"You old guys—why is it that every single one of you likes to use Conqueror Haki as a greeting?"
Sherwin let out a helpless sigh.
Garp, Rayleigh, and now the Whitebeard in front of him—every one of them had released Conqueror Haki at him not long after meeting him, as if you weren't even qualified to talk to them if you couldn't endure it.
Of course, when you thought about it that way, it wasn't exactly wrong, but Sherwin still felt annoyed…
After all, he couldn't do that.
Which was exactly why old man Chinjao was a good person!
Growing even more irritated, Sherwin patted Huamei Meow on the head. "What so amazing about Conqueror Haki? My cat can do it too!"
(=`ω=)
Lord Xiang Feihu was extremely cooperative. He pressed his ears down slightly and released his own Conqueror Haki to crash straight into it.
Sherwin raised his head.
Mm, so this was finally the kind of scene where the clouds split apart.
As the two waves of Conqueror Haki collided, the Haki that had originally been under Whitebeard control naturally scattered.
Members of the Whitebeard Pirates with weaker strength collapsed unconscious all around them, while the few little nurses beside Whitebeard were hardly affected at all.
"Hmph…" Whitebeard probably felt that bullying a little cat wasn't very interesting, so he didn't continue to strengthen his Conqueror Haki.
Instead, he slowly withdrew it, casually picked up a small barrel of alcohol beside him, took a swig, and then asked with a sidelong glance, "You Navy dog—what do you want by coming to see me?"
Sure enough, the matter of taking down Crocodile had left a knot in Whitebeard heart. Jinbe, who was also one of the Seven Warlords, would never be called something like a Navy dog.
Since Whitebeard clearly had no intention of giving him a friendly face, Sherwin naturally wasn't going to lower himself and stick close out of sheer lack of backbone.
He shifted his body to the side, letting Shirahoshi, who had been behind him, come into view.
"Um… Whitebeard Father, I'm Shirahoshi…"
Sensing through Observation Haki that Whitebeard didn't seem very friendly toward Sherwin, Shirahoshi felt a little uneasy, but she still mustered her courage and stepped forward to greet him.
"It was me who asked Boss Sherwin to bring me here to see you. I wanted to thank you for the protection you've given Fish-Man Island all this time."
"Gurararara—!" When facing Shirahoshi, Whitebeard immediately changed his demeanor, like an ordinary old man doting on a junior.
He gestured as he spoke, muttering, "It been more than ten years since I last saw you. You've grown this big already, Shirahoshi. The last time I saw you, you were only this tiny."
In truth, he had noticed Shirahoshi behind Sherwin long ago. It was just that his exchange with Sherwin earlier hadn't been pleasant, so he hadn't felt comfortable bringing it up…
This kid called the Hunter really did know how to handle people.
Although his impression of Sherwin improved slightly, the discomfort in Whitebeard heart still remained, so he chose to ignore Sherwin altogether.
He waved at Shirahoshi and said, "Come on over. Let your old father take a good look at you!"
Feeling the goodwill coming from him, Shirahoshi quietly let out a sigh of relief and hurried forward.
Shirahoshi physique was enormous to begin with, and she had grown quite a bit taller during this period of time.
As a result, even Whitebeard, who stood close to seven meters tall, was clearly much shorter than her. So what he had just said really wasn't mere courtesy…
"I saw the news about you in the papers. Very well done!" Whitebeard stood up and raised a hand, wanting to pat Shirahoshi on the head, but he could only reach her shoulder. Left with no choice, he settled for patting her arm instead.
"If you ever need help in the future, just tell your old father!"
"Actually, it was Boss Sherwin who helped me come up with this idea, and Mr. Morgans was also contacted through him…"
Shirahoshi said cautiously, hoping to use this to improve Whitebeard attitude toward Sherwin.
"Hmph. Don't worry—I'm not so low as to lay a hand on a brat."
Whitebeard never intended to do anything to Sherwin in the first place. Even without the connection through Shirahoshi and Ace, he had no desire to seek revenge on Crocodile.
