Disaster Befalls a Nation, the Straw Hats Come to the Rescue

"Smack!"

The Iron Whip, covered in thorns, lashed out, tearing away chunks of flesh and blood!

"Tell me! Where is 'Raizo'?"

"If you don't speak up now, this country will be destroyed!"

On the 'X'-shaped wooden stake, the 'Canine Mink,' with predominantly brown fur all over its body, dark brown ears, and a deep stitched scar on its left cheek, dressed in blue ducal robes that had been whipped to shreds and a bright red cloak stained with blood, helplessly answered the torture:

"I don't know, that's all. How can I give you a satisfactory answer?"

Beside it, also hanging from a stake, was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, its golden fur speckled with brown spots. The thick mane on its neck was congealed with blood, and its massive, bushy tail hung limply, yet the 'Feline Mink' bared its teeth defiantly.

"Come on, you little rascals!"

"Didn't you guys eat? You don't even have enough strength to tickle my itch—"

"Hmph, stubborn as a mule!"

Wearing a gas mask, the 'True Striker' Sheepshead raised his thorny Iron Whip once more and swung it again! The blow instantly created shockwaves, revealing him as a 'master' of Armament Haki. However:

How strong someone is depends on who they are compared to.

"Rubber-"

?!

Flash--

It dodged, but not completely.

Bang!

A long, outstretched fist flew from afar, instantly blasting the "True Striker" of the 'Artificial Devil Fruit - Sheep Mode' Gifters away. As Luffy leaped into the air Luffy in the plaza, all eyes turned to him.

"How dare you!"

"How dare you launch a sneak attack on Lord Sheepshead? Are you tired of living?"

Surrounded by members of the Beasts Pirates clad in simple spiked armor, they shouted menacingly, but not a single one charged forward. Because:

If a powerful enemy who True Striker can be defeated with a single punch, wouldn't these lackeys just be offering themselves up for death?

"Lord Sheepshead!"

Another woman, wearing only a suit of 'swimsuit'-shaped armor and with two horns on her head, possessing an 'Artificial Devil Fruit - Springbok Mode', reacted and, with her amazing jumping power, leaped forward, her entire body like a torpedo tearing through the sky and crashing into Luffy.

"Antelope puncture!"

Clang!!

"Too weak,"

Faced with the impact that pierced the warship, Luffy simply spread his five fingers and blocked, instantly bringing the charging woman from extreme motion to complete stillness! The intense impact left the sexy female 'Gifters' with a buzzing sensation in her head, especially:

Luffy's palm was still several centimeters away from her head! The two sharp horns didn't even touch Luffy's palm.

?!

Advanced Flowing Cherry Haki!... No, it should be described as Armament Haki being unleashed?

Brush,

Terrified on the spot, Ginrummy leaped back dozens of meters, landing next to the unconscious Sheepshead, and hoisted his superior onto his shoulder. Then:

"Retreat!"

"Lord Ginrummy——?"

"How are we going to explain this to Lord Jack...?"

"There are no samurai!"

What a bunch of idiots! If we stay any longer in the face of a true master who can unleash Armament Haki, we'll be the ones who get our comeuppance.

"This country has no warriors. That's all I have to report!"

"Brothers, let's retreat!"

"Let's report to Lord Jack first..."

"How did they all escape so quickly?"

Unaware that his recent display of skill had deeply intimidated his opponents, Luffy tilted his head, watching the rampaging forces vanish in an instant, leaving only a few heavily wounded individuals hanging on the wooden frame:

"Are you the 'Mink Tribe'?"

"... They are the Mink Tribe,"

Tied to an 'X'-shaped wooden frame, the dog-headed man with a dog's head and wearing tattered duke's clothes looked at Luffy.

"May I ask... who are you?"

"Hehehe, I'm Luffy, the man who's going to become the King of the Pirates!"

King of the Pirates?

"So, are you an enemy of the 'Beasts Pirates'?"

"Huh? What 'Beasts Pirates'?"

You've driven everyone away, and you're asking what the 'Beasts Pirates' are? You don't even know who the Four Emperors are? What kind of King of the Pirates are you?!

"Luffy, I told you not to run too fast."

As Roman and a group of people, also wearing white gas masks, walked over, a quick glance revealed:

"That's too cruel..."

Besides the four powerful figures hanging from the wooden frame, the ground behind it was littered with the bodies of the Mink Tribe —men, women, children, and people of all races—virtually all wounded and covered in blood, lying lifeless in pools of blood...

"Doctor! The doctor's there!!"

Chopper was so frightened by the horrific scene that he reverted to his old verbal tic, and after a few seconds of panic:

"Ah, I am a doctor."

Snap,

"Wait, Chopper."

Roman grabbed the reindeer that was about to rush out and turned to look at Luffy standing in front of the wooden frame.

"Whether we are friends or enemies with the Mink Tribe here is still unknown— Luffy, what do you think?"

