Chapter 162: The Fishman Royal Family

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Although Clone-rama promised the queen that he'd keep her safe, the smarter choice still was to keep her in the Fishman Royal Castle.

The problem was how they'd get inside the palace. In the anime, Hashirama recalled, King Neptune had come down to this town to take the Strawhats into the palace. That was a rare occasion. Normally it's nigh impossible for a human to get into the palace.

If Hashirama contacted some officials of the Royal Family and told them about Titi, it wouldn’t be hard to get in, but revealing Titi's living status to just anyone was not a good idea. Hashirama's own name wasn't small, he was worth 1.1 Billion berries, but he couldn't use his name to get inside the royal palace of a country. He was a pirate, not a celebrity. 

On top of that, if some world government spy learned about his presence here, the God's Knight would come down here to hunt for him. The Senju Pirates vanished in thin air after they confronted the God's Knight, and so naturally they were currently under search. It would be bad if reports said that Hashirama was seen in Fishman Island; if the Main lost with the help of Tsunade and the others, Clone-rama had no chance of winning. 

His promise of protecting Titi will end, as well.

So ultimately, he had no other choice but to invade the castle with Titi.

It was still a hard job to pull off due to the interesting terrain of the island, as well as the bubble barrier around the castle part of the island floating above.

So, Hashirama had to find a hostage that'd take him there.

And he had found the perfect candidate for that: Ryuboshi, the 2nd Prince.

Although King Neptune himself rarely came down from his castle, his three sons did. They made sure the Fishman Island remained safe. The three of them stuck together most of the time, which was a little annoying to deal with, but after observing their routine for a few days, Hashirama finally found Ryuboshi separate from his brothers.

That's when Hashirama pulled out a gun and pointed at his side, subtly, hidden from the eyes of the crowd around them.

“Stay still,” he said. “Lead us where we tell you to. Our people have already taken care of your other brothers, so if you don't want them to be harmed, lead the path.”

He was bluffing, but he knew thanks to his Observation Haki that the two brothers were not nearby to refute that lie.

“Ah…” The 17-foot-tall merman sweated in extreme panic. He tried to take a look at Hashirama’s face and failed to, thanks to the robe he wore around his head.

Deciding it'd be easier if he saw his face, Hashirama raised his face slightly. Green eyes met brown, and the prince’s face paled like a sheet of paper. He didn't fail to recognize the newly crowned pirate worth more than 1 billion. 

Slowly, he nodded. “Where do you want to go?”

Hashirama smiled, “The royal palace.”

The queen, standing beside him, adorned in a brown robe that hid her appearance, gently clutched his arm. She was nervous, she felt bad for threatening Ryuboshi like this, but she knew there were few choices other than this.

So she tried to feel less guilty and rather hoped King Neptune wouldn't take too big an offense from this, and would actually help her stay safe.

* * *

A tunnel of water led to the royal palace. The prince's voice commanded the one who oversaw the tunnel and opened the gate, and they entered through it.

A bubble was wrapping around Titi and Hashirama, it kept them safe from the water. He noticed the prince fidgeting as they approached the castle's gates.

‘He wants to try fighting me off when we will be in the water,’ Hashirama noted. ‘Too bad, though. I'm a wood clone, I don't need to breathe if I so choose.’

The problem was Titi. She would suffocate if the bubble were to vanish. So he'll have to be extra careful to finish any threats before it could grow dangerous.

The tunnel spat them out in front of the castle's gate, and the beauty of the scenery was a little startling even for Hashirama.

Beneath the vast blue sea, with the shadows of great sea kings above, this royal palace was a grand edifice of underwater splendor. Its tiered roofs soared high, painted in a palette of greens, purples, and pinks, topped with golden finials. 

A massive dragon statue entwined around the pillars, its scales shimmering against the sea's light. Corals of whimsical shapes and brilliant colors adorned the walls, and iridescent fish weaved in between. Ancient seaweeds swayed in the water currents, hanging from the walls and balconies. A grand staircase led to the mighty tall gate ahead, bordered by wave-like balusters. 

The Ryuguu Palace was a silent wonder of underwater majesty that left even the Royal Queen of Alabasta flabbergasted. It was a moment of mistake.

“Haap!” the prince threw his hands at the two of them, his movements a blur under this water. His punch was directed towards Hashirama, almost hitting him in the face.

Hashirama blocked it with one hand and kicked him in the waist right after. He was sent flying against the giant door, making a loud thump that reverberated through the entire palace, causing it to part open. Small bubbles of water left a trail as the prince fell on his side and coughed.

Hashirama stepped out of the protective bubble, having to transform his body to wooden properties. In his natural state, despite being a wood-clone, his body had the feeling of flesh and blood. He had to actively change himself to have wooden properties, and therefore exist underwater without oxygen. 

He looked the same, but it was done with a thought. His body was as hard as Adam's wood, as that was the chosen tree the Main Body made him with. On top of that, his body shifted a bit more to grow wooden fins on his forearm, calves, and back to give him additional speed underwater.

Hashirama was about to make another move when he paused. His Adam Wooden body felt a… connection all of a sudden. The thick luminous vines floating outside the bubble encasing the castle seemed to be calling him. Hashirama couldn’t help but look up.

