Pampered

'Okay, this isn't so bad.' Cherry thought.

The moment she and Robin entered the bathhouse, they got swarmed by mink ladies and were currently being waited on hand and foot like some sort of luxury spa.

"These are very nice soaps you have." Robin complimented.

"They have to be. Our fur is our pride; we can only use the best in our care of it." Wanda said, running her fingers through Cherry's hair with shampoo.

"The scents are remarkably subtle and complex, too." Cherry added.

"Of course, our noses are quite strong after all. I'm surprised you can tell though. I've heard that humans don't have very good senses of smell." Wanda replied.

"I'm just built different." Cherry remarked.

Robin rolled her eyes as a bucket was dumped over her head.

Soon they were relaxing in a steaming bath. Cherry was snuggling against Robin's shoulder, asleep.

"... She's a lot cuter when she's unconscious…" Wanda commented.

"Isn't she?" Robin smiled. "I like her wild side very much as well, though."

"She was certainly passionate in her work with the blacksmiths." Wanda chuckled.

"Wait until you see her in battle." Robin spoke.

"It may be some time until that happens. I'll admit I'm a tad disappointed that Jack's fleet was sunk by the marines. He would have made an excellent test for our new armory." Wanda sighed.

"It's good that Zou is peaceful now, though, is it not?" Robin asked.

"Of course. It's just frustrating that we could not even the score with that brute." Wanda scratched her head.

Cherry stood bolt upright and looked around in mild confusion with a frown forming on her face.

"Cherry, what's wrong-?" Robin asked, then the land beneath their feet quaked.

All the minks were immediately rushing to get dressed and go find out what was happening. Thankfully their style of clothing wasn't that complicated to put on, so the process was quite quick.

Robin and Cherry were similarly fast in getting decent before rushing to find the others.

…

"Who is that?! Who's speaking so loudly?!" Luffy shouted, clutching his ears.

Momonosuke was similarly in great pain from a voice that no one else could hear.

Robin and Cherry showed up not long after the initial quake to find the samurai fruitlessly trying to help Momonsuke somehow in this strange predicament.

"The elephant is being attacked." Cherry said.

"Zunesha is being attacked?!" Dogstorm exclaimed. "Head for the ships! Find the attackers, wherever or whoever they are!"

Dogstorm didn't waste time asking pointless questions like how Cherry was so certain about that. As one of this land's kings, he had to be decisive.

"It's Jack with a powerful fleet! To the left side, the 9 o'clock position!" Momonosuke cried out.

Cat Viper commanded, "You heard him! You know where to seek them out!"

Cherry placed her hands on either side of Momonosuke's head and immediately he calmed down greatly, though he still looked quite uncomfortable. "What do you hear, Momo?"

"A voice… It says that the elephant committed a grave crime a long time ago, and must follow its last command. To walk, and walk, and walk! It's… it's asking for a new command…" Momonosuke said.

"Then give it one." Cherry said.

"How?" Momonosuke asked. Perhaps if he were still under duress from the deafening sound he would have just shouted by now.

"Just do it. Muster up all the kingliness in your bones and blood and take command." Cherry advised.

Momo took a deep breath and shouted, "Drive them away!!! Don't let them make you fall!!!"

There was another shift in the movements of Zunesha, only this time it felt different. In the distance, they saw Zunesha's head tilt in one direction, then forcibly sway to the other. They heard the crashing of the water even from all the way up here on its back. There were no more quakes after that and Zunesha seemed to return to its normal stride.

Luffy calmed down, as did Momonosuke. Cherry tentatively released the boy, and seeing he was alright she let him have his space. Momonosuke slipped into a slumber, seeming to have overexerted himself somehow.

"To think that Zunesha had a will of its own. For our entire record history, it has always marched onwards to some unknown destination." Dogstorm commented.

"Are you stupid?" Cherry said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Cherry!" Nami reprimanded.

"This big guy or girl had a brain the size of a small mountain and you thought it was just a big dumb animal?" Cherry pressed on.

Dogstorm scratched his floppy right ear awkwardly. Cat Viper laughed at him like he wasn't in the same boat as his rival.

"I suppose that makes sense… Stop laughing, Cat! It isn't that funny!" Dogstorm said.

"Wouldn't that mean sea kings are smart too?" Franky asked.

"Of course they are. My precious Takako, though she isn't technically a sea king, is like a thousand times smarter than Luffy." Cherry said.

"I'm smarter than a fish!" Luffy argued.

"Takako's got more arms than you, so she can count higher." Cherry shot back.

"Oh, I see. I can't argue with that…" Luffy rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"See? He doesn't even know that octopi don't have fingers to count on." Cherry presented to the others.

"What?!" Luffy fell right into her trap, but then his eyes shone. "Aha, but they do have suction cups!"

Luffy nodded like he'd achieved some great victory, and the others silently agreed that Takako was smarter than he was.

"I didn't mention this before, since I didn't know the elephant is like a person or whatever, but what are the trees growing from?" Franky asked. "There's a bit of dirt, but it's only a thin layer on top of skin."

That was a disturbing image that was planted in their heads. Were the trees killing Zunesha? Did the roots burying into its back hurt?

"They're parasitic," Cherry said with some certainty.

The minks cringed. They wondered if it would be a mercy to destroy the forest, but that was no easy thing to decide as they relied on the forest for many reasons.

"Not to worry!" Chopper chimed in. "For an animal of this size, these trees are barely a bother! Their roots also secrete a natural anesthetic substance, so they shouldn't cause pain either!"

The minks breathed a sigh of relief. They could trust a doctor on that, couldn't they?

Chopper's eyes twinkled innocently.

Couldn't they?

Cat Viper shook off his daze first. "This doesn't bode well, though. Jack finding his way here the first time COULD have been a fluke, an accident. Twice… that's almost assuredly not a coincidence. He meant to come here and had a way to make it happen…"

"Well, we're headed out in a few hours and I've got urgent business to take care of. If you see any lightning, stay clear of it will ya?" Cherry said, waving goodbye to them.

Dogstorm and Cat Viper waved back, but looked confused about the lightning part. "Lightning? She can't use Electro, right? She's human."