Sherwin realized he had truly become famous. Although others didn't go out of their way to curry favor with him like Rand had, they couldn't help but point and whisper about him and the Felynes around him.
Of course, back when he used to walk around town with the cats, people would also point and whisper—but back then, the discussions were all about how cute the Felynes were. Now, part of the conversation had clearly shifted to him.
This kind of reaction was something he hadn't encountered even in the West Blue. Sure, after gaining some fame there, people would occasionally recognize him, but not like this… this excited?
Rand behavior was the same. Back in the West Blue—whether in the Flower Country or later, after Sherwin made a name for himself—very few places would proactively try to flatter him.
That because in the West Blue, prosperous places like Mirapar Island usually had both mafia and navy providing dual protection. They rarely had trouble with pirates.
Besides, the pirate Sherwin had taken down in the West Blue—the one with that big-name sword—what was his name again… Su-something? That guy bounty had gone up purely due to his cruelty, not actual strength or reputation.
So Sherwin fame in the West Blue had never reached this kind of level...
If only I had wiped out the Capone Family back then in the West Blue... maybe I'd be this well-known now, Sherwin thought to himself while ignoring the whispers around him.
Still, even if he had the chance to choose again, Sherwin would still let Capone Bege go.
After all, what good is fame? Can it be traded for a named blade? His golden finger is the Hunter handbook, not some popularity system.
"Sherwin-nii, it so lively over there, meow!" Klee Meow tugged on Sherwin ear, pointing to a bustling area not far away.
"Oh, so it here..."
When Sherwin led the Felynes closer and saw the costume dance competition taking place, he finally realized what island they were on.
In the original cover story, Cabaji had fled to this island, where he met the Marine "Iron Fist" Fullbody—who had the same nickname as Garp and had been beaten up by Sanji.
Through a twist of fate and the dance competition, he fell head over heels for Tashigi, gave up his identity as a pirate, and joined the Marines under her command…
So this competition had always been going on?
Sherwin knew absolutely nothing about dancing—the best he could manage was some flowery hand waving at most.
But...
"Do you guys want to give it a try?" Sherwin looked over at the Felynes beside him.
Although he couldn't dance, watching the adorable Felynes perform on stage wouldn't be a bad way to spend time.
"I am not skilled in dance, meow," Seijurou declined without the slightest surprise.
Sanji Meow, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed intently on Hua Mei Meow. Clearly, whether he would dance or not depended entirely on whether the Beautiful big sister Felyne was joining.
Unfortunately, to the disappointment of both the yellow-furred cat and Sherwin, Hua Mei Meow had no intention of stepping on stage. She shook her head and said, "The music here is too intense. I can't dance to this kind of rhythm, meow."
Luckily, our little angel Klee Meow never lets anyone down…
"Klee wants to dance! Klee wants to dance meow!" The little ragdoll clung to Sherwin head, shaking it back and forth.
"Alright, alright, stop shaking me already. You're gonna rattle my brain loose." Sherwin pried the little troublemaker claws off and reached out to tickle her as payback.
After giggling and messing around with Sherwin for a bit, Klee Meow tugged on his ear and urged, "Sherwin-nii, hurry up and sign me up meow~"
"I got it, I got it..." Sherwin replied while weaving through the crowd with the cats, eventually finding the event organizers and registering Klee Meow for the contest.
Before long, Klee Meow was standing on stage alongside a bunch of colorfully dressed humans...
The rules of the dance competition were pretty casual. Once the music started, all the participants danced on stage in their own styles.
There were no specific genres—everyone just did their thing. It was kind of like a street dance battle, but not turn-based.
Instead, it was an all-out free-for-all. Then, based on audience reactions, contestants would be eliminated one by one until a final winner was chosen.
For Klee Meow, this kind of loose rule was actually quite advantageous—after all, her little plushie-like appearance was far too eye-catching.
Even if her dancing was just average, she could still attract plenty of attention.What more…
Klee Meow was actually pretty good at dancing.Although Sherwin couldn't really tell what kind of dance the little plushie was doing… being cute was enough!
Cute Felyne + cute dance—most people simply couldn't resist.
So very quickly, the audience below the stage all became Klee Meow devoted fans, cheering loudly for the little plushie.
In the end, the result of the competition came as no surprise—adorable Klee Meow claimed the final victory.
"Sherwin-nii, Klee won meow! Look, this is the trophy Klee won meow!"
(=`=)
Wearing the winner crown, the little plushie returned to Sherwin side, raising a trophy that was much larger than her entire Felyne body and proudly offering it to him like a treasure.
"Mm-mm-mm, our little Klee is the best!"
Sherwin took the trophy in one hand and scooped Klee Meow up with the other, rubbing his cheek affectionately against the little plushie.
Perched on Sherwin shoulder, Huamei Meow also reached out her paw to pat Klee Meow on the head, praising, "You danced great! Klee is amazing, meow."
Sanji Meow and Seijuro Meow naturally chimed in to offer their congratulations as well, making Klee Meow beam with joy as she kept nuzzling into Sherwin chest, bumping so hard that the crown on her head slipped off.
Just as everyone was basking in the joyful mood, a plain-looking man—though dressed just as flamboyantly as everyone else—walked over to them. But the camera hanging around his neck made his identity clear.
As expected, once the man reached Sherwin and the others, he immediately raised his camera and said, "Hello, I'm Harrison, a reporter from the World Economy News. May I interview the winner of this dance contest?"
"Ha! Not just someone in the same industry, but a colleague too…" Sherwin chuckled.
Then he handed the trophy to Sanji Meow beside him, reached into his bag, and pulled out the special correspondent ID given to him by Morgans, showing it to his utterly baffled colleague…
Which only made the already confused Harrison even more bewildered.
"Gah?"
Harrison had never imagined that coming to interview a dance contest champion would lead him to run into a colleague… Mirapale Island was clearly his assigned territory!
But he quickly noticed that the press ID shown by the other party was different from his own—it was… a special correspondent badge with higher clearance and more privileges than his.
Although the discovery left Harrison a bit deflated, at least it brought a silver lining to the interview situation.
Surely a prestigious special correspondent for the World Economy News wouldn't stoop to fight over a tiny local story happening in this backwater part of the East Blue, right?
After considering his colleague request for a moment, Sherwin agreed.
Though he had always worried that the Felynes might attract unwanted attention—perhaps even from Big Mom, who loved collecting rare creatures and unique species, or from the Celestial Dragons—Sherwin knew that with the way the Felyne Investigation Team operated, hiding them was simply impossible.
He had already mentally prepared himself for a complete fallout with the World Government, and even for a confrontation with the Four Emperors.
So while he still needed to keep a low profile, there was no need to deliberately conceal the existence of his Felynes...
As long as they didn't enter the second half of the Grand Line, he and the Felynes were relatively safe.
At worst, he'd just avoid getting close to the New World until his strength reached a certain level.
And if things really came to a dead end, there was always the option of seeking refuge with someone like Whitebeard or Red-Haired Shanks.
As long as he could protect his Felynes, Sherwin didn't care about the rest. What the big deal about calling some old man with only a few years left in him "father," anyway?