Chapter 140: Power Dynamic
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The wind gently blew across the country, as a scream spiraled out of the large and lavish mansion that stood under the hill that once held the castle of Dressrosa atop it.
Despite not being the royal castle, this was a place where royal guests from other countries could spend a night. That's why it was built very lavishly, with a stately design and pristine white walls, the mansion was a beautiful and sophisticated structure. That was naturally why the returned royal family of Dressrosa, King Riku and his family, was staying here.
So when a death-threatening angry scream screeched out of the area, all the guards and even the civilians ran to make sure their rulers weren't in trouble.
The mansion had a spacious lawn and a well-appointed garden surrounding it, with manicured hedges and ornate statues. The people ran through the stone path, with all kinds of weapons at hand, and planned for the demise of the dirty attacker.
"W-wait!" A guard yelled, pointing at a room on the second floor of the mansion. The windows were open, and from what the guards knew, that was Princess Rebecca's room. "The yell came from there! Did some bastard try anything weird to the princess?!"
The civilians howled in anger, but their yells along with the movements of their feet slowed down when they saw a chest-naked man step up on the border of the window. From the looks of it, he had barely put on his pants and was looking back inside the room with a maniacal grin.
"H-hashirama, stop provoking them! Just go already, we'll handle them!" The voice of Princess Voila came breaking the wind, and by then the guards and civilians had stopped under the window, looking up with unsure expressions.
"Hah! T-that bastard! Rebecca, move, I'll sever his head!"
"Father, calm down! He had our consent!" It was the voice of Princess Rebecca who was trying to hold back Kyros.
"Die!" Yelled King Riku's voice; it was the same angry voice that had yelled earlier. "I respect you as our hero, but you must die!"
"Too bad old man, the future is now," the assailant, Hashirama Senju, leaped out of the window just in time to avoid a sword slash. His wings flared from his back and he floated in the air, giving the room one last look. "Grow out of your old traditions, who says I can't have both aunt and niece?"
Kyros shouted in rage and threw his sword and Hashirama, but he dodged it as it fell towards the civilians. The civilians quickly jumped back to avoid the sword that dug into the sword.
"Calm down, father-in-law. Or wait, is it uncle-in-law? How problematic." With a peak of laughter, Hashirama said just as Viola grumbled.
"You little shit, stop messing with them! I can't convince them if you act like this!" She yelled.
King Riku and Kyros' necks snapped to look at her.
"Convince us of what?! We won't allow it!"
"We won't!"
Hashirama shrugged and his wings moved. Before taking off, he added, "Fine, fine. I'll go roam around a little. Enjoy your day, my lovely ladies."
"Bye, Hashirama~"
"Stop waving at him!"
Rebecca rushed to the window to wave her hand at his flying back, while her father did a down chop on her head.
The guards and civilians below stayed in their spots, silent, until an angry Kyros growled at them to keep everything that they saw here a secret. The scared citizens didn't have the courage to disagree.
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Unlike the cheerful mood of Hashirama, his sister was feeling a bit bitter. She was far from this mansion, drinking tea on top of the Flower Hill. There was a round table placed outside the wooden hut, near the flowers, and she drank tea while a person stood in front of her.
"Is that what you really want, Marianne?" She asked seriously. "Leaving the marine isn't a good choice for you. My case is different; I am guilty of having come here at all. I should have left right away, it's the worst mistake of my life. I had to beat my brother to a state between life and death to realize I was in the wrong. But it's not the same for you."
"I have made my decision, Vice Admiral- no, Tsunade." Marianne, the Uzumaki girl with red hair and the Nine-Tailed Fox said. "If you're not there, I don't belong there either."
"Oh well," Tsunade leaned back in her chair and took a sip of her tea. "How long till the marines leave?"
"In half an hour," she replied.
"I see. If you really have made up your mind, then I suppose there is nothing I can do. If that's the case, stop standing in that formal position, take a seat, and drink tea." She said, nudging her chin at the teacup in front of her.
"I can't," Marianne replied, still standing in a formal pose. "You're still my superior even if we're not in the Marines anymore."
"Your chakra is almost as large as mine now, girl," Tsunade chuckled. "You also know the Fuinjutsu arts I never got to learn. What am I superior to you at? Shut up and sit down."
