In the New World, within a sea of dense fog so thick that even brilliant sunlight could barely pierce through it—
A terrifying shadow slowly broke through the barrier of mist like a mountain range, revealing bit by bit its awe-inspiring form.
Splash, splash, splash...
The surging waves suddenly swelled.
A colossal leg, as thick as a pillar holding up the heavens, slashed through the already restless surface of the sea, turning the once-calm waters into a nightmare zone for any ship that dared approach.
And this absurdly विशाल—no, impossibly gigantic—figure was none other than the moving island Red and the others had been searching for all along, the one known as "Zou"—
Zunesha!
…
…
"Th-This... is this really a creature that exists in this world!?"
At the same time—
High in the sky over a dozen kilometers away from Zunesha, the Going Merry hovered in midair, having easily found the place by following the guidance of the Vivre Card.
The moment they saw Zunesha's vast body, even the widely traveled Straw Hat crew could not help but reveal expressions of utter astonishment.
How could there...
Be something this huge!?
Even Red, who had long known just how massive Zunesha was, could not help but start thinking after seeing its body with his own eyes:
"Judging by the reaction in the anime, Zunesha seems to be a male creature~"
"Its back alone is already large enough to carry an entire kingdom. So that part of its body... it's probably the size of several towns, right!?"
"Tsk~ just imagining it is terrifying."
Red's thoughts wandered in all sorts of ridiculous directions.
And while the Straw Hats were still overwhelmed by Zunesha's immense form, the giant elephant—despite having seemed so distant just moments ago—had unknowingly already arrived before them.
But compared to Zunesha's massive body, the Going Merry, only about the size of a Marine battleship, was like a mosquito floating near its head, completely incapable of drawing even the slightest bit of attention.
"Luffy, go into Gear Fifth for a second."
Right then, Red suddenly spoke.
"Huh?"
The curious and excited Luffy froze for a moment, but then immediately entered his Nika form, turning into Gear Fifth Luffy with white flames curling around his body.
"What's wrong? Is there an enemy?"
After transforming, Luffy looked around and asked Red.
But seeing that Zunesha's empty eyes remained unchanged from beginning to end, Red shook his head in disappointment.
"It's nothing. Just a little test."
"You can change back now."
"Oh~"
Luffy blinked in confusion, then returned to normal.
Even though he had no idea what Red was trying to do, he knew Red must have had his own reasons and purpose.
So that's how it is. What Zunesha was waiting for was never Luffy himself, but the new Joy Boy born after being assimilated by the Nika Fruit.
Red sighed inwardly.
As a transmigrator from Earth, he naturally disliked all this talk of fate and bloodline.
But now it seemed...
Being assimilated by the Nika Fruit and turning into Nika, someone who only knew how to laugh wildly, had originally been Luffy's destined path.
It was only because of Red's existence that Luffy had been able to maintain his own independent personality. Under such circumstances, even if he entered his Nika form, he still could not become the Joy Boy recognized by Zunesha.
"Looks like the idea of taking a shortcut and controlling Zunesha is going to fall through."
Red laughed softly to himself.
"I knew it~ How could the drumbeat that sounded on Onigashima possibly have reached Zunesha thousands of miles away?"
"It was all the will of Nika messing around."
"Wui?"
As if sensing that Red was thinking about something related to it, Little Nika—who was lying in Merry's arms—suddenly let out a soft cry.
It sounded almost like it was asking Red whether it had done something wrong.
"Haha, this has nothing to do with you~" Red turned around and reached out a finger to tease Little Nika.
Although the current Little Nika had indeed been condensed from the will of the Nika Fruit, its true essence had long since become that of a proper Pokémon from the Pokémon world!
In fact, the way it existed was even more in line with the nature of a Pokémon than any member of the Straw Hat crew.
That thought flashed through Red's mind, and he immediately smiled at Merry and said:
"Merry, prepare to land!"
"Hopefully the Mink Tribe coming to greet us will be a little kinder~"
"Otherwise, we'll just have to give them a little Straw Hat shock!"
"Alrighty~"
Merry, who was piloting the ship, let out a soft laugh.
In the next instant, a burst of azure flame erupted from the Going Merry's tail fins.
