In a certain sea area of the New World, a giant elephant is walking on the sea surface. Its pace is slow, but each step can span several kilometers. A city is carried on its massive back, with its thick and long legs immersed in the ocean. Even the Sea King Types keep a respectful distance from this behemoth.
Its unique leg joints allow it to wander freely in the ocean. The scientific name for this giant elephant is Naitamie Norida Elephant, but it's probably the only one of its kind left in the world.
The clouds in the sky are parted as the leader of the Thousand-Year Dragons appears here. Three days have passed since its departure from Wano Kuni, and after three sleepless days of flying, it finally follows the guidance of the Life Card to find the location of the Elephant Lord.
For the Thousand-Year Dragon, this is not a big deal. Their endurance in flight is inherently strong, and on specific days, they will return to their birthplace from all over the world.
During this journey, a lot of the paths lack resting points, so flying for ten days or half a month is not uncommon.
The Elephant Lord stands over twenty thousand meters tall, and even though most of its height is below the sea surface, its back pierces into the cloud layers.
As it steps forward, the Fluffy Kingdom on its back also passes through the clouds, which is why the center of the Fluffy Kingdom, Cloudeau, is also known as the Cloud Capital.
"Zeraora! We're here!"
The flying speed of the Thousand-Year Dragon isn't slow, as the sound of the wind constantly fills the ears. If not shouted loudly, it would be impossible to hear clearly.
"I see it!"
Patted the Thousand-Year Dragon he was riding on, Zeraora pointed ahead at Zou. Upon seeing the destination, the Thousand-Year Dragon accelerated and dived directly towards it.
But in the next moment, it rose again because a huge stream of water descended from the sky. It almost got engulfed in it, with water splashing on its body, yet Setsuna felt a great sense of comfort.
"Bountiful Rain, haven't felt it in a long time."
Saying this, he tossed a fish to the Thousand-Year Dragon. It was food brought down by the Bountiful Rain, where the Elephant Lord timely sprays seawater onto the Fluffy Kingdom on its back, and the fish mixed within are an important food source for Zou.
That's why Eruptions are called Bountiful Rain.
Due to this characteristic, Zou's plants have evolved into a unique form, salt-tolerant, with leaves that are high up, and some even have special traits to filter fresh water, all evolved to adapt to the local conditions.
This includes those long-legged crocodiles, creatures that emerged from prolonged evolution.
After the Bountiful Rain, the leader of the Thousand-Year Dragons seized the opportunity to descend, and its silhouette caught the attention of Zou's residents.
"What a big bird! What bird can fly so high?"
"There seems to be someone on its back..."
Many people poked their heads out of windows to look into the sky. Also due to the Bountiful Rain, the drainage facilities in the Fluffy Kingdom are very well-developed, and most residents stay indoors when the Elephant Lord rains down.
And although the Fluffy Kingdom has trained warriors, there is no external vigilance. The Elephant Lord's existence makes its location uncertain, and it's almost impossible for outsiders to climb up from the Elephant Lord.
Until the Thousand-Year Dragon was about to land, did someone notice its presence.
The life of the Fur Race is much more leisurely than that of the Fishman Race, and many who have never left Zou don't understand what an enemy is. Instead of avoiding the descending Thousand-Year Dragon, they surrounded it.
As the Thousand-Year Dragon laid down its wings, Setsuna slid down from above.
"Yo-ho! Everyone, I'm back!"
The Fur Race below fell into silence, and only after a moment did someone speak up.
"Are you... Setsuna?"
"It's her, exactly the same as when she was young, she's really back! And brought someone along too."
"Go call Hatch and Rin. Hurry up and get them over here."
A group of Fur Race members suddenly became boisterous. The Fluffy Kingdom is a circular nation with a diameter of only 10 kilometers and a population of just around twenty thousand, so in a crowd, you're bound to encounter a few acquaintances.
Once someone recognized Setsuna as the one who left Zou over nine years ago, the place became quite lively.
Setsuna exchanged greetings one by one, but soon she shivered suddenly.
"Setsuna, you come here right now!"
She heard a very familiar voice, having previously only thought about returning home, forgetting one thing: she had sneaked off back then. So what will happen when a child who's been away for nine years meets their parents?
The first is excitement, the second is anger. The one shouting her name in fury was a canine Fur Race member, mainly black and white, and had a pair of black eye circles.
Judging by the appearance, it should be a Husky, which means it's her father, Hatch.
The breeding method of the Fur Race is similar to that of the Fishman Race, where the species genes of their offspring are random, but the randomness is not as vast as the Fishman Race's, definitely based on either the mother's or the father's genes.
Two canine Fur Race members will never give birth to a horse Fur Race offspring.
"Uh... well then, Zeraora, wait here for me for a while, I'll be right back, remember not to run around.
Saying this, she threw her bag to him, and started her escapade.
"Wait! Dad, let me explain!"
"You stay put first! You left without a word years ago, do you know how worried we were! Ah!"
The two of them engaged in a chase across Zou Island, but Setsuna, having undergone nine years of Hundred Beasts training, far surpassed her father in strength. Hatch, regardless of his efforts, could not catch up with Setsuna, and could only "powerlessly rage" from behind.
Setsuna couldn't fight back, nor did she want to get hit, so she kept running, and her father displayed his ample stamina, never giving up though he couldn't catch up, showing no sign of stopping.
As Setsuna was stuck in a "chase," a group of Fur Race members approached Zeraora.
"Quite handsome, aren't you a Fur Race member from overseas? What's your name?"
"What's your relationship with Setsuna, have you been together all these years?"
Many in the Fur Race were naturally affable, and seeing him return with Setsuna, they had no reservations, gathering around and asking questions left and right. Some even began to "fluff" him, leaving him momentarily at a loss.
"Hey! You guys, stay away from Zeraora... Dad, stop chasing, you can't catch me!"
"You stop and I won't chase!"
"If you stop chasing, I will stop!"
This father-daughter pair is of little help to Zeraora for the moment, but someone did come to his rescue, also a lupus Fur Race like Setsuna, but not a white wolf, rather a yellow Mongolian wolf, a subspecies of the gray wolf.
"Move aside, this kid is just shy, can't you tell?"
If others said this, it might not have worked, but she was different. Her name was Rin, Setsuna's biological mother, and though she liberated Zeraora from the "encirclement," Zeraora felt his situation had become even more precarious.