Chapter 407 - Zou 01.
Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV
New Word.
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In an area of the sea in the middle of the New World, the ocean became chaotic as explosions erupted in front of a massive shadow that stretched into the sky for those below, unable to see its end. This shadow kept moving.
Its mere act of walking on the sea agitated the' waters, creating enormous waves, and anyone who caught sight of this colossus in the open sea would turn back immediately, not wanting to face this creature.
The massive shadow slowly revealed its true form: a colossal walking island. However, this island was unlike any other found on the seas. The creature that carried this vastness was a giant elephant, continuing its walk across the sea, with each step echoing like thunder over the ocean. Its name was Zunesha, an ancient creature over 1000 years old, condemned to a punishment that no one fully understood since the Void Century. Some people in this world knew that it was once a companion of Joyboy, and among them, it was suspected that this punishment of wandering the seas had been imposed by Joyboy himself or perhaps his companions from that time.
Its enormous size for walking on the sea was nothing ordinary; after all, standing over 35 kilometers from its feet to the small shell on its back, what might seem like a small carapace to it was so large it could be considered an island, due to the civilization that lived there.
Despite facing extreme climatic conditions so high above the clouds, something similar to Skypiea, the people living above were different from any race in the world. This place was home to a people known as the Minks, a race of fierce warriors with animal-like traits, living in harmony with the nature they had a strong connection with due to their beastly forms.
Everything seemed normal this day, as its inhabitants were just going about their usual routines, until a short while ago, like any other day. But that changed when their two main leaders met during the changing of the guard and began fighting each other once again, as they used to do every day. The leader who ruled during the day, Inuarashi (Dog), officially known as the Duke of Day, and the other who ruled Zou during the night, Nekomamushi (Cat), officially known as the Duke of Night.
Both strove for the best path for their people, always wanting to ensure that the Minks could grow happy and prosperous on Zou, until the day they were called to fight in Wano once again.
However, due to past events related to Oden, to whom they were loyal and cooperated together until his death, the breaking of that cooperation had turned them into rivals. Every time they faced each other, it seemed they always wanted to surpass one another, but they always ended in a draw. They were much stronger than an ordinary person, reaching the level of a sub-commander or even a Yonkou commander. They would unite their forces with their beast form under the full moon and wouldn't hesitate to join forces to protect Zou if necessary.
At this moment, a battlefield had been created as the two fought one another, with explosions and blows echoing through the field. One was a dog, the other a cat, fighting fiercely without unleashing their race's most powerful strength, as they never fought under the full moon in their encounters.
Once again, the entire population watched with concern, although they were used to this, as it happened nearly every day. As they exchanged blows on the battlefield, hitting each other, their injuries began to grow.
"Today, I will defeat you!" Inuarashi shouted, attempting to strike the other.
"You're not strong enough. Now, lose like a cat, you mangy dog!" Nekomamushi responded, counterattacking.
And so, their fists collided once more. As the battle raged on, something unexpected happened this morning, drawing everyone's attention. While exchanging blows, both noticed that the sun had been covered by something that looked like a cloud. However, upon closer inspection of the shadow, they realized it was clearly not a cloud. They looked up.
"Hey, is that a ship?" The Minks exclaimed, astonished, as they saw the shape of a ship with sails, coming toward their home.
"Damn, what is that?" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi exclaimed at the same time, wondering if that uninvited ship was an enemy, as they stopped fighting and took a step back, carefully watching the ship approaching without warning.
"Nekomamushi, it's already morning... You can sleep, I'll handle this," Inuarashi said, looking at his rival.
"You think I'm going to let you govern our domain while a powerful enemy might be coming here? Don't be foolish!" Nekomamushi responded angrily.
"I swear, if you get in my way, I'll beat you so hard that I'll start ruling Zou by myself! Don't be a fool!" Inuarashi said, equally furious.
"Please, rulers, calm down. Let's first see who this individual is..." Some of the Minks tried to convince them to calm down.
At this moment, the ship began to approach, revealing itself. "That ship looks like me," Nekomamushi said, surprised as he saw a feline figure on the bow. It was none other than the Sunny Go, with Bepo, Alvida, Jinbei, and Franky aboard.
"That's a lion, nothing to do with you, you stupid cat," Inuarashi mocked.
"What did you say, you mangy dog?" Nekomamushi retorted.
"Hey, that flag..." The Minks were surprised; they received newspapers here and knew what that Jolly Roger represented, as the Sunny Go bore the Straw Hat Pirates' symbol.
"So, this is Zou... very high, good thing we have Bepo," Franky said in amazement, looking at the place, while proudly showing off his ship, which he had built in Water 7, as he always did whenever he got the chance.
"Well, it looks like they're already waiting for us," Alvida murmured, noticing the crowd of humanoid animals gathering as they approached.
Jinbei was at the helm, but the one really steering the ship was Bepo, using the power of his Akuma no Mi to get closer and closer to the Mink warriors.
