Reef Town, located on Slakul Island in the North Blue, welcomed a group of special guests today.
"Big Sister Huamei, there are so many bad guys here! Can Klee Meow throw bombs now, meow?"
The little plush doll, now dressed in a black robe with red clouds, looked around eagerly as she requested permission from Huamei Meow beside her.
"Wait a bit longer, meow. When the stronger ones show up, we'll hand them over to Seijuro and Link. After that, Klee, you can use your bombs to deal with the weaker ones."
Huamei Meow gently patted the little plush head, speaking softly to calm her down.
Klee Meow narrowed her eyes and nodded, "Mm! Then later I'll let them witness Klee art, meow!"
Clearly, the little plush had already immersed herself in her role, seamlessly shifting from the first-generation Shadow Bomber into the Akatsuki Deidara.
Huamei Meow chuckled and shook her head, then led everyone toward the tavern in Reef Town…
Among pirates, very few disliked alcohol. From the surface, it looked as if the outcome of their investigation team was already set in stone.
For members of this temporary alliance who held some status, the chances of them hiding were slim—instead, the likelihood of celebrating early with champagne in the tavern was the greatest.
(=ΦωΦ=)bLink Meow feedback confirmed this. Before the Felynes even pushed the door open, his Observation Haki had already sensed several stronger presences inside the tavern.
Since that was the case…
"Klee, go ahead and bomb them, meow."
"Yay!"
(=`=)With permission granted, the little plush immediately swung open the small backpack on her back. Without even reaching a paw inside, fiery bombs floated out on their own.
After quickly rising into the air, they scattered like blossoming flowers, raining down across Reef Town, preparing a saturation bombardment of the entire place.
"Art is an explosion, meow!"
After Klee Meow childish yet spirited shout, the following explosions rang out like a chorus of Elder Dragons roaring in unison, shaking all of Reef Town.
A series of violent shockwaves accompanied the thunderous blasts, sweeping outward. The surrounding streets, buildings, and the pirates hiding within them were all engulfed by raging flames and rolling smoke.
"Klee made her move, huh…"
Lying on the deck sunbathing, Sherwin heard the sounds coming from the town. He didn't even bother to open his eyes, and his hands never paused in their motions, keeping the same steady rhythm as he gently stroked Haibara Meow, who was resting on his chest.
Haibara Meow twitched her ears, then shifted her position from lying on her stomach to lying on her side. Still with eyes closed, she lazily responded,
"Actually, there no need to go through so much trouble. Wouldn't it be easier to just let Klee toss bombs straight into the port, meow?"
"Well, we've got to let Seijuro and the others stretch their muscles a bit too," Sherwin scratched under Haibara chin, chatting idly with her.
"By the way, what about the one on our ship? Are you going to make a move?"
Through the Observation Haki of both Sherwin and Haibara Meow, they had already detected the sneaky figure that had climbed aboard. In fact, Haibara Meow didn't even need Haki—her hearing and sense of smell alone were more than enough to find him.
Sherwin cracked his eyes open just slightly, glancing toward the bow. There, a vague humanoid outline could be seen… That person had probably climbed aboard a few minutes ago.
Judging by his ability to blend into the environment, he had to be the Lizard Pirates vice-captain who had eaten the Chameleon Fruit.
However, compared to the Invisibility Fruit that could even fool Garp, the camouflage ability of the Lizard Fruit was far inferior.
Without Haki or the Felynes keen senses, even just careful observation would reveal a faint humanoid outline standing at that spot.
Arnold, who had climbed onto the Dodo Advance, was currently crouching motionlessly near Klee Meow figurehead.
Hearing the distant explosions and the conversation between Sherwin and Haibara Meow just now, a deep sense of dread welled up in his heart.
What did that look just now mean? Could it be that I've already been exposed? And what with those explosions earlier? Calm down… calm down… That bounty hunter probably just heard something and is trying to bluff me!
Arnold muttered to himself in panic, forcing out a reason even he didn't quite believe.
But just as he was hesitating—whether to launch a sudden attack, continue hiding, or turn and flee—he heard that cat, dressed in the newest Heyshu Panda children outfit, say:
"I'm not a battle maniac like Seijuro and the others, so I'm not interested, meow. You'd better hurry and deal with that idiot at the bow. He been standing there frozen like a fool this whole time, meow."
At that moment, Arnold no longer held onto any false hope. Without a word, he flipped over the railing and leapt off the ship.
The instant he landed, he turned and ran straight toward the town without looking back…
Although he was the second-in-command of the Lizard Pirates, his actual combat strength was rather mediocre.
He usually relied on his Devil Fruit ability for ambushes, which was also why very few people even knew about his powers.
In truth, Arnold hadn't come this time with the intention of attacking anyone (or any Felynes) aboard the ship.
His real goal was to take advantage of Sherwin drawing the attention of the other pirates, and then steal away the Devil Fruit from here directly.
It was precisely for this reason that, when someone in the Pirate Alliance suggested sending a group to assault the Dodo Advance, the temporary leader, who wanted to keep the prize all to himself, flatly rejected the idea.
However, Arnold had only taken two steps before Sherwin, who had landed beside him, grabbed him by the collar and slammed him hard into the ground.
"Wahhh—!"
With the sudden strike, Arnold blurry figure was forced to reveal itself.
He was now in a half-human, half-lizard form, covered in fine green scales. His eyes were eerily reminiscent of Bluebeard from Fate, and a long slender tail extended behind him.
Notably, Arnold was still wearing clothes—clearly, like most Devil Fruits, the Chameleon Fruit power could also affect the user clothing.
Though Arnold wasn't skilled in head-on combat, he was still a pirate. The moment he was slammed down, he immediately lashed out—spitting a sticky, slimy tongue straight at Sherwin face.
Ugh—what a disgusting way to attack.
Sherwin stepped back lightly, avoiding the tongue with a small retreating step, then drew his Longsword and granted Arnold a swift end.
Originally, he had even wanted to question Arnold about where the pirates had docked their ships, to save himself some time.
After finishing off Anold with a single slash, Sherwin immediately drew his hunter knife and stabbed into his body…
Then, he obtained a collector edition of Warrior of the Sea: Sky.
"Tch!"
As expected, the chances of digging out a Devil Fruit with just the hunter knife were still way too low, especially when Klee Meow wasn't around.
Disappointed, Sherwin chopped off Anold head and stuffed it into his pack along with the collector set of comics… In the past, he used to feel uneasy about shoving severed heads into his bag, but maybe after killing so many pirates, he gradually stopped caring.
It was the same with protecting Klee Meow. Back in the West Blue, Sherwin would never have let the little plush doll go on a killing spree like now, but under Haibara Meow persuasion, he had gradually loosened the restrictions on Klee Meow.
Speaking of which…
Sherwin glanced suspiciously toward the direction of Reef Town. After that initial massive explosion, the blasts hadn't stopped—every now and then, another explosion rang out. They weren't as overwhelming as the first, but the locations of the blasts kept shifting…
Could that little rascal Klee Meow be taking the chance to set off firecrackers for fun?