The Dodo Advance, in its Comet Dragon form, descended onto the top of the clouds. Sherwin and his group all leapt down from it.
"Brother Sherwin, Sister Huamei…"
With her head drooping, the little doll sluggishly shuffled toward Huamei Meow.
"Klee knows she was wrong… please don't lock Klee up again, okay, meow?"
However, the lecture Klee Meow expected never came. Instead, she was suddenly scooped up into Huamei Meow embrace.
"Meow?!"
(=⊙ω⊙=)
Klee Meow looked up at Huamei Meow in surprise.
"You little dummy, you actually managed to blow yourself up…" Huamei Meow rubbed the small doll head gently and asked with concern,
"You didn't run into any danger, did you? How did you end up all the way up here, meow?"
"Klee fine~" Seeing that she probably wouldn't be locked up this time, the little doll instantly regained her liveliness.
With a proud look, she pointed toward the golden bell behind her. "Klee came to find treasure, meow!"
"It just… that big bell seems to be something the masked guy from before was looking for. Maybe it wouldn't be right for us to take it, meow…"
Klee Meow looked a little disappointed at first, but her eyes soon sparkled again.
"But Klee knows where other gold is, meow! That bad guy Enel stole it all — if we take it back from him, there'll be no problem, meow!"
"Let not worry about treasure for now," Huamei Meow continued to stroke her small head, her voice soft.
"Why don't you tell me what happened with that shipyard you blew up, meow?"
"Th-this… meow…"
(=ω=)Klee Meow cheerful expression froze instantly. She blinked and hurriedly explained,
"Actually, that place was another treasure Klee was talking about, meow, but when Klee was dealing with the enemies guarding the treasure, she accidentally blew the place up, meow…"
"Also, Klee rescued so many people from inside, meow! And the Shandora ruins that Sister Robin wanted to find — Klee found those too, meow!"
To avoid being locked up, Klee Meow wracked her little brain and rattled off every discovery that could work in her favor.
Sherwin stepped forward, scooped both of them up — one in each hand — and set them on his shoulders.
"All right, Huamei, Klee didn't cause that much trouble, did she? Don't keep picking at it."
"You, Admiral, are just spoiling Klee too much, meow!" Huamei Meow scolded, punching Sherwin a few times with her little cat-paw fists.
"You call blowing up a shipyard 'not causing trouble,' meow?!"
"Ahem… that wasn't an enemy living quarters — it was a shipyard building, so it shouldn't really count as trouble, right…"
Although Klee Meow didn't dare argue under Lord tiger stern glare, her little head nodded quickly, thinking fast.
"That still not acceptable, meow!" On the matter of disciplining Klee Meow, Huamei Meow was unyielding and principled.
"Klee must be put in confinement for half a day, and Admiral, the investigation team chores for this month are yours, meow!"
"What? chores?!" Sherwin was stunned.
"Who else kept excusing Klee?"
Huamei Meow explained with righteous reason, "I have to nip your bad influence in the bud, meow!"
"..." Sherwin fell silent for a moment. "If I suggest confining Klee for just one day, can you cancel my chores?"
"Brother Sherwin!!!" The 'betrayed' little doll grabbed his ear and bit down, "Klee will bite you to death, you bad guy, meow!"
But the clever Lord tiger had already seen through everything. She sank her teeth into Sherwin ear too and snorted,
"Don't think I'll foolishly pin Klee punishment on you, meow!"
"Eh? Was that really what I was thinking?"
Sherwin, who had only meant to tease Klee Meow a little, froze for a moment.
Just as he was about to explain, Klee Meow was already rubbing his ear and apologizing…
"Sorry, Brother Sherwin, Klee misunderstood you, meow."
"Sigh… can't help it, your Sister Huamei just too smart."
So the quick-witted Hunter decided not to explain further and instead sighed along with Klee Meow.
"Hmph! You two idiots, meow!"
(=`へ=)
Feeling "left out," Haibara Meow flicked her tail irritably from the side — every swing landing squarely on Sherwin foot.
Sherwin could only smile helplessly and scoop up the tsundere little kitten as well, scratching her chin and rubbing her belly until her mood finally softened.
After a round of affectionate feline interactions, Sherwin — with two cats perched on his shoulders and another nestled in his arms — walked up to the massive golden bell.
Nico Robin was already there, leaning close and studying the Poneglyph carved into its base.
