Under the pleasant sound of the farewell bells, the Dodo Advance reached the edge of the White Sea, then switched into its floating dragon form and slowly began to descend.
Using the Comet Dragon form would have gotten them back to the Blue Sea much faster,
but Purah Meow wanted to test the newly modified floating dragon form that had been upgraded with Sky Shells and Island Clouds—so she chose this more relaxed mode of travel instead.
Besides, this was also for Haibara Meow sake. If they took the Comet Dragon form and made a rapid descent,
that little kitten would probably act tough while being scared out of her fur again.
As the Dodo Advance gradually descended, Sherwin and the others could already see the ocean below—and not far away, Jaya Island came into view.
They chose to land near Jaya Island because Sherwin planned to use the information from Skypiea to trade with Montblanc Cricket for Noland diary, so that Robin could read it.
At the same time, they could also stop by Mock Town to find out what had been happening on the seas lately… mainly to see if Ace had, as fate dictated, taken down a Warlord of the Sea.
Up in the sky, Shermie, who had been summoned, was leaning on the ship railing, curiously peering down below.
"What a magnificent ocean~ I'm starting to look forward to the adventures ahead, meow~"
Shermie excitedly flicked her tail, her little feet dangling by the railing as she kicked them lightly, her tone full of excitement.
A moment later, she turned her head and called out to Sherwin, who was brushing Seijuro Meow fur.
"Sherwin~ it looks like there a ship heading our way~ Should I take care of them, meow?"
"Hold on."
Hearing that, Sherwin picked up Seijuro Meow and walked to the ship edge, leaning forward to look down below.
Although Sherwin didn't recognize the flag of the Saruyama Alliance, the figureheads of the two rather primitive-looking guys were quite distinctive.
As expected, there was no need for them to seek him out—Cricket had already come on his own.
The two ships of the Saruyama Alliance stopped once they got close enough.
Then they turned their ships around, presenting their cannonless sterns toward the Dodo Advance, lowered their sails, and dropped anchor—showing that they had no hostile intent.
When the Dodo Advance finally touched down on the sea surface, two small boats were lowered from the nearby ships—each carrying an orangutan, a gorilla, and Cricket as they rowed toward Sherwin vessel.
"Can I come aboard? I mean no harm—I just wish to ask you something!"
With their abilities, Cricket and his crew could have easily leapt straight onto the ship, but even so, they still chose to ask for permission first.
Even if Sherwin hadn't known about their connection to Noland, he would have allowed them aboard at that moment.
After Cricket came aboard, the exchange between the two sides went smoothly.
Cricket learned that his ancestor had not been a liar after all, and that the Shandians had kept their promise to Noland.
His long-held wish was finally fulfilled. Meanwhile, Robin read through Noland diary, completing her understanding of Jaya Island history.
Sherwin also learned from Cricket what had happened below while they were away on Skypiea.
Ace hadn't disappointed him—he really had encountered that fated Warlord of the Sea and defeated him.
In other words, there were now two vacancies among the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Because of that, pirates across the Grand Line had become restless, all scrambling to prove themselves and attract the World Government attention. Yet, up to this point, both positions remained unfilled.
Originally, Sherwin had planned to contact Uncle Corgi to ask about the World Government current stance, but Hua Mei Meow stopped him.
"That would make us seem too eager. It better to wait until the CP organization comes to us, meow.
Right now, we have the advantage. Though it a bit unfair to Miss Robin—she'll have to keep pretending to be one of the Cat Mink Tribe for a while, meow."
If they wanted the World Government to reach out quickly, Sherwin and his group couldn't afford to hide their whereabouts.
It also wouldn't do to fly around recklessly in the Comet Dragon form, where CP agents couldn't track them. So Sherwin decided to make a deliberate appearance in Mock Town.
But the moment the Dodo Advance docked at the port of Mock Town—before Sherwin had even set foot on shore—a mob of pirates had already surrounded them.
"You're the Hunter, Sherwin, aren't you?! If I defeat you, I'll be the next Warlord of the Sea! Hahahahahaha!"
"That guy head is worth five hundred million berries on the black market! And those Cat Mink Tribe folks—each of them fetches a high price too!"
Pirates shouting similar lines charged toward Sherwin and his crew one after another.
Sherwin wasn't the least bit surprised. Pirates were always like this—never learning their lesson.
His brief disappearance while traveling to Skypiea had already been long enough for most of them to forget what he'd accomplished before.
And also… Wait, I've been given a bounty? Only five hundred million? Isn't that a bit of an insult? Even that biscuit man, Cracker, was worth eight hundred million!Sherwin thought bitterly to himself.
As for who had placed a bounty on him in the black market, Sherwin wasn't too sure.
The only ones who had both the means and motive to put up a five-hundred-million bounty were likely Big Mom and Doflamingo.
But considering Big Mom status as one of the Four Emperors and her personality, she'd rather have her own people handle it.
Offering a bounty like that sounded more like something the Heavenly Yaksha would do.
