The Mink Race

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The fight with the mysterious mink warriors continues in the Whale Forest. The chapter caption calls them "the strange and mysterious mink race." Zoro notices the odd weaponry and says, "What's the deal with that weapon... For a second, I felt electricity coursing through me!" The minks shout about invaders in Whale Forest, and Wanda warns, "Are you serious? This is bad!" The crew realizes they are angering the guardians. Usopp, still focused on the clue of Nami's clothing, yells, "Did you get those clothes!? What have you done with Nami!?" Another asks whether these things are human or perhaps animal. The page establishes both the danger of the guardians and the uneasy mystery of Nami's whereabouts.

Usopp panics about the possibility that the minks dine on humans, and Robin dryly asks why he always leaps to the worst-case scenario. In the forest, Luffy dodges and apologizes, shouting, "Gyaaaah! I'm sorry! Trust me, I taste awful!" Carrot springs upward with incredible force. Usopp marvels at her jumping power and concludes that this must be the physical ability of the Mink Race. Wanda calls up to Carrot, asking how it looks and whether she sees anything. Carrot lands high above the treetops and surveys the country, spotting a crash or disturbance in the distance. The page highlights the minks' agility and the widening danger beyond the immediate fight.

Carrot sees a crash near Claw City and reports, "Just outside of Claw City!! They're definitely going at it in Whale Forest!" Wanda thinks they might be a little late and quickly shifts priorities. She calls for Carrot to get on Croccy, and the mount charges ahead. Wanda gives the Straw Hats rapid directions: continue toward the right from there, through Right Butt Forest, turn left at Deep Dark Swamp, then continue until they reach Right Belly Forest, where they should find the corpses of their friends. Usopp and the others are horrified by the wording. Wanda tells them she does not have time to babysit and orders them to pay close attention to what she is about to tell them.

The Straw Hats scream after Wanda, "Whaaaaaaaaat!?" and she repeats that they should wait at Right Belly Forest, where she will come for them afterward. As Wanda and Carrot ride away on Croccy, the crew wonders whether those two will be okay, and nearby minks recognize them as the Straw Hat Pirates. Wanda says they are in for quite the shock after what happened, and Carrot agrees that there is no helping that. They identify the trespasser in Whale Forest as Straw Hat Luffy and note that he might be the captain of the people who just entered the woods. Even so, they decide to show no mercy if he is involved in the crisis there.

Usopp panics that Sanji's group has been slaughtered, but Robin points out that if their corpses are still intact, that means they were not used as sustenance. Usopp shouts that this is not the issue, and Zoro tells him to breathe because Curly Eyebrows is with them and is not enough of an idiot to get himself killed. Franky argues that Sanji's group would not be defeated so easily and that this could be a trap to shake them up and send them on a wild goose chase. Law is asked whether his crew should be nearby, and he realizes the link: their navigator Bepo's card. Bepo was a talking polar bear, and if he is a mink too, his vivre card may help contact the Heart Pirates.

Law explains that Zou is Bepo's homeland, though Bepo left the island when he was still fairly young and does not remember much of it. Law says Bepo has been a close friend for ten years and can be trusted, so if they want to get to the bottom of things, they have no choice but to press onward. Zoro agrees that continuing forward is better than following random animals' orders, while Usopp says there is supposed to be a city not too far ahead. Elsewhere in Whale Forest, someone pleads, "Stop, please!" as the battle with Luffy continues beneath the immense trees. The split page keeps the crew moving toward answers while showing that the forest fight is escalating.

In Whale Forest, a guardian tries to stop the fight, shouting, "Hold your horses! That's enough, I'm telling you!" and "He's a friend!" Another mink refuses to listen, saying, "I don't care if he's your damn brother! An invader is an invader! Moo!" Luffy counters with "Gomu Gomu no Bell," slamming his head into the bull mink. The impact crashes through the forest with a loud "CLASH" and "BOOM." A note explains the pun in Japanese for head and reads that Kanjuro says "head." The guardians are shocked by Luffy's strength, and the clash shows that the fight has moved beyond a simple misunderstanding into a full confrontation with powerful local warriors.

