"Meow! Enemies!"
(=`ω=)l▄︻╤
Jinx reacted the fastest, pulling out her Pow-Pow without a second thought.
Baccarat and Mr. Tanaka were visibly stunned, clearly having received no prior orders from Tesoro to turn hostile. However, since setting traps and putting on acts had been turned into a literal industry by Tesoro, the two quickly adapted.
Tanaka, possessor of the Through-Through Fruit, instantly sank into the floor—it was unclear if he was going to fetch reinforcements or waiting for an opening to strike.
Meanwhile, Baccarat, standing beside Sherwin, discreetly removed her black glove. She reached toward Sherwin while maintaining a facade, saying,
"Everyone, please calm down. Lord Tesoro invited you all as guests there must be some misunderstanding."
However, her hand was only halfway there when she was forced back by a burst of flames thrown by Klee Meow.
"I don't know why meow, but Klee intuition tells Klee that you shouldn't be allowed to touch Sherwin meow!"
(=`ー=)
The little Ragdoll cat flattened her ears, staring intently at Baccarat.
"Wait, wait! Big sister Jinx! Everyone!" Shirahoshi reached up and plucked the little ticking time-bomb of a cat from her head just as she was about to fire.
"This mister doesn't seem to have any ill will it really might be a misunderstanding!"
"Eh?"
(=ω=)
Having been alerted, the little Ragdoll tilted her head to look at Tesoro, who remained standing still with a smile after speaking.
"You're right, Sherwin, Klee doesn't feel like this mister wants to do anything bad meow."
After passing the double "friendliness certification" of Shirahoshi and Klee Meow, everyone who had been prepared for battle instantly relaxed.
Everyone, of course, except for Sherwin, who had already guessed Tesoro general intentions and had remained exceptionally calm from the very beginning.
Held in Shirahoshi hand, Jinx clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Tch! No fight after all meow!"
(ω)
"Observation Haki with special abilities? As expected of the Felyne Investigation Team, whose strength rivals the Four Emperors—every one of you possesses extraordinary skills!"
Tesoro applauded, then gave Sherwin a slight bow. "My apologies, I was merely trying to play a little joke on you all. Just as these two young ladies said, I harbor no ill will toward you."
Even Baccarat, who had collaborated with her boss on countless performances, was at a loss. She looked at Tesoro with confusion, wondering what kind of act he was putting on now...
Even if it were a new play, he should have given her the script first!
And Mr. Tanaka, who had vanished earlier, poked his large head out of the floor, looking equally dazed.
However, Tesoro, who was always one for unilateral decisions, had no intention of explaining himself to the two of them.
"When I said Doflamingo was my ally, I wasn't lying, but our relationship isn't exactly close." Ignoring his subordinates, Tesoro explained his previous "joke" to Sherwin.
"On the contrary, I've actually been wanting to rid myself of that fellow for a long time."
Sherwin instinctively glanced at Baby-5 beside him.
"I'm not too sure about that," Baby-5 shook her head.
"When I was with the Donquixote Family, I was only responsible for clearing out enemies with Buffalo. Important secrets like that usually wouldn't be shared with me..."
She gave a bitter smile, mocking herself. "After all, I wasn't exactly capable of keeping a secret back then."
"You aren't much better now..." Sherwin mouth twitched as he grumbled, "Do you have any idea how many of my revenge plans you've ruined!"
"H-Haibara is one of us, how can that count as leaking secrets?!" Baby-5 retorted, her face flushed red.
Meanwhile, Haibara Meow threw a flurry of cat-punches at Sherwin cheek while loudly chiming in, "Exactly, exactly! You narrow-minded idiot, you had it coming meow!"
(=`=)
Sherwin reached out to tickle her, and the little kitten undaunted, swung her paws to swat his hand away.
Watching the joyful interaction between Sherwin and the Felyne, Tesoro expression instantly soured, though a glimmer of envy and nostalgia flickered in the depths of his eyes.
"While Doflamingo did help me a great deal during the early stages of my rise, as I earned more and more money, he became nothing but a parasite clinging to me to suck my blood.
Regardless, he did help me immensely in the end, so it was always difficult for me to turn against him. It truly couldn't be better that you managed to deal with him for me."
Unable to bear the sight of other happiness and laughter, Tesoro decisively interrupted the play between the man and Felyne, continuing the previous topic.
"Therefore, as a token of my gratitude, all your expenses here from now on will be on my tab. Please, enjoy everything Gran Tesoro has to offer to your heart content!"
Even without a reminder from Klee Meow or Shirahoshi, Sherwin knew Tesoro words were insincere.
He didn't even need to rely on the original plot to deduce it, because while the man spoke, his gestures were exaggerated and his expressions forced he might as well have carved the words "I am lying" onto his face.
So, is he testing me?
Sherwin rubbed his chin, once again uncertain of Tesoro objective.
"What exactly do you want? Just say it."
If he couldn't figure it out, he simply wouldn't bother. Since Tesoro didn't seem to be planning to play any games of giving hope only to snatch it away into despair, Sherwin didn't feel like wasting any more brainpower and asked directly.
"Fine, I'll be blunt..." Tesoro dropped the hypocritical look and said seriously, "I want to collaborate with you."
"Collaborate?"
"Exactly," Tesoro nodded and explained, "Although Doflamingo took many benefits from me, the truth is that he—or more accurately, the Donquixote Family—was indeed of some help to me."
"You should know that besides being a Warlord, Doflamingo had another identity as Joker, an information broker and middleman in the underworld. Furthermore, he was an arms dealer.
Consequently, he had been providing Gran Tesoro with support in various areas such as intelligence, talent, and military force. Since his disappearance, the development of Gran Tesoro has actually been somewhat affected."
Although Tesoro swallowed the rest of his words, Sherwin already understood what he wanted to say, and the gaze he directed toward Tesoro instantly turned cold.
However, Tesoro failed to notice this. Instead, he looked at Sherwin with an ardent gaze, his voice growing increasingly excited:
"Even though you don't have a fixed territory yet, with your strength, building an organization larger than the Donquixote Family would be effortless.
I can even provide the initial investment and offer you higher returns than I ever gave Doflamingo! And don't you enjoy collecting famous swords and Devil Fruits? I can help collect those as well!"
Now that things had been laid out so plainly, Sherwin finally understood Tesoro true intentions.
His previous guess had been slightly off Tesoro wasn't just acting out of desperation. He had truly twisted into someone who firmly believed that "money is the only way to rule everything."
While his gesture of goodwill toward Sherwin did stem from the fact that Sherwin had killed Celestial Dragons, he also wanted Sherwin to replace Doflamingo as his ally in the outside world to further expand his business and wealth.
To this idea, Sherwin could only say... it was far too naive.
Furthermore, Sherwin had absolutely no interest in the arms dealing and slave trade that Doflamingo had been running.
"If you cooperate with me, aren't you afraid the Celestial Dragons will come looking for trouble?"
Sherwin curled the corner of his mouth slightly, asking with a cold sneer.
"We just have to keep it from them!" Tesoro, full of confidence in the power he now wielded, waved his hand dismissively.
"And even if they find out, it no big deal. As long as you stuff them with enough money, those Celestial Dragons who care for nothing but pleasure won't pursue the matter!"
It was natural for Tesoro to think this way, as the Celestial Dragons he had dealt with were all types like Saint Charlos. Sherwin even suspected that Tesoro had no idea the Holy Knights even existed.