Sherwin name was called softly, full of joy.
The enemies were already handled, so naturally it was time to return to their own ship.
The Dodo Advance had only descended halfway when Klee Meow suddenly leapt off, soaring straight down and crashing directly into Sherwin arms.
"Why is Jinx big sister asleep meow?"
After burying herself enthusiastically against him for a long moment, the little ragdoll finally noticed Jinx hanging on Sherwin shoulder and asked curiously.
"This little fool just tired herself out. Don't wake her."
Sherwin explained casually, then waved for Seijuro Meow and the others to drag the three prisoners—along with the ability-user Robin had taken down earlier—back onto the ship.
Since he needed to consider Robin feelings, Sherwin had no intention of killing Baby-5, and since he wasn't killing her, he couldn't be bothered to kill Buffalo either.
But letting them go so easily was never the style of a calculating Hunter like him.
Donquixote Doflamingo had wealth, power, and liked to preach about "family" every day.
If he wanted to redeem his "family," paying a few Devil Fruits was only natural, wasn't it?
After settling Robin and Jinx in the cabin to rest, Sherwin once again stood before Baby-5 and Buffalo.
"If you don't want to die, hand over Doflamingo contact. Tell him to come redeem you."
Buffalo snorted, trying to sound confident. "Don't even think about it! It forbidden for Warlords to fight each other—you wouldn't dare to touch us!"
"Oh? Aren't you Joker subordinates? You came to steal the mermaid on my ship. Since when did this have anything to do with the Warlords?"
Sherwin pretended ignorance, blatantly ignoring the giant Donquixote insignia printed right across Buffalo big front tooth.
Buffalo expression changed instantly. He knew Sherwin was spouting nonsense, but that didn't stop him from using it as a perfectly valid excuse to kill him and Baby-5.
Even if the Young Master avenged them later, that wouldn't help them now.
Not to mention, the Young Master might not even win.
Buffalo, who had been molded and emotionally conditioned by Doflamingo since childhood, was indeed willing to die for the Heavenly Yaksha.
But right now, death would be meaningless. A sacrifice with no value was something even he could not accept.
"If you have the guts, kill us!"
With Buffalo falling silent, Baby-5 immediately took over the shouting.
"The Young Master will never let you go!"
Sherwin clicked his tongue. He had just about convinced Buffalo to cooperate, only for Baby-5 to ruin it.
In a situation where he couldn't actually harm them, dealing with someone who didn't fear death was the most troublesome.
Buffalo noticed Sherwin hesitation and instantly regained momentum.
"Hahahahaha! I knew you didn't dare to do it!"
If it wasn't for Robin, you'd see how fast I'd make you regret that.
Sherwin shot the gloating fat man a cold glare, massaged his temples, then lowered his voice—sharp and dangerous.
"You forced me."
If there had been any other option, he really didn't want to use that move…
He cleared his throat, expression shifting into something completely different as he clasped his hands together politely toward Baby-5.
"Please. Tell me Doflamingo number."
"Alright! The quickest way to reach the Young Master is—"
The once unyielding Baby-5 instantly softened, cheeks flushed, and recited a string of numbers without hesitation.
"Baby-5!"
"Ah!"
Only after speaking did she realize what she'd done. She glared at Sherwin again, furious.
"You played with my feelings again!"
"Again?"
(=ω=)(=ω=)(=ω=) Sherwin (=ω=)(=ω=)(=ω=)
Feeling the curious gazes of the Felynes on him, Sherwin rubbed his temples again in helpless frustration.
This was exactly why he didn't want to use that method. He truly couldn't handle a woman like Baby-5 whose thought process spun in unpredictable directions.
Just then, Sanji Meow, who was on lookout atop the mast, suddenly shouted,
"Sherwin, another ship is coming! It looks like a Marine warship meow!"
"Marines? They're probably here for those pirates."
Sherwin didn't take it seriously. Back in Dark Reef Town, they had run into Kizaru under similar circumstances, so the sudden appearance of Marines didn't seem strange to him.
Besides, even without the Warlord status, as a well-known Hunter with a clean public record, he had never feared running into the Marines.
"Sherwin," Shirahoshi, sitting beside him, gently poked his arm, "when Sanji mentioned the Marines just now, those two suddenly relaxed a lot."
Her reminder snapped a connection in his mind—Vergo G-5 base was located near the entrance to the New World.
According to Buffalo, Doflamingo didn't know Shirahoshi was on Sherwin ship, so the situation quickly became clear…
First let Baby-5 and Buffalo capture Shirahoshi alongside the pirates.
Then Vergo would appear with the Marines and take everyone in one sweep.
Doflamingo really was ruthless.
Sherwin stroked his chin and let out a cold laugh. If they hadn't interfered, that black-on-black scheme would've succeeded flawlessly.
"Sherwin," Sanji Meow reported again from above, "another Marine warship is approaching from the other side meow!"
"Huh?!"
Sherwin turned to look at Buffalo and Baby-5, only to find them equally confused.
"Interesting…"
Climbing up the mast with a telescope, Sherwin quickly realized the two warships weren't on the same side.
They were approaching from nearly opposite directions—
one directly ahead of Sherwin ship, and the other from the rear flank to the side.
Even the sails were different—
The one ahead bore a large painted G-5 on the canvas, while the rear warship carried no markings at all.
That second ship also showed clear signs of modification, far from a standard model.
Up to this point, the only non-standard modified warship Sherwin had ever seen was Garp dog-head battleship. All others he'd encountered were no more than repainted variants.
But Marine Headquarters hadn't yet relocated from the first half of the Grand Line. Could there really be Marines stationed here besides the G-5 branch?
"There shouldn't be, meow," Hua Mei Meow shook her head at his question.
"Our next destination, mystoria island, has a small Marine presence, but they still fall under G-5 jurisdiction, meow."
Feeling a new shift in the situation, Sherwin stopped preparing to call Doflamingo.
Instead, he dropped anchor right where he was, waiting for the two warships to approach and planning to see what was going on.
Marine vessels were fast, backed by the genius technology of Vegapunk. Soon enough, both warships reached the side of the Dodo Advance one after the other.
Just as Sherwin expected, the one with the G-5 marking carried Vergo, the undercover agent planted in the Marines by the Heavenly Yaksha.
But the person who stepped out from the unmarked warship… really caught Sherwin off guard.
Black Arm Zephyr.
Once known as the admiral who refused to kill, now the leader of the Marine Guerrilla Force—
a man roaming the seas with the last two surviving disciples and a group of loyal Marines, relentlessly hunting pirates.
Hmm… thinking about it like that, his presence here actually made perfect sense.
However, if Zephyr had shown up here in person, then that explosive known as Dyna Rock was most likely real as well.
Well, it didn't matter much to Sherwin either way. Even without that thing, Klee Meow bombs were getting more powerful by the day. Whether it existed or not made little difference.
"Meow?"
(=ω=)
Perched on Sherwin shoulder, the tiny stuffed-doll-like Felynes tilted its head, confusion softening its adorable expression.
For some reason, it felt like Sherwin-nii just had some very impolite thoughts, meow…
At this point in the timeline, Zephyr hadn't defected from the Marines yet—he had only formed the Marine Guerrilla Force and begun hunting pirates.
Also, judging from the information available now, the one who most likely severed his arm back then was Edward Weevil, no doubt about it.
But when rewatching the movie, Sherwin noticed Garp mentioned that the pirate was a Devil Fruit user…
So, what exactly was Edward Weevil ability supposed to be?