"What nonsense are you spouting? Why would I go after one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?"
After a brief moment of shock, Trafalgar Law quickly masked his reaction with a mocking laugh, pretending not to care.
Cautious as ever…
Sherwin clicked his tongue but ignored Law feigned ignorance. Instead, he began to talk about the Donquixote family.
Of course, the Donquixote family he spoke of wasn't the one founded by the Heavenly Yaksha, but rather the one in the Holy Land—the Donquixote family belonging to the Celestial Dragons.
"…In the eyes of most Celestial Dragons, this family always produced eccentrics. Among them was a couple who voluntarily gave up their Celestial Dragon status,
choosing to leave the Holy Land and live in the 'lower world.' But could the hatred ordinary people felt toward Celestial Dragons ever be erased just because they abandoned that title?"
Sherwin voice was calm, almost flat, but his words still captured everyone attention.
"…In the end, the elder of their two sons killed his own father with his own hands. Carrying his father head back to the Holy Land, he sought to regain his lost status—only to be refused.
From that day onward, Donquixote Doflamingo resolved to take revenge on the ordinary people who had persecuted him, as well as the heartless Celestial Dragons.
So, titles like Warlord of the Sea, Yonko, or even Pirate King mean nothing to him. All he desires is to watch the world burn."
Sherwin stopped there, turning his gaze toward the conflicted expression on Law face. In a low voice, he asked,
"Do you still need me to tell the story of Donquixote Rosinante—the second-generation Heart, Corazon of the Donquixote family—and the one he let escape, the third-generation Heart, Trafalgar Law?"
"I want to hear it! Klee Meow wants to hear it, meow!"
"There no need!"
Klee Meow and Law spoke at the same time.
Sherwin scratched the little Klee Meow on his shoulder and promised the small, puffed-up doll glaring righteously at Law: "Alright, once we're back, I'll tell you the story."
After calming Klee Meow down, Sherwin once again turned his gaze toward Law.
"I don't know where you learned all of this…" Law said darkly, "but how am I supposed to believe you're an enemy of Doflamingo, and not someone he sent to capture me?"
Perhaps thinking that possibility wasn't too likely, Law added, "Or rather, how can I be sure you'll actually help me fight him?"
"Ahh… and how exactly am I supposed to prove that…" Sherwin rubbed his forehead in mild frustration.
After thinking for a moment, he finally said, "You helped rescue Kuma daughter. He'll definitely repay that debt—it depends on whether you trust his character or not.
As for me… to be honest, I'm quite interested in the String-String Fruit that belongs to the Heavenly Yaksha.
And honestly, some of his subordinates' Devil Fruits look pretty good too. If the chance comes, I'd like to get my hands on them."
"You can extract the abilities of Devil Fruit users?!"
At that thought, Law immediately tensed up again, even though he had nearly agreed just moments ago—especially since it involved his own Devil Fruit ability.
"What are you even thinking?" Sherwin rolled his eyes. Naturally, he wasn't about to reveal the power of his Hunting Blade.
Instead, he answered matter-of-factly, "Unless I take down someone who already eaten a Fruit, how else could I get a reborn one? Besides, if I really had that power, why would I be wasting so many words with you? Wouldn't I have just taken the Ope Ope Fruit straight from you already?"
"Exactly, exactly! Sister Haibara Meow even wanted to eat the Ope Ope Fruit herself, but Brother Sherwin said you barely count as a good person, so he decided not to kill you, meow!" Klee Meow chimed in from the side.
…Great.
The moment the little doll spoke, Sherwin let out a long, helpless sigh.
Sure, Klee Meow had meant well, but for someone like Law—a pirate with principles and a clear moral bottom line—soft words worked far better than threats.
Not to mention, Law had that one particular quirk: he absolutely hated being ordered around.
Sure enough, Law, who had already been persuaded by Sherwin and was about to agree to help treat Bonney, suddenly changed his expression. With a cold sneer, he said,
"Kill me? Perfect. I also need to confirm whether you actually have the strength to back up your words. If all you have is a silver tongue, then you'll never be able to handle the Donquixote Family."
As he spoke, Law drew the Kikoku from his chest and raised it toward Sherwin and the others, assuming a battle stance.
"Brother Sherwin, did Klee cause trouble again, meow?"
(=ω=)
Even through her Observation Haki, the little doll could sense the shift in Law emotions.
Though she didn't really understand why he was angry, Klee Meow still tugged at Sherwin ear and obediently apologized: "Sorry… Klee didn't mean to, meow~"
"Since you're the one who caused the trouble, how about you be the one to solve it?" Sherwin tapped Klee Meow little nose with a smile as he asked.
"Really, meow? Really, meow?!"
Klee Meow eyes instantly sparkled. With more and more brothers and sisters joining the ship, the little doll hadn't had a proper fight in a long time.
Sure, she got to set off a few fireworks now and then, but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her. Who would've thought that making a mistake would earn her such a surprising reward!
Of course, the reason Sherwin let Klee Meow step up was because he could tell the little doll was feeling stifled from holding back for too long…
Tch! This had to be Seijuro Meow influence. Otherwise, how could his little angel Klee Meow have become so battle-hungry!
Sherwin tossed the blame onto the clueless samurai cat in his mind, then continued poking Klee Meow tiny nose as he said, "
Why not? Just remember, he still has to help treat Bonney, so don't use the really powerful bombs."
"Don't worry, Leave it to Klee Meow!"
The little furball nodded repeatedly. It wasn't like she wasn't allowed to throw bombs at all—she just had to fight with weaker ones. Anyway, she hardly had any powerful bombs left in her pouch!
With absolutely no proper understanding of her own explosives, Klee Meow cheered as she leapt down from Sherwin shoulder, landing right in front of the guarded Law.
"You dare look down on Sherwin? Klee will beat you until you admit defeat, meow!"
(=`=)
The little furball bared her teeth and waved her claws at Law, though she neither flattened her ears nor flicked her tail. Clearly, she was still treating the whole thing like a game.
"Sherwin, are you sure this is okay?" Kuma asked worriedly.
"Relax. If Klee gets serious, you might not even be able to beat her," Sherwin waved his hand, signaling him not to worry.
While Sherwin and Kuma were chatting casually, Law on the other side was about ready to explode with anger.
"You bastard! Are you messing with me again?!"
Although Law knew that the Felynes naturally possessed decent combat ability from a young age, what kind of strength could a tiny little cat less than a meter tall really have?! It wasn't like he hadn't seen Bepo when he was still a cub!
Yeah, letting cats handle enemies always turned out like this—the enemy would feel insulted and furious, but the ones truly underestimated, the cats themselves, would get even angrier…
"Ha—! Klee is angry now, meow!"
(=`Д=)
The little furball, feeling belittled, flattened her ears, lashed her tail, and her fur puffed up as she let out a fierce hiss.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Meow!"
Crackling with lightning, Klee Meow roared as she charged at Law, who was still shouting curses at Sherwin, and swung her tiny paw straight toward his face.
"I don't have time to play with a little brat like you!"
Law tilted his body and easily dodged Klee Meow pounce. After all, the little furball didn't train much usually, and her physical combat ability was pretty average.
"Hmph!"
(=`н=)
Missing her strike, Klee Meow knew close-quarters combat wasn't her strength.
Though her cheeks were puffed up with anger, she didn't rush Law again. Instead, she reached to her backpack and pulled out a stuffed Dodo Bear doll that looked almost exactly like Guoba, then tossed it into the air.
"Summoning Jutsu: Dodo Bear, meow!"