Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Zou

Chapter 804: Adventure in the Land Atop the Elephant's Back

Arc: Zou · Saga: Four Emperors · Released: 2015-10-19

Summary

Luffy’s group (Luffy, Zoro, Robin, Usopp, Franky, Law, Kin’emon, Kanjuro, Momonosuke) scales the immense leg of a living elephant to reach the country on its back. Kin’emon and Kanjuro tumble off near the bottom and tell the others to go ahead while they catch up; Kanjuro’s drawn dragon Ryunosuke hauls the rest to the summit before dissolving back into ink, leaving Momonosuke crying. Cresting the top, the crew discovers an entire civilization — forests, rivers, towns — riding on the back of a thousand-year-old giant elephant. The country’s front gate has been snapped off its hinges; following a wide “trail of destruction” they find an abandoned, half-collapsed town reeking of gunpowder and gas. As they puzzle over the attack and the missing residents, a rabbit-eared figure (Carrot) ambushes them, leaping and “floating” in midair; Zoro slashes and a dog-eared warrior wearing Nami’s clothes intervenes with a crackle of electricity, shouting “Stop this at once, Carrot!” and warning that the Whale Forest has been infiltrated. The Straw Hats recoil — “A talking animal?!” — and realize: they’re Minks.

New reveals

• Zou is shown for the first time (named since Ch. 700; never depicted until now): a populated country — forests, rivers, towns, a lookout tower and a great front gate — built atop a living, thousand-year-old giant elephant (p. 7–11). The elephant itself is shown (its leg, its back) but not named on-page.
• The Mink Tribe is shown on-page for the first time: Carrot (rabbit-eared) and an unnamed dog-eared musketeer (p. 16–17). The crew names them: “They’re Minks” (p. 17).
• Minks wield electricity as a weapon — a crackling shock when the dog-mink intervenes (p. 16–17).
• The country has been attacked and emptied: the front gate is snapped off its hinges (p. 12), a wide “trail of destruction” cuts through the woods (p. 13), the town is abandoned and falling apart, and Law senses “faint traces of gunpowder… and maybe gas” (p. 15).
• The dog-mink is wearing Nami’s clothes — “Aren’t those clothes… Nami’s?!” (p. 17) — implying the advance Straw Hat group (Sanji, Nami, Chopper, Brook + Caesar) already reached Zou and met the minks.
• The Whale Forest is named as mink territory that “has been infiltrated” (p. 17).
• Kanjuro’s drawn-dragon ability is shown in motion: his sketch Ryunosuke comes to life, climbs the elephant, then reverts to a flat drawing once its task is done (p. 5–9).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Present (climbing group): Luffy, Zoro, Nico Robin, Usopp, Franky, Trafalgar Law, Kin’emon, Kanjuro, Momonosuke · plus Kanjuro’s drawn dragon Ryunosuke (an ink construct, not a person).
• First appearance (shown + named): Carrot (Mink) — rabbit-eared mink warrior.
• Shown, unnamed: a dog-eared mink musketeer wearing Nami’s clothes (name not given on-page this chapter).
• First mention (named, not shown): Bariete — a mink gatekeeper the off-panel minks ask after (“What happened to Bariete?!”, p. 14).
• Mentioned (advance group, off-page): Sanji, Nami, Tony Tony Chopper, Brook, Caesar Clown (“Gassy”).
• Named (off-page, not shown): Raizo — the Wano ninja whose running sound “TETETE” is recognized (“‘TETETE’ is the sound Raizo makes as he runs”, p. 2). Named-not-shown; first named in Ch. 803.
• Race: Minks (first on-page depiction).
• Locations: Zou (first shown), Whale Forest (named).
• Title-page only: Ace, Sabo (reader-request illustration; a Lapin).

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Chapter title page / reader request: “Ace the pitcher and Sabo the catcher playing baseball with a Lapin” (by Chieth from Nishinomiya). A nostalgic non-canon illustration; Ace is deceased by this point. Not foreshadowing.
• Pages 7–8 — Ryunosuke crests the summit (“We made it!!!”) then dissolves back into a drawing; Momonosuke wails for it not to go.
• Pages 10–11 — Wide reveal splash: the crew looks out over a full civilization — forests, rivers, towns — on the elephant’s back. “There’s a thousand-year-old elephant… with a country on top of it!!!” (mirror-worthy establishing shot).
• Page 12 — The great front gate snapped off its hinges — first visual tell of the attack.
• Pages 16–17 — Carrot’s leaping/“floating” ambush, Zoro’s counter-slash, the dog-mink’s electric intervention, and the reveal: “They’re Minks.”
• Page 18 — SBS Question Corner (Vol 80): Oda on the Ch Ch. 766 “SMILE” cover hidden message and his friendship with Naruto author Masashi Kishimoto. (SBS content, not story.)

Open questions raised

• Who attacked Zou and emptied the town, leaving gunpowder and gas? Where did the residents go?
• Why is the dog-mink wearing Nami’s clothes — what happened to the advance Straw Hat group here?
• What is the giant elephant (its name, origin, why it has walked for a thousand years)? Why is it carrying a country?
• Who are the minks’ “enemies,” and what does “the Whale Forest has been infiltrated” refer to?