When Sherwin proposed this suggestion, he actually hadn't thought that far ahead. He only wanted to stall for more time so that the Felynes would have a better window to carry out their plan later on…
At the same time, he could also directly "win" Violet away from Doflamingo side.
He had even considered that if Doflamingo refused, he would remove the original Davy Back Fight rules, or take a step back and let other Felynes take the field, or even agree to let Doflamingo send more people.
In any case, he was going to eliminate the Heavenly Yaksha in the end, so whether he won or lost this match didn't really matter.
But Sherwin had overlooked one thing: Kuma had not become a Warlord like in the original story. Since his purpose for going to sea was simply to accompany Bonney on her travels, his bounty had remained at the sixty million set back when he beat up a noble in the South Blue, and it had never changed since.
Instead, little Bonney bounty had gradually risen for some unknown reason, climbing to over twenty million.
So from Doflamingo perspective, there was naturally no suspense in the outcome between him and Law… just as no matter whom he sent out, they wouldn't be able to defeat Sherwin.
Back and forth like this, it essentially evened out.
As for Kuma, who only had a bounty of sixty million—since Law had invited him to deal with Doflamingo, his strength might be somewhat higher, but at most he would probably be around the level of a Super Rookie. Any one of Doflamingo four top officers could easily handle him.
Using one subordinate to exchange for two of Sherwin Felynes—no matter how you calculated it, this was a profitable deal.
That right. From the very beginning, Doflamingo had never considered the option of winning back the subordinate Sherwin wanted. What was the point of loyalty? Could they defeat Klee Meow and Shermie Meow?
Even if he had misjudged Kuma strength, trading two of his subordinates for one of Sherwin Felynes would still be a gain.
Doflamingo had not even considered "winning" Law, the user of the Op-Op Fruit.
After all, he was still in his prime and didn't need the Op-Op Fruit Perennial Youth Operation. Law could be captured anytime. Securing the "Runaway Sun" and "Wild Lightning" first was what truly mattered.
As for whether the Felynes he won over would obey him, Doflamingo was quite confident about that. Many of his subordinates had been slowly indoctrinated into absolute loyalty since childhood. Those little Felynes looked naïve and easy to fool manipulating them would be effortless for him.
On the other hand, the subordinates Sherwin won away—aside from Viola, the former princess of Dressrosa who might be serving one camp while her heart belonged to another, and the oddball Baby-5—would never truly defect to Sherwin. Instead, they would become spies he planted within the Felyne Investigation Team.
Under such circumstances, how could Doflamingo possibly refuse?
Unfortunately, the Heavenly Yaksha pleasant fantasy did not last long, because—
After Sherwin and his group headed to the colosseum first, the CP0 agent who had been following behind Doflamingo to ensure his safety suddenly spoke again.
"Once you defeat Trafalgar Law, hand Nico Robin over."
With an unquestionable tone, Gernica said this to Doflamingo.
Sherwin earlier vigilance had not been misplaced. One of CP0 purposes in coming to Dressrosa was to see whether they could conveniently resolve the matter of Robin as well.
In fact, as early as when Sherwin demonstrated that he possessed the strength to contend with the Four Emperors, the World Government had already begun considering whether to take action against Nico Robin.
Just as Uncle Kody had once warned Sherwin, when the World Government realizes that the person Nico Robin relies on is no longer easily controlled, they will inevitably move to eliminate her as an unstable factor.
However, Sherwin situation was troublesome. His strength had grown too quickly—or rather, he had hidden it too well. By the time the World Government realized that the Felyne Investigation Team was far stronger than they had imagined, the situation had already become difficult to rein in.
Moreover, as the most special of the Seven Warlords, Sherwin had recently been used by the World Government as a "spokesperson" for publicity.
It would be inappropriate for them to openly target someone by his side. As for assassination, the Dodo Advance could soar into the sky and dive beneath the sea, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, and Sherwin route of advance had no discernible pattern at all. There was simply no opportunity to act.
Fortunately, Sherwin had no ambition to become Pirate King. So with Nico Robin by his side, she was at least more stable than if she were among other pirates. After weighing the costs and benefits, the World Government concluded it was not worth the effort and gradually set the matter aside.
However, after Sherwin and his group entered Totto Land and "turned enemies into friends" with BIG·MOM, the World Government began to grow uneasy. From various signs, it also seemed that Whitebeard, due to the matter of Fish-Man Island, had an ambiguous connection with Sherwin as well.
Most crucially, during the tea party, Sherwin appeared to be suspected of inciting BIG·MOM to cause trouble for the World Government…
Therefore, when the World Government arranged for Sherwin to join the campaign against BIG·MOM, it was in fact a test to see which side he was more inclined toward.
The final result was neither good nor bad. Like the other Seven Warlords, Sherwin essentially remained neutral. But even that was enough for the World Government to make up its mind to take action against Nico Robin.
Of course, it would be best to accomplish this without provoking Sherwin—or at least in a way that kept the World Government out of it.
Originally, Gernica and the others had planned to attempt an assassination of Robin as soon as an opportunity presented itself.
But now, it seemed there was a better option.
After hearing Gernica blunt and overbearing demand, Doflamingo pupils shrank sharply behind his sunglasses. The five fingers of his right hand twitched slightly—just short of unleashing a Five-Colored Strings slash at the other man.
Yet he quickly calmed himself.
"If you do this, aren't you afraid of provoking Sherwin?"
Doflamingo said in a sinister tone.
But Guernica still wore that mask-like expression. "That not something you need to concern yourself with."
After saying that, he stepped back to his two companions and resumed standing behind Doflamingo in the role of a "bodyguard."
Doflamingo ground his molars in frustration, yet he could only obey their orders…
After all, without them present, Sherwin would never obediently play any kind of Davy Back Fight with him.
Otherwise, just like he had done to other agents who had intentionally or unintentionally uncovered his secrets, he would have long since ordered Sugar to turn the three of them into toys and erase them from this world.
It didn't matter. Even if Nico Robin took one slot, it would only be a one-for-one exchange with Sherwin—still a profit!
That was the only way Doflamingo could console himself.
And now that he understood the situation could no longer be changed, the most pressing issue before him was how to make Sherwin go first…
The tradition of the Davy Back Fight was a best-of-three format. Regardless of victory or defeat, all three rounds had to be completed—but only three rounds would be played. If they wanted to continue afterward, that would be another matter entirely, and the challenged side had every right to refuse.
As the primary figures in the conflict, Trafalgar Law and Doflamingo were naturally arranged as the "generals" for the final round.
This was also why Guernica chose that decisive round to "win" Robin—because even if Sherwin wanted to win her back, there would be no opportunity left.
And if Doflamingo wanted to win a Felyne from Sherwin, he could only have Sherwin go first and secure victory in the opening round, then claim a win in the second round. Otherwise, given how much he valued those cat Mink tribe members, he would definitely counter-pick and win them back in the second round.
Of course, even without the matter of Robin, if the Heavenly Yaksha wanted to win two Felynes in a single challenge, he would still have to consider this problem.