Speeding down the mountain was great, even hitting the clouds was great as the thick mist of the clouds surrounded the ship. My hair started to get slightly wet along with my clothes and moist skin, but I didn't mind that because I kept my gaze in front of me while I smirked.

Everything felt so unreal. Everything felt like a dream, and just to make sure it wasn't a dream, I pinch myself hard as I yelped quietly in pain. 'Nope... Not dreaming.' I thought as I yelled out in excitement. Though the excitement soon ended when I heard a low groan causing me to flinch.

What was that? Inner asked curiously while I looked around at my friends, but only one had noticed it.

"Did you hear that Pinky?" Zoro asked. Right when I was about to nod, I became confuse.

BillBoard Brow, Useless, and Weak were the names I were use to being called. But no body had ever called me Pinky before, which was strange yet satisfying since it was a better names than the mean names others gave me.

When I didn't answer Zoro, he thought I didn't hear the strange noise as he then asked the others. "Did any of you hear it?"

"Huh? What's that?!" Nami yelled, unable to hear what Zoro said while she kept a grin on her face.

"That groaning sound!" Zoro yelled back, and this time Nami heard it as she returned her gaze forward.

"It's probably just the wind! At this speed, everything sounds distorted!" She replied back while I looked froward as well and narrowed my eyes.

Every minute we come closer down to the Grandline, I was sure I saw something a shadow figure coming closer. But it was hard to identify what is was because of the thick mist that engulfed us. Soon, the noise came again and this time, everyone could hear it.

"Nami!" Sanji called. "I see a mountain coming ahead!"

'A mountain?' I thought skeptically. 'But I thought Nami told us that it would be just open water once we reach down reversal mountain or did I hear wrong?' I thought worriedly.

No, Nami did say that. But I have a feeling we should watch out for it and get ready if anything happens. Agreeing with Inner, I started to gather chakra into my hands as the shadow figure I saw was now clearing up.

Once we pass by the thick clouds, all of us were shock when we saw a giant black wall blocking our path.

We were all screaming since we were speeding down ahead and towards the black wall. But as I took a closer look at it, trying to keep my fear under control, I realized it wasn't a wall.

"It's a whale!" Usopp cried out in fear.

Suddenly a horrible sound came from the whale causing me to flinch and cover my ears. I don't know why it's making that horrible sound, but I knew one thing. It was in pain.

"What are we going to do?" Usopp asked.

"Should we fight?" Luffy asked while Nami screamed at him. "No you idiot! How are we suppose to fight a hundred ton whale?!"

"Somebody do something! We're going to crash into that thing!" Usopp cried out in fear again while Nami looked at me with fear in my eyes.

"Sakura! Can you do something about this?!" And much to her dismay, I shook my head. "I'm afraid I can't do anything Nami."

"But we have to escape!" Usopp cried.

"Calm down!" Sanji yelled at all of us. "If that thing looks like a wall to us, than we must look like a speck!"

"You're right! It's highly possible that thing isn't aware we're here!" Nami exclaimed.

"We'll run right into it if we keep going like this. We have to change course." Zoro said before looking for a way to escape. Spotting one, he turned to Usopp. "We can get by to the left! Port! Hard to Port!"

"The rudder's broken!" Usopp informed us while Zoro made a dash to the rudder. "Then do something!"

"Wait! I know, this should work!" Suddenly Luffy left from his spot ontop of the Going Merry's head and went off somewhere while Nami yelled for Luffy. "Hey! Where are you going?"

While Luffy was gone, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji tried to move the rudder to the left with every strength they got which failed.

"This is pointless! The ship is not going to turn!" Usopp yelled frustrated.

"Damn it!" Zoro cursed.

"Don't give up!" Sanji yelled out encouragely, but he knew it was pointless to try.

Nami stared at at the giant whale with blank and fearing eyes while I couldn't mask my fears and worries any longer. The chakra in my hand were ready to be released, but I had a feeling that I won't be able to stop the ship in time from crashing.

Suddenly an explosion was heard in front of the ship as Nami and I jerked forward than back. I lost my focus as the chakra quickly depleted. I had suspected it was from the ship's cannon in the room below us where Luffy had escaped to, but why did Luffy set it off? What frightened me though was when the cannonball directly hit the whale right on.

We all then thought the same thing, 'The cannon?!'

Underneath where our captain was, Luffy chuckled. "Done!"

Soon we came to stop with only the Going Merry's head being the only damaged. Nami was on her back with a shock face while the Going Merry's Head flew. "We're screwed..." Nami spoke out breathlessly with tears in her eyes. "This is it..."

The Going Merry's Head landed on deck as we all can hear Luffy screaming. I was worried for him until I knew what he was screaming about.

"AHH! That was my special seat!"

I held on tightly to the rail while we stared at the whale, and fortunately it didn't do anything. But I was surprised the cannonball didn't do anything, or either that his reaction time is slow.

"Damn.. Let's get out of here before it's to late!" Zoro yelled as the boys quickly agreed. Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp were the only ones steering as we went around the whale.

Soon the whale made that horrible sound again as I covered my ears againa nd glared at the whale before noticing the deep scars he had on his head.

I couldn't help but blink and get worried. 'Why are there so many scars on his head... He has more than Ibiki!' I thought then flinched again from the horrible sounds.

While we passed by the whale's giant eye, we saw Luffy gazing at it angrily.

"...Luffy?" Nami whispered, seeing that Luffy was mad.

"You think you can break my special seat and get away with it!?" Luffy yelled angrily before bringing his hand back as my mind started to race.

He's not doing what I think he's doing is he?! Inner asked, also scared as we all watch Luffy stretched his arm towards the whale, hitting him right in the pupil while everyone was giving him the 'I'm going to kill that idiot' look.

"YOU MORON!" We all yelled at our idiot captain as I now fell on my knees and hands and felt tears coming in my eyes.

It was nice knowing you Sakura... I always thought you would die by someone idiotic... And I was right. Inner laughed nervously before breaking down crying inside my mind as I used my chakra to block Inner off.

I didn't have time to worry about Inner, what I have to worry about is what are we going to do now since our idiotic captain had probably enraged the whale.

Suddenly the whale's eye looked down to our ship as most of us yelled in fear, Luffy on the other hand staring down at the whale. He didn't even look the slightest scared as he brought his fist up, still yelling at the whale.

