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Chapter 49: True Nature III

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On top of the gate was a wooden plank, and written on it was the name of the city, Midori No Tengoku.

"Everyone is welcome here. No trouble. There will be punishment. Only Peace." In unison, the two pink bears spoke with voices that certainly didn't suit their massive size.

Their manner of speech was also odd, very mechanical. Yovan nodded before heading inside while eyeing the surroundings, "This... It's lovely."

"Cute." Kaku agreed.

"Odd," Bege noted, not very used to such views.

"Flammable," Laffitte noted.

"Weirdos." Kalifa shook her head at their observation, never failing to make her speechless.

Every Animal they found outside of the city of Midori was not humanoid, and as far as they could see, they were capable of speed, but the ones within Midori were different.

They were basically functioning like humans, just cuter, in Kaku's view at least. All kinds of odd animals, but none look normal.

The structures in Midori were all wood, and they were either tree houses, or literally using the insides of some massive trees as their home.

The house roofs were decorated by mint green circular leaves. There were also lights in the shape of a transparent sack of luminescent stones.

"What race is this?" Yovan curiously asked. They seemed very familiar.

"Minks, said to have come from the New World. Well, some of them escape to Paradise, and settled here, I think... Yeah, I don't know much about them." Kalifa responded.

"I think they settled here because of fear of something or someone. Perhaps they just want peace." The Animal Kingdom lies very close to the calm belt, normally a very dangerous place, but the land's very elevated state made it quite safe.

Some Minks would eye the crew from time to time, or give them a second glance, meaning they weren't too used to humans on the Island, but still kind of used to them.

And how could they not give Yovan a second glance when he is moving about on a cloud of feathers? It's quite an interesting scene, especially with his dark wings.

"No meat?" Yovan noted as he stumbled upon a small shop. There are only fruits, vegetables, and other natural things.

"Meat bad." The shopkeeper nodded. It was a fairly large blue hamster, three feet in height.

"Can I hug you?" Kaku gulped as he eyed the cute hamster, a ball of fur and pure adorableness.

"You like Uncle Mill?" The Hamster asked with his cute voice.

"Huh? Why would I like someone I don't know? Who is Mill?" Kaku asked with confusion.

"I think he meant you like hugs like uncle Mill you dumbass." Yovan pointed out with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah, Mill is my best friend." Kaku hurriedly nodded.

"By the way, how did you pay for the mask?" Yovan asked, curious about the Kingdom's currency.

"Honey. The blacksmith asked for a lot of honey for the mask, so we got him what he wanted," Bege answered and added, "This Kingdom doesn't seem to have currency, merely trading."

"Who's Mill?" Yovan then asked the Hamster as the latter was being hugged by Kaku.

"Mill. King. Our King!" The Mink Hamster happily responded.

They collected a bit more information before continuing to tour the city. It was quite large, the biggest settlement on the island as there are only a couple of villages not too far.

The Minks also seem to admire Uncle Mill very much, so Yovan and the crew decided to visit him.

And well, they found him waiting for them. His house was at the very center of the city in the largest tree. It was massive, and not very privy because a large section of it was dedicated to Mill's craft, blacksmithing.

Mill was a very short bald man with a large grey beard, conveying his old age. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with dark trousers, nothing fancy.

His shop had a lot of weapons and armor pieces, plenty of varieties though most weapons were axes. There was also a lot of other stuff as simple as plates, trinkets, and so on.

He seemed to be in the craft of not only blacksmithing but in making everything he possibly could.

"Wait, isn't this the Oro Jackson?" Kaku pointed out as he noticed a small sculpture of a ship, and he knows its shape very well because of how known it is among shipwrights.

Mill stopped his blacksmithing, taking off his gloves before finally eyeing the crew, "It's very rare that we have visitors, so welcome."

He ignored Kaku's question, understandably so because the Ship is a bit of a taboo subject.

The Oro Jackson was the ship built by Tom for Gol D. Roger and the Roger Pirates. It is the only known ship that has sailed to the end of the Grand Line.

And Tom, Iceburg's teacher died exactly due to building the ship that would later reach the grand line under the Pirate King's hands.

"How come a human is a King of Minks?" Yovan bluntly asked because that surprised even him.

"Because I was chosen to be." Mill answered with a wide grin, "Anyway, Have your fun. Journey the land, but leave no destruction behind. No trouble, and that's it."

"Sure," Laffitte nodded with an odd look, "We mainly came here because we heard of the Northern Deep. I heard of its great scenery."

"Are you sure? It's a bit dangerous there." Mill asked, and gladly handed them a map after they nodded.

"Mind making us a few sculptures of our ship? It's very cool, so you'll definitely enjoy making it." Yovan had another offer in mind after seeing Mill's proficiency in blacksmithing.

"Are you trying to convince me to make them for free?" Mill wondered with a little laugh, seeming amused.

"Of course." Yovan nodded as if it was a matter of course, "It's south of here... I think."

"West sought of here." Laffitte corrected.

"That's basically the same place," Yovan stressed.

"Perhaps I will. It depends if the ship is to my liking." Mill shrugged before getting back to work.

The crew left the city, unconcern about their ship as if they were pretty sure no one would be able to steal it. 

Their steps led them to the north of the Island, realizing that the northern they go, the less time the animals are, to the point some became aggressive.

"Why are you suddenly so energetic and different?" It took her a while to ask, but Kalifa finally did.

"Hm?" Yovan thought about it for a bit before answering, "Because I was always like this. I was just a bit stressed and in constant pain for the last year or more, so I felt held down, I guess?"

"Huh?" Kalifa eyed him strangely as she asked, "Are you not in pain right now? Aren't your bones still broken?"

The crew listened carefully to what he might say, and well, "They definitely are, but I kinda can handle it now. It's like... It's irrelevant. I feel like I can suddenly ignore a lot of things." As he shrugged.

He couldn't explain it himself, but he attributed it to his rising willpower. He just felt stronger. He felt like he could be himself despite misfortune trying Oh so much to bring him down.

"Hey, Kaku! Do you by any chance like bugs too?" Yovan asked out of curiosity.

"No way." Kaku firmly shook his head.

"Well..." Yovan sensed something, and they soon got to see it too, a colony of bigger than normal cockroaches.

They seemed to have entered the insect zone, and the once energetic Kaku was now hiding behind Laffitte, not daring to look at anything. 

He was just following after the weirdo that uttered these words, "Does that mean insects are a safe zone for dissection."

"Pardon??" He was a fucking freak.

Whatever it was, Yovan was just excited to visit new places amidst the continuous torture of his own self because he never stops over-draining himself.

He doesn't much about the Northern Deep whatever, but Laffitte said it'd be a great place to draw, and well, Yovan trusts him... In things that don't include chaos and torture.