"Benefactor! You're finally here!"
When Sherwin arrived at Kesha Town with the Felynes, the man he had saved came running up to greet him immediately.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. That sea beast was pretty big—it took us a lot of effort to handle it," Sherwin quickly apologized.
"No, no, no! I wasn't blaming you at all!" The man waved his hands repeatedly. "We were just worried you'd sneak off without even giving us the chance to say thanks."
Their concern wasn't unfounded. After all, Sherwin and his group hadn't even taken the treasure from Arlong stash.
"If someone treating us to a meal, only a fool wouldn't come, meow." Klee Meow, having reclaimed her rightful "throne" on Sherwin shoulder, clung to him and stretched her neck, peeking toward the town. "Didn't you say there was a banquet, meow? Why can't Klee see anything?"
"Th-The cat just talked!"
"…Didn't Seijuro already speak in front of you earlier?" Sherwin said, speechless, pointing at the samurai Felyne beside him.
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot to be surprised back then!"
"..."
Well, that kind of reaction is very pirate-like.
Sherwin rolled his eyes and followed the man out of Kesha Town.
"Because the town was heavily damaged by those fishmen, we moved the banquet to the neighboring Cocoyashi Village," explained the man, whose name was Boent.
It was only at this point that Sherwin finally remembered — Kesha Town had appeared in the original story too.
By the time Luffy arrived, Kesha Town had already been completely destroyed by Mohmoo, and a few of the villagers who escaped had requested help from the Navy in another jurisdiction — only for the marine branch commodore and his entire ship to be wiped out by the three top officers of the Arlong Pirates.
The distance between Cocoyasi Village and Kesa Town wasn't far, so they quickly arrived at Nami hometown.
Even before entering the village, Sherwin could hear the sound of joyful voices coming from inside. Once they stepped into the village, countless people rushed up to him, expressing their gratitude.
Dealing with the enthusiastic villagers along the way, Sherwin followed Boint to an open area within the village. Ajian, the man with the windmill hat, along with a few unfamiliar uncles and elders, immediately came over to greet them.
"Savior! You've finally arrived!"
Their first words weren't much different from Boint.
Sherwin waved his hand and said, "Don't call me savior, just call me Sherwin. I'm not used to being treated so formally. I just came with my companions to freeload a meal."
Seeing that Sherwin said so, Ajian and the others didn't insist. Instead, they gratefully said, "All the food in the village is open to you and your companions. If you need anything else, just come find us—we'll do our best to provide."
Then, Ajian waved to the side, signaling a few villagers carrying trays to come over. They handed over a large amount of prepared food and drinks to Sherwin and the Felynes.
Banquets in the pirate world were always informal. Sherwin and his group followed local customs, found a spot to sit down with their food, and began to enjoy the meal.
"It not as tasty as what Sanji Meow makes, meow…" Klee Meow, still lounging on Sherwin shoulder, mumbled as she licked her little paw after nibbling the crumbs off Sherwin head. But right after, she squinted her eyes and happily rubbed her cheek against Sherwin. "But everyone so happy, meow."
Compared to Sherwin Observation Haki, Klee Meow was better at sensing emotions. That why she could feel the overwhelming joy all around and was swept up in it—becoming cheerful herself…
So cheerful that the little plush ball wanted to pull out a couple of boom booms to liven up the mood.
Fortunately, Klee Meow was still a well-behaved and sensible kitty at heart. She knew it wasn't the right time for explosives, so instead, she doubled down on messing with Sherwin ears.
Sherwin: "???"
He pulled the suddenly restless little plush ball off his shoulder. While kneading her chubby cheeks, Sherwin said to the other Felynes, "You don't have to stick with me all the time. Go have some fun and enjoy the banquet."
Now that Arlong had been taken care of, the entire Conomi Archipelago was safe. There was no need for Sherwin to keep the Felynes under close watch—he only had to make sure the little plush ball in his hands didn't start tossing bombs around.
Seijuro Meow stuck out his tongue to lick his lips and gave Sherwin a slight nod. "I won't go too far. Just call if you need me, Master Sherwin, meow."
With that, the samurai cat trotted off into the crowd and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Sherwin knew exactly where he'd gone—to find some sake.
While Seijuro Meow wasn't a heavy drinker, he did enjoy a quiet drink now and then. But in order not to be a bad influence on Klee Meow, he always avoided drinking in front of the little plush ball.
Because of that, even though he only liked to sip occasionally, he rarely had the chance to enjoy himself fully. Now, with such a golden opportunity, of course he was going to drink to his heart content.
"Then I'll go explore a bit too. It a good chance to learn more about this world, meow."
Hua Mei Meow flicked her tail, casually picked a direction, and strolled off with a slow, elegant catwalk.
"Since Sister Hua Mei just arrived and isn't familiar with the place, I'll go keep her company, meow!" Sanji Meow found a perfectly noble excuse and quickly chased after her.
