— — — — — — —
Whoosh—
A cloud ship slowly drifted through the sky.
Perospero was deep in thought. "Is this the area?"
Standing next to him was Nusstorte.
Nusstorte nodded. "Second brother, we've entered the waters of Wano. But… we should still be cautious. Kozuki Oden isn't someone to take lightly."
Perospero nodded back. "We don't have the time to stir up trouble with Wano right now."
Totto Land was on the verge of becoming a real nation.
There was no time to get into unnecessary conflicts.
As the two brothers talked, the cloud ship began descending, slowly touching down at a carefully chosen spot.
After scanning the area—No issues. All clear.
Perospero asked, "Nusstorte, the intel says it's somewhere around here, right?"
Nusstorte confirmed, "Yeah, second brother. The information points to this area of the sea."
Soon enough—
The two stepped onto the shore.
Perospero looked around and said, "Stay sharp."
Nusstorte replied, "Don't worry. Our intel team already gathered everything we need."
...
"Help!!!"
"Noooo!!!"
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Screams pierced through the air.
"Help!!!"
"Don't kill me!!!"
"I don't wanna die!!!"
"I'm a kappa, not a monster!!!"
Hearing the desperate cries echo around them—
Perospero blinked. "What the hell is going on?"
Nusstorte answered, "Second brother, it's those from the Mink Tribe who made it to Wano. They're too simple-minded… it's easy to trick them with stuff like this."
"Everything as planned."
Perospero nodded slowly. "Got it… A classic 'hero saves the beauty' setup, huh?"
Fwoosh—
Flames danced in the distance.
A cat, a dog, and a frog—three little brats—were all howling in pain.
Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and Kawamatsu!
They were—
Future members of the Nine Red Scabbards.
At this point in time…
The alliance between Wano and the Minks was already something of a forgotten legend.
The Mink Tribe and the Kozuki Family hadn't had contact for centuries.
This trip? Inuarashi and Nekomamushi had set out to search for Wano themselves.
They weren't ordinary kids.
They were the heirs of the Mink Tribe's rulers in the Mokomo Dukedom.
If the Charlotte family could win these two over…
Winning over the entire Mink Tribe would be a piece of cake.
"Burn the monsters!!!"
"Yeah, get them!!!"
"Oi Oi Oi"
"I'm not a monster! Meow~~!"
"Woof! Same here!"
"I'm a kappa, I swear!!!"
The three kids screamed at the top of their lungs.
"STOP!!!"
Just then, Perospero stepped forward and shouted.
The Wano citizens who were causing trouble froze for a second, then panicked—
"Run! RUN!"
"Quick, get outta here!"
In no time at all, they scattered.
Actually, those people were spies planted in Wano.
They were just following the plan and retreating on cue.
With that—The stage was set.
Perospero walked over and rescued the three brats. He looked down at them and asked, "What are you kids doing in Wano?"
"Wait—what?!" Inuarashi and Nekomamushi exclaimed. "This really is Wano?!"
Kawamatsu, on the other hand, shouted urgently, "I'm a kappa! A real kappa!"
"Hahaha…"
Nusstorte stepped forward and smiled. "No need to panic! Our country has lots of fish-men like you. If you want, you can come with us."
"Huh?" Kawamatsu blinked, shocked. "There are lots of fish-men?!"
Nusstorte nodded. "Yep! Fish-men, longarm tribe, longleg tribe—you name it! All kinds of unique people live peacefully in Totto Land. Only the Mink Tribe hasn't joined us yet. But the rest? They're all there, living happily!"
"For real?!" Kawamatsu asked, eyes wide with excitement.
Nusstorte chuckled, "Of course it's real! Why would I lie to you? My mom and big brother are building a nation where every race can live together in peace—a real utopia! Did you know Totto Land already has over twenty countries?"
Kawamatsu's face lit up with Joey.
Honestly…Convincing a young Kawamatsu was a walk in the park.
According to Joey, Kawamatsu had great potential. If they could reel him in now, he'd grow into someone important.
And Nusstorte? He never doubted his big brother's words.
So he kept sweet-talking Kawamatsu—
And Kawamatsu? He got more and more excited.
"Hahaha!"
With a grin, Nusstorte asked, "Wanna come with us to Totto Land?"
"Yeah! Totally! I wanna go!" Kawamatsu answered without hesitation.
At that moment, his heart was racing. If he'd met people like this earlier…
Maybe… just maybe…
His mom wouldn't have had to die.
With Kawamatsu on board, Perospero turned to Inuarashi and Nekomamushi. "You two… how'd Minks end up in Wano Country?"
Inuarashi answered, "We came looking for the Kozuki Clan. We heard that the Kozuki and the Minks were like brothers!"
Obviously, these innocent Minks didn't have a shred of caution. They just blurted out their goal without hesitation.
"I see," Perospero nodded. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're probably too late. The Kozuki Clan's been wiped out. Wano's under new rule now—run by the Kurozumi family. The Kozuki passed the throne on to them."
