As a seasoned monster hunter, one would inevitably prepare as thoroughly as possible for all kinds of unexpected situations before setting out to hunt a monster.
So, the moment Kaido appeared, Sherwin had already taken advantage of the fact that Kaido attention wasn't on them and quietly discussed several plans with Huamei.
Previously, contacting Shermie Meow and having her pilot the Dodo Advance to charge in at the critical moment and then flee immediately was merely Plan A—the plan with the highest feasibility and safety among all of them. And by all accounts, that plan could already be considered a success…
It was just that no matter how much Sherwin prepared in advance, he had never expected a teleport fruit user to suddenly appear.
Good thing I'm used to keeping a few extra tricks up my sleeve.
Sherwin forced a bitter smile and comforted himself.
Only…
Plan B, which had just used Seastone to restrain Kaido, had already failed as well.
So now, the only thing left was to try Plan C—the one that required risking his life.
I never thought a coward like me would have a day where I'd take the initiative to cover the rear. Could it be that I've been infected by the hot-blooded virus of the pirate world?
With not even the slightest feeling of blood boiling in his heart, Sherwin mocked himself while switching from the power-type Valor Style to the speed-type Striker Style, then quickly chugged down a bottle of Demondrug and a stamina potion.
Just as he was about to down another Potion, Kaido had already launched another attack.
And…
This time, his attack was aimed straight at the Dodo Advance!
Clearly, despite his rough appearance, Kaido was actually shrewd. He had already seen through Sherwin intentions.
Being extremely interested in Sherwin, the Felynes, and even the Dodo Advance itself, there was no way he would simply let them escape so easily.
What made things even more deadly was that the rapid disengagement device made by Purah Meow was primarily powered by Klee Meow bombs as its "fuel," so it could only be made as a single-use item.
The one they had already used had originally been prepared for the trip to Marineford after it went unused back then, it had just been left sitting in the warehouse.
And in order to rescue Robin as quickly as possible this time, they simply didn't have time to prepare a second one…
Moreover, now that Kaido was already on guard, even if they still had a rapid disengagement device, it would most likely be intercepted by him anyway.
So no matter what, Plan C had to be carried out. Fortunately, Sherwin had already thought through the escape route long ago. If nothing unexpected happened, the success rate was still quite high.
"Naraku Pull!"
Seeing the Dodo Advance begin to sparkle with arcs of lightning and spew flames, Kaido didn't hesitate at all and swung his fist toward one side of the Dodo Advance "wings," completely ignoring the dual blades Sherwin slashed at his back.
Hunting Art: Soaring Slash!
Under the Striker Style, Sherwin did manage to rush in and stop Kaido in time, but in terms of raw damage, it was rather mediocre, and for now he still couldn't switch styles that frequently.
But fortunately, Sherwin hadn't been aiming to injure him in the first place—he only wanted to knock Kaido attack off course.
The Felynes on the ship didn't just sit around waiting to die either. Aside from Klee Meow and Shermie Meow, who were responsible for power, everyone else unleashed ranged attacks at Kaido. Even Shirahoshi gripped the gun and fired several shots at him.
With everyone working together, Kaido punch was successfully blocked, and the Dodo Advance had already begun accelerating into flight.
However, in the very next second, Kaido body began to swell, and midway through transforming into a azure dragon, he stretched out his head and bit toward the Dodo Advance…
"Fate · Phantom · Oscillation Meow!"
The lightning swirling around the Dodo Advance converged into Shermie Meow form.
The lightning Felyne drew a V-shape in midair and slammed viciously into Kaido chin.
"Guh—!"
The Azure Dragon head was smashed upward, and Kaido, whose attack missed again, swung his dragon claws and slapped toward shermie, who was still in midair.
"Don't you dare touch Sister shermie, meow!"
Sanji Meow, who had activated "Mink mode," charged in and kicked Kaido dragon claw, actually forcing it to stall for a brief moment.
Then the little yellow cat was swatted into the sea by Kaido claw, and the one struck at the same time was shermie lightning clone.
"That idiot pervert cat!"
Fortunately, through Observation Haki, Sanji Meow presence had not weakened much, and since he hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit, there was no need to worry for now.
It was just that…
Sherwin original plan had been to wait until the Dodo Advance disengaged, then activate Link Time himself and flee at full speed.
After widening the distance, he would use his newly developed Observation Haki killing technique to evade Kaido Observation Haki search.
But now, because of that little idiot Sanji Meow momentary impulsiveness, Link Time could no longer be saved…
Monster Hunter Style · Secret Art · Thousand Swords!
