It took Sherwin and Hua Mei Meow quite a bit of effort to get the excited Klee Meow to calm down even a little, but even when the little ragdoll settled, her mood was still bubbling with excitement. Perched on Sherwin shoulder, she kept messing with his ears and hair nonstop.
"Big brother Sherwin, Klee wants that, and that, and that, and also that one, meow!" The little ragdoll waved her tiny paws, pointing out almost every shop in the entire street before them.
"Alright, alright… you can buy whatever you want." Sherwin said indulgently, then glanced at the other cats.
"You all can look around too—if you see something you want, just tell me. Hua Mei, Haibara, you two shouldn't wander too far from me. On the Grand Line, there are many Devil Fruit users, and some abilities are too fast for even Observation Haki to react to."
Hua Mei Meow nodded, then nudged Haibara Meow closer to Sherwin.
"Better let Haibara stay on your shoulder, Admiral. After we buy little Klee things, you can take us to browse the bookstore and clothing shop, meow."
Sherwin bent down and held out his arm toward Haibara Meow, who deliberately turned her gaze away. "Come on up—just think of it as keeping Klee company for a chat."
"Hmph! You're the one asking me to climb up, it not that I'm afraid, meow!" Haibara Meow said proudly, tilting her small head upward.
"Yes, yes, yes. It just that balancing Klee on one shoulder isn't very stable, so I'm asking you to help me balance, okay?" Sherwin coaxed her repeatedly.
"Don't treat me like an idiot, meow!" Haibara Meow grabbed his palm and pretended to bite fiercely—though it was only a gentle nip—before darting up his arm in one swift motion to perch on his shoulder.
"There nothing special about this, meow…" she muttered while pulling Sherwin ears back and forth.
Sherwin rolled his eyes helplessly. "If there nothing special about it, then stop messing with them…"
"Hmph!"
Haibara Meow didn't even bother to answer… and just kept pulling on Sherwin ear.
"Ehehe…" Hua Mei Meow watched their interaction, covering her mouth with a light laugh.
Then she leaned in to nuzzle Sherwin palm and said smugly, "I even gave up my seat for you, so when we get back to the ship, the Admiral has to reward me, meow."
"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Sherwin scratched Hua Mei Meow chin while looking over at Sanji Meow and Seijuro Meow.
"Are you two going to act together, or should I give you some Berries to go shopping on your own?"
The little yellow cat and little black cat were strong enough for the first half of the voyage, so Sherwin wasn't too worried about their safety.
"I'm staying to protect Sister Hua Mei and the two younger sisters, meow!"
Sanji Meow glared at Sherwin with resentment…
It was bad enough that all three little female cats liked to cling to him, but now they even wanted to chase him and Seijuro Meow away!
Tsk…
Seeing the look in the little yellow cat eyes, Sherwin knew there was no point in arguing—unless he let Hua Mei Meow and Sanji Meow act together.
And since Sanji Meow was staying, it wouldn't be right to let Seijuro Meow act alone, so it was better for everyone to stick together.
Sherwin shrugged and said, "Then we'll just act together—it'll be safer that way."
So, Sherwin led the group of Felynes on a lively stroll through a place called Blast Town.
Naturally, the first thing they bought was all sorts of explosives that made Klee Meow absolutely ecstatic. But after circling the place once, Sherwin and the others all let out a breath of relief…
Although the explosives here came in all sorts of strange and colorful varieties, most of them weren't very powerful—more like the firecrackers and fireworks Sherwin used to set off during New Year celebrations when he was a child.
It made sense, though. If these explosives were truly powerful, they would've long since become a target for every major faction.
Yet Sherwin hadn't seen any pirate flags belonging to the Seven Warlords or the Four Emperors hanging in town, nor was there a Marine base or any official force on the island. Even at the port, there wasn't a single pirate ship docked.
Clearly, the so-called specialty explosives of this island weren't of much value in most people eyes.
