Sherwin naturally couldn't easily believe Perona sudden surrender. So, he took out a pair of Seastone handcuffs and locked them around her wrists.
As a Devil Fruit user, even if Perona transformed into her ghost form, she couldn't escape the suppression effect of Seastone.
The moment the cuffs clicked shut, her entire body went limp and collapsed onto the ground—and then…
"Meow! Those two ghosts are gone, meow!"
∑(=ΦДΦ=)
Seeing the two Negative Ghosts that Link Meow and the others had captured vanish into thin air, Haibara Meow panicked and hurriedly opened the Seastone jar in her paws.
Just as Sherwin had suspected, the two Negative Ghosts he'd sealed inside earlier had also disappeared.
"After all, those ghosts were summoned through her Fruit ability. Something like this happening is within my expectations, meow."
Haibara Meow twitched her ears, quickly recovering from her brief panic.
She stuffed the Seastone jar back into her pack and tried to sound calm and composed as she spoke.
Hmm… if that little kitten hadn't been so flustered when she was opening the jar just now, Sherwin might have actually believed her.
"What? You got some kind of meow-problem with me?!"
(=`へ=)
Apparently, Sherwin amused look was too obvious, because Haibara Meow puffed up her fur in irritation and glared at him.
"How would I dare to have a problem with Lady Ai?" Sherwin said, reaching out to rub the little kitten head.
"You're the most important medical Felyne in our investigation team. I wouldn't dare offend you, no matter what~"
Then Haibara Meow bit him.
After teasing the little kitten, Sherwin looked around. Earlier, they had been focused entirely on capturing the Negative Ghosts and Perona.
The zombies that Klee Meow had burned to ashes earlier had long since scattered and vanished without a trace.
In addition, his Observation Haki sensed that not far away, within the nearby forest, there was a group of people cautiously watching them.
They were most likely the poor souls whose shadows had been taken by Moria.
Most of them were probably pirates, which explained why they didn't dare show themselves in front of Sherwin, a bounty hunter.
Sherwin had no intention of making contact with them either. He used his Longsword to lift the Seastone handcuffs on Perona wrists, then slung the chain over his shoulder, hanging her behind his back like that.
"Let keep moving. Who knows what Moria up to right now? Things have already turned into such a mess, and he still hasn't shown himself... Don't tell me he run away?"
"Moria-sama would never run away! Once he gets here, he'll make you all pay!"
Perona snapped angrily, struggling a little as she hung there.
But Sherwin merely glanced back at her once, and she immediately panicked.
"I—I'm sorry! That was my fault just now! Please don't hurt me!"
"Meow-hahaha! Sherwin-nii, this big sister may be a little dumb, but she surprisingly funny! Klee wants to keep her as a pet now, meow! Hah—!"
(=`Д=)
Klee Meow said as she leapt onto Sherwin shoulder, baring her tiny fangs and waving her paws menacingly at the dangling Perona.
Perona: "…"
"Huh? Why aren't you scared of Klee, meow?"
(=ω=)
The little doll tilted her head curiously. "When Sherwin-nii just looked at you, you were so scared you almost cried, meow… Are you looking down on Klee?!"
(=`н=)
The tiny doll puffed up angrily, questioning her with a glare.
Perona: "…"
Although she knew that now was probably the time to play along and pretend to be frightened by this little cat antics, still…
Klee Meow "ferociously cute" look made it impossible for Perona to feel even the slightest bit of fear!
Fortunately, at that moment, Kumashi and the other zombies that had escaped earlier had dragged Hogback out of the laboratory.
Following his summons, the slumbering General Zombies began to awaken one after another, forming ranks and appearing before Sherwin and the others.
Among them, of course, was the dragon-slaying samurai Ryuma Shimotsuki, the one with Brook shadow.
If you looked closely, he indeed bore a few similarities to Zoro.
"Miss Klee, please refrain from attacking that samurai for now," said Brook as he drew his cane sword and walked toward Zombie Ryuma.
"I want to see if I can reclaim my shadow with my own strength."
"Okay, Klee wasn't that interested in burning zombies anymore anyway, meow."
The little doll sat on Sherwin shoulder, leisurely licking her paw and washing her face while muttering in a "quiet" voice, "Sherwin-nii never lets Klee throw bombs…"
Sherwin flicked her tiny nose, annoyed. "You've had enough fun for now. Why don't you go ask Hwa Mei if she'll let you throw bombs instead?"
"Then… never mind, meow." Klee Meow shrank her neck, wisely deciding against it.
"Let just leave the rest of the enemies to Seijuro-nii and the others."
"What do you all think?" Sherwin turned to the others (and the cats) following Klee Meow words.
"These zombies may have lost some of their strength because they're already dead, but they were all skilled fighters when alive.
The shadows beneath their feet aren't weak either. It a good chance for you to get some practice...
Hmm, though for Link and Seijuro, it might not help much—since the dead can't use Haki."
In the original story, most of these General Zombies hadn't even had a chance to show off their power before getting smashed flat by Oars, the one possessing Luffy shadow.
But that didn't mean they were weak—after all, they shared the same title as Samurai Ryuma.
Even if the shadows they carried weren't as strong as Brook, their physical abilities shouldn't be that far behind.
Even though Sherwin didn't quite understand why these corpses—left here for decades—could still retain most of their strength from when they were alive.
The attention-loving Shermie shook her head regretfully. "If I use my ability, it no fun, meow. But if I don't use it, I can't beat them… so I'll pass, meow."
Robin and Purah Meow were in similar situations.
Sanji Meow, on the other hand, wore a disgusted expression. "These ingredients are already spoiled and rotten. There no point in handling them, meow."
"Damn it! I didn't even consider that Devil Fruits could be used to control corpses. All the reagents I developed are useless now, meow!"
Haibara Meow crossed her arms and grumbled in frustration.
"You're a healing-type Felyne—why are you always thinking about fighting?"
Sherwin said with a helpless laugh as he scooped the little kitten into his arms, rubbing his chin against the top of her fluffy head.
"It not like we're short on fighters."
"Even healing-type support Felynes need to participate in battle!" Haibara Meow argued righteously.
"Healing-type support Felynes have always been popular among Hunters, meow!"
Hmm… that wasn't wrong. When Sherwin played the game, he always liked bringing along a healer Felyne—sometimes, that one timely heal made all the difference.
"This time, just leave all the enemies to me," Huamei Meow drew her sword and said to Link Meow and Seijuro Meow.
"My Armament Haki hasn't made much progress. Maybe I need a bit of external pressure, meow."
The two cutting-type Felynes who had originally planned to join the fight immediately stepped back, obediently taking up their positions to support Lord Tiger instead.