After giving the Armguard its fine name, Klee Meow didn't leave. Her ruby-like eyes sparkled as she glanced at Sherwin, then at Dodos, who lay on his arm constantly chirping "doo-doo-doo."
(=ω=)
Sherwin then remembered—raising bugs, or more accurately, raising Transponder Snails, was one of the few hobbies this unpredictable kitten could actually stick to aside from making bombs and blasting fish.
Since Dodos was also a "bug" in her eyes, she would naturally like it…
And she even gave it a name.
Sherwin rubbed the little fluffy head of the kitten who hadn't said a word but was clearly staring at him with a "give it to me" posture.
Then he handed Dodos, still perched on his arm, toward the small plush doll-like girl.
As for learning to use the Wirebug, that wasn't something he had to rush right now.
And Dodos, essentially a Human sword Fruit user taking form from the bracer, seemed to have a good sense for reading the situation.
Sherwin hand had only reached halfway before it fluttered its wings and flew straight onto Klee Meow head.
"Sherwin-nii is the best, meow!"
The sweet-tongued Klee Meow hugged Sherwin arm and rubbed against him happily, then with Dodos still perched atop her head, she ran off excitedly to find Shirahoshi and Jinx to show off her new pet…
Emmmm… once he got the Armguard back later, would it end up exploding someday while he was using it?
Watching the two bomb-loving cats huddled together, pointing and whispering at that big grasshopper, Sherwin couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Fortunately, his worries didn't become reality. Klee Meow most of the time was still sensible. After playing with Dodos for a while, she took the initiative to return it to him.
While Sherwin practiced, he discovered a unique advantage that only Dodos possessed—its intelligence was far higher than that of an ordinary Wirebug.
At first, Dodos didn't really understand what Sherwin was trying to do, and when he attempted to perform Silkbind techniques, it would often end up holding him back instead.
But it was precisely because of this that Sherwin realized—Dodos was trying to cooperate with him, it just didn't know how to do it properly.
So Sherwin tried communicating with it, and to his surprise, Dodos actually understood what he said…
Things became much smoother from there. After grasping Sherwin intent, the pirate-style Silkbind techniques were soon developed under Dodo active cooperation, and through continuous sparring with Seijuro and the others, Sherwin gradually refined the techniques until they were suitable for real combat.
However, due to Dodo own limitations in strength, Silkbind techniques were still ineffective against stronger opponents.
Only support-type moves like Haze Dash and Embolden Step really proved useful.
Even so, Sherwin had gained new means of fighting, and in doing so, fulfilled a small wish he'd had ever since obtaining his golden cheat.
Although becoming Spider-Man was impossible, Dodos could still be used like a normal grappling hook.
So role-playing Sekiro or something like a Blue Phantom wasn't an issue either…
Not that it held any real significance to Sherwin.
While Sherwin continued to develop his Silkbind techniques, Shirahoshi wasn't idle either—she really started learning gunnery techniques from Jinx.
At the same time, the original sausage-dog gun Lasu, which had once been modified into a cannon, was reworked by Purah Meow into a massive handgun—or rather, a hand-cannon would be more accurate.
It was still a bit oversized for Shirahoshi at the moment, but after she grew a little more, it would suit her perfectly…
It was just that a soft, gentle girl like Shirahoshi carrying such a rugged cannon felt a bit out of place.
But seeing how Shirahoshi happily wore the Lasu Cannon on her waist every day, clearly loving it, Sherwin couldn't bring himself to comment.
Hmm… he wondered what King Neptune would think once he saw how much his daughter had changed…
Sherwin suddenly found himself looking forward to that father-daughter reunion.
"So boring… why haven't those pirates come looking for trouble yet, meow?"
(ω)
Jinx hung lazily over the railing of the Dodo Advance, staring at the horizon as if she could bore a hole through it.
Unfortunately, she was already close to dozing off and still saw no sign of other ships—only scattered islands and reefs dotted the distance.
"Their efficiency is way too low, meow!"
The little blue cat complained indignantly.
They had even deliberately slowed their voyage just to lure those pirates out. Yet Sherwin Silkbind techniques were already perfected, Shirahoshi gunnery nearly mastered, and still not a ripple from the enemy.
If not for Charmy occasionally sensing someone spying on them with observation haki, they would've thought those pirates had already given up.
"Sherwin, why don't we just go look for them instead, meow!"
The increasingly impatient blue cat suggested.
"But if we do that, some might slip through," Sherwin said as he lifted her off the railing, rubbing her soft fuzzy head to soothe her.
"Think of it this way—they've taken so long to prepare, the attack might be huge. When that happens, you can really let loose."
"Hmm… that kinda makes sense, meow."
Convinced, Jinx stopped fussing and curled obediently into Sherwin arms, eyes half-closed as she enjoyed the Hunter gentle massage.
But a mad cat is still a mad cat—no amount of Sherwin soothing hand techniques could keep her quiet for long.
Soon she was grappling his hand, chewing, kicking, rolling, doing everything but staying still.
Sherwin was long used to this. One hand played with her, the other continued to knead around her ears without pause.
And just as Sherwin was petting and teasing her, several pirate ships bearing skull flags appeared behind the Dodo Advance.
"Meow-hahahahaha! They finally came, meow!"
The little crazed cat didn't even bother continuing to enjoy Sherwin massage—she suddenly sprang out of his arms, dashed forward in a few quick steps, then leapt onto Shirahoshi head.
"Hurry! Use the method I taught you, greet them first, meow!"
Jinx smacked Shirahoshi head with her tiny paws, urging loudly.
However, Shirahoshi didn't move immediately. Instead, she took several deep breaths in a row…
"Hiss—haa—hiss—haa—"
Even though she had already done plenty of mental preparation, and had discovered the fun of shooting under Jinx guidance, the thought of fighting people—and possibly hurting someone—still made the kind-hearted Shirahoshi nervous.
"Those people are bad, and this is necessary training. War isn't the purpose, only a means…"
She softly muttered the lessons Sherwin and the cats had instilled in her, fingers tightly twisting together.
"Leave the fighting to us for now." Sherwin stepped forward and gently patted her tail, soothing her.
"You're not ready yet. There no need to rush something like this."
When he fought humans for the first time, he too had spent a long time preparing himself mentally.
Even if Shirahoshi held the special identity of an Ancient Weapon, she was still just a young girl.
There was no need to force her to do something she wasn't prepared for.
Yet Shirahoshi was far stronger than Sherwin thought. She shook her head firmly and refused: "No—I want to try! We're partners, aren't we? I want to help too!"
Her resolve gradually solidified. Shirahoshi slapped her cheeks twice, reached to her waist, and drew the handheld cannon named Ras. She aimed it at the nearest pirate ship…
Recalling the shooting technique Jinx taught her, her Observation Haki locked tightly onto her target.
Her lips continued muttering the "meow-speech" she learned from Jinx—
"Now, say… hello!"
Boom!