"What?!"
Nekomamushi gasped. "You mean… our brothers are all gone?"
They both looked completely stunned, unable to believe what they were hearing.
Still…
The two kids didn't say much more. They just looked up, blinking, and asked, "So… how do we get back to the Mokomo Dukedom?"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi—Or rather, the Mink Tribe in general—They were just way too trusting.
It was their biggest weakness, really—just like the Tontatta Tribe.
Way too easy to fool.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were no exception.
Once they heard the Kozuki Clan was gone, they didn't even question it.
In their minds, if their saviors said it, it had to be true.
No need to dig deeper. Right now, they were just worried about how to get home.
That's when Nusstorte spoke up again. "How about this—you come with us to Totto Land for now. Later, we'll help you get back to the Mokomo Dukedom. Totto Land is all about peaceful coexistence between all non-human races."
"Huh?" Inuarashi blinked in surprise. "Really? But my dad always told me that humans outside our home are crazy and treat other races horribly!"
"Hehehe—" Perospero chuckled. "Totto Land isn't like that. We're all about harmony between the races."
And just like that…
Under Perospero and Nusstorte's gentle persuasion, the three completely innocent kids hopped aboard the pirate ship.
Perospero and Nusstorte already knew who Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were.
The Mokomo Dukedom wasn't ruled by a single king—but two.
Inuarashi's father and Nekomamushi's father were those rulers from the previous generation.
And now, it was these two kids' turn to inherit that power.
In other words…As long as they had these two in their grasp, the Mink Tribe was as good as theirs.
Perospero was already planning to bring them back and let Joey handle it.
As long as these two swore loyalty—
Then in no time at all… The entire Mink Tribe would be under their control.
WHOOSH!
As their cloud-ship took off into the sky, Inuarashi gasped. "Whoa! This ship's made out of clouds?! That's insane!"
Nekomamushi yowled in shock.
Nusstorte laughed. "This? This is nothing. Just wait till we get to Totto Land. You'll see real surprises."
The journey didn't take long.
And during that time, the overly trusting Inuarashi and Nekomamushi soaked up all kinds of information under Perospero's friendly guidance.
Honestly…They were soinnocent that even Perospero felt a little guilty.
It felt kind of wrong to trick kids this pure.
— — —
Five days later—
They arrived in Totto Land.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were beyond impressed. Honestly, they looked ready to swear allegiance on the spot—heck, maybe even drag their whole tribe along with them.
"Holy crap!"
"This is Totto Land?!"
"What's that?! A Longarm Tribe? Woof!"
"Is that a Beastman? Meow!"
"Woooow!"
Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi were all slack-jawed in amazement.
They stared in awe at every island they passed.
It was like they couldn't believe what they were seeing.
In their hearts, they were already forming a massive amount of admiration for someone they hadn't even met yet: Charlotte Joey.
By the time their cloud-ship docked at Whole Cake Island…
Perospero said, "We're here. Let's go."
"Okay!"
As they got off the ship—
Tap.
Joey walked over to greet them with a warm smile. "Perospero, Nusstorte—you're back."
"Big Bro!" the two answered with bright grins.
Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu were visibly thrilled.
Joey looked at them kindly. "Ah, little ones from the Mink Tribe and the Fishman Tribe. Welcome to Totto Land. As long as you're part of a non-human race, you're welcome here. You can become citizens of Totto Land."
"Mhm!" he said to Kawamatsu. "You better study hard, little guy. You had good potential."
"Okay!" Kawamatsu nodded enthusiastically.
Truth be told, Joey had high hopes for all three of them.
They were the future of their respective races.
Sure, they wouldn't be part of the inner circle… But as future leaders of their tribes, they had a lot of value.
Joey was definitely going to nurture them properly.
Inuarashi ran over and asked, full of curiosity, "Are you the king of Totto Land?"
Joey chuckled warmly. "That's right, little guy."
As he spoke, he gently rubbed Inuarashi's ears.
"Woof~" Inuarashi squinted in delight.
Then Nekomamushi ran up—BAM!—and smacked Inuarashi to the ground.
With the air of a serious little grown-up, he declared, "I'm one of the two future rulers of the Mokomo Dukedom! Meow~ And, uh… what was the rest again?"
"Hehehe~" Joey couldn't help but laugh. "I know what you're trying to say. But hey, why don't you both stay in Totto Land for a while?"
"See if it's a good fit. If you like it here, I'll personally take you back to your homeland—and we can talk about the rest of the Mink Tribe, okay?"
"Mhm!"
The two kids nodded cutely.
They were still a little naive—but they weren't stupid.
They knew they had to check things out first.
Joey didn't mind.
Now that Inuarashi and Nekomamushi were in Totto Land, the Mink Tribe was basically already in his pocket.
Controlling them? Easy as pie.
With that, the Mink Tribe was fully under their control.
Now…
The last remaining race to deal with—
Was the Dragon Tribe.
.
.
.