"What did you say? The 'Hunter' Sherwin?!"
Chaos had just finished explaining the identity of the "intruders," and before he could even mention Sherwin and the other demands, the vice admiral on the other end was already shouting in agitation.
"Wait there! I'll be there right away!"
After throwing out that line, the other party hurriedly hung up the call.
Sherwin: ?
Chaos: ??
The two of them stared at each other in confusion for quite a while before Sherwin finally asked curiously, "Is your superior… always this full of personality?"
"No, not at all… The vice admiral is usually a bit casual, but his temperament is actually very steady. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned to guard such an important location."
Chaos answered instinctively. His expression was still somewhat blank, clearly thrown off by his superior uncharacteristic behavior.
"Sherwin, should we run away, meow?"
(=ω=)
Haibara Meow on his shoulder tugged at his ear and asked softly, "This situation feels a bit off, meow."
"It fine. Let wait until he gets here and see."
Even though he also felt that the situation was somewhat unusual, Sherwin decided to observe for now.
Lowering his voice, he replied, "I am a Shichibukai, after all. Without a legitimate reason, the Navy can't attack us."
Moreover, this direction was chosen by Klee Meow, so they shouldn't run into anything too terrible.
Even if their luck really hit rock bottom and another Kaido fell out of the sky, they would still have time to escape using the Dodo Advance.
But with Klee Meow, this lucky star, there was naturally no way Sherwin and the others would run into the same kind of bad luck again in such a short time.
When the second warship sailed out from the island and stopped in front of Sherwin, he finally understood why the other side had been so agitated…
"Colonel Hirnans? No, I guess I should be calling you Vice Admiral Hirnans now?"
Sherwin looked at the Navy officer appearing before him with some surprise.
Hirnans, formerly the colonel and base commander of the West Blue Marine branch—that is, the naval base in Uncle Cody hometown. (Chapter 32)
Mm… a cat addict.
More precisely, everyone in that base was a cat addict.
Sherwin quickly recalled how he had once taken Klee Meow and Sanji Meow out to open up the map, and all the Marines from that base had enthusiastically rushed over to act as guides…
So really, how did a guy like you end up becoming the commander of the SHIELD unit?!
And in just a little over three, not quite four years, you went from a branch-base colonel to a vice admiral in a special unit—your promotion speed isn't any slower than that smoker Smoker!
Could it be that Hirnans, like Uncle Cody, also has connections on the World Government side?
"Ah! It Uncle Hirnans, meow!"
(=`=)
Just as Sherwin was feeling uncertain, Klee Meow also recognized the other party and immediately raised her little paw, waving at him excitedly.
Sanji Meow stepped forward a couple of paces and greeted him, "Long time no see, meow!"
"Hahahahaha! Little Klee and little Sanji still remember this old man!"
Hirnans was overjoyed. Stepping through the air with Moon Walk, he leapt onto the Dodo Advance, leaned in to rub the little ragdoll head, then squatted down in front of Sanji Meow and shook his paw.
After that, he straightened up and looked around at the group of Felynes of all shapes and appearances gathered around Sherwin, each cute in their own way. With a face full of envy,
he said to Sherwin, "No wonder you refused to agree back then to join the Marines. With so many adorable little ones keeping you company, if it were me, I wouldn't want to be part of this lousy Marine force either."
"Vice Admiral!" Chaos, who had come along, couldn't help but advise him with a wry smile. "Please mind your words!"
"What does it matter?" Hirnans waved his hand casually. "They dumped me in this godforsaken place—can't I complain a little?"
Eh? Was Hirnans always this unrestrained in personality before?
Sherwin scratched his head, feeling that the man before him didn't quite match the impression in his memory.
But the Hirnans in his memory…
An image instantly popped into his mind: a man shamelessly crowding up to Klee Meow and Sanji Meow, feeding them dried fish in an attempt to cuddle up to the Felynes.
Alright, maybe it wasn't that different after all.
"Uncle Hirnans, Klee wants to go play on that island, meow!"
(=ω=)
Felynes were born knowing how to take advantage of their own cuteness. The little ragdoll immediately put on sparkling, starry eyes and begged sweetly.
"No problem!"
Hirnans was still the same Hirnans as ever. He didn't hesitate in the slightest, simply waving his hand grandly.
"Uncle will definitely take you all around my base and show you everything!"
"Vice Admiral!"
Although Chaos had been torn earlier about whether to agree to Sherwin and the others, seeing his superior agree so easily still made him instinctively speak up.
It really felt like… an unreliable superior paired with a dependable subordinate was practically standard issue in the Marines.
Garp was like this, Smoker was like this, and now even Hirnans—who barely had any presence in the original story—was the same.
