After finally setting foot on the first island of the North Blue, Sherwin noticed that while the locals were surprised he had taken care of those pirates, they seemed completely unfazed by the fact that the pirates had been fighting amongst themselves.
It seemed that this kind of constant fighting really was the norm in the North Blue.
Then came the usual routine of wandering through town with the cats. This time, accompanying Sherwin were Sanji Meow and Haibara Meow, while the rest of the Felynes were left behind on the ship.
In truth, even if they didn't already have the habit of taking turns watching the ship, given the North Blue overall atmosphere of "overflowing martial spirit," Sherwin would still have left some of them behind.
He wasn't about to assume that the pirates here would honor the so-called "port non-aggression" unspoken rule.
Usually, Sanji Meow, the little yellow cat, always tagged along with Hua Mei Meow.
But since they had just arrived in the North Blue, and in order to seek out some of the local specialty ingredients, Sanji Meow wrestled with the decision for quite a while before ultimately choosing to accompany Sherwin into town this time.
Perhaps because of the deterrent effect from him having just taken out that group of pirates, Sherwin didn't encounter anyone foolish enough to try and buy or even snatch his cats like usual.
The shopkeepers in town were all easy to talk to as well. Clearly, even the common folk here had their own way of passing news around quickly.
This only confirmed further that such chaos was an everyday occurrence in the North Blue.
That said, the state of the North Blue didn't matter too much to Sherwin. At worst, it just meant more frequent fights, which would let him earn more bounty money anyway.
He still needed to save up plenty in preparation for future dealings with the Revolutionary Army.
The trade request he had made to Kuma had already been approved by Dragon. Although they weren't able to produce a Devil Fruit right away, there was no harm in having the purchasing funds ready in advance.
After wandering around Lighthouse Town with the cats, Sherwin and the others returned to the ship, and Klee Meow, of course, was the first to pounce on him.
(=`=)
"Sherwin-nii~ Klee made a big discovery, meow!"
The little ragdoll cat in Sherwin arms butted her small head against him, eagerly seeking praise.
Even without Klee Meow explaining, Sherwin already knew what her "big discovery" was—lying on the deck of the Dodo Advance at this very moment was a Devil Fruit covered in swirling patterns.
So, that group of pirates earlier had probably been fighting over this Devil Fruit, huh?And needless to say, the first cat to find this fruit had to be Klee Meow, with her treasure-hunting talent.
"That amazing, meow!" Sanji Meow cheered, dropping the ingredients he was holding. "Sherwin, does this mean we can summon a beautiful big sister Felyne again, meow?!"
"Not necessarily," Sherwin said, dampening his excitement as he pulled out the handbook.
"First of all, there no guarantee the handbook will even give us fragments. And if this is a Paramecia-type fruit, the fragments might not be compatible.
Besides, even if we do get fragments, summoning a beautiful big sister Felyne isn't a sure thing. Statistically speaking, the odds of summoning a big brother are actually higher."
"Ahhhhhhhhhh—!" Sanji Meow covered his ears and shook his head frantically. "I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening, meow!"
Then he wrapped himself around Sherwin leg, biting and kicking in frustration. "You stupid jinx! Can't you just say something nice for once, meow?!"
"…Who are you calling a jinx?!" Sherwin retorted, tugging on Sanji Meow ear.
"That not bad luck, that reasoning. Reasoning, understand? It means I have sharp insight and can see the bigger picture from small details!"
"Then why is it, meow, that your predictions always come true when they're bad, but never when they're good?" the little yellow cat questioned with soul-piercing seriousness.
"I agree. If it weren't for Klee, Admiral, your 'jinx' tendencies might be even worse, meow~" Hua Mei Meow added, twisting the knife.
"Meow? What about Klee? Did Klee help Sherwin-nii again, meow?" The little ragdoll, who was slowly evolving into a natural airhead, tilted her head in confusion and delivered another blow:
"Even if Sherwin-nii has bad luck, Klee can lend you hers~ So there no need to worry, Sherwin-nii, meow!"
"Hmph~ Either way, I've never noticed any of that Sharp insight' or eeing the bigger picture' nonsense in this idiot, meow!" As the Investigation Team undisputed brains, Haibara Meow comment carried a lot of weight.
"Ahem… Master Sherwin is actually… well… wisely pretending to be foolish, meow." The loyal samurai cat still tried to save face for his lord!(=艸=)Link Meow was covering his mouth, snickering, but the problem was…
Even if this little leopard cat didn't make a sound, everyone could still clearly tell exactly what he was thinking!
