As they spoke, the Dodo Advance sailed into the harbor of Brisch Lied Island.
Shirahoshi took out a blue can printed with a mermaid emblem and pressed it gently against her abdomen.
A burst of shimmering colors flashed, and a ring of white clouds formed around her waist.
Her body lifted lightly from the ground, floating as if she were wrapped in bubble coral.
…
It wasn't that Sherwin and the others refused to make a Felynes outfit for Shirahoshi, nor was it because her tail was difficult to accommodate.
The main concern was that she was still growing, and since she would be interacting with humans as a mermaid, the Felynes suit was postponed for the time being.
At first, Sherwin suggested building mechanical tentacles similar to Doctor Octopus to help her move on land.
However, the moment Shirahoshi saw the concept art drawn by Purah Meow based on his description, she immediately rejected it with firm refusal…
Her reason was simple — the device looked too much like the limbs of a Guardian, and using it felt unbearably strange.
Later, an explosive propulsion system jointly proposed by Klee Meow and Jinx, a Germa jet system suggested by Haibara Meow, and Sherwin second idea — a fishtank-tank device — all ended up discarded for various reasons.
In the end, it was Shermie, who often used Cloud Shells, who suggested making a device using Sky Island cloud to replicate the effects of Red Tree Bubbles.
This way, Shirahoshi wouldn't need to learn a whole new method of movement.
Because Haibara Meow and Purah Meow were busy with experiments, not everyone in the investigation team joined this expedition.
In fact, most of the Felynes weren't particularly interested in landing on the island at all.
As a result, the only ones who disembarked with Sherwin were Shirahoshi and Robin — alongside the two most troublesome troublemaker kittens, Klee Meow and Jinx, and the half-troublemaker Link Meow.
Yes… something definitely felt like it was going to go wrong later.
Without the presence of Lord Huamei to keep order, Sherwin felt more than a little uneasy carrying two explosive gremlins on his shoulders.
"Mmh… such scary stares…"
As soon as they stepped into the town, Shirahoshi instinctively hid behind Sherwin — though with her size, hiding made no difference at all.
And the reason she reacted this way was, of course, because of the greedy, covetous stares surrounding them.
"Hmph."
Sherwin swept a cold glance over the pirates nearby. At moments like this, he truly felt that not having Conqueror Haki was rather inconvenient.
Even so, under his sharp gaze, the pirates nervously looked away.
After all, the sea battle earlier had already proven the strength of this Warlord — no fool with a death wish would step forward to provoke them now.
"Huuh…"
Only then did Shirahoshi finally breathe out and thank Sherwin softly.
"Weren't you the one who said you wouldn't back down? How are just a few stares enough to shake you?" he asked, half teasing, half trying to ease her nerves.
"I–I was just… not ready yet!"
Shirahoshi defended herself stiffly, and as if to prove it, she stepped to the front of the group on her own initiative.
"Shirahoshi sister, do you want Klee to warm you up meow? Your body keeps shaking… did you not wear enough clothes meow?"
(=ω=)
The naturally two-faced little ragdoll spoke while watching Shirahoshi walk stiffly, trembling nonstop.
"N-no no, I-I'm completely fine!"
Shirahoshi forced herself to keep going.
"What a dummy meow… ah—!"
(=`Д=)
Unable to stand it anymore, Jinx rolled her eyes, leapt off Sherwin shoulder, and pounced on Shirahoshi tail — taking a solid bite.
"Kyah—!"
Shirahoshi let out a sharp cry from the sudden bite, flinging her tail and sending Jinx tumbling to the front.
With grievance in her voice, she complained, "Not right now… don't bite me at a time like this!"
"Who told you to act like an idiot meow!" Jinx released her tail, then darted up onto Shirahoshi shoulder in a few quick steps.
Licking her pointed little fangs, she raised a paw and bapped Shirahoshi head with her cat-fists, threatening,
"If you keep looking like a clueless fool, next time I'm not biting your tail meow!"
