Chapter 27: Arrival

New World, Sky Over the Prodance Kingdom.

"Looks like this is the location." Hashirama who was standing in the sky looked down, "Let's go down. It's not good to make them wait too long." Hashirama immediately flew slowly down from the sky towards the front of the royal palace.

At this moment in front of the royal palace of the Prodance Kingdom, Elizabello II and the others had been waiting quietly for Hashirama's arrival. Instantly Dagama and Iru who can master the ability of Observation Haki immediately sensed the arrival of someone from above the sky which both felt the level of that person's strength was very frightening.

"Someone's approaching!" Iru shouted loudly with a face full of fear.

"Protect His Majesty!" Dagama also immediately shouted with a face full of fear.

The troops who were with them immediately came closer to Elizabello II and immediately surrounded him on orders from Dagama.

"Dagama, Iru. What is going on?" Elizabello II asked with a doubtful face.

"Your Majesty, there is someone approaching us. That guy… He has a very frightening power" Iru replied with a stuttering face.

"A very strong power?" Elizabello II was surprised to hear this and instantly remembered Ars' earlier words, "Where is he now?" Elizabelo II asked quickly.

"From the sky" Dagama said seriously while looking up at the sky.

"Stop it!" Elizabello II immediately shouted and continued, "That person is not an enemy. It was likely that the person who had come was an emissary from the Fortis Kingdom. Did you two forget? King Fortis has told us that that person has the ability to fly and will come from the sky"

Dagama and Iru immediately regained their senses and recalled what they had heard earlier until they saw a man in a very beautiful white formal dress with a robe bearing the emblem of a shield slowly descending from the sky gracefully until it stopped exactly a few meters from their current location.

"Hello, is this really the Prodance Kingdom?" Hashirama who had just descended from the sky asked politely.

Everyone was silent at the appearance along with Hashirama's arrival at this time. Because of the clothes he wears. Hashirama seems very dominant right now.

Elizabello II quickly woke up in her thoughts and immediately nodded, "That's right. This is the Kingdom of Prodance. Are you the messenger the King of Prodance sent here?"

"Sure" Hashirama nodded, "My name is Hahsirama Senju. I am the one who was sent by King Fortis to help solve the problems of tomorrow's war."

Dagama and Iru were immediately shocked to hear this then their previous fear immediately turned into full of joy. Because the person who had come to help them at this time was not a weak person but a very strong person. They even now believed in what Ars said about Hashirama defeating Whitebeard before.

Elizabello II's gaze immediately turned to Dagama and Iru to turn it off. They both nodded immediately. This made Elizabello II very excited and immediately got out of the line of protection and walked towards Hashirama.

"Sir Hashirama, introduce me is Elizabello II. I am the King of this Prodance Kingdom"

"Greetings, King of Prodance" Hashirama immediately returned the greeting politely.

"The person standing to my left right now is the Commander of the Prodance Kingdom's army. Iru" Elizabello II immediately introduced Iru and continued with Dagama, "While the one on my right right now is Dagama. He is the tactician of the Prodance Kingdom"

"Nice to meet you" Hashirama immediately shook hands with both of them.

"Master Hashirama, how about we continue the conversation inside?" Elizabello II asked politely.

Hashirama nodded.

They all walked straight into the royal palace and headed for the battle room. Conversation is more suitable in the battle room compared to the throne room in the royal palace. Arriving there, Elizabello II and Hashirama immediately sat on the sofa while Dagama and Iru took a standing position behind Elizabello II.

"I have heard the information from our Majesty our King. You don't need to explain anymore. However, I want to ask. Are any of your troops currently in the battlefield at this time?"

"Our troops are already there, Mr. Hashirama." Iru was the one who answered, "We previously ordered them to build camps and others there so that when the battle broke out, we were ready to face attacks from the two kingdoms. Besides that, another reason is because almost every time the two kingdoms will usually attack our kingdom."

"In that case, please for you to withdraw all the troops you have" Hashirama said seriously.

"Pull back?" Iru asked in confusion.

"Tomorrow's battle, just let me finish it. You don't need to get involved in this matter. Also, I'm afraid of having your troops take part in this battle. It will only cause them to be injured from the attacks unleashed by me."

