Chapter 155: The Kings of Zou — The Cat and the Dog
The silence that followed Luffy's words was absolute.
"Samurai? Companion?" Wanda's ears swiveled forward. Her eyes narrowed. "What do you know?"
Brook moved first. "Bone-Hand SWORD!"
CRACK.
Luffy's face met the floor with enough force to rattle the pineapple house's foundations.
"WHAT ARE YOU HITTING ME FOR?! I was just saying that Kin'emon—"
Usopp's flying kick caught him mid-sentence.
Nami—who had been crying in Itachi's arms seconds ago—snapped back to full alertness. Her fist connected with Luffy's skull in perfect synchronization with Usopp's kick. "HE MEANT 'SICK MAN'! THE SICK MAN!"
"That's right! The patient! He's asking about the PATIENT!" Brook's skeletal hands waved frantically. "How is the patient doing?! That's what he meant!"
"A patient!" Wanda's expression cleared. "Of course. You're worried about the Duke's recovery. That's very thoughtful of you."
"YES! EXACTLY! THAT!"
"Karuqiu!"
The three Straw Hats maintained their joint pressure on Luffy until the minks' attention had safely moved elsewhere.
When Luffy finally rose to his feet, his face had accumulated sufficient swelling that his mouth could no longer fully open. He made several muffled sounds that might have been words. No one could tell.
Wanda led them deeper into the stronghold, toward a large wooden house nestled in the branches of an ancient tree. "The Duke's convalescent quarters are just ahead."
"Duke?" Itachi asked. "Is that the ruler here?"
"Something like that. Although we actually have two such figures." Wanda gestured for them to follow. "I'll explain more once we've met the Duke. Please, this way."
Chopper—who had temporarily swallowed his grief—rushed ahead into the wooden house before anyone else. He was already mixing medicine with the Mink doctors when the rest of the crew arrived.
The room smelled of herbs and bandages. And lying on a massive bed, propped up by cushions and wrapped in enough gauze to mummify a smaller creature, was a dog mink of truly imposing size. His fur was the color of sand. His face—what was visible beneath the bandages—was noble. A crimson robe draped his shoulders. Dark blue glasses obscured his eyes.
"So HUGE," Luffy breathed through his swollen lips.
Wanda dropped to one knee beside the bed. "My lord. It's so good to see you recovering."
"Ah, Wanda. I worried you." Duke Inuarashi set down the teacup he had been holding in one massive paw. His eyes—tired but warm—swept across the assembled pirates. "The Straw Hats, I presume? I understand I owe you a great debt. Thank you. Truly."
"I don't really know what happened." Luffy grinned. "I just heard my crew helped you out."
"Even so, I wanted to thank you personally, Straw Hat Luffy." Inuarashi's gaze lingered on the straw hat. "That hat... it suits you."
Luffy looked up at the massive dog mink. "You feel really strong, uncle."
"Of course he is! How dare you speak so casually!" Wanda's fur bristled. "Duke Inuarashi is the greatest warrior in our nation!"
Inuarashi raised a bandaged paw. "Please. Don't call me that. Those are not words for a defeated man."
"Defeated?!" Wanda's voice rose. "My lord, we had the upper hand! If they hadn't used that poison gas—"
But Inuarashi's attention had drifted. His gaze had found Brook. His nostrils flared. A string of drool escaped the corner of his mouth.
Brook's soul nearly left his body—which, given his circumstances, was saying something. "OH NO."
"I understand completely." Wanda nodded with a knowing smile. "He's a benefactor too."
"He looks like a DELICIOUS benefactor."
"Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, my lord. Please wait a while longer."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'A WHILE LONGER'?!" Brook's bones rattled.
"It's just licking and biting your bones. What's the big deal?" Franky said.
"HE'S MASSIVE! ONE BITE AND I'M DEAD! I'M ALREADY DEAD, BUT I'LL BE DOUBLE DEAD!"
Inuarashi shook himself, visibly restraining his instincts. "Enough. We can discuss... snacks... later."
He raised his eyes to the ceiling, as if searching for memories written in the wooden grain.
"That hat. I've seen it before. Long ago."
"I sailed with a certain cat on a certain ship." His voice grew distant. "The cat viper. And the hat you wear... it's identical to the one worn by the man who is now one of the Four Emperors. 'Red Hair' Shanks."
"SHANKS?!"
Luffy's swollen face lit up like a festival lantern.
"YOU KNOW SHANKS?!"
But Inuarashi's eyes had already closed. A soft snore escaped his massive jaws.
"HEY! UNCLE! DON'T FALL ASLEEP!" Luffy scrambled onto the bed, shaking the giant dog mink with both hands. "I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT SHANKS! UNCLE! UNCLE!"
"Luffy! Don't shake him like that!" Chopper pulled at his captain's leg. "Duke Inuarashi is still seriously injured!"
Itachi watched the chaos unfold, then turned to Robin. "Luffy knows one of the Four Emperors personally?"
"Shanks. They have history from before Luffy set sail." Robin's smile was soft with old affection. "From what I understand, Shanks is the reason Luffy became a pirate in the first place. He gave him that hat."
Itachi absorbed this. He had seen Luffy's adventures—the battles, the triumphs, the losses. But the story of how it all began... that was a chapter he had never been shown.
Wanda stepped in to explain as Chopper finally pried Luffy off the sleeping Duke. "I mentioned earlier that we have two rulers. Duke Inuarashi is the official king. But the master of the Whale Forest—the boss, Nekomamushi—holds equal authority. They rule together."
"And this relates to him falling asleep because...?" Usopp gestured at the snoring Duke.
"The two kings despise each other. They cannot be in the same room without fighting. No one knows why. It's said that once, long ago, they were the closest of friends. But now..." Wanda shook her head. "To avoid conflict, they established a code. Duke Inuarashi governs from six in the morning to six in the evening. Master Nekomamushi governs from six in the evening to six in the morning. They divide the day so they never have to meet."
While Wanda spoke, Usopp noticed that even the Mink doctors had nodded off at their posts. "Everyone in this stronghold... they're all falling asleep."
"Those who live in the towns follow the Duke's schedule. Those in the forest follow the Cat Viper's." Wanda's voice was matter-of-fact. "It's been this way for as long as anyone can remember."
"Even during the battle," she added quietly. "They fought in shifts. Twelve hours each. The Duke would face Jack while the Cat Viper recovered. Then they would switch."
Images flickered behind her eyes. The monster with the massive tusks. The mammoth that had trampled their streets. The pirate with the billion-berry bounty who had laughed while their warriors bled.
"Jack the Drought," she whispered. "He never rested. He never stopped. For five days and five nights, he fought them both—and he was still standing when the gas came."
(End of Chapter)
✨ If you're enjoying this story, please consider supporting me on Patreon:
Patreon.com/TofuChan
Get Access to Bonus Chapters