Sherwin playful messing around with the Felynes was quickly suppressed once Lord Tiger finished the "new Felyne onboarding process."
Meanwhile, Purah immediately sought out Haibara Meow. After a brief exchange of greetings, the two research-type Felynes instantly dove into an academic discussion that no one else (cat) could understand.
ε=(ο｀=)Link Meow let out a long sigh of relief. After all, if Purah interest was now drawn toward the technology of the Pirate World, then he wouldn't come pestering him anymore!What a blessing, what a blessing.
After summoning the Felynes, matters in Rainbase were finally all settled. There was no need for Sherwin to linger there, so he set out with Robin and the Felynes toward Alubarna, the royal capital of Alabasta.
As for their transportation, they chose one of the legacies left behind by Baroque Works—an F Crocodile, a species related to the Banana Gators.
Compared to ordinary Banana Gators, the F Crocodile body was more elongated, and both the tip of its snout and its tail bore huge banana-shaped growths, unlike the Banana Gators who only had a small banana stuck on their heads.
Of course, the key point was that the F Crocodile was the second-fastest animal in the Kingdom of Alabasta, surpassed only by the royal squadron of sprinting Super Spot-Billed Ducks.
"Sherwin-nii~ Sherwin-nii~ can we keep this cool crocodile, meow?!"
(=ω=)
The moment Klee Meow saw the F Crocodile—decorated up like a race car—her eyes instantly lit up with sparkles as she looked at Sherwin.
"Don't cause trouble." Hua Mei Meow lightly tapped the little doll head. "Where would we find the time to take care of such a big guy, meow."
Actually, with the space aboard the Dodo Advance, raising an F Crocodile wouldn't have been impossible.
But Hua Mei Meow knew well enough that Klee Meow was just acting on a whim, just like all those "treasures" she'd collected before.
She'd hide them away and then completely forget about them, only for some other Felyne to stumble upon them by accident one day.
The things the little doll truly cherished were carefully kept in her small backpack… Of course, more than ninety percent of the things she stuffed in there were bombs.
The F Crocodile truly lived up to being the second-fastest animal in Alabasta. While it sprinted, Sherwin could clearly feel the strong pushback force, and he finally understood why Crocodile had installed a windshield on this creature back.
The F Crocodile swimming speed was also nothing to scoff at. It didn't take long before it carried them swiftly across the wide Sandora River.
The only regret was that the F Crocodile hadn't given Sherwin an extra summoning ticket fragment.
On their way to Alubarna, Sherwin group also happened to encounter the royal army heading toward Rainbase.
Judging from the sharp eyes of the Felynes, the one leading them should have been that curly-haired uncle from the manga.
Fortunately, the other side didn't realize that the group riding the F Crocodile was the very same party who had "caused trouble" in Rainbase.
Naturally, Sherwin wasn't about to greet them either, so both sides merely glanced at each other from afar before quietly passing by in opposite directions.
The Kingdom of Alabasta truly did cover a vast territory. Even riding on the second-fastest creature, the F Crocodile, it still took them nearly half a day to travel from Rainbase all the way to the capital. By the time they arrived outside Alubarna, the sky had already darkened.
But this actually worked to Sherwin advantage. Under the cover of night, the whole group—humans and Felynes alike—slipped silently into the royal palace, without being noticed by a single soul along the way.
"..."
Although most of them were fairly strong, and even those who weren't excelled at infiltration like Robin and the Felynes, it was still a team of nearly ten.
Yet Sherwin group managed to reach directly outside King Cobra study with barely any effort, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
By now the night sky outside was pitch dark, but the lights in the study still shone brightly. Two guards stood outside the door—both users of Zoan Devil Fruits.
If Sherwin remembered correctly, one was the Dog-Dog Fruit, Jackal Model, and the other the Bird-Bird Fruit, Falcon Model.
While King Cobra talent for governance might still be debatable, the fact that he was still working late into the night at least proved his diligence.
More importantly, he was one of the rare benevolent kings in the Pirate World. Even with Alabasta harsh environment, before Crocodile schemes threw everything into chaos, the people here had lived with a fairly high sense of happiness.
Sherwin had chosen to infiltrate the palace precisely because he didn't want to draw too much attention.
After all, beyond exposing Crocodile conspiracy, he also needed to borrow the Poneglyphs from King Cobra. The fewer people who knew about this matter, the better.
So, Sherwin turned his gaze toward the Felynes.
Hua Mei Meow pointed her paw at herself, then pressed her ears down, clearly intending to use Conqueror Haki to knock the guards out. But Sherwin waved his hand to stop her.
For people with firm willpower like Chaka and Pell, even if their overall strength wasn't that high, their resistance to Conqueror Haki would actually be stronger than that of many powerful pirates.
Next, Robin displayed her multiple arms, indicating that she could cover the two men mouths and then use joint locks to silently put them into a deep sleep.
Sherwin vetoed that as well.
This older sister was even more ruthless than him when it came to knocking people out.
Then Sherwin quickly pressed down Klee Meow paw as she was about to pull out a bomb.
In the end, it was Haibara Meow who stepped forward. She confidently patted her chest, pulled out an unremarkable little bead from her bag, then pressed her two paws together and made a sleeping gesture at her cheek—signaling that this was her newly developed sleep bomb.
At first, Sherwin worried that this little biotech kitten might have pulled out something like a poison gas bomb instead.
But since Haibara Meow expressed herself so clearly, he naturally relaxed and reached out to gently pat the kitten on the head… and even let her bite his hand without dodging, as a sign of encouragement.
Two shallow rows of teeth marks were left on Sherwin palm. Haibara Meow licked the sharp fangs in her mouth with satisfaction, then nodded and handed the bead to Robin, gesturing the proper way to use it.
Robin tossed the sleep bead upward, then summoned an arm above the ceiling to catch it securely.
A line of arms sprouted across the ceiling, stretching around the corner until they reached the spot above Chaka the Jackal and Pell the Falcon, who were standing guard at the study door.
Treinta Fleur: Wingflower.
Through this chain of arms passing it along, the bead was soon positioned above the two guards.
Robin controlled one of the hands to squeeze it tight, releasing a colorless, odorless powder that slowly drifted down from the ceiling.
Before long, Chaka and Pell eyelids began to droop, their yawns coming one after another. Their bodies swayed unsteadily until both of them collapsed straight toward the ground.
But Robin was quick to act again, sprouting several arms from the floor to catch them and gently set the two unconscious men against the wall.
With the guards taken care of, Sherwin and his group crept up to the study door. Carefully cracking it open, they slipped inside one by one.
"I'll go to sleep after finishing these documents. You two can rest first, no need to stand outside guarding me."
Hearing the sound of the door opening, king cobra assumed it was his two guards coming in, and spoke without even lifting his head.
Then, a hand suddenly grew from his shoulder and clamped tightly over his mouth. His own hands were twisted behind his back by several other hands that appeared out of nowhere.
His entire body was restrained in a straight-backed posture, firmly pinned to the chair by Robin, unable to move at all.
Sherwin glanced speechlessly at Nico Robin, who had immediately activated her ability the moment she entered…
Didn't he already say? This big sister always struck harder and darker than him.
Luckily, there weren't any Felynes in the investigation squad named Altaïr, Ezio, or King Hassan.