"But-"

Elizabello II immediately raised her hand and looked at Iru, "Do what Mr Hashirama says"

"I understand" Iru nodded immediately and immediately walked out of the room to carry out the order.

"Please don't offend the King of Prodance. To be honest, I have the ability of Conqueror's Haki and I'm sure the two of you here know about this ability, right?"

"Conqueror's Haki?!" Elizabello II and Dagama were immediately shocked by Hashirama's words.

"Yes. I own it. Order to withdraw your troops, for fear that my Conqueror's Haki will affect the troops you have. In tomorrow's battle, I will likely release all of the power of my Conqueror's Haki and I don't want my Conqueror's Haki to affect your troops."

"I see." Elizabello II immediately nodded excitedly.

"Ano, Mr Hashirama" Dagama suddenly spoke up, "If you may know. Is it true that you were the one who defeated Whitebeard not too long ago?"

"Oh? How do you know this? I think the newspaper didn't explain about my identity" Hashirama asked confusedly.

Hashirama's words immediately made Elizabello II and Dagama very excited.

"We got the information from King Fortis. It was King Fortis who informed us of this."

"Your Honour? Ah, I see." Hashirama nodded and he didn't have a problem with that either.

Immediately a very extraordinary idea suddenly appeared in Elizabello II's mind, "Mr. Hashirama. I want to ask you something"

"Please." Hashirama nodded.

"If we ask for protection from the Fortis Kingdom. How much do we have to pay?" Elizabello II asked seriously.

Elizabello II's question made Dagama quite surprised. However, it has various causes and effects. Dagama immediately understood Elizabello II's line of thought.

"Protection fee?" Hashirama asked confusedly, "Ah, is that the same as the protection costs imposed by a kingdom protected by a certain group or is it the same as you guys are affiliated with the World Government"

"That's it" Elizabello II nodded, "If I may ask, how much protection fee will our kingdom have to pay if we ask for protection from your kingdom?"

"How many?" Hashiama asked back and continued, "Actually if you guys have a cooperative relationship with our kingdom. For example, at this time our King wants to establish cooperation with your kingdom regarding the purchase of livestock. As long as your kingdom still has a cooperative relationship in that form. You don't have to pay us any protection fees. We will definitely help in solving your royal problems."

"This…" Elizabello II and Dagama fell silent for a moment hearing this.

"However, that only applies if you have a cooperative relationship with our kingdom. This is also the reason why our King is helping you by sending me to solve the problem of the war you are currently experiencing. If it weren't for that, we probably wouldn't have helped. Later, when our cooperation relationship is finished. You won't get protection from our kingdom anymore." Hashirama said calmly.

The previous feeling of excitement that Dagama and Elizabello II had had disappeared instantly.

"However, if you really want to gain protection from our kingdom. You can apply for a territorial protection cooperation relationship with us. About how much you have to pay. I also don't know about it myself. However, rest assured. Our own kingdom will not impose something difficult to do to a kingdom that asks us for territorial protection. The payout will likely follow your economic situation or something."

"Economic Situation?" Elizabello II asked in confusion.

"Hmmm… Well, how to explain it. That said, the payment of the protection fee will follow the annual income of your kingdom. If your royal income is low, the protection costs you need to pay are also low. Meanwhile, if your royal income is high. The cost of protection you pay is high."

"I understand." Elizabello II nodded.

"Just think about it carefully. Do you want to establish a cooperative relationship with us in that area or not?" Hashirama said calmly and his face immediately turned serious, "However, if you really build a cooperative relationship in the area of territorial protection. Rest assured. Whoever attacks you be it Pirates, Marines, or the World Government. We will assist you in solving the problem and we will even retaliate against their attacks. Remember! We will not treat the kingdom that we have a cooperative relationship with us with. We will treat them well. In fact, a kingdom that has a cooperative relationship with our kingdom. The citizens of that kingdom will have the same rights as the citizens of our kingdom."

Elizabello II and Dagama fell silent for a moment, especially hearing the word "World Government" in Hashirama's sentence. Hashirama's words didn't look like lies either, but they carried the truth.

New World, Fortis Kingdom, 3rd Floor.