Sherwin gave it a casual glance, letting it be recorded into his Hunter Log, then turned to Robin with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? Weren't you so eager to find the Poneglyph? Why do you look like you're not all that happy now?"
Robin sighed softly. "Because what carved here… isn't what I hoped to find."
She paused for a moment, then continued, "It records the location of the ancient weapon named after the gods — Poseidon."
"Oh? So the one in Alabasta was Pluto, and this one is Poseidon. Didn't expect two Poneglyphs to be so close together."
Sherwin rubbed his chin, then looked up and saw Nico Robin slightly tense expression.
Just a little thought and he could guess what she was nervous about. Sherwin rolled his eyes helplessly and reminded her,
"I haven't asked you anything about Pluton before, so naturally I'm not interested in Poseidon either."
Robin knew that too—it just that ancient weapons were far too important, and she couldn't afford to be careless.
Even though Sherwin had accepted her into the crew, their relationship wasn't as deep as the life-and-death bond she had with Luffy and the others...
After all, with Sherwin crew strength, in the first half of the Grand Line they rarely encountered enemies strong enough to push them to the brink.
Because of that, Robin trust in them wasn't very deep. It was normal for her to still keep some things to herself.
Sherwin actually understood Robin worries and concerns, but honestly... it not like he'd go pick a fight with the World Government or Aokiji just because he was bored, right?
So he thought it best to just clear things up with Robin directly. That way, even if she still kept some secrets, at least things wouldn't be so awkward next time something similar came up.
So Sherwin said to the still-awkwardly smiling Robin,
"Besides, even if you don't tell me, I already know where Pluton and Poseidon are... Wano and Fishman Island, right? I even know where the blueprints for Pluton are.
If I wanted, I could get them anytime I like. So really, there no need to be so nervous—we genuinely have no interest in that stuff."
But just as he finished speaking, Purah Meow suddenly leaned over.
"Pluton blueprints?! Sherwin, Sherwin, I'm interested in that! Can you get them and let me take a look, meow? Check-it!"
(ゝω)~☆
"Ahem... there nothing special to look at," Sherwin said helplessly, staring at the little cat who had completely ruined the mood.
He explained, "Pluton is basically just a massive warship that can blow up an island with a single shot. I believe with your intelligence, even without the blueprints, you could build a weapon just as powerful."
"But I still want to see what kind of weapon it is that someone thought was worth recording down in detail, meow~ Just one look, okay, meow~?"
Purah Meow clung to Sherwin leg, rubbing against it and acting spoiled nonstop.
Then she was immediately dragged away by the ever-sensible Huamei Meow.
"Stop making trouble for the Admiral here, meow!"
"I just wanted to take one look, it not like I was really going to build it, meow… eeeeee! Ouch ouch ouch ouch—Huamei, I was wrong, meow!"
Little Dejuan, who had already entered research mode, tried to resist, but was easily subdued by Lord tiger.
"Ahem… aside from Purah, we really have no interest in that thing… seriously."
Sherwin once again assured Robin.
"Pfft… hahaha…"
Whether it was Sherwin awkward expression that hit Robin funny bone or the "group comedy act" between him and the two Felynes that did it,
Robin suddenly burst into laughter, her shoulders shaking with mirth, leaving Sherwin completely dumbfounded.
Sure, he had cracked a small joke—but was it really that funny?
Although Robin reaction was a bit beyond what Sherwin expected, at least regarding the ancient weapons, she probably wouldn't be so guarded anymore.
As expected, once Robin had laughed enough, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and even spoke up for Purah Meow.
"Actually, letting Purah take a look at Pluton blueprints isn't a big deal. Those blueprints were never truly mine to begin with.
And compared to letting them fall into the hands of the World Government, wouldn't it be much safer if we had them instead?"
What kind of S.H.I.E.L.D. logic was that?
Sherwin twitched the corner of his mouth—but deep down, he was genuinely pleased.
Because since Robin said that, it meant she wasn't just lowering her guard about that particular matter — she had truly started to see Sherwin and the others as real companions she could trust.
That was no small thing!After all, even Luffy and his crew only earned Robin trust after they fought Aokiji for her sake.
It wasn't until the Enies Lobby incident that Robin truly entrusted her life and future to the Straw Hats.
And Sherwin? He had just said a few lighthearted words...
When you think about it that way—doesn't that make me even more amazing than Nika himself?