The entrance to Whisky Peak was super foggy, and you could just barely make out these giant cactus mountains in the background.
The whole scene definitely gave off a creepy vibe.
After all the weird stuff they'd seen in the Grand Line already, everyone figured this island had to be hiding something strange.
"Could there be yokai?" Usopp whispered, trembling.
Everyone else looked serious, cautiously scanning their surroundings.
Just then, Chouchou let out another cute, baby-like sound.
"Why are you afraid of yokai?" he asked innocently. "Don't you live with yokai every day?"
Hearing that, even Nami started to panic a little.
Zoro and Sanji remembered an old legend – that dogs could see ghosts and monsters.
'So... there have been yokai on the ship this whole time?! We just didn't know because Chouchou couldn't talk?!'
A chill ran down their spines, and they started nervously checking every nook and cranny of the Going Merry.
Only Luffy looked excited.
"Where's the yokai?!" he yelled. "Let's catch it and make it our crewmate!"
Just as everyone was about to yell at Luffy, Chouchou spoke again.
"What are you looking for? My master and I are the yokai."
"Huh???"
Everyone was completely shocked.
Vivi and Mr. 9 had the strongest reaction.
'Legend says yokai eat humans! That explains why they haven't killed us yet – we're emergency rations!'
Terrified, they scrambled back into the storage room, locked the door, and huddled together while trembling.
Just as Chouchou was about to continue his introduction, Ray grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
"Shut up," he growled coldly.
Since growing the tail, Ray had kind of accepted his new yokai identity, but he still wasn't comfortable announcing it to a crowd.
'This damn puppy talks too much.'
Even if he muzzled him now, the cat (or dog?) was out of the bag.
Luffy and Usopp's eyes lit up like stars.
Realizing the "yokai" was just Ray, all their fear vanished, replaced by pure curiosity.
Luffy: "Hey~ hey~, Ray! Do you yokai usually eat humans?"
Usopp smacked Luffy on the head.
"When have you ever seen Ray eat anyone?! Uh... Boss Ray," he asked hesitantly, "I heard yokai body parts can be made into weapons. Could you... pull out a tooth for me to study?"
For that brilliant suggestion, Usopp immediately found himself face down on the deck, out cold.
Zoro watched Ray with fascination.
'No wonder he's so powerful – he's a legendary yokai.'
Sanji ran over, stepped on Usopp's head, lit a cigarette, and asked Ray very seriously.
"Are female yokai good-looking?" His answer was a swift punch from Nami, sending him crashing down next to Usopp.
Immediately after, Nami shyly approached Ray's fluffy 'scarf', then suddenly sped up and rubbed her face against it.
"So comfortable! I knew it felt too good! It's yokai fur! Ray, since you yokai regenerate so fast, why not cut off a piece for me to cuddle with..."
But when she looked up and saw the thunderous expression on Ray's face, she immediately snapped to attention, turned, and ran.
Ray just wrapped her up in his tail and tossed her straight into the ocean.
Then he glanced at the furious Sanji.
"Go save her!"
Sanji, who had been about to challenge Ray, saw his chance and immediately dove into the sea after Nami.
Vivi and Mr. 9 were still hiding in the storage room, terrified Ray and Chouchou were going to eat them.
Vivi was now convinced the newspapers were right.
'If there's a yokai on board, what's a little murder and arson? Who knows how many people they've eaten?! And the crew gets along with them so well – they must all be evil!'
…
Ten minutes later, the Going Merry drifted into the Whisky Peak harbor.
Hundreds of people were cheering, welcoming them like heroes.
"Long live pirates!"
"Adventurers are brave warriors!"
After they docked, a man with big curly hair in a fancy suit came up to them.
He introduced himself as Igaram, the mayor, and invited them to a huge welcoming banquet.
"Our town is famous for its liquor and music!" he declared. "Plenty of food! Please enjoy yourselves, pirate heroes!"
Ray knew it was a trap, but the opponents were weaklings, so why not get a free meal out of it?
Plus, they could just plunder the place afterward.
Hearing "banquet," Luffy instantly agreed.
Chouchou barked happily beside him (Ray had forbidden him from talking in front of strangers).
Sanji had already lost his mind, surrounded by beautiful women blowing kisses at him.
Usopp was still kind of shell-shocked about the whole yokai thing.
Only Zoro and Nami sensed something was wrong.
'Didn't Vivi and Mr. 9 say this town was running out of food?' Nami thought.
'Now this mayor wants to throw a feast for us? Smells fishy.'
They figured the townspeople probably planned to poison them and turn them into food.
But eh, they were strong now.
As long as they were careful, it'd be fine.
Plus, they had actual yokai on their side.
'Eat us? Be careful, Ray and Chouchou might eat you instead.'
They were tired anyway.
A little relaxation wouldn't hurt.
So, they said nothing and went along to the banquet.
Ray brought Vivi and Mr. 9 too, but warned them sternly: "Not a word, or Chouchou eats you."
The two nodded frantically, terrified.
Vivi tried desperately to signal Igaram by blinking, but he just blinked back reassuringly, completely missing the point.
Vivi felt hopeless.
'If I shout now, these demons might just kill everyone!'
Ray watched her panic and chuckled inwardly.
'Are people in this world really that scared of yokai?' He shrugged it off and headed into the building with the others, planning to grab a drink and then find a quiet spot on one of the cactus peaks.
…
As the banquet got underway, two figures—a man and a woman—appeared at the port.
The man had black curly hair and sunglasses; the woman had short blonde hair and a yellow sundress.
"Mr. 5," the woman drawled, "having us eliminate a mere Miss Wednesday seems like overkill, don't you think?"
"Miss Valentine," Mr. 5 replied coolly, "we just follow orders. Failure is not an option."
"Yahahaha~ Fine," Miss Valentine giggled, swaying forward.
"I heard she brought a pirate crew with her. Should we gather some intel first?"
Mr. 5 scoffed.
"Hmph. Rookie pirates just entering the Grand Line? Don't waste your time. I doubt they'll even survive the night."
"Yahahaha, you're absolutely right."