The process of choosing the next king of Zou really was this casual.
Only then did Sherwin suddenly realize that the little rabbit by his side would one day be chosen just as casually as Zou next king.
"Not interested. I still want to go adventuring with the Admiral, meow."
Huamei Meow curled her lips in disdain. "Staying here all day, what so interesting about that, meow?"
"Exactly! Don't even think about taking Huamei big sister away! Otherwise Klee Meow will blow you all up with bombs, meow!"
(=`н=)
Sanji Meow fur stood on end all over. "What so amazing about being the king of Zou! We don't care at all, meow!"
Even though they were usually kept under very strict control by Lord Huamei, whether it was the little ragdoll, the little blue cat, or even the little yellow cat who had recently become obsessed with the big-sister Felynes, none of them wanted her to leave the investigation team.
"Of course we have no intention of forcing her," Inurashi hurried to soothe them.
"Since Miss Huamei has no such thoughts, we couldn't possibly force her to take the throne."
Even so, his face and those of the other Felynes were all filled with regret.
Clearly, in their eyes, Huamei Meow was still the best possible heir to Zou throne.
"Didn't you say you were going to take us to see the Poneglyph?" Sherwin decisively changed the subject, cutting off these people designs on his own cat.
"Hmph… follow me then!"
Even though it was his territory to guard, Inurashi had gotten ahead of him and used it to curry favor, which made Cat Viper extremely displeased.
Still, since he had just agreed not to engage in meaningless fighting anymore, he only snorted unhappily at Inurashi before decisively snatching back the initiative.
Inurashi, unwilling to be outdone, said nothing but quickened his pace by two steps to walk side by side with Cat Viper, clearly competing for the right to lead the way.
Although the two had agreed not to come to blows again, small-scale rivalry like this was likely not going to disappear anytime soon.
"Really, what a pair of idiots, meow."
(ω)
The mouthpiece cat on his shoulder flicked her tail, voicing her disdain with a look of contempt.
And Haibara Meow didn't lower her voice at all. Sherwin was certain that the cat and the dog up ahead both heard her snarky comment, yet they both pretended they hadn't heard a thing…
Mm, truly a pair of idiots.
Because Inurashi and Cat Viper were competing with each other, their pace naturally sped up a little.
Before long, everyone followed them to the base of that enormous ancient whale tree.
"Ugh… here, that oppressive feeling of being watched by Zunesha is even stronger," Shirahoshi said, frowning.
Klee Meow scratched her ear and tilted her head in confusion. "Really, meow? Klee doesn't feel anything at all, meow…"
"Lord Oden and Captain Roger said something similar," Cat Viper explained, beating Inurashi to it.
"They said the closer you get to the whale, the louder the 'voice' becomes."
Inurashi immediately followed up, "But neither of them was able to converse with Zunesha, nor could they even understand what Zunesha was saying."
"I can't understand it now either," Shirahoshi shook her head. "Boss Sherwin, should I put the device back on and try again?"
"No need. I guess Zunesha has probably started 'resting' again," Sherwin replied.
He briefly explained his speculation. Of course, there was no way he could talk about what would happen in the future, so his reasoning sounded a bit thin and based on intuition.
However, both Haibara Meow and Purah Meow nodded in agreement.
"That very likely, meow. If Zunesha really has been walking nonstop for several hundred years like it said, then it definitely needs some way to rest.
And elephants normally sleep while standing, so switching to sleeping while walking is also very possible, meow! Check-it~"
Haibara Meow used her little paw to pat Sherwin head, saying with a satisfied look, "Didn't expect you, idiot Sherwin, to have a clever moment too, meow!"
"Then does that mean that if we want to contact Zunesha again in the future, we'll have to… 'wake' it up first?"
Inuarashi pondered for a moment before choosing a more tactful word, but everyone understood what he really meant—beating Zunesha awake.
"No. If what you're saying is true, that the 'voice' here is especially clear, then maybe this place is specifically meant for calling Zunesha."
Sherwin felt it was unlikely they would use such a drastic method, and the situation of this forbidden land on Zou was so special that it couldn't exist merely to store a Poneglyph.
As for whether his guess was correct, it would be easy enough to find out…
"Mm, after we finish reading the Poneglyph, Shirahoshi, why don't you try again? How are you feeling right now? If you're tired, you can rest for the night first. There no rush anyway."
"I'm fine!" Shirahoshi patted her chest. "I'm still full of energy!"
Then everyone continued upward along the protruding veins on the trunk of the Whale Tree, walking all the way to the whale tail.
There was, well… a very conspicuous doorway-shaped entrance. Behind the door was a long staircase leading straight into the whale belly.
"Um… so your forbidden land is just placed out in the open like this?"
Sherwin pointed at the completely unhidden doorway and couldn't help complaining, "Isn't this basically telling everyone outright that what you're hiding is right here?"
Although this opening was extremely inconspicuous compared to the Whale Tree enormous body and impossible to notice from afar, as long as someone searched the area a little, they would discover this special spot.
So even if Inuarashi and the others hadn't brought Sherwin here, sending Shermie Meow to make a trip would have had a very high chance of success.
"This place is guarded by me and the Musketeers! Enemies can't get close!" Nekomamushi replied carelessly.
"And what if Kaido came?" Sherwin glanced sideways at him and, ignoring his stifled expression, continued bluntly, "Given his temperament, if he really couldn't find it, he'd probably just start wrecking everything.
But if this place were hidden, at least there'd still be a chance it could remain concealed beneath the ruins."
"You're right. We'll disguise this place afterward."
Perhaps after being scolded by Huamei Meow, he'd finally wised up a bit. Nekomamushi didn't argue with Sherwin this time and instead honestly accepted the suggestion.
"Hah, and you still won't admit you're single-celled. You've been guarding the Whale Forest for so many years and never even thought of doing this," Inuarashi seized the chance to mock him.
"Like you, you stupid dog, thought of it either!"
"But the Whale Forest isn't my responsibility," Inuarashi continued in a mocking tone. Paired with his tongue that was hanging out most of the time, he looked…
Quite punchable.
"Meowaaahhh!"
Cat Viper instinctively wanted to strike, but when he caught a glimpse of Huamei Meow beside him, he forcibly stopped his charge toward Inurashi and could only hop in place, roaring and raging helplessly.
To be honest, watching these two bicker with love and hate had already grown tiresome for Sherwin. He even regretted why he had complained about this cave entrance just now.
Fortunately, after venting his temper, Cat Viper—the utterly un-cute fat cat—quickly calmed down and then led Sherwin and the others further downward.
Unwilling to cause any more trouble, Sherwin kept his mouth tightly shut as they went down the stairs, only finally letting out a breath of relief when they reached the whale abdominal cavity and saw the red Poneglyph of history.