Zou's rainy season had just passed, and the air still held the damp scent of grass and trees.
Asar stood before the aircraft's hatch and adjusted the communicator at her ear.
Her uniform was white, with the World Government's emblem embroidered on the collar, but unlike the officials in long robes, her cuffs were tightly fitted. Two short blades hung at her waist, and an electromagnetic pistol was strapped to her thigh. Her long hair was pinned behind her head, exposing a sharply defined profile and a pair of slightly upturned eyes.
She was a powerful woman from God's Blades, proficient in Observation Haki and Armament Haki, and a Thunderbird Fruit user.
Her Observation Haki could sense fluctuations in an opponent's emotions-one of the reasons she had been appointed to lead this operation on Zou.
Dealing with the Mink Tribe required sincerity, not force, and that sincerity needed to be felt.
She glanced back at the flight unit behind her. Three aircraft stood neatly on the moving grassland, the World Government emblems on their hulls gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
The crews were checking the aircraft's operating conditions in turn. Some crouched beside the engines, adjusting parameters, while others opened the rear holds to check that the cargo was securely fastened.
Asar nodded.
She turned and looked at the minks watching her warily a short distance away.
Members of the Musketeer Squad had already surrounded them, their guns aimed at the aircraft, fingers resting on triggers, their breathing quick and tense.
Their fur bristled slightly in the wind, their ears stood straight up, and their eyes held fear, anger, and resolve.
Farther away, several children hid behind trees, half their heads peeking out as they watched these "strange birds" that had descended from the sky with curiosity and fear. A