First thing Sakura did, after long suffering minutes trying to convince the people at the docks that the sea king holding her ship wasn't going to attack anyone unprovoked, was to go directly to the nearest bar this place had.

She knew that alcohol was the worst choice of many for her after such an unmerciful experience at the ocean, but right now she needed something to calm her nerves down and get her in the most appropriate mood after surviving literal death at the hands of mother nature by sheer luck.

A swift look at the reflection of the window from the bar let her know that she looked as shitty as she felt, but right now she needed food urgently so whatever regards the pinkette had concerning her appearance were instantly dismayed the second she caught the scent of freshly cooked food. Sakura would have never imagined that she'll look exactly like Luffy in one of his most ferocious hunger pangs, but lo and behold there's always a first for everything and she wasn't an exception.

The one thing the green-eyed girl tried to do was to comb her hair using her fingers to look less disheveled when entering the place, getting a few eyes over her figure by simply stepping inside, but just as fast as people took a peek at her they immediately lost interest.

She supposed that everyone here has seen weirder things happening around than a simple messy teenager.

Better for her, honestly. It saved a lot of time and problems considering the usual team 7 luck she and her boys had back then.

"A tankard of sake and anything to eat" she requested with obvious tiredness lacing her voice, not even having enough strength to choose anything from the menu for herself. Although it seemed that the bartender wasn't about to listen considering his doubtful expression when he gave her a onceover. Okay yeah, she understood that language.

Not even hesitating a second, the young girl pulled a small yellow wallet from inside her pants (the safest place she could think about) and extracted a few berris to prove that she had the money to pay her tab. Immediately, the gruff man smirked and went to bring her what she had exactly requested and set her drink along a bowl of rice with a side of pork slices bathed in a nice smelling sweet sauce.

The drool kicked right back with even more potency.

To the astonished look of the bartender and a few of the diners around her, the petite pinkette devoured the food in a matter of a few minutes while the tankard had been emptied in seconds, only hearing the satisfied moan of the young girl who seemed to soak at the brief moment of contentment of finally getting a full stomach.

"Ah! That's the stuff!" A few knocks at the wood of the bar were enough to get back the attention of the gruff bartender that still stared at her as if she was some sort of monster. Haven't people ever seen a starving girl? Rude. "Bring me the double of that bowl and this time make it two tankards of sake! Thank you!"

With a nervous smile, the tall man tending the front of the bar ran right back to the kitchen to deliver her order.

"Isn't that too much alcohol for a young girl like yourself?"

Huh?!

On any other day, the pinkette probably would have the patience to deal with comments like that thrown in the air. When growing up with snotty and temperamental boys that liked to throw tantrums when not managing to win at arm wrestling, one had to build the thick skin to bear with them and their antics. Sakura loved her little brothers more than anything, but she wasn't blind at the fact that they gave her more headaches than peace.

Sadly, this old man chose a day where the teen girl was absolutely done with the world. She was tired, dirty, still very sober and hungry; her patience had worn thin hours ago. Just when the pinkette opened her mouth to give this guy a very explicit piece of her mind, the teen stopped right on her tracks at the sight of the man, her face twisting from a scowl to absolute shock at the feeling she suddenly felt all the way up through her spine.

For as weird as it felt, this old dude gave her the same dangerous feeling that Garp usually gave to her during their training. The instinctual feeling of encountering a potential threat but not knowing fully about it.

"Uh… Um… Who are you sir?" She must have looked quite dumb with her mouth open for too long, although the older man seemed to not care about it, to her relief.

The already present wrinkles on the guy's face seemed to contrast even more at the wide smile he gave to her, one full of amusement and something else but unable to identify it.

"Isn't it usual to give their name first before asking for one?" He answered her question with another one, but there was no real bite to it to consider it a real scolding and she could see his smile still present even when he chugged down his entire tankard.

Sakura huffed in irritation but the sudden easy-going attitude of the older man helped to relax her a bit around that sense of danger she still felt from him. That didn't mean that the girl would just lower her guard, but it eased her nerves and paranoia a bit.

"You're right, sir. My name is Sakura" the pinkette avoided giving a last name. Just like in her past life, last names had a heavy burden and she preferred to go by name only to signify the start of her new life. She hoped that her smile didn't look too sharp to be considered a challenge or mock.

"That's better" he waved his hand to ask for another drink. "You can call me Ray"

"Nice to meet you, Ray-san!" she cheerfully replied, finally indulging herself at the delicious food in front of her and only talking after swallowing. She still had manners after all. "As for your question before… I can assure you that I have drank more alcohol than this in the past"

Ray looked at her confused for a single beat until he finally understood what she meant, throwing his head back in a burst of laughter at her little show of sass.

"Well I'll be damned, you have quite the spunk, kid!" he immediately welcomed the mug he was given at that moment, swirling the contents in amusement before drinking slowly this time to enjoy the drink a bit longer. "With that kind of spirit I can only assume that you are traveling to some interesting places."

The pinkette recognized the attempt at small talk, nothing too proding to be invasive. If anything, it felt like a gentle encouragement to try engaging in a simple chat, but still leaving the open option to decline if she wanted. It was impressive how much you could read from such specific words and expressions in a single person.