"I'm not done with you! There's still a lot more where that came from-" "Shut up before you kill us!" Usopp and Zoro yelled, kicking Luffy and knocked him down as I cried mentally.

Suddenly the whale gave another horrible sound and opened it's mouth. The waves churn and before we knew it, the ship started to get suck into it's mouth as I got up only to hold on the rail from falling down.

We were now inside the whale's mouth as we knew there was no way out, and suddenly I heard Luffy yelled out loud and the others calling for him as I realized he had fallen down from the ship.

Sakura! He's going to die, those with devil fruit powers can't swim! Inner warned me while I yelled at her. 'And now you tell me this?!'

Cursing, I ran to the side of the boat to see Luffy stretched his hands to grab the whale's teeth before he started to climb on the whale. But that was the last thing I saw as the whale closed it's mouth, and unintentionally. I had called someone I use to call when I needed help.

"NARUTO!"

I suddenly stopped in my tracks and turned around a sI had just thought I heard someone calling for me. I then gave a shiver as the others also stopped and looked at me.

Sasuke looked at me irritated. "What's wrong with you dobe? Are you getting scared already of this forest?"

I turned to glare at him. "Hell no teme! This forest doesn't scare me the slightest!" I yelled at him while he grunted in annoyance before turning around towards the trail we were on while Kakashi sighed and Sai took another look at the confusing map.

Well, that was a lie. I was kind of scared of the forest.

There's something unnatural of this forest, it was all dark and there were weird animals noises, and not only that, it feels like someone was keeping close eye of us.

"Is it just me or is there someone watching us?" I asked quietly while Sai looked up at me with a small fake smile.

"Maybe it's the ghost of the Harunos. I heard rumor that the ghost of Harunos would sometimes follow a group just like ours, and when the time is right. They come out and kill us-" "Shut up Sai!" I growled at him while he just gave me another fake smile before returning his gaze at the map.

"Dobe..." Sasuke grumbled under his breath while I tried to glare holes through his head.

This was exactly the reason Sasuke and I fought! Sasuke being the emotionless bastard always has to annoy me, and that went to the point where we became violent, to the point where we were going to kill each other until... Sakura stopped us by going between us.

I couldn't help but sigh sadly under my breath. It felt just like a few days ago, which actually was.

Ever since that incident, I was in depression. If I have never heard that there was a way for Sakura to be revived, I would have never gotten out of my depression.

We haven't told Ino or the others yet, but I'm sure they would be ecstatic that there was a way or they would've thought we were crazy. But it didn't matter if it was crazy or not, if there was a way for Sakura to come back then we will do it.

"Are we there yet?" I whined while Sasuke glared at me which I ignored him. Sasuke had been a little more moody lately, but I didn't care about that bastard. I just want to find the Haruno Compound and get out of this forest as fast as we could.

Suddenly Sai stopped causing us to stop also while Sai furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Strange... The Haruno Compound should be right here," Sai looked up from the map. "Right in front of us..."

"In front of us?" Sasuke questioned before he also looked forward to only see tall wild grass taller than us and giant trees blocking their paths. "There's nothing here, this is a dead-end." The Uchiha growled in dismay.

"...Wait." Kakashi said, breaking the silence. "I can feel chakra just beyond the giant trees and grass. We are here, in front of the Haruno Compound."

All three of us looked at him in confusion, we're already here? We watched as Kakashi-Sensei walk towards the blockade of trees and grass. "Kakashi-Sensei...? What are you doing?" I questioned as he touched the base of the middle of the giant tree.

Kakashi-Sensei then started to pump his chakra into the main tree before bringing his other free hand back. Clenching his free hand into a fist, he than punched the tree shocking us. But that wasn't what shocked us, what shocked us was that his fist just went through the tree without damaging it in any way, but the trees and wild grass just suddenly... Disappeared, shattering like a mirror.

"Just as a I thought. A solid genjutsu." Kakashi-Sensei said while again, we were all confused.

"A solid Genjutsu... What exactly is that? I've never heard that kind of genjutsu before." Sai said while Kakashi-Sensei started to explain.

"A solid genjutsu can only be use by the Harunos... Except it takes a lot of chakra to use and destroy it. And judging by how much effort the Harunos wanted to protect the compound, I would say there will be more traps coming ahead. We have to be careful." Kakashi-Sensei said before he went on.

"A solid genjutsu... Interesting." I murmured out loud after hearing Hatake's explanation about a new genjutsu I had never heard about.

"The Haruno's have suddenly became more interesting now." I thought before I went ahead of them from up the trees, avoiding all the poison traps and burning kunais and arrows the team behind me will have to avoid soon.

But right when I thought I was near the Haruno Clan, I stopped right in front of the tiles and multiple arches which lead towards a giant rock temple which I blinked at.

The Harunos seem to be more ancient than I had anticipated, but I had a feeling there was more than meets the eye behind all of this.

Passing through the stone arches, I avoided as many traps as possible and luckily made it to the end of the trail and right in front of the Haruno Compound. I was about to enter the small opening inside the temple until a felt something sharp being jabbed into my back, it was then I finally realized that someone had sneaked up from behind me.

I cursed at myself. 'How did I miss his chakra signature?' I scolded myself and turned my head towards the person.

The person looked vaguely like Sakura except the person was a boy and slightly taller. He had almost Sakura's features. Pink hair, emerald eyes but his is much lighter, and his chakra almost completely like Sakura's.

"Who are you and how did you get in?" He asked as he seem ready to kill me if I did or say anything wrong.

" My name is Sasori and I am friends with Sakura Haruno." By that name, he surprised me when he lowered the spear, but he kept a careful eye on me as I kept explaining. "I need help too... She's dead." I said, getting straight to the point.

When I turned to him fully, he drew the spear close to my throat. I couldn't help but flinch slightly when I felt the cold metal point. "And you expect me to do something about it?" He snarled, his green eyes flashing with murderous intention. "Leave before I take your life!"

I was now getting annoyed as I moved my fingers slightly as my chakra strings captured the boy. The boy's eyes widened once he realized he couldn't move and snarled at me once more. "Let me go this instance!"

"I won't until you hear what I said." I sighed, rubbing my temples as he quieted down. "Now... As I said, Sakura Haruno is dead. But I have heard that she is still alive, by a kekkei genkai called the-"

"The second chance!" The boy finished for me as I nodded, now letting his go. "Alright, I know now why you're here. A friend of Lady Sakura is a friend of mine then."