Because Whitebeard was a very "traditional" pirate, firmly believing in the idea that "pirates should have their own adventures."
What more, his relationship with Crocodile was rather complicated, so he had even less reason to make things difficult for Sherwin.
Of course, finding someone disagreeable was still finding them disagreeable.
Sherwin himself was quite frustrated. Rayleigh and Whitebeard were both figures that people in pirate fanfics often latched onto for support, yet somehow, when it came to him, he had managed to form small grudges with both of them…
Still, Sherwin had no real regrets. If the relationship was bad, then so be it—he no longer needed to rely on Whitebeard anyway…
even though he had once seriously considered the idea of "drifting through half a lifetime before swearing himself as an adopted son."
"Um… Whitebeard-dad, may I ask why you don't like Boss Sherwin?"
Shirahoshi was still trying to mediate between the two sides. Influenced by Sherwin and the Felynes, the once-timid mermaid princess had become far more decisive in her actions.
In the past, even if she had the same thoughts, she would never have dared to speak up so easily.
"I'm a pirate. He a bounty hunter. We were never meant to walk the same path."
Whitebeard didn't want to bring up Crocodile, so he casually gave an excuse.
That immediately gave Ace, who was anxiously scratching his head beside them, the opening he needed.
"Dad! Even though Sherwin is a bounty hunter, he only goes after scum who deserve to die! Even my grandpa thinks highly of him!"
Like Shirahoshi, Ace also wanted to improve the relationship between the two sides.
However, his words immediately darkened Whitebeard expression, because among those "scum who deserve to die" was Crocodile—someone closely connected to him.
And besides…
"We're pirates! Does it matter to us whether the people he hunts are bad guys or not?!"
Whitebeard shot Ace an irritated glare, then sighed with little interest. "Forget it, forget it. There nothing worth fussing over with some little brat anyway…"
Having decided to drop the matter, he turned his head toward Sherwin, who was calmly petting a cat nearby, a trace of appreciation flashing through his eyes.
After all, not just anyone could remain so composed in the face of a Yonko displeasure…
Well, in truth, it was only because Sherwin had already guessed the reason and understood that Whitebeard wouldn't actually do anything to him.
"Brat, welcome aboard the Moby Dick." Only now did Whitebeard truly regard Sherwin as a guest. "Gurarararara! Sons! Start the feast!"
"OHHHH—!!!"
Within the Whitebeard Pirates, Edward Newgate attitude represented everything. As his stance toward Sherwin changed, Marco and the others finally began to cheer as well.
Sherwin patted Jinx on the head and said to her, "Looks like there won't be any conflict. Go call Klee Meow and the others over too."
"Tch… how boring, meow…"
(=`3=)
The belligerent little blue cat curled her lips, then pulled out her electromagnetic pistol and fired a shot into the sky.
As a signal flare crackling with electricity shot upward, Robin and Seijuro Meow, who had been staying behind on the ship, soon arrived aboard the Moby Dick…
But Klee Meow, Purah Meow, and Kaido Meow were nowhere to be seen.
"Klee and Purah said they wanted to stay on the ship to keep the Dudu-Go company, so Kaido stayed behind with them as well."
Robin came to Sherwin side and quietly explained to him, who was completely at a loss.
Since the little ragdoll was so determined to maintain her image as a dependable big sister, Sherwin naturally let her have her way.
In any case, most of Whitebeard food was probably just so-so, definitely not comparable to Sanji Meow cooking.
And besides…
Considering that Kaido Meow had stayed behind with them, Sherwin always felt that it was Klee Meow good luck warning him that Kaido Meow was not suitable to appear in front of Whitebeard for the time being—or rather, not yet suitable to be exposed on a large scale.
While Sherwin and Robin were talking in low voices, Suika Meow, who had long been eyeing the piles of alcohol stacked beside Whitebeard, had already trotted over to him.
"Grandpa, can I have a taste of your booze, meow? In exchange, I'll treat you to some of the really good wine I've collected, meow!"
(●﹃●)