"So that guy named Ren foresaw that we'd come here a long time ago?"
Nekomamushi said in surprise.
The seven of them sat around a campfire roasting fish. It was a big catch that Iris had specifically gone to the seashore to bring back — even with seven people, they could barely finish it.
Dealing with those two bandits hadn't taken much effort at all. The bandits who had been hiding out in Kuri had wildly varying levels of strength. There were strong ones like Shutenmaru, but there were also worthless ones.
Not to mention, even though Buggy and the others were young, they had been training for a long time. Iris in particular had started training at age five and had already been practicing swordsmanship for six years.
Buggy and Enel hadn't trained for as long, but those two were naturally gifted and had long surpassed many adults.
"That guy?!"
Hearing Nekomamushi's disrespectful words, a vein popped on Iris's forehead. She then whacked Nekomamushi hard on the forehead with her sword sheath.
"You call him Lord Ren! No — someone like you should at least call him Mikoto Nushizumabito Ōmikado-sama!"
She said angrily.
Poor Nekomamushi's mouth injuries still hadn't healed, and his forehead was nearly cracked open by Iris's sword sheath. The whole cat was a bit dizzy.
Inuarashi didn't look at him. He felt Nekomamushi needed a lesson or two. Otherwise, this obnoxious temperament would never change.
Besides, disrespecting the object of admiration of the people who saved them — saying 'that guy' about someone like that — even Inuarashi would have gotten angry.
If someone badmouthed Nekozou Khan in front of him, he certainly wouldn't let it slide easily.
So he sat up straight and stared intently at the roasted fish before him.
"I've figured it out. Every single one of you is a starving ghost."
Buggy propped his chin on his hand, looking bored as he observed the cat, dog, and kappa. These three clearly had all their attention focused on the enormous roasted fish in front of them.
"By the way, turtle — didn't you just eat?"
"I'm not a turtle, I'm a kappa. And that tiny bit earlier was nowhere near enough to fill me up."
Kawamatsu said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"This big fish will take a while to cook through completely. Why don't you tell us about yourselves in the meantime?"
Iris sheathed her sword and asked. She was curious about these three people Lord Ren wanted to find.
"My name is Kawamatsu. I snuck into this country several years ago."
Kawamatsu said, recounting his past experiences. He was probably the most unfortunate one among all of them.
He'd spent years in Wano Country scavenging through garbage just to avoid starving to death. But the mother who had come to this country with him had fallen ill and passed away.
"You really have been through a lot..."
Nekomamushi said carelessly. He and Inuarashi had certainly suffered during this time, but at least their lives had been happy before leaving the Mokomo Dukedom.
"Shut up!"
Inuarashi glared at him.
"This annoying guy and I came from Zou. We're Minks."
Inuarashi reluctantly tore his gaze away from the roasted fish. He found that whenever he opened his mouth, drool would uncontrollably stream from both sides.
Damn it, it was all Nekomamushi's fault for eating everything and leaving him hungry for so long...
"Sneaking out to sea? I can't believe you had the guts..."
Buggy made a funny face. If it were him and Enel, they probably would have drowned in Wano's inner sea before even making it out.
Both of them were Devil Fruit users. The moment they touched seawater, their bodies would go completely limp. So the idea of sailing out alone was something they absolutely refused to even consider.
"Regardless, since Lord Ren intends to take you in, you can all live in Kuri from now on."
Iris saw the fish was nearly done cooking, so she used her sword to divide it into several portions and gave everyone a share.
"Really, I can... hot hot hot..."
Nekomamushi joyfully grabbed the roasted fish, but immediately jumped up from the heat. His tongue turned bright red and started swelling up.
"Poor cat tongue..."
Inuarashi snickered, then continued what Nekomamushi had been trying to say.
"Is it really alright? After all, that... esteemed lord hasn't even met us."
He had originally intended to say the full title Mikoto Nushizumabito Ōmikado-sama but that title was just too...
"Of course it is. If Lord Ren said so, then he's definitely agreed to let you stay. It's not like Kuri can't afford to feed a few extra mouths."
Buggy had the expression of a wealthy family's foolish son, speaking as if it were nothing.
Actually, he also found Nekomamushi and the others quite interesting. He had seen oni before, but oni were different from Minks and Fishmen. He thought they were pretty fascinating.
"But if you don't want to stay, you can probably leave too. Lord Ren doesn't like forcing people."
Enel thought for a moment and said. He figured that since Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had gone out to sea seeking thrills, they might not want to stay in one place forever.
"No no no, please take us in!"
Inuarashi leapt up at his words, nearly choking himself in the process.
After months of drifting at sea, he had long since abandoned any plans of sailing out again. Especially with Nekomamushi as his companion — this walking disaster would get him killed.
They'd been lucky to run into Buggy's group this time. Next time, Nekomamushi might actually get him killed.
So Buggy and the others brought Inuarashi's group back to Eigashima Town. As for the two bandits' corpses, they didn't bother with them — just left them there for the wild animals.
Ren hadn't expected Inuarashi and the others to be rescued by Buggy's group. But he didn't dwell on it too much. He just found time to go back and check on them, and arranged a training plan for these three little animals.
As demi-human races, Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and Kawamatsu were all naturally more gifted than ordinary people. Once these three grew into their full potential, they would easily reach Jack's level. That would count as quite formidable fighting strength.
When Nekomamushi and the others saw Lord Ren for the first time — the person Buggy and the others spoke of with such reverence — they couldn't help feeling a bit nervous.
Nekomamushi was alright — this guy had a big heart and a cat's natural belief that he was the center of the universe. Kawamatsu was a bit of a natural airhead. For him, right now, whoever gave him food was basically his mother.
Fortunately, Ren was quite busy overseas and didn't stay in Wano Country for long. The three of them quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"That scared me to death, the pressure was so intense!"
Nekomamushi secretly wiped away some sweat and let out a breath of relief.
"Really? Lord Ren seemed very nice to me. If Lord Ren hadn't agreed to take us in, I might have starved to death."
Kawamatsu said happily.
"And he doesn't treat us like we're strange. Back where I used to live, everyone treated me like a monster."
"Actually, that red-nosed guy treats us like monsters too. He's just not afraid of us."
Nekomamushi said. But honestly, even that was already quite rare.
Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Kawamatsu — the three of them felt that living in Kuri like this wasn't bad at all.
[
Dear Readers,
I am currently posting two chapters every day across two active fictions, along with bonus releases and extra chapters. The workload is steady, and I am putting in the effort to keep the schedule consistent for everyone.
Right now, my financial situation is not great. Patreon support is what keeps this translation work sustainable. If you have been following the stories and want to help, joining a tier makes a direct difference.
Here is what membership offers:
Adventurer — $3 per month
10 chapters in advance for all of my works
Warrior — $7 per month
20 chapters in advance for all of my works
Immortal — $10 per month (Highlighted Tier)
30 chapters in advance for all of my works
Access to character images
Important note: Subscribing through the Apple App adds an extra 30 percent fee (Apple/Patreon policy). Subscribe through your browser to avoid the extra charge. Apple also processes payments very late (2 to 3 months), which makes it much harder for me to receive money quickly after you subscribe.
If you can support, it would genuinely help me continue the daily releases and early access content. If you cannot, reading and sharing the work is also appreciated.
Thank you for your time.
Patreon: patreon.com/anish_44
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/anish_44
]