I raised a brow. 'Lady Sakura? Why am I guessing...'

"Are you coming or what? You're wasting time here." The boy called out to me, suddenly in front of the small opening as he waved to me impatiently.

Nodding, I walked towards him quickly before we were suddenly walking through the messy maze with many rooms, reminding me of the Akatsuki base.

Soon we were out of the messy maze as we were now traveling in one path, and in the end of the path I could see light and... laughing?

Once we arrived out of the hallway, my eyes widened when I saw many people with pink hair and emerald eyes having a party. Some were getting drunk, some were talking and laughing, some were clapping or cheering for the finish dancers that wore traditional looking kimonos, and some were just playing under the cherry blossom.

The fields were large and there were many cherry blossoms out there along with a giant tree in the end of the field. Probably a solid genjutsu also.

The boy, seeing my shocked expression, chuckled as he started to show me around.

"Welcome, to the Haruno Compound! I know it's surprising many of us are still alive, but ahead of time in the past, we knew we were going to get massacred so we tried to hide." His expression saddened as he stared at the crowds of people who seem to be ignoring us, but some were glaring at me as some hands were nearing several weapons they carried with them. "The people you see here now, there are only about like 30 or 40 of us left."

Suddenly an old man appeared before us, glaring at me while he spoke to the boy.

"Futaba, why did you bring an outsider inside? Do you not remember what happen last time?" The old man growled while the boy, Futaba, flinched before he stood straight.

"Muscari! T-This boy, Sasori, is a friend of Sakura Haruno!" The boy yelled out which caused a scene around us. Soon the others instantly stopped what they were doing and stared at us with wide eyes, even the drunks and the children did. Suddenly a little girl with darker pink hair and dark green eyes bounded up to us and tilted her head.

"You know Lady Sakura?" She asked innocently as I nodded, instantly there were murmures going around.

"Ah!" The old man exclaimed, now smiling. "Sakura Haruno, a name I haven't heard in a while! How is the girl, outsider? Lord Hokage, no I mean Lady Tsunade hasn't been in touch with us for a while, so we don't know much. The last they wrote to us was when she was just 10 years old, a good 8 years ago." while the man rambled on and on, I finally got annoyed before I blurted out.

"She's dead." Suddenly everybody became quiet and they stared at me wide eyes except for Futaba who just stood still next to me. Right when, the old man was about to say something, I interrupted him. "But there may be a chance she is still alive by the Kekkei Genkai, Second Chance."

"But that kekkei Genkai..." We all looked at a young woman who was walking up to us using crutches. "That Kekkei Genkai has been only used by only one person... And the person was the creator of this clan, Master Yami Ouka."

'Dark Cherry Blossom.' I mused. 'Interesting name.'

"Are all of you name by a flower or a tree?" I asked while the old man chuckled.

"Yes, well... You can say it's kind of traditional. But now, I think we have the tools to tell where our Sakura should be. And if you need anything else, just ask! A friend of Lady Sakura is a friend of ours!"

Sasori smirked as he remembered the scroll Pein had given him before he left. 'It's a good thing Sakura is a very important girl to the Haruno Clan or I would've use force to get the things I need.'

But as we made out way to an old looking tunnel, I caught my reflection on the small water before slightly smirking at my new appearance.

I blinked as I looked around, Inner was confuse also.

Uh... I vaguely remember we got swallowed by a freaking whale. Cha! What the hell is going on?!

'You're right Inner. What is going on?' Leaning against the rail, I sighed before looking up and stared at it curiously. 'An... Island? Ok, I have to be dreaming.'

"So.. What do you guys think?" Nami asked as they all looked around.

"I don't know what to think." Zoro said.

"Is this even real?" Sanji asked. "Because I know what I exactly saw and what I felt. We were swallowed by that whale."

Giving another look around, I ignored the island and looked up at the sky. 'It can't be a genjutsu... But something's off about this place.'

"Is this a dream? Usopp finally asked after stuttering shock.

"Yea... It's a fair guess." Zoro said.

They all then directed their attention to the island with a house on top of it.

"Then what's with this island and this house?" Nami asked.

"Illusions." Zoro suggested.

Soon I directed my gaze down at the water when I saw movement. Soon something started to come up...

"A great king Squid!" Nami and Usopp yelled as Zoro and Sanji got ready for combat for the giant squid in front of us. I didn't do anything but stood there as I felt a small chakra sign coming from inside the house... And it was slowly coming outside.

Suddenly the door of the house opened and three harpoons instantly came out and pierced through the squid easily as it fell back.

We all stared at the house with the open doors.

"It looks like someone's home." Zoro said.

"Let's hope it's a person." Sanji said.

"That's it... i want to go." Nami said, tears in her eyes.

Usopp looked up also, tears streaming down in his face. "King Squids, guys with harpoons, and where's Luffy?"

Yea... that is a good question, where the hell did our idiotic captain go? Inner asked while I mentally shrugged, staring back at the house.

Soon we saw something or someone come out while Usopp pointed at the man, yelling we should point the cannons to the person.

"No." Sanji said. "Hold on for a second. Someone's coming out."

We all watch as the shadowed man come out from the shadows as we were all surprise.

"It's a-" "A flower." Zoro finished, interrupting Sanji.

"No, it's a person." Sanji corrected him.

"Are you sure?" Usopp asked skeptically as I stared at him then at the kind squid.

"He took down a giant squid in one shot. That's impressive." I stated.

"The question is.. why." Sanji said suspiciously. "Was he trying to save us? Or was he just fishing?"

Everything was quiet as we stared at the man as he looked back at us intently, walking towards another smaller island just next to the house. It seemed Sanji and the man were having a stare down...

Until the man sat down on the chair and took out the newspaper, reading it.

"Aren't you going to say anything?!" Sanji yelled at him, an irk on his head.

All that intense for nothing... but I have to admit, it's funny. Inner chuckled while I mentally sighed and watched the scene unfold.

The man looked up at us from his newspaper while Usopp pointed at him.

"Hey, you want to fight, we'll fight!" Usopp exclaimed, but he was all the way in the back causing me to sweatdrop. "We got cannons back here you bastard!"

Suddenly the man's eyes widened as another intense stare down came again. "You try it and someone's going to die."

