"Boom boom boom boom boom boom—!"
Cracker, who had been slashed and sent flying by Sherwin, smashed through an entire row of buildings by the harbor before finally crashing into a construction site piled high with stone blocks. He was buried beneath the rubble.
Fortunately, before the fight began, the nearby residents had already sensed the danger and evacuated in advance. Only a few reckless reporters—desperate for news and intel—remained, hiding at the side while frantically snapping photos with their cameras.
Sherwin ignored those "colleagues" and followed along the path Cracker had blasted through until he reached him.
Picking up the longsword that had fallen nearby, Sherwin used it to push aside the debris, revealing the unconscious Cracker…
Although Cracker had initially said that if Sherwin defeated him, he could take him in for a bounty…
The problem was, the picture on Cracker wanted poster showed his Biscuit Warrior form. It wasn't certain whether the Marines would even recognize his real body.
Besides, if Sherwin really turned him in, that would completely offend BIG MOM. Sherwin still wanted to visit Totto Land one day, to admire Big Mom collection of rare creatures and enrich his Hunter Handbook with more entries in the monster index.
But just letting him go felt like a loss… If the Hunter Dagger always guaranteed a drop, Sherwin would've just stabbed him right then. The problem was, the drop rate on that thing was way too low…
Wait a second—Morgans, that birdman, had a pretty good relationship with BIG MOM.
Rubbing his chin, Sherwin thought it over for a long while and decided to first call his "boss" and discuss it.
So he slung the Longsword back over his shoulder, then carried the longsword Cracker had dropped in one hand and dragged Cracker himself with the other, heading back toward the Dodo Advance.
"Oh! Sherwin-nii won, meow!"
(=`=)
Klee Meow was the first to pounce over, rubbing her little head affectionately against Sherwin.
Seijuro Meow, on the other hand, crouched down beside Cracker and curiously asked, "Isn't he one of the Four Emperors officers? How come he doesn't seem that strong, meow?"
"Actually, his strength is pretty decent," Sherwin said helplessly, shrugging his shoulders. "He just didn't manage to bring it out properly."
Cracker strength was by no means weak. He might even be stronger than old Grandpa Chinjao, who had lost his drill head and grown old. His Armament Haki was also about on par with Sherwin current level…
And Sherwin Armament Haki had been forced out of him, thanks to Klee Meow constant explosions.
Yet despite such strength, once Cracker "armor" was broken and he lost a head-on clash with Sherwin, his movements immediately became restricted. His focus in battle shifted from trying to win to simply avoiding injury.
With that mindset, Cracker probably didn't even use half of his true power. The only real display was when he managed to block the final strike of Scarlet Heaven End. Otherwise, he would've been killed outright by that blow.
Recalling the manga, when Cracker fought Luffy, he had also mostly just summoned Biscuit Soldiers instead of fighting himself. In the end, he was defeated by Gear Fourth Tankman rubber rebound…
So how on earth did this guy train his Armament Haki to such a level?
With that question lingering, Sherwin tied Cracker up with Seastone he had obtained from Garp, then pulled out a Den Den Mushi to call Morgans.
As for the Homies, who were all in disarray nearby, Sherwin had no time to deal with them for now.
"Hahaha! Sherwin, it been a while since you last called me. How have you been lately? I heard your traveling restaurant is quite popular in the North Blue."
As soon as the call connected, Morgans greeted him warmly…
After all, every time Sherwin called, he always brought him some kind of "surprise." Morgans was looking forward to what special scoop he might get this time.
"Yeah… it just that it gotten a bit too popular…"
Sherwin let out a deliberately heavy sigh and followed along with Morgans words.
On the other end of the line, Morgans immediately perked up. His "news radar" had clearly picked something up—Sherwin was about to deliver another "surprise."
"What happened?!" Morgans asked impatiently.
"It nothing major. BIG MOM must have come across some introduction about our restaurant, so she sent Cracker to try and bring us to Totto Land," Sherwin replied in a calm tone.
