One of the oldest kingdoms in the world of One Piece, the Minks have lived in Zou for centuries. They even date back as some of the oldest friends of the Kozuki Clan, creators of the Poneglyphs. Who are the people that live in Zou though, and how are travelers able to find it since the country is constantly on the move? Where is Zou in One piece now?
Warning that this article contains spoilers for One Piece through chapter 1099. Catch up on Viz or MangaPlus before continuing further to avoid spoilers!
Where is Zou?
Zou itself is located atop the great elephant Zunesha, who roams the seas from the Grand Line to around the world. Though they are limited to the New World side of the Earth, unable to leave due to the walls of the Red Line. Typically though, the elephant sticks around the New World itself, only occasionally stepping out into places like the Calm Belt when it needs to. This allows an extra level of protection for the Mink tribe that live there, letting them stay safe from some more terrifying foes.
Since Zunesha is constantly roaming the seas, it’s not easy to find Zou without the proper equipment. Namely, a piece of a Vivre Card from the country itself or someone currently in the country. If someone has a Vivre Card for a Mink Tribe member and they’re not on Zou, then hopefully they have another way to find the big-ass elephant roaming the seas. Seriously, how hard can it be? Zunesha is HUGE.
Zunesha
This massive elephant was a friend of the Ancient Kingdom, and fought alongside Joyboy during the Void Century. There’s a lot of history behind just the Goliath creature himself, a lot of things go back to the Void Century itself. After whatever war happens during the hundred-year gap, finding a way to imprison the massive beast or some way to kill him isn’t easy. Instead, the World Government keeps Zunesha in the New World as a sort of massive, free-roaming prison.
It seems that Zunesha can roam freely throughout the New World, but it’s unknown if he can cross the Calm Belts. If he could, this would open up a lot of options within the Final Saga, especially when it comes to crossing seas. One thing that is known though, is that Zunesha is critical to bringing down the borders of Wano Country. His massive size will allow him to smash the massive walls, letting the water inside escape and exposing the hidden city.
Mink Tribe
The residents of Zunesha are some of the most interesting people on the Grand Line. Much like the Fishman Race, the Mink are anthropomorphic animals. Instead of aquatic of course though, they resemble various land creatures from all across the world. Everything from dogs, cats, bears, and rats have formed among the Mink Tribe, and it’s always a guess as to what kind will appear next. Multiple Minks end up being major side characters throughout the story, with some like Pedro making the ultimate sacrifice to make sure the Straw Hats make it further.
Besides establishing the whole country of Zou atop Zunesha’s back, the Minks directly depend on him for survival. In return, they make sure Zunesha is safe from those who would harm him, like when Jack comes to attack. It’s a mutual relationship, understood throughout time despite Zunesha’s inability to communicate with most Minks. He also directly keeps their water supply going, spraying the waters of Zunesha a couple of times a day like a torrential rainstorm.
The Mink aren’t just regular animals though. If they train enough, they can bring out what’s called their Sulong Form. This is only available during the full moon, and can go very wrong as Minks are more likely to lose themselves to the ability. It does make them much more formidable fighters though, and really shows the wild side of the Minks.
Duke Dogstorm
Leader of the Mokomo Dukedom and his team of Musketeers, he’s also known as the King of the Day atop Zou. This goes all the way back to some argument he and Cat Viper have not long after their return to Zunesha. While they grow up on the island, a ship they’re on as children wrecks, washing them up on the shores of Wano. Here they’re found by Kozuki Oden and his Red Scabbards, and become part of the group themselves, even joining Whitebeard’s crew with Oden.
He’s an incredible fighter, proficient with a katana as much as his own claws. Much like the other Minks, he can achieve a Sulong form during the full moon, making him into a much more wolflike creature. Dogstorm and Cat Viper eventually reconcile their differences, but leave Zunesha behind to stay in Wano, where they help Kozuki Momonosuke to learn how to be a shogun.
