grasp.
"I think.. I think I found the Celestial Dragon."
"Sakura, Run, you need to RUN!"
Sakura takes a step back, but the celestial dragon laughs. The men holding the guns make themselves known, pointing the barrels at her.
"Come on pet! Kneel, I'll reward that commoner greatly for giving me such a nice present!" The celestial dragon says with glee.
"Commoner?" She chokes out.
"The old fool, returned my runaway slave, and mentioned an exotic woman such as yourself had helped him." He claps his hands together.
Sakura sneers, disgust written clearly on her face. She can hear Haruta saying something over the Den Den, but chooses to ignore it in favor of watching the armed men warily.
"I said kneel slave!" The spoiled man yells, clearly impatient.
"No can do." Sakura replies. It only seems to anger the man more. Could she even describe him as a man? He was like a spoiled child being denied candy.
Fingers curling into fists, Sakura falls into a defensive stance.
"Don't worry, I'll beat you into shape!" The celestial dragon sneers, pointing at her. "Being her to me!" He commands the guards by his side.