[Third Person POV]
As his remaining time on Kinkow slowly ticked down, Hajime was preparing everything for when he left.
The most important thing now was finding someone who could rule the country as he wanted until he found a way to return, and over the last few days, he'd finally found the person.
Himself!
More accurately, a shadow clone version of himself.
While the personality might exhibit a slight deviation from his normal self, the thoughts and actions it would take are the same as those of the original.
There was obviously an issue with chakra capacity, but over the last week, Hajime had found a way to negate that with his powers.
His solution was simple yet risky—senjutsu.
By absorbing the nature energy surrounding him, the clone would, in theory, 'recharge' its constantly depleting reserves.
There were two problems with that, though—the stone body and shadow clone physique.
When absorbing nature energy, at least when following the methods of the toad summon clan, your body would slowly turn into a frog, followed by turning to stone.
Normally, you would hit them with a special staff to deal with the problem, but shadow clones were extremely fragile. Hitting them in that way would likely destroy the clone, making that method pointless.
That's why Hajime finally used something he'd been saving for months, his Power Upgrade Cards.
Using all eight to upgrade the method of senjutsu, he found it was even better than before.
Firstly, the energy used for his senjutsu attacks was now much lower than before, allowing him to hit harder and more.
Secondly, while the frog transformation wasn't completely gone, it was now no longer as bad, looking more like Tsuyu's father than a full-on toad.
Thirdly, the effects of absorption increased. Normally, shadow clones only start with a fraction of the original's energy, which slowly goes down over time. Now, though, Hajime's shadow clones were able to restore themselves beyond their original chakra input.
Though unable to go beyond Hajime's natural chakra reserves, the shadow clones could now make their own clones indefinitely.
While the clones still needed time to absorb the nature energy and were still able to be one-shot, Hajime couldn't find it in him to complain.
He had spent all his Power Upgrade Cards on it, and the upgrade was worth it.
He was concerned that the clones might return with him, but since they are, to a certain degree, independent entities, they would likely be fine. Even if that wasn't the case, there was little he could do in that case, so he didn't worry.
There was also the slight concern about the memory return when he came back, or even if dispelled clones could affect him after returning home, but either way, it was something future him would be able to deal with.
However, with the general problem resolved, Hajime made himself incredibly busy around the island.
Since clones now had an 'unlimited' energy, he made several that scattered around the island, getting everything important done.
Several of the clones took some of the guards in groups for training.
The guards, while highly competent, were often treated as servants by the twins.
While they were well within their rights as kings to order the guards around in that manner, it often meant that the guards had to focus more on the kings' whims than on actually guarding the island.
Throughout the series, the guards would frequently have to deal with threats, often brought into the castle because of the twins, and get their butts handed to them.
They were just normal guards, so their ability to deal with supernatural threats, which these threats often were, left them in a constant state of defense.
This was something Hajime wouldn't accept. If they were to be his guards, even if the original didn't need them, they needed to be competent.
Each group of guards picked by the clones was specially chosen based on their talents.
One focused on physical training, both to enhance physical strength and skill. This was for the guards with little magic potential but strong physiques.
Another focused on those with the most magical potential, teaching them the basics of magic.
Hajime had some plans for those specializing in different magics, similar to the coven system of The Owl House. This grouping would allow a collective effort among the guards to improve their magic and defend the island. Currently, Hajime only thought of groups for barrier magic, sealing and runic magic, elemental magic (which could be further subdivided), dark magic, and stealth magic.
That led to a third group, being trained in the ways of the shinobi, specifically in the stealth aspects of it. These guards would be taught stealth magic if they possessed the talent for it, but their primary roles would be gathering information and monitoring threats.
They would be responsible for monitoring individuals with supernatural abilities and ensuring the safety of the island. For example, Mason's ex, Pitricia, a woman with Rapunzel-like armpit hair capable of subduing Mason. She is a yandere who even kidnapped Mason, Boz, and Boomer. Though only a minor threat, it was best to keep an eye on her.
Finally, there was the last group, which Hajime had planned to call the 'Beast Corps'.
This group was currently accompanied by several clones, which were searching for tameable creatures.
Like how Aang has Appa and Hiccup has Toothless, his Beast Corps would use the native fauna of the island to their advantage.
Take, for instance, the Razor Hawk and Kutamungo. Both were creatures capable of flight, and, if tamed, would give an undeniable advantage to whoever they worked with.
While Kutamungo was his, and currently guarding the tarantula tribe, the Razor Hawk and other animals were certainly available.
Unfortunately, that meant he couldn't use his Geass on them, since it would be best if they were tamed naturally. Like how kings had royal stables, except this would have things much more dangerous than horses.
The Beast Corps had several clones with them, with more than just the goal of taming wild beasts.
The clones were there to gather more information about the flora and fauna of Kinkow, filling in missing knowledge in the Great Book. They were also there to obtain biological samples, such as blood, hair, teeth, or even living specimens, if applicable.
Each creature they encountered would first have its nature determined, if it weren't already, and be split into either peaceful, neutral, or hostile.
