After leaving the racing track, Sherwin and the others continued to experience various attractions on the Gran Tesoro according to each Felyne hobbies.
It was just that the "projects" the Felynes were interested in were quite unique...
For example, Sanji Meow sparred in culinary arts across various restaurants Suika Meow knocked out every guest and staff member in all the bars they passed Shermie Meow took the stage directly at the theater, winning a standing ovation with a piece of wild and energetic rock music.
In comparison, Huamei and Robin browsing bookstores, and Haibara purchasing luxury goods, were actually quite normal behaviors.
Even Sherwin tried his hand at golf on a whim—something he had heard of in his past life but never seen.
Unfortunately, with Sherwin current mastery of strength, golf held little difficulty for him. After a few practice swings, he completely mastered the hitting technique.
While not necessarily a hole-in-one every time, he could basically control it within three strokes, so he quickly lost interest in this "aristocratic sport."
Klee Meow, however, held a golf ball in her hand and fiddled with it, muttering that the thing looked very suitable for being modified into a bomb.
...
While Sherwin and his group were playing around on the Gran Tesoro, Tesoro had already used the Mark-Removing Ointment to completely erase the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon from his back.
Along with it, the star tattoo used to cover it up was also removed.
However, before Tesoro could celebrate for long, a call from the World Government came through...
"Cooperate with you to capture the Hunter?"
Tesoro resisted the urge to smash the receiver, rejecting them through gritted teeth. "Impossible! The very foundation of Gran Tesoro is neutrality. If I cooperate with you to strike at the Hunter, how could those pirates ever come here again?!"
Even if Tesoro had no intention of forming an alliance with Sherwin, he would not agree to their request.
Scheming to swindle pirates and teaming up with officials for a capture were two entirely different concepts.
If he wanted to make money, he could never destroy the reputation of the Gran Tesoro as an "Absolute Sanctuary."
"I am merely informing you, not negotiating. It doesn't matter whether you cooperate or not, but if Sherwin gets word and escapes, you won't be able to bear the consequences."
The CP0 agent on the other end of the Bird spoke with a cold, threatening tone.
"Saint Porminges will not agree to this!"
Tesoro brought up his backers among the Celestial Dragons.
However, the other party remained unmoved. With a sneer, they hung up the phone directly, not even bothering to offer a rebuttal or a single word of explanation.
"Huff— Huff— Huff—"
Because of his past experiences, Tesoro, who could least tolerate being looked down upon by others, breathed heavily as he crushed the receiver in his hand into fragments with brute force.
After a moment, he finally managed to calm down. Brushing away the debris from his hands, Tesoro maintained a cold expression as he switched to a more ornately styled Bird and dialed the Celestial Dragon he had just mentioned, Saint Porminges.
"Tesoro? Do you have something good to offer me again?"
Once the call connected, an arrogant voice immediately came through the receiver, and the ornate Bird accurately mimicked a haughty expression.
A flash of disgust crossed Tesoro face, but he quickly replaced it with a flattering smile and lodged his complaint with Saint Porminges.
Initially, Saint Porminges was indeed shouting in rage, blustering about making things difficult for that CP0 agent.
However, as soon as he heard Tesoro mention that the person they were targeting was the "Hunter" Sherwin, his voice came to a screeching halt.
"...Saint Porminges?"
Tesoro, feeling an ominous premonition rising in his heart, called out tentatively.
"Ahem... if it the Hunter, you should just cooperate." Saint Porminge tone sounded a bit unnatural at first, but it quickly reverted to its previous unreasonable and overbearing manner.
"He is the great enemy of us Celestial Dragons! Do you actually intend to help him?!"
"No, no, no, of course not!" Tesoro hurriedly shook his head in denial and explained, "It just that if things go this way, the business here will inevitably be affected, and the monthly tribute I provide to you, my Lord, will also be greatly reduced..."
As a Celestial Dragon who could be swayed by Tesoro wealth, Saint Purminge defining trait was naturally his greed.
This was relatively rare among the Celestial Dragons, as they were generally never short on money.
However, this time, Saint Purminge acted out of character, treating money as if it were dirt, just like the other Celestial Dragons.
On the other hand, he did not follow the usual practice of the Celestial Dragons by recklessly demanding that Tesoro find another way to make up for the losses...
"If it less, then it less. It is more important to capture the Hunter."
Saint Purminge behavior at this moment was so much like a normal person that it even made Tesoro begin to wonder if the man was a fake Celestial Dragon.
It was unclear whether Tesoro long-term "efforts" had finally shown some results, or if Saint Purminge was worried that Tesoro stinginess would lead him to go against his wishes and hinder CP0 after a moment of silence, he took the initiative to tell Tesoro the reason...
"The Holy Knights? What is that?"
Tesoro looked completely bewildered.
Just as Sherwin had guessed, he knew absolutely nothing about the existence of the Holy Knights, which wasn't exactly a secret.
After all, given the arrogant nature of the Celestial Dragons, they wouldn't normally mention this special organization that stood above them to others.
"Why are you asking so much?! Just cooperate when you're told to! All you need to know is that they are an existence you cannot afford to provoke!"
The Celestial Dragon patience could only go so far. Saint Purminge didn't want to explain any further to Tesoro and immediately reverted to his original personality, shouting profanities.
"Yes, yes... I understand..."
Tesoro said through gritted teeth while maintaining a fawning smile.
Only after the other party hung up the phone did he once again crush the receiver in his hand.
"...Tanaka!"
After taking some time to compose his emotions, Tesoro called for one of his right-hand men, Mr. Tanaka.
"Go, bring Sherwin here. Do not let anyone else notice."
With the Through-Through Fruit ability, which is in no way inferior to the Door-Door Fruit or the Warp-Warp Fruit when it comes to stealthy movement, it was very easy to bring Sherwin to Tesoro while avoiding everyone else.
Consequently, not long after, Sherwin followed Mr. Tanaka through layers of walls and arrived in the fully enclosed gold room where he had first met Tesoro.
"Did you already know about the existence of the Holy Knights?"
While waiting for Sherwin arrival, Tesoro had not been idle. Based on Sherwin previously ambiguous attitude, he had roughly deduced that the other party was not optimistic about forming an alliance with him.
To be more precise, Sherwin was not optimistic about his plan.
So after thinking it over, this seemed to be the only possibility.
"Heh..." Sherwin gave a light chuckle, not answering the question directly, but instead asking in return:
"Even if the Holy Knights didn't exist, so what? Do you really think the Celestial Dragons care about you, the 'Guild Tesoro'? No matter how much you earn, could it ever compare to the Heavenly Tribute provided by the entire world?"
Then, seeing that the time was right, Sherwin took the initiative to puncture the delusions Tesoro had held onto for so long...
"Even if you had bought Stella one step ahead of them back then, if the Celestial Dragons still set their sights on her, they wouldn't have even needed to spend money they could have just snatched her away directly.
So wake up, Tesoro. No matter how much money you earn as the 'Guild Tesoro', you are still no different from any other ordinary person to the Celestial Dragons.
If they want to, they can seize all the wealth in your hands at any time, and they wouldn't even bother looking for an excuse."