Although the Mink Tribe had remained isolated from the outside world for generations, that did not mean they were completely ignorant of it.
The News Coos that traveled across the seas were mysterious creatures. As long as living beings existed somewhere in the world, newspapers would inevitably find their way there.
The younger members of the Mink Tribe especially enjoyed reading newspapers, and many of them even dreamed about venturing into the outside world one day.
Joy Boy's expression darkened slightly. He remained silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Blindly trusting what is written in newspapers is an incredibly foolish thing to do. How can you be certain Queen Otohime wasn't forced to say those things?"
Wanda snorted with open disdain.
"And how do we know your words are any more trustworthy?"
Hearing that, Joy Boy slowly took a deep breath.
At this point, his patience had already reached its limit. However, instead of immediately responding, he shifted his gaze toward Pedro.
Pedro had already completely sided with Joy Boy. The moment he noticed the look directed at him, he immediately shouted in anger,
"Wanda! As a member of the Mink Tribe, you choose to doubt Zunesha while believing some worthless newspaper instead? That's betrayal! You've betrayed your own people!"
Wanda's disappointment toward Pedro had clearly reached its peak as well. She no longer bothered addressing him respectfully.
"Pedro! Whether I'm a traitor or not is not for you to decide! You don't represent the entire Mink Tribe!"
"All I'm trying to do is stop you from dragging our people toward destruction!"
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Neither side showed any intention of backing down.
Sicilian saw that the situation was spiraling out of control and finally remembered his responsibility as captain of the Musketeer Squad. He quickly led several Musketeers forward in an attempt to stabilize the conflict before violence erupted.
At the same time, Joy Boy came to a realization.
The current Mink Tribe was nothing more than a scattered and leaderless group.
He suddenly asked,
"Who is the ruler of the Mokomo Dukedom? Where is the king?"
The Mink Tribe members present were all stunned by the question.
After a brief silence, Pedro answered,
"We don't have a king."
Joy Boy's eyes flickered slightly.
He slowly shook his head.
"How childish. If there is no king, then why call it a kingdom at all?"
Wanda immediately stepped forward again, unable to hide the disgust in her voice.
"Before someone like you showed up, we were living perfectly fine without a king! The Mink Tribe has no need for one!"
Pedro and Sicilian subconsciously exchanged glances.
As the leaders of the two strongest fighting forces within the Mink Tribe, the two of them had naturally never considered the possibility of becoming king themselves.
After all, Pedro was impulsive and overly emotional, while Sicilian lacked decisiveness. Neither of them seemed suitable for such a position.
Still, the atmosphere had temporarily calmed somewhat.
Ignoring Wanda's hostile stare entirely, Joy Boy stepped toward the center of the gathering and spoke in an even voice.
"As I said earlier, the Navy will eventually discover Zou. Whether their intentions are good or bad is irrelevant."
"The moment the Mink Tribe is exposed to the world, you will need a true leader."
"If your tribe remains this divided and disorganized, then the Mink Tribe will inevitably lose all autonomy and become nothing more than puppets under the World Government."
This time, Pedro reacted immediately.
"That's right!"
He raised his arm and shouted loudly,
"The Mink Tribe truly needs a king! Joy Boy is the one acknowledged by Zunesha itself! I support him becoming our king!"
"What?!"
Wanda stared at Pedro in complete disbelief.
At this moment, she genuinely could not understand how his mind worked anymore.
"What nonsense are you saying?! Even if the Mink Tribe truly needed a king, it should never be an outsider like him! He's not even part of the Mink Tribe!"
Pedro let out a cold snort before suddenly pointing toward a monkey Mink standing within the crowd, a Mink named Bariete.
"How is Joy Boy not part of the Mink Tribe? In my opinion, humans are basically just monkey Minks like Bariete, only with less fur!"
The monkey Mink blinked in confusion before tilting his head curiously at Joy Boy.
Wanda nearly lost consciousness from sheer frustration after hearing Pedro's ridiculous explanation.
Remarks like that were not unheard of among the Mink Tribe, but this was hardly the time for such nonsense.
They were discussing the future ruler of the entire tribe, yet Pedro actually wanted to hand the throne to an outsider, a "hairless monkey."
Even Joy Boy himself looked at Pedro with surprise.
Meanwhile, Pedro became even more enthusiastic. He rushed directly beside Joy Boy and shouted passionately,
"Our Mink Tribe has lived on Zou's back for generations! It's no exaggeration to say that Zou raised our entire people!"
"I don't think anyone here would disagree with that, right?"
As he spoke, Pedro deliberately glanced toward Wanda and the others standing behind her.
Faced with Pedro using Zunesha as a moral banner, Wanda could only grit her teeth and nod unwillingly.
Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Pedro's face as he continued,
"Therefore, the person acknowledged by Zou is naturally the one most qualified to become our king!"
"And that person is..."
Pedro was already preparing to shout Joy Boy's name.
But at that exact moment, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
Pa!
Pedro froze.
His speech had been abruptly interrupted.
Turning around in confusion, he discovered that the one who stopped him was none other than Joy Boy himself.
Faced with Pedro's bewildered expression, Joy Boy smiled faintly, stepped forward, and slowly declared,
"That person is Pedro."
The moment those words fell, Pedro's face instantly stiffened as though he had just seen a ghost.
Not only him, but even Wanda and the others were completely stunned.
Joy Boy rested one hand on Pedro's shoulder and continued indifferently,
"Pedro, I believe Miss Wanda is correct about one thing."
"At present, I am still an outsider to the Mink Tribe. What sense would it make for an outsider to become king?"
"Therefore, I believe Pedro is the most suitable person to lead the Mink Tribe."
Wanda immediately understood Joy Boy's true intentions.
This was nothing more than an obvious scheme.
What difference was there between Pedro becoming king and Joy Boy ruling indirectly through him?
Pedro had practically become Joy Boy's loyal follower already.
However, she also understood something else.
This move would greatly reduce the concerns of the undecided Mink Tribe members.
Pedro was already the leader of the Musketeer Squad and possessed considerable prestige within the tribe. Combined with the symbolic support of Zunesha, most members of the Mink Tribe could likely accept him becoming king.
Realizing this, Wanda clenched her teeth tightly before suddenly pointing toward Sicilian.
"In that case, I believe Captain Sicilian should be..."
Before she could finish speaking, she noticed Sicilian quietly shaking his head.
It was obvious that he had no intention of competing at all.
The moment Wanda saw his reaction, the disappointment in her heart reached its limit.
Utter disappointment.