Although part of the Marines led by Akainu were dissatisfied with the Seven Warlords' act of walking out, …
Sengoku urgently needed reinforcements on his side, and they simply didn't have the time to stay here and argue with the Seven Warlords.
Besides, with the combat power of the people they had brought, they didn't really need the Seven Warlords' help in the first place.
So in the end, they said nothing. They quickly boarded those "subspecies" and hurriedly left.
It was worth mentioning that even Cavendish did not leave with them, but instead stayed behind here like the other Seven Warlords…
However, Sherwin felt that Cavendish probably just didn't have time to speak before being directly left behind by the Marines.
"Uh… so how are we supposed to leave this place now?"
Cavendish, whether he stayed of his own will or was abandoned by the Marines, scratched his head helplessly and then went to look for someone he was relatively familiar with—Moria.
"Heh heh heh~ My subordinates will come pick me up later. When the time comes, you can just leave together on my ship."
Moria was in a very good mood after obtaining quite a few corpses of strong fighters, so he decided to proactively give Cavendish a lift.
However, when Moria wasn't paying attention, Cavendish quietly glanced at the pile of corpses beside him, and a very obvious look of disgust appeared on his face.
If possible, he really didn't want to board a ship full of corpses. But there was no helping it—Doflamingo had slipped away first, and among the people here with whom he had even a bit of acquaintance, only Gecko Moria was left.
As for why he didn't contact his own Beautiful Pirates…
That was naturally because the Beautiful Pirates no longer existed.
Sherwin hadn't really made things difficult for that group back then. It was just that most of the Beautiful Pirates' members had originally been soldiers of the Bourgeois Kingdom, so after learning that Cavendish had merely been taken away by the Marines, they returned home to report to their king.
In other words, although Cavendish had now become one of the Seven Warlords, like Mihawk, he was a lone man.
Even his beloved horse Farulul had been taken back to the Bourgeois Kingdom together with his former subordinates.
While Moria was contacting his subordinates, Sherwin also called the Felynes, but the remaining few didn't do anything at all.
The equally lone Mihawk walked straight over to Sherwin's side without a word. His small boat had been left behind on Obeshtan Island, so he was clearly planning to hitch a ride on Sherwin's ship instead.
As for Jinbe, being a fish-man, he didn't even need to contact the Sun Pirates. He could simply swim away on his own— even in the Calm Belt, it would be no problem at all with his strength.
However, he neither entered the water to leave nor notified anyone from the Sun Pirates to come pick him up…
"I'll have to trouble you a bit later."
Jinbe said to Sherwin.
Clearly, he wanted to take this opportunity to meet Shirahoshi.
Emmm… hopefully Jinbe won't be too shocked.
Thinking about the changes Shirahoshi had gone through during this period, Sherwin was actually quite looking forward to the scene after the two of them met.
…
Because the Dodo Advance had been hanging behind the BIG MOM Pirates all along, not long after Sherwin contacted the cats, the Dodo floating dragon—looking like an oversized balloon—arrived above their heads and slowly descended.
Such a gigantic "white balloon" was impossible to miss. The BIG MOM Pirates, who had only just freed their ship from Aokiji's solid ice and sailed a short distance away from the island, naturally noticed it.
However, they showed no intention of coming over to cause trouble for Sherwin and the others…
Of course, it was also possible that they knew they couldn't catch up with the Dodo Advance anyway, so they didn't bother wasting the effort.
"Brother Sherwin~ Klee misses you so much, meow!"
(=`=)
Before the Dodo Advance had even landed on the sea surface, the impatient little ragdoll had already leapt down from above, diving through the air and precisely crashing into Sherwin's arms.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm, I miss Klee too."
Sherwin planted two firm kisses on the little ragdoll's forehead, then skillfully started scratching under her chin.
After the Dodo Advance steadied itself on the sea, a bat-wing-shaped gangplank immediately extended from the side of the ship facing the island, resting on the land in front of Sherwin and the others.
"Welcome aboard our Dodo Advance."
Sherwin stepped aside to let Jinbe and Hawkeye board first, and then…
He saw Boa Hancock follow right behind the two of them as if it were only natural.
"…Shakky said that if something happens, this concubine may seek your help!"
Facing Sherwin's surprised gaze, Hancock looked completely matter-of-fact.
With Shakky as the intermediary, Sherwin naturally didn't mind giving Hancock a lift, but Amazon Lily was located right in the Calm Belt—she could have easily contacted her own subordinates to come pick her up.
"Don't tell me… you didn't bring a Transponder Snail with you?"
Sherwin asked tentatively.
"!!!"
Hancock didn't answer, but the brief flash of panic on her face already explained everything.
"Get on the ship."
Letting out a helpless sigh, Sherwin didn't continue to press her. Instead, he carried Klee Meow and walked ahead. Hancock hesitated for a moment, then still lifted her foot and followed.
(=`н=)
Perched on Sherwin's shoulder, Klee Meow stuck out her little head and looked back, her face full of displeasure as she watched that bad woman Hancock follow them aboard the Dodo Advance.
However, the little ragdoll was very sensible and didn't oppose Sherwin's decision. She also had a good impression of Shakky and knew that the other party had helped them quite a lot, so despite disliking Hancock, Klee Meow endured it.
The few Felynes who had encountered Hancock back in the Calm Belt were likewise not very friendly toward her.
Hancock herself knew she wasn't particularly welcome among the Felynes, so she took her pet snake and obediently found a corner to sit down. At least, she didn't cause any more trouble…
Although her expression still looked proud, the little ragdoll tugged at Sherwin's ear and whispered,
"That bad woman actually thinks she's the one being wronged. Klee Meow not throwing bombs at her already counts as giving Aunt Shakky face, meow."
(ω)
Sherwin patted the little ragdoll's back and likewise ignored Hancock. Setting aside the fact that he was no longer very affected by the inexplicable attraction of the Love-Love Fruit, even if it still had some influence, he would absolutely prioritize his own cats' feelings first.
On the other side, after boarding the ship, Hawk-Eye walked straight toward Seijuro Meow and Link Meow, pulling the two cutting Felynes into a conversation. That proactive attitude was far more enthusiastic than he had been back on Obestan Island…
So you, with those thick brows and honest-looking eyes, are a cat servant too?
Sherwin shot a speechless glance at the completely different Hawk-Eye from usual, then shifted his attention back to Jinbe.
As novel as the contrast-filled Hawk-Eye was, this side's development was clearly more worth anticipating!
"Princess Shirahoshi, have you been doing well lately?" Jinbe asked with casual concern.
"It's been a long time, Boss Jinbe. I've been doing very well. Boss Sherwin and Jinx-sister and the others have all taken great care of me."
After exchanging a few simple pleasantries with Jinbe, Shirahoshi excitedly grabbed him and ran toward the training area.
"Boss Jinbe, you really came at the perfect time! I have so many questions I want to ask you!"
"Whatever questions you have, Your Highness, just ask!" Jinbe said, patting his chest.
Not yet knowing what was about to happen, Jinbe spoke confidently.
Then…
Right in front of Jinbe, Shirahoshi unleashed a vigorous set of Fish-Man Karate she had been practicing recently.
After finishing, she looked at the already dumbfounded Jinbe with eager anticipation and asked, "Boss Jinbe, what do you think? How did I do? Where do I still need improvement?!"
Jinbe: "!!!"