Ars was walking in the 3rd floor corridor of the royal palace. Ars' current goal was to go to Lowellmina's room because there was something he wanted to talk about. It didn't take long for Ars to arrive in front of Lowellmina's room and immediately rang the doorbell.

The door to the room immediately opened and Lowellmina was seen who was currently only wearing her pajamas with her hair hanging down.

"Good evening, Lowa. Am I bothering you?" Ars asked with a smile.

"Ars?!" Lowellmina was immediately surprised by Ars coming to her at night.

"Can I come inside? There are some things I want to talk to you about."

"Of course. Please come in." Lowellmina happily immediately invited Ars into her room.

The room occupied by Lowellmina herself was no different from the other rooms. Ars and Lowellmina went straight to the sofa and sat there. Ars could see that there was a cup of tea and also a book right there.

"Are you reading?" Ars asked while raising his brow.

"Yes. Shiina recommended an interesting story to me earlier and I happened to have some free time to read it tonight" Lowellmina nodded and suddenly asked, "What do you want to talk to me about, Ars?"

"Oh, yes. This is about our cooperative relationship with the Prodance Kingdom. Earlier, I had contacted the King of Prodance - Elizabello II and briefly discussed this cooperative relationship. We will immediately establish a cooperative relationship with them later after the war that is currently taking place there is over."

"War?" Lowellmina frowned.

"Yes. It seems the situation of the Prodance Kingdom is not going well. They were currently under attack by two Kingdoms. I have sent Hashirama to solve this war problem. There is a possibility that within 1 week, we can talk about a cooperative relationship with them."

Lowellmina nodded.

"Other than that. I also want to talk to him regarding the possibility of the Prodance Kingdom asking us for protection. I believe at this point Hashirama is explaining to the King of Prodance the reason why we are helping them. It is related to the cooperation that we want to build. However, as you know, that after this cooperative relationship is over. We will not help them even if their kingdom is attacked again by something unless they establish a cooperative relationship with us through a cooperative relationship in the area of territorial protection."

"So, did you come to ask how much we should charge them if they wanted to establish a cooperative relationship?"

"Yes" Ars nodded, "I have a plan to arrange the payment matter according to their annual income. However, I can't say for sure how much we should take."

Lowellmina thought for a moment and continued, "How about we take a payment of 5% of their total annual income? I think this percentage is pretty good. Not too high and not too low either. This can also apply to other kingdoms that might establish cooperative relations through the field of territorial protection against us. Neither the small kingdom nor the large kingdom I think will have a problem with the payments they have to pay us."

"5%, huh? I think that's a good idea" Ars nodded, "You can arrange this later if they really ask us to establish a cooperative relationship in the area of territorial protection. However, if you don't, you don't need to talk about this."

"I see." Lowellmina nodded.

"Okay. That's all I want to talk to you about. Then I'll be back first."

"Wait!" The moment Ars got up from his seat, Lowellmina immediately stopped him and said shyly, "How about you accompany me to read a book, Ars?"

"Accompany?" Ares raised his eyebrows.

Lowellmina nodded immediately, "The book that Shiina gave me is a horror genre book and it's quite scary. How about we accompany me to read?"

"Why don't you read it tomorrow? You have enough time tomorrow, don't you?" Ars asked casually and looked at Lowellmina.

Ars's question immediately made Lowellmina silent for a moment and her face immediately turned sad.

Ars then sighed, "Ok. I will accompany you. However, only tonight and also don't tell anyone about this."

"Good!" Lowellmina was overjoyed to hear this, "Relax. I will definitely keep this a secret from Kaguya and Shiina" Lowellmina said while in her heart she was also saying, " There's no way I'll tell the two of them this. Otherwise, the two of them will definitely ask Ars to do it."

Ars immediately returned to his seat, followed by Lowellmina who immediately sat beside Ars then opened the book he had previously read then leaned his body beside Ars with joy. Ars began to accompany Lowellmina to read the book and at this time he also became interested in the book read by Lowellmina.

The time finally showed 23:34 pm and Lowellmina was seen sleeping beside Ars. Ars immediately put the book that Lowellmina was holding onto the table and immediately lifted Lowellmina's body towards her bed. Ars immediately covered her with a blanket then immediately walked out of Lowellmina's room. Before leaving, Ars turned off all the room lights from Lowellmina then closed the door to her room.