Most members of the Beast Pirates were currently scurrying about, busy rebuilding their base.
Normally, this type of work could be handled by dragging a group of civilians from Wano Country or using the laborers from Udon. Unfortunately, those prisoners in Udon had been rescued earlier by that mysterious blind man who appeared out of nowhere.
Furthermore, since the factories on the main island of Wano also needed rebuilding, their manpower was severely lacking, forcing the pirates to do the labor themselves.
Fortunately, it wasn't the first time they had done something like this. Under the guidance of the Beast Pirate shipwrights, these pirates managed to keep the work somewhat organized.
However, just as they were grunting and groaning while hauling various logs and bricks to assemble them bit by bit, they suddenly felt the sky grow brighter, followed by a wave of heat descending from above...
Having recently survived a massive meteorite air raid, the members of the Beast Pirates all looked up at the sky.
They saw a pillar of fire that seemed to split the sky in two rapidly approaching them. As for the few inconspicuous figures at the end of the fire pillar, no one paid them any mind.
"Again?!"
The members of the Beast Pirates let out a chorus of wails before decisively dropping their construction materials and fleeing toward the sides of the fire pillar without hesitation.
These ordinary pirates weren't stupid enough to try and block such a pillar of fire. Even if such fools existed, they had already been crushed to death by the meteorites falling from the sky a few days ago.
Therefore, regardless of what this pillar of fire was, it was better to leave it to the Lead Performers and the Tobi Roppo.
"Imperial Flaming Wings!"
"Black Spark!"
"Ivory Scythe!"
The three Lead Performers—King the Conflagration, Queen the Plague, and Jack the Drought—struck at the same time. A colossal fire dragon, a laser beam, and two crescent-shaped flying slashes all flew toward the massive blade of flames produced by the combined effort of Sherwin and Klee Meow...
Only to be swiftly swallowed up. Aside from causing the long trail of fire to flicker slightly, their efforts had no effect whatsoever.
"Are you kidding me?! Do the powerhouses of this era have nothing better to do? Why are they all coming to cause us trouble?!"
Queen eyes bulged so far out of his tasteless small sunglasses that they practically popped. Cursing and complaining, he decisively and rapidly fled to the side, moving with a speed that completely belied his obese physique.
Though he was powerful, Queen was not a warrior as a researcher, he knew exactly how to trim his sails to the wind. Unless it involved food, he would cower in the face of a strong enemy even faster than a certain unnamed Hunter.
King and Jack, unwilling to give up, tried once more to stop the massive flaming blade. This time, their attacks were aimed at Sherwin, whom they had detected with Observation Haki.
However...
"Freeze Sign: Ethereal Compression Bullet Meow!"
"Flying Cat Sword Style: Twin Cat Flash Meow!"
Suika Meow and Seijuro Meow, guarding Sherwin flanks, struck simultaneously and intercepted King and Jack attacks.
"It 'Hunter' Sherwin!"
Jack, who had fought them once before, finally recognized the attackers. But it was already too late. With the two interceptions failing, the gargantuan flame blade finally crashed down upon Onigashima.
"BOOM—!"
With a single downward strike from Sherwin, the massive skull at the center of Onigashima was instantly split in two. King and Jack, unable to dodge in time, were sent flying by the shockwave of the blow.
However, Sherwin target was not the two of them, so they did not sustain any significant injuries.
"Why is it just the three of you? Where is that bastard Kaido? I've come for revenge!"
As Klee Meow withdrew her flames, Sherwin rested the Longsword on his shoulder and shouted boisterously at the Lead Performers.
"..."
(ω)
Beside him, Kaido Meow glanced at him sideways, feeling somewhat offended.
"Big Brother Kaido isn't here!"
Queen, the first to cave, remained in his Brachiosaurus hybrid form and answered honestly, "Some time ago, a blind samurai came to Wano Country. He caused a huge scene here and then escaped. Big Brother Kaido went after him!"
He then pointed to the surrounding ruins. "Look at all this that guy did it all."
"Oh... I see..."
Sherwin nodded in realization. No wonder Klee Meow chose to land on Onigashima it turned out Kaido wasn't around!
Sherwin certainly had no intention of letting such a good opportunity slip by. Grinning, he swung the Longsword, casually hurling a flying slash toward Queen.
"Then I guess I'll just finish all of you off first!"
"Meowhahahaha!!!"
(=`=)l▄︻╤
The little crazy Felyne Jinx was the first to respond, raising the Pow-Pow Gun she had already held in her paws and strafing in all directions.
"Anyway, let start shooting meow!"
