"What going on?! How could there be poison in the alcohol?!"
Marco and Ace, who didn't know what was happening, rushed over at once. Marco, who had healing abilities, ignited blue flames in both hands and quickly pressed them onto Sherwin body…
"Huh? He not poisoned?"
After running the blue flames over Sherwin and finding nothing wrong, Marco looked a little baffled.
He then picked up the wine cup Sherwin had dropped to the side, planning to dab a bit of the remaining liquor and taste it himself to see what was going on.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that, meow."
(=`～=)
Sanji Meow, gloating as he stuffed his mouth full of food, kindly reminded him, "That idiot Sherwin is fine. It just little sister Haibara Meow messing with him for fun. We're already used to it, meow."
"Mess… messing around?"
The two of them first looked at Sherwin, who was flopping around on the deck like a fish out of water, then looked at the cats around them who all had calm expressions…
Isn't your idea of 'messing around' a bit too hardcore?!
Although they didn't really understand, Marco and Ace still decided to temporarily accept Sanji Meow explanation and observe for now.
Gradually, Sherwin finally stopped flopping violently and switched to small spasms. After a little while longer, the Hunter suddenly sat bolt upright.
Damn it! I was careless!
Sherwin glared viciously at the culprit, who was hiding behind Huamei and smugly provoking him.
Because Whitebeard had no intention of pursuing the matter with Crocodile, and the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't fallen apart, Sherwin naturally wouldn't keep Observation Haki constantly active to monitor the surroundings for no reason.
Who would have thought that after casually teasing Haibara Meow earlier and then bluffing a bit, it instead pushed this little schemer to secretly strike first.
That way, even if she had already "fallen victim," it would still count as getting her revenge back.
But the problem was…
I didn't freaking do anything to you at all!
The Hunter, who had ended up smashing his own foot with a rock, felt utterly depressed inside.
"This time it totally Sherwin own fault, meow~"
Shermie Meow, who knew the truth, giggled softly, not feeling that Sherwin was wronged in the slightest.
Sherwin reached out and pinched her ear, and didn't continue trading barbs with Haibara Meow either.
After all, the two of them had screwed each other over plenty of times on a regular basis, so letting that little brat win once wasn't a big deal.
Besides…
After letting Haibara Meow test medicines on him so many times, Sherwin had more or less developed a bit of "drug resistance." If it were in the past, after downing a cup of that stuff, he would've been twitching for at least another ten minutes or so.
Well, even so, it wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
"So, what exactly did you drink just now?"
Out of curiosity, Ace snatched the wine cup from Marco hand, dipped a finger into the bit of liquor left at the bottom of the cup, and brought it to his mouth for a taste…
"Ughhhhh—!!!"
Just like Sherwin earlier, Ace—his curiosity satisfied—clutched his throat and collapsed onto the deck.
"I already told you not to try it… Ace really is just as much of an idiot as ever, meow…"
╮(=ω=)╭
Sanji Meow, who had a bit of a grudge against Ace, continued gloating.
"Hah… I—I'm alive again!"
Even though he had only tasted a tiny bit, Ace took almost as long as Sherwin to recover. As soon as he got back on his feet, he immediately shot a wary look toward Haibara Meow not far away…
Although he also liked good food, as someone who could fall asleep even while eating, Ace lower limit for food was basically on par with Luffy.
The two brothers were the kind who could eat a Devil Fruit without batting an eye, yet when faced with Haibara Meow "prototype potion," they were still taken down.
Well, at least the little schemer had a shred of conscience this time and didn't use her ultimate Satan potion.
Even so, its power was absolutely not to be underestimated.
This special banquet didn't last very long. No matter how outrageous the physiques in the pirate world were, there was still a limit.
After repeatedly getting drunk and sobering up several times, they finally couldn't hold on anymore and all passed out drunk.
Even Whitebeard, who drank at a slower pace, was urged by Marco and helped away to rest by the little nurses…
After all, if you really counted it, since he had never completely passed out, the amount he drank might actually have been even more.
After hastily wrapping up the banquet, Sherwin led everyone back to the Dodo Advance.
