"Huh? Did I forget something?"
Sherwin, who was currently petting Haibara Meow, suddenly looked up toward the top of the Dodo Advance mast. He had this nagging feeling that he'd missed something, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was.
"Getting senile already, meow? Want me to prescribe you some medicine, meow?"
(=ω=)Comfortably purring in his arms, Haibara Meow rolled over and gave a sly grin.
Sherwin tugged at the cheek of this little scheming furball in annoyance, then quickly brushed the thought aside…
Since he couldn't remember, it probably wasn't anything important. No big deal.
But the very next second, Seijuro Meow—who was fishing at the bow—suddenly shouted, "Master Sherwin! There a weird guy charging toward us, meow!"
Sherwin turned his head and saw a man dressed like a savage speeding across the White Sea.
The guy wore a square-shaped mask that screamed "tribal wildman," yet in his hands was something that didn't match his appearance at all—a rocket launcher.
"Ah! I knew I was forgetting something!"
Sherwin slapped his thigh, finally realizing what had been bothering him all this time.
It was this Shandian who'd suddenly shown up to attack them.
To be honest, this Shandian behavior really wasn't much different from that of a savage. Even though they were obsessed with reclaiming their homeland all day long, they still found time to attack random ships sailing through the White Sea…
Wasn't that just making enemies everywhere for no reason?
And what worse, even though they shared a common enemy in Enel—and the former "God," Gan Fall, had extended goodwill toward them—this guy still refused to cooperate.
Sometimes, he'd even attack Gan Fall group whenever he got the chance. Completely irrational.
Fortunately, Shandians like him were a minority—though to be fair, not many of them were exactly sane either. Most of them simply followed their leader orders without much thought.
Unfortunately, the masked man before them happened to be the next leader of the Shandians—a man with significant authority among his people, and a hardline hawk with an extreme sense of exclusivity…
If he hadn't run into Luffy by sheer chance, the Shandian tribe would've eventually destroyed itself under his command.
While Sherwin was still digesting the memories that had just resurfaced, the Shandian named Wiper had already reached the Dodo Advance. With a powerful leap, he landed squarely on the deck.
"Get rid of you—huh?"
Just as he was about to attack, Wiper froze when he saw the relaxed Sherwin and the lazily lounging Haibara Meow in his arms.
This guy might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, and his temper was notoriously foul, but he wasn't truly evil.
The only reason he attacked ships on the White Sea was because he mistook them for God Army troops escaping from Enel domain.
With the way his brain worked, he never bothered to distinguish between friend or foe—he just saw anyone related to Enel as an enemy to be eliminated.
Still, even with his limited reasoning, it was hard to look at Sherwin and his crew and mistake them for Enel subordinates.
Of course, even knowing he might have misunderstood, Wiper—known among the Shandians as the "War Demon"—wasn't about to admit it or speak kindly.
"Leave this place right now! Or I won't hold back!"
He raised the flamethrower in his hands and aimed it squarely at Sherwin, his voice cold and threatening.
"Seijuro, he yours. Keep him alive."
Since the other party hadn't attacked first, Sherwin saw no reason to take things too far. In fact, he actually felt a bit of sympathy for the unfortunate Shandians.
As for Wiper bad attitude… well, if Sherwin killed everyone who was rude to him, he'd have wiped out more than just pirates along the way.
In the world of pirates, foul-mouthed, hot-tempered, and downright eccentric people were everywhere.
If Sherwin really took offense at every single one of them...
He'd never be done killing. It was impossible.
"Yes, Master Sherwin."
Seijuro Meow set down his fishing rod. In the blink of an eye, his figure flickered and appeared behind Wiper, calmly making a sheathing motion.
"Flying Cat Sword Style: Plum Blossom Flash, meow."
Wiper was still looking toward the bow where Seijuro Meow had been speaking when, suddenly, blood spurted from all four of his limbs.
"Waaah!"
With a scream, Wiper dropped his flamethrower onto the deck. He staggered back two steps but somehow managed to stay on his feet.
"Huh?" Seijuro Meow turned his head in mild surprise. "Did I really hold back that much, meow?"
The small black cat frowned, drawing his Kikyo Winter Moon blade and swinging it twice. "It feels like… I can't use my full strength, meow?" he muttered.
Wiper ignored the confused Felyne. Gritting his teeth, he dove toward the flamethrower on the deck—only for a row of slender arms to suddenly sprout from the planks, snatching the weapon away and passing it neatly into Robin hands as she sat beside Sherwin, still petting her cat.
"A Devil Fruit user!"
Wiper snarled, stomping on the wind dial skates under his feet, propelling himself straight toward Robin to reclaim his weapon.
"Flying Cat Sword Style: Chidori Thrust, meow!"
A flash of lightning burst across the deck as Seijuro Meow darted in front of him, driving his sword cleanly into Wiper thigh.
(=`ω=)┫
At the same moment, Link Meow figure appeared overhead, bringing his shield down in a powerful slam right into Wiper face.
And from the sky above, a loud, ringing cry echoed down—
"That far enough!"
Gan Fall stood atop his spotted bird, spear leveled as he dove straight toward Wiper.
But before he could strike, Wiper had already lost control of his skates — his thigh was pierced by a sword, his head struck by a shield. Like someone who had just stepped on a banana peel, he tumbled in place and crashed heavily onto the deck.
Of course, before the back of his head could hit the Adam Tree–forged deck, he had already been knocked out cold by a clean smack from Link Meow shield.
"?!!"
The Sky Knight yanked the reins, pulling his mount into a sharp halt before landing carefully on the Dodo Advance.
Seijuro Meow smoothly sheathed his blade. Ignoring the suddenly-appearing old human, he walked up to Robin and said earnestly, "Don't worry, Miss Robin. I won't let anyone hurt you, meow."
(=`=)┫
Link Meow also raised his Hylia Shield in agreement.
"Thank you, our honorable warrior and swordsman of the investigation team~" Robin smiled as she reached out and rubbed the heads of the little black Felyne and the little leopard-patterned Felyne.
Seijuro Meow swayed slightly but didn't avoid her touch… Although he couldn't compare to Sherwin, Robin cat-petting technique was quite excellent.
And since she was already one of their companions — and had petted him more than a few times before — the little black cat saw no need to be reserved.
(=ω=)
As for Link Meow, he took the initiative to lean in, rubbing his head against Robin palm.
"Hello?"
Sherwin walked forward, holding Haibara Meow in his arms, and stopped in front of Gan Fall — who clearly didn't know what to say — breaking the awkward silence.
"Ahem, hello, Blue Sea man," Gan Fall cleared his throat and said, "I am the Sky Knight, Gan Fall. This is my partner, Pierre."
The huge spotted bird cooperated with a loud, proud cry, "Piiieeerrr~~!"
After his self-introduction, Gan Fall pointed toward the still-unconscious Wapol and spoke on his behalf,
"If possible, could you spare him? He only mistook you for one of Enel subordinates — he didn't mean to attack you."
"Hmm, I think you've got it wrong," Sherwin scratched his cheek and explained, "He was actually just trying to chase us away. We didn't agree, so we decided to take him down first."
"That right, meow!" Haibara Meow puffed up indignantly in Sherwin arms.
"We finally made it up here, and he wants us to leave just like that? Not a chance, meow!"
The little kitten was the angriest about this. She had been terrified during their ascent into the sky, and before she even got a proper look at the real Sky Island, someone tried to drive them away. Naturally, Haibara Meow — who hated losing out — would never accept that.
"You mean… you just came up from the Blue Sea?" Gan Fall looked at the masked figure on the deck in surprise and asked doubtfully,
"You just arrived in the White Sea, yet you could defeat the 'War Demon' Wiper? Didn't the high altitude affect you?"
"So that what this is about, meow? No wonder I felt a little sluggish," Seijuro Meow said, shaking the dust off his robe and replying with feigned calm.
"But for opponents of this level, it still more than enough, meow."
(=)
As for Link Meow, he explained that he often climbed onto the backs of Elder Dragons like Kushala Daora and Chameleos — both of which loved dwelling in the high skies — so air this thin didn't affect him in the slightest.
"Sherwin! Look, Klee caught several Sea Kings, meow!"
(=`=)
Just then, Klee Meow piloted the Spark Knight back. Behind her little motorboat trailed several enormous sky fish — each one about the same size as a Sea King.
However, since the sky fish bodies were much less dense than ordinary fish, the Spark Knight had no trouble towing them. In fact, the huge sky fish were swaying and drifting lightly in the air behind the vessel.
Moments later, the clouds beside the Dodo Advance began to churn, and Haumei Meow anglerfish-shaped submarine surfaced. Behind it, too, was an enormous sky fish — one even larger than the ones Klee Meow had hauled in.
Gan Fall was utterly stunned. As someone who frequently patrolled around the White Sea, he knew all too well how fierce these massive sky fish were.
And when he recalled how easily Seijuro Meow had defeated Wiper, a sudden thought flashed through his mind—
Maybe… I can ask them to help drive Enel away?