117. The Mink Tribe

"Stop for me!"

Luffy's huge roar echoed over the entire Mink Tribe Kingdom. The inhabitants of Zou looked up at the sky in amazement.

"Whose voice is this?" Duke Inuarashi frowned, staring at the sky. Such a huge and unfamiliar roar was full of powerful spirits.

"What a loud voice," Nekomamushi woke up from his sleep and roared loudly, stretching as he did so.

"This is?" Carrot and Wanda of the Musketeers looked towards the sky.

The next moment, the entire Zou Island trembled violently.

"Is this Zou stopping?" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, who had the keenest senses, were the first to feel the change. Zou, an island that never stops, whether day or night, the giant elephant carrying it tirelessly moves forward. But now, the violent vibration meant the elephant had stopped for the first time in thousands of years.

"Was it because of that voice just now?" Inuarashi vaguely remembered the voice that seemed to command the elephant to stop. Could it really be that voice that made it stop? This was too unbelievable.

---

Outside Zou.

"Phew, it finally stopped, that voice," Luffy felt the disappearance of the extremely loud voice in his head and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Speaking of which, Oden seemed to have experienced something similar when he first came here," Marco said thoughtfully on the deck of the Sunny. "Oden said there was a loud voice saying something, but he couldn't communicate with it. After a while, the voice dissipated."

"Hey, Marco, Zou is a giant elephant that never stops, right?" Robin asked with a solemn face.

"Yes, according to Zou's history, the elephant has been walking like this for at least 800 years," Marco responded.

"Then, why did this giant elephant stop now?" Robin pointed at the giant elephant with wide eyes. Since Luffy's shout, the distance between them and the elephant hadn't increased, whereas before, they had to struggle to keep up.

"Luffy, did you really stop this giant elephant?" Nami asked.

"This giant elephant is really alive. It's unimaginable, a creature that has lived for thousands of years," Chopper said, feeling a bit weird.

"Isn't it good to test it?" Usopp thought for a moment, then called out to Luffy, "Hey, Luffy, ask this giant elephant to send us up with its trunk."

"Is it okay?" Although Luffy was puzzled, he followed Usopp's suggestion and yelled loudly at the elephant.

"I will follow your orders, Joy Boy," the huge voice sounded in Luffy's mind again, but this time it wasn't as loud and could be accepted.

A moment later, an unimaginably thick elephant trunk covered the sky and rolled up Luffy and the Sunny. The 100-meter-high Luffy and the 39-meter-long Sunny looked like toys in front of this enormous trunk.

"It's amazing, haha," Luffy's body shrunk back to normal, and he landed firmly on the trunk. They quickly climbed up, countless times faster than before. Soon, with the help of the elephant's trunk, they reached the top of the elephant's back. From here, they could clearly see the Mink Tribe Kingdom below.

The so-called Zou Island was indeed an island carried on the back of a giant elephant. The prosperous city built among the lush jungles was visible.

---

In the Zou Kingdom, everyone watched in shock as the elephant's trunk moved closer, like an enormous pillar descending.

"Why did it appear now? Today is not the time for the rain of gifts," someone commented.

"Why is it getting closer?" others wondered.

Duke Inuarashi led the members of the Musketeer Team quickly approaching the elephant's trunk. On the other side, a fat cat, Nekomamushi, rushed out of the grass.

"Old cat, you're awake too?" Duke Inuarashi said.

At this critical moment, they didn't fight as usual. Instead, they moved quickly towards where the elephant's trunk was heading.

The closer they got, the more surprised they became.

What is that? They seemed to see a ship on the trunk of the elephant.

"Is the trunk sending the ship to Zou?" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi looked at each other, seeing the shock in each other's eyes. Could someone be controlling the elephant?

When they arrived at the landing point of the trunk, they saw it gently place the Sunny on a lake.

"Thanks, Big Elephant," Luffy patted the elephant's nose with a smile, and the trunk retracted.

"Who can control the elephant master?" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were shocked. They knew the elephant was a living being, but they never expected it could be manipulated.

"Long time no see, Nekomamushi, Inuarashi," a familiar voice sounded from the ship.

Marco stretched out his blue flame wings and flew towards the shore.

"Marco?" Nekomamushi and Inuarashi looked at him and showed surprise. If Marco had been here, the person who had commanded the elephant would have been clear. The super big pirate who has risen like a comet in the New World recently, Straw Hat Luffy. This man, recognized by Whitebeard, has been unstoppable since the Summit War.

Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, who have been on both Whitebeard's and Roger's ships, had a good impression of the Straw Hats.

"Straw Hat Luffy," Pedro's eyes were deep with meaning.

"Straw Hat Crew?" Carrot, wearing sharp claw gloves, poked her head out cutely, looking at the famous pirates on the Sunny. Her heart, eager to go to sea, began to become restless again.

"Let me introduce you. These are Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, retainers of Oden who boarded our and Roger's ships," Marco introduced with a smile. "As for these cat vipers and Inuarashi, you should already know them."

"Sounds like thunder, Straw Hat Luffy."