"So, I'm back here... after so many years," Bepo muttered.
He knew he was one of them, not at all foolish, but somehow, he had been taken from this island when he was very young, with only hazy memories of his childhood here. He had left for certain reasons and ended up in the North Blue, where he met Lami when he was still a child. The girl had adopted him as her companion since then, and he grew up with her, even though he was just a child. Lami had practically been a mother to him. Now, he was returning to his homeland with a mix of excitement and fear.
"Hey, Bepo? Are you going to do what the captain asked? After all, he asked you to represent us here..." Alvida spoke to him.
"I don't know... I don't know if I can do this," Bepo replied, hesitating.
Alvida just sighed, realizing she would have to give him some encouragement as she approached the polar bear Mink. "Well, anyway, let's go," she said, pushing him right off the ship just 30 meters away from Zou.
"AHHHH!!!" Bepo was first surprised but quickly calmed down in the air, kicking the air with Geppo and starting to stabilize, landing on the ground in front of all the residents who had been waiting for a fight. After all, as a Mink, he should represent the crew.
After landing smoothly on the ground, the entire tribe was looking at him with some surprise, while three others landed beside him, seemingly from three different races. Despite Alvida being a human woman, Franky was far too large and unreal for a human, and Jinbei was clearly a fish-man.
Bepo, although feeling some fear, quickly controlled the ship, landing carefully beside them.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi asked at the same time in a dangerous tone.
"That's Bepo I saw in the newspaper... But he's also a Mink!" The Minks quickly realized that Bepo was one of them.
"How strange... Does anyone remember him?" The curious and cautious eyes soon began questioning Bepo, after all, they didn't know him, even though Bepo had been born here.
As the gossip continued, the leaders didn't seem too fond of hearing about this crew from the newspaper, even though they had a common enemy, Kaido.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hats present all looked at Bepo, as Luffy had asked him to represent the crew here.
"Hey, tell me exactly what your intentions are!" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi demanded, seeing the silence from the other side.
"Ugh, no way... put the wig on him," Alvida sighed, as Franky, with his huge body, which made the Minks question if he was even human, pulled something from his belt and held it up. It was a wig, and in the next moment, he placed it on Bepo's head.
Bepo hesitated for a moment, not even feeling the wig being put on, but in the next instant, his eyes lit up, making all the Minks sense a shift in the atmosphere around the polar bear, one of their own kind.
"It's been a long time since I've been here... This place is quite nostalgic... How are you, Mink Tribe? Let me introduce myself. I am Bepo, a Mink like you before anything else, and a member of the Straw Hat Crew, led by Monkey D. Luffy. We're here for a purpose..." Bepo began, as everyone stared, stunned by the sudden change, while he seemed to stand confidently against his entire race, without any fear.
"We want to make Zou our ally, and of course, also strengthen our naval power within our fleet. That's why I'm here: to challenge all of you," Bepo said, stomping firmly on the ground as he stepped away from the rest of the crew, walking toward the entire Mink tribe.
"If I defeat all of you, I want you to join my captain's fleet. If we lose, we'll leave and give you a gift: a way to enter your beast form without needing the full moon. If you join our crew, you'll have that too, of course..." Bepo added.
With that, everyone stared in astonishment at Bepo's words, even the two leaders looked suspicious. It seemed that Bepo, now radiating an air of confidence, was approaching the crowd watching him as he prepared to face his entire race.
Of course, his words made everyone look at him with distrust, but in the next moment, shock spread through the crowd. Bepo began to grow, proving the truth of his words. His body transformed into its beast form as his clothes ripped, without needing the moon or the Rumble Balls Chopper had created to enter Sulong mode.
He transformed into a massive bear over 20 meters tall in just a second, stomping on the ground and making the entire place tremble. All the Minks were stunned by what they were seeing.
"I'm here for a simple challenge. If you beat me, I will give you the way to enter this mode. If I win, all of Zou's territory will become part of the Straw Hat Crew, and all the Minks will join our crew. But don't worry, the captain is fair, and you won't regret it," he said, issuing the challenge, while all the Minks stared, shocked by Bepo's form.
His body was in the Sulong form, something that usually only happened at night under the full moon, but now he had managed to activate this transformation in the middle of the day. They didn't know how he had done it, as his body began to electrify. Bepo was one of the most powerful members of the crew at this moment, even though he still retained his hesitant personality and lack of confidence. However, as soon as he wore the wig, he somehow overcame any hesitation, taking on a character ever since the days of Whisky Peak.
Bepo possessed the Six Powers in their most advanced forms, being the most skilled in this area. He had medium-level Armament Haki and Observation Haki, as well as the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, a legendary power comparable to the tremor power of the late Whitebeard. And then there was his beast form, which multiplied his strength several times over. He was a true powerhouse, and now he was challenging the entire Mink race to prove his superior power, even against his own kind.
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