After burning Black ship, Sherwin and the others continued to steer the Dodo Advance toward the Moby Dick.
The Whitebeard Pirates did not stop them instead, one of the auxiliary ships even took the initiative to clear a path.
"Although the purpose this time is 'visiting a friend,' pirates are a lawless bunch. Things could easily turn into a fight over some trivial nonsense, so it best if we don't all go over together. Besides, it not good to keep abandoning the Dodo."
As the Dodo Advance moved forward, Sherwin looked at the surrounding Felynes and asked, "Shirahoshi and I will definitely go. As for the rest of you, discuss it among yourselves?"
"Of course I'm going with Shirahoshi, meow!"
Jinx jumped onto Shirahoshi head and declared without hesitation.
As Shirahoshi big sister figure, the little blue Felyne felt it was her responsibility to pay attention to Shirahoshi interpersonal relationships.
"Um… then maybe Klee Meow should stay behind to keep the Dodo company, meow…"
(=ˇˇ=)
Although her expression was full of conflict, the little Ragdoll still jumped down from Sherwin shoulder and chose to stay on the ship.
Her reason was actually similar to Jinx. Having finally become an older sister, Klee Meow felt she should step up and take care of the Dodo, this younger sister.
[Big Sister Klee is the best, meow!]
(=`=)
The Dodo also jumped down from Sherwin head, threw herself into the little Ragdoll arms, and started acting spoiled.
"In that case, I can go with Sherwin, meow~"
(=ω=)
Shermie Meow immediately took the spot Klee Meow had vacated, gently rubbing her head against Sherwin cheek.
Just like back at the G-5 base, Shermie Meow and Klee Meow, as the Dodo "power source," had to leave at least one of them on the ship to stay ready.
Now that Klee Meow was unusually not clinging to Sherwin, Shermie Meow—who also loved sticking close to him—naturally chose to follow him instead.
"Wherever Big Sister Shermie is, that where I'll be, meow!"
Sanji Meow said righteously.
Seijuro Meow, just like before, chose to stay behind to guard the ship. Likewise, Link Meow, also a severing-type combat Felyne, silently stepped to Sherwin side.
As the designer of the Dodo Advance, Purah Meow also chose to remain on the ship. Meanwhile, the usually reclusive Haibara Meow decisively claimed Sherwin other shoulder, carrying the axolotl Sherry with her.
"I'm not familiar with those people either, so I'll stay and watch the ship, meow."
Kaido Meow, though very interested in the "world strongest man," still decided to stay behind to take care of the other Felynes.
Suika Meow swayed unsteadily over to Sherwin, twitching her little nose as she said, "I smell good liquor over there, meow!"
Looking at it this way, it actually seemed quite symmetrical—severing Felyne, striking Felyne, research Felyne, and a Logia-type Felyne, one on each side.
In the end, only Huamei and Nico Robin, the two members of the intelligence system, were left.
"I won't go," Robin waved her hand. "There aren't any Poneglyphs on Whitebeard ship."
Naturally, that meant Huamei would be following Sherwin.
After Sherwin and the others finished assigning the members, the Dodo Advance happened to arrive alongside the Moby Dick.
Thus, under the wary gazes of a group of pirates he barely recognized, Sherwin boarded the Moby Dick together with Shirahoshi and seven Felynes.
…
"You…"
Marco, the man with the pineapple-like head, was just about to speak when a cheerful voice cut him off.
"Hahahahaha! Sherwin! What are you doing here?!"
As Ace came running over with a big, foolish grin on his face, the slightly tense atmosphere instantly eased.
"Oh, I heard your bounty has been skyrocketing lately, so according to our agreement, I came to catch you and turn you in for the money."
Sherwin casually cracked a joke with him…
And that idiot actually believed it!
"Eh?!! Weren't we friends coming to hang out?!!"
Ace looked utterly shocked. He even hopped backward to put some distance between himself and Sherwin, striking a fighting stance.
"I won't go quietly! This is a perfect chance to show you how much I've improved during this time!"
Sherwin rolled his eyes, too lazy to deal with this idiot any further, and shifted his gaze back to the pineapple head beside them.
"The only one among the Seven Warlords who isn't a pirate—what business do you have coming to our Whitebeard Pirates?" Marco immediately picked up the words that had just been interrupted.
Even with Ace as a familiar face, he still maintained the appropriate level of vigilance toward Sherwin.
"It nothing special. Shirahoshi just wanted to come and meet one of her father good friends," Sherwin replied, pointing toward the mermaid princess behind him.
"So that how it is?" Marco didn't harbor much suspicion.
The expression on his face relaxed at once, and he showed Sherwin and the others a friendly smile. "Then follow me. I'll take you to meet Pops."
The surrounding pirates also completely relaxed, breaking into laughter as they started chatting about the cute cats around Sherwin, as well as Princess Shirahoshi, whose size and appearance were just as eye-catching.
"Eh?" Ace, who had been holding his stance for quite a while, scratched his head in confusion. "Weren't you here to catch me?"
"Has it really only been a short while, and you've already gotten even stupider, meow?"
Sanji Meow couldn't take it anymore. He ran over and kicked Ace calf twice.
"Even if someone were going to arrest you, they'd never come to your own headquarters to do it! You idiot who can fall asleep while eating, meow!"
"Ahahaha! So it was just a joke. You scared me there," Ace didn't mind at all.
He reached out and patted Sanji Meow on the head, greeting him. "Long time no see, Sanji."
And in return, he got viciously bitten by the disgusted little yellow cat.
Amid the noisy commotion, Sherwin followed Marco and Ace to the center of the Moby Dick deck, where he saw "Whitebeard," Edward Newgate, sitting boldly beneath the main mast, surrounded by a group of petite, good-looking nurses…
Well, the leopard-print stockings on their legs were a bit hard to judge.
Sherwin gaze flicked briefly over the nurse ladies before returning to Whitebeard himself.
At this point, he wasn't yet covered in tubes like in the manga, nor was he hooked up to IV drips, but in Sherwin Observation Haki, Whitebeard presence already carried a very obvious sense of decay.
Garp and Rayleigh, whose actual ages were several years older than Whitebeard, both felt far more "youthful" in comparison.
In other words, if someone could withstand Whitebeard Tremor-Tremor Fruit, this Yonko who was known as the "strongest" was actually the easiest one to wear down with age.
It was just unclear whether Whitebeard condition came from what some goofy net users speculated—that the Tremor-Tremor Fruit had hidden side effects on the human body—or whether it was simply because he hadn't taken good care of himself when he was younger, letting too many old injuries accumulate.
But considering that Rayleigh and Garp also fought each other plenty of times when they were young, the first possibility seemed a bit more reliable.
After all, a situation like Whitebeard—where his aura declined drastically after growing old—felt somewhat "unreasonable" among the strong of the pirate world.
Moreover, according to the manga, Luffy Second Gear was a move that "burned his life," so it wouldn't be strange if Whitebeard Tremor-Tremor Fruit had similar techniques…
although by the later stages of the manga, that setting seemed to have been quietly eaten by Oda.
Sherwin was staring at Whitebeard in a daze, but on the other side, Whitebeard—who was being stared at—was starting to feel displeased.
Already somewhat unhappy with Sherwin because of Crocodile matter, Whitebeard saw that the kid actually started spacing out after meeting him, and couldn't help but snort coldly.
"So you're the brat who been making such a ruckus lately—the 'Hunter' Sherwin?"
As he spoke, Whitebeard released a burst of Haki that had almost no effect on Sherwin, pressing down toward him.