"While it true that my hobby is collecting, I have never forcibly taken someone else weapon..."
Sherwin paused for a moment and then added: "Except from pirates."
"That is good to hear," Fujitora clearly breathed a sigh of relief. "Even for this old man, I would not wish to easily cross paths with Your Excellency."
"Hmph! You say that as if you could actually beat a dummy like Sherwin meow!"
(=`へ=)
Haibara Meow immediately became displeased. Only they Felynes were allowed to look down on the Hunter who did this blind uncle think he was meow!
Fujitora did not get angry. Instead, he chuckled and said, "The one speaking just now must be one of the Felynes rumored to always follow Your Excellency? It is said their appearances are all very endearing. Regrettably, this old man lacks the fortune of sight and cannot witness it."
Faced with such a gentle attitude, Haibara Meow, who wasn't a bad kid to begin with, actually felt a bit embarrassed...
"Hmph~ We Felynes are naturally cute, we don't need your praise meow~"
(=`=)
Sherwin: "..."
If you're going to be a tsundere, be a tsundere, but why are you messing with my ears so much?
On the other side, the little angel Klee Meow kindly informed Fujitora: "The island we were at before called Dress-meow-rosa has a member of the Small People Tribe named Mansherry. She might be able to heal your eyes, Uncle meow."
(=)
"I appreciate your kindness, but this was all self-inflicted... These eyes were closed by this old man own hands."
"...You guy, are you a dummy meow?!"
∑(=ΦДΦ=)
The outspoken Haibara Meow said unceremoniously.
Fujitora still didn't get angry, but instead explained with a calm face: "It is only because this old man has seen too many things he could not bear to witness."
"But... Uncle, if you didn't want to look, wouldn't it have been fine to just cover them with an eye patch meow? Cutting your eyes like that, it must have hurt so much meow."
(=ω=)
Klee Meow still couldn't understand Fujitora actions.
Well, to be honest, Sherwin couldn't understand it either.
However, Fujitora clearly had no intention of explaining further, and instead returned to the original topic:
"So, Hunter, do you have the time to speak with this old man? In order to have an audience with Your Excellency, this old man has stayed for quite a long time on this island, which doesn't even have a casino."
Huh? He was actually waiting for me on purpose?
Although Sherwin was a bit surprised, he nodded and replied, "Of course, no problem. I actually have a few things I wanted to ask you as well."
Then, together with Fujitora, he found a quiet place to sit down.
"Here, try this. It a Sky Island specialty fruit, the Sky Coconut—the taste is quite good. And these are snacks meticulously prepared by our Investigation Team Chef ."
After sitting down, Sherwin wasn't in a hurry to discuss business with Fujitora instead, he pulled a pile of snacks and drinks out of his bag.
Fujitora paused for a moment, then took the Sky Coconut and had a sip.
"It is indeed delicious, and it tastes quite fresh." After giving his praise, he chuckled again.
"It is said that the Hunter and the Felynes by his side all possess a miraculous pouch capable of holding a vast amount of items. This old man always assumed it was a rumor, never imagining it was actually true."
Regarding this, Baby-5 was very envious.
As a maid, the fact that all the items were carried by others made her feel quite useless.
Sherwin took one look and knew this girl was overthinking things again, so he didn't hesitate to deliver a quick chop to her head.
"Awoo! M-master?"
"If you have time to obsess over that, you'd better spend it figuring out how to brew a better cup of black tea!"
Sherwin spoke in a disgruntled tone.
Doflamingo, that troublesome fellow, had given Baby-5 a maid outfit but hadn't taught her a single proper maid skill, only making her fight.
Before this, he had asked her to help brew a pot of black tea...
One could only say the result was shockingly "heavenly." So now, Sherwin only let her help prepare fruit juice.
"I actually think Big Sister Baby-5 has a lot of talent it a bit of a waste for her to brew black tea... Why doesn't she come and learn pharmacy with me meow~"
(=ω=)
Haibara Meow swayed her head, giving a serious suggestion.
Well, considering the pharmaceutical talent recognized by this "Breaking Bad Meow," it wasn't hard to imagine what the black tea Baby-5 brewed probably tasted like.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Just as Sherwin and the others were actively discussing whether Baby-5 should learn to brew tea or study pharmacy, Fujitora, who was nearby, finally couldn't help but interrupt them with a cough.
