After they had gotten acquainted with practically all the Mink Tribe residents, everyone's enthusiasm finally faded a little, though quite a few Minks still wanted to crowd around them.
Just then, Wanda walked over. She first persuaded the enthusiastic, curious Minks to leave, then said to Xie Wen and the others, "Everyone, please follow me. His Grace would like to meet you."
"The duke? Is he Zou's ruler?"
Robin's eyes lit up. Zou's buildings looked very old, and she had been planning to study them properly. This was a perfect chance to ask its ruler about the Mokomo Dukedom's history. It would be even better if there were historical documents available.
Xie Wen, however, frowned.
Of course he knew who the "duke" Wanda mentioned was-Duke Inuarashi, one of the Mokomo Dukedom's two current kings, as well as a retainer of Kozuki Oden and a member of the Nine Red Scabbards.
Thanks to the One Piece world's excellent matchmaking system, neither Inuarashi, whom they were about to meet, nor Cat Viper, who was in charge at night, could be called a qualified ruler.
Being Kozuki Oden's retainers was not really an issue. After all, that had happened before they became kings of the Mokomo Dukedom. Besides, judging by the later storyline, the Mink Tribe and the Kozuki Clan already shared deep ties, and Zou had always occupied the position of a follower.
On top of that, every Mink in the country had chosen loyalty without a single complaint to conceal Raizo's whereabouts, so Xie Wen did not think there was anything to criticize Inuarashi and Cat Viper for in that respect.
At most, the two were foolishly loyal. Despite meeting an unreliable leader and an equally unreliable Young Master, they had chosen to follow them without hesitation.
What really made Xie