Klee Meow, however, wasn't like most people. Even if the power of these explosives wasn't great, the little ragdoll cat was still fascinated by them…
After all, no matter the scale of the blast, in her eyes, it was just a toy. And she was confident she could use the inspiration from these explosives to develop much stronger bombs of the same type…
Sherwin and Sanji Meow suddenly shivered, while Hua Mei Meow looked at the happily buying-and-buying Klee Meow with a grave expression.
After stocking up on a pile of explosives, they wandered through the local food market and bookstore, buying some specialty ingredients as well as books on navigation and medicine.
As for the clothing store they had planned to check out, Hua Mei Meow only glanced inside from the entrance before pulling Sherwin away with a look of disdain…
Most likely, because Blast Town was so full of explosives, the clothing here was designed primarily for practicality and protection.
The styles were plain, so it was no surprise Hua Mei Meow and Haibara Meow both found them unappealing.
Finally, Sherwin and the others stopped by the town tavern. Aside from gathering a bit of information, they also bought some of the local specialty—explosive liquor—for Seijuro Meow, said to have a very unique flavor.
Watching the rowdy patrons drinking and shouting inside, Sherwin couldn't hold back his curiosity and decided to try a glass himself.
The moment the explosive liquor went down, Sherwin thought he'd just drunk plain water—until, all of a sudden, a rich, fiery burst of alcohol exploded in his stomach and mouth, forcing out a loud, uncontrollable burp.
"…Refreshing!"
"…Good stuff, meow!"
Sherwin and Seijuro Meow exclaimed together once they recovered.
No wonder it was called explosive liquor—it really was explosive.
"Sherwin~" Klee Meow pawed at him twice with her little claws, then stared up at him with pleading eyes…
With a cat natural curiosity and a name like "explosive liquor," the little ragdoll simply had to try it!
Sherwin stayed silent for a moment, then jerked his chin toward the side.
The little plush doll followed the direction he indicated with his mouth and saw Hua Mei Meow standing there, one hand on her hip, glaring at her seriously.
"Klee didn't want to drink alcohol, meow~ Really, no~" The little plush doll quickly shrank her neck, waving her tiny paws repeatedly as she spoke.
After easily settling Klee Meow, Sherwin left the tavern carrying a whole barrel of explosive liquor.
This time shopping trip could be considered a complete success, but the main problem still remained unsolved — they still couldn't find a place that sold Eternal Poses.
"So what should we do next? Should we have Klee lead the way again, meow?" Haibara Meow, who had been growing bolder while sitting on Sherwin shoulder, swung her legs and tail lazily as she asked.
Sherwin was, of course, pleased with Haibara Meow change in attitude, so he ignored the mischievous "cat tail" sweeping across the back of his neck.
While reaching out to pat her head, he replied, "No, this time I plan to call in outside help — I'll ask Morgans."
That birdman had said before that most of the World Economic Journal resources were in the Grand Line.
They couldn't pinpoint their location while they were still at sea, but now that they had an exact position, asking him for help was clearly the easiest solution.
Haibara Meow had been on the ship long enough to know about Sherwin relationship with Morgans, so she nodded in understanding, her doubts eased.
Unfortunately, Sherwin hand was batted away by Haibara Meow cat paw, so he turned to pet Klee Meow, who was perched on his other shoulder.
But he had barely petted her twice before he felt a resentful gaze coming from Haibara Meow side.
"Hmph!"
(=`へ=)
When Sherwin looked over, Haibara Meow quickly turned her little head to the side.
This tsundere little cat…
Sherwin smiled and shook his head, reaching his hand out again.
This time, although Haibara Meow pretended to dodge a few times, she didn't use her cat paw punch.
As Sherwin palm came to rest on her head, she stopped pretending altogether and even took the initiative to turn her little head, rubbing it gently against his hand twice.
Of course, a tsundere little cat would never admit it out loud…
"Hmph!"