When it didn't involve explosions, Klee Meow the little angel was actually very well-behaved. Knowing that Sherwin had serious business to attend to, she only acted cute for a few moments before proactively handing over the Transponder Snail.
Honestly, Sherwin didn't think the situation was a big problem. Maybe the Navy was overly confident in their own signal-blocking facilities, or maybe all of their main forces were busy preparing at the real ambush point.
In any case, after making a full round, Sherwin found that no one was guarding against them making phone calls at all.
That was fine too. At least when he was chatting on the phone with the cats, he didn't need to be so overly cautious.
"…So that how things are. From my side, there shouldn't be any major issues. If you have time, you might want to start keeping an eye on BIG·MOM and the Navy movements."
After the call was switched over to Huamei Meow on the other end, Sherwin immediately explained the situation there along with his own analysis.
"Uh…" The little palico pondered for a moment, then asked softly with a hint of hesitation, "Admiral… you only figured this out now, meow?"
And mixed into that, Sherwin could clearly hear Haibara Meow mocking laughter…
That kind of sound really didn't need to be transmitted!
Sherwin shot an annoyed look at the diligent Transponder Snail in his hand, then said helplessly, "So you already guessed what the situation was over there?"
"Yeah, isn't it obvious, meow?" Huamei replied in a completely matter-of-fact tone.
"How could the Navy possibly trust the Seven Warlords? Concealment and smokescreens are inevitable. I thought something this simple didn't need to be pointed out to you, Admiral, meow."
Sherwin: "..."
The little palico seemed to realize that this explanation might bruise her Admiral pride a bit, and hurriedly tried to smooth things over.
"Ah, it fine if you're not good at this kind of thing, meow. Aren't we here? Besides, this doesn't really affect us anyway, so don't take it to heart, meow!"
"Exactly, exactly. You were a dummy to begin with anyway, meow."
Haibara Meow, the little schemer, seized the opening and squeezed up to the Transponder Snail to "chime in."
"Ai, don't mess around."
Huamei shot the troublemaking kitten a look, making her obediently retreat to the side, before continuing to Sherwin.
"Actually, after we separated from you, Admiral, we were already keeping an eye on BIG·MOM. Right now, Dodo is following behind them in the form of a floating dragon, meow."
Sherwin took out his Hunter Handbook and glanced at it, discovering that the cat-head icons representing the Felynes were still some distance away from his position.
And moreover…
The direction they were moving in didn't seem to be toward Obestan Island at all?
However, considering that sailing on the Grand Line often meant that your course wasn't something you could decide for yourself, Sherwin didn't think too much about it and casually put the handbook away.
Just then, Huamei Meow spoke again. "Also, Shermie Meow says she sensed other people nearby who are also following the BIG·MOM Pirates, meow."
"That normal. She a Yonko, after all—it only natural that she attracts attention." Sherwin nodded.
"And the other Seven Warlords aren't idiots either. Hard to say about the rest, but Doflamingo is definitely keeping an eye on BIG·MOM movements."
"That right, meow. Shermie Meow sensed that flying fat guy we captured before, but he probably didn't notice us. Dodo managed to avoid him in time, meow."
Huamei Meow continued, "Also, the Navy movements lately have been pretty big. Besides you, there should be other smokescreens as well, but I can't figure out their exact deployment in such a short time, meow."
"Mm… then we'll ignore the Navy for now. Just keep following BIG·MOM. If anything changes on my end, I'll let you know… and I'll have to keep troubling you and Kaido to look after those little ones."
After thinking for a long time without coming up with anything useful, Sherwin could only put the topic aside for the moment.
There was nothing else he could say, really.
With his cats being this capable, what else could a Hunter like him do besides lie flat and slack off?
Once all the serious matters were discussed, the Transponder Snail soon returned to Klee Meow hands.
During that time, the other cats would occasionally come over to chat with Sherwin for a few words, but most of the time they still yielded it to Klee Meow.
As for the little ragdoll, she chattered endlessly, recounting everything that had happened after Sherwin left…
For example: Haibara Meow and Purah Meow experiment failed again after Kaido Meow finished fighting with Suika Meow, Seijuro Meow, and Link Meow,
they started another drinking contest Jinx tried to sneak some alcohol but was discovered by Huamei and is now confined Sanji Meow made her a very delicious cake the Dodo really wanted to call him,
but since the Den Den Mushi couldn't relay the ship spirit telepathic thoughts, it could only be conveyed through her, and so on.
