After dealing with Crocodile and his subordinates, Sherwin did not immediately leave Rainbase but instead ran into the Rain Dinners, which had already turned into ruins.
Besides meeting the group of Banana Gators raised by Crocodile, Sherwin also, under Robin lead, took a trip through Rain Dinners treasury.
Not only did he obtain a large amount of Beli that Crocodile had not yet managed to transfer, but he also dismantled the Sea Prism Stone cage that had been prepared to deal with Devil Fruit users, stuffing it into his and the Felynes space pockets.
In addition, he used the anti-eavesdropping Den Den Mushi he carried with him to make a call to Morgans, telling him everything that had happened in the Kingdom of Alabasta.
"…So, Crocodile has already been taken out by you?" Morgans fell silent for quite a while before digesting everything Sherwin had said.
"Right, since you could defeat Cracker from Big Mom Pirates, taking down Crocodile wouldn't be that difficult… But one thing is very important, Sherwin—did you collect solid evidence of Crocodile plot to seize the Kingdom of Alabasta?"
"Do I look like the kind of person who comes unprepared?" Sherwin curled his lips into a smile, knowing that Morgans was basically on board.
"I'll fax the relevant evidence to you right away."
"Hahahahaha! That truly excellent!" Morgans burst out laughing. "This time I'm going to make world-shaking news for sure! You really are the lucky star of our World Economy News Paper!"
It had been mentioned before—whenever there was big news, this birdman Morgans became very bold.
Threats from the World Government and such were never something he concerned himself with.
After faxing the evidence that Nico Robin had gathered to Morgans, Sherwin still didn't hurry to leave Rain Dinners. Instead, he opened up his Hunter Handbook.
Two flashes of white light appeared, and on the open pages there was a No. 2 fragment and a No. 3 fragment.
Among them, the pale No. 3 fragment was a summon ticket fragment for the monster card pool unlocked after opening the Banana Gator entry.
But…
This No. 2 fragment, mixed with brass and silver-white colors, belonged to which card pool? The patterns on it didn't look like they had anything to do with weights or density.
Sherwin stared at the fragment he had never seen before, completely baffled.
Fortunately, this strange fragment wasn't a No. 1 fragment, but a No. 2 fragment, which meant it wasn't for a brand-new card pool.
Since he already had the first fragment, all Sherwin had to do was touch this No. 2 fragment against the others one by one, and it would be easy to figure it out.
That exactly what Sherwin thought, and that exactly what he did.
Then, it merged with the No. 1 fragment from the weapon card pool, and the synthesized weapon card pool summon ticket could also switch its background color just like the Devil Fruit summon tickets.
"Huh?"
Sherwin was slightly surprised. He had originally thought that even if this fragment wasn't Paramecia, it should at least be Zoan—after all, he had also obtained that Dachshund Gun…
Wait!
Suddenly realizing something, Sherwin quickly flipped the handbook to the weapon page.
Sure enough, a new entry appeared—"Lassoo," the Dachshund Gun, which was categorized under [Heavy Bowgun/Light Bowgun] in the weapon section.
So, was this another way to summon a Felyne Gunner?
Sherwin wasn't sure why this fragment had appeared—whether it was because of Devil Fruit weapons, or because it was tied to something that had appeared in the story. Either way, it meant he had gained yet another method of obtaining fragments.
And if all that was required was a Devil Fruit weapon, then once Haibara Meow successfully analyzed the technology, they could manufacture them on their own. After all, he still had three Zoan Fruits in his possession.
But if it required weapons that had appeared in the storyline, excluding things like the Alpaca Cannon from the anime or the Tanuki Pen from the games that followed the Red Count, Spandam also had the Elephant Sword in his hands.
In addition, perhaps other well-known non-sword weapons could also be recorded in the weapon encyclopedia, such as Usopp later "Black Kabuto," Smoker jitte, or even Kaido Hassaikai.
But those questions could wait for later. The most important matter right now was summoning a new Felyne.
The rate of obtaining vouchers from the normal pool was much faster than that of other limited pools. If Sherwin remembered correctly, this should be the third time he summoned a Felyne from the Monster Encyclopedia card pool.
Right now, all the staff and guests in Rain Dinners had fled, and no one would be coming back anytime soon. The only question was…
"Nico Robin, would you like to join our Felyne Investigation Team?"
This time, Sherwin no longer held back and directly extended the invitation to Robin.
Back when he had first met Robin, the Investigation Team had very few members, their strength wasn't great, and Sherwin himself had only just entered the world of pirates, so he acted with more caution.
But as more and more powerful Felynes gathered by his side, his own strength grew stronger as well, and he had built connections with quite a number of strong figures from the original story. Sherwin no longer needed to be as overly cautious as before.
Moreover, they had already entered the Grand Line. Robin goal of searching for the Poneglyphs no longer conflicted with the traveling path of the Investigation Team.
Faced with Sherwin sudden invitation, Robin was clearly stunned.
"B-but, didn't you once worry that I would drag you all into trouble?"
Although she really wanted to agree right away, Robin didn't want to bring harm to Sherwin and the Felynes, who had never shown her any ill will.
"Before was before, now is now… pfft!" Sherwin blurted out an old lame joke from before he crossed over,
then explained, "That because now we don't have to be afraid of CP or the Marines coming to cause trouble anymore…"
After pausing for a moment, he added, "Of course, to avoid unnecessary trouble, you'd better keep a bit of disguise… like always wearing that combat suit I gave you."
Mm, that way Klee Meow wouldn't always pester him to "turn into a Felyne" and play with her.
It could both hide Robin identity and save him from the awkwardness of wearing that mascot suit… this plan was simply perfect!
"No good. That combat suit was made to fit your body, Sherwin. It won't fit Robin-neechan properly. It better if I make her a new one, meow."
At that moment, Haibara Meow suddenly jumped in, ruining the perfect plan of this Hunter.
And after destroying Sherwin plan, Haibara Meow even threw him a proud, triumphant look…
This little brat did it on purpose!
With no reason to object, Sherwin could only grit his teeth and glare at the little kitten who was deliberately making things difficult for him.
Interrupted like this by Sherwin and Haibara Meow, Robin, who had originally wanted to say something more, suddenly got stuck. And just then, the one closest to her—Klee Meow—had already pounced on her…
"Robin-neechan is finally going to become an official member of the Research Commission, meow? That really great, meow!"
(=`=)
"Hmph, if I had known it would turn out like this, then there was no need to have Robin-neechan leave the team in the first place… Sherwin really is an idiot, meow."
Sanji Meow never let a single chance slip by to mock Sherwin.
Meanwhile, Huamei Meow led the rest of the Felynes to welcome Robin.
"Welcome aboard! Miss Robin is the only human in our Research Commission besides the Admiral, meow~"
"Since Lord Sherwin has invited you, you don't need to worry about dragging us into danger. The sword in my hands will protect all of my companions, including Miss Robin, meow!"
(=)
Link Meow raised his Sword, showing his agreement with Meowjirou words.
In this situation, Robin couldn't bring herself to refuse no matter what. Stroking Klee Meow in her arms, she recalled what Saul had once said to her—
"This sea is vast, and you will surely meet companions who are willing to protect you!"
"There is no one in this world who will remain forever alone!"
Nico Robin still didn't know whether Sherwin and these adorable Felynes before her truly were willing to protect her under the threat of the World Government, but she couldn't help wanting to believe in them.
So, after taking a deep breath, she smiled and said, "Then, please take care of me."