[86] Final Words and Farewells
Chapter 86: Final Words and Farewells
—
The Boin Archipelago was wrecked. Half of it had crashed into itself, and now it looked as if a strong earthquake had hit it. Luckily, there were not many casualties – and the ones that did die were bandits.
The other inhabitants of the island were saved by the 31 Clone-ramas and positioned into twelve large ships right in time. If there was even a little delay, a lot of people would have died.
As for the cause of both the problem and solution, Hashirama and his newest batch of clones landed on the Sail of Ohara. The clones were carrying the girls, along with Karoo, and they dropped them on their feet on the deck. The clone who was left in the ship, along with the new ones walked into the Main’s body, merging into himself.
“I could tell you were strong,”
Beidou was the one to speak first, looking into his eyes.
“But that was a lot more impressive than what I expected. Even my grandpa can’t use the Blackcliff Slasher like that. How did you do that?”
Hashirama thought over his response for a bit, before saying, “Love at first sight, I suppose. The sword wanted me and although I didn’t really want it, I had to give in due to the situation at hand. Did you notice the red crust of crystal formed on its body when I released my first burst? I noticed it has more uses than a normal sword right then.”
To make a point clear, that red storm of power wasn’t exactly what one could call Advanced Conqueror's Haki. That tornado of the red storm was flying slashes; it was mere wind blades.
As it was demonstrated by almost all of the important swordsmen of this world, wind slashes were pretty common. They became a little dangerous when one used Haki to coat the wind slashes, giving them Armament properties.
Earlier, that red storm that destroyed the petals was just that. It was a large formation of wind blades that were coated with Haki. Though it wasn't Armament Haki, but rather Conqueror's Haki.
The Blackcliff Slasher was a weapon similar to Kozuki Oden’s Enma. They ate on the user’s Haki, except for this long sword, which had a finer appetite and only consumed Conqueror's Haki, and then crystallized around the blade. So when he created wind slashes using that blade, the slashes naturally had the property of Conqueror's Haki.
In short, the red tornado wasn’t pure Conqueror’s Haki like Divine Departure or Galaxy Impact, it was air blades. If it wasn’t, Hashirama was pretty sure that… the island would have ceased to exist.
“By the way, as said before, I am keeping the blade. It’s useful for emergencies.”
Hashirama suddenly added, looking at Beidou who frowned.
“That is my Clan’s Heirloom. Don’t you think it’s a bit too much to ask?”
“Well, I mean, I can be your Clan’s Heir.”
Hashirama stepped closer to Beidou, too close, as he smiled down at her, his nose touching hers.
“What do you think?”
“Shira-ra-ra?”
“Oh, right.”
Hashirama quickly stepped back after hearing a cold call from Vivi. Deciding not to look at the princess, he cleared his throat.
"If you don’t agree with it, despite me being such a kind person who saved your life, I guess we'll just do it the pirate way. Defeat me and you can get your sword back.”
“How are you this thick-skinned?” Beidou gave him a dry stare and sighed. “Give me a bit of time, I need to think about this.”
Hashirama shrugged his lips, and turned around, walking towards the sea.
“Sure. You can wait here; I'll go scan the island one last time before leaving."
As the girls, still awed, could barely nod, Hashirama Senju’s emerald wings moved and he propelled himself toward the wrecked island.
* * *
Hashirama flew to the center of the archipelago, very close to its mouth. The devastated forest lay shattered as if it was hit by a meteorite's wrath.
Splintered trees, deep craters, and cracked landscapes painted a desolate scenery. Overwhelming silence replaced birdsong, and eerie shadows cast despair. Amidst the destruction, resilient plants and insects persevered, symbols of hope and nature's persistence. The forest, now forever changed, stood as a haunting testament as it was missing the life it had until not long ago.
Everything was wrecked. If Hashirama had to use an analogy, it would be like a guy hitting his own head with a hammer, and then falling unconscious. Currently, the life he had felt on the island before was very faint. It had hurt itself.
