Nekomamushi

Master Nekomamushi is a feline mink and the guardian of the Whale Forest on Zou, dubbed the "Ruler of Night" as he rules over the Mokomo Dukedom from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. He and Inuarashi serve as retainers for the Kozuki Family of Wano Country, as members of the Nine Red Scabbards. Alongside Inuarashi, he was once a member of the Whitebeard Pirates and Roger Pirates, serving under Kozuki Oden. Pedro has claimed that he and Inuarashi must not be allowed to die because "the world is waiting for them". Nekomamushi is a large, yellow feline mink with sharp teeth, claws, and a very thick striped tail. He has wild, bushy blonde hair resembling a lion's mane running around his neck and down his back, and there is a scar running from the left side of his forehead down to his cheek. His outfit consists of a large robe decorated with circles, a haramaki around his waist, sandals, a light-colored shirt, and pants. In addition, he frequently smokes a kiseru. Like all the retainers of the Kozuki Family, Nekomamushi bears the family crest somewhere on his body. While being tortured by Jack, he lost his left hand and part of his left forearm due to several members of the Beasts Pirates spearing them off. Nekomamushi takes great pride in his status as one of the two rulers of the Mokomo Dukedom alongside Inuarashi, having proclaimed the country to be his when the night comes during his first encounter with Jack. Unlike his former friend Inuarashi, Nekomamushi is aggressive and merciless; Inuarashi has described him as an "obstinate and stubborn imbecile", comparing him to Jack himself, and he is completely willing to damage the historical Mokomo Dukedom while fighting, referring to doing so as a "minor detail". Nekomamushi can be stubborn even when not angry, as demonstrated when he kept ignoring Tony Tony Chopper's orders to recuperate in order to have fun. He does not like to be ordered around, having claimed that he went to bed of his own volition rather than on Chopper's orders while being treated by the doctor, and describes himself as a "freedom-loving man"; in spite of his bravado, however, he is afraid of needles.



Despite his stubborn and sometimes abrasive behavior, Nekomamushi genuinely cares for his friends and fellow minks; he took care of Bepo and the other Heart Pirates when they arrived on Zou and did not expect them to help him defend the Mokomo Dukedom against the Beasts Pirates, though he was impressed when they decided to do so anyway. Additionally, while being tortured by Jack and his men, Nekomamushi convinced the Beasts Pirates to aim their spears at him instead of at his incapacitated fellow minks. He is also firmly loyal and possesses an incredibly strong will, having absolutely refused to reveal that Raizo was on Zou despite extensive torture at the hands of Jack even when he lost his arm, and was fully willing to risk the kingdom's destruction in order to protect his friend. His loyalty to his allies means that he will treat anyone who tries to harm them viciously, having claimed he will devour any intruders he finds. Nekomamushi has many feline behaviors that can sometimes get the better of him; he likes to lick his paws, play with balls and cat toys, and eat catnip. Unlike most cats, however, he loves taking baths. His favorite food is lasagne. Like many others, Nekomamushi has his own unique laugh: "Goronyanya". "Nya" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a cat's meow, and "goro" may come from "gorogoro", the Japanese onomatopoeia for purring. Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were once friends, but their friendship became strained after Oden's execution as the two minks blamed each other for Oden's death. Because of this, they avoid meeting face-to-face. Upon accidentally meeting, they exchanged hostile words and insults before preparing to enter a battle to the death despite their respective injuries. It was hinted by Momonosuke that their quarrel is related to his father, Kozuki Oden. Despite their present-day enmity, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi agreed to form a truce in order to avoid agitating Momonosuke and while reminiscing about their past adventures, they became very jolly and friendly with each other again. As the leader of the Whale Forest Guardians, Nekomamushi has authority over the forest's inhabitants. During night time, he also becomes the main authority figure of the Mokomo Dukedom.

Nekomamushi is equal in power to his daytime counterpart and former friend Inuarashi, causing all of their battles to end in stalemates; this was proven when he fought evenly against Jack, the right hand man of the Yonko Kaido with a Beli1,000,000,000 bounty, before the latter poisoned him with Caesar Clown's Koro gas. Even while Nekomamushi was recovering from severe injuries, Sanji confidently left the protection of his comrades from the Fire Tank Pirates to him, while Capone Bege felt wary of facing him and called him a monster. As a former pirate, Nekomamushi is an able seaman with enough navigational skill to lead a crew formed from his Guardians through the New World. Noted as one of the two strongest minks of the Mokomo Dukedom, Nekomamushi possesses immense physical strength, demonstrated when he easily flipped Jack over and slammed him into the ground in his mammoth form, and despite his large size, Nekomamushi is also extremely fast, having traveled from the Whale Forest to Kurau City in a matter of seconds. While all the other minks were immediately weakened and left unable to move by the Koro gas, Nekomamushi retained much of his strength and almost tore apart the chains that bound him to his crucifix, demonstrating tremendous endurance. Like all minks, he can use Electro. It is unknown how much the loss of his hand affects his overall combat abilities, but he managed to clash evenly with an one-legged Inuarashi.Nekomamushi has considerable skills in swordsmanship, able to fight on par with Inuarashi when they sparred during their youth.  Nekomamushi wields a staff resembling a jumonji yari with a fire-shaped blade on each end, which he can channel Electro through. In the distant past, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi were best friends. When they were children, they were told of the pact the Mink Tribe made with the Kozuki Family. Curious, they left Zou and journeyed to Wano Country, but got shipwrecked. They were discovered at Kuri Beach by Kawamatsu. Afterwards, the three were caught and persecuted by some humans until Kozuki Oden came and rescued them. They then followed Oden back to Kuri and became his retainers. When they were running low on funds, the retainers attempted to steal money from Shimotsuki Yasuie, but they were caught. Instead of punishing them, Yasuie allowed them to take the money and encouraged them to use it to become better people for the sake of Oden and Wano. Following Yasuie's advice, they educated themselves and trained to become dignified warriors. 30 years ago, they visited the Flower Capital with Oden. After meeting the Whitebeard Pirates, Oden and his retainers had a feast with them. Nekomamushi and Inuarashi also learned from Marco on how vast the world is. Two weeks later, the two minks stowed away on Whitebeard's ship before they left Wano, knowing that Oden would not stop wanting to get on their ship. They revealed themselves after Whitebeard accepted Oden into the crew three days later. Afterwards, they traveled the seas together with the crew.