"Brother Sherwin, you're out!"
As Sherwin walked out of the meeting room carrying the two cats, he saw Nami, who was still very youthful, coming to greet him.
Habitually patting her head, Sherwin asked curiously, "You guys are still here?"
However, the moment the words left his mouth, he knew he was being foolish.
Mainly because the "Summit War" was already over. According to the "plot" in Sherwin memory, the Straw Hat Pirates should have started their respective two-year training period. But under the current circumstances, it would actually be a problem if Luffy left...
"Luffy said he wants to stay behind to save his grandfather with his father and two brothers. Even if Old Mr. Garp really... at least he wants to avenge his grandfather."
Fortunately, Nami did not feel there was anything wrong with Sherwin question. A slight look of helplessness appeared on her face as she explained quite normally, "So we had no choice but to stay behind and keep this willful captain company."
"That works too."
Sherwin nodded. With Luffy and the other current strength, they could more or less be considered a fighting force.
Moreover, they had the destiny buff of the main character group. Who knew, maybe he would suddenly attain enlightenment during this process and ascend to "Nika" on the spot?
Furthermore, staying here in Baltigo, the guidance would not be inferior to Rayleigh, and they would have even better sparring partners than those fierce beasts on Rusukaina Island.
Anyway, Dragon, the father, was keeping an eye on things, so Sherwin very easily tossed Luffy matter aside and turned to ask about Nami current situation.
"Speaking of which, how did you end up becoming a pirate too? Didn't you hate pirates the most?"
Although Sherwin also knew that Nami joining the Straw Hat Pirates was mostly "destined", he was still very curious about how the process differed from the original story.
"Luffy and the Arlong Pirates are not quite the same... Though at the beginning, precisely because of their identity as pirates, I did join everyone else in giving them a harsh lesson..."
Nami scratched her head, a bit embarrassed as she recounted how she had met Luffy and the others.
Unlike the classic, hot-blooded scenario in the original story where Luffy fought a death match against Arlong for Nami sake, in this timeline, the two sides essentially started on the wrong foot before becoming friends.
At the very beginning, Luffy wanted to find a reliable navigator and caught wind that there was a girl in Cocoyasi Village with incredible navigation skills. With Sanji, that horny cook, giving his full approval, they headed to Cocoyasi Village, planning to recruit Nami...
And then they got beaten up by the village militia.
Of course, Luffy and his crew definitely held back. After all, the Straw Hat Pirates were an unconventional brand of "peaceful pirates," and since they were there to find a comrade, it was naturally impossible for them to get serious against the militia.
The subsequent development followed a very natural course. Luffy, who had "voluntarily" allowed himself to be captured, relied on his unique personal charm, his relentless persistence, and his connections from knowing Sherwin and the Felynes to clear up the villager misunderstanding and win Nami approval.
"...I thought that since you also know Luffy, Big Brother Sherwin, and even taught him for a while, he probably wasn't a bad person. Plus, I have a dream of drawing a map of the entire world, so I set sail with them."
Then, Nami let out a deep, helpless sigh and added, "Besides, with that bunch of idiots on their ship at the time who couldn't even read a sea chart, if it weren't for me, there no telling when they would have died in a storm."
"That right, that right! Those guys are all idiots, meow!"
(=`=)
Klee Meow nodded her little head in deep agreement.
On the other hand, Haibara Meow, who hadn't interacted with the Straw Hat Crew before, had a curious look on her face...
A fool recognized even by a little fool like Klee Meow—just how foolish could he be?!
In order to see such a special fool, the little kitten decided to skip the laboratory for now and meet that guy named Luffy and his crew first.
And so, Sherwin carried the two cats like that, continuing to chat with Nami as they made their way to the Revolutionary Army training ground.
Because Nami had just mentioned that the moment Sherwin and the others entered the meeting room, Luffy and Zoro had run off to find Seijuro Meow and the others, wanting to settle the score.
However, when they arrived at the training ground, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, who had joined in for some unknown reason, were all lying on the ground. Standing beside them were Jinx, Seijuro Meow, and Sanji Meow respectively.
"Meowhahahaha! Did you think I couldn't do anything to you just because you're not afraid of bullets, meow?"
(=＞＜=)
The little blue cat stood on Luffy belly with her hands on her hips, laughing toward the sky. "You're just rubber, I have plenty of ways to deal with you, meow!"
Luffy, whose mouth was puffing black smoke and whose entire body was blasted black, laughed heartily with an open mind, "You guys really are so strong! Are you sure you don't want to become my comrades?"
Jinx rolled her eyes. Facing this kind of thick-skinned guy whom she couldn't beat to death, she simply couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him. Jumping down from his belly, she ran over toward Sherwin, then lunged forward and crashed into his arms.
"Sherwin, can I blow that fool into eighteen pieces, meow?"
(=ω=)
The little blue Felyne tilted her head cutely, but what she said was terrifying.
Sherwin rubbed her cat head and suggested, "After all, he Dragon son, so killing him directly isn't very good. Why don't you feed him a bottle of Satan Potion?"
"Oh, right!"
∑(==)
Jinx eyes lit up, and she immediately dashed back to Luffy side. Without a second word, she pulled out a bottle of Satan Potion and poured it down his throat.
"Waaaaahhhhh——!!!"
Luffy, who could eat even a Devil Fruit without changing his expression, still met his match in front of Haibara Meow Satan Potion. Soon, he convulsed all over and fainted...
That'll teach you to try and kidnap my Felynes!
"With your talent and Mr. Koushirou guidance, this current progress is a bit slow meow..."
(ω≡ω)
On the other side, Hiko Seijuro shook his head in disappointment, "The current you going to challenge Mr. Mihawk won't last past twenty moves meow."
"D-Damn it! Is the gap really that big?!"
Zoro struck the ground, a look of unwillingness on his face.
He actually knew he couldn't defeat Hiko Seijuro before challenging him, but he hadn't expected to lose so easily.
Fortunately, back in the East Blue, Zoro had already been heavily demoralized by Hiko Seijuro, so he quickly pulled himself together...
"Great! I'll double the training from now on!"
"I finally understand why your progress is so slow meow..."
(ω)
Looking at Zoro, who had cheered up and was about to go do extra training, Seijuro Meow couldn't help but offer some guidance:
"At your current stage, increasing the amount of training doesn't yield obvious results anymore. It would be better to increase the time spent on Blade Zen... Speaking of which, didn't Mr. Koushirou ever remind you meow?"
"Ah... Master Koushirou did seem to say something similar!"
Zoro clapped his fist into his palm, replying with hindsight.
Seijuro Meow: "..."
(=ω=)
Now, even the upright samurai cat couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Meanwhile, Sanji Meow stepped on Sanji head with his little black paw, proudly declaring his victory:
"Your progress over the years has been pretty mediocre. And you still dare to come and harass Big Sister Robin and the others meow?"
Well, now Sherwin knew why Sanji had also been beaten to the ground.
He had found it strange before even if the two Sanjis wanted to compete, it should have been mainly based on cooking skills...
"I don't accept this! I haven't competed with you in cooking skills yet!!!"
Just as Sherwin was thinking this, Sanji, who had been beaten by his feline namesake once again, jumped up from the ground and initiated a "food war."
"Huh?! Food?!!!"
The unconscious Luffy instantly sat up from the ground.
"As expected, just like Klee Meow said, they are all a bunch of earth-shattering idiots meow."
(=`ー=)
Haibara Meow crossed her arms, reaching a solemn conclusion.