[155] Do Something, Stop It!
Chapter 155: Do Something, Stop It!
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"Man, flying is boring as fuck," Clone-rama grumbled with a loud sigh.
Although it was fun in the beginning, since this was the first time he took such a long flight, playing with the birds in the high sky and even seeing a few Sky Islands in the distance, it got boring real soon. Boring, and tedious. 20 hours of continuous anything would be tedious.
The good thing was that the Alabasta capital city, Alubarna was right beneath him.
He could see the grand castle of the Alabasta Royal Family down there; it hadn't changed since he last saw it a couple of months ago. However, it has changed a lot since he first came to this kingdom as a kid. Alabasta is a powerhouse of a country now, with a booming economy unmatched by any other kingdom in the entire world.
It was actually advanced enough to stop attacks from the air, too. His Observation Haki had warned him of a few dozen missiles pointed at him right at this moment, they could fire at a moment's notice. It didn't, of course, since his identity was known and trusted by the royals of this country.
Automation missiles weren't the only air defense Alabasta had, as proved by the man-sized falcon who was flying toward him, wearing white robes.
Pell, one of the two head guards of Alabasta, came to a stop in front of Hashirama in his falcon Zoan hybrid form. "It has been a while, Hashirama. I hope your arrival was uninterrupted," he said, any tone of disapproval that a royal guard should have toward the kidnapper of their princess nonexistent.
The country owed him too much to be truly mad at him for playfully running off with his lover in search of adventure.
"Truly, been a while, Pell," Hashirama said and punched him in the face, something the guard dodged with trained reflexes. "Don't greet a terrorist so respectfully. Fight a little."
"Oh, come on," Pell let out a sigh. As one of the traumatized guards who were trained by Hashirama, he knew he was about to receive a beating for no reason.
After the little aerial skirmish where Hashirama noted that Pell had improved, he hadn't been slacking off, so he allowed Pell to take him to the royal castle.
* * *
Nefertari Titi knew that Hashirama must have so many people he'd want to meet, he's been away from Alabasta for months, after all. That's why she notified Pell beforehand to pick him up from the air so that he doesn't get distracted.
She was sitting inside a gazebo located in the royal garden, sipping tea beside her dear husband, as they waited for Hashirama to come. By the time he did come, the night was already descending. The sky was painted orange, when Pell came with Hashirama by his side, the two of them landed outside the tea house and kneeled.
"Your Royal Highnesses, I have brought him," Pell said with his head lowered.
"Hey Aunty," Hashirama greeted lightly, "and Uncle."
The King of Alabasta was clearly happy seeing him, smiling a little but quickly cleared his throat to wear a mask of cold anger. "It's 'your royal highness' for you, brat."
"Yeah sure thing, uncle," Hashirama stood up, walking into the gazebo and picking up the third, conveniently kept tea cup on the table. It was also conveniently an iced lemon tea as if they knew any hot tea would be cold by the time he'd be here. There was even an empty chair, for which he wondered. Indeed, both the chair and the cup were meant for him.
King Cobra exchanged glances with his wife, shaking his head with laughter. Titi was frowning, slightly mad that he was showing zero respect to them after causing the scenes that he's been causing recently. Right in front of Pell too, no less.
She looked at Pell and said, "You may leave." and the royal guard flew away as if he couldn't have fled any faster.
She stood up and pulled him by the ear, "Aw! I'm drinking, what the hell?!"
He nearly spilled the tea, but she didn't stop pulling his ear. "Be more respectful to your King and Queen, will you, brat?"
"What a rude old lady," he solidified his ear by turning it into wood, and said. She blinked, feeling his solid ear, and frowned. "What? I wasn't gonna just take it."
"What a disobedient little brat," she said and released his ear, taking back her seat. She was unwilling to wound her image by going further. Her behavior was cute, but that dress... it made her appear a bit too hot for her age.
[Image Here]
Hashirama sipped his tea in a short, awkward silence. The King broke the silence in the end, "I have a lot to say, but my dear wife told me that you're busy searching for your main body as well as crew, so I'll keep it short. Whatever you're doing, be safe. Keep Vivi safe too, you have that responsibility in the absence of her father, but I'm sure you'd do that without me telling you to."
Hashirama was a little taken aback by the sudden girlfriend's-father talk, but the King didn't stop. He stood up and put a hand on Hashirama's shoulders, smiling. "But in the process, don't forget to take care of yourself. While I love Vivi for being my daughter, I care greatly for you too, you're like a son to me for all you've done for the kingdom."
