"Blu, blu, blu…"
After some time had passed since leaving the battlefield, the Transponder Snail that Morgans had gifted Sherwin suddenly rang.
As soon as the call connected, the snail mouth echoed with Morgans' wild, manic laughter:
"Hahahahaha! Sherwin, you've done something huge this time! This is big enough to make the front page of the main edition! If nothing else happens in the coming days, it might even become the headline!"
"Ah?" Sherwin was stunned for a moment, then double-checked the bounties of those pirates.
"Aren't you exaggerating a bit? Not a single one of those pirates had a bounty over a hundred million. How could something like this make the front page headline?"
"..."
Morgans was speechless for quite a while before finally giving Sherwin an explanation with a complicated tone:
"Even though the highest bounty among them was only… tch! No, that not right. There was one over eighty million… wait, that doesn't sound right either…"
He hesitated for a bit, then simply skipped over the confusing details and continued,
"Anyway, in the 'Paradise' seas, their bounties aren't considered low. And more importantly, more than a dozen pirate crews were wiped out all at once. When you add up all those bounties, it no small sum. Of course it can make the front page. Whether it becomes the headline depends on the circumstances."
When it came to news, Morgans was always meticulous. Once again, he emphasized how the news would be arranged.
"But wasn't the speed at which you dealt with them a little too fast? By the time my people arrived, there were only scraps of pirate ships left floating in the sea." Morgans finally got to the true reason for this call.
"So, can you tell me how you managed to wipe them all out in such a short time?"
For auctions like this—held on fixed schedules—Morgans usually arranged for his reporters to stay stationed nearby.
They were always waiting for the inevitable pirate brawls that broke out afterward. After all, this kind of chaos had happened more than once or twice.
And after learning that the Devil Fruit had been purchased by Sherwin, Morgans had even instructed his subordinates to give him a hand if necessary.
After all, Sherwin could be considered part of the World Economy News Paper extended circle.
What Morgans hadn't expected was that Sherwin would wipe out all the pirates so quickly and so easily… When his subordinates reported the matter to him, it had given him quite the shock.
"It was all Klee work, meow~ It was Klee bombs, meow!"
A fluffy little head popped out from behind Sherwin shoulder, shouting toward the Transponder Snail where Morgans was listening.
Sherwin scratched Klee Meow chin and added with a wry smile, "That right, it was basically all thanks to Klee. But if possible, could you keep this news under wraps? Or at least don't mention Klee and the others."
"Well now…" Morgans dragged out his words.
"Sherwin, you know what news means to me. While this isn't the kind of explosive, must-publish, world-shaking news I can't ignore… I don't do things that don't bring me any benefit."
Sherwin let out a helpless sigh and decided to keep squeezing the CP organization for all it was worth: "Stussy is a CP agent."
"…What did you just say?!!" Morgans froze for a long moment before letting out a roar loud enough to blow the roof off: "You're not joking?!"
"If you want me to provide proof, then no, I don't have any," Sherwin replied, half-truth, half-lie.
"But my Observation Haki is a little special—I'm extremely sensitive to auras. Stussy carries an aura that very similar to that CP agent from the West Blue. And this kind of aura is hidden very deeply. If I hadn't run into that CP before, I never would have noticed it."
"That really is quite the shocking piece of information…" Morgans clicked his tongue.
He seemed convinced by Sherwin words, and with some surprise he added, "I didn't expect that you've awakened Observation Haki. No wonder you dared to cross the Calm Belt and the Grand Line."
Clearly, his earlier understanding of Sherwin strength had been way off.
"So, about this news?"
"Suppressing it completely is impossible," Morgans said.
"More than ten pirate crews being annihilated at the same time—there no way something like that can be hidden. But I promise you, I won't mention those Felynes by your side in the report."
"That fine then."
Sherwin nodded with satisfaction. He knew full well that with the cats' abilities, this secret wouldn't stay hidden for long. Still, buying some time was worth it.
Then Morgans asked, "So how should I refer to you in the papers? As a 'Traveler'? Or as the 'Cat Swordsman' who already made a name for himself in East Blue and West Blue?"
"Uh… neither!" Sherwin refused without hesitation. "If I must have a title, I want to be called the hunter!"
"Hmph! What so bad about 'Cat Swordsman,' meow?" Haibara Meow suddenly appeared, just like Klee Meow had earlier, voicing her discontent.
And Klee Meow, who had already heard Sherwin explain this before, joined in to stir up trouble as well:
"Yeah, yeah! Why don't you like that nickname, Sherwin-nii, meow?" As she spoke, she kept tugging insistently at Sherwin ear.
"The nickname Cat Swordsman suits Seijuro better, doesn't it? Besides, I'm already a Hunter, aren't I?"
Sherwin lifted the mischievous little ragdoll from his shoulder and placed her on his lap, scratching her belly.
Klee Meow burst into laughter, quickly forgetting the small matter from before, and started play-fighting with Sherwin hands.
After unexpectedly discovering a huge secret, Morgans no longer had any intention of disturbing Sherwin.
Though he was curious about how that title Hunter had come about, he was tactful enough not to press the question. Instead, he chatted casually with Sherwin for a bit before hanging up the call.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. Following the Sea Train tracks, Sherwin and his companions pressed forward.
They passed by Shift Station on the way, but Sherwin had no interest in that mermaid granny who had fallen victim to Oda curse, so they didn't stop there. Before long, they smoothly arrived at Water 7.
"Waaaaahhh—what a huge fountain, meow!" Klee Meow stood on the figurehead of the Cathead Ship, cheering loudly toward the colossal fountain-shaped city in the distance.
(==)Even Haibara Meow, usually indifferent in temperament, couldn't help but reveal an expression of amazement. "What a magical and magnificent city…"
The city of Water 7 before them wasn't just like a fountain—it was one. At the very center and highest point of the city stood a massive three-tiered fountain spewing seawater.
The cascading streams flowed downward layer by layer, just like champagne trickling down a pyramid of glasses, spreading across every corner of the city before returning to the sea.
If other cities in the pirate world were simply island towns built by the shore, then Water 7 was truly a city upon the sea—a genuine floating city.
Though there were streets for pedestrians, the waterways dominated, serving as the city main thoroughfares.
Thanks to this, Sherwin and his companions could sail their ship directly into the heart of the city.
Of course, after passing through the outer "walls" of the city, they still had to dock their ship at the inner harbor and switch to smaller boats or sea bulls, which were far more convenient for moving around Water 7… though Sherwin never really understood why these creatures, which looked more like horses, were called sea bulls.
"Sherwin-nii, these sea bulls are so fun, meow!" Klee Meow leaned against the railing, staring at the small sea bulls leisurely swimming in the water.
She licked her lips. "They also look really tasty, meow."
"Ne—!"
The sea bulls, who had originally been curious and wanted to approach the little ragdoll, were instantly frightened and scattered in all directions.
"Don't mess around, they're going to be our transportation." Sherwin picked Klee Meow up from the railing, then went to rent two small sea bulls from the owner. Riding them, he went off to exchange the bounties first.
Although Water 7 didn't have a Marine base, it did have a special office dedicated to bounty exchanges.
Pirates who were handed over would be put straight onto the Sea Train and sent directly to Enies Lobby.
Of course, in cases like Sherwin—where only the head was delivered—things didn't need to be nearly that troublesome.
After exchanging the bounty, Sherwin decided to split up with the Felynes for a while…