"That... The reason this old man came to find Your Excellency was actually to ask what your views are regarding the Warlords of the Sea'."
Fujitora had realized that the train of thought for Sherwin and this group of Felynes was far too jumpy if he didn't steer the topic back in time, they would stray tens of thousands of miles away in a matter of minutes.
"The Warlords?" Sherwin scratched his head and spoke the truth: "It quite useful it saved me a lot of trouble."
However, this answer was clearly not what Fujitora wanted. The blind swordsman knit his brows and explained in detail:
"What this old man wants to know is Your Excellency opinion on the other Warlords, and whether this system truly needs to exist."
Hmm?
Sherwin also reacted at this time. Wasn't this something Fujitora would only consider after becoming an Admiral?
Was he... already considering joining the Navy?
Although the current state of the Navy wasn't as dire as in the original story, Sengoku had already stepped down. With Aokiji becoming the Fleet Admiral, one of the three Admiral positions was still vacant.
Furthermore, beyond the three Admiral seats, the Navy had lost many high-ranking officers during Kaido attack and needed to replenish its strength.
Therefore, even though the Navy wasn't conducting a massive "World Military Draft" like in the manga, they had still been absorbing many powerful fighters from the civilian population lately.
From Sherwin perspective, he definitely didn't want Fujitora to join the Navy. As a Hunter who had some understanding of the man ideals, he decisively began to talk trash about the Navy and the World Government...
"How should I put it? Although the World Government and the Navy intended for the Warlords to keep the Four Emperors in check, let alone those pirate-born Warlords, even I wouldn't be bored enough to go out of my way to provoke the Four Emperors. So, in that sense, this system is actually a failure."
Sherwin first followed Fujitora future line of thinking and dismissed the Warlord system, but then he immediately shifted the topic.
"However, in terms of maintaining the stability of these seas, the existence of the Warlords still has some utility."
"I don't quite understand your words, Your Excellency." Fujitora slightly opened his eyes, revealing the clouded whites.
"Whether it is Crocodile' or 'Heavenly Yaksha,' aren't they both bringing ruin to entire nations?"
"Well, Crocodile failed in his attempt to seize a kingdom, so we won't discuss him for now. But Dressrosa... Doflamingo has actually managed it quite well."
Sherwin sighed, half-acting and half-sincere. "At least from what I've seen on my journey, many countries aren't even as good as Dressrosa... It not that Doflamingo governing ability is superior, it just that... he doesn't have the burden of the Heavenly Tribute."
"If the Heavenly Tribute were abolished..."
"It useless," Sherwin said, shaking his head as he continued to speak the blunt, uncomfortable truth.
"Even if the Heavenly Tribute were abolished, the World Government could just create a 'Heavenly Silver' or 'Heavenly Grain'... As long as the class of World Nobles exists, everyone else will remain nothing more than targets for their exploitation. And besides..."
"Even without the Heavenly Tribute, do you think those royals and nobles—who are even worse than Doflamingo—would stop exploiting the civilians of their own countries? They would only see the lack of a Heavenly Tribute as an opportunity to squeeze even more wealth for themselves."
"..." Issho remained silent for a long time before finally sighing.
"What you say is true, sir. But wouldn't the Seven Warlords be just like these people?"
"Of course," Sherwin nodded without hesitation, explaining,
"The Warlords are like founding monarchs they care more about the development of their own power and influence.
Therefore, they tend to leave some breathing room when it comes to exploitation. Furthermore, they are pirates after all, so they have to maintain a certain outward appearance.
Before the schemes of Doflamingo and Crocodile were exposed, their reputations were actually quite good."
Sherwin words were, of course, very one-sided. After all, how many Warlords were there compared to the number of kings in the world? The two couldn't truly be compared this way, and if Issho thought about it carefully, he would eventually notice the flaws in the logic.
Therefore...
Sherwin decisively threw out new information, giving Issho no time to dwell on the details.
"The situation with the Four Emperors is actually much the same. Whether it Big Mom Totto Land or places like Fish-Man Island under Whitebeard rule, the conditions are far better than those in many Allied Nations... It really only Wano Country under Kaido rule where the situation is truly miserable."
Issho: "!!!"