Someone getting drunk and collapsing at a banquet was nothing unusual for pirates, so even though quite a few members of the Whitebeard Pirates had gone down this time, after confirming that everyone—especially Whitebeard himself—was fine, Marco and the others who were still sober relaxed and called Sherwin and his group over to eat.
Since Marco could handle things, Sherwin didn't make a fuss about asking Haibara Meow to check on Whitebeard.
After all…
This scumbag Hunter Sherwin was actually pretty petty. Whitebeard earlier unwelcoming attitude meant there was no way he was going to go out of his way to press his warm face against someone else cold backside.
Unless Shirahoshi spoke up, he wasn't about to take the initiative to treat Whitebeard or anything like that.
Besides, based on the limited medical knowledge Sherwin had picked up from clickbait accounts, Whitebeard condition at the very least required abstaining from tobacco and alcohol.
Yet in the manga, even years later, Whitebeard was covered in IV tubes and still never put the bottle down. Even Haibara Meow probably wouldn't have had many options.
"What is it, meow?"
(ω)
Haibara Meow, who was chomping away at a grilled fish, sensed Sherwin unconscious glance. A wary expression immediately appeared on her fluffy little face.
"You idiot, are you thinking about doing something bad again, meow?!"
The little kitten raised a fish skeleton that still had bits of meat hanging on it, waving it in front of Sherwin while sharply questioning him.
Sherwin had been about to explain, but seeing how jumpy Haibara Meow looked, he suddenly felt like teasing her.
He quickly put on an obviously guilty expression and shook his head repeatedly. "I didn't do anything at all. How can you accuse me out of thin air?"
But when Sherwin turned his head to avoid meeting Haibara Meow eyes, he deliberately let her catch sight of the slight upward curve at the corner of his mouth.
"Meow—! What exactly did you do, you idiot?!"
∑(=`Д=)
The little kitten, had all the fur on her body standing on end. She first jumped up and took a bite out of Sherwin arm with her greasy little mouth, then fled like a refugee to Huamei side, hiding behind Huamei.
With her airplane ears flattened, she cautiously peeked out with just her two eyes.
"Sherwin dear, what did you do, meow? I didn't notice anything at all~"
(=ω=)
Shermie Meow, who was sitting beside Sherwin, curiously tugged at him.
Sherwin shot a glance at Haibara Meow, who had her ears perked up trying to eavesdrop, then cupped a hand by Shermie Meow ear and told her the truth in an extremely soft voice, certain Haibara Meow wouldn't be able to overhear.
"Heeheehee… Sherwin dear, you're really so bad, teasing Little Ai like that! There no way she could ever guess it, meow!"
Shermie Meow lightly smacked Sherwin with her little paw, laughing so hard her whole body shook.
Off to the side, Sanji Meow looked like his eyeballs were about to pop out…
As for Haibara Meow, that overly suspicious little idiot, after hearing Shermie Meow words, grew even more anxious, her tail swishing wildly as she feared that at any moment she might accidentally fall into the despicable Hunter trap.
"Mmm… gurarara! What great wine!"
Just as Sherwin was teasing his cats here, Whitebeard, who had been unconscious the whole time, finally woke up.
People in the pirate world naturally had strong constitutions, and for someone as powerful as Whitebeard, that toughness was even more exaggerated. Naturally, this was reflected in how quickly he sobered up.
Not long after Whitebeard regained consciousness, most of the pirates who had passed out were also awake again.
"Gurarara! Little Suika, your wine is the most delicious—and the strongest—I've ever had!"
Only after waking up did Whitebeard realize that he had been taken down by Suika Meow with just three bowls of sake.
He showed no embarrassment at all instead, he even cozied up to Suika Meow in a rather ingratiating way.
"Can you give me some more? The same kind as just now!"
Even though he could not last through even three bowls, Whitebeard had no intention of asking Suika Meow to lower the strength…
What if lowering the strength made it not taste as good anymore?
At worst, he would just drink more slowly and in smaller amounts.
And aside from Whitebeard, the other pirates who had been drunk senseless were almost all thinking the same thing.
Quite a few of them even took out their treasured gemstones, gold, and jewelry, hoping to exchange them with Suika Meow for more alcohol to drink.
Suika Meow clearly had not expected that the ultra-concentrated strong liquor she had concocted to help Sherwin vent his anger would end up being so popular among this group of pirates…
The little drunk cat mood became slightly gloomy.
So the Suika Meow who had originally been very happy to share her alcohol suddenly hugged her gourd and refused to give any more.
"I'm not interested in those things, meow."
(ω≡ω)
The little drunk cat shook her head, not even sparing the gold and silver a glance. Hugging her Ibuki gourd, she continued,
"If you can bring out alcohol I haven't drunk before, then I'll trade with you, meow~ hic— it has to be good booze!"
"Hurry up, hurry up! Bring out all the alcohol from the cellar!"
As the biggest drunkard in the pirate crew, Whitebeard immediately started issuing orders.
In fact, there was no need for him to say anything at all—those pirates who were also heavy drinkers were already clamoring and rushing noisily toward the cabins.
Sherwin: "..."
Seeing the reaction of this bunch from the Whitebeard Pirates, he knew that if Kaido had not barged in back then at G-5, the Beasts Pirates could actually have been dealt with through Suika Meow "strong liquor diplomacy."
Hmm…
Maybe it could even work now?
After all, Kaido love for alcohol was even greater than Whitebeard.
It was just that Sherwin, who was already on bad terms with him, had no intention of easing that relationship.
As the pirates carried out large piles of barrels and bottles filled to the brim with alcohol, Suika Meow—who had been hugging her gourd tightly just moments ago—immediately twitched her little nose, and a glistening sheen appeared at the corner of her mouth…
"Since everyone wants to drink your alcohol so badly, why not trade it with them?"
Naturally, Sherwin could not bear to let his own cat suffer any grievance… well, what he teased himself didn't count.
After he spoke, Suika Meow, who had already been wavering, immediately began sniffing them one by one…
"This one quality isn't good enough, meow… this one I've already drunk before, meow… this one smells pretty good, pick it out first, meow…"
(●﹃●)
The little tipsy cat, eyes sparkling, swiftly picked out all the alcohol that caught her fancy, and only then lifted the Ibuki gourd to pour drinks for Whitebeard and the others.
And then…
Sherwin bore witness to the most ridiculous banquet he had ever seen in his life.
A group of pirates raised their cups together, then collapsed one after another with a series of thuds. After a while, they staggered back to their feet, only to repeat the same process again… over and over.
Whitebeard actually wanted to join them too, but he knew his body simply couldn't take that kind of abuse anymore.
On top of that, Marco, Ace, and the other sons who hadn't joined in were watching him closely from the side, so he could only sip his drink in small mouthfuls.
Even so, most of the time Whitebeard was stuck in a half-drunk, half-awake state, his face flushed red and his eyes hazy with intoxication.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk… these pirates really drink like they don't value their lives at all…"
Sherwin clicked his tongue in amazement as he picked up the cup beside him.
It couldn't be helped—watching them drink with such fiery enthusiasm, Sherwin own craving for alcohol was stirred by the atmosphere.
Of course, being quite self-aware, what he drank was the non-concentrated version of "Ibuki sake." The alcohol content was low, and the flavor hadn't suffered much at all…
Since it wasn't the concentrated type, Sherwin naturally didn't sip it slowly like Whitebeard.
Instead, he tilted his head back and poured the entire cup straight down his throat.
Then, in the very next second, Sherwin clutched his throat and collapsed onto the deck with a face full of agony…
"Guh—ghhh—!"