The Mink Tribe had always lived in isolation, but that did not mean they were completely cut off from the outside world.
After all, the News Coo in the pirate world was a truly mysterious existence. Wherever there were living beings, newspapers would inevitably find their way there.
The younger generation of Minks especially loved reading the news, and many of them secretly yearned for life beyond their home.
Joy Boy's face darkened. He remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking again.
"Blindly believing everything in the newspapers is an extremely foolish act. How can you be so sure that Queen Otohime wasn't forced to make those statements?"
Wanda scoffed disdainfully and said, "And yet you expect me to believe everything you say?"
Hearing this, Joy Boy took a deep breath. He had completely lost patience, but instead of responding directly, he turned his gaze toward Pedro.
Pedro was already firmly aligned with Joy Boy. Receiving Joy Boy's signal, he immediately rebuked,
"Wanda! As a Mink, you refuse to believe Zunesha, yet you trust those ridiculous newspapers? That is outright betrayal! You are betraying your own people!"
Wanda had long lost faith in Pedro. She didn't hold back anymore, even dropping any sign of respect for him as a senior. She retorted,
"Pedro! You have no right to decide whether I am betraying anyone! You do not represent the entire Mink Tribe! All I want is to stop you from leading our people to ruin!"
The two sides stood their ground, tensions escalating rapidly. Seeing that things were about to spiral out of control, Shishilian finally remembered his duty as the leader of the Musketeer Squad and hurriedly stepped in with his men to maintain order.
This only made it more obvious to Joy Boy how divided the Mink Tribe truly was.
He suddenly spoke, "Who is the king of the Mokomo Dukedom? Where is he?"
At his words, the Minks present were momentarily stunned. Pedro responded, "We don't have a king."
Joy Boy's eyes flickered with thought, and he shook his head. "That's ridiculous. If there is no king, why call this place a kingdom?"
Wanda immediately shot back, "Before you showed up, we lived just fine without a king! The Mink Tribe doesn't need one!"
Pedro and Shishilian exchanged glances. They represented the strongest military forces within the Mink Tribe, yet neither had ever considered taking up the role of king.
In truth, Pedro was too reckless, while Shishilian was too hesitant—neither was an ideal choice for leadership.
For the moment, the confrontation was at a standstill. Ignoring Wanda's look of disgust, Joy Boy stepped forward into the center of the gathering and declared,
"As I said before, sooner or later, the Marines will discover this place. Whether their intentions are good or bad, the Mink Tribe will inevitably step into the world's spotlight. When that happens, you must have a leader. If you remain this divided, you will lose your autonomy completely and become mere pawns of the World Government!"
Pedro reacted quickly, raising his sword high and shouting,
"That's right! The Mink Tribe needs a king! Joy Boy is the one acknowledged by Zunesha—I support him as our king!"
"Nani!?"
Wanda's eyes widened as she stared at Pedro. She could no longer comprehend his reasoning and snapped,
"What nonsense are you spewing? Even if we must choose a king, it should never be an outsider! He isn't even one of us!"
Pedro scoffed and pointed at Bariete, a monkey Mink among the crowd. "And why isn't Joy Boy one of us? If you ask me, humans are just like Bariete—Minks of the monkey tribe, only with less fur!"
Bariete blinked curiously and tilted his head as he looked at Joy Boy.
Wanda was so furious at Pedro's absurd argument that she nearly fainted.
This wasn't even the first time Pedro had made such a claim among the Minks, but now? At such a crucial moment, when they were selecting a king? Instead of choosing a true Mink, he was advocating for a so-called "hairless monkey"?
Even Joy Boy himself was surprised and gave Pedro a strange look. Pedro, encouraged by this, stepped forward and passionately proclaimed,
"We Minks have lived on Zunesha's back for generations. It is Zunesha who has nurtured and protected our tribe! No one here can deny this, right?"
As he spoke, Pedro deliberately glanced at Wanda and her supporters. With the moral high ground of Zunesha on his side, Wanda had no choice but to grit her teeth and nod.
Seeing this, Pedro smirked slightly and continued, "So, only someone acknowledged by Zunesha is truly qualified to be our king! And that person is..."
Pedro was just about to shout Joy Boy's name when—
A hand suddenly clapped down on his shoulder.
Pedro was momentarily stunned. He turned to look and found that the hand belonged to none other than Joy Boy himself.
Seeing Pedro's confused expression, Joy Boy smiled slightly, took two steps forward, and spoke in a slow, deliberate tone,
"That person is Pedro."
Pedro's face immediately contorted as if he had just seen a ghost.
Not only him—Wanda and her supporters were completely dumbfounded as well.
Joy Boy kept his hand on Pedro's shoulder and continued, "Pedro, I believe Wanda has a point. To the Mink Tribe, I am indeed an outsider. How could it be reasonable for a foreigner to become your king? That's why I think Pedro is the most suitable choice."
Wanda quickly realized what Joy Boy was doing—this was an open ploy! If Pedro became king, it would be no different from Joy Boy ruling himself! Pedro had practically molded himself into Joy Boy's shadow!
Yet, at the same time, this maneuver cleverly reassured the remaining Minks who were still undecided. Pedro, as the leader of the Guardians, already had considerable influence among the Mink Tribe. Now, with Zunesha's endorsement, his claim to kingship was widely acceptable.
Realizing this, Wanda gritted her teeth and pointed at Shishilian.
"Then I believe Captain Shishilian should be—"
Before she could finish, Shishilian shook his head, signaling that he had no interest in competing.
Seeing this, Wanda felt only one thing—
Complete and utter disappointment!
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