The tremendous propulsion turned the Going Merry into a lightning meteor cutting through the dense mist, rapidly flying toward the Mink settlement on Zunesha's back.
…
…
At the same time—
Within the Mink Tribe's settlement, the Mokomo Dukedom.
Because of Red and the others' arrival, Momonosuke's group had not even been able to leave Wano Country, so this place naturally had not suffered Jack's destruction like it had in the original story.
Lush vitality hung over the Mokomo Dukedom.
Though it was called a kingdom, the place actually felt more like the ruined capital of a fallen civilization.
And the Mink Tribe were like animals that had occupied a human city, living throughout the ancient urban remains according to their own animal instincts and habits.
"Wait, Carrot, something feels off!"
Within the flourishing forest, Wanda—one of the Musketeers, who was patrolling the outskirts of the Mokomo Dukedom as usual—suddenly came to a halt.
As a canine Mink, she twitched her sharp nose, then frowned.
"This is bad! I smell strangers here!?"
"Strangers!?"
Carrot, who had only joined the Musketeers not long ago, instantly lit up with excitement.
"You mean someone snuck onto Zou!?"
"That's great! Patrol duty is so boring—finally there's a chance to do something else!"
"Could they be pirates who accidentally landed here!?"
"I wonder what interesting things they might have on them!"
"Don't get careless!" Seeing Carrot react like this, the steady and composed Wanda immediately furrowed her brows.
Although Carrot's combat power already ranked among the better members of the Musketeers, her reckless personality had always been a headache for the older members like Wanda.
"The seas aren't like the ones we used to know anymore."
"The appearance of the Straw Hat Pirates wiped out a lot of the lucky fools ahead of schedule. Anyone still sailing in the New World at a time like this won't be simple."
Because of Zunesha, the Mink Tribe was actually in a semi-isolationist state as well.
They did not welcome outsiders, but they did not completely reject contact with the outside world either.
So every year, some young Minks would leave the island and head out into the world to go adventuring.
Those people became the Mink Tribe's only bridge to the outside world.
Aside from that, the Minks also regularly received newspapers delivered by News Coo, so they were not completely ignorant of the outside world.
But...
It was precisely because they knew what was happening at sea that they felt even more lost.
In just the span of a single year, the changes on the seas had been far too great, so much so that every Mink in the kingdom had become filled with vigilance toward the outside world.
"I know that!"
Crackle~
A bolt of electricity suddenly flickered across Carrot's furry palm.
Of course...
Though both were Minks, there was a fundamental difference between Carrot and Wanda.
Despite being a rabbit Mink, Carrot only had the normal rabbit traits on her head.
Perhaps her human genes were more dominant.
There were only three features on Carrot's body that proved her identity as a Mink...
Her long snow-white rabbit ears, her cute rabbit-like three-part mouth, and the fluffy tail behind her.
Every other part of her body was no different from a normal human's.
"Sigh... anyway, just listen to my orders later and absolutely do not act alone!"
Seeing Carrot like this, Wanda could only let out a helpless sigh.
Carrot grinned brightly and replied in an adorable tone:
"Hehe~ don't worry, Wanda~"
"Just leave everything to me!"
"..."
Wanda: "I don't think you listened to a single word I just said."
"Wait!"
Suddenly, both Wanda and Carrot stopped in their tracks at the same time.
One quickly sniffed the air overhead, while the other raised her ears and listened intently.
A moment later, Wanda said in shock:
"How are they this fast!?"
"That group of intruders is about to arrive!?"
Carrot also cried out loudly, "It's from above! Their sounds are coming from the sky!!!"
"What!?" Wanda was stunned, then hurriedly looked toward the distant sky in the direction Carrot pointed.
The next second, a swift meteor suddenly shot out from behind the dense forest. Flying at a height of more than ten meters above the ground, it sped rapidly toward the interior of the kingdom.
"Oh no!!! They flew straight into the capital!!!"
Seeing this, Wanda cried out in alarm.
Carrot immediately grabbed a whistle and blew it with all her strength.
Fweeeeee—
Along with the sharp, piercing whistle, a burst of chaotic movement suddenly erupted throughout the forest.
Not long after, one Musketeer after another rushed to the area around Wanda and Carrot.
"What happened, Wanda? Carrot?"
A musketeer with the face of a lion, dressed in splendid clothing and carrying himself with elegant bearing, immediately asked.
Wanda and Carrot quickly reported:
"This is bad, Captain Sicilian!"
"A ship suddenly descended from the sky just now and flew toward the interior of the kingdom!"
"Although we didn't clearly see their flag, I vaguely caught sight of a skull emblem—"
"They must be some pirate crew that has mastered a flying ability!"
"A pirate crew!? Damn it!"
Urgency instantly flashed across Sicilian's face.
He abruptly drew the slender sword at his waist and shouted to the surrounding Musketeers:
"All of you, stop what you're doing immediately and head for the capital to purge the pirates!!!"
"We absolutely cannot let those guys from the Guardians see us make fools of ourselves!!!"
"Yes, sir!!!"
All the Musketeers responded loudly.
For a certain reason, the Mokomo Dukedom was currently in a state of divided rule.
During the daytime, the king of the Mokomo Dukedom was Duke Inuarashi, and he and his Musketeers governed the kingdom by day.
When night fell, however, authority over the kingdom passed to Boss Nekomamushi and the Guardians under his command.
This arrangement had continued for many years.
The irreconcilable relationship between Duke Inuarashi and Boss Nekomamushi had also led to mutual hostility between the Musketeers and the Guardians.
If the Guardians found out that during the daytime, the Musketeers had allowed pirates to break into the kingdom's interior, then for a long time afterward, they would never be able to hold their heads high again.
So no matter what, they had to deal with the intruding pirates before the Guardians noticed anything unusual.
But what they could never have imagined was that while they were discussing how to pursue the flying ship...
The very same ship was simultaneously broadcasting footage of all their actions.
"How impressive~"
"To think you can observe the enemy's movements like this. As expected of Dr. Vegapunk's work!"
"Looks like my insect reconnaissance legion is about ready for retirement!"
On the deck of the Going Merry, two beams of light shot out from Franky's eyes, forming a virtual screen in the air.
And on that virtual screen was the very scene of the Musketeers deciding to pursue the Going Merry.
Hearing Usopp's sigh of admiration, Franky immediately burst into hearty laughter.
"Better not, Usopp."
"My scouting robots aren't nearly as stealthy as your bugs. These guys are just too weak to notice them, that's all."
"And there are all sorts of issues with signals and magnetic interference..."
"My methods can't compare to your bugs."
"Alright, alright, enough flattering each other."
Red cut off the conversation between the two with an amused smile, then turned to Chopper.
"But if we barge into the Mink Tribe's territory like this, it's bound to cause some unnecessary trouble."
"In that case, Chopper..."
Red suddenly said:
"You'll handle those troubles later."
"It'll be a good chance to test how much your strength has grown recently."
"Got it, leave it to me!"
Little Chopper confidently slapped his chest.
With his strength increasing, he was no longer as insecure and timid as before.
More importantly, as his power improved, so too did his knowledge and insight.
The current Chopper still could not compare to scientists like Judge or Queen, but when it came to biology and pharmacology, his research was already second only to those top scientists of the world.
And most importantly...
Unlike people like Judge, who had strengths and weaknesses, Chopper's path of learning had been one of complete all-around development!
Not long ago, with help from one of Vegapunk's clones, Chopper had successfully developed the antidote to SMILE's laughter-inducing side effects—something that even Caesar and Queen had been helpless to solve.
It was specifically meant to restore the people of Wano Country who had been forced to eat failed artificial Devil Fruits back to normal.
At least in the field of pharmacology, the current Chopper was now second only to Vegapunk in the entire Pokémon Sea!
"Be careful, though~ The two rulers of this country were once members of the Roger Pirates!"
Seeing Chopper so full of confidence, Red smiled in satisfaction, though he still did not forget to remind him.
But the only thing he got in return was Chopper's unconcerned reply:
"So what if they were crew members of the Pirate King!?"
"I'm the doctor of the Straw Hat Pirates~ Why would I be afraid of the Pirate King's subordinates!?"
(End of Chapter)