[145] A Brewing Catastrophe

Chapter 145: A Brewing Catastrophe

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In Mariejois, the City of Celestials, a few of the strongest people in this world gathered in a single room. It was the meeting room of the Five Elders, and naturally, those five old monsters were present there. They sat around couches, with a few standing too, while they faced a couch occupied by Sengoku and Garp.

A deep silence lingered in the room, nobody spoke. Two other people were in the room, one was a man named Kong, who was the former Fleet Admiral before Sengoku; he had his arms crossed as he looked at both Sengoku and Garp. He was planning to defend the two in case the Elders got really mad.

"Outrageous." The first to speak, however, were not the elders, but the other man present in the room sitting on a couch opposite Kong. It was a man with grayed-out hair, with a tint of red.

Garling Figarland, the Supreme Commander of God's Knight. He had a stern expression, falling silent after that single word.

Until now, Garp and Sengoku had reported to them the incident in Dressrosa. The Elders listened in silence, and that silence had now stretched for minutes after the report ended. But taking Garling's words as a signal, the Five Elders began to express their reactions as well.

Saint Saturn spoke first, "Outrageous, indeed. Even if Doflamingo is a fallen World Noble, even if he was quite a pain in the arse with his demands sometimes, we can't just endure some no-name pirates killing him."

"Former or not, a World Noble's death is unacceptable." Saint Mars said, "When's the last time this happened? When Doflamingo's parents died, right?"

"Yes," Saint Warcury confirmed. "And as a result, we burned that entire town down. Now, that entire family is gone. What a pity."

"This will serve as an example to all the World Nobles for the centuries to come, they'd know how the commoners would hunt down their Gods if given the chance." Saint Nusjuro added.

"It's shameful that the news has traveled this far, we'd have liked it better if the death of a Celestial Dragon didn't spread. What a mess. However, you are right, since it has spread, we can use this as an example. For both the World Nobles, but also the commoners. We need to make them realize the price… of harming a God." Announced Saint Ju-Peter, the last of the Five Elder Stars.

"Oh, and," Saint Nusjuro, who was in charge of Finance, said. "Make sure to release their bounties as soon as possible. The people of the world will learn that even high-bounty pirates are no match for the World Government when the news of the horrific death of the Senju Pirates is printed right after the bounty posters."

"Good idea," the Elders agreed.

They didn't bother asking Garp and Sengoku for their opinion; they were just here to make the report. However, Sengoku still chimed in, asking about an important matter.

"Vice-Admiral Tsunade, one of the two assailants who killed Doflamingo… she was an Admiral Candidate. She has left the Marines, she announced, but are you sure you don't want to talk to her first?"

"What insolence," Saturn said in a low voice. "What if she was an Admiral Candidate? Even if she was an Admiral, even if she was a Fleet Admiral—even if she was a World Noble herself, she'd have had to pay for killing another. We don't need you or Garp to go after her, no, there is no need to talk to her about this. The God's Knight will handle this."

Garp's jaws clenched hard as he heard that. Sengoku was displeased as well. Sengoku had a connection with Tsunade because he was the one who let the girl and her family escape from Tobirama Senju's ship, he was the one who spared that girl's life. He was the one who allowed her in the Marines. Garp had a connection with her too since he was her master, the brightest student he had who would have surpassed even Kuzan in just a few more years.

Now, all that dream was gone. Because she had made a stupid decision.

If she hadn't announced her resignation, Garp and Sengoku would have tried their best to stop this decision, or at least stop Garling, but alas, she had chosen her own path.

Garp's eyes met with Garling Figarland, the strongest man from the now-gone island of God Valley. Back then Garling was much stronger than Garp, and though the gap was now closed, this guy was still at least as strong as Garp himself. If not stronger.

Alas, Tsunade and her brother's fate was sealed as Garling accepted the mission and left for the sea with a squad of God's Knights.

* * *

Inside the mansion where the Dressrosa's royal family was staying, in Viola's room, a particular scene was unfolding that'd have boiled the blood of the King.

