Zou Island is only so big, and the number of people who manage it is only a handful.
Mokomo Dukedom had never followed a hereditary system throughout its history. Their royal succession resembled a unique form of abdication, where the current duke would personally choose a suitable successor, and it had to be someone who could really fight.
The chosen one would then be crowned duke under the witness of the citizens. Because of this, the residents of Mokomo Dukedom lacked the concept of princes or princesses.
Not to mention that the last generation duke Hitsugisukan was a lifelong bachelor.
But Setsuna had set many new records. The origin of many things could be traced back to Arceus, yet as the current Duke of Zou Island, the credit was attached to her.
The first ruler of Zou Island who could communicate with Zunesha, and the very first female duke.
She had brought the greatest reform to Zou Island in centuries, second only to the historic event of the entire Mink tribe migrating to live on Zunesha's back.
At the same time, she was Hitsugisukan's most troublesome successor. With a string of titles, plus the fact that Meowna and Wolff often played around on Zou Island, this pair of siblings had become quite famous there. Their silver-white fur was also extremely rare on the island.
Though Zou Island had no tradition of hereditary rule, this was directly related to the fact that previous dukes rarely nurtured the next generation.
Setsuna's prestige was too high; there wouldn't be a successor of the same generation in a short time.
Meanwhile, among the younger generation, Meowna and Wolff, as "Psychics" of the Mink tribe, had already begun to reveal their own superiority.
If nothing unexpected happens during their training and learning, the two of them will become the strongest among the younger Minks, meeting the most basic requirement of a new Duke.
Since they were Setsuna's children, the issue of prestige could also be resolved. If this coat of fur continues to be passed down, Zou Island might even one day give rise to legends of a "silver bloodline" in the future.
The power of Aura and lightning both had the potential to be inherited. As "psychic", they were already far from ordinary, but that was only a higher starting point; everything else would still depend on their own effort.
Under Pedro's guidance, their Sulong training has also been progressing smoothly. None of them have lost control of the form due to excessive ferocity, and they have already become the leading figures among the youth of Zou Island.
On Zou Island, they were the undisputed rulers of the children. Even those who cared nothing about politics would be curious to know who their children played with.
Unless it was a child only recently born, or an elderly Mink already suffering from dementia and unable to recognize faces, there was no way the Minks of Zou Island would fail to recognize them.
Only a Mink who grew up at the foot of a mountain in some far away sea would fail to recognize them.
Such Minks were rare but hadn't completely disappeared. Every few years, some Minks would wander outside, and over time, Minks could be seen across the seas. Zeraora was one such example; at least, that was the story he gave to outsiders.
There were also Minks like Pekoms, who went out to sea at a young age and stayed there, never returning to Zou Island. Naturally, he was unfamiliar with Meowna and Wolff, since he had barely ever met them.
As a member of the Big Mom Pirates, his status made it inconvenient for him to move freely through Beasts Pirates territory. The two sides weren't on such friendly terms as to allow free passage.
Lindbergh, however, with his Revolutionary Army identity, had no such concerns, and he occasionally came back.
So if it were out at sea, it would make sense for wandering Minks not to recognize them.
But this was Wano Country. Minks in the same situation as Pekoms could not have just shown up in Wano Country without anyone knowing.
No matter how they looked at it, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi seemed strange to Wolff and Meowna. On top of that, they clearly had no idea about the rules of Wano Country, casually destroying the forest as they pleased.
The unusual behavior made Meowna and Wolff suspicious of those two guys' identities. Even when they lit fires themselves, they always did it on the rocky beach by the riverbank, and always with the Bewear nearby.
That way, even if an accident happened, Bewear could put on a little show of "fancy firefighting."
"Raizo, is this what you call 'nobody around'?"
Compared to Nekomamushi, Inuarashi's thinking was usually more thorough. They had been chopping trees, yes, but they hadn't deliberately made much noise. If they were far away, there was no way anyone could have noticed.
The fact that they had been spotted meant the others weren't far to begin with. Which also meant Raizo had been scouting for nothing. He hadn't even noticed people right under his nose.
In a sense, this was a problem of communication gaps. Kozuki Oden's retainers had widely varying abilities.
When Raizo scouted the area, he really hadn't seen any pirates, but he had overlooked the campfire by the river.
At the time, Maylo had been fishing in the water. As a half-Mermaid, she could breathe underwater and never surfaced at all. Wolff's head had been poking out of the water, but Mink's racial traits..
If seen from a distance, when only a side profile was visible and no arms or clothing were showing, it was actually hard to judge whether it was a beast or a Mink.
As for Meowna, she had been playing the fisherman.
For a fisherman, the "spot" was extremely important. A suitable position was enough to keep a fisherman excited the entire day.
This campsite was discovered last year. By the river was a scoop-shaped rock, and Meowna had been sitting inside it, wearing a ghillie-suit-like outfit made of vines and leaves.
