"Someone's there?!"
Everyone looked up, but the dim light filtering through the forest blocked their vision.
Only after sweeping the area with Observation Haki did they finally confirm the positions of the newcomers.
"...They're from the Musketeer Squad." Wanda frowned slightly as she recognized them, then called out loudly, "Brother Pedro, it's me, Wanda!"
Swish, swish, swish.
Three dark figures darted rapidly out from the forest and appeared before the group.
Only then did everyone clearly see the arrivals—three Mink Tribe members of different species.
Leading them was a tall leopard Mink wearing a dark green cloak.
Behind him stood a bull Mink and a gorilla Mink.
When Leno saw who they were, he instinctively straightened and cried out dramatically, "Bull Demon King?! Is that you?"
After shouting, he shook his head and muttered quietly, "Would be perfect if he had a nose ring too..."
The sudden yell startled the people around him. Once they realized what happened, they glared at him in dissatisfaction.
That idiot was acting crazy again—making a scene for no reason. They thought something serious had happened.
The three Minks on the opposite side were also stunned. The leopard Mink was just about to ask Wanda why she had brought humans inside.
But when his gaze swept past Leno—the one who had just shouted—he froze for a moment, then his eyes widened instantly.
He stepped forward two paces, speaking in shock, "Thunder God?!"
"Nani?!"
The two Minks behind him exclaimed, their eyes locking onto Leno, instantly turning burning hot.
Don't misunderstand—it was the look one gives upon meeting an idol.
The title of Thunder God had already spread like lighting itself. From the moment they read about him in the newspapers, the Musketeer Squad had unconsciously taken him as their idol.
Now that their idol stood right before them, how could they not be excited?
Leno looked at the three of them and nodded slightly, smiling. "That's right. I'm Leno."
Looks like my reputation has truly spread across the seas. In the future, I just need to shout that I'm the Thunder God and enemies will run for their lives before we even fight. Saves me the trouble.
Leno thought happily to himself.
"Good, you recognized him." Wanda secretly let out a sigh of relief and said to the others, "Brother Pedro, Sir Leno has come to visit Boss Cat Viper. Please grant us passage."
After speaking, she turned toward Leno and introduced them. "Sir Leno, this is the captain of the Musketeer Squad—Pedro!"
Hearing this, Leno flashed forward instantly, appearing in front of Pedro. He extended one hand with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you."
Even without Wanda's introduction, he had recognized the leopard at first glance.
He had always had a good impression of this guy—a real man with solid strength, though his end had been somewhat regrettable.
He had intended to shake hands, but the leopard didn't follow the script at all and instead gave him a full-on bear hug.
Fine, hugging was one thing—but the guy even started rubbing his head against him, sending chills down Leno's spine.
Just as he was about to struggle free, he noticed two more figures lunging toward him from the corner of his eye.
Now Leno's expression completely changed. Forget nostalgia—he turned into a bolt of lightning and vanished from the spot instantly.
Back atop the crocodile's back, Leno patted his chest with lingering fear, his face extremely unpleasant.
It's over... I'm tainted!
Seeing the slightly wronged expressions on the bull and gorilla below, Leno's chest rose and fell violently. His fists clenched at his sides as he resisted the urge to grind them into dust, grinding his teeth as he said:
"Lead the way. I want to see Cat Viper."
Pfft.
Seeing Leno's aggrieved expression, the girls couldn't help but laugh. It had been a long time since they had seen their captain show such a face.
The man who loved women the most had just been bear-hugged by males.
And the other party had meant well too, leaving him unable to get angry. It was simply too funny.
Robin and Kuina were relatively restrained, merely covering their mouths as they laughed softly.
The worst offender was Nami, who didn't care about Leno's feelings at all and laughed openly in schadenfreude.
She clutched her stomach and rolled around while laughing, creating an extremely lively scene.
After quite a while, the laughter still hadn't stopped, and Leno's face had turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He stared coldly at Nami, whose eyes were tearing from laughter, and spoke in an icy tone. "Finished laughing?"
If it were Chopper or Carmen seeing Leno like this, they would have been trembling in fear by now.
But Nami didn't buy it at all. If he had stayed silent it might have been fine, but once he spoke, she laughed even harder.
"Hahaha... Big idiot! You finally have your day! This is killing me! Hahaha..."
"..."
Listening to her increasingly unrestrained laughter, Leno fell speechless. If there weren't outsiders present, he would definitely teach her a proper lesson.
Laugh all you want.
The happier you laugh now, the more miserable you'll cry later.
After letting out two sinister chuckles, Leno stopped paying attention to that troublemaker.
Meanwhile, the Mink Tribe members had absolutely no idea what had just happened and stood there staring at each other in confusion.
Finally, Robin couldn't watch any longer and spoke up to remind them.
"Please don't mind them. Kindly lead us to see Cat Viper first..."
"...Alright then, follow me."
After glancing at Leno—whose expression had returned to calm—Pedro turned and led them deeper into the forest with his two teammates.
Under his guidance, the group quickly arrived at Cat Viper's residence.
However, once they stepped inside, the scene before them left several people frozen on the spot.
The Boss Cat Viper they had been talking about—the giant golden-furred cat—was currently hugging a ball and happily rolling around on the ground.
His fluffy tail swayed rapidly like a fan behind him.
They exchanged looks, all somewhat surprised, while Pedro and the others appeared completely used to it. Stepping forward, they said:
"Boss, Sir Thunder God has come to visit you."
"Hm? Who?"
Cat Viper paused mid-roll and got up, looking toward them. The moment he saw Leno, his eyes lit up.
Spreading his arms wide, he rushed forward while chanting, "Welcome! Welcome!"
"Stop."
Seeing that this guy was about to use the typical Mink greeting style again, Leno quickly raised his hand to stop him.
If it were a female, hugging would be fine.
But this giant male cat? No thanks. He didn't want to be laughed at again.
Looking at Cat Viper, who had stopped in confusion in front of him, Leno felt a headache coming on. Helplessly, he extended his hand with a smile.
"Let's just shake hands instead..."
"Meow meow meow?"
...
...