The guardians are stunned that their Electro is not affecting Luffy. One shouts, "Uho! Why isn't the 'Electro' affecting him!?" while another says that if Luffy will not listen to reason, they have no choice but to use brute force. Jean Bart suddenly intervenes, and Luffy yells, "Jean Bart! Butt out!" while the former slave and Heart Pirate rushes into the fray. The guardians reel from the impact, and the Heart Pirates shout that their fighters are all out of control. Someone cries, "Hold it right there, guardians!" while others react to Luffy's crazy strength. The page links Luffy's clash to Law's crew and reveals that familiar allies are in the middle of the Whale Forest chaos.

The fight devolves into absurd confusion. A gorilla mink happily cheers, "Yaaaay! Ba~na~na~" while Carrot notices something flying and says, "Here, a fluttery thing!" before calling someone bananas. The broad panel introduces Whale Forest guardians: Gorilla Mink BB, also called Black Back, and Bull Mink Rody. Luffy sits amid the chaos and wonders whether that is really all they needed to do, while the fallen bull groans. The scene shows the guardians' brute strength and comic instincts side by side: BB is distracted by bananas, Rody has been knocked down, and the battle's ferocity is undercut by the minks' animal habits and Carrot's playful attention.

Wanda arrives and identifies Luffy: "You, you're Straw Hat Luffy, no?" Luffy blurts, "A... dog?" as the dog mink calmly introduces herself. She says, "I'm Wanda! Those guys won't be posing a threat to you anymore. Please stop fighting as well." Title boxes identify Carrot as a Fighting Beast Tribe rabbit mink and Wanda as a Fighting Beast Tribe dog mink. Luffy, surrounded by animal-like people, says this crazy place is full of weirdos and that it is like a whole country of Choppers. Carrot explains that she had simply been minding her own business when the conflict suddenly happened around her, setting up a pause in hostilities.

Wanda licks Luffy's cheek and explains that this is what happens when someone trespasses into a forest uninvited. She tells the guardians that she will be removing Luffy from the vicinity and asks them to look the other way this once. In deference to Wanda, the guardians fall back, with BB and Rody ordered to stand down. A shadowed figure named Pedro watches, and when Wanda says his name, the forest responds. Pedro commands everyone to fall back, and a huge tree or branch crashes down with overwhelming force, causing Luffy and the others to shout in alarm. The page makes clear that Wanda has authority here, but Pedro's presence carries even deeper weight in Whale Forest.

Luffy thinks the minks have him surrounded, but Wanda says they saved his behind during the War of the Greatest and tells him not to forget they are allies. She says he should be thankful the moon is not out right now. Bepo appears and is introduced as Heart Pirates navigator and guardians' helper. Luffy recognizes him as the talking bear from Traffy's crew, while Bepo corrects the others that they are not Law's subordinates and are the Heart Pirates. Penguin and Shachi are excited to hear the captain is there too, and Luffy cheerfully says Traffy is there. The Heart Pirates are thrilled that their captain has arrived, while Bepo insists Luffy should call him Law, not Traffy.

In the middle of the elephant's back, Crow City, Robin surveys the devastation and says she does not think it would be wrong to assume some sort of invasion occurred. She notes that for every inhabitant of a city that looks as though it could house hundreds of thousands, the place is disturbingly empty. There are still signs of life, which means the disaster must have been recent, but the city has vanished without a trace of its people. Usopp wants to hurry out and find Sanji and the others, while Robin says there are claw marks decorating the area, as if something tore at the walls. Franky notices massive damage and warns that enemies may be lurking nearby, making their open position dangerous.

The crew examines huge footprints and torn-up streets. Franky says the tracks are as big as an elephant's and wonders whether a monster or beast caused them. Law notes that since they are dealing with claw marks too, this could have been a falling-out between minks, though Robin admits they do not know. Usopp asks whether the Mink country was invaded. Looking over the ruined city, someone asks if this country fell to ruin less than a week or two ago. Usopp panics, asking what that means for Sanji and the others. The damage is massive, fresh, and unexplained, and the possibility that Sanji's group arrived in the middle of the disaster hangs heavily over the scene.

Wanda explains that this country is several centuries old and is known as the Mokomo Principality. Less than half a month ago, her friends laughed and smiled there; now the city is empty because it fell to ruin. Luffy reacts in shock, and Wanda names the one who laid waste to the country: Jack. As they speak, a rain of eruptions approaches and someone tells everyone to make haste into the trees. Wanda then changes direction, saying, "Or, rather... get on Croccy! I'll take you to Right Belly." Luffy realizes this means Sanji and the others really are there and feels relieved. Wanda hesitates, saying it could be, but she clearly knows more than she can say yet.

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