Although Sherwin had accidentally taken Luffy spot as the "Fifth Emperor," it didn't make much difference to him or the Felynes.
On the other hand, the natives—Robin, Baby-5, and Shirahoshi—were excited for a while. However, after seeing Sherwin and the others looking completely indifferent, they gradually calmed down.
"Boss Sherwin, this is the title of an Emperor of the Sea. Why aren't you excited at all?"
Shirahoshi leaned in curiously to ask.
"What there to be excited about?" Sherwin curled his lip. "Just because Morgans calls me an 'Emperor' doesn't mean I actually am one. Besides, I never wanted to be an Emperor in the first place."
To be honest, if the concept of the "Emperor of the Sea" hadn't been thrown out by Morgans—that bird who just wanted to see the world burn—Sherwin might have even thought this was a target intentionally set up by the World Government to let other ambitious pirates wear them down...
This effect was much better than something like the Seven Warlords of the Sea. For instance, as seen in the original story, aside from doing a bit of work while slacking off and dragging their feet during the group fight against Whitebeard, the Warlords never really put in any effort. Instead, they were either on good terms or in cooperation with the Four Emperors.
In the end, the task of dealing with the Four Emperors still fell onto the shoulders of Luffy and the other Supernovas.
"Oh..."
Shirahoshi pouted and muttered, "I just think it a very impressive thing that you can stand on equal footing with Pops Whitebeard, Boss Sherwin."
"Ha! Even if I hadn't become this so-called Emperor of the Sea, I could still stand on equal footing with him."
Sherwin pulled over Suika Meow, who was currently clutching a gourd and gulping down sake, and rubbed her feline head while saying proudly, "With Suika Ibuki Gourd, even Whitebeard and Red-Hair have to bow their heads to us!"
"That right, that right! Big sister Suika sake is amazing! Klee tried a little bit secretly last time and fell asleep instantly, meow!"
(=＞＜=)
The little Ragdoll Felyne immediately chimed in from the side.
And then...
"Oh? Then, little Klee, could you tell me in detail exactly when you secretly drank Suika sake, meow?"
(=ω=)
Huamei narrowed her eyes, looking at the little Ragdoll who had accidentally let the secret slip with a beaming smile.
"...Waaaah! Sherwin brother, save Klee Meow!"
(つД`=)つ
The little Ragdoll body suddenly stiffened for a few seconds, then she clung to Sherwin neck and cried out for help.
"You child! How could you sneak a drink of alcohol?!"
Sherwin took Klee Meow down from his shoulder, tapped her nose with a serious expression, and then placed her right in front of Huamei Meow.
"Huamei, I'm leaving Klee to you. A little troublemaker like this needs to be properly educated!"
This entire sequence of movements was incredibly smooth.
"Waaaaah! Sherwin brother, you big traitor meow!"
∑(=`Д=)
Never expecting to be instantly sold out by Sherwin, the little Ragdoll denounced his backstabbing before decisively clutching her head and pitiably admitting her mistake to Huamei. "Huamei sister, I'm sorry! Klee was wrong meow!"
Unfortunately, Huamei was not about to let this little one pass through with cuteness alone she directly took Klee Meow and Suika Meow, heading toward the confinement room.
"Wait a minute meow! Why is this involving me too?"
(●ΦДΦ●)
The bleary-eyed Suika Meow suddenly snapped awake and protested loudly.
"You didn't watch your sake and let Klee Meow steal a drink, and you're saying it has nothing to do with you meow?!"
Huamei turned back and gave Suika Meow a fierce glare.
"How can you blame me? I must have been drunk at the time meow!"
"Then we'll reduce your daily sake allowance so you don't keep getting drunk meow!"
"...You should just put me in solitary confinement meow." (ω)
Choosing the lesser of two evils, the little drunk cat who had been clamoring for an "appeal" decisively accepted the punishment.
Are you kidding? Reducing her sake allowance would be worse than death meow!
"Ahem... where were we?"
Watching the two mischievous cats being dragged away by Huamei, Sherwin turned back only to see Shirahoshi looking at him with a subtle expression.
Even for a Hunter with skin as thick as a Gravios, his old face couldn't help but turn red, and he quickly cleared his throat to change the subject.
However, Shirahoshi was not fooled this time.
"Boss Sherwin! What you just did was too much!"
The "little" mermaid puffed out her cheeks, standing up for her sister Klee Meow.
Jinx, who spent most of her time perched on Shirahoshi head, also chimed in, "That right, that right! How could you bully Klee Meow! Watch out or I'll stuff bombs in your shoes meow!"
(=`Д=)
On the other shoulder, Haibara Meow didn't say a word, but she slipped a small paw into her spatial bag. Her ice-blue eyes scanned near Sherwin mouth, clearly contemplating how to feed him a bottle of Satan Potion.
"Since you're all so concerned about Klee Meow, why didn't you speak up and stop Huamei just now?"
Sherwin crossed his arms, squinting his eyes as he looked back and forth at the little ones.
The two mischievous cats and Shirahoshi were instantly speechless, their eyes shifting unsteadily...
"Oh, right! Boss Sherwin, you were saying that even without the title of Emperor of the Sea, Whitebeard and Red-Hair would still have to bow their heads to us!"
Shirahoshi "little" face turned slightly red as she picked up on Sherwin previous topic.
The mermaid princess skin still wasn't thick enough she was still a bit unnatural when changing the subject.
Not at all like Haibara Meow and Jinx, those two mischievous cats, who were already nodding in agreement without changing their expressions, as if the cats who had just been accusing Sherwin weren't them at all.
After silently evaluating Shirahoshi performance in his heart, Sherwin slowly picked up the conversation.
"Of course, this situation of being on equal footing, or even slightly gaining the upper hand, is entirely because we have good relationships with Whitebeard and Red-Hair.
In terms of strength, I, this newly crowned Emperor, am still not as good as those four veteran Emperors... at least that how it looks in the eyes of most people."
Jinx, the war-crazy Felyne, instantly caught Sherwin subtext.
"Sherwin, Sherwin! Are we going to find trouble with that bad Kaido meow?!"
(==)
The little blue Felyne lay on Shirahoshi head, leaning her body forward as much as possible, asking with shining eyes.
"That right," Sherwin nodded, curling his lips into a playful smile. "Since Morgans has already pinned the title of Emperor of the Sea on my head, as his subordinate, shouldn't I do something to prove his report wasn't wrong?"
Of course, this wasn't the real reason for looking for trouble with Kaido. Sherwin had always intended to seek revenge against him. Under normal circumstances, he should have chosen Wang Zhi, who presented a lower difficulty.
However, even though Sherwin had great confidence in the strength of his Felynes, he didn't believe the Felyne Investigation Team currently had the power to wipe out the Beasts Pirates or kill "King of the Beasts" Kaido.
This trip to Wano Country was primarily about being a nuisance to Kaido and getting revenge for the time Kaido had chased him for a day and a night. Along the way, he could also see if his own Kaido Meow could gain anything from his multiversal counterpart.
Therefore, whether they fought Kaido first or Wang Zhi first didn't make much difference to Sherwin and the others.
The reason for hitting Kaido first was simple—
Compared to Pirate Island where Wang Zhi was located, Wano Country was closer.