‘Isn’t that…’ his mind searched for the name of this tree.

The Sunlight Tree Eve.

A colossal tree that absorbed sunlight and transferred it to its roots, which also supplied air to the ocean floor through respiration. It’s through this tree's roots that Fish-Man Island can have light 10,000 meters below the surface of the ocean.

“....” Hashirama wondered what this was about. Did the Treasure Tree Adam really have a connection with the Sunlight Tree Eve, outside its name?

Although it was calling him, he wasn’t planning to go see it now. He had some royal matters to deal with. He looked back at the prince, who was slowly getting up to his feet.

Sadly, while breathing wasn't an issue, Hashirama couldn't speak underwater. So he just shook his head at the prince, gesturing to him what a bad idea this was.

In his stead, Queen Titi spoke from inside the bubble, “We mean no harm, Prince. If not, he would have shot you with the gun rather than a simple kick.” She said, bowing a little. “I apologize for confronting you in this manner, but we had no other choice. If you'd kindly lead us to your father, you'll realize the situation.”

It's not as if the prince had any choice but to follow along. Still, the requesting tone did make him consider her words. With a groan, he stood back up and began to lead the way.

He still looked incredibly on the edge, but Hashirama lowered the gun and tucked it into his belt, making the prince relax even a little.

….

The trio walked into the grand royal chamber, where the 40-foot-tall King Neptune was sitting on a throne suitable for his size. Beside his left and right, two fishmen stood; they were his two ministers; the Left Minister and the Right Minister. They frowned seeing the two shady strangers behind the prince.

Hashirama noticed Titi gulp a little in surprise. To normal humans, bodily size mattered and was indeed a scary thing—King Neptune could crush a hundred human Titi’s size just by rolling with his body. It was natural to be a little fearful when she was in his own domain, having come here under the guise of criminals.

“F-father,” Prince Ryuboshi kneeled in front of his father’s throne, who raised a curious eyebrow at the visitors and then at his son.

“Ryu? Why are you here alone? Where are your brothers?”

“These people,” Ryuboshi sounded nervous as he looked back at Hashirama, “They… they have captured brothers Fukaboshi and Manboshi. I- I was forced to lead them here, otherwise they threatened to hurt my brothers.”

The two Ministers immediately tightened grip on their weapons, while King Neptune raised a hand to stop them. He hadn’t missed Hashirama, still hidden under a robe, who was walking freely without help from a bubble.

The inner castle wasn't filled with water; it appeared to have strains of water on the walls, but it was dry right now. Hashirama assumed this place must have two modes, one filled with water, and one dry—and the royalties kept it as either depending on their mood.

“A fishman and a human? How disappointing.” he frowned at Hashirama and Titi. He looked incredibly mad, with veins popping on his forehead, but his tone was the opposite of anger. He maintained calm and said, “Captors, please tell us what you demand in return for the princes’ safety.”

“Both of us are humans, Your Majesty,” Hashirama threw the robe away and kneeled in front of the king. It didn’t hurt to be respectful after coming here so disrespectfully. “I apologize, I lied to the 2nd prince about the other two princes’ whereabouts to get him to cooperate. They are perfectly fine, nobody has kidnapped them. I hope you’ll forgive my insolence as I had no choice but to lie to get into the palace.”

“What?!” the Minister of Left growled as he pulled out his sword. “What sort of prank is this, you human scoundrel?!”

“Wait!” the Minister of Right appeared far wiser, his old eyes trembling with the reflection of Hashirama’s face. “That’s… that’s the Hashirama Senju, worth 1.1 Billion berries! He defeated Warlord Doflamingo, do not engage him!”

King Neptune’s eyes snapped open and he looked at Hashirama more carefully now. The room grew eerily cold and silent, and the King somehow managed to sweat underwater.

“Welcome to Fishman Island, Captain of Senju Pirates,” King Neptune decided to greet him properly after a whole minute. “Since you’ve not hurt any of the princes, is it safe to assume you’re not here bearing any ill intent?”

“It is,” Hashirama nodded, motioning his chin to the Queen. “Aunty, if you will take over the conversation now.”

“Gladly,” Queen of Alabasta stepped forward, gently taking off the robe from her head as the Fishman royals stared at her. Their eyes narrowed and then widened in shock. Titi, with the Queen’s grace, gently bowed with a hand on her chest, “It has been a while, King of Fishmen. I hope you’ll look over this intrusion.”

“Oh, dearest Queen!” King Neptune leaped from his throne and stopped in front of Titi, an incredibly sad look on his face. It was abrupt, but Hashirama managed to hold himself back from attacking the King out of instinct. “I am truly sorry for what has happened to Alabasta. I was heartbroken when I heard the news, I couldn’t believe it. I still remember how you and the great King Cobra stood up for Otohime in the past. She told me all about it. I can’t believe such incredibly nice people like you faced such a fate…!”

Hashirama sighed in his head while the Queen clenched her jaws, nodding, to hold back her tears. From such a pure reaction, they could be sure that indeed—Fishman Island will be a safe sanctuary for them.

Until the Main will return with the crew.

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