Although Sherwin had received the life paper from Lindbergh that could lead to Zou, he didn't speak much with him. After exchanging only a few casual words, they went their separate ways.
The other party hadn't even given a real name, clearly not wanting to get too entangled with Sherwin and his group.
By noon the next day, on a nearby island, Sherwin heard that a revolution had broken out in the Kingdom of Ziado—the king had been overthrown by a group of commoners...
And then, they elected the most well-regarded noble in the country to become the new king.
Sherwin: "…"
How should he put it? The revolutions in this pirate world gave him the feeling of watching those "weird little countries" series by Little John Khan.
Only, compared to those so-called "chiefs" who behaved less and less like human beings, the ones being chosen here actually turned out to be decent people.
Sherwin suddenly had a thought—maybe Dragon wasn't unaware of the need to change the system.
Perhaps keeping things as they were was a way to avoid alarming the World Government and the "royals" and "nobles" of other allied nations.
He might have been planning to consider reforming the system only after dealing with the Celestial Dragons.
After all, while the Revolutionary Army made a lot of noise, they were still far too weak compared to the World Government—not to mention that they didn't even know about Imu existence yet.
Of course… it was also possible that Dragon hadn't thought that far ahead… If Sherwin had the chance in the future, maybe he should give them a little reminder?
Even though this kind of "changing the soup but not the medicine" move by the Revolutionary Army felt a little deceptive, Sherwin still admired the ambition they displayed.
So if the opportunity came, he'd still be happy to lend a hand.
Shaking his head to push these thoughts aside, Sherwin led the Felynes along with the newly purchased supplies toward the harbor.
"Kid, those cats of yours look pretty nice…"
A group of thuggish, ugly-looking guys suddenly blocked their path.
"Sigh… this never ends…"
No matter what sea you were in, these kinds of people were always around… Sherwin let out a helpless sigh, while Link Meow had already drawn the Master Sword and Hylia Shield from his back, charging straight at the group.
=(==(=ω=(=ω=)┫
Compared to Meowjirou flashy Flying Cat Sword Style, Link Meow swordsmanship was much simpler.
But while plain, it was by no means weak—especially with his parry techniques that even gave Sherwin headaches.
So, in just a moment, the group of small-time thugs were left sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain.
If not for Klee Meow and Haibara Meow being present, that old Hylian rogue would never have held back.
"Link-nii is amazing, meow!" The little ragdoll, unable to throw bombs, could only sit on Sherwin shoulder and act as a cheerleader.
Sherwin also reached out his hand and gave Link Meow furry head a good rub.
(=ω=)"Let go."
After rewarding Link Meow, Sherwin didn't even bother giving another glance at those small-time punks who weren't even worth a bounty. With the Felynes in tow, he walked off as though nothing had happened.
When they arrived back at the harbor, however, they found another pile of people lying there.
At first, Sherwin thought it was just some fools who had gone to the Dodo Advance to mess with the Felynes and got cut down by Meowjirou, who was guarding the ship.
But after taking a closer look, he realized that many of the injuries weren't sword wounds at all. Even the ones that looked like cuts didn't match the kind of wounds Meowjirou small katana would have caused.
On top of that, the sounds of battle and shouting still echoed from up ahead. If it had been Meowjirou fighting, things should have been over already.
Sherwin and Link Meow quickened their pace, heading toward the spot where the Dodo Advance was docked. At the same time, they activated Observation Haki to figure out what exactly was happening as fast as possible.
By the time they arrived near the ship, they saw a spiky red-haired youth and a blond, masked man wielding dual scythes locked in combat with a half-human, half-tiger figure.
Meanwhile, three Felynes who had stayed on board were lined up at the rail, calmly munching on dried fish snacks Sanji Meow had made, while watching the fight unfold like it was entertainment.
Huh? Aren't those Kid and Killer?The two youths were too distinctive to mistake. Sherwin recognized them at a glance, but…
What on earth was going on here?
"Admiral, you're back, meow~" Huamei Meow waved a paw at Sherwin in greeting.
"Mm." Sherwin led the Felynes back on board, then pointed toward the three still fighting fiercely in the distance and asked curiously, "So what happened here? Who are those guys?"
"At first, that tiger-headed guy brought a whole bunch of people, trying to capture us, meow. Then that red-haired one happened to be heading out to sea, and he mocked them for only bullying kids. And then, they started fighting, meow."
Huamei Meow flicked her tail in annoyance, adding, "Originally, Seijuro wanted to step in, but I stopped him. Can you believe it, they actually called us children, meow!"
Sherwin twitched the corner of his mouth. No wonder. That explained why the Felynes were just sitting there watching the spectacle.
Haimei Meow huffed in frustration and complained, then explained:"Besides, that red-haired guy and the one wearing the mask are both really strong, there won't be any danger, meow. Also, that red-haired one can control metal—he must have eaten some kind of Magnetic Devil Fruit, meow."
As if to confirm Haimei Meow explanation, the red-haired Kid raised his hand, and all the surrounding metal objects were pulled toward him.
They twisted together into a massive steel arm, which he smashed down toward the half-human, half-tiger figure.
"That tiger-headed guy should be Simmons, captain of the Fierce Tiger Pirates. His bounty is twenty-eight million Berries, and he a Zoan-type Cat-Cat Fruit: Tiger Form user, meow."
Haimei Meow scolded angrily, "To waste such a powerful Cat-Cat Fruit ability like this—no wonder his bounty is so low, meow!"
Sherwin originally wanted to say a few words in Simmons defense, but then thought of Rob Lucci, who had also eaten a Cat-Cat Fruit. After comparing, Sherwin felt that Haimei Meow criticism wasn't wrong at all.
"As for that red-haired one and the masked one, I don't recall any intel about them. They should be pirates who only recently set out to sea, meow."
Sherwin wasn't surprised by this. After all, they were characters who appeared in the original story.
When he checked the wanted posters in the South Blue, he had paid special attention but hadn't found any information about Kid.
At the time, Sherwin thought maybe, like Ace and Luffy, Kid simply hadn't set sail yet.
Now meeting him here could only be called a coincidence.
Shifting his focus back to the battlefield, the fight was already nearing its end. Simmons, under the relentless blows of Kid massive mechanical arm, finally couldn't hold on.
He was smashed back into his human form. Covered in blood, he hadn't even had time to surrender before Kid next strike landed.
"Boom!"
The gigantic steel arm slammed Simmons, now fully human, into the floor. Within Sherwin Observation Haki, Simmons aura flickered like a candle in the wind.
His emotional colors shifted instantly from fear and anger to emptiness—it was clear he had been knocked unconscious.
After taking down Simmons, Kid did not dispel his massive mechanical arm. Instead, he controlled it to point straight at Sherwin, who had been watching the fight.
"Hey! You're that famous bounty hunter, the Hunter, right?!" Kid shouted arrogantly at Sherwin.
"I am Eustass Kid! My goal is the legendary treasure—ONE PIECE!"
"Oh…" Sherwin blinked, not quite understanding why the other party had suddenly launched into self-introduction, so he asked curiously, "So what?"
Kid arrogant grin suddenly froze…
This guy reaction… why is it completely different from what I imagined?