Raizo's attention had all been on the adult pirates, which ultimately led to this major blunder.
"Inuarashi, don't bother with a bunch of brats, let's hurry up."
"Stupid cat! Use your head a little! This is Wano Country, would ordinary Minks appear here?!"
The two of them had only washed up here by accident after a shipwreck. What's more, this land had been Beasts Pirates' territory for the past twenty years. Unfamiliar Minks showing up here was even less likely.
"Smelly dog, who are you calling stupid?"
"You! Stop arguing at a time like this, the real trouble is right in front of us."
Inuarashi's gaze lingered more on Wolff. Similarly a wolf Mink, with the same white fur, the gender difference made Wolff quite distinct from Setsuna, yet there were still some similarities between them.
Twenty years ago, Inuarashi remembered that Setsuna had already been deeply in love. Now, after twenty years, it was hardly surprising that she had children of her own.
If they accidentally drew enemies over here, then things would really get bad.
"Lord Momonosuke, please hide yourself. We'll handle this matter as quickly as possible."
Momonosuke's whereabouts could not be exposed. No matter what, before leaving this place, they had to at least restrain these two children and couldn't let them attract other enemies here.
Inuarashi quietly said to Momonosuke behind him, then stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Nekomamushi, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"What are you doing? Weren't we going to restrain them?"
"Don't be impulsive. They're just kids; there might be a better way."
If they acted rashly, they might make an even bigger commotion. Even if it was only two kids, if they shouted and were overheard, it would surely trigger a search.
"You're Setsuna's children, aren't you? Don't misunderstand, we're not bad people."
It was the very familiar way adults spoke to trick children. Inuarashi himself wasn't sure of Meowna and Wolff's true identities; he was only guessing based on the information he had. After all, the only Mink he knew of who could possibly appear in Wano Country was Setsuna.
That guess had the highest probability, and Wolff and Meowna's reactions told him he had bet right.
"You know our mom?"
"Yes, we know her."
"Then what's your relationship with her?"
Plenty of people knew Setsuna. At the coronation ceremony, even catching a glimpse of her from hundreds of meters away could count as "knowing" her.
Meowna and Wolff knew nothing about that so-called prophecy of the Kozuki family from twenty years ago. Their reason for coming here wasn't because of Momonosuke, but because they had violated the rules of this place.
If Inuarashi really were familiar with Setsuna, then he shouldn't have been breaking the rules here.
Besides, Wolff didn't believe that someone truly close to Setsuna wouldn't recognize him at first sight. Nekomamushi's words simply didn't add up.
"We are—"
Inuarashi was still thinking of a suitable relationship, but at that moment, Nekomamushi once again ruined his plan.
"We're friends."
Friends… perhaps many years ago that word was still correct. But ever since they had joined different forces, whatever friendship they once had had gradually withered away.
Inuarashi and Setsuna still maintained a little friendship, but Nekomamushi didn't deserve to use that word at all.
The most crucial problem was that they were too young.
Having leapt across twenty years, they were only twenty years old now. At this age, claiming to be Setsuna's "friends" was something Wolff and Meowna simply wouldn't believe.
This was the very reason for Inuarashi's hesitation. But Nekomamushi hadn't thought it through. Having skipped too many years, Nekomamushi was insensitive to the passage of time, and so he blurted out a word that could easily expose them.
The moment Inuarashi heard Nekomamushi speak, he regretted not clamping his mouth shut. But now that the word was out, he couldn't directly contradict him; he could only try to cover up the lie.
Yet words once spoken are like spilled water, impossible to take back. After Nekomamushi said that word, Meowna and Wolff's expressions grew serious again. Inuarashi even caught the silent exchange between their eyes.
"Move! Grab the two of them! You stupid cat, next time keep your mouth shut!"
Inuarashi's heart tensed. To prevent further mishaps, he had no choice but to act. At the same time, he barked at Nekomamushi.
Impulsive as he was, and sometimes acting without thinking, Nekomamushi still had sharp battle instincts. His teamwork with Inuarashi wasn't bad either. Hearing Inuarashi's words, he wasted no time and charged forward alongside him.
At that very moment, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi committed their greatest mistake: they misjudged their own strength.
Though they were only facing two 12-year-old children, the 20-year-olds had missed 20 years of training time. So, trying to catch Meowna and Wolff like they were ordinary kids was simply impossible.
"Roar!!"
Setsuna and Zeraora's way of raising children was entirely different from Mandrell's. The couple placed great importance on their children's fighting strength, and after years of training, the two already had sharp combat instincts.
As Inuarashi and Nekomamushi moved, Wolff and Meowna completed their transformations.
The silver-white wolf transformed into a red-and-white-striped tiger hybrid, then used both arms to brace against the pouncing Nekomamushi.
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