"Mhmm… so you'll really leave?" Rebecca asked as her body arched against Hashirama's, her lips placing a kiss on his as they rolled on the bed.

"Yeah," Hashirama replied, rolling around and lying on his right side, his eyes locking with hers. "Tonight."

"Can't you stay for a bit longer?" Asked a voice from behind Hashirama, and turning around he found Viola. "You just made love with us for one night… and all of a sudden you're leaving. You should stay for a week, no?"

"Already told you that'll be dangerous," he replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "It'll be troublesome if some big shot from the World Government comes for us."

"I see," Viola laid closer to him, placing a kiss on his nape as she breathed in his scent. "I wouldn't want you to throw yourself into danger because of my selfish reasons, so fine, go."

"Yeah," Rebecca agreed as she hugged him from behind. "But… can I really not come with you?"

"Rebecca," Viola replied from the other side of his body, in his stead. "You have too much responsibility to go away. Same with me, but I have less. If we were to make a compromise and go with him, I should be the one to go, as I am not the princess."

"Aunty, you're being selfish. Wasn't it I who convinced you into this, to begin with? Give me some slacks." Rebecca fought back against her aunt.

"Now, now, girls," Hashirama shifted and laid on his back he pulled both of the girls' heads to his chest, and then his hands went back to squeeze their soft butts. "No more fighting, I want you two to get along well."

"Mmm…" both girls hummed, staring at one another, before shrugging and nudging closer to his embrace.

"When will we meet again? When can we join you…?" Rebecca asked, a sense of longing in her voice.

"Whenever you want to," Hashirama said. "You have my Dendenmushi number. Just give me a call when your country is fixed, and I'll come pick you up. Uh, it might be a little troublesome since I doubt King Riku will let you guys leave. I kidnapped Vivi when she joined the crew, I guess I'll get the reputation that I kidnapped you two too. Keep in mind that you don't have to come if you don't want to, you can stay here and I'll come to visit every now and then, that's fine too. Entirely up to you."

"I'll come with you," Viola said, and one of her legs rose over his. "My power will be useful for scouting. Whichever island you go to, I can see its entirety and make sure there aren't any dangers."

"I'll come with you too," Rebecca said, but she hesitated to add her use. "I… I am not very useful, I guess. I'm a fighter, but I saw your crewmates are very strong. You and your sister are in a whole different league, too. So a person like me might not grow very strong… but I want to join."

"I can train you," Viola smiled at her niece. "I have read the memories of many fighters in the last ten years, both physical and devil fruit-wise. Since you have Logia, the Resin Fruit, which has stretching properties, maybe you'll be able to surpass the limits on your female body and grow muscles much stronger than normal. We'll test it out."

"...Thanks," Rebecca closed her eyes and nodded. 

Hashirama smiled at that; it looked like they made up. It helped that they were aunt and niece, so they probably wouldn't have any serious fights. Happy girls, happy him.

"Then girls," Hashirama's hands grabbed their waist, squeezing them, making them moan, and pulling them closer. "I'll see you later. You two don't have to come to see me off, your dads might get mad."

King Riku and Kyros hadn't yet accepted their daughters' decision. They might try to change Viola and Rebecca's minds over the next few months, but then Hashirama could always crash a wedding or two if things went down that route.

"Alright…" The two girls looked sad that they couldn't even say goodbyes publicly, as they reached out and kissed him on either cheek.

Soon, night came. The dock of Dressrosa was filled with multiple ships, as every pirate was ordered to leave. Otherwise, they might cause trouble after Hashirama left. Four large warships gathered, with four prominent captains.

Although it was not as much as what the Straw Hats had gathered in anime, a total of seven ships, mostly thanks to the outlandish performance of "God Ussop", it still surprised Hashirama that he got three pirate crews willing to work for him other than the Happo Navy.

Especially, the identity of the three other captains left him surprised.

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Author Note: In recent One Piece manga chapters, there was this Celestial Dragon who got killed for hurting another fellow Celestial Dragon, by the hands of Garling. The punishment for harming Nobles are pretty strict, so the death of a former noble should get some kind of hard reaction too.

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