One Piece’s massive world gets even bigger in the Zou arc of Eiichiro Oda’s long-running manga. The arc that introduces both the Minks and massive elephant Zunesha, it’s a short twenty-three chapters but packs a huge lore dump. Not only that, but a lot happened while the other Straw Hats were still fighting in Dressrosa, so time to get into One Piece Zou arc!
Fair warning, This article contains spoilers for One Piece. The manga is available to read online at MangaPlus and Viz. That’s the only spoiler warning!
Where is Zou?
That’s exactly what makes Zou the perfect place to hide out, it doesn’t have a set location! The only way to find Zou is with a Vivre card set to Zou itself since the country exists on the back of the giant elephant Zunesha! Yes, there’s a massive elephant big enough to carry a country on its back, but that comes later. For now, Zou is the land of Minks, a solitary people who are humanoid with the characteristics of various animals. Zou has long been their home, as the leaders of the country have a closely intertwined past with the Kozuki clan of Wano. Here they protect the first Poneglyph, created by a Kozuki ancestor long ago.
What is Zunesha?
Zunesha is the massive elephant that carries Zou on his back. Centuries ago, he was a former ally of Joyboy during the Void Century when he fought against the Celestial Dragons. Unfortunately, after Joyboy’s defeat, Zunesha was powerless to do anything, though the World Government was apparently unable to kill him. Instead, he’s sentenced to walk the New World forever, or at least until the return of Joyboy.
Zunesha speaks to those who can hear him, though there are very few like Gold Roger and Momonosuke. It’s actually Momo who permits Zunesha to fight back against the incoming forces of the Beast Pirates near the end of the arc. He’s able to sweep their ships away with one swipe of his mighty trunk and send Jack the Drought down to the ocean floor. This saves the Minks from another massive amount of torment at the hands of Jack, there to find Raizo the Ninja.
What are Minks?
The people of Zou, the Minks are a kind, peaceful people for the most part. They don’t typically leave Zou, with only a few ever becoming pirates like Pedro, Dogstrom, Cat Viper, and Bepo. Then others like Pekoms who joins the Big Mom Pirates and arrives with Gang Bege later. The Minks don’t take well around regular humans, usually subjugated much like the Fishman people that live on the bottom of the oceans. Instead, they live atop Zou with everything they need, a peaceful existence.
Peace shatters once Jack the Drought arrives. The Beast Pirates Lead Performer, a vicious Fishman with the powers of the Elephant-Elephant Fruit, Model: Mastodon, is after the ninja Raizo. Despite the pleas of the Minks, begging him to leave them and that they don’t know who Raizo is, Jack tortures them for days on end. He crucifies them, leaving them to hang before hitting them with a massive gas attack that, thankfully, Chopper is able to neutralize.
Jack the Drought
A bastard by the very definition of the word, Jack is a ruthless Fishman working for Kaido. He takes no mercy, and his moniker of ‘the Drought’ is barely enough to describe the devastation he’ll inflict. Jack is an evil son of a bitch, and takes delight during his time torturing the Minks. It’s also Jack who gives the order to kill all of them by the end. He’s only foiled by the Straw Hats arriving just moments after they leave.
Kaido sends Jack back later to double-check for Raizo, fearing the former guard of Kozuki Oden is still alive. Of course, now Momo is in Zou and Zunesha knows the threat Jack poses. Momo gives the order as Zunesha sends Jack to the ocean floor along with his ships. Jack, being a Devil Fruit user, sinks to the bottom unable to swim. He’s still a Fishman though, and can breathe while sitting there, trapped on the ocean floor waiting for rescue.
Cat Viper and Dogstrom
The two rulers of Zou are former vassals of Kozuki Oden, the late Daimyo of Kuni in Wano. Cat Viper is, as his name implies, a Cat Mink while Dogstrom is a Dog Mink, respectively. They had a disagreement over something long ago, and as a result, have divided the kingdom into night and day cycles. During the day, Dogstrom rules over the country and all its affairs, while Cat Viper takes over once the sun sets. They have to eventually resolve their differences to fight for the Kozuki clan once again, but they squabble like an old married couple the entire time.
They go through hell thanks to Jack too, both being brought to near death and losing limbs during the rampage through Zou. Even though he tortures every Mink within inches of their lives and kills some, it’s not enough for them to break. Despite their millions of swears that they don’t know anyone by the name of Raizo, when Kin’emon and Kanjuro arrive they know their duty is finally over.
Raizo is Safe!
Hidden the entire time in the trunk of Zou’s great tree, where the first Poneglyph is kept, is Raizo. The ninja was held captive here so as not to give himself away. Instead, he has to hear the anguish of the Minks as Jack tortures them. By the time the Straw Hats get to him, he’s in tears of dread at the thought of how his friends are doing down below, and his relief at seeing his friends Kin’emon, Kanjuro, and more importantly Kozuki Momonosuke is one of One Piece’s most dramatic moments.
This moment was huge when it first happened in the manga, as nobody was expecting these Minks to have such a dedication to Raizo. Their background that’s explained though, along with the explanation that Momonosuke is the last heir of the Kozuki clan, makes everything clear.
The Kozuki Clan
Kozukie Momonosuke, the last surviving member of his family, hurtles twenty years into the future with Kin’emon. His father, Kozuki Oden, is with Gold Roger when he discovers the One Piece and knows the secret of Laughtale. Unfortunately, he dies just a few years after coming back to Wano, where Orochi usurps his seat as Shogun. Through treachery, Koruzumi Orochi is now the Shogun of Wano, backed by the power of Kaido, Emperor of the Sea.
Oden makes a fool of himself believing Orochi will let the people of Wano free, but it’s all for nothing. Orochi is a lying, snivelly little bastard who shoots Oden. Even though the warrior survives over an hour standing in boiling oil, holding his ten closest friends above it, he dies. When Kaido and his people go after the remaining Kozuki family, Oden’s wife uses her Time-Time Fruit powers. She sends Kin’emon, Kanjuro, and Raizo forward with Momonosuke to the future. She’s desperate to get them to the time foretold at Laughtale when Joyboy returns.
The Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance
When Kin’emon tells the Straw Hat Pirates about what happened twenty years ago, Luffy knows he has to help. Law is there as well, and Bepo, the Heart Pirates navigator, has a stake in the fight for his brother. This alliance was formed to take down the tyrannical Kaido and Kumazori Orochi. They will, but they still have a few other things to do first. The Straw Hats need to go get Sanji back. Before the Dressrosa crew arrived, he was taken by Gang Bege to Whole Cake Island. Now he’s in the capital of Totto Land where Big Mom lives.
Why Do the Straw Hats Split Up?
The Straw Hats have to split up so one group can rescue Sanji while the other heads to Wano. The Sanji rescue team consists of Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Brook, Carrot, Pedro, and Pekoms. Meanwhile, the Wano team is made up of Zoro, Robin, Franky, and Law’s crew plus the samurai. They find out that Sanji is hostage due to his family being the infamous Vinsmokes of Germa 66. They’ve chosen to marry him off to one of Big Mom’s daughters. Sanji, though unwilling, goes only because they have Zeff and the Baratie staff hostage back in East Blue.
Now, Luffy and his team are going to get him back, even if it means a war with Big Mom. An Emperor of the Sea won’t stop the future Pirate King, and Luffy needs his chef. The Zou arc of One Piece ends with the Thousand Sunny sailing for Totto Land, and with it, the Whole Cake Island arc!
