Back on the ship, Sherwin took out the Den Den Mushi set that Morgans had given him, then dialed his number.
"Hahaha! Sherwin, my little brother, calling me all of a sudden—what the matter?" As the call connected, the Den Den Mushi face shifted into Morgans' bird-like features, animatedly asking,
"You should have already left the East Blue by now, right? So, what intel do you need? South Blue? North Blue?"
"Our newspaper intel network in the East Blue really is terrible…" Sherwin teased, then said,
"I'm on the Grand Line right now, at a place called Explosion Island."
"What?!" The Den Den Mushi mimicked Morgans' astonished expression perfectly.
He exclaimed in disbelief, "Impossible! Explosion Island is located toward the latter part of the first half of the Grand Line—I couldn't possibly have received no news about it!"
"Ah… that because I didn't go through Reverse Mountain. I crossed the Calm Belt directly." Sherwin didn't keep him guessing and explained the reason, then stated his purpose:
"I'm planning to cross the Grand Line directly to reach the South Blue, but a Log Pose only points to the next island on the current route, so… could you send me a few Eternal Poses?"
"What do you think an Eternal Pose is?! And you're asking for a few? Even if you had the money, it not something you can just buy!" Morgans cursed in exasperation, but then quickly shifted his tone:
"Still… if you can tell me how you managed to cross the Calm Belt successfully, I might consider giving you one Eternal Pose."
"Eh? You don't know? Haven't the Marines been using this trick for a long time already?"
"What?! You used the Marines' method?! Where did you hear about it?!"
"…"
"…"
The two stared at each other through the Den Den Mushi for a moment before Sherwin broke the silence: "I can't tell you where I heard it, but I can tell you the method."
"Ahem, I get it. Everyone has their secrets. I just need to know the method." Morgans was tactful enough.
"It actually very simple—just place a piece of seastone at the bottom of the ship. Of course, it best if the entire underside of the ship is made of seastone.
That way, the Sea Kings will think the ship is part of the sea itself. As long as you don't provoke them, they'll basically ignore the ship… In fact, I'm more surprised you didn't know such a simple method."
As Sherwin spoke, he recalled the details about the Calm Belt from the manga…
Right—using seastone to cross the Calm Belt was discovered by Vegapunk. Maybe there were other precautions involved as well?
So Sherwin quickly added, "But I'm not sure if my method is the Marines' complete version. From what I know, this method was originally proposed by Vegapunk.
Marine warships might have other equipment onboard. My successful crossing of the Calm Belt had a good deal of luck involved."
"I see. Even so, that still very useful intel for me. I'll have a News Bird deliver the Eternal Pose you wanted."
Morgans was already satisfied with the information. Still… Sherwin, who had clearly appeared first in the West Blue and wasn't even that old, somehow knew the secret that seastone warships were developed by Vegapunk…
Could this kid really be an intelligence agent for the Revolutionary Army or another major power?Once again, Morgans found himself doubting Sherwin true identity.
Sherwin, of course, had no idea what the bird on the other end of the line was thinking. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Oh, right! You could just send a News Bird to guide me!"
But Morgans rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
It wasn't that he was stingy about sparing a News Bird, but every News Bird had a relatively fixed range of activity and regular flight routes.
In unfamiliar areas—especially the bizarre seas of the Grand Line—they'd be just as clueless.
Even delivering the Eternal Pose to Sherwin on Explosion Island would require the News Birds to relay it from one to another, guided by a Log Pose, until it finally reached him…
Well, that did make more sense. Otherwise, Morgans would've been the Pirate King long ago, and Luffy wouldn't have had his chance.
"Of course, if I had your Vivre Card, delivering things would be much easier," Morgans said slyly, probing him.
If Sherwin really was an intelligence agent for some organization, he wouldn't so easily hand over his Vivre Card.
Even though Morgans knew that Sherwin possible hidden identity wouldn't necessarily affect their cooperation, his caution made him want to be certain and prepare accordingly. It was simply the instinct of a major figure in the underworld.
Yet Sherwin response once again caught him completely off guard…
"Oh, right! I completely forgot about that!" Sherwin smacked his thigh and replied,
"I'll check if there anywhere on Explosion Island that can make a Vivre Card. If there is, I'll have the News Bird bring a piece back to you."
Morgans: "…"
Damn it! Is this guy an intelligence agent or not?!
Morgans, who had always been confident in his information-gathering and analytical skills, now felt as if he'd run into his natural enemy.
It was as though everything he did was either completely anticipated by Sherwin, or Sherwin had no scheming nature at all. Either way, it gave him a headache.
Of course, headache or not, Morgans still needed to maintain his relationship with Sherwin.
Whether or not he was an agent, his ability to always provide surprising bits of intel was reason enough to keep close ties.
Not to mention, Sherwin could supply articles and had impressive strength as well.
So Morgans dropped the probing and quickly finalized the Eternal Pose delivery arrangements with Sherwin, even throwing in a piece of news that piqued Sherwin interest:
"The Eternal Pose I'm giving you points to St. Poplar Island. There going to be a small auction there soon, and rumor has it a Devil Fruit will appear."
"St. Poplar Island?" Sherwin felt the name sounded vaguely familiar.
"Hehehe…" Morgans let out a string of lewd chuckles on the other end of the line.
"You might not be very familiar with the island name, but the city on it shares the same name—and it also known by another title you'll definitely have heard of: the famous City of Spring Queen. You've heard of that, haven't you?"
"..."Sensing the curious gazes from Klee Meow and Haibara Meow, Sherwin kept a straight face and said seriously, "No, I haven't heard of it."
"Ga?"The Transponder Snail in front of him mimicked Morgans' expression, showing a look of disbelief.
With Sherwin demonstrated information-gathering ability, how could he possibly not know about the Queen of Spring City?But Morgans was Morgans, after all—he quickly thought of the few young Felynes following Sherwin…
"Hehehe…"The birdman once again let out a lecherous chuckle, then tactfully said, "Ah, I forgot—you're not an adult yet. It normal you don't know about that place… Mm, not knowing is good, not knowing is good…"
After putting on an act of sighing sentimentally, the old rascal surprisingly gave a rare piece of genuine advice:
"But, you can go there just to look around, just don't get addicted to it. The women there are terrifying—they can drain a man strength without him even realizing it."
"Alright… I think I might more or less know what kind of place that is now…"Sherwin continued playing the role of a proper gentleman.
"Why are you giving me a Log Pose to that place? I'm still a kid!"
Already guessing what Sherwin was thinking, Morgans felt a vein pop on his forehead, but still went along with it and said,
"Isn't it because I know you like collecting Devil Fruits and famous blades? Besides, Saint Poplar Island is connected to the Sea Train, which will make it easier for you to gather material for your travel guide and find other Log Poses."
Hearing this, Sherwin suddenly remembered—didn't this mean he could also drop by Water 7 to upgrade his ship?That way, when he entered the Calm Belt again in the future, he wouldn't have to row the boat himself anymore, right?
With that thought, Sherwin began to look forward to the Log Pose Morgans was about to send him…
Yes, that how desperately he wanted to upgrade his ship!