"Queen-sama!"
A massive pirate ship loomed on the sea, its sails emblazoned with the fierce insignia of the Beasts Pirates and a large "QUEEN" logo painted boldly across its deck.
Seated lazily on a squeaky, pitiful-looking recliner was the rotund All-Star "Plague" Queen, cheerfully slurping a bowl of sweet red bean soup with mochi.
"Huh? What is it now?"
Setting down the bowl and clenching a cigar between his teeth, Queen shifted positions, prompting the recliner beneath him to let out a strained creeaak.
"Are we at Zou already?"
"Queen-sama! We can see Zou up ahead!"
The pirate delivering the news looked pale with disbelief.
"But... but it's not an island!"
"Ah—?!"
Queen sat up in surprise, his round body moving with unexpected agility that defied his size.
"If it's not an island, what else could it be? A damn elephant? You fools seriously lack imagina—"
He turned to look, and the moment his eyes met the scene before him, they bulged in shock.
"IT REALLY IS AN ELEPHANT—WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Queen-sama! That's why we said we're not stupid—"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You're not stupid... Are you saying I am, then?! You brats!"
Queen leapt to his feet, stomping furiously.
"Get moving! Everyone, gear up! We're landing! MOVE IT!"
As the pirates scattered in panic, Queen grumbled his way back onto the recliner.
"Hmph! I'm a genius—I guessed it right!"
Creeaak—CRACK!
"Ow!!"
The overburdened recliner finally gave way with a valiant snap, collapsing beneath him.
"DAMN IT! SOMEBODY GET ME A SOFA—NOW!!"
...
On Zou, the alarms of the Mokomo Dukedom rang loud and clear.
The Mink Tribe warriors stationed near Zunesha's legs—the access points to the country—spotted the Beasts Pirates beginning to ascend via the elephant's left hind leg.
"Hm? What's with the bells? Is this their idea of a welcome?"
Queen sat atop an extravagant palanquin, his thick mustache and braided pigtails bouncing with each motion. Puffing on his cigar, he chuckled:
"Muhahaha! I thought the Mink Tribe hated humans—"
"Queen-sama!"
"What now?! Don't interrupt me while I'm talking, dammit!"
After bellowing at the interrupter, he coughed and straightened up:
"So, what happened?"
Covering his ears from Queen's roar, the pirate messenger stammered:
"W-Well, Queen-sama… there's a lot of Minks gathering ahead…"
"From the looks of it… they're not here to welcome us!"
"..."
"Ehhhhhh?!"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi stood at the frontlines, flanked by the Musketeer Squad and the Guardians. As the Beasts Pirates approached the border of their homeland, the two Kings stood ready.
"So they've finally come..." Inuarashi muttered, tongue out and hand on his sword hilt. "Sending just one All-Star and a shipload of goons… they're underestimating us."
Nekomamushi puffed on his pipe, exhaling a slow stream of smoke.
"Give it a rest, old dog. We Minks don't show ourselves to the outside world much—of course they think we're easy pickings."
"These Zoan types are tough, though—thick-skinned, high endurance. Unless we take him out quickly, it's gonna drag on, and that won't be good for us."
Inuarashi nodded. "Agreed. This is our homeland—any losses we suffer are our own burden."
BOOM!
The Beasts Pirates closed in, and Queen's palanquin was set down. His enormous form clumsily rolled off.
"Ohhh? So the Mink Tribe really is as strange as the stories say? Muhahaha!"
"Those two in front—a cat and a dog? Big ones, too!"
"And what are the rest? Lions, zebras, rabbits, jaguars, gorillas, buffalo—Muhahaha! This is too good!"
"You pirates have stepped foot on the Mokomo Dukedom's land—what do you want?!"
The head of the Musketeer Squad, the lion Mink "Full Power" Shishilian, stepped forward, unable to bear the fat bastard's casual mockery of his people.
"The Mokomo Dukedom does not welcome outsiders. If you've come here by mistake, turn around now!"
"Hah? Mokomo Dukedom?"
Queen widened his eyes in exaggerated glee, then cupped his cheeks like a schoolgirl.
"What a cute name~~"
"Maybe I'll snatch a few cuties to bring back—Komurasaki-chan would love these fuzzy little critters~~"
"HAHAHA, no doubt about it! A lady as elegant as Komurasaki-chan deserves pets as unique as these!"
"Muhahaha! Right? I bet she'll be thrilled!"
"YOU BASTARDS!"
The Mink warriors seethed with rage. Did these pirates seriously just call them pets?!
"Listen up, you mangy furballs!"
Queen's tone suddenly shifted. His enormous body radiated overwhelming pressure.
"I'm here for one thing and one thing only—hand over the Wano 'ninja,' Raizo!"
"Hand him over, so I can wrap this up and head back to watch Komurasaki's parade!"
"There is no 'ninja' here."
Inuarashi stepped forward, his voice solemn and unwavering.
"I am Inuarashi, Ruler of Day, and my words represent this entire nation."
"The old dog speaks true," Nekomamushi added, licking his paw. "I'm the Ruler of Night, Nekomamushi. Ninjas are a Wano specialty—we Minks don't have such things, nyah."
"Muhahaha… You almost had me fooled there…"
"But this is a direct order from Kaido-sama!"
Queen lifted his chin. "Hmph!"
"?"
The pirates glanced at him, confused. "Queen-sama?"
"I'm telling you idiots to ATTACK, you brain-dead morons!"
Queen exploded in fury, stomping around:
"You're all hopeless! The ones with brains were all taken by Drake—what I'm stuck with is this worthless lot!"
"At this rate, I'm dumping the whole damn crew on King and letting that freak train you!"
"Noooo! Not King-sama! He tortures people!"
Despite their cries, the pirates finally scrambled into formation, weapons drawn as they charged forward.
"HAHAHAHA! You heard Queen-sama! Hand over the ninja!"
"Mmh… They may be idiots, but at least their fighting power's decent."
Queen crossed his thick arms and nodded his round head.
"Still, I gotta ask Drake to send me some smarter ones. These clowns are driving me mad—I might just slim down from the stress!"
As the pirates stormed in, the Mink warriors reacted swiftly. Though they didn't expect Queen to attack without further negotiation, they were ready.
The Musketeer Squad and Guardians stepped up, intercepting the attackers with precision.
In the Mokomo Dukedom, everyone is trained to fight—even the young ones know basic self-defense. Minks can channel electrical energy, using it on their bodies or weapons to amplify their attacks.
On first clash, the two sides were evenly matched.
Although Queen didn't bring the elite SMILE users seen in the original series, Kaido's forces had swelled in power since Whitebeard's death and the absence of a new Emperor. The Beasts Pirates were formidable nonetheless.
Queen frowned as he watched his underlings get stalled.
"Tch. Wouldn't it be easier if you just handed the guy over?!"
"You really want me to do this myself?"
He rolled his neck and muttered irritably.
"Damn… I'm actually missing that useless Jack. Back when he was around, I never had to lift a finger for crap like this."
His golden mustache twitched as he took a deep puff from his cigar. Then, reaching for the hilt at his waist—
"I'll ask you ONE. LAST. TIME."
"Will you hand over Raizo?!"
"There is no 'ninja' here."
Inuarashi gripped his sword. Nekomamushi licked his claws. The two kings' firm, unshakable reply wiped the smirk from Queen's chubby face.
"So… you're really gonna disrespect me, huh."
"Then go die!"
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