After "visiting" the Poneglyph in the Alabasta royal tomb, Sherwin and the others were preparing to leave.
Of course, before leaving, they still had to visit the remaining cities of the Alabasta Kingdom, lighting up the map along the way.
And as the news spread of "the Hunter saving the Alabasta Kingdom," whenever Sherwin and his group arrived in a new city, the locals warmly welcomed them.
Fortunately, Robin had already considered this beforehand and did not travel together with Sherwin and the others.
Even so, Sherwin still planned to lie low for a while. It would be best to find a place to hide so that the CP organization wouldn't notice his Felynes Investigation Corps.
Although Sherwin frequently sold information about CP, he never underestimated their abilities.
Despite Robin hiding immediately, back in Rainbase some people had already seen Robin together with Sherwin and his group.
Even if they did not know Robin true identity, Sherwin felt that if CP really wanted to investigate, this matter could not remain hidden for long.
Of course, since he had accepted Robin, it was only a matter of time before the World Government caused trouble, but if he could delay things a bit longer, it was still better.
Another rather important reason was that the newly summoned Purah Meow was not skilled in combat and needed some time to adapt.
Because of this, some of Sherwin plans had to change slightly.
Originally, Sherwin intended that after defeating Crocodile, he would secretly circle back to Drum Kingdom to cause trouble for Wapol.
After all, the Human-Human Fruit could produce Wapol Metal—a highly profitable material enough for Wapol to rebuild his kingdom. Even without fragments, Sherwin still greatly coveted it.
But now, it wasn't the right time for that. Although taking in Robin and defying a king were already acts of opposing the World Government, and it seemed like one more offense wouldn't matter, Robin situation hadn't been exposed so soon.
If he suddenly went out of his way to eliminate Wapol, his intentions would appear far too obvious...
Sherwin had never thought of doing this under the identity of "Hunter."
Moreover, he still hadn't obtained a Log Pose pointing to Drum Kingdom, so he could only put his plan of meeting Chopper on hold and choose to move forward instead.
So, Sherwin decided to first head up to Skypiea. While going after Enel Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he could also conveniently disappear for a while, avoiding the agents sent by the World Government.
After all, according to the normal route forward, they were supposed to head to Skypiea anyway.
With that thought, Sherwin darted straight into Klee Meow workshop. At this moment, the little ragdoll was happily chatting with the newly arrived Purah Meow about bomb-making techniques...
This was the one drawback of Purah Meow—she knew everything, far too versatile. She even had plenty of insight into bomb-making,
which made Klee Meow instantly feel like she'd found a true "comrade." Sherwin didn't even dare imagine what the next version of her bombs might turn out like!
"Klee~" Sherwin scooped the little ragdoll up from behind, kissed her on the head, and set her on his shoulder. "Are you interested in Skypiea?"
"Skypiea!"
(=ω=)
The little ragdoll eyes sparkled immediately. "Klee heard Bonney mention it! Our next destination is Skypiea, meow?"
"Sherwin, the Skypiea you're talking about… is it the kind of Skypiea I think it is, meow?"
(=ω=)
Purah Meow eyes also lit up with stars as she tugged at Sherwin pant leg, asking eagerly.
"That right, the island floating high in the sky," Sherwin nodded, then lured them further with,
"And Skypiea has some amazing specialties. The most famous are the Dials, which have all kinds of mysterious abilities…"
Listening to Sherwin explanation, the glow in both cats eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"Klee wants to go to Skypiea! Klee wants to play on Skypiea, meow!"
(==)
The little ragdoll tugged on Sherwin ear, shaking her body excitedly.
"Alright, alright, I was already planning to take you there."
Sherwin helplessly went along with the little ragdoll, shaking his head back and forth while explaining,
"It just that if we want to reach Skypiea early, we'll need a bit of luck. That why I came to find you right away."
"Don't worry, Klee will do her best, meow!"
"Actually, if Sherwin, you know the general location of Skypiea, I could help too, meow!" Little Purah suddenly cut in, and judging from her expression, she even looked somewhat eager.
"I've had this idea before—to build an extremely tall tower, then launch people up into the sky through it, meow! This is a perfect chance to experiment! Check-it!"
(ゝω)~☆
"Uh…"
Sherwin couldn't help but be stunned.
If he hadn't seen Purah in the game actually build such a kind of lookout tower, he would've thought Purah Meow idea was just a cat daydream.
But since he had played Tears of the Kingdom, at this moment he actually felt this plan might have real potential.
The only problem was…
"Although I'd really love to see the Sky-Piercing Tower you designed, we might not have enough time for it right now."
Sherwin patted Purah Meow head, consoling her regretfully. "This time, let rely on Klee. In the future, if there a chance, we'll build the tower you mentioned."
"Well, alright then…" Purah Meow didn't feel too disappointed, since Haibara Meow still had plenty of this world technology waiting for her to study.
But she still asked curiously, "Then how are we supposed to get to the sky? Don't tell me Klee going to blast us up there with bombs, meow?"
"Shhh—!"
Sherwin quickly covered her mouth, but unfortunately, he was a step too late.
"Klee not an idiot, of course she wouldn't do that, meow!"
(=`н=)シ
Sherwin glanced cautiously, but before he could react, the little plush doll angrily pummeled the Hunter big head with a flurry of tiny Felyne punches, then nibbled lightly on his much-suffering ear.
Sherwin let out a sigh of relief while hurriedly apologizing. As always, the little angel Klee Meow forgave him easily.
Only then did he turn back to face Purah Meow, who still wore a puzzled expression.
"At a time like this, I just have to tell you about the glorious exploits of our Investigation Team lucky star, the adorable Spark Knight—Klee…"
"…So, with Klee good fortune, we're absolutely going to find Sky Island!"
"Admiral, isn't our next destination called Jaya Island?"
Before Sherwin could finish, the other Felynes and Robin had already squeezed into Klee Meow bomb workshop.
When he finally concluded, Hua Mei Meow, the navigator, tilted her head and asked curiously, "What this about Sky Island, meow?"
"I've come across some records mentioning Sky Island," Robin said with mild surprise.
"It said that high above, ten thousand meters in the sky, there exists a sea—and the islands of Sky Island rest upon it. However, the records don't explain how one would reach it."
"In truth, once we reach the second half of the Grand Line, methods of ascending to Sky Island aren't exactly a secret. But if we want to get there while still in the first half, we'll need to rely on a phenomenon near Jaya Island called the 'Knock Up Stream' to launch us into the sky."
Sherwin explained to everyone, then scratched his head sheepishly. "But aside from the Knock Up Stream, I think there are… some other requirements. Except I kind of forgot what they were… eheh~"
"Eheh, you big-headed idiot, meow!" Sanji Meow flying kick smashed right into Sherwin face. "How could you just forget something that important, meow!"
"It fine, we've got Klee after all~" Sherwin caught the furious little yellow cat in his hands and vigorously rubbed his Felyne head, speaking with complete nonchalance.
"Besides, over at Jaya Island, there should be people who know how to get up there, so relax."
"That right! Leave the pathfinding to Klee with confidence!"
(=`=)
The little plush doll proudly lifted her head high.