With Zunesha willingly joining us in our future raid, I decided what better way to spend the remaining few weeks while pirates worldwide flocked to Marineford than to enhance the strength of my rather weak species. After all, if we were going to raid Mariejois with Zunesha, we might as well get the species that were born fighters to join the war.
Well, that's at least what Trenza said, and while I'd rather spend time fucking, training, and eating, she made a solid point, one that I couldn't disagree with.
"So, yeah, that's what's happening; if you don't like it, then go ahead and jump off Zunesha. I'm curious how many of you would survive the fall." Remarked Diddy blandly as he folded his arms and stood atop Nimbus in the center of Zou, speaking to a few thousand Minks who all stared at him.
The entire crowd of minks quietly complained at my words, mostly annoyed at the fact they would be forced to join in a way they had nothing to do with, not to mention they had just experienced their own tragedy.
'Oh yeah. Forgot to mention they will be fighting alongside the Beast pirates. Eh, whatever.' Thought Diddy lightly with a shrug of his shoulders as he glanced at the crowd of Minks that filled the plaza and streets of Zou.
While it was obvious they were dissatisfied with my sudden decision, none dared to openly speak out; after all, while it didn't solely govern Zou, strength was respected amongst us Minks; besides, I wasn't even bothering to hide my aura, allowing every single one of them to vividly understand the difference between them and me. I was, without a doubt, an apex predator, and they were nothing but weak, defenseless prey that could do nothing, and they clearly understood it.
"Hmph, it's not like we have a choice in the matter." Said Inuarashi with a grunt as he eyed Diddy while standing on a peg leg, which was actually a hidden sword.
"Can you at least spare the children?" Asked Wanda as she stepped forward, her words causing Diddy to furrow her brows, though Trenza beat him to it before he could respond.
"YES. The children will be spared." Stated Trenza sternly as she glanced at Wanda before fearlessly gazing at Diddy, earning the respect of every Mink that she dared to stare death in the face.
Clicking my tongue, I dismissively nodded in agreeance, causing Trenza to faintly smile; the children wouldn't be of much help anyway, so it hardly made a difference to me.
"But weren't we supposed to help Luffy and the little boy with defeating Kaido and the Beast Pirates?" Asked Carrot softly as she glanced at Wanda, who nodded before softly sighing in defeat.
"Oh yeah, since you've brought it up, you'll all be fighting alongside the Beast Pirates. Also, before you guys throw your lives away by annoying me, it's all your fault for being so weak that some poison was enough to defeat you all; it's honestly quite pathetic. If you're going to blame anyone, blame yourselves; I'm not interested in listening." Declared Diddy blandly as he folded his arms and eyed the crowd, his words sowing fury within the minks, yet even so, almost none dared to openly refute, their instincts screaming at them to stay silent.
"This is too much, Kong! First, you prevent us from assisting the son of our Lord; then you force us to join a war we had nothing to do with!? To top it all off, one of our supposed allies will be none other than the pirates who killed our Lord and destroyed his beautiful home!?" Exclaimed Nekomamushi furiously as he crushed his smoking pipe while glaring at Diddy, who tilted his head to the side before nodding.
"Yeah, that's basically it. Also, regarding Luffy, Kaido never mentioned him, but he's either dead or something else happened to him; there is no way for him to defeat Kaido, not after my fight with him; he's in a different league compared to before." Replied Diddy casually with a nod as he glanced at Nekomamushi before shifting his focus to Carrot, who meekly hid behind Wanda.
Just as I was about to open my mouth, Trenza suddenly cocked the hammer on her pistols while pointing at Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, who were both glaring at me with hatred and fury.
"Think about your next movements real carefully, you two." Said Trenza calmly with furrowed brows as she eyed the two minks, who were seemingly on the verge of being consumed with hatred and anger, nearly ignoring their instincts.
Glancing at the two, I raised an eyebrow before looking at Trenza, who winked at me with her third eye, causing me to shrug my shoulders while I cleared my throat, ignoring those two since it seemed like she had everything under control.
