A bear that doesn't talk is a truly good bear. This is Perona's understanding of cute creatures. Clearly, Bepo in his mummy form matches her aesthetic taste more.
In a sense, the Hundred Beasts aren't quite normal these days because this pirate crew is filled with many people with peculiar tastes.
"Strange... Where am I? Who wrapped me up like this?"
The slowly awakening Bepo tore off the bandage covering his mouth, but his mind was blank. He remembered sleeping in a tree hollow, and then...
He rubbed his head, still feeling a bit of pain, but some blurry images started to appear.
"I think I saw a very cute yellow bear and a woman..."
Most of the Fur Race still prefer their fellow Fur Race members or other races, but a few might develop affections for similar beasts, which isn't surprising, just rare.
Bepo's last memory was of a girl recognizing him as Fur Race, and the female bear was waving at him friendly, and after that, he seemed to have fallen asleep.
"Eek!"
At that moment, he suddenly heard a cry. When he looked over, a Kuma, wearing clothes, had somehow moved a giant stone, directly blocking a stream and was catching passing fish.
"Kuna~"
After smacking the water with a paw, the dressed Kuma wiped nonexistent sweat from its forehead and noticed that Bepo had woken up. This time, it didn't wave at him, having understood from Setsuna's communication that the strange white bear was not an enemy.
"Eek!"
Crying out to a nearby figure, Setsuna, who was grilling fish, also got the message.
Even though the Kuma had used an ordinary attack, a juvenile Fur Race member couldn't withstand a blow from the so-called Bear God. Despite using healing bandages, Bepo's recovery time was delayed until the next morning.
When he was brought here, Setsuna was grilling dinner, but now it was breakfast the next day.
As for getting tired of it, for the carnivorous Fur Race, this wouldn't happen. Zeraora, due to his lineage, feels the same. Perona, despite her peculiar aesthetic, isn't picky about food.
A child growing up surviving in a graveyard has no choice about food; naturally, they eat whatever's available. Though she has her favorites, she can eat most foods.
"Awake? You're Bepo, Jebo's brother, right?"
"That's me. Do you know my brother?"
"Not very well, but I do know him. Don't worry, I'll take you back to Zou in a while. For now, just follow me. Oh, and there's one more thing."
"What is it?"
"Jebo asked me to give you a good lesson on his behalf, in case you run off again and make him worry."
Setsuna rubbed her fist and relayed Jebo's request from yesterday. With a child who's prone to running off, parents and relatives worry when they're missing, but once found, this special situation can occur.
"Huh?"
"These are the words Jebo left for you. He'll call again when he's free, so just listen to this for now."
As she spoke, Setsuna took out a Sound Shell. These shells from Sky Island are more useful than most machines; as long as the shell isn't broken, their function remains, and their audio quality is excellent.
The reason Jebo didn't call right away is evident from Bepo rubbing his ears.
The Sound Shell contained not only Jebo's caring and scolding voice but also the sound of explosions.
Apparently, yesterday's call was ill-timed, as it came during a battle with Pedro and Jebo's enemies. However, since they were able to take the call, it showed how easily they were handling the fight.
Just in case, she plans to call back when both of them are free.
Back when Setsuna frequented Zou, Bepo was still very young and disoriented, so he didn't recognize Setsuna immediately. Now, he realizes that she's the designated Duke heir.
"You... No, you've become the new Duke, haven't you?"
"Yes, but Hichugiskhan is still managing Zou for now. Not much has changed there, so just stay put and don't run off, got it?
If you do, don't blame me for giving you a real lesson."
Although Jebo asked her to be unreserved, she wouldn't actually beat Bepo up, as long as he doesn't delay her future travels; otherwise, she wouldn't hold back.
"Yes, sorry... I won't run off again..."
Looking at this very crestfallen white bear, Setsuna didn't say much. Thus, their group now included one more despondent white bear.
After escaping with his life, Law also gradually woke up. Using the Op-Op Fruit, he had performed a surgery on himself without anesthesia and passed out from the pain.
Later, he was saved by an old man named Wolf, who claimed to be a genius inventor. Wolf offered Law room and board in exchange for work, starting a new chapter in Law's life.
....
Some time later, the Origin had returned to the Grand Line from the West Sea. During this time, a new marine horror story emerged in the West Sea: people in some villages inexplicably fell into nightmares, with entire villages dreaming the same dream.
Whether pirates, Navy, ordinary people, or beasts, certain areas frequently experienced this eerie phenomenon.
This was the effect of Darkrai. While searching for the Netherworld, he didn't want to interact with too many people, so he made everyone fall into dreams.
Nightmare God isn't just a nickname, and the abnormal behavior has attracted investigations, though they've all been in vain.
A very few have seen Darkrai and even communicated with him, but most people assume they were hallucinating and regard it as a supernatural event.
The Origin gradually approached Ghost Island, but encountered something incredible—they ran aground. Although the sturdy hull of the Origin wasn't damaged, they were temporarily stranded.
"What's going on? How are there reefs here???"
The navigator looked innocently at the route map. He'd traveled this path hundreds of times; it was supposed to be safe. Yet, for some reason, a massive coral reef had appeared.
This, in fact, was related to Arceus. Due to his modification of the Dynamax currents, special energy had been added to the seawater, causing some creatures to mutate. Normally, fish just grew larger, which wasn't a big deal.
But the coral had also been affected, growing rapidly at an unscientific speed....