Besides, it wouldn't be the first time old people have asked her where she was headed to. Sakura knew she still looked very young and most folks asked out of genuine curiosity or concern.

"I'm actually headed to the Grand Line. I want to explore the world!"

The enthusiastic smile the young girl gave to the old man was actually genuine, but then a tiny inner voice reminded her that the little fishing boat she had been using to move all through the East Blue was in quite the precarious state. Only a mix of a miracle and luck kept the thing together (and that nasty looking mucus created by the sea king) but even that was pushing it.

Damn, now that food wasn't the only thing plaguing her mind, the pinkette realized that she needed to either repair her little ship or pay for another one; the later unloading more possible complications as the girl became aware that she'll need more berries than the amount she already had for that kind of heavy purchase.

All those changes of mood were witnessed bare by Ray, who still wore an amused smile at the enthusiasm of the girl at the idea of traveling through a place that was well known to be a pirate's graveyard. Either very brave or too much of a fool, but the appeal of such spirit only made Ray feel nostalgic.

"Say… Do you know where I can find someone that can help me repair my boat?" the pinkette asked with obvious worry written all over her frown.

The response she got was a simple hum, her new pal looking at his mug like the most interesting thing in the whole bar. Whatever thought he probably mulled over, Ray seemed to come to a satisfactory conclusion and nodded to no one but her or himself.

Old people here were so weird.

"I can take a look and see how much I can help you out with that, kid"

"Wait, really?!"

The smile that Sakura gave to the older man was so big that it made her cheeks ache for a few moments.

'Well, I'll be damned'

When Smoker started his usual routine patrol that morning at the streets of Loguetown, he was expecting the day to be as boring as other times.

Don't get him wrong; a slow day meant that his subordinates and himself were doing a great job at protecting this island from the constant threat of pirates with delusions about entering the Grand Line. A job that everyone, including himself, took with great seriousness and honor.

That being said, it didn't change the fact that most days, Smoker wished for some sort of action that could pull him out of these kinds of days where even his rock-pilling couldn't distract him. So imagine his surprise when a very frantic fisherman came running towards him, panic infecting his trembling voice while trying to explain the reason for his fear.

Soon, three other people joined with the same terrified concerns and explanations regarding a boat at the south-west docks.

Lo and behold… There was a small sea king guarding a little fishing boat.

Most people around eyed it with wariness and fascination, as most probably have never seen a sea monster in their lives, but all while keeping a healthy distance from it thanks to two of his subordinates that where already there, making sure that no one got too brave and decided to get closer to the creature.

"What's the whole explanation for this, marines?!"

One of the men, the short one with blond hair, sputtered incoherently until he managed to get a hold of himself and saluted to welcome his superior. The other one, broader and with dark hair, followed suit in clear show of discipline as expected.

"Captain Smoker, sir! We were informed by a few scared civilians about a sea creature terrorizing the docks. When we arrived, we were assured by other people that the creature in question hasn't moved an inch for hours now and doesn't seem to be violent unless one gets too close to the boat it's guarding… um…" there seemed to be some hesitation from the blond marine, one that steeled once Smoker gave him a reassuring nod. "Some of the civilians said to have seen a young girl getting off the boat and petting the sea creature, sir. Small, petite and with pink hair. Should we search for her?"

Damn, Smoker had wished for this to be easy. If that sea king was something close to a very unorthodox pet from a kid, then he just couldn't go and ask politely to get rid of it or scram out of the island. He hated antagonizing children unless necessary.

He sighed in irritation. The smoke from his two cigarettes flicking violently at the will of his mood.

"No, leave it. If that thing isn't actively attacking anyone, I don't see the need to provoke it by trying to get close" he ordered after a moment of mulling over his next actions, scratching his neck casually to try and think what else he could do to keep everyone safe. "You two stay put and make sure no civilian gets too close. If I can find this pink-haired girl, maybe I can convince her to move her pet and boat to the southern docks where there are fewer people."

At his words, both men straighten their backs and nod. Smoker simply smiles at how easily impressionable they seem at his words, eager to follow his lead. Not a bad trait if they wanna grow eventually, but he'll have to make sure that they eventually learn to assess situations and make decisions on their own. He will not have blind sheeps among his subordinates, of that he was sure.

Now here was when things got complicated.

While not completely common, pink hair was still a color that plenty of people had and so, spotting someone with that description was yet very vague.

By the time Smoker thought that he finally found the girl, the morning had already turned into evening.

And by god nothing could ever be that simple.

Because right beside the girl and talking amicably with her, was no other than The Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh.

The white-haired marine cursed hell and back at his damned luck. Very aware that in a fair fight, he would be overwhelmingly crushed by someone of the likes that could go easily against the Whitebeard Pirates and not even drop a sweat.

Picking a fight with Rayleigh here would not only mean asking to get beaten to an inch of his life, but it would put everyone around them in danger… including the young pinkette teen that looked too casual talking with such a dangerous man.

'Fuck, I'm between the sword and the wall'

Time to try and act as cool as he could.

Sadly, the ever shifting smoke from his cigarettes told a different story.

Thank you for reading!