Whether Klee Meow did it on purpose or by accident, since things had already come to this point, Shakky couldn't be bothered to keep hiding it anymore.
She said straightforwardly, "That right. For certain reasons, I don't welcome this Hunter. I know he wasn't at fault in those two incidents, but I still can't act as if nothing happened."
Hm? Two incidents?Sherwin raised a brow in confusion, then leaned back as realization dawned on him…
So Shakky was counting the conflict between him and Hancock as one of them.
Tch! I was clearly the one who got attacked that time.
Sherwin clicked his tongue and looked annoyed.
"Two incidents?" Klee Meow curiously tugged at his ear. "Sherwin-nii, do you know which two she talking about, meow?"
"How would I know?" Sherwin kept up the act. "Maybe one of her friends was a pirate we took down?"
"…That right." Shakky paused for a moment, then nodded in admission. She then said in a tone that clearly meant dismissal,
"That why you're not welcome here. I won't be doing business with you either, so you'd better leave soon."
"How can you blame Sherwin-nii for that?" Klee Meow puffed up her cheeks, her earlier good impression of Shakky vanishing in an instant.
"We only take down bad pirates! If he was defeated by us, that means he must've done bad things, meow!"
(=`н=)Shakky sighed helplessly. "Actually, Hachi isn't a bad person. He just… not very bright."
Sherwin smirked dismissively. So even in this world, pirates can claim insanity as an excuse for killing?
"Hachi? Who that, meow?"
(=ω=)
Klee Meow tilted her head in confusion and looked up at Sherwin.
Explaining it would've been troublesome, so Sherwin played dumb again and shrugged.
"We've taken down so many pirates, there no way I'd remember all their names."
"That true," the little doll nodded seriously.
"Either way, they're all bad guys. They deserved what they got, meow!"
Shakky slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, her expression turning a little complicated.
At first, she hadn't even known that Hachi had been taken down. After all, she didn't have much of a relationship with the Fish-Men, and the East Blue was quite far away.
It wasn't until Hancock started asking around about Sherwin, and Shakky helped her look into information about the Hunter, that she learned about the Arlong Pirates — and what they'd done back in the East Blue.
Having once been a pirate herself, Shakky naturally understood that Hachi downfall was his own doing.
Besides, once you choose to be a pirate, you've already wagered your life on the sea.
Even if Hachi hadn't been killed by Sherwin — if it had been the Marines or another pirate crew instead — neither she nor Rayleigh would have sought revenge.
Even with Sherwin standing here before her, Shakky had no intention of doing anything. She simply didn't welcome him.
"Hachi was just a small-time pirate without much strength. It normal you wouldn't know him," Shakky sighed again, then waved her hand as if to send them off.
"He chose to be a pirate, so death was always a possibility. Still, he was our friend. That why I just won't do business with you — that all. Any problem with that?"
Truthfully, Sherwin had already expected that Shakky might not welcome him — maybe even that she'd make a move against him.
The fact that she was merely refusing to do business was already one of the better outcomes he had anticipated.
Since she'd made her stance this clear, there was no point in pushing further. The only thing he regretted was not getting to see Rayleigh.
Smacking his lips, Sherwin gave a helpless shrug. "Alright, that fair enough… Shall we go then?"
He motioned for the other Felynes to follow, ready to leave, when he noticed Klee Meow still staring with her wide, puzzled eyes fixed on Shakky.
"What wrong?"
Sherwin scratched her chin lightly.
The little doll turned her gaze back to him and said, "That lady really strange, meow. She said she doesn't like you, but when she told us to leave, I could feel a kind of kindness from her, meow…"
(=ω=)
Klee Meow blinked her big eyes, her cute little face turning serious as she analyzed earnestly, "It like she thinks making us leave is actually a good thing, meow."
"Huh?"
Sherwin rubbed his chin, glancing suspiciously at Shakky.
Could it be… Rayleigh coming back soon?
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Sherwin immediately lost all desire to leave.
Because…
One of the main reasons he'd come here in the first place was to have a match with Rayleigh.
Just like Garp back then, Rayleigh was one of those rare top-tier fighters he could spar with without it turning into a death match.
Now that they were about to head into the New World — a sea filled with monsters of every kind — it was the perfect chance to gauge the power level of someone from that realm.
Back in Foosha Village, they'd fought Garp, but their strength gap had been huge at the time, and several of the Felynes hadn't even been around yet.
Sherwin figured it was necessary for them to experience firsthand what the high-end power of this world was like…
Especially that troublemaking little lunatic, Jinx.
Besides, cautious — or rather, cunning — as Sherwin was, he wouldn't have dared to come looking for Rayleigh after taking down Hachi if he'd only relied on what he knew from the manga.
He wasn't naïve enough to believe the man would really hold back just because of that.
If things went south, he could immediately bring up Crocus and Ace to defuse the situation.
And honestly, Sherwin didn't think they were completely outmatched anyway.
Their investigation team had both Haki users and Logia abilities — if they really couldn't win, escaping should still be perfectly doable.
With Rayleigh desire for seclusion, it was unlikely he would go after them relentlessly.
