"Beautiful big sister Felyne~ We're back, meow!"
(=`=)
The expected slave traders didn't appear. Instead, Sherwin returned with three little Felynes and several bubble bags filled to the brim to rejoin everyone.
Meanwhile, Purah Meow and Haibara Meow had already finished their research and material collection.
"Admiral, something feels strange, meow…"
Beautiful big sister Felyne patted the little doll Felyne that pounced on her, then leapt onto Sherwin shoulder.
She rubbed against him out of habit, then leaned close to his ear and quietly explained what had just happened on her side.
"...Even if I knocked out all the people tailing us, they shouldn't be this quiet. Normally, they'd send more people after us, meow."
"Maybe it because this isn't an easy place for them to make a move," Robin said as she came closer, analyzing the situation.
"I just checked the map of the Sabaody Archipelago. Area 40 isn't directly connected to the lawless zone, and since this is considered the 'face' of the whole island, there are quite a few Marines stationed here. So even if that group has their eyes on us, they wouldn't choose to act here… meow."
After hesitating for a moment, she still added the Felyne speech habit at the end.
As someone who had been on the run for twenty years, Robin was actually very skilled at disguises.
So even though she had only been whispering to Sherwin and the others — with no one else able to overhear — she still dutifully stayed in character as "Felyne Odelia."
Moreover, after putting on the Felyne outfit, Robin mimicked the typical movements and expressions of the Felynes perfectly.
Even in her spare moments, she would lick her "paws" a few times and "wash her face."
If those young idols back on Earth had even half of Robin dedication to her role… tsk tsk tsk…
Sherwin silently shook his head and sighed, then scratched Beautiful big sister Felyne chin as he said,
"Doesn't matter. They're just a bunch of nobodies — not worth paying attention to. When they show up, we'll just deal with them then."
"That true, meow~"
Beautiful big sister Felyne rubbed her cheek against Sherwin, no longer dwelling on it.
Seeing that their talk was over, Klee Meow immediately trotted over excitedly.
"Sherwin big brother! Are we going to the amusement park next, meow?!"
(=ω=)
"That right." Sherwin rubbed her furry little head, then scooped her up in his arms. Turning to the other Felynes, he said, "Let go! Destination — Sabaody Park!"
"Oh——!" ×5
(==)
All five Felynes — including Purah Meow and Sanji Meow — cheered in unison.
"Tch! A bunch of childish brats, meow!"
Haibara Meow crossed her arms and turned her face away with a disdainful snort.
Twenty minutes later…
"Sherwin! Let go play that one next, meow!"
(=ω=)σ
Haibara Meow tugged on Sherwin sleeve, pointing excitedly at the bubble pirate ship not far away.
Sherwin rolled his eyes speechlessly. He could deal with her usual tsundere attitude — he was long used to it — but still…
Wasn't this little one afraid of heights? How come she suddenly isn't scared at all when it a theme park ride?
Sherwin grumbled inwardly while leading the Felynes toward the bubble pirate ship.
"Huh? That really is a little strange…"
Even after everyone had gone through every ride in the amusement park, those slave traders still hadn't shown up. By now, even Sherwin was starting to get puzzled.
After all, Beautiful big sister Felyne had already taken care of a few of the tailing members earlier, and Sherwin himself occasionally sensed that someone was keeping an eye on them.
There was definitely a group targeting the Felynes — and they clearly hadn't given up yet.
So why hadn't they made a move?
Sherwin scratched his head, unable to figure out what those people were thinking. But soon, he tossed the thought aside again — it wasn't really that important anyway.
Compared to that...
"Come on, this way. Let check out that building — looks like a restaurant. You're all probably getting hungry, right?"
Sherwin suddenly stopped walking and pointed toward a building on the right.
"Yay, yay! Klee wants fish and noodles, meow!"
"Sherwin dear~" Shermie leapt onto Sherwin shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and whispered softly,
"That strange reaction from the crowd up ahead — it because of the Celestial Dragons, meow?"
Although none of them had actually seen a Celestial Dragon before and couldn't sense their presence with Observation Haki,
they could feel the people ahead suddenly parting to both sides of the street, obediently clearing a path…
It was obvious that a Celestial Dragon had come out for a stroll.
Sherwin glanced at Jinx first and saw she was still busy playing around with Klee Meow, paying no attention to this side.
Then he gave a small nod and raised his finger to his lips, motioning to Shermie with a quiet "shh."
"The one walking in front is a Celestial Dragon, right? Want me to strike him with lightning, meow?"
Shermie continued whispering into Sherwin ear.
Huh?
Sherwin eyes suddenly lit up — Shermie Observation Haki had awakened. Just like Enel back then, it wouldn't be difficult for her to deliver a "divine punishment" to a Celestial Dragon.
However, as tempting as that suggestion was, Sherwin ultimately shook his head and refused.
Unless Shermie never revealed her Devil Fruit ability again, as long as anyone investigated their actions even a little, suspicion would easily fall on the investigation team.
Moreover, if anything happened to a Celestial Dragon, the entire Sabaody Archipelago would definitely go into lockdown...
and then how would he get to Marineford to retrieve the Devil Fruit?
Better to wait for another opportunity.
Shermie didn't take his rejection to heart. Her understanding of the Celestial Dragons so far came only from what Sherwin and Robin had told her.
Without witnessing them firsthand, the Felynes simply couldn't imagine just how truly vile the Celestial Dragons could be.
After all, the Monster Hunter world was a simple and honest place. Under the constant threat of monsters, humans, wyverians, and other intelligent species hardly had the time or energy to engage in internal strife.
After deliberately avoiding the Celestial Dragons and finding a decent restaurant to settle their lunch,
Sherwin group followed a flyer handed to them along the way and soon arrived at an auction house — one that fortunately had nothing to do with human trafficking.
Although the flyer didn't list any Devil Fruits among the auctioned items, it did mention a famed weapon—or more precisely, a "famed hammer."
It was said to have once been quite famous.
Since Sherwin was currently collecting blunt weapons to see if he could obtain a fragment of a striking-type Felyne, naturally, he had to come take a look.
Aside from that, there were also some rather peculiar items up for auction.
For example: treasure maps of questionable authenticity, eggs from unknown creatures, animals imported from other islands, materials with strange properties, blueprints of Vegapunk early inventions, fragments of ancient ruins, old and valuable tomes, and so on...
Sherwin wasn't particularly interested in these, but Robin and the Felynes had their eyes on several of the items.
The auction itself was uneventful. The Celestial Dragons had no interest in these "ordinary" items, so naturally, none of them attended this auction.
And since Sherwin had recently made a small fortune on Skypiea, he wasn't worried about competing with anyone.
With just a bit of spare change, Sherwin easily won all the items that he and the others (cats) fancied.
Among them was a Western-style war hammer called "Cerberus." Its design wasn't anything special, but according to the auctioneer, it had once belonged to a famous figure from before the Great Pirate Era.
Unfortunately, despite its impressive background, the hammer didn't grant Sherwin any summon fragments.
And since this Western-style war hammer wasn't the kind of hunting hammer he was used to, it simply became another addition to his collection...
I can't exactly go rob Kaido Hassaikai, right?
Hmm, it'd probably be more realistic to snatch Yamato Takeru or Smoker Jitte instead.
Too bad Enel golden staff got blown up by Klee Meow big bomb, or that would've counted too.
As Sherwin pondered what other famous blunt weapons existed in the One Piece world, he carefully stowed away Cerberus and led the Felynes toward the lawless district...
It was about time to let the cats stretch their legs a bit.