Garp didn't stay long in Windmill Village. After all, he was still a Marine Vice Admiral. Even if his position was rather special, he still had his own work to do.
So, after finalizing the details of the deal with Sherwin, Garp simply had a meal with his two grandsons at Dadan place, then left in a hurry.
Before leaving, however, he said he would have a News Bird deliver the things Sherwin needed.
"Sherwin! Hurry up and teach me that thing called Haki!"
As soon as Garp left, Luffy grabbed Sherwin, begging to be taught. Ace didn't speak, but his eyes were fixed straight on Sherwin.
"Hm?"
Sherwin was slightly taken aback, then quickly guessed what was going on.
Previously, Sherwin hadn't wanted to speak up, thinking Garp might have some special arrangements, and as an outsider, it wasn't his place to interfere.
But since the Felynes had already let it slip, there was no longer any need to keep it hidden.
However…
"You two are still a bit too early to start Haki training," Sherwin said to them based on his own experience.
"Ace, if you keep training for a while longer, it still possible for you to awaken Armament Haki. Luffy, your physical strength is much weaker, but as for Observation Haki… you can start laying the groundwork."
This so-called groundwork was naturally the same training Chinjao had once used on Sherwin.
Meowjirou and Hua Mei Meow were also using this method, but their talent in this area seemed rather average.
They couldn't learn as quickly as Sanji Meow, and there was no comparing them to Klee Meow.
In the following days, aside from physical and Observation Haki training, Sherwin also arranged sparring sessions between the two and the Felynes.
However, due to the gap in strength, their sparring partners were limited to Sanji Meow and Hua Mei Meow.
Although Hua Mei Meow was a navigator Felyne, her swordsmanship was quite decent, with strength falling between Ace and Luffy.
Since Luffy Rubber Fruit made him resistant to beatings, she usually served as his main sparring partner.
As for Sanji Meow, most of the time he would either take them both on at once or spar with Ace one-on-one, without using demon mode or felyne abilities.
This kind of evenly matched combat was the fastest way to improve one strength, so in just a few short days, not only did Luffy and Ace make rapid progress, but Sanji Meow and Hua Mei Meow abilities also saw considerable improvement.
However, among them, the one who improved the most was… another cat altogether.
"Sherwin-nii, Klee Dodoco is finished, meow!"
When the little ragdoll showed Sherwin the lifelike, vividly animated "Lord Stove God," his mind completely collapsed…
If this wasn't a Devil Fruit awakening, then he'd eat this Dodoco that looked exactly like Guoba!
Although the manga never clearly depicted what a Logia awakening looked like, this flaming bear that could move around freely without Klee Meow conscious control, and could curl up in a plush toy without igniting its outer shell, couldn't possibly be anything other than a Devil Fruit awakening!
So tell me—who the one with the cheat here?!
Still, although Klee Meow had managed to animate her flames, the Dodoco she created was noticeably different from Annie Tibbers—Klee Meow Dodoco had no intelligence, or rather, no soul. It was just a low-intelligence flame puppet.
It looked full of life only because Klee Meow was controlling it. If she didn't actively guide it and merely issued simple commands like attack, defend, or dance, Dodoco movements would become stiff and mechanical—something akin to Stiyl Witch Hunter King.
And if she really wanted "Lord Stove God" to be like Tibbers, there was a way—get Charlotte Linlin help to turn it into a Homie…
Wait… could it be that in the future, Klee Meow might, like Nami, lure Prometheus away from Big Mom?Sherwin rubbed his chin, feeling that with Klee Meow luck, such a thing wasn't impossible.
Still, to be safe, Sherwin decided that Klee Meow shouldn't place her "main body" inside Dodoco plush form for now. If she really wanted her own "Tibbers," it'd be better to wait until she actually managed to "borrow" Prometheus.
"Why is it that we all have Devil Fruits, but Klee powers are so amazing?!"
After being treated differently by his grandpa, Luffy looked enviously at the flame-shaped Dodoco clumsily dancing around, his jealousy toward Klee Meow flaring up again.
"That because not all Devil Fruits are the same," Sherwin explained to the two brothers, Ace and Luffy. "Devil Fruits are generally divided into three main categories—Logia, Paramecia, and Zoan. The most powerful overall is the Logia type. Without Haki, they're practically invincible."
"Generally speaking, Zoans are considered the weakest type, but within Zoans, there are rarer Ancient Zoans and Mythical Zoans.
Ancient Zoans are nothing special to explain, but Mythical Zoans are different—they often have powers no weaker than a Logia, and sometimes even stronger."
"Eh?! So you're saying the Paramecia I ate is actually the weakest kind of Devil Fruit?!" Luffy instantly slumped in dismay.
Sherwin gave Luffy a meaningful glance. After all, what Luffy had eaten wasn't just any Paramecia-type Gum-Gum Fruit, but an even rarer Mythical Zoan—Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. This fruit could even "hide its true nature"…
"Paramecia fruits are more complicated," Sherwin continued, without mentioning anything about Nika.
"Paramecia abilities are incredibly varied, so their potential can be both very high and very low. How much power you can actually bring out depends entirely on your development.
For example, one of the Seven Warlords, Donquixote Doflamingo, has taken the Paramecia-type String-String Fruit to its absolute limit.
Also, there something called a Devil Fruit awakening, which can cause a tremendous leap in one abilities."
"Ugh… that complicated… So basically, as long as I train hard, I can get stronger, right?" Luffy immediately simplified the explanation to its bare minimum.
Sherwin looked at him speechlessly, then nodded. "You could put it that way."
"Hahaha! Then that all I need! I'll definitely learn Haki, and that fruit awakening thing you mentioned!" Luffy pressed down on the brim of his straw hat, full of confidence.
"Before that, how about you try beating my Hua Mei first," Sherwin said irritably, rolling his eyes at this single-minded idiot. He then picked up the little tabby and held her up in front of Luffy, shaking her slightly.
Provoked, Luffy immediately jumped up. "Let fight, Hua Mei!"
However, Huamei Meow tilted her head and refused. "No way, meow. Right now is the time to enjoy the Admiral petting. I don't have time to fight you, meow."
Sherwin went along with it, using one arm to hold Huamei Meow while the other gently rubbed under her chin.
"Ah! How can you do that?!" Luffy shoulders slumped, and he hung his head in frustration.
Compared to the simple-minded Luffy, Ace cared about more things. "That so-called Warlord of the Sea… are they strong?"
Sherwin then remembered that after Ace set out to sea, he had taken down a Warlord, and the World Government had even considered offering him a position as one of them.
As for Luffy, there was no need to mention it—he had defeated Crocodile, Moria, and Heavenly Yaksha, recruited Jinbe, and even charmed the Empress.
Of the remaining two, one was under his father, and the other was his own teacher. Later, Buggy, another former defeated opponent, joined as well, and Law became his ally… Luffy could practically be called the nemesis of the Warlords.
"The Warlords vary in strength. Some of the weaker ones don't even know Haki. The strongest, Hawkeye Mihawk, can even go toe-to-toe with Whitebeard."
Pushing aside the messy thoughts in his head, Sherwin explained to Ace, "But Heavenly Yaksha is still very powerful—he should rank in the top three among the Warlords."
First place was undoubtedly Hawkeye. Kuma wasn't a Warlord yet. As for whether Heavenly Yaksha or Jinbe was stronger, it was hard to say.
The others—Moria and Crocodile—had lost their fighting spirit after being crushed by the Four Emperors and were among the weakest.
The Empress strength came more from her Devil Fruit ability, but if it came down to a real fight, she might not necessarily lose.
As for that last Warlord who wasn't even named in the original story, he would later be defeated by Ace, who at the time didn't even know Haki—so he couldn't be that strong.
"Whitebeard…" Upon hearing the name, Ace eyes instantly sharpened.
Sherwin grinned, pretending not to know. "Don't tell me you're thinking about challenging Whitebeard? His strength is no less than Vice Admiral Garp—maybe even greater."
Hearing that, Ace expression froze for a moment, but quickly turned resolute again.
Luffy, on the other hand, was shouting noisily from the side. "What?! There actually someone in this world stronger than Grandpa?!"
"So, since you're both planning to set out to sea, don't you ever read the newspaper or anything?"
Sherwin once again posed a soul-piercing question… The East Blue might be a bit remote, but it not like newspapers can't reach here. How is it that not one of them ever reads them?
Luffy, however, just picked his nose and said carelessly, "What does it matter? I'm going to beat them all sooner or later and become the Pirate King."
Well… that was indeed something Luffy would say.
Just as Sherwin looked at Luffy in speechless disbelief again, a News Bird flapped its wings and flew over from the distance, carrying a package in its beak, and landed right in front of Sherwin.