Cherry used her heightened senses to inspect the box. She looked at, listened to, and smelled it for any signs of a trap. One couldn't be too careful after all.
Satisfied that nothing seemed wrong about the box, she used her sword to cut the seal and lifted the lid slowly with the blade's tip.
Peering inside the box, there was a letter with a log pose sitting on top of it.
Cherry opened the letter and read:
[ Miss Halloween,
Welcome to Baroque works. As a test of your capabilities, your first mission should be rather simple. Enclosed is an eternal log pose for Cactus Island. Use it to reach the town of Whiskey Peak and meet with Mr. 8, who is in charge there. He will give you on the details of your mission. You have three months, do not disappoint. Burn this letter once you have finished reading it.
Signed, Mr. 0 ]
There was also a bunch of other junk about not revealing your identity, blah blah blah, don't reveal the organization or your missions, blah blah blah.
There was also a bit about only taking orders directly from Mr. 0 and never from Miss All Sunday for some reason. So she thought there might be some inner conflict she could stir the pot with possibly.
Cherry considered whether or not to actually burn the letter, but elected to do so as keeping it brought only risks with no real benefits.
She picked up the log pose and saw the inscription around its base that read 'Cactus Island'.
'Three months, huh? Simultaneously longer than I'd expect and far too short. I need to obtain a proper log pose as well, shouldn't be too difficult. That way I can just run away if I want.' She thought.
Cherry set the letter aflame and placed the eternal log pose back into the box. She returned to the dojo where she would stay for another week or so before setting out into the world once more.
...
After telling Grandma Angela that she would need to set sail again in a week and that she was going to the Grand Line, the older woman attacked her on the spot.
She kept screaming that she never agreed to let Cherry go to the Grand Line and that if she wanted to go, she would would need to defeat her first.
Cherry thought the fight wouldn't be that difficult, but she was wrong. Her technique, power, and speed were better than Grandma Angela's now, but somehow the older woman always got the upper hand.
Cherry ultimately had much greater stamina, though. Grandma Angela was wore down and couldn't keep up any longer and conceded.
"If you're going to that hellish sea, you need to know something Cherry." Grandma Angela spoke between deep breaths. "There are people there that have powers you've never known before. If you want to stand tall in that sea, you need to learn Haki as soon as possible."
"Haki?" Cherry asked. Grandma Angela nodded. "Haki. I predicted all your moves in our bout just now with 'Observational Haki' and there is another type as well. I've only awakened Observational Haki at a basic level and that was enough to run circles around you. Do you understand?"
Cherry nodded her head solemnly, this certainly explained a few things. Like how Shanks had found her in the bushes all those years ago, for instance.
"I'd teach you myself, but there isn't enough time. What am I going to do with you..." Grandma Angela sighed in exasperation.
"It'll be fine, Grandma. It's not something just any loser has, right? If I go all out, I'll be okay. I promise I'll find a teacher like you told me to." Cherry said, hugging Grandma Angela to console her.
"Alright, fine. Don't you dare go getting yourself killed or I swear I'll embark on a quest for revenge, first for you then your Grandfather and Mother." Grandma Angela relented.
The time came for Cherry to leave once more. She said her goodbyes, however painful they may be, and set sail.
...
Cherry acquired her log pose in Kano Kingdom and made her way towards Reverse Mountain.
Before reaching it there would be patrolling marine ships, so she timed her voyage to make the last stretch as night.
Most would think it madness to try to navigate the entrance of Reverse Mountain in the pitch black of night, but Cherry could see well enough due to her cultivation.
She didn't account for a sea king to try to eat her ship in the process, but she didn't shun the extra food for her journey either.
She perfectly threaded the needle of the arches of Reverse Mountain. The ride upwards was a long one, she was impressed at the size of the mountain without any support from natural celestial energies.
It was also a surprise when upon reaching the top, the Cabernet was sent flying and then landed perfectly fine onto the downward slope. At this point Cherry thought it might be best to just stop expecting anything to be normal in this world.
When Cherry reached the bottom of Reverse Mountain, she immediately locked eyes with an Island Whale that had gruesome scars on the front of its head. She wondered what sort of life such a tragic creature could have led, to wind up so far from home and become so marred.
She had business to take care of, however. No time for sad whales with tragic pasts.
Cherry pressed onwards, following the eternal log pose for Cactus Island.
Fortunately it took less than a day to reach the Island. A large group of people came out to see her pull into port.
Cherry was wearing a mask at this point. A mask depicting a jack-o-lantern which she thought was appropriate given her code name.
A man stepped forward from the crowd. He was dressed in a suit, had large rolls of blond hair resting on his shoulders, and was holding a saxophone.
"*cough* Ma~ ma~ ma~! Hello, welcome to Whiskey Peak. I'm the mayor here, you can call me Igarappoi. May I ask if you're a pirate?" He introduced himself.
Cherry scanned the crowd that were smiling at her. 'Wow, these people are armed to the teeth and they've hidden their weapons well. They seem pretty practiced at this, I suppose they play nice to get the drop on pirates? Not a bad way to raise funds for a secret criminal organization.'
"I'm not a pirate." Cherry said, changing her voice by vibrating vital energy in her throat.
"I am Miss Halloween. I am here to meet someone." She said emotionlessly.
Disappointment and confusion passed over the crowd.
"Oh, I see. I'm Mr. 8, you should be here to meet with me. Let's go somewhere more private." Igarappoi / Mr. 8 said, seeming slightly nervous now.
Cherry followed the man through and away from the crowd whom were returning to their day to day activities.
They reached a two story building and went inside.
Cherry noticed that someone else was following in secret, but did not mention anything.
"*cough* Ma~ ma~ ma~! Would you like some tea, Miss Halloween?" Mr. 8 offered.
"No." Cherry replied curtly.
"I-I see, straight to business then." Mr. 8 said. He left the room and came back with a letter sealed with wax. "I'm supposed to give this to you to read."
Cherry took the letter without a word and popped open the seal. She read the letter quickly, then used a nearby candle to burn it immediately.
Mr. 8 looked at Cherry as if he expected something.
"It seems that you are curious about the contents of the letter?" Cherry asked.
"N-no, not at all..." Mr. 8 denied.
"It's only natural to be curious, but I won't tell you. Top secret, you understand." Cherry said, smiling under her mask.
Confusion flashed across Mr. 8's face, but he quickly suppressed it. Not fast enough for Cherry to miss it, however.
"What's wrong, Mr. 8? I suppose I could tell you, but you already know that my mission is to rout out a spy and that I was meant to cooperate with you in that matter. Because you read the letter and resealed it, didn't you? Because YOU are the spy, aren't you?" Cherry watched as every word made the man more and more tense.
"And perhaps it isn't just you. Perhaps it is also the young blue haired woman eavesdropping on our conversation at this very moment." Cherry dropped a bombshell.