As expected, everyone shouted out names with their own unique style.
Only…
Klee Meow, you're using "Dodo Advance" again as the name? And Haibara Meow, you're not actually called Miyano Shiho, so how come you came up with "Sherry" as the ship name?
Sherwin looked at the Felynes around him, scratching his head in mild frustration.
It didn't matter if they didn't use the name "Hunter," but which name should they actually choose?
"Sherwin-nii, then let call it—The Beautiful Dodo Hunter Samurai Big Sister Maria Sherry!"
Klee Meow pointed at their new ship, once again suggesting a water-length name that mashed everything together.
This time, however, Sherwin shook his head and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, we won't be changing ships again in the future. If we pick a name like that, it wouldn't be fair to the Felynes who join us later."
"Then how about just calling it the Felyne?" Hua Mei Meow wasn't too fixated on names. She rubbed against the back of Sherwin hand. "As long as you don't mind that your name isn't part of it, meow."
"Of course I don't mind." Sherwin rubbed the little tabby head, then looked at the other Felynes. "What do you all think?"
Seijuro Meow and Haibara Meow didn't really care about whether their suggested names were used.
They seemed quite satisfied with "Felyne" as the name. But Sanji Meow muttered, "Isn't that name a little too plain, meow…"
Klee Meow also nodded in agreement, but her little expression looked a bit disappointed. It seemed she still preferred the name "Dodo Advance."
So Sherwin made the decision on the spot:
"Then it'll be called the Dodo Advance! Since the figurehead was made in Klee likeness, the naming rights should go to her too! I believe that our future companions will also agree with the name Klee picked!"
"Agreed, meow!"
"Master Sherwin speaks with reason, meow."
"Last time little Klee won the naming rights but didn't use them. This time, we'll make it up to her, meow."
"Hmph! Such a childish name… but since it from Klee, I don't have any objections, meow."
And so, the name of their new ship was settled.
Iceburg face twitched. "You guys… really want to give this ship that name?"
"Of course. Is there a problem with that?"
"No… as long as you're happy…" Iceburg opened his mouth, but in the end didn't say what he was thinking.
That little white kitten was clearly the group mascot. As an outsider, his opinion wasn't important at all.
And thinking it over… this ship was designed with a cute aesthetic to begin with. Only a cute name like this would truly match these adorable Felynes, wouldn't it?
Since Sherwin and the Felynes had already explored all of Water 7, they didn't linger. After handing over the final payment to Iceburg, Sherwin and his companions set sail on the Dodo Advance, leaving the shipyard behind.
What left Sherwin slightly regretful was that he didn't get the chance to witness the storm tide known as the "Aqua Laguna."
In addition, he had actually considered secretly killing that CP agent Bruno, who was disguised as a bartender, and extracting the Door-Door Fruit from him.
After all, that Devil Fruit came with its own built-in hiding space. From the perspective of keeping the Felynes safe, it would have been even more useful than a Logia.
But considering that the chances of extracting a Devil Fruit with a hunting blade were too low—and that his strength was already known by CP, leaving the risk of them deducing his involvement—Sherwin ultimately abandoned that tempting plan.
After sailing out from Galley-La shipyard, they didn't immediately leave. Instead, they lingered around the seas near Water 7.
Once Sherwin confirmed that Franky wouldn't appear with those two "Ox-Fishes," he gave Seijuro Meow a hand signal…
"Let go. Head to the next island."
Of course, the island Sherwin mentioned wasn't the one along Water 7 standard route. Even while enjoying himself these past days, he hadn't neglected business.
He had nearly completed collecting the permanent log poses needed to cross the Grand Line. As long as he followed their directions, after crossing four more islands, he would reach the Calm Belt on the other side.
The new ship was even faster than their old one. On top of that, Sherwin occasionally tricked Klee Meow—under the excuse of "training her Devil Fruit ability"—into helping accelerate the ship. Thanks to that, they soon arrived at their fourth target island.
Along the way, of course, they encountered and cooked various unfamiliar sea beasts and Sea Kings, and captured a few unlucky pirates to exchange for bounties.
The name of the Hunter was growing louder and louder across the seas.
As for the islands they passed through, compared to famous places like Water 7, the Gourmet City, or the Queen of Spring Island, they weren't impressive at all.
Their traits weren't even as distinct as that first Explosive Island they had landed on…
This left the Felynes quite disappointed.
No helping it—at the beginning, they had run into islands that perfectly matched Klee Meow and Sanji Meow tastes, like Explosive Island and Gourmet Island, not to mention the uniquely extraordinary Water 7.
With their expectations raised so high, these ordinary winter or summer islands with no striking features simply couldn't hold their interest.
Sherwin didn't linger long on these islands. After lighting up the map, he quickly left.
"Soon we'll be entering the Calm Belt. Klee, it going to be tough on you from here on out!" Sherwin patted the little plush Felyne head, the corners of his mouth lifting uncontrollably into a grin.
"I have a feeling Sherwin-nii is thinking about something bad, meow…"
(ω)
Klee Meow tilted her head up, scrutinizing Sherwin with suspicious eyes. In the end, she decided…
Better to just bite first!
"Awuu!"
The little plush Felyne grabbed Sherwin hand and chomped down hard.
Sherwin looked heartbroken… Even his little angel Klee Meow had learned bad habits. This was all that damn Sanji Meow fault!
The female-biased Hunter glared fiercely at the little yellow cat nearby. Sanji Meow, not knowing why Sherwin was acting crazy, still glared back defiantly.
"A bunch of idiots, meow."
Haibara Meow, who was reading a book, rolled her eyes. Then she picked up the empty cup beside her, gave it a little shake, and switched to a coquettish tone as she called out:
"Sanji-nii, could you refill my drink, meow?"
"Just a moment, Little Ai-chan, I'm coming right away, meow!" Sanji Meow immediately stopped his glaring contest with Sherwin and rushed off to serve Haibara Meow.
Amidst the noise and chatter, the Dodo Advance crossed the boundary between the Grand Line and the Calm Belt, entering a sea without the slightest waves, only faint ripples on the surface.
"No matter how many times I see it, I can't help but marvel at this ocean, meow… I still don't understand how it was formed. It as if someone deliberately divided the entire world into separate regions, meow."
As the one with the most extensive knowledge of navigation in the Research Commission, Hua Mei Meow was deeply curious about this climate and geography that completely defied common sense.
Only…
Man-made, yes, but probably not the kind of "man-made" you're imagining.
Sherwin glanced at Hua Mei Meow, who was lost in thought, and muttered silently to himself.
Though he had said that once they entered the Calm Belt they would rely on Klee Meow, Sherwin of course couldn't bear to truly exploit their little angel like that.
So, whenever Klee Meow threw a tantrum and declared she was "on strike," he had no choice but to obediently go row himself.
In their spare time, Sanji Meow and Shironagi Meow would also lend a paw at paddling…
Moments like this showed just how far-sighted Hua Mei Meow really was.
That day, after acting as the engine for a while, the little plush Felyne once again went on her routine strike.
As the Hunter guiding the way forward, Sherwin could only run off to row. But he hadn't been rowing for long when Hua Mei Meow, the one truly "guiding the way," shouted down from the mast—
"Admiral! There are ships ahead—looks like we've run into pirates, meow!"