Cracks spread across the island.
They resembled a spiderweb.
It was only a matter of time before the whole thing crumbled to rubble.
The minks felt tremors like a magnitude-eight earthquake and panicked, their eyes full of terror.
"We're doomed! Zunesha is angry!"
"I don't want to die yet! Waaaah!"
"Why did Zunesha suddenly go berserk?!
I'm still a single dog!"
"Waaaah, I'm still a single cat.
They say cats and dogs belong together. Why don't we pair up?"
"Drop dead! I want a lady cat, not a male cat!
Even if I'm going to die, I'm not lowering my standards that far!"
Cat Viper and Inuarashi, however, wore strange smiles.
Go wild! Go as wild as you like!
As long as that Marine dies, it doesn't matter what happens to them!
Once that Marine is dead, our promise concerning the Poneglyph will remain intact!
Surely our fellow minks would be willing to give their lives for that promise!
Just then, another earth-shaking trumpet rang out.
The ancient Zunesha swung its head.
Its enormous trunk curled up, lashing toward its back like a whip.
That trunk was almost a kilometer thick.
It looked slow, but in reality, it moved with astonishing speed.
Faced with this apocalyptic sight, all the minks' legs gave out, and they sank to the ground.
They even forgot to be afraid, so overwhelming was the spectacle before them.
Even Cat Viper and Inuarashi looked stunned.
This was Zunesha's wrath.
Once that trunk came crashing down, the number of minks who survived would likely be in the single digits.
Just as everyone gave up struggling, a black silhouette suddenly shot into the sky.
It charged straight toward the trunk.
Boom—
A thunderous, muffled impact rang out.
The trunk immediately bounced high into the air.
The black silhouette