Huamei Meow also bristled instantly, and the Conqueror Haki belonging to the Flying Tiger erupted, clearing out most of the surrounding fodder in a flash.
"Flying Felyne Mitsurugi Style: Melu Flash meow."
Seijuro Meow figure flickered slightly before vanishing, with only the sudden slashes appearing on the pirates proving that the little black Felyne was not slacking off.
Meanwhile, Klee Meow jumped down from Sherwin shoulder just as he swung his blade, then with an air of importance, "drew" a flame sword from her paw and thrust it into the ground...
"Bankai: Zanka no Tachi, Minami: Kaka Jūman'okushi Cat-Cat Formation meow!"
(=`ω=)
The flame sword in Klee Meow paw completely sank into the earth, transforming into a ring of fire that exploded outward. Immediately after, one flame Klee Meow after another "grew" out from the ground where the fiery ring had swept.
Of course, the quantity was certainly not ten trillion this was essentially a "Multiple Fire Clone Technique" performed by the little Ragdoll in a different form, totaling thirty or forty at most.
It wasn't that Klee Meow couldn't summon more, but rather that there was no need.
"Go! Get these bad guys meow!"
(=＞＜=)
At Klee Meow command, her fire clones shouted "Meow meow meow" and pounced toward the remaining members of the Beasts Pirates who had not yet fallen.
"Our last fight was interrupted by your boss this time, let settle it once and for all meow! Hic!"
(●ω●)
The already giant-sized Suika Meow wobbled over to Jack, raising the sake gourd in her paws high and smashing it down on his head!
"Oni Sign: Missing Purple Power meow!"
While the other Felynes were all following Sherwin lead, Kaido Meow remained still for the time being.
He was the secret weapon meant for dealing with Kaido, so Sherwin hadn't intended for him to move from the start.
Of course, this was also because Kaido Meow wasn't as bellicose as his namesake on the contrary, if it wasn't necessary, this majestic-looking big cat actually didn't like fighting much.
...
Queen hadn't expected Sherwin to strike without a single word. In his desperation, he could only roll across the ground, clumsily avoiding the flying slash aimed at him.
"Damn Hunter!" Queen shouted in exasperation after quickly scrambling to his feet. "Don't think I'm actually afraid of you! You're still a long way off from becoming the Fifth Emperor of the Sea!"
With that, he raised his mechanized left arm and fired a laser beam at Sherwin.
"Black Flame!"
"Imperial Flaming Wings!"
On the other side, King, who had transformed into a pterosaur hybrid, spread his wings and charged toward Sherwin like a giant, living boomerang.
Sherwin calmly pulled out a small shield, positioning it directly in the path of the laser beam. Then, with a flick of his arm, he tilted the surface of the shield toward King, who was flying in from his flank.
Monster Hunter Style Esoteric Art: Guard Point!
The laser fired by Queen acted like a beam of light hitting a mirror the moment it struck Sherwin shield, it refracted at an obtuse angle and shot straight toward King.
Boom!
Although King ignited his flames in time to avoid taking damage from Queen laser, the impact interrupted his attack and sent him flying back from the explosion.
"How is that possible?!"
Queen was once again left speechless.
Under normal circumstances, the laser technology he had learned from Vegapunk should have exploded the moment it contacted a solid object.
"This isn't scientific!"
Sherwin lips curled slightly.
In the world of One Piece, where physics, chemistry, and biology have all gone completely wild, you want to talk to me about science?
Having lost interest in watching a fat man play the fool, Sherwin figure flickered, and in an instant, he had already dashed right in front of Queen.
Monster Hunter Style: Crimson Meteor!
The Longsword carved arcs of light into Queen body. Although he activated his Armament Haki to defend himself, he could not block the slashes of Sherwin, who had mastered the Adept Style and learned how to infuse his will into his blade.
In moments, Queen bloated and massive frame was riddled with dozens of gashes, exposing the mechanical components and flesh beneath.
Queen, of course, was not one to wait for death. He had already exerted all his strength to counter Sherwin.
However, whether it was the lasers learned from Vegapunk or the modification technology learned from Germa, they were ineffective against the clear gap in their combat power.
"You forced my hand!"
A look of ruthlessness appeared on Queen face as he pulled out a glass bottle filled with a blue-purple liquid from nowhere and crushed it.
Even though Queen used his fully mechanized arm to crush the bottle, the limb was rapidly covered in a layer of solid ice upon contact with the liquid. The frost spread quickly across his body, as if he were being attacked by Aokiji.
"Muhahahaha! Die!"
Queen ignored the slashes coming his way and extended his frost-covered arm, lunging recklessly toward Sherwin.