Amidst the vigilance of Kawamatsu and the others, the Dodo Advance in the sky did not continue flying toward them. Instead, after entering the Ringo region, it suddenly turned a corner and landed in a flat area.
Since Sherwin and the others rarely hung their cat-paw flag—except when the Investigation Team opened the Sea Restaurant mode—these isolated samurai could not recognize the Dodo Advance at all.
Their extremely limited knowledge regarding the "Hunter" was something they had only heard about from Issho mouth.
Furthermore, the Dodo Gamma appearance looked very much like a "Zoan type," so for a moment, Kawamatsu and the others could not tell if the newcomers were friends or foes.
"Lord Kawamatsu, should we send someone to scout them out?"
Hantaro suggested once again.
"But..."
Kawamatsu looked at their secret base and armory hidden among the ruins, feeling very hesitant.
The items stored here were all weapons prepared for the future battle to defeat Kaido. If they were exposed like this, what would happen when Lord Momonosuke, Kin'emon, and the others returned from twenty years ago?
Hantaro saw through his internal conflict at a glance and persuaded him helplessly: "We were already discovered by the Beast Pirates before, so there no point in hiding anymore. At most, we just hide the weapons first."
"...You are right." Kawamatsu fish-head was just a bit slow and hadn't realized it immediately he wasn't so loyal to the Kozuki family that he would disregard the lives of these samurai.
So, he quickly said: "There is no need to hide the weapons. As samurai, how can we be without our blades?"
Next, he tightened the belt holding the longsword at his waist and spoke to Hantaro: "Stay here and remain on guard. If the enemy is too strong, I will send you a signal. When that happens, you all evacuate first, and I will cover the rear."
"Better to take a few more people with you."
Perhaps reminded by Sherwin evaluation of Oden, Hantaro, who previously only knew the phrase "Sunacchi," had recently taken a liking to deep thinking and was gradually becoming the brain of the group.
"Even for a rearguard action, Kawamatsu-sama, you would likely find your strength lacking alone. And..."
He pursed his lips, then forced himself to speak the harsh truth: "If there is only one person, they likely won't let the matter rest."
Kawamatsu didn't find anything wrong with Hantaro reasoning in fact, he felt the lad was quite clever, possessing a certain air of Denjiro.
...
While Kawamatsu and the others were selecting their men, the Dodo Advance had already touched down on the ground.
Klee Meow cheered as she jumped off the ship, rolled around twice in the snow, and then formed a snowball, hurlilng it toward Sherwin as he followed her off.
"Meow-hahahaha! Brother Sherwin, come and have a snowball fight with Klee, meow!"
(=＞＜=)
"Uh... aren't we going to cause trouble for Kurozumi Orochi?"
Yamato, who followed them off the ship while holding Touma Meow—who was powerless to escape her grasp—asked curiously, "Why did we come to Ringo?"
"Because Sister Klee wanted to come here, meow..."
(-)
The little cow-print Felyne, "controlled" within Yamato embrace, had a look of utter despair on his face.
With dead-fish eyes, he replied, "Basically, no member of our Research Commission will refuse Sister Klee suggestions, meow."
Recalling how the little angel Klee Meow had healed her heart before, Yamato nodded in understanding. "That true. Klee is so cute, it really is hard to refuse her requests."
Touma Meow shot her a look, making no effort to explain the misunderstanding, and continued to slump listlessly in Yamato arms.
Damn it, I've clearly been training so hard, why haven't I awakened Armament Haki yet meow?! Otherwise, I wouldn't have been caught so easily by this monster-strength woman meow!
The little cow cat had absolutely no self-awareness.
"Count me in!"
Having cleared up her confusion, Yamato, who yearned for family-like bonds, watched Sherwin and the Felynes already embroiled in a chaotic scuffle and finally couldn't resist joining in. Furthermore, she didn't forget to keep that unlucky egg Touma Meow tucked firmly under her arm.
And then...
Nine out of ten snowballs thrown at Yamato seemed to have an aimbot engaged, smashing directly onto Touma Meow head.
"Such misfortune meow! You monster-strength woman! Put me down already!"
(=`Д=)
Touma Meow struggled violently while pawing the snowflakes off his head.
"Ah... sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to use you to block the snowballs..."
Yamato, completely baffled as to why this was happening, hurriedly let go and explained with a look of helplessness.
However, before she could even finish her sentence, a massive snowball suddenly dropped from the sky, burying Touma Meow—who had only just found his footing—entirely in the snow.
"Oh my! Sorry, Big Brother Touma, I was trying to hit Boss Sherwin, but my hand suddenly slipped!"
The Mermaid Princess, dressed in a thick padded coat, stuck out her tongue and apologized loudly.
"Su... such misfortune meow..."
From beneath the "snowball," Touma Meow bitter and muffled voice drifted out.
Could it be?!
Although Yamato wasn't the sharpest, her intuition was incredibly keen. She suddenly felt as if she had discovered the truth of the matter.
Suppressing her laughter, she dug the little cow-print cat, who had returned to a state of total despair, out of the snowdrift.
"Don't worry, Touma! I'll protect you!"
After carefully brushing the snowflakes off Touma Meow, Yamato promised solemnly.
And she truly kept her word. In the ensuing "battle," Yamato would rather take a hit herself than let a snowball flying toward Touma Meow get past her.
"Don't worry about me, Yamato! Hit them back hard, meow! The best defense is a good offense, meow!"
Feeling Yamato kindness, the little cow-print cat pulled himself together. He began squeezing snowballs to counterattack while urging Yamato to strike back.
With the two of them joining in, the already chaotic "battlefield" became even more disorganized.
Consequently, when Kawamatsu and his men quietly crept toward the area, what they saw were snowballs flying everywhere and Sherwin group filled with laughter.
"...Accompanied by several Felynes, Lord Kawamatsu, he must be that 'Hunter' who slandered Lord Oden!"
The samurai Kawamatsu had chosen for this mission were mostly die-hard fans of Oden. Upon recognizing Sherwin identity, they immediately became agitated, radiating clear hostility.
"Huh?"
"Meow?"
Sherwin and the Felynes all turned their heads at the same time, looking toward the area where they were hiding.
Jinx Meow and Suika Meow instinctively threw the snowballs in their hands toward them.
Perhaps it was a stress response, or perhaps they wanted to take the opportunity to teach Sherwin a lesson...
In any case, without waiting for Kawamatsu to speak and reveal their identity, several samurai had already jumped out, swinging their blades to shatter the snowballs and rushing toward Sherwin and the others with loud cries.
"Eh..."
Just as Yamato was about to speak, a large, fluffy paw rested on her shoulder.
"They must be those samurai who follow Kozuki Oden. Since they aren't convinced, let have a fight first and talk later, meow."
(=ΦωΦ=)
Kaido Meow stopped Yamato from trying to mediate and instead advised: "Don't worry, meow. The Hunter and the others know how to hold back... well... except for those two little ones, Klee and Jinx."
"...Eh?"