"Come on, you'll make him uncomfortable," Titi cleared her throat, her cheeks slightly rosy from secondhand embarrassment.
"Too late," King Cobra laughed and slapped him in the back a few times. "Anyway, you guys shouldn't waste time. I wish I could go too, but Kingly powers come with Kingly responsibilities."
Although he said that, Hashirama wasn't able to leave within the next hour. The flow of time was unnoticeable as he chatted with the King and the Queen until the moon rose in the high sky and the world darkened.
* * *
"I guess it's time we leave," Hashirama said as he stood up from the chair and walked out of the gazebo. The King and the Queen followed.
"Indeed," the Queen agreed, while Hashirama's wings made out of green leaves unfurled behind him. "How am I to be carried?"
Hashirama raised his hands, and she raised an eyebrow. The King gave him a dry stare and he laughed sheepishly, "Joking, joking." He clasped his hands and circulated chakra within him, to enlarge his wooden frame. From a 6-foot tall young man, he became about 15-feet.
That's as big as an average car back in his previous world, so she should be able to ride on his back just fine. He also made some 'seatbelts' made out of vines for her to wear.
"Get on top," he said and kneeled on one knee, allowing her an easier way up.
She looked at her husband one last time before walking over to him and stepping on his knee for elevation. She hopped on top of his back and held onto his neck.
"Well then," Hashirama looked at Cobra. "I'll take care of Aunty, rest assured. And hopefully, we'll be back soon."
"Indeed, as long as you find your main body soon," King Cobra nodded.
Hashirama's wings furled widely, and let out a strong flap. His figure shot up with Titi on his back, as they shot into the sky.
"W-whoa," Titi held on tight, having put on the seatbelts, and taking a strong seat now that Hashirama was laid horizontally.
The night view of Alabasta from the sky was dazzling and beautiful, Titi couldn't hold back a gasp at this unknown beauty of her country. "Incredible..."
"You have yet to see the world, Aunty," he chuckled at her reaction and said. "I'll make sure to give you lots of unforgettable memories on this trip."
"Stop making it sound weird," she gently knocked him on the back of his head.
Hashirama laughed and made a circle above the city just for her, and after that, he took a straight way out of the country.
It took them an hour to leave the country's border. Not five minutes after they had, the sky behind them lit up.
"Huh? What's that?" Titi asked, turning to look back, as did he. Both of them paused.
His flight paused as he turned around, his eyes going wide while Titi gasped.
Their perception of time slowed down... when they saw a massive circular disk cast its shadow over the kingdom.
It was hidden behind clouds that weren't in the sky a moment ago, ominous orange light shone from under it. A light blinked as if it was threatening to erupt, and that was exactly what went.
Eighteen orbs of orange light blinked and fired into beams of plasma down to the same time center of the kingdom.
They touched the ground, and the earth exploded in return.
Horrific screams of people were deafened by the sounds of explosions. Alabasta and its people erupted into the fire as death beams fell from heaven. The capital was left asunder in mere seconds, and the beams moved across the country in no time.
"No..." Titi whispered. "NOOOO!" and then she yelled like a hopeless mother who just saw her family get slaughtered.
Hashirama stared with his mouth agape, his trees, his hard-made forests that he could have used to save the country from multiple buster calls by commanding them, they all perished. They were erased like an artwork simply erased by rubber.
His thick and strong trees evaporated in front of the power of the sun. In front of the cursed plasma beams that decomposed Alabasta in real-time.
"NO! NO! HASHIRAMA GO BACK! DO SOMETHING, STOP IT!" she pulled him by the hair, slapping at his head to do something. But since when was he God?
This was fucking insane.
Hashirama felt like a helpless ant in the face of a human's feet as he saw his home and colony being trampled over. His jaws clenched hard enough to taste copper.
His eyes glinted with heavy killing intent, yet the only thing he could do was turn around and flee, to at least keep the Queen safe. It wouldn't be unlikely if such an air-type war machine could sense his presence in the air and shoot those accursed beams at him. He didn't want to take the risk of being found when he had the Queen to protect.
He had promised the King that he'd keep her safe. Even if the King was gone, he'd live by that. And...
He will get revenge for what he had to see today. Alabasta was his home.
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