Sherwin rubbed his chin and complained silently in his heart.
"Don't worry, kid Sherwin is trustworthy," Hirnans wasn't actually being careless with his mission.
"We're just taking a look around the base. I obviously won't bring them to any important areas."
Hirnans knew very well that with Sherwin and the other strength, whether by force or by sneaking in, most of the Marines on the island wouldn't be able to stop them anyway.
It was better to let them come ashore openly and then keep an eye on them himself.
And besides, based on his relationship with Sherwin, he believed the other party wouldn't deliberately put him in a difficult position…
Yes, absolutely not because he wanted to cuddle up to Klee Meow and the others!
With Hirnans giving the green light, the other Marines on the island naturally stopped blocking them.
Very soon, the Dodo Advance followed two warships and sailed into the harbor of the Marine base.
"Let go! I'll take you on a good tour around the base first. It almost mealtime anyway, so you can also try the Navy food! It definitely not as good as Sanji Meow cooking, but it still pretty decent!"
Hilnans acted like a warm and hospitable host, enthusiastically pulling Sherwin and the others along as they toured the Marine base…
"Speaking of which… I don't think I've seen this cat Felynes in any of the reports before…"
While guiding Sherwin and the others around the base, Hilnans wore a beaming, indulgent smile as his gaze swept back and forth over the many cats.
Naturally, his attention landed on the especially enormous Kaido Meow.
"And somehow, I feel like his appearance seems a bit… familiar."
"Yeah, his name is Kaido."
Sherwin had no intention of hiding it and answered directly.
Kaido Meow also smiled and nodded at Hilnans. "Hello, meow."
"…Huh?!"
After a brief moment of blankness, Hilnans shook his head frantically, his eyes darting back and forth between Kaido Meow and Sherwin.
"In short, this is just a coincidence."
Sherwin didn't know how to explain it to him, so he simply didn't.
After his initial shock, Hilnans quickly calmed down, though from time to time he still subconsciously glanced toward Kaido Meow.
Soon, under Hilnans guidance, Sherwin and the others had toured most of the Marine base.
However, when they neared the deepest part of the base, Hilnans abruptly stopped.
He then explained to them very directly, "That area isn't open to outsiders. You absolutely must not think about sneaking in either. Otherwise, Sherwin, your position as one of the Seven Warlords won't be safe anymore, and I also don't want to end up fighting you over something like this."
By directly explaining the reasons and consequences, his approach instead hit the weak spot of the little furball cats.
The cats might be mischievous and playful, but they still knew their limits in their hearts…
It was just that sometimes, when the cats were having too much fun, they would temporarily forget those limits—or fail to control themselves properly.
But Hilnans had already made the seriousness of the matter very clear before the little furball cats even started to act, so naturally they wouldn't turn a deaf ear to it.
That said, even though they had no intention of sneaking into those so-called forbidden areas, the cat curiosity was still very hard to suppress…
"Uncle Hilnans, can Klee Meow know what hidden inside there, meow?"
(=ω=)
The little ragdoll tilted her head and asked curiously.
Because Hilnans was treating them with sincerity, Klee Meow didn't hide anything either and spoke honestly.
"Actually, the reason Klee Meow wanted to come onto the island was because she sensed that there seem to be some very interesting things here, meow."
"That not something interesting."
Hilnans waved his hand helplessly, half laughing and half sighing. "On the contrary, it something very dangerous… eh? Wait…"
He suddenly recalled the descriptions of Klee Meow in the newspaper, as well as the exaggerated commotion back in the West Blue when the little ragdoll ran to the seaside to blow up fish.
"…Seems like, to you, it really is something 'interesting'…" A bitter smile appeared on Hilnans face. "But I'm sorry—uncle still can't tell you what hidden inside there."
"Wuu…"
(=`н=)
The little doll puffed out her cheeks, but it wasn't easy for her to get angry at Hilnans.
So…
She started fiddling with Sherwin ears.
Sherwin: "..."
"Ah… stop messing with my ears. I'll tell you what hidden inside."
After letting out a helpless sigh, Sherwin decided not to keep it from Klee Meow anymore.
Since it had already come to this, he might as well satisfy her curiosity—and then think of a way to get one or two pieces from the Marines later.
So, under Hilnans shocked gaze, Sherwin spoke up, "What the Marines are guarding here should be a kind of mineral called Dyna Stone. It a kind of… mm… mineral whose power doesn't lose to your 'Teostra.'"
"A stone that doesn't lose to Teostra, meow!"
(==)
"A bomb material with enormous power, meow!"
(=﹃=)
Before Sherwin even finished speaking, the eyes of the two bomb cats both lit up.