Marianne hesitated, embarrassed a little, as she sighed and took the seat. She poured tea from a ceramic kettle into a ceramic cup and reached out a hand to pick it up.
However, someone else picked up the cup before her. It was a manly hand, veiny and muscular, and Marianne turned back with a slight frown when she realized who it was.
"Nice tea, innit?" Hashirama, who just landed from the air, said. "Who made it?"
"Your cook," Tsunade smiled and replied. "She brews tea pretty well."
"Oh, right, I should have recognized it." Hashirama shrugged. "She usually makes me coffee, so~ yeah. What's up, sis?"
"Give her back the cup, don't be rude. Drink from your own cup." Tsunade was smiling still as she said, taking a sip from the cup.
"Too bad, no other cup's here. Oh wait- there is!" Hashirama gasped as a cup rose from the wooden table; a wooden cup. He put the ceramic cup before the girl again. "Here, Marianne, you can use the cup I just drank from. I'll take the new one."
"No thanks," she said quickly and grabbed the new cup, before pouring herself a drink.
Hashirama chuckled and took the ceramic cup again. He tapped his feet and a wooden chair rose from the ground, which he took for his seat. "So how've you been, Mari? Can I call you Mari? Did the fruit drive you insane again?"
"Just Marianne is fine, please. And no, the fruit didn't act up again." She looked annoyed because he was trying to be annoying, but she didn't give him any of the hateful glares like before.
"That's great, Mari." He smiled. "I'd have had to beat you up again if that happened."
"...." she looked away when he said that, recalling the sheer power he displayed with a single massive Rasengan that matched her Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Nice seeing you to get along," Tsunade said from the side, reaching out a hair and ruffling his head. "Did the plan go well?"
"Who do you think you're talking to? Of course, naturally." Hashirama gave her a proud look as she scoffed.
"Then when do you plan to leave? We should be quick about it because the Marines will report my case and an Admiral, or even the Fleet Admiral, or maybe even Garp himself, will come here. If not for me, then for the death of Doflamingo they will." Tsunade explained her hypothesis.
"That's true," Hashirama hummed. "Yeah. I'll see how quickly I can leave. And oh right, Marianne, you just left the Marines right? Will you join the crew?"
"Uh..."
Marianne blinked and looked at Tsunade. She has been hoping to ask that but was too shy. She wanted to be where Tsunade was, but Tsunade wasn't the captain, it was Hashirama. She thought she hadn't left a very good impression on him, so there was a low chance he'd accept her even if she were to beg. So she was a little surprised by his proposal.
'Is he just too nice-?' Marianne thought, but it was interrupted.
"I'm not being too nice, I just don't want you to waste the fruit you stole." His visage changed all of a sudden as he gently grabbed her by the chin and made her look deep into his eyes. His face was dark and his eyes bright. "You can try to fight it and disagree... but you belong to me now, because you ate what belonged to me. Whenever I go, you'll go. Whatever I tell you to do, you'll do. If you feel wronged, you can always talk it out with me. My bedroom is always open for a haughty little bitch like you."
Marianne opened her mouth to retort, but his eyes were too sharp. Her gaze shifted at Tsunade, her eyes begging for help, to back her up, but Tsunade just sipped her tea and looked away. Shit.
"I'm glad you understand," he gently ran his thumb against her lower lip before letting her go. Immediately his cheerful smile returned and he began to chat with his sister.
Marianne sat in silence, her hands trembling and clutching on the fabric of her pants. She looked down, her eyes shaking as she bit her lips.
Was that why women were drawn to him?
Never before had she felt her heart race like this for a man.
....
Soon, the Marines left Dressrosa. Not all pirates were captured, because many had helped the marines this time. However, many big-name pirates were cuffed with sea stones and taken away.
Smoothie, the Second Commander of the Big Mom Pirates, along with the other members of her crew. One of the Flying Six of the Beast Pirates, Ulti, along with the others of her crew. Then there were the members of the Doflamingo Pirates, and lastly, the others who gave in to greed when Doflamingo announced the bounty and attacked the marines.
The marines left, and they had naturally called and informed the headquarters about everything. In the original timeline, Tsuru had come to receive Doflamingo's arrest. This time around, there were equally or arguably bigger fishes, along with the case of Tsunade. So time was short on the Senju Pirates' hands until someone truly strong might come for them.
For better or worse, Hashirama must finish everything quickly and leave.
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