Sherwin didn't feel much disappointment at failing to obtain Inuarashi consent.
After all, there were plenty of other ways to get that Road Poneglyph. At worst, he could have Shermie Meow make a secret trip.
Sherwin didn't believe that Cat Viper and his Musketeer Squad would be able to detect the "Moonless Thundercloud" that had even caught Rayleigh and Aokiji off guard.
"Then there no problem with us taking a look around Zou, right?"
Sherwin prepared to leave with the cats. Aside from the Road Poneglyph, they still had many things to do—Robin wanted to learn about the history here, Shirahoshi wanted to try establishing a connection with Zunesha, and Haibara Meow was also very interested in some of the unique plants found in this place.
Inuarashi nodded.
"Of course. Please feel free. Aside from the forbidden area of the Whale Forest, you may go anywhere on Zou."
"Uh…"
Although Sherwin had long known that the Road Poneglyph was hidden there, Inuarashi answer was far too obvious, wasn't it?
At this moment, the cat complained again, "Isn't that basically telling us outright that the Road Poneglyph is hidden there, meow?"
"That true," Inuarashi didn't try to hide it at all. "After all, even if I didn't say anything, you would still receive a warning from the Musketeer Squad when you approached the Whale Forest.
So hiding it would be meaningless. And since you didn't choose to deceive me earlier, I naturally couldn't do something so dishonorable."
Although he hadn't lied, Sherwin—who had long since prepared to have the cats sneak a look anyway—rubbed his nose a little awkwardly.
How should he put it… the Mink Tribe really was pure and simple…
It made Sherwin feel a bit embarrassed about deceiving them.
Of course, that being said, if all other methods truly failed, when it came time to sneak a look, Sherwin definitely wouldn't hesitate.
After exchanging a few more polite words with Inuarashi, Sherwin and the others left, planning to properly stroll around Zou first.
"So, that person called Oda—is that your special source of intelligence?" Robin asked once they returned to Zou streets and finished dealing with the enthusiastic Mink Tribe members yet again.
"Mm, you could say that."
"But who is this Oda? I've never seen him before, meow," Sanji Meow said. As one of the earliest Felynes to follow Sherwin, the name was completely unfamiliar to him.
And the second to join, the little ragdoll, tugged on Sherwin ear and clamored, "Klee Meow doesn't know either, Sherwin big brother! Who is that? Klee Meow wants to meet him too, meow!"
"Actually, I've never seen him in person either. I've only read his books," Sherwin continued to tell the truth.
(=ˇˇ=)
The little ragdoll tilted her head, stared seriously at Sherwin for quite a while, then muttered in a voice everyone could hear,
"Strange… clearly Sherwin big brother isn't lying, but why does it feel like he tricking Klee Meow anyway, meow?"
"I didn't trick you," Sherwin said as he scratched her chin.
"It just that there are some things I don't know how to explain to you, so I left them out and didn't say them."
"So that how it is, meow?"
Klee Meow puckered her mouth and thought for a moment, then quickly gave up on continuing to dig into the matter.
She began to let out happy purring sounds while rubbing her fluffy little head back and forth against Sherwin face.
Robin, who had brought up the topic, also didn't pursue it any further. She had only wanted to satisfy her curiosity because Sherwin was always talking about his "special intelligence sources."
After getting her answer from Sherwin, she turned around and started discussing Zou distinctive city planning and ecological environment with Haibara Meow and Huamei Meow.
"It really is quite strange, meow. Whether it the trees or the buildings, they all seem especially tall here, and the growth positions of the other plants are also very unusual…"
(°ω°≡°ω°)
Haibara Meow turned her little head as she observed the surroundings, muttering in confusion, "And those crocodiles—their legs are especially long, almost as if… they evolved specifically for a certain geographical environment, meow."
"You guessed right! This is Zou unique kind of 'climate'!"
Sherwin suddenly felt his back sink slightly, and a rabbit head squeezed in from behind between him and Haibara Meow, resting on his shoulder.
"What are you doing?! You scared me, meow!"
Nearly squeezed off, Haibara Meow raised her paw and unleashed a rapid flurry of kitty punches on Carrot head.
"Sorry, sorry," Carrot laughed as she apologized, while leaning in close to Haibara Meow face and giving her a cheerful Garchu.
"I actually came to notify you to go take shelter from the rain."
"Shelter from the rain?" Huamei Meow looked up at the sky.
"But I don't feel any sign of rain at all, meow. And with the altitude here being so high, you shouldn't encounter rain very often… Oh, right—if that the case, then where does your fresh water come from, meow?"
Just as Carrot was about to answer, the bell at the city gate rang out again. At the same time, several fluffy animal heads poked out from nearby buildings, shouting at the top of their lungs,
"The Fire-Spitting Rain is coming! Everyone, hurry to higher ground!"
Sherwin and the others quickly followed the other minks as they climbed to a higher position. At the same time, he finally remembered what this so-called "Fire-Spitting Rain" actually was.
"Strictly speaking, the Fire-Spitting Rain isn't really rain," Carrot explained from the side. "It Zunesha twice-daily bath."
As she spoke, a massive elephant trunk could be vaguely seen rising from within the clouds ahead.
Immediately after, enormous volumes of water were sprayed out, arcing over the city of Zou before crashing down with a thunderous roar.
"…This rainwater is actually seawater. After it falls, it passes through the filtration system at the center of the city and then flows out along the waterways, becoming this country domestic water supply."
Carrot pointed at the tallest building in the middle of the city, as well as the fish and shrimp tumbling about in the water, and continued, "A lot of fish also fall down, so there no need to worry about food either. This is Zou rain of blessing."
As the streets within the city were submerged by the "rainwater," everyone finally understood why the trees, the buildings, and even the crocodiles here all had such strange forms.
"Waaaah! This is so interesting, meow!"
(=`=)
The excited little ragdoll couldn't sit still, twisting her body restlessly. While reaching a paw toward her small backpack, she eagerly asked again and again, "Can Klee go blow up some fish, meow? Can I, meow? Can I, meow?"
"Blowing up fish? Is that a fishing method from outside Zou? That totally fine! I'm really curious how people from outside catch fish too!"
Completely ignorant of Klee Meow bombs, the little rabbit agreed with an utterly innocent expression.
"Ohhh—! Let go! Buzz-buzz bomb, meow!"
The little doll, who had long since been unable to hold back, waved her tiny paws so fast they left afterimages.
In the blink of an eye, she had thrown out more than a dozen buzzing bombs.
Sherwin never once tried to stop her. After all, under his and Huamei Meow guidance, the little doll already knew her limits very well—she would never use bombs with excessive power inside a city.
"Ah… this is bad! Klee Meow accidentally threw out the compressed bouncing bomb that Sister Suika helped make too, meow!"
Sherwin: "!!!"
"Hehehe… Klee Meow didn't do it on purpose, meow…"
Faced with Sherwin stunned gaze, the little doll decisively tried to muddle through by acting cute.
"Everyone, get down! A huge explosion is coming, meow!"
Just as Sherwin was still staring wide-eyed at Klee Meow, Huamei Meow—the most reliable member of the Survey Corps—had already loudly warned the surrounding Minks.
The other members of the Survey Corps had long since skillfully found cover, pulling Carrot and the nearby Minks down with them to lie flat on the ground.
"BOOM—!!!"