Zou

Zou is an island located on the back of a Naitamie-Norida elephant named Zunesha that roams the New World. It is known as a "Phantom Island" (幻の島) due to Log Poses being unable to point to it. It is home to the Mokomo Dukedom of the Mink Tribe as well as where the Heart Pirates resided while waiting for their captain to return from Dressrosa.

Zou is the third island visited by the Straw Hats in the New World, and it is the primary setting of the Zou Arc.

Layout and Locations
Zunesha is a massive, living, and sentient elephant; as a result, it cannot be tracked by a Log Pose or Eternal Pose like regular islands can, with only Vivre Cards as a way to track it. Having walked through the New World for over 1,000 years, Zunesha's body has been left damaged by time and the elements; its ears are torn, its eyes are sunken into its skull, and its skin is frail and weak. Its legs are very tall, making it difficult to scale the elephant and get onto the island.

The ground on Zou is made up of Zunesha's rough and rippled skin, which makes it difficult to traverse; Sanji's group was impeded by it after they arrived and were on the run from Kaidou's subordinates, and once Monkey D. Luffy's group arrived, they were similar inconvenienced while walking on the paths of elephant skin. The ground also has strange trees sporting spherical formations of scale-like leaves growing from it.



Twice a day, Zunesha will suck up sea water into its trunk and spray it over its back, which results in a large blast of water, referred to as an "eruption rain" (噴火雨), pouring down from above and washing away those who do not take cover in time. The water also carries sea animals, which provide the Mink Tribe with food, and is later purified for drinking through aqueducts.

The minks' civilization is known as the Mokomo Dukedom, comprised of a sprawling city with several of its ancient buildings embedded in the surrounding rock formations and an area known as the Whale Forest that features a large whale-shaped tree. The entirety of the back is encircled by a large wall, with a gate located near Zunesha's tail.

Front Gate
The Front Gate is the first landmark most visitors will find after climbing Zunesha from the back. Located at the very edge of Zunesha's rump, it consists of an entrance gate that is a part of the wall encircling the country, with the name of the dukedom being visible above the entrance itself. During Jack's invasion, the steel bar gates that blocked access to the dukedom were ripped off the hinges.

There are some lookout towers located next to the gate. Those are equipped with Visitor's Bells, which are rung whenever foreigners are spotted by the guards in order to alert the population of their presence. The "Welcoming Bell" is rung for friendly visitors while the "Raiding Bell" is used for enemies.

Whale Forest


The Whale Forest (くじらの森) is located near the nape of Zunesha's neck. In the center of the forest, there is an enormous tree called the Whale, due to its trunk resembling a baleen whale bending upwards. In the Whale's tail section, there is a secret room where a Road Poneglyph is located under the Kozuki Family crest. When Jack attacked Zou, Raizo was hidden and bound here to keep his whereabouts a secret from the pirate. The forest is considered sacred because of the presence of the Road Poneglyph, which the Guardians are sworn to protect from any invaders.

Guardians Residential District
The Guardians Residential District is located at the base of the Whale and contains several wooden houses and buildings where Nekomamushi and the rest of the Guardians live, as well as a restaurant, a saloon, and a hotel. It sustained some damage during the battle between the minks and the Beasts Pirates.

Kurau City
Kurau City (クラウ都) is a city located at the edge of the Whale Forest and at the approximate center of Zunesha's back. It was protected by the Inuarashi Musketeer Squad. The city has been specially designed to accommodate the "eruption rain" with multiple drains and aqueducts. During the Beasts Pirates' invasion, the city was heavily damaged and Jack placed several torture racks in the middle of the streets with which he crucified several minks in order to interrogate and torture them for information. After Jack's invasion, the city was abandoned, with most of the citizens taking shelter at the Rightflank Fortress.

Rightrump Forest
Rightrump Forest (の森) is the forest located on Zunesha's right rump.

Deep, Dark Swamp
Deep, Dark Swamp is the swamp located on Zunesha's hindquarters; if one head straight down the path from Rightrump Forest, they will find this place, and if one turns right from here, they can reach the Rightflank Forest.

Rightflank Forest
Rightflank Forest (の森) is the forest located on Zunesha's right flank (or belly).

Rightflank Fortress
The Rightflank Fortress (の砦) is located within the Rightflank Forest and is the residence of many minks, particularly after Jack's invasion. According to Wanda, the fortress is a residential area where the ancestors of the Mink Tribe used to live.

Past
Zou has been home to the Mink Tribe for around 1000 years.

Kozuki Momonosuke and his retainers Kin'emon, Kanjuro, and Raizo were headed to Zou, but they were shipwrecked on the way there.

After arriving at Dressrosa, Trafalgar D. Water Law gave Nami a Vivre Card, which he revealed led to Zou, and told her to use it if something happened. After Sanji's brief clash with Donquixote Doflamingo and the arrival of the Big Mom Pirates, who were seeking Caesar Clown, the Straw Hat Pirates on board the Thousand Sunny set out for Zou in order to keep Momonosuke and Caesar out of Doflamingo's hands while the remaining members finished their business on Dressrosa.

Seven days before the arrival of Sanji's group, Jack and the Beasts Pirates came to Zou in search of Raizo. The minks lied to the pirates that they had no knowledge of Raizo in order to keep him safe, and the two groups fought for five days. However, Jack won the battle by incapacitating the minks with Caesar's poisonous Koro gas, after which he and his men tortured them for information before leaving a day later to rescue Doflamingo. That day, Sanji's group reached Zou. Upon entering the forest, they ran into one of the Beasts Pirates, Sheepshead, who was chasing Tristan. They drove the Beasts Pirates away, cleared the gas, and saved the lives of all the minks.

Having overheard the Straw Hat Pirates discussing their destination and with Pekoms, a mink, on board their ship, the Big Mom Pirates later arrived at Zou. Pekoms and Capone Bege arrived on the island with the goal of capturing both Caesar and Sanji, with the latter being needed for Big Mom's tea party. Pekoms agreed to let Sanji and the other Straw Hats out of gratitude toward them for saving his country, but Bege gunned him down in anger before capturing the Straw Hats and Caesar with the aid of his men. After managing to free his crewmates, Sanji threatened to kill Caesar if Bege or his men tried to recapture them. Due to this and Nekomamushi's arrival, Bege left Zou with Sanji and Caesar.

Zou Arc
Two days later, Luffy and the others arrived and climbed to the top of the elephant. They reunited with their crew and visited of the minks, learning of Jack's attack and Sanji's predicament. The next day, Kin'emon and Kanjuro entered Zou. The Straw Hats attempted to prevent the minks from seeing them, but were unsuccessful. However, the minks revealed their alliance with the Kozuki Family of Wano Country and took the Straw Hats and the samurais to see Raizo.

Later that day, Jack and his men returned to Zou, with Jack planning to bring it down by killing Zunesha itself. However, Momonosuke discovered that he could hear Zunesha's voice, and on his command, Zunesha sank Jack's fleet with one blow, ending his threat.

Trivia

 * Zō is the Japanese word for "Elephant", and was even previously referenced on Chapter 569's Cover Page, which features an elephant wearing a snow cap with Zou written on it.
 * According to Rurubu One Piece, Zou was inspired by Yemen.
 * The island may be based on the Sanatani (Hindu) myth of the world residing on the backs of four elephants.

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