One Piece: Starting by Refusing Shanks

Seeing Nekomamushi suddenly return to his fierce self, Kaku's face filled with awkwardness.

Just as Nekomamushi was about to attack, Carrot leapt in front of Kaku and enthusiastically exclaimed, "Boss, I found a master who's way stronger than Pedro!"

Pointing toward Enel, she continued excitedly, "It's him—my Thunder God Master! He might even be stronger than you, Boss!"

"Carrot, get out of the way!" Nekomamushi growled in annoyance. "Master, huh? They're intruders! They injured Pedro and my men—I must avenge my fallen comrades!"

"Huh? Brother Pedro got hurt?" Carrot's excitement turned into worry. "What happened? Intruders? Wait… Thunder God Master and his crew are intruders? Um, well, I did meet them in the Whale Forest… No, no! They can't be intruders! They even saved me! If it weren't for them, I'd have been drained dry by that flying creature!"

"What?" Nekomamushi's rage subsided a bit. "They saved you?"

"Yes, yes!" Carrot nodded vigorously. "Thunder God Master and the others are definitely not intruders. There must be some misunderstanding. Without them, I wouldn't be here!"

Kaku seized the opportunity to add, "This is our first time in Zou. We had no idea that forest was a forbidden area. The moment we stepped in, your men didn't even give us a chance to explain. They attacked us outright! We're not masochists—we're not just going to stand there and let ourselves be beaten, right?"

"Hmph! So you think you're justified, huh?" Nekomamushi narrowed his eyes.

"Of course," Kaku replied matter-of-factly. "If someone attacked you without explanation, would you stand there and take it or fight back?"

"These bastards dared ambush me—break their legs!" Nekomamushi barked angrily.

Kaku shrugged with a grin. "See? So, were we wrong to defend ourselves?"

Nekomamushi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Meanwhile, Carrot tried her best to plead for them, even raising her right hand in a vow. "I swear they're good people! If I'm lying, I won't eat a single carrot for a whole month!"

Nekomamushi's serious expression lingered for a few seconds before he clapped his hands together and laughed heartily. "Haha! What a misunderstanding! Since you're guests who accidentally stumbled into the Whale Forest, it's all fine now, meow! As thanks for saving little Carrot and as an apology for the misunderstanding, let's throw a feast to welcome you!"

Kaku: "?"

Wait… that's it? Just like that? This guy's a king? He bought that so easily?

Enel: "…"

This dumb cat must be seriously ill.

Carrot: (#^.^#)

Yay, another feast!

These were the collective thoughts of the three.

As for Takumi, he had expected this all along. Nekomamushi's sudden mood swings didn't surprise him at all.

A feast meant plenty of free wine. While Takumi wasn't particularly fond of noisy gatherings, free alcohol was hard to pass up.

"Sure," Takumi agreed readily.

"Great!" Nekomamushi beamed. "Let's go back! I'll have my men prepare the feast right away!"

High up on a nearby tree, three members of the Musketeer Squad watched the scene unfold, dumbfounded.

"Wait… did we misunderstand them?"

"They're not intruders? Whew, that's a relief! We almost ended up fighting them."

"Poor Sicilian… If he knew it was all a misunderstanding, he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"But where did Duke Inuarashi go? Did they hide him somewhere?"

"Probably. Everyone knows the Duke and Nekomamushi-sama can't meet."

Though the trio whispered as quietly as possible, their conversation didn't escape the sharp ears of Enel and Takumi.

"Uh… what's with this race?" Enel asked with a twitching mouth. "They trust people way too easily."

"What's wrong with that?" Kaku replied casually. "It just means the Minks are pure-hearted."

As Takumi and the others left with Nekomamushi, the Musketeer Squad prepared to retrieve Inuarashi.

Emerging from the nearby forest, the zebra Mink spotted his comrades and immediately called out, "You're finally here! Quick, help me carry Duke Inuarashi back!"

Meanwhile, Takumi, Enel, Kaku, and Carrot followed Nekomamushi back to his stronghold.

Along the way, Carrot kept trying to jump onto Enel, seeking to snuggle against him. Each time, Enel swatted her away.

But Carrot was nothing if not persistent. No matter how many times she failed, she always returned with a silly grin, driving Enel to the brink of madness. At times, he even seriously contemplated killing her.

Takumi couldn't be bothered to intervene.

Seeing that Enel was about to snap, Kaku calmly reminded him, "That little girl just helped us a lot. Thanks to her, our stay in Zou will be much more comfortable. Go easy on her—just don't kill her."

It was Kaku's words that kept Enel from giving in to his murderous urges.

When they finally arrived at Nekomamushi's stronghold, his subordinates were visibly confused.

Nekomamushi quickly explained the misunderstanding to his men, who soon looked relieved and began laughing.

"So it was all a misunderstanding!"

"Thank goodness! Too bad Pedro and the others are still unconscious. If they knew they mistakenly attacked these short-furred Mink guests, they probably wouldn't be mad."

"Right, right. As long as they're not intruders, that's all that matters. Let's start preparing for the feast!"

Nekomamushi's men soon reached a happy consensus.

Though Kaku and Enel had already witnessed the Minks' innocence, their lightning-fast change in attitude still caught them off guard.

That night, Nekomamushi enthusiastically hosted a feast for Takumi and his crew. The Whale Forest stronghold was brightly lit until dawn, filled with joyous revelry.

Kaku mingled with a group of Minks who specialized in mechanics and repairs.

Enel, full of pride, regaled the Minks with tales of his adventures from Sky Island to the present, earning their admiration and awe.

Meanwhile, Takumi found a quiet corner to enjoy his food and drink alone, feeling quite content. Though many Minks tried to approach and strike up a conversation, he sent them all away.

By dawn, most of the Minks had passed out from eating and drinking too much. Nekomamushi and Enel were among the many who lay sprawled on the ground, fast asleep.

Takumi and Kaku remained awake, instructing the still-conscious Minks to prepare guest rooms for them.

The next morning, at exactly six o'clock, Duke Inuarashi opened his eyes.

In contrast, Nekomamushi, having partied hard all night and reached his usual sleep time, was snoring soundly, completely unconscious.