When Hitsugisukan saw the appointment letter delivered by Shishilian, he couldn’t sit still. He had thought Setsuna had abandoned her unusual methods, but he didn’t expect her to keep a trump card hidden.
Hitsugisukan immediately left his residence and went to find Setsuna while clutching the letter, wanting a reasonable explanation.
“Is there a problem? Oh, by the way, just call me by my name. It feels weird when you address me like that, Uncle Hitsugisukan.”
“The name isn’t the issue, Duchess! Can you explain to me why you want me to serve as this so-called governor?”
“Because you have experience! If I let someone else take the role, there’d be too many things they wouldn’t dare decide on their own. They’d come running to me for everything. Instead, it’s better to find someone reliable to handle it. After thinking it through, I realized you’re the only one capable of doing the job.”
“You can’t just do this! Even though everyone on Zou Island respects you, aren’t you worried this could cause trouble?”
“It won’t. In the past, didn’t everyone discuss matters together? I’ve just clearly divided responsibilities now. And for the Musketeer Squad and Guardians, the ultimate authority still rests with the duke. What could go wrong?”
The situation of Zou Island is unique; it would be hard for the kingdoms in the outside world to imagine how special the management system of this tribe is.
Setsuna didn’t want to get involved with all the daily trivial matters. Issues like most civil affairs could be handled by appointing a few experienced individuals.
In a way, she was relinquishing control over civil governance but retained authority over military, judicial, and ceremonial matters.
To this day, the duke of the Minks remained the strongest member of the tribe, which gave Setsuna the confidence to attempt a change in their management style.
“No, this won’t work at all. I trust you, and our descendants might trust you as well, but what about later? Once you find a suitable successor and pass the throne to them, if they can’t maintain control over the people, chaos will surely follow.
“And dividing responsibilities like this might even spark conflicts. You haven’t issued a complete set of orders yet, have you…?” Mid-sentence, Hitsugisukan suddenly realized something was off—Setsuna wasn’t arguing back at all.
“You were waiting for me to say this, weren’t you?”
“Not entirely,” Setsuna admitted. “That’s why I really need your help, senior. I’m still better at fighting. As for the governor role, only Shishilian knows about it. Regarding the council system, only you and I are aware—it hasn’t been announced yet. If you think there are serious problems, we can call it off.”
“What exactly are you thinking…?”
“I’ve discussed it with Zunesha. It’s not particularly interested in venturing into other sea areas for now, so it will remain near Wano Country, either moving or resting. It won’t take me long to travel between Wano Country and here, so I’ll handle most major matters myself.
As for the smaller day-to-day matters, we can leave those to the assistants you picked before. They’ve had plenty of years to familiarize themselves with the processes by now.”
“That said, I might return in the evenings and take a break now and then. At those times, I’ll leave things in your hands, senior.”
“You scared me for a moment. I thought you were planning to keep overworking this old man. Turns out, I’m just acting as your secretary to handle minor tasks. Well, it’s not like I have much else to do, so I can manage that.”
This arrangement was something he could accept. After all, this was how he had managed things back in the day. While Setsuna had remotely handled some affairs over the years, she hadn’t officially taken the reins of leadership until now. With her officially taking the reins, he didn’t mind lending her a hand.
Still, for some reason, he felt there was something strange about all this—like everything was part of Setsuna’s plan from the start.
Traditionally, the title of Duke was a royal position, but Setsuna had turned it into a job, complete with defined working hours.
Having transitioned to a semi-retirement role, Hitsugisukan found himself rather satisfied.
“By the way, senior, have you ever considered letting Lord Arceus grant you some power as well? That way, you’d truly become the third strongest among the Minks.”
Although he’s quite old, aside from Zeraora and Setsuna, none of the younger Minks are a match for him. If he were bestowed power, it would undoubtedly push him to a whole new level.
“No need. I’m not interested in that. You and Zeraora are more than enough to protect the Minks. This old man will just stay out of all this excitement.”
Besides, with his current secretarial duties, further strengthening himself would only make it harder for him to find time to relax.
Of course, that was just talk. If the Minks were ever truly in crisis, he would still step onto the front lines. It was this sense of responsibility that kept him helping Setsuna manage Zou Island’s affairs.
Even with their mother officially becoming the Duke, life for Meowna and Wolff didn’t change much. Occasionally, they would follow her to Zou Island in the mornings to “go to work,” while other times, they stay behind on Zou Island, gaining more Mink friends their own age.
After enjoying nearly half a month of vacation, Hitsugisukan actually felt a bit uncomfortable with all the free time.
Fortunately, Setsuna soon took her first vacation. She returned to Wano Country to prepare for her children’s birthday party, leaving Hitsugisukan to temporarily handle some minor matters.
…..
It was just an ordinary birthday party, with no unexpected surprises. However, children often imitate what they observe. In their eyes, Hitsugisukan had achieved his goal by setting up a tent.
Although his methods had been unconventional, he had successfully handed over the throne.
At the end of the birthday party, the two children didn’t leave but instead stood in front of Arceus, their faces full of anticipation.
“What’s the matter? Is there something else you want?” Arceus asked.
“Well, Lord Arceus, we’re seven years old now.”
“Yeah, we’ve grown up! Seven-year-old Minks are old enough to secretly leave Zunesha and go on adventures, so we were wondering… if we could have an ability as a gift.”
Arceus had long known that Meowna and Wolff wanted abilities. In the past, there had been concerns about them causing some big commotion, but judging by their behavior now, they seemed to understand their limits. Besides, with Setsuna having successfully ascended as Duke, it was time for some changes.
However, the power within their bodies was somewhat complex.
“How about this? I’ll give you a test, let’s see how well you’ve mastered your current powers. If you do well, I’ll grant your wish.”
They hadn’t begun training in Haki yet, so Arceus tested their control over Aura and Lightning. Their performance was decent, surpassing the baseline for their age. However, Meowna showed a greater aptitude for Aura, while Wolff excelled in lightning.
“Lord Arceus, was that good enough?”
“Not bad,” Arceus replied. “But you’re still a bit young. If I grant you the final ability outright, your bodies might struggle to adapt. It’s better to let you start from the beginning and gradually evolve. As for the abilities… let’s go with this.”
Arceus channeled the powers of the Meadow Plate and the Dread Plate into Meowna’s body. However, when it was Wolff’s turn for modification, Wolff made a very unusual request…
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