Although two small incidents occurred along the way, this Big Mom tea party still ended "successfully" this time…
At the very least, compared to the tea party in the manga where Germa 66 married into the BIG·MOM Pirates, this one could be considered relatively smooth.
After receiving BIG·MOM permission, Sherwin and the others chose to continue staying in Totto Land.
They spent nearly half a month touring all thirty-five islands within this sea area.
During that time, BIG·MOM marriage plan was never put on hold. Aside from his own Felynes, a different Charlotte daughter of varying appearances and races accompanied Sherwin every day…
Unlike the first batch of Charlottes who showed little interest, among the later ones there were a few who seemed to genuinely take a liking to Sherwin, or were determined to give it their all to complete BIG·MOM task.
Even when Sherwin used the Felynes as shields, he still couldn't stop them from getting handsy with him…
Two particularly bold Charlottes even attempted a nighttime ambush on Sherwin.
Fortunately, before they could get close, they were discovered by Huamei Meow, who knocked them unconscious from afar with Conqueror Haki.
Because of this, Sherwin—who had originally wanted the Felynes to play here a few more days—immediately took off aboard the Dodo Advance as soon as they had finished touring all the islands.
When saying goodbye, Sherwin even stayed on guard, wary that BIG·MOM might suddenly make a move to forcibly keep them.
In the end, BIG·MOM didn't even say a word of farewell, instead smiling as she told Sherwin to bring the Felynes back to play again when he had time.
It was Prometheus and Zeus, the two Homies, who were reluctant to part with Klee Meow and Shermie Meow high-quality lightning and fire.
Sherwin initially suspected this might be a smokescreen thrown out by Charlotte Linlin to lower their guard, but until they completely left Totto Land waters, the BIG·MOM Pirates showed no sign of making a move.
"Hm… could it be that I was overthinking things?"
After leaving Charlotte Linlin territory without incident, Sherwin scratched his head in mild surprise.
If BIG·MOM wasn't actually as eager to recruit him as he had imagined, then why were her daughters acting so crazily?
Or was it that…
Because of the strength of him and the Felynes, she was wary of acting rashly?
"Who cares about the reason? Isn't it better that there was no conflict, meow?"
Haibara Meow rolled her eyes at the side.
"Uh… you're right."
Sherwin nodded, no longer bothering to speculate on why BIG·MOM had let them go so easily.
"It not good at all, meow!"
(=`н=)
Jinx, however, deliberately took the opposite stance. "I was still waiting to fight that mochi guy again! Last time he even saved my prey, meow!"
Sherwin shot a sideways glance at this little troublemaking mad cat. "Didn't you already fight Katakuri again while we were in Totto Land? And those Charlottes who escaped back then—didn't you already hunt them down and beat them up afterward?"
If the other Felyne main activities in Totto Land were eating and drinking, then Jinx main activity was going around looking for people to fight.
Relying on the status of being a "distinguished guest" personally acknowledged by BIG·MOM, this little one fiercely bullied those Charlotte family members whose strength was relatively lacking.
Against powerhouses like Katakuri, whom she couldn't really bully, she could still unleash a round of indiscriminate bombardment to vent her frustration—and the other side couldn't really do anything to her.
If that were all, it would have been fine. After all, whether it was Jinx or the Charlotte family members, they actually knew their limits. Despite how lively the fights looked, there wouldn't be any serious damage.
But what truly left Sherwin speechless was this—
Those members of the Charlotte Family who had been bullied by Jinx had actually ended up like they had Stockholm syndrome, becoming completely obedient to the little crazy cat.
Several of the younger Charlottes were even calling her "big sis" nonstop.
And it wasn't just the Charlotte Family. Even the other residents of Totto Land greatly admired Jinx.
It could be said that, aside from the universally beloved Klee Meow, Jinx the little crazy cat had the highest popularity in Totto Land.
Thinking about it carefully, though, this outcome was actually quite normal.
After all, BIG MOM herself was a naturally destructive maniac who flew into rages at the drop of a hat, and her children were a whole collection of eccentrics.
Compared to the Charlotte Family, Jinx could practically be considered a well-behaved little cat.
A "proper young lady" like her, who fit Totto Land overall vibe and hadn't actually caused any real destruction, being loved by both the Charlotte Family and the residents of Totto Land was hardly difficult to understand.
Yet when faced with Sherwin question, Jinx planted her hands on her hips and declared righteously,
"But I didn't beat that mochi guy! That means my revenge wasn't successful, meow!"
＜(=`へ=)＞
"But even if you really fought him, you still wouldn't be able to beat him," Sherwin said, pinching Jinx cheek with a puzzled look.
"But if Klee and I team up, we can beat him, meow!"
Jinx continued to answer with complete confidence, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with getting help and turning it into a two-on-one fight.
"Uh… fine," Sherwin said with a wry smile as he patted her little head. "Then next time we fight him, I'll let you and Klee deal with him."
"Then it settled, meow!"
The originally sulking little blue cat immediately broke into a smile and stretched out her little paw, wanting to link pinkies with Sherwin.
Just as Sherwin cooperated and hooked his little finger with Jinx to seal the promise, Shermie Meow suddenly jumped onto his shoulder.
"Sherwin dear~ It looks like someone is watching us from afar, meow~"
"Hm?"
Following the directions Shermie Meow pointed out, Sherwin looked over and, aside from an ordinary merchant ship at a relatively close distance, he could also see several small black dots on the distant horizon that were probably ships as well.
He quickly took out his binoculars and raised them to his eyes, finally getting a clear look at those vessels…
Among them were both merchant ships and pirate ships, and regardless of distance, all of them were steering away from the Dodo Advance.
"They're probably other pirates and World Government lookouts. They're worried we might join the BIG MOM Pirates, meow."
Huamei swept a glance at the "merchant ship" closest to the Dodo Advance.
Though she flicked her tail in displeasure, she still stopped Jinx, who had already pulled out her bang-bang gun.
"There no need to start a conflict with them. Just ignore them."
Jinx pouted, her ears that had been perked up drooping all at once. But under the authority of Lord Huamei, she could only sulkily put the bang-bang gun away.
"All right, don't be unhappy. At worst, later we'll find an uninhabited island, and I'll spar with you."
Sherwin picked up the little blue cat and gave her a vigorous rub, successfully cheering her up again.
After soothing Jinx, Sherwin and the others proceeded according to their plan, taking out the Vivre Card Lindbergh had given him back then and heading in the direction of Zou.