"King?"
After hearing Luffy's words, not only Pedro and the others, but even the members of the Straw Hat crew themselves were filled with doubt.
"What are you saying with such a serious expression? That's not funny."
Luffy smiled and said, "Even if it was just a joke, it's not entirely wrong. Ladies and gentlemen, your country was built on the back of this giant elephant beneath your feet, and I'm probably the only one who can command it."
"You can command Zunesha?!"
Pedro spoke in disbelief.
The Mink Tribe had lived there for thousands of years. Leaving aside their long history, at the very least, for hundreds of years, he had never heard of anyone who could command Zunesha.
Not to mention giving orders—there wasn't even any way to communicate with it.
"Don't believe me?" Luffy smiled faintly.
"The anomaly with Zunesha right now is because of your arrival? He's never howled like that before," Pedro said seriously.
"Zunesha, give us a good show," Luffy shouted.
At the same time, the message was sent directly into Zunesha's mind.
Then everyone felt a slight vibration beneath their feet, and Zunesha scooped up a mouthful of seawater and swung its trunk backward.
Roar—
Like a torrential downpour, a massive volume of seawater came crashing down toward everyone.
"Pedro, this man really can command Zunesha!" Carrot said, her eyes wide open.
"This is unbelievable… the main schedule of the 'eruption rain' is fixed at twice a day. The last one was several hours ago!"
The one who spoke was tall and slender, with large breasts and a canine appearance—long snout, floppy ears, and thick fur.
She was a Mink Tribe woman named Wanda.
Luffy moved his arm, shaking the surroundings.
The power of the Gura Gura no Mi instantly split the seawater above his head, which then fell harmlessly into the forest.
After that, a rainbow appeared in the sky.
All the members of the Mink Tribe were stunned by the sight.
"Want more proof? I could have Zunesha dance, for example."
Carrot hurriedly waved her hands. "No! No! If he moves that much, he'll destroy the entire duchy!"
Spraying a little seawater upward was fine—the Mokomo Dukedom usually relied on that behavior to obtain fresh water.
But dancing would be disastrous.
Pedro took a deep breath and said, "Luffy, you are pirates, correct? What is your purpose in coming to this country?"
"Hey, do you really not know Luffy?" Usopp couldn't help but say. "Luffy's face shows up in the news every few days. He's now known as one of the Yonko, along with Kaido, Big Mom, and Shanks the Red-Haired. Man, it's really strange that you don't know this."
"News?" Wanda shook her head and said, "It's been quite a long time since the Newsbirds last came to Zou, so we don't know what's been happening outside."
Pedro nodded and asked in a respectful tone, "What happened to the previous one, Whitebeard? The last time I went out was three years ago, and Whitebeard was still a Yonko."
"Whitebeard is dead," Robin explained gently. "Not long ago, during the war at Marineford."
Upon hearing this, the other Minks did not respond, but Pedro's pupils suddenly contracted.
Whitebeard… that great pirate is dead?
Do Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi know this news?
Thinking of this, Pedro immediately asked everyone to lower their weapons and said, "Please, come with me. I'll take you to see Duke Inuarashi first!"
With that, he turned around and walked toward the city gate, waving his hand.
Soon, the massive iron gate slowly opened.
Luffy adjusted his straw hat as he walked, and everyone followed him into the Mokomo Dukedom.
Usopp noticed that Chopper didn't look quite right.
It was similar to Sanji—staring at Wanda with affectionate eyes.
"Ah, has Chopper gone into heat too?" Usopp couldn't help laughing.
Wanda also seemed to notice the unusual scene. She turned around, saw Chopper, immediately narrowed her eyes, and responded with a smile.
Chopper froze like a statue.
Sanji quickly grabbed him. "Snap out of it, Chopper!"
Robin covered her mouth and laughed. After all, Chopper was a man too.
Maybe Zoro as well…? It was hard to imagine Zoro being enchanted by a woman.
Thinking this, Robin glanced at Luffy with interest.
Luffy—definitely not.
The others were just innocent boys, but Luffy was a great pervert in human skin!
The group passed through the iron gate and entered the duchy.
A forest could be seen in the distance, and at its center stood an enormous tree.
It resembled a whale.
Luffy looked up, and on the whale's belly was the hidden location of the second Road Poneglyph.
It didn't take long for the group to meet the ruler of the place, Duke Inuarashi.
Inuarashi, as one could tell from his appearance, was a member of the Mink Tribe.
He had prominent canine features and was incredibly large—standing upright, he was more than twice Zoro's height. His fur was gray, with black ears and thick white fur around his neck. He had a beard and wore a pair of sunglasses.
He was dressed in dark-blue European-style ducal clothing, a wine-red cloak, and carried a long sword at his waist.
When he saw Luffy, his expression changed.
"That Straw Hat… Is Zunesha's abnormal behavior because of you? This is the first time I've ever seen someone who can command him."
Inuarashi showed no hostility; his attitude was quite gentle.
Robin asked, "Are you the governor here?"
"There are two governors. Duke Inuarashi is the King of the Day, who rules during the daytime, and the other is the King of the Night, who rules at night—Master Nekomamushi," Pedro explained.
Hearing this, the Straw Hat crew exchanged uneasy glances.
Luffy said with a smile, "Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, you both used to be members of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger's crew, right?"
Exactly.
These two kings had followed Kozuki Oden aboard Whitebeard's ship.
Later, Roger asked Whitebeard to lend him Kozuki Oden, and the two of them then sailed aboard Roger's ship.
"How do you know that?" Inuarashi was stunned.
"This straw hat was given to me by Shanks. Now I'm following the path Roger once walked, collecting the four Road Poneglyphs. I heard that one of them is here with you."
Inuarashi suddenly said, "Shanks? That name is truly nostalgic. Do you really want that Road Poneglyph?"
"Is it inconvenient?"
Inuarashi shook his head and said, "I have no reason to stop you. Look at it as much as you want—just don't take it away. It's something important that the Mink Tribe protects."
After a pause, he added, "Come with me. I'll take you to the Road Poneglyph."
(End of the chapter)