[52] Betrayal?
Chapter 52: Betrayal?
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Her base was located on an island on the New World side of Grandline. It was a large building that suited her rank of a Vice-Admiral, and on the top floor was her office.
There was a large desk, and countless pieces of paperwork littered it along with office equipment. The office had a bookshelf on the left side of the wall, and on the right side was another shelf holding documents. Additionally, the flag of the World Government was on display on the wall behind the chair that she sat upon.
Beside a smoke tray, there was a nameplate resting on the desk that spelled [Tsunade Senju]. Coupled with countless awards and medals on the wall, it was a majestic office indeed.
Currently, at this very moment, the person to whom all this belonged to was sitting on the chair behind the desk. With her feet on top of her desk, the last female Senju looked to be in a mess. Her tie was loose, and her outfit was dirty. She had a cigarette hanging from her lips as she was leaning on her chair with a dazed frown.
“Two years and six months, huh.”
That was how long it had been since she enrolled in the Marines. That was also how long it had been since she reached this high in the rankings. No, she attained this rank of Vice-Admiral a year ago, in record time.
Two years and six months was also how long it took Tsunade Senju to be dubbed as the strongest female marine by many—among which Tsuru, Garp, and Sengoku were some big names.
Yet, she couldn’t care less about any of that.
Because two years and six months was also the time since she had last seen her younger brother, the most precious person in her life. The one for whom she could give her life, any day.
Since the day she enrolled in the Marines, today was the day she missed him the most. Today was also the day when she wanted to beat him the most. It was the day when she chewed on her cigarette and cursed his name.
“That little brat. Why isn’t he going by our plan? He kidnapped Vivi and fled, and got a bounty on his head. And yet he hasn’t called me…? It’s been a week.”
Tsunade missed his voice. That was one thing that kept her calm, as she got to hear him every night. However, it’s been nearly a week since he last called, that bastard. She couldn’t call from her side either, since he didn’t take his old Snail with him.
A large part of her was mad at him for playing like this, but a tiny part of her was worried. Hashirama was strong, sure, but what if he came across some strong pirate and got….
Tsunade didn’t want to think about it.
Taking a sharp puff in, the cigarette disintegrated in a second. She grabbed the butt of the cigarette with her two fingers and pushed it down on the small smoke tray on the desk.
In the last week, she finished a total of 129 cigarettes. She wanted more. With a sigh, Tsunade got up from her seat and walked out of her office to go and fetch some. She could have called for a soldier to bring it to her, or call Marianne—her direct report, a Rear-Admiral—but she decided to move on her own.
When Tsunade returned, with dozens of packets in her pockets, she heard the sound of her Den Den Mushi ringing. Freezing on her spot for a moment, she rushed to her table. Uncaring of the packets that fell from her pockets, she rushed to pick up the call.
‘Please don’t be Titi… Please don’t be any missions…’
She prayed in her head and picked up the call. Queen Nefertari Titi had called countless times and cried her tears dry on the call, so Tsunade was a little confident that it wasn’t Titi. However, missions could happen anytime, so she wasn’t sure about that.
Thankfully,
– “Hey, sis.”
It was the bastard whom she was waiting for.
* * *
Under the clear sky, dotted with fluffy clouds, the Sail of Ohara ship was sailing through the crashing waves.
Under the screeches of seagulls flying overhead, the four members of the crew circled around a Den Den Mushi. The snail rested on the head of Karoo, as the crew stood on the deck.
“It’s ringing.”
Vivi said seeing Hashirama finish dialing Tsunade’s number, and the snail starting to ring.
Pere Pere Pere Pere~!
Hashirama braced for the call to be received. Tsunade must be quite furious seeing his bounty, and he also hadn’t called her for a few days. She’ll be mad.
Just after a few seconds of ringing, the call was picked up abruptly.
“Hey… sis.”
– “Hello? Shira? Ungrateful punk, it’s you, right?”
As if she was waiting for the call, her concerned voice roared from the other side. How long had she been waiting for his call?
Hashirama looked a little guilty as he spoke, “Yep, it’s me. How have you been, my lovely onee-sama?”
– “Ugh, stop sucking up to me. You only remember to call me now? After a week? …Are you safe?”
“Uh, yes. I did meet a pirate crew, but they were weak. But are you okay? Your voice sounds cracked.”
There was a soft growl on the other side of the call as the sound of a fist hitting a table resounded.
– “Why don’t you try and guess? Fucking idiot, where are you now? Tell me your location, I will go and arrest you. Since you don’t yet have any bad things to your name, you won’t be punished. Also, you—what the fuck were you thinking to have kidnapped Vivi? Where is that girl? Do you know how much Titi’s been crying for the last week? She says she will never forgive you.”
“Haha...”
Hashirama looked awkward while the three girls around him gave him looks that said ‘Desurv’. He decided against returning that look since he was aware of his crime.
After hesitating for a moment, Vivi sighed from his side and decided to back him up.
“Hey, Tsunade. It’s me, Vivi. Are you all right? I am safe, don’t worry. We are… well, Hashirama grabbed me and fled to the sea, just as you heard. I didn’t give him consent, by the way. Anyhow, it seems we are… pirates now.”
There was a loud sigh from the other side, as Tsunade’s head seemed to hit the table she was sitting behind.
– “Vivi, Shira. This is not funny. The Grandline is a dangerous place, it’s not a playground. There are thousands of people as strong as Crocodile in this sea—you kids don’t stand a chance.”
The crew exchanged glances at Tsunade’s genuine concern. It was Robin who looked most guilty all of a sudden—recalling the day when she saw Hashirama and Tsunade say goodbye in the port of Nanohana. She nearly killed Hashirama after that, directly or otherwise. Now, it was kind of her fault too that he started sailing. If Mikita hadn’t gotten captured because of her blunder, Hashirama wouldn’t have gotten entangled in this mess.
Because of her mistake, this gentle sister was so worried about her brother.
Seeing this as an opportunity, Hashirama spoke. “That’s why I called you, sis. The sea is dangerous, that’s why I need you to sail with me. Don’t you think it’s been enough time you spent there? It’s about time you leave up to the promise you made.”
As a Vice-Admiral, Tsunade had enough authority that her Den Den Mushi wasn’t tracked. Therefore, it was safe to talk about these things.
Hashirama said, “When I said I met a pirate crew, I was talking about this ally-subordinate of the Donqixoute Family. I think this is a perfect time, I was thinking of going on a full-scale against them. And I need you with me to safely pull that off.”
– “…”
Hashirama tilted his head at the silence that answered him. With a soft frown, he asked.
“Sis? Are you there?”
The next time Tsunade spoke, she sounded a little flustered.
– “Erm… Uh, Shira, about that… How about we do it the other way around? You join the marines, and we work to take down Doflamingo. It’s safer that way too, as we will have well-trained soldiers under us. We don’t really have to live up to following the same line our grandparents did, do we? We can do the same thing as Marines, too, right?”
Hashirama’s smile froze. Gradually, as the realization sunk within him, his expression turned to incredulous upon hearing her.
“What the fuck?”
Was she saying they should forget about the promise they made? Was she suggesting that they be slaves serving those pigs who ran the World Government?
A sense of betrayal bloomed from within Hashirama’s heart. The feeling was a little painful.
With his eyelids twitching, he opened his mouth to say something. However, he couldn’t say anything. At last, when Tsunade’s fidgeting and nervous breath was clear even through the call, he sighed.
“You know, this is why I told you to set sail right back then. But you said no, joining the Marines will allow you to learn secret techniques and info. Sure, that was the truth, you did learn a lot, and you grew a lot—but does all that matter if you don’t live up to the promise? You were supposed to leave the marines and set sail with me… But now you’re saying this? Fine, if you want to play the game this way, sure, I will too.”
– “Hey, Shira… Listen to sis? Let me explain, just-”
Tsunade’s words were cut off by Hashirama’s words, which sounded as if he was planning his next course of action.
“Let’s see, if I go attack Doffy, I will either die or win. Even if I win, I guess Kaido will come for my head. Then I am sure I will be dead meat, only because a certain someone isn’t here with me.”
“I guess that works, to go and pick a fight with an Emperor. Ah, should I go after the Whitebeard Pirates instead? Hmm, maybe the Revolutionary Army too? Whoever I go after, one thing is sure, right? I will die. Then, I wonder how a ‘certain someone’ will like seeing my dead body delivered to her oh-so-great office.”
– “HEY, DON’T SAY THAT!”
An insane yell shook the ship. The sound of books, medals, and awards falling to the ground due to the shockwave sounded out from the other side of the call. However, Hashirama maintained a rough expression.
“Anyhow, Miss Vice-Admiral. I have to go and do pirate stuff. Talk to you never.”
– “Hey- Wait- Listen-”
That was it before Hashirama cut the call. Right away, a call returned from the same number, but Hashirama just scoffed at it.
“Block the incoming number.”
Hashirama instructed the snail, and it did as asked. The call died out and a long silence fell on the deck.
“…That was a bit too far.”
Robin said while looking at him, and the others nodded in agreement. Hashirasma just sighed and shook his head at that.
“I love her the most in this world. Nobody has sacrificed for me as much as she has. However, that’s more the reason why I would want her to be with me. She will now start hunting me, going everywhere to look for me. And when she will finally find me, I am hoping to hear a different answer.”
Hashirama walked away, looking not to be in a good mood. He spoke as he walked away.
“Brace yourself. I can see the Calm-Belt.”
The Calm Belts are two straight lines of a calm ocean that border the north and south of the Grand Line. There are no waves here, however, it’s an area filled with countless Sea-Kings who can gulp a ship whole.
“We are going to enter the Calm Belt since Cricket said the Emerald City is in either of the belts. But a little change of plans. We are going to safely cross the belt first, before properly starting this search. Crossing it, we are gonna enter the East Blue and grab someone from there. It’d be hard to continue this journey otherwise.”
The crewmates silently watched his back as he walked away from them. He needed some alone time, and they understood it without any problems.
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Master4thWall Note: ? Sibling fights.
Ahem, here’s a booba-loli depressed Tsunade smoking two at once.
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