"HAHAHAHAHA! So you're Sherwin?!"
After stepping onto the Dodo Advance, Zephyr laughed heartily as he patted Sherwin on the shoulder.
"At first, when I learned those pirates were after you, I wasn't planning to bother with them anymore. But then I thought about it… and figured it was a perfect chance to meet you in person!"
After suffering two heavy blows in his life, Zephyr mindset had completely changed, and he found himself quite fond of Sherwin—someone who also showed no mercy toward pirates.
"I used to think that if I had the chance, I'd try to invite you to join my Pirate Guerilla Unit. But now that you've joined the Seven Warlords, that fine too," Zephyr continued.
"Though I've always had strong opinions about the creation of the Warlords system, it seems the World Government can occasionally do something right!"
The corner of Sherwin mouth twitched slightly.
Let hope you'll still think so a few years from now.
Then a thought suddenly struck him—
There still one spot open among the Warlords, so… could Edward Weevil end up becoming one earlier?
The moment that idea surfaced, Sherwin instinctively looked at Zephyr with a trace of pity.
"Hmph! I don't need a kid like you pitying me!"
Catching that fleeting look in Sherwin eyes, Zephyr expression shifted, and he snorted coldly.
Clearly, he assumed Sherwin had learned about his past from someone else and was feeling sorry for him…
Strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly a misunderstanding—just that the real reason was a bit different.
Sherwin didn't know how to explain it, so he could only give an awkward laugh and rub the back of his head. "Sorry, that was rude of me."
"Forget it…" Zephyr waved his hand weakly, losing interest. "You meant well."
Not far away, the group of Felynes—led by Klee Meow and Jinx—had completely surrounded Bins, who was dressed head-to-toe like a ninja.
"Uncle, are you also a ninja meow? What kind of ninja arts can you use meow? Can you show Klee one meow?!"
(=ω=)
The first generation of the Blast Shadows stared at him with sparkling eyes, and a whole circle of Felynes beside her were watching Bins with the exact same expectant gaze.
"C-cough… well, um… about that…"
Facing the Felynes surrounding him and Klee Meow eager request, Bins felt completely helpless.
Even though he was dressed in a full ninja outfit, his fighting style was still pure Marine—about the only things that could barely be associated with a ninja were the katana on his back and that oversized shuriken he carried.
But with all these adorable little Felynes staring at him with such hopeful eyes, he really couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Help help help help help help!!!
At a total loss, Bins cast a desperate look toward Ain, silently begging for rescue.
"Hmph!"
Ain instantly turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge him.
Why should that big dumb oaf Bins be the one getting attention from all these cute Felynes?!
Ain, a Marine who had absolutely no resistance to fluffy kittens, was filled with jealousy toward Bins. There was no way she would step in to save him.
Seeing that he couldn't rely on his teammate, Bins had no choice but to fall back on his Devil Fruit ability to muddle through.
Just then, this man who looked like one of the card soldiers from Alice in Wonderland suddenly began twisting his body in an extremely bizarre way, mumbling repeatedly, "Grow~ grow~"
With that strange, almost Zed-like movement, thick vines burst out from Sanji Meow vegetable garden.
"Ninja Art: Plant Growth Technique!"
After finishing his performance, Bins even formed a hand seal, striking a pose that at least looked ninja-like.
Except…
(ω)×7
"What kind of cursed ninja art is that meow?!" Sanji Meow was the first to explode. "You just ruined all the vegetables in my garden meow!"
"S-sorry…"
Feeling guilty, Bins bowed repeatedly to the little yellow cat, apologizing while hurriedly dispelling his ability.
"Uncle, your Wood Release is so weak meow. Forget Hashirama and Madara—you're not even as good as Yamato meow." Klee Meow said, visibly disappointed.
"Weak… w-weak?"
He had no idea who those three names were, but being called weak by such an adorable Felyne still hit Bins right in the heart.
"And besides, this is clearly just your Devil Fruit ability, right?" Purah Meow added bluntly.
"Does it only work if there soil? That kind of ability must be really hard to use at sea meow. Not every ship has a planting area like ours. Check-it!"
(ゝω)~☆
"Pff—!"
Her words struck directly at his weak point, and Bins instinctively clutched his chest, staggering back two steps.
"That weird twisting you did earlier—is that a required step to activate your ability meow?" Haibara Meow added mercilessly.
"Your ability isn't just weak and troublesome—it ugly too meow."
"Weak… troublesome… and ugly…"
Haibara Meow poison tongue became the final blow. With a thud, Bins fell to his knees on the deck, completely defeated by the Felynes…
Ain, watching from the side, felt wonderfully refreshed.
Meanwhile, as Sherwin and the others interacted with Zephyr, Vergo stood silently off to the side, deep in thought about what he should do next.
Unlike Baby-5 and Buffalo, who had no understanding of the situation, Vergo—an undercover agent within the Marines—also didn't know what had happened to Doflamingo at Marineford.
But he had heard enough rumors about Sherwin strength and that of the group around him.
So the moment he learned that the Donquixote Family target this time was actually Sherwin, he immediately knew things were going to go very wrong.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast he rushed, he still failed to arrive before the two sides clashed.
And as someone who often walked around with half-eaten breakfast stuck to his face and, in the middle of battle,
would forget himself and start looking everywhere for a sword he didn't even carry,
Virgo—this hopeless amnesiac—did want to call Baby-5 and Buffalo, or perhaps contact Doflamingo directly…
Unfortunately, he couldn't remember their numbers, and he had no idea where he'd misplaced the Transponder Snail reserved specifically for contacting members of the Donquixote Family.
Before Virgo could get close, Sherwin had already dragged Baby-5 and Buffalo into the cabin and even used one of Haibara Meow sleep darts to knock them out.
So Virgo couldn't get any hints from them, had no way to grasp the situation, and couldn't even be sure if the two of them were still alive…
After all, Sherwin was notorious for being ruthless toward pirates.
Although Baby-5 and Buffalo could've tried to save themselves by revealing their identities as members of the Donquixote Family, Sherwin had killed even a Warlord before. The Donquixote name held absolutely no weight to him.
Virgo could only hope Sherwin would abide by the practically meaningless rule of "Warlords must not fight among themselves."
But if those two really had already been killed by Sherwin…
A cold glint flashed beneath Virgo sunglasses, settling onto Nico Robin.
"Ha—!"
(=`Д=)
Having completely lost interest in Bins, Klee Meow suddenly turned her head toward Virgo, her fur puffing up as she shouted, "Sherwin! This Marine is trying to do something bad, meow!"
Shirahoshi also pointed at Virgo, nodding in agreement. "That right, he wants to harm Robin!"