Sherwin clutched his chest his good mood from seeing the Devil Fruit evaporated instantly.
"All right, everyone settle down, meow. Admiral, stop fooling around and just check the Hunter Handbook already, meow."
Hua Mei Meow grabbed Sanji Meow, who was still clinging to Sherwin leg, and yanked him off before steering the conversation back to business.
Sherwin grumbled as he opened the Hunter Handbook, flipping to the page for Devil Fruits—
Paramecia-Type: Paper-Paper Fruit.
Hmm… a fruit he had absolutely no impression of…
"Paramecia-type, huh? Looks like there won't be any fragments to collect…"
Just as Sherwin assumed this stingy handbook would be like with the Reindeer Fruit back then and give him nothing, a soft white glow shimmered across the page.
"..."
"Could it be that I really am jinxed?"
Under Sherwin speechless gaze, a pure white fragment appeared in the gap of his handbook.
Felyne Summon Ticket (1/3).As expected, the Paramecia pool was once again its own separate category…
This was a reasonable deduction! Definitely not a jinx!
So why did this Devil Fruit grant a fragment? Sherwin was certain he had no impression of this fruit at all.
The rules of this strange cheat ability were just as perplexing as the various settings of the One Piece world—utterly incomprehensible.
Could it be that Zoan Fruits were simply ranked lower than other Devil Fruits?But regardless, having a fragment was always a good thing.
Sherwin skillfully tossed aside the question that was making his head itch and turned his focus to the fragment itself—
As for the Paper Fruit…
Maybe he could draw a character like Konan Meow? Or… Wang Zhizhe Meow? There was also a paper-related character in Date A Live, if he remembered correctly, named Origami Tobiichi… or perhaps Bomb Bin?
Other than that, Sherwin couldn't think of any other characters related to paper. Of course, if he included characters who used talismans or paper charms, then the possibilities would multiply.
Still, Sherwin might not even choose to draw from this ability pool in the future. Judging from the current pattern, the Paramecia pool would most likely work like the Zoan pool before, allowing him to switch Devil Fruit abilities to further narrow the draw range.
Compared to paper-related powers, there were clearly far stronger abilities to choose from.
Putting away the handbook and the fragment, Sherwin looked at the Felynes. "Does anyone want to eat this fruit?"
Since they had all heard the story of the ninja cat from Naruto, none of the Felynes thought the Paper Fruit was weak. However…
"I wouldn't want a fruit that would keep me from bathing. I'm not interested, meow," said Seijuro, who was dedicated solely to the way of the sword and cared little for Devil Fruit powers themselves.
"I'm not interested in Devil Fruits, meow!"
Sanji Meow, who had once considered the Invisibility Fruit, no longer held any lewd thoughts like the original Sanji after spending so much time under Huamei Meow subtle influence… Of course, he was still a little pervy cat—some things never changed.
(ω≡ω)Link Meow also shook his head, having no desire to eat a Devil Fruit.
Huamei Meow hesitated for a moment, but ultimately gave up on the idea. "Paper abilities are too affected by weather. Not really suitable for me, meow."
"Uuu… Sherwin-nii, it really impossible to eat a second Devil Fruit, meow?"
Klee Meow, on the other hand, really wanted this power, because…
In Naruto, Konan had created six hundred billion explosive tags using this very ability!Could you imagine how irresistible that was to a bomb-obsessed demolition cat?!
Similarly, if Sherwin ever got the Clay Fruit or Bomb Fruit, Klee Meow eyes would surely light up too.
"Sorry, but it really is impossible." Worried the little ragdoll would stubbornly try to bite into the Paper Fruit,
Sherwin quickly put it away and explained, "Generally speaking, eating a second Devil Fruit has only one outcome: the powers will clash, and your entire body will explode, killing you."
Blackbeard was an exception, but Sherwin had transmigrated before learning the exact reason.
There was another theory that if one Devil Fruit power was developed to the point of awakening, the body would reject other Devil Fruit abilities, meaning that even if a second fruit was eaten, the user wouldn't explode. However…
Sherwin obviously wasn't about to let Klee Meow test that theory.
"Meow!" The little ragdoll fluffed up in shock at the terrifying outcome. "Then Klee won't eat it, meow…"
She loved bombs, but she had no intention of turning herself into one.
(The Paper Fruit comes from the GBA game One Piece: Nanatsu Shima no Daihihou.
The game itself was actually pretty good—a mix of RPG, puzzle-solving, and strategy elements)