"Yea? And who's that?" Sanji challenged.

"Me of course." The old man said smartly causing my sweatdrop to grow larger and infuriating Sanji once again. "Excuse me!?"

Cha! This man is just playing with us! What the hell?! Inner yelled out angrily while I rubbed my pounding head, did she really have to be so loud?

While Sanji growled, staring angrily at the old man. Zoro placed a hand on Sanji's shoulder calming him down before he looked up at the old man. "There's a couple of things we need to know." Zoro said with a determined smirk. "Where are we, and who are you?"

And again, the old man gave us that intense look in his eye again. "You've got some nerve stranger, it's only polite to introduce yourself before asking a question to someone you just met."

Zoro looked frowned a bit before smirking. "Alright, fair enough. I'll go first, my name is-" "If you must know, my name Crocus and I am the light house keeper of the twin cape. I'm 71 and a half years old, Gemini." Suddenly Zoro looked back at us with a frustrated face while his hand was on the handle of the white sword, saying he was going to kill the old man.

I couldn't help but laugh as I spoke up this time.

"Mr Crocus, my name is Sakura Haruno and I am 18 years old. But that will be all I will tell you, can you please tell us where we are?" I asked innocently while the old man looked at me curiously.

"So you want to know where you are? And I guess I can tell you since you seem to be the polite one out of all of them, but at the same time I can't tell you because you are trespassing in my private resort." The old man said as I felt my eye twitching in slight annoyance. "Besides, I think it would be pretty obvious seeing how you were eaten."

"So we were swallowed by the whale." Usopp stuttered. "But since when did a whale have clouds in it?!"

"Wait a minute!" Nami cried out, placing both her hands on her cheek. "If we were eaten, what's going to happen to us?! I don't want to be digested!"

And again, the man gave us another intense stare down as we yelled at him. "Stop doing that!"

"What's wrong? Haven't you ever heard of a running gag?" The old man asked.

"That was a gag!?" We all yelled back while I sighed in frustration.

Suddenly the old man pointed straight as I looked to see two giant doors. "The exit is over there."

"We could get out!" We all asked incredulously. I didn't think it was possible of getting out so easily... But then again, why the heck is there a door inside the whale?

"Okay, even if I do believe a whale's belly could have a door, nothing's there but sky." Nami said before Usoop spoke. "Something's not right here." He said, looking up before noticing something.

"Wait, look at the sky. Those seagulls, nothing's moving! Their painted on, this is a giant mural inside the whale's stomach!" Usopp as I exclaimed before looking up with curious eyes. It was what Usopp had said, everything was painted, the seagulls, the sky, and the clouds.

"Call it a doctor's playful mind." "You're not making any sense you crazy old fool!" Usopp yelled at Crocus while I held him back, pulling him back slightly while I sighed.

"Don't let him get to you Usopp." I grumbled while Zoro spoke to Nami.

"If that is an exit, we need to get to it." Zoro said, Nami agreeing with him. And before anything else could happen, violent shaking suddenly came as we all fell down with me holding the rail tightly. The waters, or the gastric acid, violently churned.

Nami looked at the island before yelling. "That's no island, it's a ship! It's made of metal!" Nami said, pointing at the metal underneath the so-called island.

"Yes, we're floating on a sea of gastric acid after all. So a wooden ship like this one won't be able to float here for too long." I said.

Soon Usopp started to yell at Crocus. "Hey, what's up with this whale!" Crocus turned to us. "Answer us you old man!"

"He's very angry." He just replied, looking up. "These aftershocks are the result of him hitting is head against the red line."

My eyes widened in realization along with Nami. "That explains it, why he had such deep scars in his forehead. Not to mention all the strange howling." why does he do it?" Usopp asked.

I then answered in grimaced. "The whale's in pain, he's suffering from something."

"It's all starting to make sense." Usopp said, looking back at Crocus. "So what's the geezer up to?" "More likely he's trying to kill the whale from the inside!" Nami exclaimed while I furrowed my eyes in suspicion. Tuning the others out and the strong waves, I spoke with Inner.

'Inner, what exactly would Crocus gain from doing this?'

Crocus? Oh, the old man. Well... A whale does give a lot of meat.

'That is true, and judging by the scars on his forehead. Why would Crocus make the whale suffer for years when he could just kill it in one shot or so?'

Making a whale suffer for all these years, he is either sadistic or it's for something deeper. But we have no right to judge the old man on what he does or what his true intention is. And besides, haven't you learn from the other world? In the end we always get a reason, how different can this world be from our old world?

'Lots of things Inner.' I sighed, but I couldn't help but agree with Inner, we didn't have a right to judge and we always did get a reason in the end. Whether we want it or not.

I was suddenly then brought out of my thoughts when Crocus just suddenly jumped into the gastric acid. Widened my eyes, I tried to look through into the gastric acid to see if Crocus was okay. What was he thinking? He's going to get killed if he does that!

"Agh!"

"Dobe! Quit activating the traps!"

"Will you two quit fighting and keep on running?!"

"We're almost in the end of the arches!" Sai informed the others as Naruto and Sasuke looked up to see a giant stone temple they haven't noticed before until now. Kakashi also looked up with slight interest showing on his one eye.

'I had never suspected the Haruno's to be so ancient, but they have been around for almost centuries. Maybe even before Konoha was made.' Kakashi thought before unconsciously remembering the pinkette as he suddenly shook his head. When he looked up again, his eyes widened when he saw something pink poke out from behind a giant boulder near the entrance of the stone temple before disappearing again.

Naruto, who had saw it, smiled brightly before waving at the person. "Sakura! Is it you?! Sakura, it's us! Sakura-" "That isn't Sakura you idiot!" Sasuke hissed at the blond who was rubbing his head. Looking up at Sasuke questionably, he looked back at the pink haired person who had decided to peek out again before noticing something big.

"Wait a minute, why do you look like Sakura?!" Naruto yelled. The person flinched before hiding behind the boulder causing Kakashi sigh, and in an instant. Kakashi appeared behind the little boy who didn't notice the scarecrow behind him. This gave Kakashi a chance to take a closer look at the boy.

The boy looked exactly like Sakura except for the slight color difference. His hair was lighter pink and reached his shoulders like Sakura, but his eyes were murky and dark. Filled with worry and fear as he shakily held a small-sword which he seem to be struggling to hold it up.