"Luffy ~~"

Seeing Chopper's anxiety, Luffy tugged at his Straw Hat.

"Chopper, go do what you want to do."

"Um!"

As Luffy, Roman released his grip, Chopper immediately rushed towards the Mink Tribe lying on the ground. At the same time, Roman turned to look at Brook beside him, causing Skull, who was also wearing a gas mask, to pause in surprise.

So, I'm saying: why would a skeleton like you need a gas mask? — Or rather, what are you even breathing with...?

"Brook, let 'Little Soft' come out and absorb the poison gas in the air."

"Hey, hey? Hey!"

"Does Little Soft still have this ability?"

Roman nodded at the soft 'slime' that crawled out of Brook's ribs.

"Don't forget, Little Soft's true form is a 'Gas-Gas Bullet,' and it is naturally able to absorb all toxic substances—especially since this gas was created by that guy Caesar."

"Okay, I'll let it try."

As Brook lifted the Little Soft up, and somehow he communicated with it, the little thing that Luffy named 'Little Soft' opened its mouth.

Suck--

As a huge 'mouth' appeared in front of it, the pale white, cloud-like gas that filled the entire square began to flow, swirl, and then accelerate!

A large amount of poisonous gas rushed into 'Little Soft's' body, then the gaseous gas was 'filtered' and absorbed by Little Soft's body, leaving clean air to be expelled from behind...

'Little Soft' inhaled endlessly, as if trying to compress all the air in the entire square into its body. After all, it was just a slime, and originally had no concept of 'breathing'; this was more like a different kind of 'eating'.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!

"Yes, although there is still a slight odor, it is no longer poisonous."

Roman took a deep breath after removing his gas mask. With his constitution, he could withstand even the most potent poison for a while. Besides, as long as the amount of gas in the air was low enough, it would be harmless to the monsters on the Grand Line.

"Let me help too,"

Law, carrying the "Kikoku," walked towards the constantly busy Chopper.

"I am a doctor, after all."

"Then everyone should help out," Nami, opening the book in her hand, and immediately clusters of blue flames appeared.

"Go, Pineapple Gravel!"

As the vibrant flames entered their bodies, the breathing of the Mink Tribe on the ground steadied, and even the experts nailed to the wooden frames were invigorated.

"This is····"

"The Marco brothers' abilities?!"

"Why do you know his abilities? Could it be—"

"Oh, this..."

Nami was stunned with embarrassment. What was this? Was this some kind of imposter meeting Wu Song...?

"Our partner is a 'Copy-Copy Fruit' user," Roman explained to the excited golden cat without blinking. "If you're talking about Marco, the first division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, he's our friend and still alive and well. This ability was copied with his permission."

Roman immediately dispelled the other party's misunderstanding that Nami had eaten the 'Phoenix Fruit'.

At the same time, Roman pointed at Luffy.

"This is our captain, the man with a bounty of 600 million: 'Straw Hat' Luffy! The younger brother of Ace, the former Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

They're one of our own...

Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, who were hanging on the wooden frame, exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, their entire nation's fighting force has been wiped out here. If they encounter pirates with ulterior motives, they could be captured and sold into slavery... Don't forget, in Sabaody, the starting price for a Mink Tribe is 700,000 Beli, and if you encounter a beautiful female Mink Tribe, the starting price is several million!

The entire 'Mink Principality' is worth tens or even hundreds of billions of Beli.

"Thank you so much for your help, we are extremely grateful!"

"Everyone come and help!"

"Slow down, put them down!"

Since they're all friends of friends, it's simple:

"Don't worry about us, please treat the others first."

Despite the Straw Hat crew's help, the cat and dog, who were the most seriously injured, did not rush to let them put them down. They let the blood drip continuously, and even with a broken arm and a broken leg, they remained calm.

"This wound..."

Roman picked up the severed hand from the ground and gestured to Luo.

"Can it be restored to its original state?"

"It's a bit difficult," Luo thought for a moment. "Although my Op-Op Fruit allows me to freely cut, assemble, exchange, manipulate, or combine all objects in space, his arm was violently torn off, so the difficulty of reassembling it..."

"What if I suture the nerves and blood vessels in the severed arm first?"

In Roman's hands, dancing threads float in the air like seaweed.

?!

"This is--"

"That's right, Doflamingo's String-String Ability is perfect for stitching up wounds." Not only is it sterile and flexible, but because it is a creation of Roman's ability, it also has its own 'biological' attribute, which allows it to perfectly fuse with the flesh and blood of the wound.

"Then there's no problem."

"Banquet!!"

"Let's have a banquet!"

······

"What is it this time?"

Seeing Law's helpless expression, Luffy put his hands on his hips.

"Of course, it's to celebrate the rebirth of the Mink Tribe, hee hee hee~~~"

I think you just want to throw a party!

"Captain!"

When Bepo, covered in bandages, threw himself into his arms, Law's expression softened.

Fine, let the Straw Hat crew do whatever they want.