The fires ignited by Kaidou's rampage were still consuming the landscape.
Ideally, Kanata would have delivered the finishing blow right then and there. However, the moment the duel reached its conclusion, the surrounding national army moved in, training their rifles on her in unison.
"Don't move! Kanata, the Dragon-Slaying Witch, and Kaidou of the Beasts! You are both under arrest!"
There were a few decent fighters among the soldiers, but under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have stood a chance against her. The problem was the timing. Kanata had just spent five straight days in high-intensity combat. She was exhausted. While she had no desire to fight an entire army, she couldn't afford to be captured.
She manifested a massive wall of ice to cut off their line of fire and sprinted toward the harbor. If the local military was here, the Navy wouldn't be far behind. She couldn't risk a three-way confrontation between her crew, the Beast Pirates, and the World Government.
It left a bitter taste in her mouth to leave Kaidou alive, but survival was the priority.
The port town was a graveyard of half-collapsed buildings, a testament to the ferocity of the battle against the Beast Pirates. Praying that her crew was safe, Kanata burst through the main thoroughfare and reached the docks.
"Captain! You're safe!" George shouted from the deck of the Sombrero. "Get on board, quick! Navy warships have been sighted on the horizon!"
"What about the supplies?!" Kanata yelled back.
"We managed to haul most of it aboard during the lulls in the fighting! We have to move before a Vice Admiral shows up!"
Fighting a standard Vice Admiral was one thing, but if Garp or Tsuru were leading the fleet, things would get complicated fast. Kanata leaped onto the deck and performed a quick head count. Seeing everyone accounted for, she finally let out a breath of relief.
Junxi reported that while they had decimated the rank-and-file of the Beast Pirates, they hadn't been able to break their top officers.
"They were likely Ancient Zoan users," Junxi said. "Their toughness and recovery speed were unlike anything I've seen."
"The Shadow-Fruit's darkness took care of the fodder," George added, "but those commanders... they just wouldn't stay down."
The massive man named Queen had fought Gloriosa, and the winged man named King had taken on Zen. Both were young, but their strength was clearly on a different level. Given that Kanata's crew had multiple high-level fighters, they could have won eventually, but the Beast Pirate officers had realized the tide was turning and retreated on the third day.
"That works in our favor," Kanata said. "Kaidou was an absolute monster to put down."
"Even you're saying that?" George asked, surprised.
"Yeah. In terms of pure durability and recovery, he's right up there with Big Mom."
No matter how many times she struck him, he simply got back up. He was like a zombie. She had beaten him until her knuckles bled, frozen him, and impaled him, yet his life force never flickered. It was terrifying. She knew that by leaving him alive, she was allowing a predator to grow even stronger before their next inevitable meeting.
"I should have killed him," she muttered. "But the army interfered. It can't be helped. Is everyone who's coming with us on board?"
"Yeah," George replied. "A few people decided Laken was a better life for them, but more than half of the new recruits stayed."
"Really? I thought most of them were non-combatants who would want to avoid more wars."
"A lot of them felt they owed you their lives," George said. "The Longarm cook, the female doctor who's been helping Skura... they told me they wanted to work for the woman who saved them. We could use the extra hands, so I didn't see the harm."
Whether they stayed or left, it was their choice. Kanata respected it.
"Any injuries?"
"A few critical, plenty of minor," George said. "They're in the infirmary with Skura now. What about you? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. Just a few scratches."
" 'Fine' and 'scratches' are two different things, Kanata! Skura's been screaming at everyone to report even the smallest bruise."
Kaidou had tried to vaporize the entire city with a Blast Breath at one point; Kanata had sustained a minor burn while shielding the town, but she had already healed. Her Observation Haki made her nearly impossible to hit unless her opponent could bypass her defenses entirely.
"I'll see her later," Kanata said. "First, we lose the Navy."
They hoisted the sails and pulled away from the port. The warships were close enough to begin shelling, but Kanata left the defense to Feiyun, Junxi, and Dragon. She walked over to Zen and held out her hand.
"Give me the Vivre Card. Let's find this island."
"Of course," Zen said, handing over the scrap of paper. "It is a place hidden by thick mists and treacherous currents."
They'd worry about the details once they arrived. For now, they had a heading. George took the helm, and the Sombrerosurged forward, leaving the burning island of Laken in its wake.
Their next destination: the phantom island, Zou.
***
Zou is not an island in the traditional sense. It is the name given to the land residing on the back of a colossal, ancient elephant.
Because the elephant is constantly moving through a sea of thick fog and unpredictable currents, the island has no fixed location. It emits no magnetic field, making it impossible for a standard Log Pose to find.
"I see..." Kanata murmured, looking up at the horizon. "No wonder the Log Pose is useless."
The elephant was gargantuan—easily dozens of times larger than Feiyun in her dragon form. The sight left the entire crew speechless.
"We of the Mink Tribe have lived upon this titan for a thousand years," Zen explained, his voice filled with pride.
"A thousand years?!" Scotch gasped. "That's... that's longer than the history of most nations."
Such a long, unbroken history suggested that Zou had existed since before the Void Century. But they had more immediate problems to solve.
"How the hell do we get up there?" Scotch asked, staring at the massive, wrinkled legs of the elephant. "The country is on its back, right?"
"That is the question," Zen said with a grin. "And the answer is: let's start climbing!"
"LIKE HELL WE ARE!!" the crew roared in unison.
Aside from those who could fly or move through the air, there was no easy way to reach the top. Kanata made a mental note to teach the crew the Sky Walk technique, but for now, they couldn't bring everyone. They needed people to stay behind and guard the ships anyway.
"Zen and I will go up first to talk to them," Kanata decided.
"That's probably for the best," George agreed.
The height was too great even for a rope ladder. Zen mentioned that the Minks rarely left the elephant's back, so they had never seen a need for a formal elevator or harbor. They were entirely self-sufficient.
Kanata and Zen used their respective abilities to ascend through the sky, eventually reaching a massive gate at the edge of the elephant's back.
"Who goes there?!" a voice barked. "You... you were just flying?!"
"Haha, it feels so good to be back," Zen laughed.
The guard, a sheep Mink, blinked in confusion. He stared at Zen for a long moment before his eyes widened. "Is that... Zen? Is that you?"
"It's been a long time, old friend."
"It has! You've actually returned! And who is this human?"
"This is the Captain of the ship I'm serving on. I was hoping we could invite the rest of the crew up for a visit."
"I see, I see! Wait here just a moment!"
The guard began ringing a bell, his face lighting up with a wide smile as he opened the gate. Kanata glanced at Zen, who nodded reassuringly. She pulled out a Transponder Snail.
"It's clear," she told George. "Head on up."
They entered the country. Beyond the gate lay a lush forest, and beyond that, the capital of the Mokomo Dukedom: Kurau City.
"Welcome to the Mokomo Dukedom!" the guard shouted. "Garchu!"
The city was a sea of fur. Minks of every species—dogs, cats, sheep, cows—roamed the streets. Everywhere they went, people greeted them with a "Garchu," a local custom involving a friendly nuzzle or an embrace. Kanata found herself on the receiving end of several.
Zen was quickly surrounded by older Minks who remembered him. As he had explained before, Minks didn't necessarily look like their parents; a bull Mink and a rabbit Mink could have a horse Mink child.
Even so, Zen had always been an outlier. Perhaps that was why he had felt the need to leave.
"How many years has it been, Zen?!" one cried. "You ran off so suddenly, and now you're back just as fast! We're glad you're safe!"
"It's been over twenty years since I left," Zen said warmly. "I spent a long time in Wano, serving the Kozuki Family as a brother-in-arms..."
***
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