After fighting with old man Chinjao, Sherwin had little interest in bullying the current versions of Ace and Luffy. So, without thinking twice, he dumped the task onto the Felynes.
The result...
"No interest, meow."
"It an unworthy victory. I refuse, meow."
"Brother Luffy is a good person. Klee doesn't want to blow him up, meow."
"Why are you looking at me, meow? I'm a chef! I'm not fighting for you, meow!"
Even Sanji Meow, who used to be the most annoyed with Luffy, refused this time. That left Sherwin, who had wanted to slack off, feeling very frustrated.
"You jerk! You looking down on us or what?!"
Feeling underestimated, Luffy pointed at Sherwin and shouted loudly. Ace, who felt the same way, silently pulled out his usual weapon—a metal pipe.
Sherwin was honestly curious. Sabo, even after losing his memory, still used his metal pipe in fights. So why did Ace stop using his after going to sea?
Was it because carrying a pipe became inconvenient after eating the Flame-Flame Fruit? But Klee Meow can still carry her little backpack while elementalizing.
And if memory serves, Crocodile could also elementalize while keeping the hook on his hand.
If we're being precise, Logia users' clothing and accessories never seem to be affected by their elemental state. Even the Den Den Mushi in Kizaru pocket worked just fine.
There no reason why a weapon held in the hand shouldn't work. And later on, after Sabo ate the Flame-Flame Fruit, didn't he still keep using his pipe…?
Ugh... no good, my head itches. I feel like I'm about to grow some brain cells.
"You've got the nerve to space out?!"
Luffy, seeing that Sherwin eyes were gradually losing focus—clearly thinking about something else—got even angrier. Without hesitation, he unleashed the special move he had trained so hard on—
"Gum-Gum Pistol!"
"Hm?"
Sherwin instinctively tilted his head to dodge Luffy fist. Once he snapped back to reality, he realized that his own Felynes had already—at some point—very disloyally slipped away to the sidelines.
"Go, Brother Sherwin, meow!" Klee Meow raised her little paw to cheer him on, then excitedly tugged on Huamei Meow beside her.
"Sister Huamei, look! Brother Luffy arm can stretch so long, meow!"
(=`=)
"Mm, he probably ate a Devil Fruit, the kind that makes your body as elastic as rubber, meow," Huamei Meow explained as she gently patted Klee Meow little head.
"Oh, so that what it is, meow."
Now that she understood what was going on, Klee Meow wasn't quite as excited as before, but she still watched Luffy swing his long arms around with great interest.
"You guys ran off way too fast, didn't you?!" Sherwin called out irritably to the Felynes who were now just spectating, all while effortlessly dodging every one of Luffy attacks with a casual air.
Even Ace, who hadn't planned to make it a two-on-one, couldn't hold back anymore. He charged in, swinging his metal pipe. "Where the hell are you looking?! Take this seriously!"
His swing was both fast and fierce, but it only struck at Sherwin arm.
"Oh?"
Sherwin took a quick retreating step and dodged the incoming pipe strike. But there was a hint of surprise and delight on his face.
Ace strike had come with impressive speed and power. Not just by East Blue standards—he could probably earn a 30 to 50 million bounty in West Blue with that alone.
If he were to compare it directly, Ace strength now was about the same as when Sherwin had first summoned Klee Meow... Of course, this was referring to Sherwin without activating his demon mode.
This level of strength wasn't what surprised Sherwin. What actually delighted him was the fact that, even two years later, when Ace went to sea, he still hadn't learned Armament Haki. Otherwise, Luffy wouldn't have been so clueless about Haki existence.
So that means...
My talent is actually stronger than the Pirate King son?!
And also... that old bastard Garp really doesn't teach anyone anything, huh...
"You bastard! Is dodging all you can do?!"
Ace and Luffy, who hadn't landed a single hit on Sherwin, ended up saying the kind of line that many villains utter right before the protagonist shows off.
Well, if I don't act cool here, wouldn't that make me seem like I don't know how this works?
With that thought, Sherwin placed his hand on the hilt of Longsword.
Flying Felyne Sword Style: Cat Claw Flash!
Of course, Sherwin wasn't actually going to slash Ace and Luffy with a drawn blade, so he didn't even unsheathe it. Instead, he swung Longsword, still in its scabbard, toward them.
The sheathed Longsword swept through the air, leaving streaks of orange afterimages as it struck Ace and Luffy one after the other, sending both brothers flying.
After knocking them away, Sherwin shook his head and sighed in an exaggeratedly disappointed tone.
"No good, you two. Maybe I should switch to Sanji instead—if he the one fighting you, you might at least have the tiniest sliver of a chance."
As he spoke, he also made a hand gesture that would trigger stress responses in certain stick-wielding nationalities.
"You haven't won yet!" Since Sherwin hadn't used Armament Haki just now, Luffy—being a rubber man—was the first to get back up.
Swinging his arms, he charged again with a howl: "Your attacks don't hurt at all! I'm not afraid of you!"
"You want to get hurt, huh..." Sherwin grinned. "That easy."
As he spoke, he thrust the Longsword sharply forward. A barely noticeable trace of black gathered at the tip of the sheath, and with the motion, the Longsword jabbed hard into Luffy stomach as he charged in.
Immediately after, Sherwin twisted his wrist, deflecting the water pipe Ace swung at him, then spun around and jabbed Ace in the stomach as well.
"Waah—!"
That strike made Luffy eyes nearly pop out from the pain. He clutched his stomach and dropped to his knees, unable to get up for quite a while.
Ace didn't fare much better. The water pipe slipped from his hand due to the pain and clattered to the ground.
The only difference was that he gritted his teeth and didn't cry out like Luffy did.
"That should be enough, right? Vice Admiral Garp, there too big a gap in strength between us—no need to keep going. Let my Felynes take over; it'll be a more effective training."
Sherwin casually slung the Longsword over his shoulder and turned his head to look at Garp, who seemed a bit surprised.
"Ahahahaha! I didn't expect you to have awakened that power already. Yeah, no way to compare anymore," Garp laughed heartily.
Hmm?
Sherwin raised an eyebrow. Just now, Garp words...
It seemed like he was deliberately hiding the existence of Haki from Ace and Luffy.
Because when he mentioned Armament Haki, he used vague terms like "that power" to refer to it.
And come to think of it, every time Luffy asked Garp why his punches hurt so much, Garp always brushed it off with nonsense like "a fist full of love is irresistible."
So... was there a specific reason behind that?
Sherwin rubbed his chin, puzzled.
Still, since the old man clearly had a reason for keeping it a secret, Sherwin saw no need to expose it. In the end, he just shrugged and headed toward the Felynes.
"W-Wait! I haven't lost yet!"
Ace clutched his stomach with one hand and picked up the dropped water pipe with the other, staggering to his feet.
"I... I can still fight too!"
Encouraged by Ace refusal to give up, Luffy also stood up.
"Impressive fighting spirit, but… I refuse." Sherwin didn't even look back as he walked over to Sanji Meow side and patted his little head. "You go instead. Those two will be decent opponents for you."
Ace and Luffy were both stubborn as rocks—once they got going, they wouldn't back down easily.
If Sherwin kept fighting them, there was a real chance it could push them into some kind of breakthrough.
But for him, there was nothing to gain from that. It was better to let Sanji Meow step in and see if they could all "grow together" a little.