Sherwin looked down and made eye contact with Klee Meow, who was happily nibbling on his hand…
"Klee didn't bite hard…" The little plush ball shrank her neck slightly, then stuck out her tiny tongue and gently licked Sherwin palm a few times. She looked up at him with big, aggrieved eyes. "Did I hurt you, Brother Sherwin? I didn't mean to, meow…"
"Of course you didn't hurt me," Sherwin chuckled as he scratched her under the chin. "Don't forget—your Brother Sherwin knows Armament Haki. How could you possibly hurt me?"
What he had actually been thinking about was whether to let Klee Meow go play by herself—but the little plush ball had misunderstood him.
"Hmph!" Klee Meow finally let out a relieved breath. Then, in retaliation for being scared, she gave Sherwin a gentle nip, punishing him for making her worry.
Seeing how thoughtful and well-behaved she was, Sherwin started to wonder if he'd been too strict with her. So he said, "Klee, you can go play too. Just remember—no bombs."
But to Sherwin surprise, Klee Meow didn't appreciate his kind gesture.
The little plush ball slid up his arm with a whoosh, climbed onto his shoulder, and snuggled against his head, purring sweetly, "Klee wants to stay with Brother Sherwin, meow."
In the past, Klee Meow would've happily run around on her own, but after her "throne" had been taken once today, she was suddenly gripped by a sense of crisis. That why she'd become even clingier than usual.
Sherwin had no idea about the odd little thoughts swirling in Klee Meow mind, but since the kitty wanted to stick with him, of course he wasn't going to say no. After finishing the food in front of him, Sherwin—like always—carried Klee Meow with him as he wandered about.
It didn't take long before his arms were full of new food—generous gifts from the villagers, who kept sending things over to express their gratitude. If not for the fact that Sherwin hands were already full, they probably would've kept piling more into his arms.
Naturally, this amount of food was nothing for Sherwin to carry. So he just held onto it, sharing some with Klee Meow while wandering aimlessly—casually looking around to see if he might run into Nami.
After all, she was an important character from the original story. At the very least, he wanted to chat with her for a bit or check off a little "I met her" moment.
As it turned out, Nojiko brought Nami to him on their own initiative…
"Thank you for helping us defeat Arlong!"
Sherwin had heard words like these countless times by now, but hearing them from a key figure in the original plot still gave him a small sense of satisfaction and pride.
Even so, his attitude didn't change. He simply smiled and asked, "Is there something you need?"
At the same time, he took the opportunity to glance over the two sisters…
Nami was still a little girl at this point—about the same height Sherwin had been when he first arrived in this world.
Her figure was far from the curvy look she had in the later parts of the manga. In contrast, Nojiko was already starting to develop and looked like a well-built high schooler.
However, the sister rather skinny arms and somewhat unhealthy complexions made it clear that their nutrition hadn't been ideal.
"This is our thank-you gift," Nojiko said, holding up the bag in her hand. "They're just some ordinary oranges, not worth much… but we grew them ourselves…"
She only got halfway through her sentence before realizing that Sherwin hands were already full, so she awkwardly trailed off.
"Where your ship? We can help carry it over!" Nami quickly chimed in, and Nojiko nodded in agreement.
"Let Klee try one first. If she likes it, I won't hold back," Sherwin said, tilting his head toward the little plush ball on his shoulder and motioning with his lips.
"Alright!" Nojiko promptly picked the best-looking orange from the bag and handed it to the little plush ball, who was tilting her head and staring at her.
"Her name is Klee, right? She so cute!"
"Thank you, big sister~ meow!" Klee Meow accepted the orange sweetly and thanked her with a chirp.
This time, there was no dramatic reaction. After all, Sherwin had already been in the village for quite a while, and word had spread—everyone knew their benefactor was accompanied by several talking Felynes.
Of course, curiosity was still there. After giving the orange, the two sisters didn't leave right away. Instead, they kept staring intensely at Klee Meow.
In contrast, Sherwin—the supposed hero—was now the one being sidelined. But he was already used to it.
"Brother Sherwin, you eat too, meow." Klee Meow peeled the orange, and before even tasting it herself, she broke off two juicy segments and offered them to Sherwin.
(=ΦωΦ=)つ
How could anyone deny that such a cute and thoughtful kitty was far more eye-catching than an ordinary two-legged human like Sherwin?
Didn't you see the way the sister eyes practically lit up like stars?
Still…
The oranges from Nami family… were just okay.
Not that they tasted bad—they were just, well, regular oranges.
Klee Meow was eating with great delight, completely unlike ordinary cats that hate the smell of oranges.
"How is it, Klee? Want another one?" After they finished sharing the orange, Sherwin asked.
"No more, meow." Klee Meow shook her head, causing the two sisters who were watching with hopeful expressions to instantly look disappointed.
But the little plushie continued, "But Klee wants to take a few back for Sanji Meow and the others to try, meow."
"Alright, then stuff some of what I'm holding into your backpack."
Then Nojiko and Nami watched in astonishment as Klee Meow took the gifts from the other villagers in Sherwin hands and began stuffing them clunk clunk clunk into the small backpack behind her.
The amount of stuff going in clearly exceeded the backpack capacity, yet it didn't even swell up, let alone fill up.
Sherwin smiled and shrugged at the two sisters. "Can't be helped. If I don't do this, the gifts from everyone will never stop… Go ahead and put your oranges up here."
As for Klee Meow magical little backpack, he didn't try to explain… mostly because he didn't know how to explain it in the first place.
Luckily, the sisters didn't press the issue and instead worked together to lift the bag and place it in Sherwin arms.
"Sherwin-nii," Klee Meow suddenly tugged on his ear and pointed to Nami arm. "The mark on this sister arm is the same as those fishmen, meow."
The sister faces instantly changed. Nami instinctively covered the tattoo on her left arm and tried to shrink away.
"It not what you think!" Nojiko quickly stepped in front of Nami and explained anxiously to Sherwin. "Nami was forced to join Arlong pirate crew…"
"I'm not dumb enough to believe those racist fishmen would ever see humans as their comrades," Sherwin waved his hand and said with a mock-thoughtful tone,
"So… those nautical charts at the top of Arlong Park—were they drawn by you?"
"Yes," Nojiko sighed in relief when she saw that Sherwin wasn't angry, then explained,
"Arlong forced Nami to join the pirate crew because he saw her talent for navigation."
"Her talent really is impressive. Those sea charts were the most detailed I've ever seen, and they were a big help to me," Sherwin nodded, praising her.
He had actually considered inviting Nami to join his own crew. Among the entire Straw Hat crew, the only ones Sherwin was truly interested in were Nami and Franky—even Chopper only counted as half.
After all, Felynes come in the healing-type category, and the probability of summoning a Felyne with general healing abilities was clearly much higher than one with navigation skills.
Besides, Sherwin still had two potions on hand, and some of Sanji Meow dishes also had healing effects. So a ship doctor wasn't really something he urgently needed.
Similarly, since they weren't in a rush to replace their ship or head into the Grand Line, there wasn't a pressing need for a shipwright either.
But a navigator was different—whether it was for Sherwin, pirates, or anyone going out to sea, it was an essential role. The earlier one had such a partner, the better.
That why Sherwin had even prepared an advanced training course for Sanji Meow… unfortunately, it ended up going unused.
After summoning Huamei Meow, and already having had some hesitation about recruiting Nami, Sherwin no longer had any reason to waver.
With no desire left, he kindly offered a reminder: "If possible, get rid of that tattoo as soon as you can. You've probably heard—Marine Branch 16 is in cahoots with Arlong.
Now that I've wiped out the Arlong Pirates, they'll likely use Nami as an excuse to extort you. Also, your navigation skills are extremely valuable to pirates, so it best not to reveal them too openly."
This had originally been one of the reasons he was planning to use to recruit Nami. Of course, even if she refused in the end, Sherwin still would have given the warning. Now, it simply wasn't necessary to go through the hassle.
"In fact, we were already planning to do that even if you didn't say so," Nojiko said, holding Nami tightly as she bit her lip to keep from crying. "That mark isn't exactly a fond memory for us."
Sherwin nodded and said no more. With Klee Meow in his arms, he quietly walked away.
Whether or not Nami would join the Straw Hat crew and become a pirate later wasn't something he needed to worry about.
With Luffy charisma and protagonist aura, even without Nami, other excellent navigators were bound to join the Straw Hat Pirates eventually.
After wandering around the village with Klee Meow in tow and finishing off his map, Sherwin finally returned to the spot where he had first split up with the Felynes.
As expected, the other three cats were already there waiting—and unsurprisingly, each one had returned with a good number of gifts.
"Everyone is really thankful to the Admiral," Huamei Meow was the first to run up, quickly climbing onto Sherwin and hugging his neck, nuzzling affectionately. "Huamei likes the Admiral even more now, meow!"
"Klee too! Klee loves Sherwin-nii the most, meow!" The little plushie, suddenly struck by a sense of rivalry, wasn't about to be outdone. She pressed her tiny forehead against Sherwin face and started wriggling wildly.
Huamei Meow was momentarily stunned, then covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Hehehe… Don't worry, little Klee, your Sherwin-nii won't be taken away, meow. It just that I really enjoy being petted by the Admiral. So could you maybe share just a little of your Sherwin-nii time with me, meow?"
"Meow~…" Embarrassed at having her thoughts exposed, Klee Meow bashfully buried her little head into Sherwin hair. But after hearing Huamei Meow last sentence, she suddenly lit up, eyes sparkling like she'd found a kindred spirit.
"Mhm! Klee also loves Sherwin-nii pets the most, meow! Loves them just as much as making bombs, meow!"
That was probably the highest praise the little plushie could offer Sherwin.
Meanwhile, Seijuro Meow, who wanted to agree but couldn't bring himself to say something so humiliating, opened his mouth… only to give up and quietly take a sip from the flask someone had just gifted him, sulking in silence.
Sanji Meow, consumed by jealousy and resentment toward Sherwin, once again bit down on his tail. "Uuuuuu… I'm really good at grooming fur too, meow…"
(=Д`=)