They didn't leave immediately, though—after all, as a junior, Shirahoshi still needed to properly bid Whitebeard farewell before departing.
And besides…
The map of this island still hadn't been unlocked yet!
"Brother Sherwin~ you're back, meow!"
(=`=)
"Brother Sherwin~ you're back, meow!"
(=`=)
The moment he returned to the ship, Klee Meow and the Dodo Advance—two little cats—pounced right at him.
One crashed straight into his arms, while the other hugged his head directly.
Then the two similar little heads burrowed all over Sherwin at lightning speed.
"All right, all right. It hasn't even been a full day since we left, has it?"
Sherwin stroked the two cats, one up and one down, while also plucking the Dodo Advance—clinging to his face like a facehugger—off and placing it onto the "exclusive seat" atop his head.
Glancing around, aside from Klee Meow and the Dodo Advance, only Kaido Meow was nearby. Clearly, Purah Meow was holed up in the laboratory again.
"Thanks for taking care of these two little ones."
Sherwin patted Kaido Meow on the shoulder.
The big Maine Coon shook his lion-like head and laughed. "Meow ro ro ro, Klee and the Dodo Advance are both very well-behaved. It wasn't hard at all, meow."
Well, if his head weren't sporting so many little braids tied with bows, Sherwin might have believed him.
The banquet of the Whitebeard Pirates earlier had been packed with people, and the shouting and laughter never really stopped, but somehow, once his own little troublemaking cats were all gathered together, it felt even livelier.
Especially Klee Meow, the little rascal who usually stuck to Sherwin all the time.
It was as if she wanted to make up for the time they'd been apart—clinging to him to tell stories, dragging him along to draw together, and even trying to get Sherwin to accompany her in a game of hide-and-seek inside the "cat playground" piled high with cat climbing frames and pipes.
And Huamei Meow also seemed to want to make it up to Klee Meow, who had finally gotten a rare chance to act like an older sister.
She didn't stop them at all—together with the other cats, she simply ditched Sherwin and ran off to sleep.
Kaido Meow, on the other hand, stayed behind out of sheer loyalty…
Clinging to Sherwin together with Klee Meow.
After all, Maine Coons and Ragdolls alike are famously clingy cats.
Fortunately, Kaido Meow was an adult cat, unlike Klee Meow and the others who were full of restless energy.
After sticking close to Sherwin for a while, she obediently went off to serve as Shirahoshi pillow.
As for Sherwin, he was seized by the little Ragdoll, who teamed up with several other little tabby cats, and was tormented nonstop until the sky began to lighten.
Only then did they pin him down and make him fall asleep right there on the deck…
Not long after, Huamei Meow woke him up again. First, he went around the island to finish unlocking the map, and then he took Shirahoshi to bid farewell to Whitebeard and the others.
The farewell itself was very simple. Whitebeard was a pirate, and a veteran Emperor at that, so naturally he wouldn't put on any sentimental airs. He merely gave Shirahoshi a few brief words of advice.
"…Kid, catch."
After finishing his talk with Shirahoshi, Whitebeard fixed Sherwin with a serious stare for a moment, then tossed a bundle over.
"I heard you're collecting Devil Fruits. I happened to get one not long ago. No one on the ship wanted to eat it, so you can have it."
Sherwin absolutely didn't believe that line about "no one wanting it," but he had no intention of refusing.
Given Whitebeard status and position, returning a gift he had personally given would only be an insult to his face.
Besides, a large part of this was probably payment for taking care of Shirahoshi, and another part was most likely Suika Meow 'liquor money'…
So there was no reason not to take it. This thick-skinned Hunter felt no embarrassment at all.
And it wasn't as if he was taking it for nothing. Afterward, Sherwin had Suika Meow give Whitebeard more than ten barrels of "Ibuki liquor"—the non-concentrated kind.
Well, people always say this Hunter is friendly toward others. This time, didn't he avoid fighting a Yonko altogether? That birdman Morgans does nothing but spread rumors!
After exchanging courtesies with Whitebeard, Sherwin finally boarded the Dodo, grumbling about his "boss" as he went, and left the island together with the cats.