"Is this your first time using a sword?" Kakashi asked the little boy who yelled in shock as he comically fell forward and dropped the sword before he fell on the floor. Slowly looking up at the silver-haired man, his murky eyes held fear as he tried to reach for his sword which was only kicked away by Sai.

Now looking at Team 7 who were in front of him, tears sprang in his eyes as he started to cry, yelling for help in the same time as they heard shouts of anger coming from inside the cave before more people who looked like Sakura came out.

They all wore wooden armor, yet it looked light enough to carry as they all carried swords or spears in their hands. Only five filed out of the cave as Team 7 got into place to battle but Kakashi, who raised a hand trying to calm the armored man while the pink haired boy ran back to the men and hid behind them.

"Please excuse us, but we are here because we need help." I said while the middle guard came forward, giving us a cautious look before he allowed me to go on. "You see... My student died a few days ago, and I hear you can help us with that."

They all furrowed their eyebrows before they snorted and laugh. the middle man just chuckled and step forward to them, raising an eyebrow while he smirked. "Is this the only reason you trespass to our land? You expect us to bring the dead back to the living, how funny. If that is all, leave. We can't do the impossible." Before the man turned his back at me, I stopped him with my quick explanation.

"This student is someone you probably know by this name. Sakura Haruno." They all froze, staring at me with wide eyes as the man in the middle then folded his hands behind his back and turned to me with a serious eye.

"So your student was Lady Sakura eh...? Alright then, just because you know Lady Sakura. Come with us and we'll do everything we can to help you find her." The four other armored man along with the child back into the cave as the leader of the group lead the group through the messy hallways filled with doors.

I sighed in relief as I watched Crocus climb up the metal ladder. I was worried that if he didn't come up in any second, I would have to dive down and save his life. I was curious on what the old man was doing as he climbed up, but what really got me curious and shock was what Luffy was doing as he just suddenly burst through the metal door with two other people. All three of them flying out of nowhere.

What the hell... Is our idiotic captain doing? Inner asked incredulously while I gave another sigh mentally. 'I really am not sure what's going on Inner...'

Suddenly all three of them landed into Gastric Acid, and since I was worried that Luffy couldn't swim and he'll probably drown in the gastric acid, I looked overboared while Nami looked around for the old man.

"Where did the old man disappear to?" Nami asked. "Forget him, we have to save Luffy." Zoro said.

After the others save Luffy, I didn't feel the violent shakes anymore and I heard the whale's low groaning. Nami sighed to her relief.

"I don't speak whale, but I think he calmed down for a bit." Nami said while Zoro nodded. "It seems that way."

"Now," Zoro turned to the people we saved. "We saved your lives for the time being, but you better talk and make it quick."

The two started to mutter thing to eachother which I really didn't care to eavesdrop to, but my attention went up to Crocus as he appeared through the metal doors form where Luffy and the two others came flying from.

"You parasites are still here?" Crocus asked gruffly. "I grow weary to this and for the last time. As long as I draw breath, you will not lay a single, harmful finger on Laboon!"

'Laboon must be the whale we were swallowed by.' I thought in realization. Who else could the old man be talking about?

"Who's the old guy?" Luffy asked, turning to us only to hear both the mysterious people laughing.

"You can't get us to abandon our mission." The blue hair woman said, carrying a weapon in her hands along with the mysterious man besides her. "Our boss sent us here for a mission, and we're going to complete the mission." The man said this time, both of them slowly getting up. "This time, we're not going to let you interfere!"

The two of them pointed their cannons up. "We're going to give this whale a new blowhole! Fire baby!" My eyes widened, and right before I could stop them. they had already pulled the trigger as two cannonballs shot out from it and towards Laboon's skin. But what amazed me was that Crocus just jumped straight ahead to the two cannonballs, taking the hit as he started to fall down to the gastric acid.

"He just jumped straight into the line of fire!" Usopp exclaimed.

Sanji then asked. "Was he trying to protect the whale?"

The blue woman laughed which was getting into my nerves. "Your defiance is pointless!" "Go ahead, waste your time! But make no mistake, but that hulking beast will prove food for our town!"

Before I got the chance to knock them out, Luffy had already done it much to my annoyance.

"What was that for?" Usopp asked while Luffy looked up with a sour face look on his face. "I just... Wanted to hit them."

After Crocus got out of the Gastric Acid, we tied the bad guys up and stopped on the island while Crocus thanked us. Ignoring him, I couldn't help but stare at the two bad guys who were still unconscious.

'So Inner... What do you think of them?'

I think they're someone who should stay away from Laboon, Cha!

'You're right, so I'm guess Crocus is here to help Laboon calm down from his rage to break down the mountain. And by doing that, he actually made passageways inside Laboon so it could be easier to heal him and such. Or well, it's what I heard Crocus anyway.' I thought.

I then looked back at Crocus, now listening to his story about Laboon.

"Inside Laboon's body beats the heart of a human, he has most impatiently awaited and he's certainly devoted to a certain band of pirates. It's been going on for fifty long years now..."

My eyes widened at Laboon's story. For fifty years, he had been awaiting for a certain band of pirates to comeback... Fifty years were to long for anyone to handle, yet Laboon kept on waiting for a miracle that will never come. And that same cause was what caused Laboon's large gashes on his head and his howl of sadness.

We all had listened with silence as Crocus told us about Laboon's sad story, how he arrived at the Grand Line with the band of pirates, and how the pirate left Laboon in Crocus's care because of the dangers out in the Grand Line.

Soon we were all sailing through a canal with Crocus by our side sitting on his island reading the newspaper.

"This is one big canal." Zoro said, taking a glance around. "Amazing how the whale is still alive despite the big hole in his body."

"I suppose your responsible for this?" Sanji, asked, looking over at the island where Crocus was sitting at.

"Call it's a doctor's playful mind." Crocus said.

Usopp looked at him curiously and asked. "Doctor?"

"Yea, legally certified. I also ran a clinic on the twin capes once upon a time. Before that, I was a ship's doctor." Crocus said before I saw a metal door coming our way. Stopping, Crocus stood up and climbed up to the metal ladders as he reached the top.

"What kind of doctor hallow's out a whale's stomach?" Sanji asked curiously. "Maybe it's part of the treatment, Laboon is large so it won't be easy for Crocus to give him the medicine." I suggested while Crocus eyed me curiously before he nodded.