With the dual boost of Link Time and the Assault Style, Sherwin speed reached an unbelievable level. Like a raging storm, he crazily slashed around Kaido enormous dragon body.
Although the power was reduced, to the point that he couldn't even leave the slightest blade mark on Kaido scales, it still made Kaido extremely uncomfortable.
Moreover, due to his massive size, Kaido found it difficult to hit Sherwin, who was darting chaotically all over his body.
After transforming into the Azure Dragon, Kaido spat a blast of Boro Breath toward the already distant Dodo Advance, but to no avail.
When he tried to pursue it, he was once again entangled by Sherwin in this low-damage yet endlessly irritating manner.
In the end, he had no choice but to give up on wiping out the Investigation Team in one sweep and reverted to his hybrid form.
"Gundari!"
This time, Kaido weapon had been shrunk, yet he was still using his fists, and their power was not inferior at all to when he had been wielding Hassaikai.
As soon as Sherwin saw that the Dodo Advance had successfully disengaged, he no longer planned to keep tangling with Kaido.
Although the Link Time originally meant for escape was about to end, and that little idiot Sanji Meow had been left behind as well, still…
I have Plan C+!
After dodging several of Kaido attacks, Sherwin seized an opening, swapped out a massive seastone shield, and braced it in front of himself. Using Kaido strike, he was "smashed" downward toward the sea below…
So-called Plan C+ was actually a supplement to the withdrawal portion of Plan C.
In terms of concept, it was similar to Plan B and Robin previous escape plan, all of them exploiting an ability user weaknesses to shake off Kaido.
It was just that Plan B had failed before, and there were even some goofy netizens who analyzed that Kaido could swim, so this was only Sherwin last resort.
It was also one of the main reasons why, in the earlier Plan A, the Dodo Advance had chosen the Valstrax form instead of the Sea Wyvern form.
"Splash!"
After falling into the water, Sherwin immediately threw away the shield in his hand, then pulled out his combat suit canister and slapped it onto his waist.
Quickly donning the cat suit capable of diving, Sherwin instantly activated the jet device on it, propelling himself deeper into the sea.
And that little idiot Sanji Meow had finally not been idiotic to the end. After falling into the water, he had already reacted, no longer foolishly rushing back out to add trouble for Sherwin.
Instead, he also switched into the "Mudfish Wyvern suit" and obediently hid in the sea.
"Sherwin!" After spotting him, the little yellow cat swam over quickly, his small face under the visor full of guilt. "I'm sorry, meow…"
But Sherwin had no time to argue right and wrong with Sanji Meow now. He grabbed the little yellow cat, who was still flailing about trying to explain something, and continued swimming toward the deeper parts of the sea.
"Boom!"
Sherwin, who was diving at full speed, sensed the violent disturbance in the seawater above. Clearly, Kaido had followed him down, and judging by the scale of the commotion, he was most likely descending in his Azure Dragon form.
That made sense. Since he could withstand the effects of Seastone, the influence of seawater naturally wouldn't be a problem either—let alone the fact that he had eaten the Fish-Fish Fruit…
A Kaido with no weaknesses at all, yet he neither the protagonist of the pirate world nor the final boss of the story—how the hell does that make any sense?!
While grumbling furiously to himself, Sherwin paddled his arms and legs with all his might, doing everything he could to increase his swimming speed.
Sanji Meow clung tightly to his back, using the jet device on his raid suit to add extra thrust.
What allowed Sherwin to relax just a little was that, although Kaido could move underwater, he didn't seem to be completely unaffected.
His speed was much slower than when he was on the sea surface. Not only did he fail to catch up to Sherwin and Sanji Meow, he was actually being left behind little by little… though the difference was so slight it was almost negligible.
Even so, if Kaido refused to give up, the situation would be hard to predict. The power of their raid suits was limited.
Even if Sanji Meow could recharge the suit, and Sherwin had prepared plenty of spare energy in his pack, swapping energy still took time—and Sherwin had no confidence in competing in sheer endurance against a monster like Kaido.
What more…
A sharp pain shot through Sherwin body.
The side effects of using Link Time repeatedly in a short period had begun to surface. Earlier, in order to stop Kaido, he hadn't even had time to drink a recovery potion.
Fortunately, for now they were mainly relying on the jet device for movement, so it didn't have much impact on their escape.
Later on, he'd have to get Haibara Meow to develop some injectable recovery potions—preferably ones that could be installed directly into the battle suit.
Sherwin swam on while calmly taking stock of the situation.
As for why he could remain so composed, aside from the fact that Kaido couldn't catch up to them anytime soon, it was naturally also because…
The steady Hunter still had Plan D!