After all, if he had truly wanted to avenge Hachi, he would have come knocking long ago.
"Observation Haki with special abilities, huh?" Having seen much in her time, Shakky didn't show any surprise.
She simply gave Klee Meow a thoughtful glance, then turned to Sherwin, who suddenly seemed to have no intention of leaving.
"Since you already know I meant well, shouldn't you be on your way? Sometimes, too much curiosity isn't a good thing."
However, Sherwin, already set on his decision, didn't leave. Instead, he sat down in the bar with the Felynes and grinned at Shakky.
"Thanks for the concern, but cats are creatures with insatiable curiosity. After spending so much time with them, I've picked up some of that myself. So I'd really like to see—why are you so eager to drive us away?"
"Hmph! Suit yourselves."
Shakky had only wanted to warn Sherwin for the Felyne sake. Seeing that he wouldn't take her advice, she couldn't be bothered to say more.
From what she knew of Rayleigh, at most, he'd just beat Sherwin half to death.
Then she turned to Klee Meow and the others. Her once-cool expression softened instantly.
"What would you like to have? The food here pretty ordinary—nothing compared to that Sanji Meow cooking—but the drinks are plentiful."
Shakky attitude further confirmed to Sherwin that he wasn't in any real danger.
Of course, if Rayleigh strength far exceeded expectations, getting beaten up was probably inevitable.
But to Sherwin, even being roughed up by Rayleigh wouldn't be a bad thing—it would at least give him a clear sense of the gap between himself and a true top-tier master.
And if their power difference wasn't that great... all the better.
That would mean they wouldn't have to worry too much about safety even once they reached the New World.
The Felynes, however, didn't think that deeply. At Shakky invitation, they all scampered up to the bar and started ordering drinks.
"Klee wants ice cream, meow!"
(=`=)
The little ragdoll, as always, was the first to rush forward.
"You've got good taste for a human. I'll take your signature drink then, meow!"
Sanji Meow, having just been praised, immediately took a liking to Shakky.
Since he often sparred with Sherwin, he figured the two of them might actually have plenty in common.
As for Sherwin, he knew well enough that Shakky didn't care much for him, so he wisely kept his distance.
He pulled out a bottle of Magic Valley specialty drink (Sanji Meow edition) from his bag and took a sip.
"Boss lady, since you're already treating us, does that mean we can buy some information from you now, meow?"
Without even needing a signal from Sherwin, the sharp and capable Haibara Meow took the initiative to question Shakky.
Shakky frowned, but in the end, she nodded for the sake of the adorable Felynes.
"What do you want to know? Ask away. But because of Sherwin, I'll be charging twenty percent more than usual."
True to the reputation of someone who openly hung a "Rip-Off Bar" sign over her door, Shakky didn't bother to hide her intent to squeeze some extra out of Sherwin.
However…
Only twenty percent more? That lighter than I expected.
Sherwin quietly sipped his drink, keeping his ears open to listen to their conversation.
"We want to know the locations of every slave trader hideout on this island, meow."
Knowing the situation was sensitive, Haibara Meow didn't bother haggling and directly stated their request.
"You plan to wipe out the slave traders?" Shakky was taken aback for a moment, then said something similar to what that attacker before had said.
"Those people can't be completely wiped out. As long as the World Government allows the slave trade on this island, more will keep appearing."
"What that got to do with us?" Sherwin finally couldn't hold back from speaking. "I just want payback for their attack, nothing more."
Shakky glanced at the not-so-convincing Hunter, then pulled a more detailed map of the Sabaody Archipelago from beneath the counter.
She circled several points with a pen and handed it to Haibara Meow.
"These are all the locations I know." She tapped the counter lightly with her finger.
"This time, I won't charge you. I can't stand those people either."
After all, the Boa Sisters had once fallen into the hands of the Celestial Dragons because of those very slavers.
Compared to Sherwin, Shakky despised them even more.
"Hehe~ Klee knew it! Auntie, you're a good person, meow~"
(=`=)
The little plush Felyne twitched her ears and pushed the empty cup forward.
"Klee Meow wants another ice cream, meow!"
Hearing Klee Meow compliment, Shakky was in a great mood. With a cheerful smile, she stacked scoops of ice cream high into the little plush cup, then casually shared a few bits of moderate gossip with the Felynes.
In return, Huamei Meow also shared a few pieces of information.
For example… about how they'd given Gecko Moria quite a beating.
While Shakky and the Felynes were chatting happily, the bar door suddenly swung open.
A white-haired, white-bearded old man with a scar over his right eye and a pair of glasses stumbled in, head tilted back as he poured liquor straight down his throat.
"Got any guests today?"
After draining the last drop, Rayleigh lowered his head—and saw a room full of Felynes, along with one human who stood out among them: Sherwin.
"Oh? So it you… the Hunter, Sherwin."
Rayleigh gaze fixed on him, and a dangerous smile appeared on his face.
"Ah… I didn't expect to run into the famed first mate of the Roger Pirates here—Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King."
Sherwin nodded politely, returning the gesture with a calm smile.