"I-I know… just don't be so fierce…"
Shirahoshi shrank her neck timidly — but this time, she no longer froze in fear or trembled.
It was strange. Out of everyone, Jinx was the one who bullied Shirahoshi the most, yet her words were somehow the most effective.
It wasn't a case of harsh words masking softness — Jinx truly disliked that timid behavior.
Sherwin even confirmed this with Klee Meow, and the ragdoll kitten stated plainly that Jinx only felt neutral at best toward Shirahoshi, perhaps leaning more toward dislike… well, except when she was chewing on Shirahoshi tail.
Sherwin was sure that with Shirahoshi Observation Haki, she could sense Jinx real attitude. Yet she didn't seem to mind at all — instead, she listened to her with surprising obedience.
Was this kid unknowingly being PUA'd by a tiny blue cat?
Their relationship was strange, but not harmful, so Sherwin didn't bother stepping in.
Maybe someone like Shirahoshi simply needed a little mad-cat pressure to grow.
From then on — both for her own training and because she insisted — every negotiation task on Brisch Lied Island was handled by Shirahoshi.
She started out stammering nervously, shrinking back at every interaction, but gradually she became more confident and natural.
Of course, that was only her demeanor improving — as for efficiency…
You can't expect too much from a girl only eleven or twelve years old, whose mind may be no more mature than a seven- or eight-year-old… even if her body is large.
But as she interacted with more and more people, the expression on the mermaid princess face gradually fell into disappointment.
Perhaps it was the influence of Jinbe and Whitebeard, or maybe because Shirahoshi wished to inherit Otohime belief of letting go of hatred and choosing to love humans. She had always been extending goodwill toward these pirates.
However, even though Sherwin Observation Haki wasn't particularly strong in reading emotions, he could easily see the greed and disdain reflected in their eyes.
"Sherwin-boss… can we really coexist peacefully with humans?"
Just as Sherwin had predicted, this kind of impact was far too heavy for the innocent and inexperienced Shirahoshi.
The malice returned by these scum had left the mermaid princess shaken and lost.
"This question… I can't give you an answer."
Sherwin shrugged and spoke honestly. After all, racial discrimination had always been a major issue—even on Earth—and it could even develop into more absurd situations.
"But I once heard something very reasonable…" Seeing Shirahoshi so disheartened, Sherwin ultimately offered her a bit of guidance.
"If you seek peace through struggle, peace will survive. If you seek peace through compromise, peace will be lost. Without strength, most people won't listen to you."
"Like how Mr. Whitebeard protected Fish-man Island… and like what happening now?"
Shirahoshi wasn't stupid—she was simply influenced too deeply by her parent ideals.
"But if we force others into submission through strength, isn't that falling into the same path as Mr. Hody?"
"Having no strength and choosing not to use strength are two completely different things."
Sherwin shook his head as he continued shaping her perspective.
"Take Hody for example—your forgiveness alone can't stop him from doing evil. He still needs the power that brings him to justice, doesn't he?"
"As the saying goes, strike hard once so you won't have to strike a hundred times later.
Only by showing your strength will others realize you're not easy to provoke. And besides, if one day Fish-man Island faces a sudden crisis,
you can't always expect Whitebeard to fly all the way from his own territory to save you, right? There must eventually be power within your own hands—power to respond to threats… or to resist."
As Sherwin spoke, he suddenly noticed Shirahoshi eyes starting to swirl, and he couldn't help but laugh and stop.
He had forgotten—Shirahoshi was only a little girl just over ten years old. Even if he explained things in detail, she might not fully understand.
And with her personality, changing her views wouldn't happen in a day or two. At the very least, she now had the desire to grow and change.
That was already a promising sign. There would be plenty of time together in the future anyway.
Just as Sherwin planned to drop the topic and continue leading everyone to explore the map…
A certain crazy little cat, who had always been displeased with Shirahoshi, suddenly made a move.