Cat Viper
The other ruler of Zou is called the King of the Night, with him and his Kingdom ruling over the country when the sun goes down. It’s a strange way of making a country work, but it’s oddly effective as many of the Minks are nocturnal animals anyway. Cat Viper is an even more of a ferocious fighter than Dogstorm, and his Sulong is one of the most vicious in the series, becoming a mass of teeth, fur, and claws.
Cat Viper is one of the first to suggest Carrot as the future ruler of the Mokomo Dukedom. He believes in her after seeing how Pedro brought her up as part of the Musketeers, and even more after the Raid on ONigashima. It’s only with her that Cat Viper knows Zou is going to be safe, allowing himself and Dogstorm to sit back on Wano, living out their later years. They earned it too, especially after defending Zou from Jack during the main story.
Pirate Crew
There aren’t many exclusively Mink crews. Though many have journeyed out of the country to join other crews throughout the world. This is how Bepo ends up on the Heart Pirates. Meanwhile others like Pekoms take part in the Big Mom Pirates. Pekoms becomes one of the more official envoys to the Mink Tribe in Zou. He eventually shows his loyalty by sacrificing himself when Bege tries to have the others killed.
The main pirate crew that comes out of Zou is the Nox Pirates. This is a group led by Bepo’s brothers Zepo and Pedro. They sail for some time before meeting their unfortunate end by Big Mom. Everything comes to a close with Pedro losing his eye and Zepo losing his life. It’s one of the core components that makes up Pedro’s sacrifice on Whole Cake Island. Even more, Bepo’s drive to become a great pirate.
History With Wano
Considering how close the Kozuki Clan are interlinked with the Poneglyphs, it’s only natural that Zou shares history. The Kozuki have long been protectors of the people of Zou. That’s even before Cat Viper and Dogstorm washed up on the shores. The first Poneglyphs is held in the great tree on Zunesha’s back, enclosing the safest place in the country. It’s also the only place safe enough to hide Raizo.
Even more, Zunesha themselves will inevitably bring Zou back to Wano, considering that he answers to Momonosuke now. It seems that by extension, Zou is somewhat of a satellite country for Wano. This means they can come to their aid at any time. It’s going to be necessary when Momo finally needs to unleash the Ancient Weapon Pluton. With the distance the Ancient Weapon is so far below the Wano seas, it requires Zunesha’s massive footfalls.
Mink Loyalty
The Minks make their name as being not only fierce warriors, but incredibly caring people in addition. They take care of the Straw Hats as one of their own. Minks have even greater devotion to the Kozuki Clan, even to the point of being tortured. When Kin’emon and the other Red Scabbards leap forward in time, they have to journey off to find help fighting against Kaido. In turn, Raizo stays on Zou, where the Minks protect him with their lives. Even from Jack and the other Beast Pirates.
When Jack attacks, Zunesha is powerless to attack without a Kozuki there to give the order. This means the Beast Pirates are able to come at the Minks hard. They go right for it, fighting day and night even as Cat Viper and Dogstorm switch out. It finally ends after Jack tortures the Minks to near death. He finishes by putting them up for crucifixion before finally deciding to leave instead.
Zou’s Future
Zou will no doubt be following close behind the Thousand Sunny as the Straw Hats reach the final battle. It’s a foregone conclusion that he’ll also be there to bring out Pluton, however large that may be. After the Raid on Onigashima Cat Viper and Dogstorm retire. Carrot is now the one in charge of Mokomo Dukedom, and she’s basically a Straw Hat herself. This means that Zou already flies the Straw Hat Flag high above the massive Zunesha. They’ll be making up a huge amount of fighters in the final war.
Until then, Zunesha continues to wander along through the New World. They’ll likely come across a few more events as they happen in the next arcs, but otherwise may just stay quiet and out of the way. The Minks will spend their time preparing though, as Carrot knows the danger to come, and has a lot to do to get Zou ready for the massive changes in store.
