"This... this..."
"Is this really... an island?!"
New World, Zou.
Kin'emon and Momonosuke, aboard Law's submarine, had finally arrived at the "feet" of Zou.
Zou—the colossal elephant known as Zunesha—was shrouded in thick mist, its full form invisible unless one drew extremely close.
It seemed that due to Zunesha's slow, constant movement, the surrounding sea currents flowed in reverse, outward from its massive body—almost as if this mysterious phenomenon was a natural defense, a method that had allowed it to survive for over a millennium, untouched by the outside world.
Staring up at the towering giant that seemed to pierce the clouds themselves, Kin'emon and Momonosuke stood there, jaws agape, stunned speechless.
"Alright, Kin-dono, Momo," Law called out to them. "The winds here are blowing against us too. We'll need to furl the sails and use the submarine's engines to move forward."
He gestured at them. "Come give me a hand. Even though my ship is designed for minimal crew operation, it's still a hassle doing everything alone."
After a round of busy adjustments, the three of them brought the submarine to a halt at Zunesha's rear left leg.
"Law-dono... is this truly a giant elephant?" Kin'emon asked in awe, his voice trembling as he watched Law climb out of the cabin. His face was full of reverence. Momonosuke, however, remained silent and serious, lost deep in thought.
"Yeah," Law replied solemnly. "On its back lies an entire kingdom—the Mokomo Dukedom, homeland of Inuarashi and Nekomamushi. Their people are the Mink Tribe."
He continued, "They call this ancient, civilization-carrying giant 'Zunesha.' The Mokomo Dukedom has existed for over a thousand years..."
"Meaning..." Kin'emon stammered, "this elephant—this Zunesha—has been alive for more than a millennium too?!"
"That's right," Law said, walking to the ship's edge. "Hard to believe, huh? From here, you can barely see the top of its body—it's easily over ten thousand meters above sea level."
"If Zunesha has a will of its own... it's hard to even imagine why it would keep walking like this for a thousand years," Law murmured.
Kin'emon fell silent. After a long pause, he let out a heavy sigh.
"The world beyond Wano... is truly full of marvels. No wonder Oden-sama was so determined to open the country after returning from abroad!"
"We were like frogs in a well... If we don't wake up, we'll be left behind by the world!"
Thanks to Law's powers, the three quickly made it up to Zunesha's back.
"Kin'emon... Law-dono... I... I..."
The moment they set foot on the giant's back, Momonosuke suddenly broke into a cold sweat. His face turned pale, startling both Kin'emon and Law.
"What's wrong?!" they asked in unison.
"Since earlier... I've been feeling as though... some immense creature is watching me..."
Momonosuke clutched his head, his vision swimming.
"Is... is it Zunesha? But... how could that be..."
Law and Kin'emon exchanged worried glances. Neither of them felt anything unusual.
"Maybe... it's what the Fleet Admiral mentioned—some sort of adjustment issue?" Law said uncertainly, hesitating.
"Hang in there. Let's meet with Inuarashi and Nekomamushi first. I'll check with the Fleet Admiral afterward."
"I'll endure... Please, I'll leave it to you, Law-dono!" Momonosuke gritted his teeth and nodded.
...
Sky Island, Watcher's Island.
"Ahhh~ The air here's amazing! No stench of the sea at all!"
A golden flash from the Lightforged Beacon, and four young figures appeared before Judge Vinsmoke.
"Yo! Old man, long time no see... Looks like you've gotten fatter!"
"You little brat! You looking for a beating?!"
Judge's expression instantly shifted from that of a benevolent father to a furious one, glaring hard at the cheeky green-haired youth.
"Yonji, you shouldn't speak to Father like that—have you forgotten what Oneesan taught us?"
The beautiful pink-haired princess of Germa 66, "Poison Pink" Vinsmoke Reiju, chuckled lightly and bowed politely to Judge.
"Father, I hope you've been well."
"Good, good!"
Judge's scowl softened into a smile—his daughter was always the most considerate one. Those three rascals were nothing but trouble.
"Father!"
The red-haired "Sparking Red" Ichiji, the blue-haired "Dengeki Blue" Niji, and the green-haired "Winch Green" Yonji saluted him properly, before starting to look around curiously.
"I knew it, old man—you haven't wanted to live in the castle all these years because this place is basically a resort!"
Ichiji scoffed. As the eldest son of the Vinsmoke family, he was the most stable and mature of the brothers—relatively speaking.
"We've been stuck handling all the family affairs these past years—seriously, it's been exhausting."
"Ha! I'm never going back to that old dump again—look at this place's style and decor! Our family castle is completely outdated!"
Niji eagerly chimed in, poking fun at Judge's sour expression.
"You should really renovate it, Father."
"Totally agree—"
Yonji laughed mischievously, leaning closer to the increasingly grim-faced Judge.
"So, old man, what's the big idea calling us over this time?"
"Is there something interesting going on? I don't buy that you suddenly grew a conscience and decided your poor sons deserved a vacation from freezing their butts off in the North Blue!"
"..."
Judge massaged his temples, exasperated. Too many sons truly was a headache sometimes.
"I called you here," he said, successfully drawing the siblings' full attention, "because there's someone I need you to keep an eye on."
"Huhhh~?"
Yonji exaggerated his shock. "You want us to be babysitters? Old man, do you have some kind of grudge against your handsome sons—and our beautiful Oneesan too?"
"I'd rather you have us fighting battles for the Marines! At least if it's for Highlord Wright, we'd charge a proper fee!"
Judge shoved the noisy green-haired Yonji aside. Though this kid had the most aggressive fighting style, his personality was the most rambunctious.
His eldest was far more reliable—calm, cautious, and level-headed.
Ichiji pulled Yonji back and asked calmly:
"Father, you said 'keep an eye on,' not 'protect'... does that mean it's someone from our own family?"
Under the curtain of his crimson, spiked hair, a sharp glint flashed in Ichiji's right eye as he spoke gravely.
"If it weren't family, you wouldn't have used such a term, would you?"
"Oh? Interesting!"
Goggles glinting, Niji leaned in, intrigued.
"Sanji, huh? We used to bully him all the time back then since he was so weak... if it's him, needing to be watched over actually makes sense. So, you finally found a trace of him after all these years?"
"Sanji..."
Reiju smiled gently. "Now that you mention it, I heard from Law a while back that he ran into him two years ago. Recently, he and his crew have finally made it to the New World."
"Hah?! That bastard Law?!"
The three brothers immediately wore matching scowls—clearly very displeased at how close their beloved Oneesan seemed to be with that aloof, arrogant man.
"That bastard must be dreaming!"
"He doesn't even know how to suck up to us properly!"
"And we didn't even hear about this?!"
"..."
Judge waved them off impatiently.
"Enough. Yes, it's Sanji. He'll likely show up soon at Big Mom's stronghold—Whole Cake Island."
"And he and his crew are hostile toward Big Mom..."
"In case anything happens, I want you four to meet up with him in advance."
"And Reiju..."
Judge paused for a long moment, then sighed heavily.
"Pass along an apology for me. I can't meet him in person yet... but someday soon, I will."
"I understand, Father. Leave it to me."
Reiju smiled gently and nodded.
After all these years apart, that most ordinary yet most extraordinary little brother of theirs...
What kind of man had he become?
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