"Three-sword swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, with a bounty of 3.8 billion."

"Black Leg Sanji, with a bounty of 350 million."

Nekomamushi and Inuarashi looked over, seeing unimaginably powerful figures with terrifying bounties. Even with their strength, they could feel a strong sense of oppression. This was the full combat power of the Straw Hat Pirates, the crew closest to becoming the Pirate King.

"This oppressive force is almost the same as that of the Roger Pirates back then," Nekomamushi couldn't help but remark. The Roger Pirates were the most comprehensive pirate crew he had ever seen, even surpassing the Whitebeard Pirates. But now, the strength of the Straw Hat Pirates rivalled the Roger Pirates at their peak.

"Has the bounty increased again?" Zoro yawned, showing little interest. For someone of his strength, the bounty was just a number.

"Damn it, the gap between him and this stinky swordsman is widening again," Sanji muttered, feeling frustrated upon hearing about his bounty from Nekomamushi.

"Are you Mink Tribe members? Just like Chopper, so interesting," Luffy said with a big grin, looking at Nekomamushi and Inuarashi.

"Speaking of which, the Mink Tribe members are indeed similar to Chopper, who ate the Hito Hito no Mi fruit," Usopp said, surprised. The biggest difference between Mink Tribe members and animals was that their intelligence and bodies were closer to humans, much like the Fish-Men.

"I've always been curious: what would happen if a Mink Tribe member or Fish-Man ate the Hito Hito no Mi fruit?" Usopp wondered aloud.

"No one can explain that," Robin said, "At least from Chopper's experience, the Human-Human Fruit seems to have enhanced his intelligence and given him human forms, but not much else."

"You might as well ask what changes would happen if a human ate the Hito Hito no Mi Fruit," Franky chimed in.

Nekomamushi and Inuarashi didn't pay much attention to the Straw Hat Pirates' daily banter.

"If you don't mind, let us treat you well," Nekomamushi said with a smile. Although the Mink Tribe generally rejected humans, they didn't reject all humans. They had welcomed the Roger Pirates with a grand reception before, and now, with Luffy inheriting Roger's will and Whitebeard's approval, plus Marco's presence, they were perfectly fine in the kingdom of the Fur Tribe.

"OK," Luffy smiled, feeling excited about everything on Zou Island. The Mink Tribe and their kingdom intrigued him.

As Luffy and the others left, in the lush jungle next to the lake, a group of pirates in white coats emerged. If Luffy and the others were still there, they would have recognized Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates.

"Damn it, I'm so envious. Why should we be rejected while the Straw Hat Pirates are treated with courtesy by the Mink Tribe King?" one of the crew members complained.

"Hey, Bepo, think of a way. I also want to visit the Mink Tribe Kingdom," another said.

"There is no way," Bepo said dejectedly, "I'm just an ordinary Mink Tribe member. I can't convince Duke Inuarashi and Boss Nekomamushi."

"Don't blame Bepo. The Straw Hats are the new Four Emperors, after all," Law said, leaning his long sword on his shoulder. "Also, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco, has a close friendship with the two kings of the Mink Tribe."

"Let's go, take a rest. We should leave soon," Law said calmly. He didn't think about working with Luffy. They were no longer on the same level. Law wanted to rely on his own strength to solve Doflamingo. Things had gone better than he imagined. The connection between Kaido and Doflamingo was cut off, and the World Government's power was shrinking. Doflamingo's power was almost emptied.

---

A furry face suddenly pressed against Luffy's, biting his cheek.

"Hahaha, it's so itchy," Luffy laughed. The one biting his face was a cute Mink Tribe rabbit.

"My name is Carrot. I've wanted to go to sea for a long time. Let me join your crew, Luffy," Carrot said eagerly.

"OK," Luffy agreed readily, surprising Yamato. It was difficult for her to join, but a rabbit joined easily.

While Yamato was surprised, the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates were entangled by the enthusiastic Mink Tribe.

"I heard you defeated Hawkeye, the world's number one swordsman. If you have time, let's spar," Pedro said to Zoro.

Pedro, who had gone to sea and returned with painful memories, idolized Roger. He had great goodwill towards Luffy, who inherited Roger's will.

"Karoocho," Sanji was twisted all over, searching for beautiful Fur Tribe members. Despite having animal heads, they had an inexplicable sense of beauty.

The most popular among the Mink Tribe was Brook. To the Mink Tribe, especially dogs, Brook seemed to emit an attractive fragrance. Duke Inuarashi kept his gaze on Brook most of the time.

After the banquet, Duke Inuarashi and Nekomamushi spoke seriously.

"Luffy, we know you're here for the Road Poneglyph," Inuarashi said.

"Yeah, Marco told me you have a Road Poneglyph here," Luffy said, smiling.

"The Road Poneglyph is in the Whale Forest. I can take you to make a rubbing later," Nekomamushi said cheerfully.

"Actually, you may not believe this, but we've been waiting for you for a long time," Inuarashi said seriously.

----------

You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion