After lighting up the map of Mock Town, Sherwin and his group piloted the Dodo Advance, circling around to the other side of Jaya Island.
It wasn't that he was interested in hearing the descendant of Noland reminisce about the past—rather, the old man little house was actually marked as a "checkpoint." If he didn't stop by, he would have to run all over the outer regions of Mock Town just to fully light up the Jaya Island map.
So Sherwin had no intention of paying the Noland descendant a visit. He merely planned to take a quick look around the half-ruined house and then leave.
Just as the Dodo Advance approached Mont Blanc Cricket home, the Great Captain and the Second Captain of the Saruyama Alliance happened to be visiting their "old man," Cricket.
The Great Captain of the Saruyama Alliance was a strange human who looked like a gorilla—and his name was literally Gorilla.
In the world of pirates, full of all sorts of bizarre faces, he and his brother Orangutan—the Second Captain who looked like, well, an orangutan—were actually on the more "normal" side.
Their personalities matched their appearances, though: reckless, simple-minded, careless, and not exactly sharp. So they didn't recognize Sherwin and his group at all.
"They must be here to steal Dad gold again! Let me take care of them!"
Gorilla grabbed his trusty microphone, ready to charge at the Dodo Advance that was heading toward them. Orangutan cracked his knuckles beside him, equally eager.
Fortunately, Cricket—though busy most days diving for gold—did read the newspaper from time to time.
"Don't go over there! You're no match for him!" Cricket shouted, firmly holding back his two thick-headed followers.
"That the ship of Sherwin, the Hunter! Not long ago, he took down one of the Seven Warlords—Sir Crocodile!"
"Really?" Gorilla eyes lit up instead of showing fear. "Then if I defeat him, I can replace Crocodile and become a new Warlord myself, right?"
Cricket slapped his forehead helplessly. How could he forget that this idiot had been muttering about wanting to become a Warlord lately?
Thankfully, Cricket authority as their "old man" still carried weight. Though Gorilla and Orangutan were clearly itching for a fight, they obediently stayed by his side.
Meanwhile, Cricket nervously watched as the Dodo Advance drew closer and began debating whether he should hand over his salvaged gold—or hide it while he still could...
It wasn't that Cricket was reluctant to part with the gold itself—those golden artifacts symbolizing the existence of Shandora simply held deep meaning to him.
But before Cricket could make up his mind, the Dodo Advance, which had almost reached shore, suddenly turned around and began to sail away…
"Ugh-chi-chi, what was that ship doing here?" Orangutan scratched the top of his head like a monkey, looking puzzled.
"Wahahahaha!" Gorilla suddenly burst into laughter, his confidence coming out of nowhere. "They must've seen me here and got scared off!"
"You? Scare them?" Orangutan gave him a look full of disdain.
"You got a problem with that?!"
The brothers immediately started brawling the moment they disagreed.
However, their fight didn't last long—because after the cute-looking cat-headed ship sailed a short distance away, it suddenly made a series of crackling mechanical noises.
Then, together with their "old man" Cricket, the two brothers watched in stunned silence as the Dodo Advance began its full transformation…
First, several masts on the ship retracted section by section into the hull. Next, both sides of the ship opened up, extending a pair of massive wings shaped like claws.
At the same time, the deck and railings shifted positions—the once round, plump hull now morphed into a sleek, shuttle-like shape.
A transparent shield rose from the edges of the deck, enclosing and protecting everyone aboard.
Then, without anyone noticing exactly when it happened, the entire ship became coated in a layer of silver.
At the prow—out of sight from Cricket and the others—the ship figurehead of Klee Meow transformed into the streamlined head of a dragon.
Dodo Advance — Comet Dragon Form!
"So… so cool! Old man, that ship is amazing!"
Gorilla and Orangutan eyes sparkled as they grabbed Cricket from both sides, shaking him excitedly.
Though Cricket was nearly dizzy from being shaken by the two idiots, he couldn't deny it—he was completely mesmerized by the Comet Dragon form of the Dodo Advance.
Under the envious gazes of the three men, six long streams of flame suddenly erupted from the claw-shaped wingtips extending from the sides of the Dodo Advance. With the powerful thrust of the flames, the ship broke through the sea surface and surged forward at high speed.
Moments later, the wings on either side began to rotate, lifting the Dodo Advance gradually off the water.
Twin trails of blazing exhaust carved two thick, slightly curved L-shaped paths above the waves—like a crimson comet shooting toward the clear blue sky.
Soon, the ship became a small red dot in the distance, shrinking smaller and smaller until it vanished completely.
"It the Sky Island! They're heading to the Sky Island!" Cricket shouted in excitement.
"I knew Noland journal wasn't lying! There really is a sea in the sky, and islands floating above it!"
As Cricket and his two followers hugged each other and cried out in joy, the Dodo Advance itself was just as lively.
(=ω=)
Link Meow, who had once been dropped from the sky after being carried up by a Comet Dragon before answering Sherwin summons, was especially thrilled.
He declared that although the Dodo Advance speed wasn't quite up to that of a true Celestial Comet Dragon, it still captured a fair bit of its spirit.
Well—coming from Link Meow, that statement was pretty convincing.
"Meow-hahaha! As expected of something I made, it absolutely amazing, meow! Check it~"
(ゝω)~☆
Purah Meow stood proudly with her paws on her hips, extremely satisfied with the Dodo Advance current performance.
They had conducted test flights before, but never at full speed—because without Klee Meow, the ship internal energy reserves couldn't last long.
Even if Klee Meow summoned Dodo Bear as a power source, its output would quickly run out and still fall far short of what the little doll herself could provide.
"To think I'd one day reach the clouds… It truly an honor to follow Lord Sherwin, meow!"
Loyalty was Seijuro defining trait.
Meanwhile, Huamei Meow snuggled close to Sherwin cheek and purred, echoing Seijuro words.
"It a good thing I answered the Admiral summons back then, or I would've missed out on so many exciting adventures, meow~"
Sherwin smiled and rubbed his cheek against the little tabby in return, then sighed and looked down at his calf...
Sure enough, Sanji Meow—who had just been eagerly anticipating the ingredients they might find on Skypiea—had started kicking him again.
Too lazy to deal with that jealous little yellow cat reincarnated as a vinegar jar, Sherwin instead picked up the tiny trembling kitten on his other shoulder and held her in his arms.
"Little Ai, are you alright?"
"Wh–what could pawssibly be wrong with me?" Haibara Meow forced herself to stay composed, her voice clearly betraying her nerves.
"Y–you don't think I'd be scared of a tiny thing like this, do you? I'm not scared at all, meow!"
"Yes, yes…" Sherwin chuckled softly as he gently patted and stroked the little kitten back to calm her down, playing along with her words.
"Our Little Ai is so brave—just a bit of high-speed flight, how could that ever scare you, right?"
"O–of course not, meow!"
(=`へ=)Haibara Meow lifted her tiny head high, still forcing herself to keep up the act.
As for Klee Meow—who was supposed to be the happiest, most excited, and the one who loved lively scenes the most—she wasn't on deck at the moment...
Because the poor little ragdoll had once again been tricked by that despicable Hunter, and was now down in the Dodo Advance power core, serving as its "engine."
"Big brother Sherwin, you big liar! Flying a ship isn't fun at all, meow!"
(=`Д=)