Chapter 163: A Solution?!

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The narrative that the World Government sold was that: Alabasta sustained forbidden weapons on its lands, planning to betray the World Government. So the Gods, the World Nobles, punished them with their wrath.

Such a narrative not only painted Alabasta’s image badly in everyone’s head, but it also succeeded in striking fear in the hearts of everyone in the world. If they offended the World Nobles, would they meet a similar fate? – everyone was shaken by that thought.

So Titi was unsure if King Neptune, who has been trying to score a good relationship with the World Government for decades, would help someone like her who was labeled as a criminal. Wouldn’t it benefit him if he sold her out, presenting her to the Government and letting them know she had luckily survived the massacre?

Titi’s worries were unfounded, however.

What Fishmen lacked in authority, they made up for in their loyalty. She and Cobra had stood up for the late queen Otohime, King Neptune’s wife, and the King of Fishmen was not a man who returned goodwill with betrayal.

Upon Hashirama explaining to him the situation, that he only wanted to keep her here till the Crew returns to fetch her, the King understood. He declared, “Stay here for as long as you need. I understand it might take years, but we the Fishmen shall keep you safe for even longer if necessary.”

“Thank you,” Hashirama bowed. He’s truly a great man, and Hashirama promised in his heart to return the favor a hundredfold.

* * *

With that taken care of, Clone-rama had a new worry to focus on. His limited lifespan.

Although Queen Titi was now in a safehold, that didn’t entirely eliminate the danger to her life. The Fishman Royal Family were trustworthy, but they weren’t very… strong. Hordy Jones was already planning a coup, and knowing the consequences of the butterfly effect, the Strawhat Crew might never come here to stop them.

If Hashirama the Clone isn’t there to keep the queen safe then, she’ll definitely die. Or meet a fate worse than that.

Plus, besides the physical powers that he boasted, his presence alone seemed impossible for her to ignore anymore. She needed him.

“Mhmm… no…” Even right now, as he was pondering over a solution, the Queen was in his arms, sleeping soundly. Her hands were tightly clutched on his shirt, like a little girl going through nightmares.

It was hurting to see such a strong-minded woman like her be rendered to this state. He couldn’t leave her alone, who knew when the Main would arrive?

‘But how do I increase my time?’ he wondered with a sigh as his eyes wandered to the glass ceiling. The roots of the Sunlight Tree Eve were lighting up the area with moonlight now, it was an ethereal sight to behold. 

‘Sage Mode is an option, but I have no idea how to tap into it. I somehow managed to do it against Tsunade, but I couldn’t take the risk of a life-threatening fight in my situation. How annoying.’ Hashirama grumbled in frustration as he stared at the hundreds of fishes above the castle, his mind pondering in silence before he blinked.

An idea crossed his mind.

“Ah right,” he slowly sat up, his eyes locked on the luminous root of the Sunlight Tree Eve. “Photosynthesis. Solar energy…”

His body already did Photosynthesis to some degree, making it so that he could skip some meals now and then. But it was not to a degree where he could preserve all of his Chakra, let alone cultivate more into himself.

But it should be possible, scientifically.

While the Main Body wasn’t a complete tree, a wood clone was. Clone-rama could try to collect pure solar energy into his body and turn it into Chakra; like those cultivation novels he read in his first life. It should work, though he wasn’t sure how long it would take to pull it off correctly.

He blinked once again, as another idea crossed his mind.

“This is crazy,” he grinned, while the Queen shifted on his arms and rubbed her eyes.

“Mhm? What’s wrong, Hashirama?” she asked as she yawned, looking at his grin with a confused look.

“I found a way,” he said.

“To what?”

“I found a way to live!”

He had managed to tap into the Adam Tree’s properties from Robin’s description alone, so what was stopping him from swimming to the Sunlight Tree Eve’s roots and copying its sunlight-processing powers?

Finally, there was a door in front of him.

* * *

Hashirama did not waste any time. He told Titi his plan, and she agreed that it logically should work. The next morning, he attended the King’s chamber and consulted him about the permission to visit the tree’s root.

“The Eve Tree is very holy to us fishmen,” King Neptune wore a complicated frown as he spoke after considering his words for a long time, “I understand your plan and would like to give you my personal permission, but… I do have responsibilities as the King of Fishmen too. I’m not sure if it’ll be alright to-”

“Your Highness, I apologize for interrupting you, but,” Hashirama raised his head from his kneeling position, “Last night I heard the loud noise coming from the direction of the Mermaid Princess’ chambers. So I assume the rumor is true that a pirate named Vander Decken IX has been threatening the Princess’ life for a decade now, to marry her.”

“...What is your point?”

“I promise to deal with that imbecile if you allow me time with the Eve Tree,” his eyes lit up with sharp intent as he looked at the King. Since the King helped him in these dire times, he was going to kill Vander Decken IX anyway in the future to repay the King, but now he was left with no choice but to use this as a bargaining chip.

“....” the King stayed silent and decided. The three princes were present in the room too, and the first Prince, Fukaboshi, bowed to his father.

“Father, if I may…?” He asked permission to speak, and the King granted it with a nod. “I think you should agree. Not only will this help them if they succeed, but it will also take care of Shirahoshi’s problem. Although I dislike the stunt he pulled with Fukaboshi, from that incident we know that he can operate underwater with ease despite having eaten a devil fruit. So given his high bounty, I don’t doubt that he’ll be able to deal with Vander with ease.”

“Hmm,” King Neptune hummed for another minute before looking back at Hashirama and nodding. “My son provided good points. Alright, Hashirama Senju. I shall agree to your terms. I’ll have Fukaboshi show you the way to the Eve Tree’s root. I must make a request, please be respectful when dealing with it. The fishmen population will come to despise you if something were to happen to the holy tree.”

Hashirama nodded, “Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Then, Hashirama left to meet the Sunlight Tree Eve.

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