"Mm, since I didn't want to change my travel plans, I just knocked him down."
"…"
"What do you mean 'nothing major'?! If this isn't big news, then what is?! This is even more outrageous than the time you wiped out that whole group of pirates!!!"
After a brief silence, Morgans burst out shouting, his voice shrill with excitement.
Sherwin pulled the Den Den Mushi a little farther away as the bird squawked into a frenzy.
Once Morgans finished venting, he finally calmed down a bit. Then he suddenly remembered Sherwin usual way of handling things…
"You're not planning to have me suppress this piece of news again, are you?"
"Not really. When I fought Cracker, there were a few reporters watching nearby. You should be receiving the reports they sent out any moment now."
"Oh? So that how it is…" The sound of papers rustling came through from Morgans side, followed by his astonished voice:
"You actually defeated Cracker on your own?! Little Klee and the others didn't help?!"
Just how much does this birdman look down on me?!Sherwin curled his lip in annoyance, but still answered "truthfully":
"That because I recently got a new weapon that happens to counter his Devil Fruit ability."
"You mean that weapon in the photo—the one shaped like some kind of cutlass fish?" Morgans had clearly noticed the distinctively shaped blade in Sherwin hand.
"Yeah, it called the Fish Longsword. Its special effect is that it can channel streams of water when attacking. Against it, all of Cracker biscuits were completely useless."
Anyway, Morgans was definitely going to report this, so Sherwin decided to take the opportunity and have him spread the word about his fish longsword.
As for fish longsword ability being exposed — Sherwin didn't care at all. If it could counter every ability-user, he'd keep it hidden, but White Nagi only had a limited range: it could bully Cracker and the Sand Croc a bit, but that was it. Exposure wouldn't be a big deal.
"Oh…" Morgans sounded a little thrown by why Sherwin was suddenly pitching his weapon. After a couple of automatic "ohs," he asked, curious, "So — why did you call me again?"
"For Cracker," Sherwin answered quickly. "I've got this guy in my hands right now. What do you think I should do?"
"Of course you let him go!"
That really surprised Morgans — he knew how Sherwin usually dealt with pirates, and Cracker was one of Big Mom commanders!
Worried Sherwin might just off Cracker on the spot, Morgans hurriedly warned, "The Yonko crews aren't like other pirates. Don't do something stupid! Even if you don't fear Big Mom revenge, think about Klee and the others!"
"Uh… I'm not going to do anything to him. I'm not an idiot."
Sherwin rolled his eyes in exasperation.
If his last move had actually killed Cracker outright, that would have been one thing — but since the man had survived, finishing him off now would be an obvious provocation.
Even if Big Mom didn't care about Cracker life, she would come after him for face, and that wouldn't be worth it.
Still, Sherwin didn't want to just hand the man back, because…
"I feel like I'd be at a loss if I just returned him… And what if Big Mom stubbornly sends people to bother me again? I can't just beat up whoever shows up and then keep returning them, can I?"
"So that what you were worried about," Morgans immediately said, taking it all on himself.
"Leave it to me. I still have some ties with Big Mom — I can talk to her for you. But as for ransom, forget it. She a Yonko after all she'd never agree to something that humiliating."
Originally, Morgans had only planned to play the middleman and let Sherwin contact Big Mom directly.
But considering Sherwin habit of stabbing people right in the lungs with his words, Morgans decided to step in personally and look after this troublesome "subordinate" of his — one he both loved and hated.
"…Fine then."
Sherwin smacked his lips, a little disappointed.
That Morgans, the so-called "leader," would take the initiative to mediate was unexpected. Sherwin had only wanted a contact method so he could negotiate with Big Mom himself.
Still, this wasn't bad either. He hadn't had much hope of getting ransom money out of her in the first place. If Morgans could at least get Big Mom to back off, then so be it — no ransom was no ransom.
Of course…