Under Huamei overwhelming Haki, the Fishman District residents had no power to resist their eyes rolled back as they collapsed unconscious.
Hody Jones and his subordinates were no exception.
Without the boost from the Energy Steroids, Hody Jones strength was mediocre. His extreme ideology did nothing to strengthen his will.
He was a small fry to begin with, so naturally he was just as helpless as the other small fry before Huamei Haki.
Sherwin originally planned to grab the Energy Steroids and finish Hody Jones off on the spot, but at the request of Shark Star and the others, he handed this unimportant guy over to the Ryugu Kingdom to deal with.
Whether they would execute Hody in the end or, like in the manga, simply imprison him—honestly, Sherwin didn't care.
Even if Hody Jones later escaped and staged another rebellion like in the manga, that would be something Neptune and the others brought upon themselves.
Sherwin had already warned them as much as he could if King Neptune still refused to learn his lesson, Sherwin wasn't going to force them.
With that kind of free time, he'd much rather take the cats to enjoy a proper stroll around Fishman Island.
Before returning to the island, however, they made a detour to the Sea Forest to retrieve the Poneglyph that had been kept there.
Just as King Neptune said, this Poneglyph was essentially an apology letter. Its contents weren't even as detailed as the information held by the merfolk royal family.
Still, perhaps because of its unique nature—or perhaps because it really was the last Poneglyph ever carved—in Sherwin Hunter Handbook, this one was categorized as Number Thirty…
Which turned out to be completely useless. The stingy handbook still gave him nothing at all.
Was it really going to make him gather all the Poneglyphs before giving a final reward?
Helpless as he felt, Sherwin couldn't help feeling a bit excited. After all, the harder something was to obtain, the better the reward should be in theory.
His golden finger might be stingy, but at least it didn't scam him like those other systems that polluted the reward pool with garbage like "Thanks for participating" or someone underwear.
Although among the summoned cats there were a few who could be a handful…
"Sherwin, this is really tasty! Try it, meow!"
Just like always, Klee Meow shared the delicious snack she had found with Sherwin.
"Well? Isn't it good, meow?"
"Mm. It very good."
Sherwin kissed the little ragdoll perched on his shoulder and answered with pure affection.
And he wasn't just humoring her. The treat Klee Meow had just fed him could even rival the pastries carefully prepared by Sanji Meow. No wonder BIG MOM eventually built a dessert factory here.
"Ehehe~"
Pleased with the praise, Klee Meow nuzzled Sherwin cheek, then hopped off his shoulder to continue running wild around Fishman Island with Jinx, Haibara Meow, and the rest of the little-kitten group.
After returning from the Sea Forest, Sherwin declined the invitation from Shark Star and the others.
Instead of heading back to Ryugu Palace, he took the cats to explore the main island.
After all, he had already met Shirahoshi and secured the Energy Steroids. His interest in Ryugu Palace was basically gone, and Neptune reward wasn't something he needed to rush for—it wasn't going to run away from the treasury.
The cats were far more excited about roaming Fishman Island…
The only downside was that they could no longer snack on Shirahoshi tail, which left the mischievous Klee Meow and Jinx a little disappointed—but with how wildly they were playing, even that small regret was quickly forgotten.
Unlike the Fishman Island in the manga, where humans were almost nonexistent, the current Fishman Island was still under Whitebeard protection.
Because of that, there were quite a lot of humans—more accurately, pirates—on the island. But with Whitebeard name looming overhead, no one dared cause trouble.
As for the fishmen living on the main island, most of them weren't as extreme as those from Fishman Street, so at this time Fishman Island seemed to have a fairly harmonious relationship between fishmen and humans…
At least on the surface.
Once again, King Neptune greatest contribution to Fishman Island was befriending Whitebeard.
"Sherwin!" Klee Meow came scampering back, clearly having found something interesting again.
She nimbly climbed onto Sherwin shoulder, tugged his ear out of habit, and shouted excitedly,
"They said there a place called the Mermaid Café, and the lady boss there can predict the future! Can we go see, meow?!"
"Mm?"
Thanks to the little ragdoll reminder, Sherwin remembered there really was such a person.
"Of course we can."
Scratching Klee Meow chin, Sherwin agreed without hesitation. He was actually quite curious about that so-called prophecy.
First, he wanted to see whether she could foresee anything about them—this group of transmigrators. Second, he wanted to know what sort of things she could predict.
However…
"I feel like I'm forgetting something."
Sherwin scratched his head but didn't dwell on it. If he couldn't remember, then it probably wasn't anything important.
"You're the Hunter, Sherwin?!"
The moment they stepped into the Mermaid Café, the large mermaid dressed like an astrologer pointed at Sherwin with shock and anger.
"Uh… do we know each other?"
Sherwin looked at the long-snouted mackerel shark mermaid in confusion. He still couldn't remember her name, let alone how he might have offended her.
But if he really had done anything that would offend merfolk… it was probably only the Arlong Pirates…
Just as Sherwin was starting to guess the truth, she spoke first.
"No, we've never met. I'm just Arlong half-sister."
Lady Shyarly, having calmed down, put her smoking pipe to her lips and took a long drag before saying slowly,
"Even if my brother deserved what he got, you're not welcome here."
Uh… well, this was awkward…
Sherwin scratched his cheek awkwardly, and without any intention of staying to bother anyone, he quickly led the cats out of the Mermaid Café.
"Awoo… We didn't hear the prophecy, meow…"
(=｀3=)
Klee Meow, disappointed that their goal wasn't achieved, pouted unhappily.
"How do those bad Fish-men still have so many friends and relatives, meow?"
"Sherwin."
(=ω=)
Just as Sherwin was about to comfort Klee Meow, Haibara Meow tugged at his clothes with a tiny paw.
The little kitten lifted her head, looking innocent as she asked, "Do you have some kind of grudge against bars and cafés? Besides this place and Shakky, it was the same back in Alabasta, meow."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Sherwin pressed a hand onto the little schemer head, rubbing it roughly as he defended himself.
"Nothing happened back in Mock Town, right? Sanji Meow even learned that amazing cherry pie and drink recipe from there!"
"So that means… you only clash with bars and cafés run by women, meow?"
While fixing the fur that Sherwin had messed up, Haibara Meow continued her "analysis," clearly determined to stick him with the title of "Café Menace" whether he liked it or not.
Sherwin rolled his eyes, too annoyed to keep arguing. He simply picked up the little kitten and started scratching her ticklish spots.
"Meow—hahaha! You idiot, stop it, meow—hahaha!"
Before long, everyone was laughing and playing around, quickly forgetting the small incident, and Klee Meow soon found something new to be interested in.
As they continued leisurely wandering around Fishman Island, the three princes, led by Shark Star, appeared before them, riding on the massive royal oarfish.
"Sorry, Mr. Sherwin. We might need to trouble you to come to Ryugu Palace with us again."
Shark Star spoke with a complicated expression.
Seeing how hesitant he looked, Sherwin scratched his head in confusion…
Even if King Neptune and the Ryugu Palace guards were useless, there no way Hody Jones broke out this fast, right? He hasn't even taken the Energy Steroids yet!