It had been a few minutes since the battle. Hashirama slowly approached the center and then stood there for a while. He wanted to see if vine-tentacles would come out of it to hurt him or not. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Hashirama crouched down and placed his hands on the floor beneath him. It wasn’t muddy, layered with earth anymore. The layer had been moved from the quake, and now the green crust of the plant island’s outer shell was available to the touch.
“Well, well. Let’s hope the headache doesn’t last too long.”
Hashirama’s chakra flow slowed down. For a moment, he seemed to become silent like the nature around him. Then… a wave of authority slipped out of him, in the form of thick chakra, and invaded the massive plant under his foot.
Usually, there was no resistance when he scanned plants. However, as this was a sort of plant that had developed enough will to attack its threats, it clashed against Hashirama’s tries.
Still,
A plant against a gardener.
It was easy to guess who won the battle of willpower.
* * *
Beidou was sitting on a chair, brought by Mikita earlier, as she waited for that weird man to return from his island exploration. She had been thinking about the proposal thoroughly, playing out potential scenarios in her head.
‘All right. There was no point in denying it. He is stronger than me. Dammit.’
With that point established and finally accepted in her head, Beidou sighed. That happened to be when Hashirama’s flying form entered her field of vision. He wore a weird sort of pleased expression, as he came near the ship and landed on the deck.
“I am done, everyone. Mikita go to the kitchen and brew me tea, my head hurts.” He said and walked towards Beidou, who stood up to face him.
“Have you decided by now?”
“I have.”
Beidou nodded. Mikita walked out of the kitchen and handed a cup of tea over to Hashirama; she was already expecting him to demand tea, and that seemed to please Hashirama quite a bit.
He turned back to face Beidou, as she took a deep breath and explained.
“Fine, you can have it. It’s a pity since that sword reacted well with my Hasshoken too; I was quite dependent on it, to tell the truth. However, I realize my mistake in the presence of a bully. I still have a demand, though. In return for me giving the weapon away without putting up a fight, I wish to be… friends.”
“Oh.”
Beidou’s words made the area silent for a moment. The girls who were doing their stuff around them paused and looked at the interaction.
Beidou could understand that they must be confused that she was letting it go so easily, but as he had said, she could only get it back after fighting him. Beidou was confident in her abilities, she could use Haki too, but she could tell that she wasn’t anywhere near to posing a challenge to him.
This man was a beast who was playing picnic. There was no need to tick him off.
So, it was better to keep a cool mind and make the best out of this situation. Beidou wouldn’t call herself a veteran pirate, but she could read in-between the lines more than the average joe.
That level of power this young man had would throw him into the high leagues soon. When that would happen, if she kept a good relationship with him and his crew, it would ultimately bring good for her and her crew.
Hashirama stared at her eyes, as Beidou matched his gaze. Her raven eyes reflected his dark green ones until she got bored of the silence and spoke.
“So… What do you say?”
“I say you’re a smart woman.”
Hashirama took a sip from his tea and said sharply. He reached out a fist, raised in the air.
Beidou stared at it for a moment and then bumped her fist against it.
“Despite your antics, I would admit you’re pretty smart too. Just try to act your age sometimes, yeah?”
“Interesting suggestion, I will think about it tonight.”
Nami giggled from the side, and that spread like a virus before the entire group started giggling. Including Beidou, who still felt a little bitter over losing her sword, but ultimately – she was alive thanks to him, and this situation was pretty nice.
“As friends, don’t be shy to ask for help.”
To Beidou’s surprise, it was Hashirama who suggested the idea.
“The sea is pretty rough and dangerous. I would hate to see a friend die. I will also use the weapon well, rest assured.”
Hashirama picked the sword from where it was kept on the deck and looked at it glinting under the sunlight.
“Thank you for making it easy.”
After that, Hashirama and friends visited the previously stranded crowd in their ships. Hashirama asserted the people who could sail a ship, and made sure to give a fair warning to everyone to not attack anyone else – he suggested they live like good men, despite their pasts. Unless they were willing to rethink his choice of letting them free, and then face him to fix his mistake.
A while later,
The Sail of Ohara finally started moving again.
**
**
**
Do you want to read the next 20 chapters right away? Visit my .
Link: .com/Master4thWall