Then, samples would be taken. Blood was the primary target, but they'd occasionally go after important bodily resources, such as shed scales of reptiles. For plants, they would collect seeds to replant and study their growth cycle elsewhere. Hajime made sure to take two sets of samples: one for his clones to research here and a second set to take with him.
Next were the illustrations. To avoid causing unnecessary disturbances, the clones would henge into the animals to be drawn. Although Hajime did have a camera, which the clones used, it didn't hurt to have physical drawings, as that was a more traditional approach. Plus, he wasn't sure if the island had a printer, so they might have to draw them anyway.
Though unfortunately, there was little progress in finding anything tameable; they had seen quite a few species mentioned in the Great Book with little information, which could now be updated.
The only targets for taming were either peaceful or neutral, as hostile ones posed too great a risk of going rogue.
Brady and Boomer had, on several occasions throughout the series, brought other creatures into the castle, which ultimately caused problems.
There was Pupaley, a strange, hairy beast that starts the size of a chimpanzee before transforming into something reminiscent of a Sasquatch. Due to them being bad pet owners, they grew bored with him, causing Pupaley to grow larger and turn them into his pets.
They brought in a group of mermaids, who immediately took over the castle and turned Mikayla into a mermaid.
Brady once brought a ghost into the castle to scare Boomer, only for it to possess him instead.
By the time of the second season, this didn't happen much, likely due to them learning not to bring back magical creatures that you can't control.
The general unpredictability of the island's fauna meant Hajime was not going to risk the island's wellbeing just because a creature looked cool.
In the meantime, the original, along with a few clones, were supervising the projects he had started.
His interisland balloon project was currently where the most resources were being allocated, as he wanted the islands to communicate more effectively. The islands were extremely unique, at least from what he knew, so he believed the islands should be more unified, though right now that just meant more communication.
In theory, uniting the islands into a single country would be a good idea; however, due to the dangers of the ocean and the time required to travel between islands, it is currently infeasible.
Not to mention, all of the islands in the archipelago are kingdoms.
Recently, Kinkow has only had contact with Mindu and Sununu, with the others likely getting news about it. While Hajime had sent representatives of the kingdom to the tribes around Kinkow, these foreign rulers would likely take offense at that.
Cornea already had strained relations due to an insult from one of Kinkow's past rulers.
In one episode, the twins discover a duplicating plant, which declares war on Lakuna. Though Hajime's intervention had preemptively stopped that from happening, Lakuna already didn't have the best opinion on Kinkow.
Mindu, while they likely don't hate Kinkow thanks to their heritage, definitely don't like Hajime. Although most people may not know him enough to dislike him, their king probably does after what he did, and in monarchies, the king is the law.
Of the remaining islands, Kippi Kippi, Zolia, and Atqui all had neutral relations with Kinkow.
The only island that likely has any positive opinion of Kinkow is Sununu, and that's only because Hajime saved them from the stupidity curse, and even then, their liking Kinkow isn't guaranteed.
That's why Hajime sent out an invitation to all the islands using the hot air balloon, something this island strangely has only one of, despite it being their best form of transport.
He wasn't going to be here for the meeting, which he planned to take place in a month, but something like this would take time, both to deliver the invitations and to prepare to welcome those who would attend.
Eventually, though, Hajime's time quickly drew to a close, leaving only a few hours left.
-----
With only a few hours left, Hajime had called Mason and Mikayla into the castle to explain what would happen soon.
"So you're leaving?" Mikayla asked.
"My main body, yes. There will still be some clones here to keep everything running smoothly."
"My king, what if something happens to all of them?" Mason asked. "We might be able to hide your disappearance temporarily, but eventually, people will take notice."
"In the worst-case scenario of something like that happening, Lanny will become the acting king. He was next in line after the twins, but is far more responsible than they are.
Besides, I plan to return as soon as possible. At worst, you might have to wait a few months or so for me to return."
After reassuring the Makoolas that the island was in good hands regardless of what happened, Hajime left the castle, leaving a clone in his place.
Making his way through the jungle, he arrived at the tarantula tribe.
Before he left, he planned to give them and Kutamungo some parting instructions to avoid confrontation with his kingdom.
In the past, they would usually try to attack the kingdom, only to be arrested by the guards, and then subsequently escape using their spider forms.
During the last war, however, King Kunu had the idea of putting them in jars shortly after they transformed.
These jars, which were magically enchanted to keep them transformed, would make taking care of the prisoners much easier, as the amount of resources required to guard and feed them was drastically lower.
While Hajime found and Geassed them, releasing them wasn't currently an option.
That's why Hajime planned on keeping them away from Kinkow, at least until they seemed more civilized, like the other tribes.
As time ticked down, Hajime spent the last bit of time organizing the stuff he brought with him. Eventually, there was less than a minute left. Although Hajime had grown fond of Kinkow in the short time he had been there, he was also excited to go home and see his friends.
[5]
[4]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Time is up. Returning to home dimension.]
__________
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!