Chapter 366: Zou – Completely Under Control

Takumi's actions left Enel dumbfounded.

What was even more surprising was that the giant cat, Nekomamushi, actually fell for it again, something Enel hadn't expected at all.

"What's with this dumb cat?" Enel asked with amusement. "Is he here to make us laugh?"

"That's just how cats are," Takumi said casually.

"Seriously?" Enel scoffed. "And this fool actually got to be the king of some animal kingdom? Does he even deserve it?"

Takumi raised an eyebrow. "If he doesn't deserve it, then do you?"

"Tch, this place is so tiny," Enel complained. "Not a single decent opponent around—just a bunch of weaklings. There's no way I'm sticking around here long-term." He glanced at Takumi suspiciously. "We're not really staying here for over a month, are we?"

Takumi shrugged indifferently. "If you don't want to stay, feel free to leave on your own."

Enel: "…"

While they were talking, Nekomamushi, who had chased after the ball Takumi had thrown earlier, played with it for a while. Suddenly, he snapped out of his playful daze, angrily swatting the ball flat with his paw. His eyes burned with rage, and despite his enormous, rotund body standing five meters tall, his speed wasn't affected in the slightest.

Before long, he caught up again. "How dare you toy with me over and over! Just wait and see how I'll deal with you!"

His fur stood on end, swaying despite the absence of wind, signaling that he was getting serious.

Takumi didn't waste any time. He pulled out another ball from his inventory.

Knowing they were heading to Zou beforehand, Takumi had made a special stop at an island to stock up on various items that might help him deal with Nekomamushi.

Inuarashi was more reasonable, and dealing with him wasn't much of a problem.

But Nekomamushi? He was a different story altogether.

When Nekomamushi saw Takumi pull out another ball, he chuckled. "You think the same trick will work twice? How naive, meow!"

"Looks like the ball's useless this time," Enel said, cracking his knuckles. "Why not let the great Thunder God show him what a real power gap looks like?"

"No need," Takumi replied calmly. "I'll handle it."

He tossed the ball again, but instead of throwing it far away, he lightly lobbed it directly at Nekomamushi.

At first, Nekomamushi intended to swat it away with his paw. But just as it got close, his instincts took over. He caught the ball with both front paws, fell backward onto the ground, and started rolling around joyfully, playing with it like a kitten.

"Curse you! Tricked again!" Nekomamushi snapped out of it moments later, angrily swatting the ball away. He jumped back up, his eyes blazing with fury.

Takumi remained unfazed, everything going exactly as he had planned.

This time, he took out a large bag of catnip from his system storage.

Just as Nekomamushi was about to pounce again, his nose twitched at the scent. His eyes sparkled, and his fierce expression turned soft and adorable. He eagerly bounced over to Takumi, circling around him. "Catnip! Give it to me, meow! I want it! Meow~"

Enel: "…"

"Be obedient, and I'll give it to you," Takumi said in a calm voice.

Nekomamushi nodded vigorously, immediately sitting in front of Takumi with his tail wagging expectantly.

Even sitting down, Nekomamushi's five-meter height still dwarfed Takumi's 1.66 meters.

The scene between Takumi and Nekomamushi looked so comical that Enel couldn't help but chuckle.

Just then, Kaku emerged from the nearby woods after settling Inuarashi. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of Takumi 'feeding' Nekomamushi.

"Uh… is that our captain?" Kaku asked, bemused. "And that big cat… don't tell me that's the other Mink Tribe king, Nekomamushi?"

While carrying Inuarashi earlier, Kaku had managed to get some information from the zebra Mink about Zou's current situation.

But he couldn't reconcile the stories of Nekomamushi being a fierce and hot-tempered king with the sight before him.

Though Kaku hadn't interacted with Minks before, he had dealt with cats a few times and read books on animals. It didn't take him long to realize that Takumi wasn't just appeasing Nekomamushi—he had the feline king completely under control.

"Our captain never ceases to amaze," Kaku marveled. "Before we even arrived in Zou, he'd already predicted something like this would happen and stocked up on the necessary supplies."

Kaku recalled catching Takumi in a general store, buying all sorts of random items. At the time, he had wondered why Takumi needed so many seemingly useless things.

Now it all made sense. Takumi had been prepared from the start.

"You're only realizing how impressive he is now?" Enel scoffed. "I knew he wasn't ordinary from the moment he defeated me on Sky Island."

"Yeah, right," Kaku smirked. "With your temper, you're not the type to admit defeat after just one loss."

"You long-nosed fool, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," Kaku grinned. "Your respect for the captain only grew after you couldn't dodge his repeated beatings, didn't it?"

Enel: "…"

Takumi, unfazed by their banter, tossed a handful of catnip to Nekomamushi, then handed the half-full bag to Kaku. "You take over."

"Got it," Kaku said, catching the bag effortlessly and seamlessly stepping into the role.

Enel frowned. "Hey, what's the big idea? I'm standing right here! Why didn't you let me do it?"

Takumi ignored him.

Kaku was about to tease Enel when they were interrupted by Carrot, who appeared with three Musketeer Squad members.

"Is that… Nekomamushi?"

"Huh? What's Nekomamushi-sama doing?"

"Damn it! Those intruders again! Don't tell me even Nekomamushi-sama can't deal with them! What about Duke Inuarashi? Could he have been defeated?"

"Shut up! Duke Inuarashi is strong! There's no way he lost to those outsiders!"

The three Musketeer Squad members almost started fighting each other.

Carrot ignored them, hopping over to Nekomamushi, who was happily munching on catnip. "Boss Nekomamushi! I've got some super exciting news to share with you!"

Her voice snapped Nekomamushi out of his daze.

"Meow! Tricked again!" He flung the catnip away and glared at Kaku, who had just taken over feeding duties, his eyes blazing with fury.