Pedro was now utterly convinced by Joy Boy. Excited, he shouted,
"This is amazing! With Zunesha's help, the Celestial Dragons are nothing to fear! At the end of the day, they're just humans!!"
But Joy Boy quickly doused his enthusiasm with a cold dose of reality.
"No, Zunesha alone isn't enough to defeat the Celestial Dragons. Pedro, human strength is far greater than you imagine—especially when it comes to someone like Carl."
Shishilian frowned upon hearing this and said,
"You're telling me that this Fleet Admiral is really that strong? Zunesha is thirty-five thousand meters tall—even giants look like ants next to it! Don't exaggerate."
Joy Boy shook his head and replied,
"Strength isn't determined by size alone. Leaving aside whether Zunesha could even land a hit on Carl, even if it did, that wouldn't be enough to deal a fatal blow."
The gathered Mink Tribe warriors were stunned. The first part of Joy Boy's explanation made sense—Zunesha's massive size could make it difficult to land an accurate attack.
But the latter part? That was incomprehensible.
What did he mean, 'even if it hits, it wouldn't be fatal'?
If Zunesha struck something, it would be like an entire mountain crashing down. What kind of creature could withstand that kind of impact? Just surviving it would be miraculous!
Unless… was this Fleet Admiral's body not made of flesh and blood but of Seastone?
Holding the unconscious Carrot in her arms, Wanda raised her voice, demanding,
"If what you're saying is true, then this Fleet Admiral isn't someone mortals can even hope to fight! If you want to go up against him, why not do it alone? Why drag the entire Mink Tribe into this?"
Joy Boy raised an eyebrow at her words. He suddenly regretted only knocking Carrot unconscious with his Conqueror's Haki. Perhaps he should've done the same to Wanda as well.
Sure enough, Wanda's words made many of the Mink warriors exchange glances, uncertainty creeping into their eyes as they now looked at Joy Boy with a hint of wariness.
Not wanting this doubt to spread, Joy Boy immediately spoke up,
"There's no need to worry. I never intended to rely on Zunesha to fight him. I will be the one to face him."
"You?"
Wanda scoffed.
"That's a pretty bold claim. If you were really capable of defeating him, would you have ended up running here after he beat you?"
Joy Boy's expression darkened, but he held back his frustration.
"I've already explained this. Back then, I hadn't fully taken control of this body, and I wasn't able to unleash my full power. Do you even realize that eight hundred years ago—"
"Oh, enough with the 'eight hundred years ago' nonsense! Who cares what happened back then? All I know is that our tribe is living just fine right now, and we have no reason to risk everything for some outsider with a questionable past. Give it up!"
Whoosh!
Joy Boy's frustration flared, and the white flames on his head surged, his billowing cloud-like mantle twisting violently as it radiated ripples of energy.
Wanda stepped back, tightening her grip on Carrot, while pointing her sword at Joy Boy.
"So, you've finally dropped the act? Makes sense. You're a pirate, after all. No matter how much you talk about 'freedom,' a thief is still a thief. It's disgusting."
It was clear that Wanda was well-liked among the Minks—especially the women and a few of the more mild-mannered men, who quickly gathered behind her. Their gazes toward Joy Boy were now filled with hostility.
Before Joy Boy could respond, Pedro stepped forward with his Guardians, positioning themselves in front of him protectively.
Crackle!
Electricity crackled across the fur of every Mink in the area, silver arcs of lightning weaving through the air and sparking violently.
Pedro glared at Wanda and shouted,
"Wanda! Did you not see how Zunesha reacted earlier? Joy Boy is its friend! That alone is enough reason for us to trust and respect him!"
But even with Pedro invoking Zunesha's name, Wanda refused to back down. She shot back,
"This is about the survival of our entire tribe! Forgive me for saying this, Pedro, but you're blinded by hatred. If you want revenge against the Celestial Dragons, fine! But if that revenge comes at the cost of our entire people, then I will never allow it!"
"You—!!"
Shishilian looked back and forth between the two sides, clearly torn and unsure whom he should support.
Just then, Joy Boy suddenly spoke up.
"That's enough. Everyone, calm down."
But Wanda had no intention of backing off. She despised Joy Boy now.
"This is all your fault! If you really want to play the peacemaker, then get out of here! The Mink Tribe doesn't welcome people like you!"
Faced with her hostility, Joy Boy didn't retaliate. Instead, he spoke in a calm, steady voice,
"You don't get to decide that. You don't speak for the entire Mink Tribe. And more importantly, this is Zunesha's back we're standing on. If it came down to choosing between me and you… it would choose me."
Wanda's expression stiffened.
She had lived on Zunesha's back her whole life, but after seeing its reaction earlier, she couldn't deny that Joy Boy had a point.
Joy Boy continued,
"Besides, do you really think you can live peacefully on Zunesha's back forever? Let me tell you something. Ever since Carl became Fleet Admiral, the Marines have been deploying forces in greater numbers across the world. Any independent nation that resists their rule is being forcibly annexed into the World Government. You don't have to look far—just take Wano, for example."
Wanda narrowed her eyes.
"And what exactly are you trying to say?"
"My point is simple. At the rate the Marines are expanding, it won't be long before they discover Zunesha. And once they do, the existence of the Mokomo Dukedom will be exposed to the world. The Mink Tribe is made up of warriors—you won't be ignored. To the Celestial Dragons, you're exotic slaves waiting to be captured. So tell me…"
"You think you can scare me with that? Even if we're discovered, so what? As far as I know, Fish-Man Island is a member nation of the World Government, and the Fish-Men and Merfolk there are living just fine. Queen Otohime herself even praised the Marines in the newspapers for protecting her people!"
"..."
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+200 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg