"Luffy is already gone..." came the stutter of Usopp, sweatdropping at the sight of his missing captain.
"Nothing surprising there..." grunted Zoro, walking toward the wall. "Did you see anything up there? Like the shitty cook?"
"No. Only a deserted city..." you informed. "If there's anyone here, they are inside"
What was left of the doors that held the gate together were now laying on the ground, completely destroyed. Judging by the cracks that marked the concrete and the walls around the entrance, something massive pushed its way through. Ahead of you, the path and the trail that led further to the forest looked strange too. It was too wide to call it a normal route, and the trees around were bent unusually.
"This is some pretty serious destruction!" breathed in shock Franky. "And it's still fresh. Are Sanji and the others gonna be okay?!"
"Hm. Let's proceed with caution" smirked Zoro, unsheathing one sword.
"What?! We don't really know the residents here and we have other enemies?!" cried out the sniper in panic.
It was a hard task to walk through the forest on an elephant's skin. Your heels kept getting stuck into the cracks of the wrinkly back, and some spots were so soft that they would sink. The deeper you entered the forest, the more it smelled like gas and gunpowder.
You brought a hand over your nose, coughing a bit. Usopp was freaking out behind you, teeth chattering as he trembled on the spot. You all came to a sudden stop when you felt like you were being watched.
"Someone's out there..." you mused, taking a defensive stance.
"I got this" spoke the swordsman, his grip on the weapon tightening.
It only took a moment before something came out of the bushes. It was faster than what you first expected, but Zoro was quick on his feet too. He swung his sword forward to slice down the foe, but it suddenly jumped in midair and above the man with a surprising agility.
Now that you had a good look of the opponent, you saw that it was some sort of female, bipedal rabbit. Her dark eyes glared right through Zoro before she shot her fist forward, claws clashing against the dark blade. Electricity came out at the impact, the two facing each other in a silence battle.
"Wait! Stop, Carrot!!!" a woman's voice echoed all around the forest, stopping the rabbit dead in her tracks with a gasp.
Right behind them, the wall exploded to reveal some kind of beast. Sitting on top of it, a female dog wearing a familiar bikini top and a blue cloak around her shoulders. She tugged on the leash that moved the beast, bringing her attention on the rabbit girl:
"Forget about them-teia! More importantly, we have an invader in the Whale Forest!"
"Talking animals?!" shouted in surprise Usopp.
"They're the Mink Tribe!" informed Law.
"What is that weapon? I felt a shock for a moment!" Zoro grunted.
"We have an invade in the Whale Forest?!" the rabbit girl asked in disbelief, ignoring the swordsman's question.
"Yes! We are in trouble. The Guardians will be mad!" the dog woman sweated.
"Did you notice her outfit? It's Nami's! What have you done to her?!" the sniper questioned furiously.
"Are they a cannibal tribe?" Robin wondered heavily, causing Usopp to scream in horror.
"DON'T SAY SUCH A SCARY THING!"
"As for the invader...Why do I feel Luffy has something to do with this...?" you muttered with a sweatdrop. "We barely got here and already we are in trouble"
Carrot propped her legs and jumped high in the air, disappearing in the sky. Franky pulled down his sunglasses, shocked by her skills. It was a wonder if they all had physical abilities like that, or if it depended on their race.
"How is it?! Do you see something, Carrot?!"
"I do! Maybe it's a little too late! On the other side of Kurau City, there's a disturbance in the Whale Forest!"
"I thought so! Let's go, Warney! Get on, Carrot!" the dog girl yelled as the rabbit landed behind her. She turned to glare at you: "We don't have time to transport you-teia guys! Do as I say: go through the Rightrump Forest to your right and turn left at a deep dark swamp! You'll find the corpse of your-teia friend there!"
"HEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" screamed everyone except for you and Robin.
"Wait at the Rightflank Forest! We'll be there later!" the female dog told you all before leaving with her mount.
"C-CORPSE?!" Usopp shouted. "Y-You got to be kidding! Please tell me you're kidding! They were killed!!!"
"Hm. She said there's a corpse - which means they weren't cannibalized" stated Robin as if she was talking about the weather.
"That's not the problem! Cut it out! They must've killed Nami and the others and ripped off their clothes!!!"
"Are they the only tribe on the island? Are they really a cannibal tribe? We need to check these things out"
"WHY ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH CANNIBAL TRIBES?! "
"Calm down!" you snarled at the crying man. "She probably meant Brook!"
A pause among the group as their eyes widened, all the while they shot at you a look of wonder and disbelief. This ticked you off a bit. Did they think you were stupid or what? The dog girl clearly didn't use the plural form of the word, and the only thing that could get close to a corpse is the damn pervert skeleton. Usopp blinked a few times, and slowly came to the realization that you were probably right.
"...It doesn't mean they aren't a cannibal tribe. Maybe they are preparing a feast and are waiting to get hold on as much food as possible" the archaeologist shrugged, causing a vein to pop out of your forehead.
"JUST LET IT GO ALREADY" you barked.
"In any case, we have to find out if they're our enemies or not. That rabbit girl did attack us, after all" said Franky, and Usopp sniffed loudly.
"I know, but I'm scared!"
"First, we need to collect information. Tra-guy, your friends must be here, right?" the older woman gazed at the doctor.
"Yes" he responded.
"Is there any way to make contact?"
"No. I didn't even expect to see them again. But now I remember. I forgot that I had a Vivre Card" Law trailed, pulling out a small sheet of paper. "It belongs to our navigator, Bepo"
"Oh yeah, you had a talking polar bear in your crew!" realized Usopp. "Is he a Mink too?"
"Yes. This is where he came from. But he didn't remember much about this island. Because he left the island when he was little"
"Can we trust him?! For instance, just for instance, you know, he might become aware of his nature as a member of the cannibal tribe!"
"You have a pretty wild imagination too!" the cyborg accused.
"I've known him for a decade. We can trust him. If you wanna get reliable information, let's head straight" Law rolled his eyes before advancing in said direction.
"There should be a town straight ahead" you stated.
"We don't know who are there! Are we gonna be okay?!" panicked Usopp, his forehead turning a blue color.
"The cannibal tribe might be there" Robin added, earning a shrill scream from the sniper.
"You will be fine. Besides, you don't have much meat on that body of yours. I doubt they will be interested..."
"(Y/N)!!!!!"
While you only had a preview of the city from the tower, you were shocked by how disastrous it really was upon reaching Kurau. Many buildings were bent over or completely destroyed in pieces. The streets were uneven and felt like they were stepped over a lot of times by a mountain.
"This city could have as many as several hundred thousand residents" spoke Robin. "But not a single person is here"
"It's dangerous! This country's dangerous!" Usopp went on another screaming fit to your annoyance. "Let's get out! As soon as we find Sanji and the others!"
The group separated and went to examine the surroundings. Devices of torture were propped in the center of the town, fresh blood still visible. The destruction looked fresh and the food that have been cooked in the homes were still warm.
Your eyes traveled to a certain building, and you went toward it to have a closer look. Deep scratches were marked inside the structure, stretching wide across the whole length of the house.
"We don't even know if the enemies are human or not..." trailed Franky as he arrived beside you.
"Perhaps the Mink Tribe battled against someone, judging by everything that stands around us..." you murmured, and you groaned as you brought a hand over your right eye.
"Is it hurting?" the cyborg wondered worryingly, gazing down at you.
"The moment we closed on the town. And I can't even tell if the others are here or not. Everything is just...blurry...." you sighed, gazing down.
"Come on, Silvers! Keep your hopes up! We will find them" Franky smiled down at you, patting your shoulder.
"Don't touch me" came the sudden growl on your part, eyeing darkly the shipwright who sweatdropped.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
"Franky! (y/n)! Don't get too far..." Usopp trailed as he came running behind you both, only to stop and screech in fear at the sight of the claw marks. "What are those scratches?!"
"Oi, come see this!"
You followed the voice of Law as the others followed behind, and your eyes fell on a gigantic footprint. It looked almost the same as an elephant's. But what kind of creature could be that big? The theory that some monsters or beasts attacked the Minks' country was slowly becoming true. Or perhaps an internal discord.
"One thing is for sure. This country was suddenly ruined only one or two weeks ago" stated Robin as she arrived last.
"Th-Then Sanji and everyone else...were involved in it?!" the sniper stammered.
Out of nowhere, the ground started to shake. Behind the tree shaped like a whale, something big rose up and water was projected in the air like an eruption from a volcano. The splash of water soon became a giant tsunami coming toward you:
"It'll cause floods! Get to high ground!" cried out Robin.
"It's too late!" sweated Zoro.
"Animal Realm: Xbalanque!"
Once in your panther form, you scooted everyone on your back and made a dash toward the rooftops of the city. With the help of your back legs, you propelled yourself in the air with the others grabbing tightly your fur. You landed on a destroyed building where its height was at a safe distance from the flood.
The tsunami fell upon Kurau City, filling the streets with water. To your astonishment, there was even sharks now swimming in it.
"You saved us there, (y/n)-ya" the doctor sighed in relief.
"Where did it came from?!" you said. "Do they have volcanoes on this country too?!"
"From the taste of it, it's seawater...Maybe that was the giant elephant spraying water on itself. And it seems like both the town and the forest are adapted to this water level" said the archaeologist.
"Then it happens everyday? That should explains the abundance of the vegetation on top of an elephant's back
"I wouldn't want to live on such a tremendous place like this! We must find everybody quickly and get off of this annoying island!" Usopp groaned, climbing the top of a small tower to observe the surroundings. "Hey, there's Luffy!! At the edge of the town!! He's with the Nami-dog girl and the jump rabbit from before!! He's getting fooled and being taken to their lair..."
"What is he talking about?..." you muttered as you gazed up at the sniper, and you winced when he suddenly screamed loudly. "WHAT NOW?!"
"LUFFY'S BEEN EATEN A LITTLE!!!" he responded.
"Now you're just exaggerating! Stop trying to freak us all!"
"So they're really a cannibal tribe" said Robin grimly, and you whipped your head at her:
"WHAT DID I SAY?! Beside, Luffy is rubber. He can't be eaten that easily!"
"AS IF YOU'RE REASSURING ME BY SAYING THAT!!" argued with a wail Usopp.
"REALM OF GOD YOU'RE ANNOYING! GET DOWN HERE ALREADY! I'M SO DONE WITH EVERYONE'S SHI--"
You managed to get Usopp down after a bit of persuasion. Which resumed to lifting the tower and swinging the building like a baseball bat. Then, your group followed the female dog's instructions to retrace the Minks and Luffy. It was easier to move around once the level of the water lowered. With the help of Law's Shambles, you all reached your destination under 20 minutes.
And there, Luffy was waiting for you with the dog and the rabbit Minks. At the first sight of him, he looked fine.
"Guys! You made it!" your captain waved.
"Oi, you Nami-dog girl right there!" Usopp stood behind Zoro, moving the swordsman's arm in the direction of the Minks. The poor man looked so done. "He's our captain! You wanna eat him, don't you?! I won't let you do that, you predatory tramp! If you don't give us back him and our friends who came here first, you'll see these three swords fire up! ONI GYRIA"
"Not even close..." grunted Zoro while the she dog shook her head.
"I think you have the wrong idea. But that's okay. We're here now"
"Heh?!"
"Look over there in the fog carefully...There are guards and a gate to the fortress"
Turning around, you saw two Minks wearing blue cloaks with a sword, guarding a gate shut by giant leaves. The weapon of the one who looked like a goat made sparks of electricity.
"Wanda! Who are they-gara?" he demanded.
"Are they the ones who invaded the Whale Forest?" asked the other guard.
"They didn't mean any harm!" the dog girl assured, climbing down from her mount. "The Welcoming Bell didn't ring by mistake and one of them got lost in the Whale Forest! Open the gate and let everybody know! That the Straw Hats are here!"
"W-What?! Is that who they-gara are?!"
"They are important guests. Prepare to welcome our great saviors' friends!" told Wanda.
The gates opened to reveal a civilization in the trees, filled with Minks who all cheered at your group. You were taken aback by the amount of people, and even more at their warm welcoming.
"Garchu!!" the Minks shouted in unison.
"Welcome Straw Hats!"
"Welcome!!"
"The atmosphere's quite upbeat!" grinned Luffy.
"B-But, this isn't what we heard about!" said Usopp, stunned.
"Who cares? Garchu!!!" shouted the boy, while he didn't know the meaning of the word. "What's 'Garchu'?"
"I thought the people of your race hate humans?" Zoro inquired, earning a look from Wanda.
"Race, huh? That's probably what those who don't know other Minks think and get scared of. To us, you-teia guys are just Monkey Minks who have less hair. You're the same Mink Tribe, just a different type" she smiled.
"Oh, so we humans are Monkey Minks"
"I'm not sure about your case, Pot Plant. You remind me more of a blobfish" you gave a shrug.
"And you remind me of a cunt..."
"Repeat that you scumbag"
"Bring it on, old lady"
"Want your ass kicked that badly, huh?!"
"You're too high with that broom stuck in your ass to reach me!"
The two of you were at it, wrestling on the ground like children while your comrades watched with disinterested expressions. Except for Luffy, who was still yelling the word 'Garchu' over and over again.
"We judge someone by their character, not by their race" continued Wanda as she ignored both of you, advancing to stand next to your captain. "We take pride in the hair covering our bodies, but you-teia guys have those beautiful..." she leaned closer and licked Luffy's cheek. "...'lesser mink coats' and quite a lot of us admire it"
"Lesser Minks?" repeated Franky.
"That's what we call Minks with fewer hairs"
"There they are!"
"Oh, you're right!"
Familiar faces pushed through the crowd of Minks, with Chopper running ahead with Nami following in toes. They were both wearing an attire that certainly wasn't theirs. Usopp waved at them with tears in his eyes, clearly relieved that his friends were fine. Though, they were stopped by a mob of Minks who rubbed themselves on the navigator. Said young woman smiled nervously, trying to get rid of them.
"They're very friendly!! That's so different from what I expected!" the sniper yelled, eyes bulged out.
"Guys!!!" both Nami and Chopper yelled in unison as they detached themselves from the Minks.
"I'm so happy to see you again!" smiled Luffy, throwing his arms in the air.
The navigator jumped in Luffy's arms while Chopper went for Usopp. However, the moment the captain mentioned the others and wondered where they were, Nami's expression turned sad. You caught sight of tears threatening to fall, her shoulders shaking. Luffy frowned at that, looking at her in wonder.
"I'm so sorry..." she whispered. "Sanji-kun is..."
"What? What's wrong?" Luffy demanded.
"S-Sanji-kun is...gone!!!"