Basically, it was just the Investigation Team daily life and a bunch of trivial little matters, but both Sherwin and Klee Meow enjoyed it immensely.
However, Sherwin didn't chat with Klee Meow for too long. After all, he was currently on Marine territory, and even if he wasn't afraid of misunderstandings, he didn't want the Investigation Team anti-interference Den Den Mushi to be exposed so easily.
So after listening to the little ragdoll ramble on in a scattered way for about half an hour, Sherwin took the initiative to cut off the call. He then finished opening the last bit of the map and returned to the town.
Aside from Hancock, who had already left early, the other Seven Warlords of the Sea were still staying in the mayor residence, basically no different from before Sherwin had left, so Sherwin naturally rejoined their small circle.
Over the next few days, aside from not being allowed to leave the island and being unable to contact the outside world, the Marines were practically accommodating to every request they made.
They even agreed when Cavendish wanted an interview that could make it into the newspapers.
Of course, the reporters they called in couldn't possibly be Sherwin colleagues from the World Economy News, but rather news personnel from the World Government itself, and because of that Sherwin even saw the legendary "Photographing Hero."
Unfortunately, with Haibara Meow not by his side, he had no way of confirming whether that guy had been a CP agent from the very beginning, or if he had later been replaced by CP agents and inserted into the World Economy News.
And during his free time, aside from finding a secluded place to chat endlessly on the phone with the cats, Sherwin spent it sparring with Jinbe and Mihawk.
However, unlike back in Marineford, now that they both had a clear grasp of each other strength, Sherwin and Hawk-Eye didn't fight very seriously.
They still had Big Mom to deal with afterward, so naturally neither of them could use techniques with too much destructive power.
Instead, what they did was mostly to mutually verify their understanding of swordsmanship and to exchange views on their respective sword systems.
Because Hawk-Eye was very interested in Sherwin Monster Hunter–style swordsmanship, he didn't hold anything back when sharing his own techniques.
Sure enough, all those flashy names Zoro came up with later were things he named himself—Hawk-Eye had never deliberately named his sword techniques at all.
As for sparring with Jinbe, to be precise, it was really more about asking him for guidance in Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu.
Although Sherwin himself was also somewhat curious about these arts that could manipulate water flow, the main reason he sought instruction was actually because of Shirahoshi.
As early as their time in Totto Land, Shirahoshi had already begun learning her people traditional martial arts from the Fish-Men living there.
However, due to various reasons, the Fish-Man tribe in Totto Land had incomplete inheritances to begin with.
So even with later guidance from Jinx and Kaido Meow, Shirahoshi never made much progress in this area.
Instead, she became fairly proficient in a small number of Monster Hunter–style barehanded techniques, such as inner fist.
Previously, Namur of the Whitebeard Pirates should have possessed a complete training method, but Sherwin and the others hadn't stayed there long enough at the time, leaving no opportunity for Shirahoshi to seek his instruction.
As for why they didn't just call Neptune to ask—
First, these things were hard to explain clearly with words alone. Second, Shirahoshi had been led astray by a few little furballs and wanted to give Neptune a "surprise."
Naturally, Sherwin had to help her out. So now that the opportunity presented itself, he took the chance to consult Jinbe as well.
He didn't even tell Jinbe that he intended to pass what he learned on to Shirahoshi afterward, only saying that he wanted to learn more ways to deal with enemies barehanded.
Thus they spent several "no-cat days" on Obelstan Island. Sherwin "cat withdrawal" was already getting harder and harder to suppress, and just as the other Seven Warlords were also starting to lose patience, Kizaru—who had been staying on the island to keep an eye on them—finally made his move.
"Everyone, the operation officially begins now. Please follow me."
With that same irritating grin on his face, Kizaru appeared before the Seven Warlords. However, Sentomaru was nowhere to be seen—perhaps he was still on Egghead Island?
After that, Kizaru led Sherwin and the others to the edge of Obelstan Island, though it wasn't the port where they had originally landed.
Just as everyone was feeling puzzled, the surface of the sea ahead suddenly began to bubble with a series of "gurgle gurgle" sounds. Immediately afterward, a massive submarine emerged from beneath the water, and then—
Amid a burst of mechanical clanking and transforming noises that Sherwin found extremely familiar, the submarine transformed into a form that closely resembled a Dodogama.
Sherwin: "!!!"