"That's right, it's almost impossible to treat it from the outside. Therefor I devised a more drastic solution." Crocus explain as he walked over the wheel. "Here's the exit." He said before turning it as the large doors opened.

"The sky!" Luffy cheered as we came out from Laboon with Crocus following behind us.

"Don't you think fifty years is a bit extreme?" Usopp said out of the blue. "Those pirates sure do know how to test someone's patience."

"Idiot, don't you get it? This is the Grand Line." Sanji grunted, bringing out a cigar. "His friends are dead. That whale can wait forever, but they won't be back."

"Sad to say, but it's probably true. Back in the day when those guys traveled the Grand Line, it was am uncharted sea which is a thousand much more treacherous than it is now." Nami explained while Usopp ran to us, frowning.

"Why are you all being pessimistic? You don't know that they're dead, they could still come back for him! Have some sympathy will you? I think it's very touching, a whale still believing that his friends will return despite all these years? That's a true bond, right pops?" Usopp asked Crcous as he nodded. "Indeed, but the lesson here is that reality is cruel. Laboon's cohorts, aren't dead, the truth is they abandoned their quest. I learned they turned tail and left the Grand Line."

My eyes widened while Inner started to make a fuss in my head. That's to harsh! So they left Laboon here because they became scared? What kind of pirates are they?!

'Inner, calm down. I can't believe it, but from what I heard from Nami and the books I read about it. The Grand Line is a harsh place where anything could happen. Any pirate would at least be scared in one point to face something so unpredictable and so dangerous, but to break a promise to a friend is something unforgivable. Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are more than trash.' I thought, thinking about the quote Kakashi told us when we just became genin. Inner then calmed down as I looked at Laboon with sad eyes.

"But if you known about this, why haven't you told him yet?" Nami asked curiously. "It's obvious Laboon can communicate with you, he seems to understand humans quite whale for a whale."

"I did tell him. Down to the last miserable detail." Crocus sighed. "The day I told him... Was the day he started to howl at reverse mountain. Soon after he began slamming his body against the grand line, he believes that the wall keeps his friends away. And by clearing it, he could clear the path for their return. He refuses to believe me because he would have to admit that it's over, and that terrifies him more than anything. There is no way for him to go back to the west blue, so what we have is a paradox of tragic proportions. Laboon is a lost soul who's dieing to live with his friends, but won't stop killing himself to reach them."

"Tragic." Sanji said. "Still, they gave you their burden. I mean, you've done enough for Laboon. What about you?"

"The scars on his hide are deep, but those in his heart are deeper. He needs someone to tend his wounds and I'm all he has. For years he batted himself while I patched him up, it's a strange friendship but it works." Crocuss aid, and after that I couldn't believe it.

Luffy started to run up on Laboon with the mast in his hands as he went right towards the wounds where I could see him slightly bleeding at. Suddenly he then hit Laboon right at the bleeding spot while I twitched.

"He does know that's our mast?" Zoro asked rather to calmly.

"And now it's ontop of a whale." Sanji sighed.

"Why'd he do that?" Usopp asked. "Hey Luffy, stop tearing up the ship!"

Suddenly Laboon's eyes turned teary with pain, he then started to howl again then slammed his body on the water causing the waves to churn as we were being swept away. Holding on tightly to the rail, I looked up at Laboon.

"You ass! Luffy stop!" The entire crew but me yelled out as I looked up slightly angry.

"Luffy! What do you think you're doing?!" I yelled out for him, but he didn't answer as Laboon and Luffy started to fight.

Suddenly, Laboon jumped up before smashing his head on the mountain with Luffy still on his head. Crocus's eyes widened. "The boy! He's dead!"

"Don't worry!" Nami called out to him reassuringly. "It takes more than that to kill him!"

And just what Nami said, Luffy was alright but still bruised. But even so, they kept on fighting much to my amazement. but I was still curious, what exactly will Luffy gain from this?

Just as Laboon was about to ram into Luffy who was thrown into the wall of the lighthouse, Luffy suddenly yelled out. "It's a draw!" Instantly Laboon stopped. Standing up, Luffy placed his straw hat on his head before he smirked. "I'm stronger than I looked, but I had a feeling you knew that. I could always tell when someone is itching for a fight, well if you want to battle I'll gladly give you one. You're shipmates use to spar with you, didn't they? You miss it. But I can rival anything they threw at you. Tell you what, after my friends and I travel the Grand Line, we'll come back and find you. And then you better be ready for a rematch!"

Throughout Luffy's speech, Laboon's eyes were getting teary as all of us couldn't help but smile.

Cha! I knew it, Luffy may be an idiot but when it comes to like this he's a genius!

"Thank you Muscari-San." I said politely, bowing as I securely packed away the information Pein needed at the old man nodded.

"I really am not sure what you need them for, but we have no use. Besides, we actually have a copies around here... I think, I really am not sure. But if you need anything else, come by anytime!" The old man said cheerfully as I couldn't help but sweatdrop.

Is he always this cheerful?

"So, shall we get started to find Lady Sakura? It will just take a couple of minutes-" "Muscaru-San!" Suddenly a man wearing armor came in before saluting. "There are 4 other outsiders here also looking for Lady Sakura the man with silver hair claims to be her sensei and 3 others to be their teammates!"

Muscari raised a brow. "So Team 7 is actually a 5 man team? That's new." Muscari shook it off before telling the man to bring them in, which he instantly did. And it was easy to figure out the other outsiders were Team 7. Currently, they were staring at me suspiciously.

"I thought all Haruno's have pink hair and green eyes." The kyubi container muttered while Itachi's little brother sighed. "This one's an outsider dobe." "I knew that!"

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked as I gave a fake smile before bowing.

"My name is Sasori, I'm one of Sakura's old friends. I've heard of... Sakura's death and I was really close to her, so I hoped there was a way to revive her. And there was a way when I heard that she had a kekkei genkai called the second chance." I explained with my flawless lie while they bought it. Well, at least one of them bought it while the three others narrowed their eyes suspiciously at me.

"Ah, it's good timing you came here! The both of us were just about to head towards the special place where our ancestors were able to find the first user of the Second Chance, come now." Following Muscari, I stood by his side while the others followed us from the back, some of them eyeing carefully until we finally reached a small cavern inside the temple.

