"Reina!"
Before the Dream Ship even reached the elephant's back, a loud voice full of joy and concern echoed from far away.
It was like a bolt of lightning cutting through the sky and landing straight in the ears of everyone on board.
Reina, who was standing on deck, froze for a second, then her face lit up with a joy so strong it was almost unreal.
"It's my sister! It really is my sister!" she shouted, bouncing up from her seat like a happy little bird, and ran straight toward the edge of the ship.
At the rail, Reina stood on her tiptoes and stretched her neck, eyes full of hope as she looked up, shouting excitedly, "Sister! Is that you? Is it you, Carrot?"
Tears welled up in her eyes, and her voice trembled with emotion.
"Wuuu…"
Up above, Carrot heard Reina's voice and was overwhelmed by feelings too.
Her heart had been heavy ever since she found out her sweet little sister had nearly been kidnapped and sold as a slave. She'd been worried sick ever since.
Now, with Reina safely rescued by the Dream Team and finally back under their protection, how could she not be overjoyed?
"It's me, Reina!" Carrot shouted back with excitement, leaning out as far as she could to get a better look at her sister down below.
"Reina, are you okay? Did you get hurt? Did anyone bully you?" She fired off one question after another.
"I'm fine, sis! I'm totally okay!" Reina yelled back with all her strength, her voice full of happiness and deep longing for her sister.
The rest of the Dream Team gathered by the rail too, all looking up toward the sky.
As the Dream Ship got closer to the elephant's back, the full view of the mysterious island—Zou—gradually came into sight.
At that moment, a small but lively figure caught everyone's eye. Carrot was darting toward Reina like a rabbit, leaping light and quick across the ground.
"Reina!"
Carrot called out to her little sister again, her eyes filled with tears.
"Big sis Carrot!"
Reina could no longer hold back her emotions. Without a second thought, she leapt off the Dream.
At the same time—
Carrot jumped after her without any hesitation.
"Reina, you're finally back!"
"Sis…"
*Sob sob sob…*
The two sisters hugged tightly in midair, their tears mixing into a sea of joy.
Lifted gently by flame clouds, the Dream slowly landed on Zunesha's back, and the rest of the Dream Team finally stepped onto the land of Zou.
Just then—
Duke Inuarashi arrived with the Zou Musketeers. Although the Mink Tribe was wary of humans, they were always warm toward those who had helped them!
The Dream Team had saved Reina, so every single one of them was seen as a hero to the Minks.
Not to mention, the Dream Team had a pretty good reputation too!
"Hohohoho~"
"Welcome, dear guests! Welcome to our Mokomo Dukedom!" Duke Inuarashi ran up to the group with an excited grin.
At that moment, Reina finally let go of Carrot.
She quickly wiped her tears and ran to Ryuen's side to introduce them: "Ryuen, this is the King of Daylight of our Mokomo Dukedom, Duke Inuarashi. Lord Inuarashi, this is Ryuen, the leader of the Dream Team!"
"Hehehe~"
"I've always wanted to see the legendary Zou with my own eyes. Sorry for the intrusion, Lord Inuarashi," Ryuen said with a cheerful smile.
"No intrusion at all!"
"You saved Reina, which makes you all heroes to the entire Mink Tribe. Please, come inside. I must show you all proper hospitality!" Duke Inuarashi said, clearly moved.
Ryuen was a bit surprised by how polite he was—after all, the Dream Team was pretty famous across the seas now!
The rest of the Dream Team exchanged glances.
Then Ryuen said, "Well, thank you, Lord Inuarashi. Let's go!"
"Hahahaha~"
"Come, come, everyone, this way…"
With Duke Inuarashi leading the way, the Dream Team walked through the gates of the Mokomo Dukedom and headed toward his mansion.
Just then—
The other ruler of the Dukedom appeared: the King of the Night, Boss Nekomamushi!
"Oh no… it's over. The two of them ran into each other!"
Sicilian's face turned pale the moment he saw Nekomamushi show up.
"But it's still daytime—why is Boss Nekomamushi even here…?"
"It's over!"
"They're gonna fight again!"
The other Minks nearby—including Reina, who had just returned—also turned pale in that instant.
The air went silent and tense, as if time itself had frozen.
Pedro, leader of the Guardians, rushed to the scene with his team. They stood across from the Musketeers like two armies ready to clash. As the two bosses slowly approached each other, everyone on both sides felt a chill crawl up their spines.
And so—
Pedro acted fast, trying to block Nekomamushi from getting any closer to Duke Inuarashi. At the same time, Sicilian threw all his strength into stopping Inuarashi from walking toward Nekomamushi.
"Please, Duke, calm down for a moment…"
"Boss, please don't act on impulse…"
The two tried to hold their bosses back, but they were just too weak to stop them. The two leaders were getting closer and closer, like a fight between Duke Inuarashi and Nekomamushi was about to break out at any second.
At that moment, the two of them stood face-to-face.
They stared each other down—like old friends who hadn't seen each other in years, or maybe like rivals who'd hated each other for decades. Their eyes were calm but cold.
"How many years has it been, you old cat? Looks like you've turned into more of a monster than ever!"
"Look who's talking! You look more like a creepy old dog now! Meow~"
"It's daytime right now. The Mink Tribe is under my rule during the day. So why are you out of the forest, you old cat?"
"Yahahaha! Of course I came out to meet the famous Dream Exploration Team! Meow~"
"Huh???"
"So what, old dog? Got a problem with that?"
"You bastard! Just this once, old cat!"
After the two kings finished talking, the whole Mink Tribe went silent again—like they were frozen in place.
The two kings didn't fight?!
The Dream Exploration Team, who were just sitting nearby eating snacks and watermelon, were stunned. Was that it? All the tension just vanished?
It really looked like a battle was going to start.
But in the blink of an eye, it was over?
What a letdown!
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