Klee Meow good luck was clearly not that simple, just as I thought!
Sherwin eyes lit up at once.
Only now did he remember that Luffy and Momonosuke had not been able to communicate with Zunesha from the beginning, either.
On the giant Whale Tree they had only heard a voice, but they couldn't make out the exact words.
It wasn't until Jack attacked for the second time and Zunesha was assaulted by the Beasts Pirates that the two of them were finally able to clearly understand what it was saying.
So Sherwin arrived at a reasonable guess—
Because Zunesha had been punished by the previous Joy Boy to keep walking endlessly, it was very likely that, for most of the time, it existed in a half-asleep, half-awake state, something like dozing or sleepwalking, using that as a substitute for true sleep and rest.
And in that state, Zunesha perception of the outside world was probably rather dull.
Only after it received sufficient external stimulation would it become fully awake.
As for the indistinct voices that could only be heard in the Whale Forest, they were very likely just Zunesha sleep-talking—or simply its snores.
This also explained why Momonosuke could later converse with Zunesha from far away while in Wano Country the difficulty of communication would naturally differ between its waking and sleepwalking states.
"Hurry, try first and see if you can get in touch with Zunesha!"
While urging Shirahoshi, Sherwin also had Purah Meow and Haibara Meow bring out the "brainwave amplifier" they had made.
Because they had already planned to converse with Zunesha before, the machine was, of course, being carried with them by the Felynes.
The device they first took out was only the size of a fist, and then Suika Meow walked over and waved a paw.
What had looked like a toy model immediately returned to its original size.
Unlike the gigantic brainwave amplifier in X-Men, the one made by the Felynes wasn't very large.
Besides a "main unit" about the size of a bedside cabinet, there was only a headband-like apparatus, and that had even been specially made larger for Shirahoshi to use.
"Wait, what are you all talking about?"
Nekomamushi, completely confused as he watched Sherwin and the Felynes suddenly become excited and busy, asked curiously, "Zunesha is talking? Why haven't I heard anything?"
"I didn't hear anything either." Carrot came over as well, rubbing her pair of long ears.
Empathizing, she guessed, "Could it be that your ears are still ringing from Klee bombs?"
"Hold on! Dumb cat, do you remember that Lord Oden once heard a special voice in Zou?" Inuarashi suddenly recalled something from many years ago.
Nekomamushi, who had originally wanted to snap back, calmed down quickly when he heard Kozuki Oden name, and for once agreed with Inuarashi:
"That right, I remember it too—and Captain Roger also said something similar…"
Nekomamushi muttered to himself twice, then suddenly came to a realization. "So that voice was Zunesha?!"
"Uh… you all really didn't know?" Sherwin looked at him and the equally shocked Inuarashi, a bit speechless.
"Since there was a 'mysterious voice,' and it wasn't from any other Mink, you could at least have guessed it was Zunesha, right?"
"Well… we honestly never thought about it…"
It wasn't just Inuarashi and Nekomamushi even the nearby Minks all scratched the backs of their heads in embarrassment.
Sherwin rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Shirahoshi. At this moment, the "small" mermaid had already put on the device made by the Felynes and was closing her eyes, trying hard to establish communication with Zunesha.
"Ugh… so, so heavy…"
Shirahoshi held her head with one hand and braced herself on the ground with the other, a faint expression of pain appearing on her face.
"Are you okay? If it too much, forget it. You can try again after you grow up."
Since they already knew Shirahoshi could also communicate with Zunesha, the rest could be taken slowly, so Sherwin quickly signaled Haibara Meow to switch the machine off.
"No, no problem, big bro Sherwin!" However, Shirahoshi stopped Haibara Meow movement.
"The communication itself isn't exhausting. It just that while hearing Zunesha voice, there a very strong sense of pressure. But compared to Huamei big sister Conqueror Haki, it nothing. I just need to get used to it."
Then Sherwin saw the expression on Shirahoshi face gradually relax, as if she really was adapting to that so-called pressure.
But this little girl always liked to act tough in some situations, so Sherwin didn't believe it immediately and instead turned to the little doll at the side.
"Klee?"
"Shirahoshi big sister isn't lying. Klee can also feel that pressure, but compared to Huamei big sister, it still far weaker, meow!"
"Huh? You can hear Zunesha voice too?"
Although he'd always known that Klee Meow Observation Haki was very similar to Shirahoshi, Sherwin had never imagined she would also possess an ability similar to Luffy and Roger.
Mainly, when faced with the Sea Kings before, the little doll hadn't shown talent in this aspect at all.
"Klee can't hear it, actually…"
(ω≡ω)
The little plush doll shook her head and replied, "Klee can only feel a heavy feeling… mm… kind of like the feeling when Klee gets into trouble and big sister Huamei stares at her… meow! That exactly the feeling!"
Immediately glared at by Huamei, Klee Meow fur puffed up in an instant. She jumped straight up and leaped toward Sherwin.
Yep, she really was still far from Huamei Meow before this, Klee Meow had never reacted this strongly.
Sherwin caught the little plush doll and casually set her on his shoulder, then patted her small head to comfort her.
It seemed that although Klee Meow Observation Haki talent was also very high, it still hadn't reached the level of hearing the "Voice of All Things."
However, Sherwin didn't feel there was anything to regret. They already had Shirahoshi, a companion who could communicate with Zunesha, and even if they couldn't communicate with Zunesha, it wasn't a big deal anyway, since it wouldn't affect their journey.
After confirming that Shirahoshi wasn't forcing herself, Sherwin naturally didn't turn off the "brainwave amplifier," and with the help of the device, Shirahoshi successfully communicated with Zunesha…
It was just that the content of their communication was basically things Sherwin already knew: that Zunesha was being punished and kept walking continuously, and that it was waiting for the arrival of "the Dawn."
"'The Dawn,' huh? Lord Oden and Lady Toki also said the same thing…"
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi truly couldn't go three sentences without mentioning Oden.
Although Sherwin felt annoyed listening to it, he also knew that those who had caught the "Oden virus" were just like this, so he couldn't be bothered to argue with them.
"Those things don't matter." Haibara Meow unhappily patted Shirahoshi fish tail, then reminded her,
"You should first tell this giant elephant that we're going to put medicine on it. Tell it not to move around, meow!"
"Big sister Shirahoshi, please also apologize to it on Klee behalf, meow!"
(=ω=)
The little plush doll hopped from Sherwin shoulder onto Shirahoshi, tugged lightly at her hair as she spoke.
"Oh, oh, I understand!"
Only then did Shirahoshi hold the "headband" on her head, close her eyes once more, and resume communicating with Zunesha.
A moment later, she opened her eyes. "All right, Zunesha says it understands and won't move around. Also, Zunesha says it never intended to blame Klee. This kind of injury is nothing to it it was just startled just now."
"That great, meow!"
Only then did the little plush doll finally relax completely. She quickly dashed over to Haibara Meow side and shouted, "Klee wants to help treat the big elephant injuries too, meow!"
Inuarashi looked at Shirahoshi, then at the cats who were tending to Zunesha wounds, and suddenly spoke.
"I agree. I'll take you to see the Poneglyph."
I knew Klee Meow good luck couldn't be that simple!