Before us was a pond with lily pads, the water were crystal clear, and a hooded figure was sitting on the water, meditating before suddenly standing up, removing his hood to show a young face around 13, and she exactly look like Sakura.

"Welcome to our humble temple friends of Sakura," The little girl greeted with a bow before heading towards us. "I've expected you arrival for some time, give me a second to get ready." They all watched with interested eyes as the little pink haired girl knelt down, pumping chakra from her hand to the pond as the water started to glow bright before a large water ball appeared in the middle of the water.

The others gasped as the girl stepped on the water again and pushed her hand into the water ball before turning to the others. "I must tell you now, only certain people can come down here, and I need at least three to be with me or this procedure won't work."

I blinked, "Certain people? Can you tell us what kind of certain people?"

"Those who want Sakura back really badly. Let me explain, the Second Chance is a pure Kekkei Genkai that works on pure intentions. That is how Sakura gain the Second Chance when she died, she was doing something she would not regret." Sasuke and Naruto instantly look away. "And it works Vice Versa, if the person that really wants Sakura back won't regret it, it'll probably work to reverse the Second Chance. But instead of bringing her back, we'll check on how she's doing."

"What?! B-But I thought if we came here, we can bring her back!" Naruto exclaimed while Sasuke snapped his head up in surprise as my eyes widened.

"And we will bring her back, but that procedure is a bit more difficult because of the tools we don't have. But for now, our main priority is to see if Lady Sakura is alright. It would be meaningless to bring her back if she's really dead. Blond hair boy, Duck hair boy, and boy with brown hair. Come forth." I blinked, looking around at the others before I realize I was the brown hair boy she was talking about.

'I need to pay more attention to my disguises.' I scolded myself before I started to wonder. 'But.. Why did she call me? I actually have no reason to bring her back but to have a rematch.'

Nodding, all three of us stepped forward and stepped on the water before heading towards the water. I hesitated slightly before pressing my hands against the solid looking water which easily wen through much to my surprise. The little girl smiled.

"You're one of the people who really wants Sakura back, don't you? I can tell that you want her back more than anybody Sasori, but exactly... What do you want her back for?" I blinked, trying to think of an answer but nothing came as she just smiled before looking expectantly to the other two she called, Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto gave a gulp before he then punched his fist, which didn't do much but it did go through as Sasuke just slipped his hand through easily while the water slowly rippled around our hands before the water ball fell with a loud splash, our eyes widened.

"D-Did it fail?" Sasuke asked in shock while the little girl laughed before shaking her head.

"No, if it were to fail than your hands wouldn't be able to get pass through the water. Please take one step back." She said as we did what she ordered before the place where the water ball fell started to glow bright before a wall of water rose up as something started to flicker through it like a screen.

"Luffy!" My eyes widened when I heard that familiar voice yell out in fear. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Suddenly the screen flickered to a boy with a straw hat and a giant whale fighting, they all gasped when the whale jumped up before smashing his gashed head down on the mountain with the boy still on his forehead.

"T-The boy!" Kakashi's eyes widened as my eyes widened also. There can't be a way for that boy to survive, there just can't be way! And what was that boy going to gain from fighting a whale bigger than Konoha?! But I was proved wrong when I saw the boy still fighting the whale, bruised but he was still fighting until he suddenly called out a draw.

"I'm stronger than I looked, but I had a feeling you knew that. I could always tell when someone is itching for a fight, well if you want to battle I'll gladly give you one. You're shipmates use to spar with you, didn't they? You miss it. But I can rival anything they threw at you. Tell you what, after my friends and I travel the Grand Line, we'll come back and find you. And then you better be ready for a rematch!"

They all watched as the whale's eyes got teary before howling, but it was then the water wall fell and splashed as our eyes widened.

"Wait? That's it! We didn't even get to see Sakura!" Naruto said angrily, staring angrily at the calm girl who just smiled.

"You heard her voice, she sounds worried for the boy but she's okay." The girl smiled before turning to us with a mischievous glint we didn't like. "Now, as for your payment..."

After healing Luffy's bruises and closing the wound on Laboon's head, I sat on the rail of the ship before I gave a shiver, looking behind me to see nothing, Nami looked at me.

"Is something the matter Sakura?" "I just had a feeling that... Something bad just happened somewhere."

Shrugging the feeling off, I looked at Laboon and Luffy and I couldn't help but snicker at the paint job Luffy painted on Laboon's head. It was suppose to be the logo of the Straw Hat Pirates, but Luffy didn't draw it well. But it didn't matter, this should keep Laboon from hurting himself again. But I do wonder where Luffy got the giant paintbrush.

It was then I realized about the two bad guys that were trying to kill Laboon. When I looked, they were gone. "Uh, has anyone seen them?" I asked out loud while Nami looked at me before at the ropes on the ground before shrugging.

"They must have escaped while we were distracted by Laboon, I wonder who they were." Nami asked out loud. Soon we all started to do our own thing.

Right now, I was just helping Usopp fixing the ship. Carrying the mast, that somehow was still okay after all that, with one hand, I placed it down ontop of the spot where it should be as Usopp quickly nailed it back in place while Zoro glanced at me. "Exactly how did you get your insane strength?" Zoro asked me as I just smiled.

"I just train, though it took me 2 years under my sensei." I scratched the back of my head and recalled all the merciless training I had to go through before I gave a shudder of slight horror. "Though I still get slight nightmares from the merciless training."

Usopp and Zoro raised a brow, looking at me curiously before they shrugged it off as Usopp gave a slight shiver. "I don't think I want to know what you've gone through on the training."

Suddenly my head snapped up when we heard Nami screaming like something horrible had happened. Worried for my friend, I quickly disappeared with my ninja speed and reappeared before her, though she didn't seem to surprise at that as Sanji came up with plates of food on his hand and on his head with hearts in his eyes. Usopp soon came after hearing the word food.

"Nami, what happen?" I asked, trying to calm her as she looked down at the compass which was swirling out of control.

"The compass is broken, the needle just spins! It just won't stop!" Soon Luffy came over as all three boys peered at it, looking at it with interest. I looked over at Crocus who didn't seem to surprise.

"Crocus?" I asked, "Do you know anything about this?"

"So you all don't have the slightest knowledge of how things work here. Did you all come here to die?" Crocus asked. "There is nothing wrong with your compass, the Grand Line has little regard for the rules of the sea. Common Sense is useless in this place."

