After watching Bogard inexplicably sit back down and endure the mockery of his fellow sailors, Sherwin quickly shoved this strange Navy guy to the back of his mind.
This was the very bar where the Mountain Bandit King had smashed a Yonko head with a bottle—how could he not take a good look around?
Of course, that was easier said than done. In reality, the bar wasn't that big—just a quick glance around and you'd pretty much seen it all.
Makino cooking was still quite good. Though not on Sanji Meow level, compared to the food in most East Blue taverns, it was far ahead of the pack. So they were eating quite happily.
Just as they were finishing up, a loud but hearty elderly laugh came from outside.
"Bwahahaha! Makino, get us some food! Make it a big portion!"
Garp burst through the door in his usual blustery fashion, dragging Luffy in by the collar. Ace was nowhere to be seen.
Given Ace personality at this point in time, he probably rarely—if ever—came to Windmill Village, and Garp was more than happy to keep him hidden up on Mt. Colubo.
Then Sherwin glanced at the straw hat on Luffy head… That was the original Pirate King straw hat, and might even be tied back to the first Joy Boy.
Still, no matter how legendary its origins, it was just an ordinary straw hat—nothing special about it—so Sherwin quickly looked away.
At that moment, Klee Meow suddenly pointed at Luffy, whose cheeks were being stretched out by Garp, and burst out laughing:
"Meow-hahaha! Sherwin-nii, look! That big guy face is so funny! It can stretch so long, meow!"
"A talking cat!" Luffy, who had been struggling under Garp grip, instantly lit up with excitement.
He pointed back at Klee Meow and shouted happily, "Grandpa, look! There a talking kitty over there!"
Of course, Garp knew about the Mink Tribe. He glanced curiously at Sherwin and the Felynes, then punched the eager Luffy hard as he laughed and said,
"Looks like we've got some very interesting guests today, Makino."
"Yes, Mr. Garp," Makino replied as she brought over the food she had prepared and set it down in front of Garp and the others.
"They really are a group of adorable little guests."
"Ah! Sherwin-nii, that old man is named Garp, meow!" Klee Meow memory was surprisingly good.
She immediately recalled the request Grandpa Chinjao had made to them and pointed at Garp, shouting, "Isn't he the one Grandpa Chinjao asked us to help beat up, meow? But he an old grandpa too... Klee doesn't wanna hit him, meow."
Not only did all the nearby Marines turn to look in surprise, but even Luffy—who was crouching on the ground clutching his head and baring his teeth in pain—looked up at them with a wide-eyed, warrior-like gaze directed at Sherwin and the others.
Sherwin facepalmed helplessly. "We never agreed to help Grandpa Chinjao with that in the first place, okay? Besides, we couldn't beat him even if we tried..."
"Oh yeah," the little plushie great memory kicked in again. "Sherwin-nii, I think you did say this old man was super strong, meow... eheh, Klee just kinda forgot about that, meow."
But by now, whatever they said didn't matter anymore. The conversation between Sherwin and Klee Meow had already caught Garp attention.
"Chinjao? You mean that cone-headed guy?"
The fact that Garp even remembered who Chinjao was actually surprised Sherwin a bit.
Could those ridiculous netizen theories actually be true—that Garp real battle record was pretty thin?
Sherwin knew those "analyses" were just nonsense and satire, laced with frustration at Garp poor showing on Hachinosu. But still, with how pathetic Garp had been there, it was hard not to think that way.
While Sherwin thoughts were still spiraling off-track, Klee Meow seriously added, "That not right, meow. Grandpa Chinjao head is bald and flat, with a little dent in it—it doesn't look like a cone at all, meow."
"Ahahahaha! That right, I'm the one who dented his cone head!" Garp laughed proudly.
"No wonder Grandpa Chinjao hates you so much... Take this, meow!"
(=`Д=)シ°
Klee Meow nodded knowingly, then suddenly tossed a round little "thing" at Garp. By the time Sherwin realized what was happening and tried to stop her, it was already too late.
The little plushie didn't care about pirates or marines, or who was strong or not. All she knew was that Grandpa Chinjao had always been kind to her, so she had to take revenge for him!
Fortunately, Klee Meow didn't really plan on harming Garp. What she threw was just an outdated fish-bombing Boom-Boom.
"Hm? What this thing?" Garp caught the Boom-Boom bomb with one hand, brought it closer to his face for a look, and even gave it a squeeze.
"Hahaha… this little thing is so soft and squishy, it wouldn't even hurt if you hit someone with it. Is this what you're using to avenge Chinjao? You really are a cute little c—"
"BOOM—!"
With an explosive flash of fire, Garp was sent flying flat on his back, black smoke pouring from his mouth.
"Grandpa!"
"Mr. Garp!"
"Vice Admiral, sir!"
Everyone present cried out in shock.
But compared to the panicked Makino and Luffy, the marines were relatively calm—they didn't even draw their weapons. After all, they knew that this little explosion wouldn't do any real harm to Garp.
Naturally, these marines, as Garp subordinates, still subtly surrounded Sherwin and the others to prevent them from escaping.
"Grandpa was blown to death!"
At this moment, Luffy, who was only about twelve years old, was the most flustered of everyone, but he quickly regained his composure.
"No, Grandpa body is as tough as steel, there no way he'd die just like that." Obviously he had been the most panicked a moment ago, but now Luffy was picking his nose with a calm look and said, "He must have just fallen asleep again."
No one knows Grandpa better than his grandson. Right now, Garp was lying on the ground, snoring loudly with his mouth wide open, even a giant snot bubble hanging from his nose.
"Vice Admiral, sir!"
Garp subordinates, already used to this kind of situation, shouted together.
"Ah!" Garp woke up just as fast as he had fallen asleep. He scratched his head and climbed up from the ground, laughing carelessly. "Hahaha, I accidentally fell asleep!"
Sherwin looked speechlessly at the ridiculous scene before him…
If he hadn't read the manga and known this was just how Garp was, he would absolutely have thought Garp was putting on an act.
After sobering up, Garp didn't forget about just having been blown up. He wiped the black soot from his face, then walked over to Sherwin and the others, pretending to glare fiercely at Klee Meow.
"Little one, do you know who I am? How dare you throw a bomb at me?!"
"Klee knows, meow," the little plushie nodded and answered honestly,
"Big brother Sherwin said that old grandpa, you're a really strong Marine, meow… But Klee not afraid of you! You bullied Grandpa Chinjao, so Klee going to take revenge for him, meow!"
(=`н=)
"Wahahahaha… So I'm that amazing, huh?" Garp completely ignored the second half of Klee Meow sentence and burst into smug laughter.
But before Garp could laugh for long, Klee Meow added, "Big brother Sherwin also said, even though you're strong, old grandpa, you're terrible at teaching kids. Grandpa Chinjao is way better than you in that area, meow!"
And that little rascal Luffy chimed in from the side, "That right! Grandpa doesn't know how to teach at all—he only knows how to hit people!"
Garp laughter came to an abrupt stop. After giving the undermining Luffy a firm bop on the head, he turned and glared at Sherwin with a murderous look.
Sherwin: "…"