Yet, their only conflict had been over a single Devil Fruit. Doflamingo wouldn't waste that kind of money on something so trivial—unless he had somehow found out that Sherwin was working with Law.
But that possibility was too slim. If Doflamingo really knew, he'd have gone straight to the North Blue to crush Law instead—it'd be far more efficient.
So… who could it be?
"Fufufu~ Sherwin~ don't lift a paw, let me handle this meow!" Just as Sherwin was debating whether to call Hua Mei Meow over to analyze the situation, Shermie giggled and leapt off the ship ahead of him.
"Let me test how strong these pirates are, meow~"
Instead of using her Devil Fruit powers right away, Shermie charged toward the mob of pirates, brandishing her "hunting horn" while playing two short melodies along the way.
The hunting horn buffing effects somehow still worked perfectly in the One Piece world, without any weakening at all.
Considering that Brook also used music in combat, it didn't come as too much of a surprise to Sherwin.
Of course, the buffs from the hunting horn didn't mean much to someone of Sherwin current strength—but for Shermie, who hadn't been in this world for long and whose base abilities hadn't developed much yet, they were definitely helpful.
However, after entering the One Piece world, the hunting horn did reveal a major flaw—its effects didn't distinguish between friend and foe.
In the world of Monster Hunter, perhaps it because those monsters can't understand music,
or maybe because their sheer strength makes the Hunting Horn buffs feel unnecessary — but in any case, the enemies never receive those boosts.
However, things are different in the world of pirates. Here, the enemies can understand music.
That means when Shermie performs her buff melodies, any intelligent creature who hears the sound of her music also receives an enhancement.
Yet, the degree of enhancement isn't as rigid or fixed as in the game — it depends on each individual sense of taste or sensitivity toward music…
How should one put it? Mysterious, yet oddly reasonable.
"Huh? Why do I feel like I suddenly got stronger?"
The pirate charging at the front was still muttering suspiciously when Shermie hunting horn smashed right into his cheek.
"—!"
"—!"
"—!"
As waves of chaotic music resounded, even though the pirates attacking Sherwin were also empowered by the hunting horn, they were still beaten into a panic by Shermie strikes.
At first, Shermie did catch the pirates off guard with her agility, landing the first blows with ease. But soon, they began to find ways to counter her…
After all, any pirate who could make it into the Grand Line had some strength to their name.
With Shermie power alone, she could easily knock down a few weaker pirates by surprise — but trying to take down an entire group of them was nothing short of a fantasy.
After eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Shermie didn't immediately awaken Observation Haki.
The fruit power could only amplify the range and sensitivity of Observation Haki — it didn't actually help one awaken it.
Moreover, although her original form was one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Orochi Clan, her combat talent wasn't as overwhelming as Seijuro Meow or Link Meow.
After all, Shermie strength mostly came from the power her clan inherently possessed — or rather, the power granted to them by Orochi himself.
Because of that, she couldn't use Armament Haki yet. Her strength was roughly on par with Sanji Meow when he had just set out to sea.
As she began to fall behind in battle, Shermie decisively unleashed her Devil Fruit ability—
"Shermie Grand Shine Meow!"
(=`=)Crackling lightning burst from Shermie body, striking the pirates rushing toward her.
In an instant, they convulsed violently like fish thrown onto a cutting board, bouncing and twitching madly as the entire port gleamed under the blinding light of her thunder.
When the lightning finally faded, the port was littered with pirates lying on the ground, smoke rising from their scorched bodies.
"Sherwin~ I won, meow~!"
Having defeated the pirates in one move with her ability, Shermie returned to the ship, rubbing her cheek against Sherwin in delight, seeking praise.
"Our Shermie is amazing!" Sherwin said, scratching her chin as he praised her repeatedly.
After spending some time together, Sherwin had already figured out that Shermie personality was indeed very childlike — so he treated her much the same way he did Klee Meow.
Shermie was, of course, overjoyed by Sherwin praise. She threw her arms around his head and started rubbing against him affectionately.
"Klee wants to rub too, meow!"
(=`ω=)
The little ragdoll Felyne, feeling a bit jealous, leapt onto Sherwin shoulder and began rubbing the other side of his face with equal enthusiasm.
In such a situation, Shermie wasn't like Hua Mei Meow, who would usually be considerate of Klee Meow feelings.
Instead, she acted like a child — turning it into a competition. She started rubbing even harder.
Klee Meow, unwilling to lose, also increased both the force and speed of her affectionate rubbing.
Caught between two competitive cats, Sherwin soon felt his cheeks starting to burn…
It wasn't the first time Sherwin had experienced something like this. In fact, this was still a mild case — sometimes,
even Haibara Meow would join in, and that would really turn into chaos. Still, Sherwin could only think of it as one of his new "happy troubles."
Fortunately, he had already found a solution.
Remaining perfectly calm, Sherwin lifted both Klee Meow and Shermie under his arms and carried them over to Hua Mei Meow.
Without even needing Lord Tigrex to say a word, the two feuding Felynes immediately quieted down.