"Boss Sherwin! Father King told me that the humans who've been appearing on Fish-Man Island lately have become much friendlier. Mr. Morgans news really worked!"
Shirahoshi, who had just finished a call with King Neptune, ran over excitedly and shared her joy with Sherwin.
With the follow-up reports from the World Economy News Paper, public opinion had largely developed just as Morgans had planned.
Sherwin and the others even encountered humans who came up to express goodwill toward Shirahoshi when they landed on certain islands.
Even though the overall trend was positive, Sherwin still felt it was necessary to give Shirahoshi a reminder.
"You should calm down a bit first," he poked Shirahoshi, who was excitedly dragging Klee Meow and Jinx around in circles.
"The change in how ordinary people view the Fish-Man race doesn't actually play a decisive role. The real key lies with the World Government. Those people won't change their attitude just because of a few articles."
"I know, Boss Sherwin." Shirahoshi hugged the two cats and nodded seriously.
"I've already suggested to Father King that we expand Fish-Man Island military forces and find ways to strengthen our combat power as much as possible. Father accepted my suggestion, it just…"
A hint of confusion appeared on the young girl face. "…It just that after I made that suggestion, Father tone suddenly became kind of strange."
"Hmm… It must be that King Neptune saw you becoming stronger and more capable than before and felt gratified, but at the same time didn't want to put too much pressure on you, so his tone sounded a bit odd," Sherwin said with a straight face as he fed Shirahoshi a line.
The mermaid princess, who trusted the Hunter deeply, immediately believed his nonsense. She pumped her fist with renewed enthusiasm.
"Father really underestimates me! I'll keep working hard so he won't treat me like a child anymore!"
"Mm-hmm! That exactly the spirit!" Sherwin continued to egg her on, enjoying the spectacle.
"Meow?"
(=ω=)?
Cradled in Shirahoshi arms, Klee Meow tilted her head, feeling a powerful sense of déjà vu about the conversation in front of her…
That right! This was exactly how Big Brother Sherwin used to trick Klee before, meow!
(ω)
The little ragdoll narrowed her eyes and looked at Sherwin, and Jinx beside her wore almost the exact same expression.
But neither of the two cats exposed Sherwin, and Sherwin himself wasn't worried in the slightest that they would.
Because, for things like this, that group of little troublemaking cats did it just as often in their daily lives…
"Since that the case, there no time to waste. Let start today combat training, meow!"
"Klee will help too, meow!"
See? I told you.
Huamei Meow looked at Shirahoshi, who had been completely led around by the nose by Sherwin and the little troublemakers, and helplessly rolled her eyes. Even so, she didn't expose them either.
In the eyes of Huamei, although Sherwin and the other actions had a bit of a prankish nature, overall they were positive for Shirahoshi, so there was no need to be overly strict.
Compared to that, she had something more important to discuss with Sherwin right now—
"Admiral, are we going to attend BIG·MOM tea party, meow?"
Sherwin rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment. Then, at last, he made his decision in his heart.
"Go!"
After gathering information during this period of time, he finally understood why Big Mom had suddenly changed her attitude and invited him to the tea party—and why, for so long now, Kaido had not come knocking again…
Because the other two Yonko had taken action.
Sherwin could more or less guess why Shanks had stepped in. Just like what was shown in the manga, he always intentionally or unintentionally maintained the balance between the various powers.
As for the specific reason, Sherwin wasn't entirely sure, but judging by Shanks personality, it was quite normal for him to do something like this.
As for why Whitebeard took action… that happened after he saw that Shirahoshi was also on Sherwin ship.
At this point, it had to be emphasized once again that the most correct thing King Neptune had ever done in his life was becoming friends with Whitebeard.
To be honest, Whitebeard stepping in to help was actually a bit beyond Sherwin expectations.
Even though there was Ace as a connecting factor, if one really counted it out, the relationship between the two of them wasn't that deep.
On the contrary, it was Crocodile—whose relationship with Whitebeard was ambiguous at best—who had died at Sherwin hands.
Because of that, Sherwin had even mentally prepared himself to be given trouble by Whitebeard if they ever met.
Now it seemed that the relationship between Crocodile and Whitebeard was not as close as he had imagined, and it was even less possible that Crocodile was Whitebeard biological son—or even biological daughter—as some brainless netizens had speculated.
Honestly, Sherwin was quite curious about the relationship between them as well, but since Whitebeard had already taken action for Shirahoshi sake, then…
Should he find some time to go and meet this "world strongest man"?
Sherwin rubbed his chin as he pondered.
But no matter what, because of Whitebeard and Shanks suddenly "taking sides," the turmoil originally stirred up by Nico Robin actually died down with surprising speed.
Those pirates who had already been somewhat intimidated by the strength Sherwin had displayed needed no further mention, while Kaido and Big Mom, after weighing the pros and cons, also had no choice but to temporarily abandon their plans targeting Sherwin.
Big Mom, in particular, after seeing that Sherwin had shown strength not inferior to Katakuri, once again entertained the idea of recruiting him under her command. This invitation to the tea party was precisely a test.
Sherwin, of course, did not know Big Mom specific thoughts, but Totto Land was a place he had wanted to visit anyway.
Since the other party had shown an intention of temporary reconciliation, he naturally had no reason to refuse.
After all, those rare and exotic beasts collected by Big Mom, although they carried almost no plot weight, might still, by sheer quantity, have a chance of yielding a summoning ticket fragment.
In addition, the Homies created by the Soul-Soul Fruit might help Klee Meow further refine her Dodo Bear and other flame summons.
Moreover, Totto Land should count as the place with the greatest number of outstanding chefs and the most peculiar delicacies in this world.
Even if the trip yielded nothing at all, just going there to eat once would already be a profit.
Not to mention that Big Mom also had several pieces of historical Poneglyphs in her possession—it was just unclear whether there would be a chance to get his hands on them.
However, speaking of what he might gain from Totto Land, Sherwin suddenly remembered something…
Back at the G-5 base, he had picked up Katakuri earth dragon. He had completely forgotten to check whether there were any fragments from the weapon pool.
Quickly pulling out the Hunter Manual and flipping it open, the familiar white light lit up.
Sherwin obtained a number one fragment with a silvery-white background, bearing an inverted V-shaped pattern, most likely referring to a spear tip…
It was just a bit abstract.
What a pity—Hachisai, which had been shrunk by Suika Meow back then, couldn't be snatched over as well.
The greedy Sherwin smacked his lips in regret.
Speaking of which, one of Big Mom daughters has a named blade called doesn't she?
At this moment, Sherwin even somewhat hoped that BIG·MOM would act as unreasonably toward them as she did toward Germa in the manga and make a move against them.
Anyway, even if a fight really broke out, Sherwin was confident he could escape from Totto Land.
After all, even Kaido—that guy who can soar through the sky and dive into the sea—couldn't catch them. Charlotte Linlin, who can't swim, was even less of a threat.
As for Prometheus and Zeus, which Big Mom used to move through the air, they were firmly countered by the abilities of Klee Meow and Charmi.
So it wasn't that Sherwin underestimated Charlotte Linlin rather, the nature of her abilities themselves determined that if Sherwin wanted to flee, it would be very difficult for the Big Mom Pirates to keep them there.
What more, in the manga, Luffy—who hadn't awakened Nika—along with the Straw Hat crew and Capone Bege pirate crew, were all able to escape from Big Mom grasp.
Their Felyne Investigation Team, whether in strength or mobility, was far superior, so there was no reason they wouldn't be able to get away instead.
The Hunter who had escaped alive from under Kaido command was just that confident!