After Hilnans round of explanations, cody finally believed that this matter was not something he had leaked to Sherwin…
At least, on the surface, that was the case.
As for whether he truly believed it or not, it actually didn't matter.
After all, cody couldn't possibly drag Hilnans off for interrogation, and would even take the initiative to help cover for him.
After explaining things to cody, Hilnans quickly returned the Den Den Mushi to Sherwin.
Then, while deliberately avoiding the situation, he ran off into the distance to keep watch for Sherwin…
Although he had a very close relationship with cody, and Sherwin and the others didn't mind him knowing, Hilnans wasn't stupid.
As an ordinary Marine, it was better for him to interfere less with matters concerning the CP organizations, and to know less about them.
Seeing Hilnans run off, Sherwin was momentarily stunned. After all, he had called cody right in front of him precisely to make him feel more at ease.
But very quickly, Sherwin understood Hilnans concerns…
Mm, in any case it made no difference. His actions just now had already made his stance clear.
Whether or not he successfully obtained Dyna stone from the World Government was no longer important to Hilnans.
Of course, if he could get it, that would be best.
"So, when can you give me the Dyna stone?"
"Don't even think about it! How could we possibly hand something that dangerous over to you!"
Hearing Sherwin utterly matter-of-fact tone, cody felt a surge of anger rise straight up…
Back when he had asked the World Government for a Devil Fruit, this brat had worn the exact same expression. And now he actually wanted to do it again?!
"Eh—why?" Sherwin dragged out his voice, his tone growing even lazier.
"Clearly the other Seven Warlords of the Sea can all get Seastone from you. Taking two pieces of Dyna stone should be about the same, right?"
"How could it possibly be about the same?!" Uncle cody continued roaring.
"And those Seastone aren't given to them for free either—they're part of a transaction!"
"Then I can trade with you for Dyna stone too," Sherwin said.
"I still have some money, you know. Or if you need something else, I can help get it for you."
Sherwin completely ignored cody first sentence and instead latched onto the latter part, starting to bargain.
"Heh…" cody sneered coldly.
"Do you really think the World Government would be short of the little things you have? Give it up. Since you already know about the existence of Dyna stone, you should understand that the higher-ups will never agree to this request."
"Why? When you get down to it, isn't that thing just a kind of super-powerful explosive? Giving me one or two pieces is no big deal. It not like I'm asking for a lot."
"Dyna stone isn't some simple high-powered explosive! Its destructive power is comparable to… um… anyway, it just extremely terrifying!"
Even though he knew that with Robin at Sherwin side, there was a high probability Sherwin might have access to information about Ancient Weapons, cody still chose to gloss over it.
As a result, the very next second he heard Sherwin utterly unconcerned voice:
"Tch, isn't it just something that can destroy an island? Klee Meow bombs, combined with her abilities, can do the same thing. If it weren't for her being interested in anything that can explode, I wouldn't even care about Dyna stone."
"..."
cody instantly fell silent.
Because judging from the previous battle report of the "G-5 Branch Incident," that purple fire dragon which blasted Kaido away—even if it wasn't quite as exaggerated as Sherwin claimed—was still not far off.
Even if it couldn't completely sink an island, destroying most of the life and buildings on it would probably be no problem at all…
Cody instantly thought of a type of deal that the World Government would very likely agree to—having Sherwin hand over Klee Meow bomb formula.
Even without the boost from the Flame-Flame Fruit, the bomb power would be further reduced, but in reality, that was exactly what the World Government wanted even more.
After all, while Dyna Stone was undeniably powerful, it was completely uncontrollable.
Bombs that could be mass-produced were different—they were weapons that could be equipped to CP organizations and the Navy.
For the World Government, there were countless ways to destroy an island.
Dyna Stone was strictly guarded only because it was extremely dangerous if it leaked out, and in truth, there were very few occasions where it was actually used.
So trading a little something that was practically never used in daily operations for a bomb formula that could be repeatedly manufactured and utilized—Cody didn't believe the World Government would refuse such a lucrative deal.
But…
He had no intention of doing that.
Cody original reason for joining the CP organization was to try to change the World Government, this decayed power structure, from within.
Although he later realized that even joining CP wouldn't allow him to achieve that goal, he still didn't want the World Government to gain even more powerful weapons…
Even though he knew that refusing would amount to little more than a drop in the bucket, incapable of truly affecting the World Government, Cody still didn't want to be the one to make it happen.
In fact, he intended to extinguish the possibility of Sherwin using the bomb formula as a bargaining chip altogether.
The simplest method, of course, was to speak plainly with Sherwin. Cody also believed that as long as he brought it up, Sherwin and Klee Meow would cooperate, but…
If doing so had a clear and tangible effect, that would be one thing. In reality, however, even without Klee Meow formula, to the World Government it would merely mean losing a weapon that was convenient—but one with countless substitutes.
With Cody "good old nice guy" personality, he truly couldn't bring himself to make others pay the price for his own pointless persistence that carried little real meaning.
So before persuading Sherwin, he had to think of another kind of deal—one that Sherwin would be willing to accept…
"Uncle Cody? Are you still there?"
Sherwin had no idea that his casual remark had thrown Cody straight into a mental brainstorming session.
When there was suddenly no sound from the other side, he thought it was just the poor condition of Cody Den Den Mushi causing the signal to drop.
If he knew what Cody was agonizing over, he would definitely laugh out loud.
Because Cody was seriously underestimating the speed at which Klee Meow bombs were being upgraded and iterated.
As far as Sherwin knew, Klee Meow "Teostra" had already increased its power by at least fifty percent compared to before.
That was without even mentioning the "big guy" those little tabby cats stubbornly refused to tell him about—the one they were secretly tinkering with.
So even if Cody said nothing, there was no way he would hand over Klee Meow formula anyway…
Well, handing over a formula that had been obsolete since long ago might still be possible.
"I'm still listening…"
Uncle Cody voice finally sounded again after a short while, and his tone had clearly grown much heavier.
"Regarding the matter of the Dynastone, I'll report it upward for you," cody did not refuse Sherwin request this time and replied instead.
"As for what the outcome will be, I can't guarantee anything…"
cody had just spent a long time thinking and still couldn't come up with an alternative solution, so he decided to report it first and see what the higher-ups actually wanted, then try to maneuver within that.
"Then… I'll have to trouble you, uncle?"
Sherwin hung up the call with a blank look on his face, then glanced at Klee Meow beside him…
Although he didn't know why Uncle cody had suddenly changed his mind, it was probably that little puppet miraculous luck kicking in again, right?
Explosives that caught Klee Meow eye were basically impossible to escape.