"So why does the needle spin?" Nami asked.

"We are surrounded by a powerful magnetic field, the islands here are riddled with magnetic minerals which cause all sorts of abnormalities. Also the winds and currents lacks constancy in their patterns. As a navigator, I'm sure you can appreciate this stillema."

"So if we don't know where we're going, this whole trip is pointless." Nami then put up a fake smile and rubbed the back of her head. Gritting her teeth. "I don't know what to say, we're screwed!"

"If you have any hope of navigating the Grand Line, you're going to need a log pose to guide you."

Nami looked at him curiously. "A log pose? I've never heard of it."

"It's a special design compass that records the level of magnetism." Crocus explained.

Through his chewing, Luffy asked. "Is it strange looking?"

Crocus looked at him with surprise. "Why, yes. It is."

Suddenly Luffy brought out a weird looking watch with a needle in it and showed it to him. "Is it like this?"

"Yes, exactly. Only a fool would attempt to cross the Grand Line without one." Crocus said.

Nami nodded. "I understand, excuse me for a minute." She turned to Luffy. I knew where this was going. "So... Why didn't you tell me you had one of those log things?!" Nami yelled at him, punching him right on the face sending him back.

Quickly sitting up, he explained. "I found it on deck just laying there. Those weirdos must have dropped it when they escape!" "Oh really?" "Why'd you hit me?" "Felt like it." "Oh, okay." I sweatdropped as I watched Nami snatch it from Luffy.

"But there isn't a dial face on this thing." Nami said, taking a closer look at the log pose.

"You don't need one." Crocus explained. "It's a special brand of magnetism that runs through the Grand Line Island, completed with it's own set of rules that makes it impossible to get around. By recording the level of magnetism between two island, you can chart around the island one island to the next. The log post method is your only choice. Since the magnetism sets a huge problem to navigation. As it turns out, reverse mountain is a great staring point. It produces seven levels of magnetism. But it doesn't matter which one you start with, eventually all of them will pull together to make one route. And the island on the end of that route, is Raftel. The last and most mysterious of the Grand Line. It's very existence was confirm by the King of the Pirates, the only known person to travel through the Grand Line entirely. There have been theories that the One Piece lie there, but no one has ever set foot to it since then." Crocus explained.

My eyes widened as I became excited. 'Inner, this is getting exciting by the second.'

It may be getting exciting, but I bet if the Konoha 11 were hear with us! We could do it in our sleep!

"Don't worry." Luffy smirked. "We'll know soon enough."

Suddenly Crocus's eyes widened before he smiled.

Luffy leaned back then gave out a sigh. "Well, I'm satisfied, everybody ready to go?"

I blinked at Luffy before looking down at the food to realize... It was all gone.

'I-I want some of Sanji's cooking.' I sulked. Nami noticed before chuckling as he patted me on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Sakura, Sanji will make more food for us. In the meantime, we should take special care of the log pose. It's our key of traveling through the Grand Line." As soon as she finished with her sentence, Luffy flew back. And not only that, when Luffy flew back right in front of us, the log pose broke.

Nami and my eyes widened with our mouths agap as we stared at the now ruin log pose.

We were now seethed with anger, looking at Sanji and Luffy, we called out to them sweetly.

"Sanji?" "Luffy."

"Yes?" "Huh?"

"Both of you get out of my sight before I wring your neck!" "Shannaro! This is what you get for eating all the food Luffy!"

Nami and I both kicked/punched Luffy out to the ocean as we heard a splash. Turning around and huffing, Usopp and Nami started to fuss over the log pose while I sighed in irritation since I was now hungry.

"Calm yourselves." Crocus calmed us down as we turned to him. "I'll give you my log psoe, as a thank you for helping Laboon."

Well, Laboon fished the two idiots and the two bad guys out of the sea as we now face the two who were kneeling before us. They needed a ride back home called Whiskey Peak.

"How exactly were you stranded, where's your ship?" Nami asked while the blue hair woman answered. "It was... Destroyed."

"Asking us for a ride is pushing it, Mr. 9, especially since you tried to kill the whale." Nami said, leaning towards the orange hair man with the crown.

"What's with the wardrobe? What are you suppose to be?" Usopp asked. "I'm a king!" The man exclaimed.

Nami then pulled on Mr. 9's face with an anger mark on her head. "You're lieing!"

"We can't say!" The blue hair woman exclaimed. "She's right, you have to believe us! Our only motive here is to go home. We would tell you everything we could, it's just that-" "Mystery is our company's motto!" "You see, we have to be mysterious. It's sort of a rule."

While the two kept on talking, I thought to Inner.

'Being mysterious is a rule?'

Well, why not? The Akatsuki are mysterious- no not really.

"Do't do it." Crocus said. "These fools are dishonest right to the core. They can't be trusted."

Nami then lifted up the broken log pose she had on her wrist as she explained nervously, but I could tell she was faking it along with mischief in her eyes. "Listen, our log pose is broken. and we don't have another one, so you still want to ride with us?"

Instantly the two started to fuss as I couldn't help but smirk before looking up at the sky before talking to Inner.

'Hey Inner, what do you think everybody back home is up to now?'

Probably still moping about your death, well unless they found the book. They probably took action right about now.

I grew confuse. 'Book? Action? Inner, what are you talking about now?'

Uhh... Nothing! I think Luffy allowed the two bad guys to join us for a while!

'Huh?'

"Choose your route carefully, once you head out from here. You'll be committed to that course." Crokus warned us. Luffy turned his head towards him and gave him a smirk. "That's okay, if we don't like it. We'll try another route next time!"

Crocus just smiled as Luffy turned to us. "Okay, it's time we get going. Now that Laboon and I have a clear understanding, we can leave with a clear conscience."

"Just who do you think you are anyway?" The blue haired woman asked curiously while Luffy looked at them. "Me? I'm the man who's going to be king of the pirates!"

The two bad guys looked at eachother before chuckling.

...

The sun was setting and I was leaning against the rails and looked out to the facing sun before I gave a yawn.

So we'll be heading to Whiskey Peak first right?

'Yep, and after we drop the two off there, restock, and such. We head on to our next destination, wherever that is.'

Sitting down, I closed my eyes and crossed my arms as the others waved goodbye to Laboon and Crocus. Smiling, the others cheered as I closed my eyes and leaned against the rail again.

Whiskey Peak here we come!