"Anyways, that's what I have to say. However, I'm not cruel or stupid; most of you would end up dead during the raid, so I'll be gracious enough to train you all until the time Zunesha arrives at Marineford." Said Diddy lightly with a faint smirk as he narrowed his eyes at everyone, his words causing them to tilt their heads in confusion, though most just sighed or shrugged their shoulders, figuring it better not to question him.
Seeing how everyone didn't have any objections, I licked my lips in excitement; when it came to Scar, I had to be a little careful since his human body was only capable of enduring so much, but Minks, on the other hand, they were a completely different story. I would be able to push them MUCH harder than I had done with Scar, and I planned to do just that.
"Now, go and get ready; I want everyone to return within thirty minutes. Children will also be joining; they will receive the most benefits among everyone from this training." Stated Diddy with a faint grin, causing everyone to nod and turn around, walking away while some soothed their children.
With everyone leaving to prepare for the training, I grabbed Trenza's collar and sniffed the air, following a potent scent that led us deeper into the forest.
"I've got my eyes on you two!" Yelled Trenza as she eyed Nekomamushi and Inuarashi, her voice fading into the distance, causing them to grunt angrily.
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Once I finished counting everyone, I stepped onto Nimbus and raised my hand, causing my cloud to grow walls before forming a massive cube, enveloping every single Mink, along with Trenza.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Exclaimed Inuarashi angrily as he glared at Diddy through the dark, only for him to be zapped with a weak bolt of lightning, causing him to spaz.
"This is where your training will be conducted; I would've preferred using the forest, but this will actually be better since I'm training you all for a war." Replied Diddy lightly with a yawn as he removed his clothes before tossing his bo-staff to Trenza, who purposely avoided touching it.
"Mhm, damn." Muttered Trenza softly as she stared at Diddy in hunger before shaking her head and sitting down in a corner beside Naga-sa.
"Alright, remove your clothes. You all need to be comfortable fighting without anything on; it'll also distract your opponent momentarily." Declared Diddy boldly as he folded his arms while staring at the thousands of Minks, who all glanced at each other before reluctantly removing their clothes and tossing them onto the ground.
Although it was dark, we could all clearly see each other, and once everyone's clothes were on the ground, I snapped my fingers, causing purple raindrops to fall from Nimbus, covering the many Minks.
"I suggest closing your mouths. It's from poison berries I found in the Whale Forest; it's pretty potent as well." Added Diddy with a feral smirk, his words causing everyone to widen their eyes, only for painful cries of agony to fill Nimbus.
"Ugh, this is terrible." Muttered Trenza while wincing as she avoided looking at the children who were forced to participate, their howls quickly filling the room.
"There are children!?" Exclaimed Wanda in anger as she used her body to cover the nearby children while glaring at Diddy, suppressing her grunts of pain, only for him to smirk.
"You should be worrying more about yourself; a child's body has yet to finish growing, so they can more easily adapt to change faster than an adult. They will overcome the poison much faster than any of you; that's why I said they will receive the most benefit." Replied Diddy with a feral smirk as he lowered himself to all fours while his vertical slit eyes scanned the thousands of minks.
"Also, last thing to note. This will be your new home until we arrive at Marineford. If you want to eat or drink, you must earn it; I'll starve you to death for all I care; weaklings don't get sympathy from me. I know some of you can survive for a long time without food or water, but don't worry, the beatings I'll give you all will leave you begging for food and water by the end of the day." Added Diddy with a smirk as he eyed the frightened Minks, only for Inuarashi and Nekomamushi to lunge forward.
"GOOD! I'VE BEEN WANTING A FIGHT!" Yelled Nekomamushi angrily as he brandished his nails while lunging at Diddy with Inuarashi following right beside him.
Chuckling in joy, I closed my mouth and pushed off the ground, appearing right beside the two faster than they could react as I grabbed their faces before slamming them onto Nimbus, which was now as hard as a rock.
"Oh, this is going to be fun." Muttered Diddy with a feral grin as he lunged into the fray of Minks, ruthlessly attacking them, breaking their bodies with but a single attack.