"…It shouldn't be that much of a coincidence, right?"
Sherwin stared at the Den Den Mushi in front of him that was going "Buru buru," the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
But when he thought about Klee Meow consistently outrageous luck…
It was probably Uncle Cody after all.
With a rather complicated sigh, Sherwin reached out and picked up the receiver.
Sure enough, the Den Den Mushi face quickly sprouted two familiar little mustaches, and its originally raised eyes turned into that easygoing, "nice old man" expression that looked very approachable.
"Sherwin, you've already come out of the Calm Belt by now, haven't you?"
Cody skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point. Although it was phrased as a question, his tone was extremely certain.
Sherwin had already expected this. After all, the first thing he did after landing on the island wasn't to buy a permanent Log Pose, but to drag the Bablin Pirate crew—who had been reduced to only babbling "aba aba" by Haibara Meow medicine—to the Marine base on this island to exchange them for their bounty.
So it was only natural that the Marines and CP knew their current location.
"Yeah. Uncle Cody, are you calling to settle the payment for the last mission?"
"…"
Cody fell silent for a moment, then let out a faint sigh. "Forget it. Just stay on Chain Island for now. Our people will deliver the Dyna Stone to you as soon as possible."
Chain Island was the name of the island Sherwin and the others were currently on. Its situation was somewhat similar to Long Ring Long Land.
It was also formed by several small islands connected together, but unlike Long Ring Long Land, they didn't form a neat circle, nor were the paths cut off by tidal changes. From above, the whole place looked like a messy cluster of iron chains.
Staying on Chain Island to wait for the CP agents to deliver the Dyna Stone wasn't a problem, but…
"What did that sigh just now mean? And that 'forget it'? What exactly are you implying, Uncle Cody?"
Sherwin had a vague feeling that he had just been looked down on, though he had no proof.
"It nothing. The higher-ups told me to use the fact that you didn't put in much effort during the last mission as an excuse to deduct part of your reward. But I suddenly felt there was no real point to it, so I let it go."
Cody let out another sigh before answering.
Sherwin opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but Cody spoke again first. "Don't bring up Akainu. We all know exactly what the situation was. Even without the issue with Akainu, you still wouldn't have gone all out against the Big Mom Pirates… We actually expected that from the start."
Since Uncle Cody had already laid things out so bluntly, Sherwin couldn't be bothered to keep pretending.
In fact, Sherwin had long guessed what the World Government was thinking… or rather, the think tanks of the Investigation Corps had already analyzed it thoroughly for him. In theory, their plan didn't have any major flaws. The only thing they hadn't accounted for was that guy, the Heavenly Yaksha.
Thinking of this, Sherwin decisively said, "Speaking of which, the ky Comet Dragon' we rode back then seems to have been tampered with by Doflamingo."
"Sky Comet Dragon? Is that what you call those sky ships?"
"…"
Sherwin hadn't expected that to be what Uncle Cody focused on first!
Speechless, he nodded, then realized the other party couldn't see him and gave an audible "Mm" in confirmation.
As for the Heavenly Yaksha…
"Actually… Doflamingo told us something similar. But in his version, the one who tampered with the ship was you. His reason was that you were dissatisfied with the Navy stealing your technology."
"…Pah! The Dodo Advance has already gone through several iterations. The blueprints in Iceburg hands are long outdated! Why would I be so bored as to argue over that? And if I really wanted to make a fuss, wouldn't it be better to just ask you for some technology in exchange? What the point of sabotaging a technique you've already mastered?"
That was yet another thing Sherwin hadn't expected—
He hadn't expected Doflamingo, that despicable schemer, to actually turn the tables and make a false accusation. Looks like putting the trip to Dressrosa on the agenda was necessary.
Before, it was because Trafalgar Law hadn't entered the Grand Line yet that Sherwin hadn't been in a hurry to deal with Doflamingo. But now…
Once the trip to Drum Island was over, he would head to Dressrosa and flip the Heavenly Yaksha lair upside down!
"Calm down. We didn't completely believe him either."
Uncle Cody misunderstood the reason for Sherwin anger and soothed him in a calm voice.
So that means they still believed part of it, huh?
Hearing the implication in his words, Sherwin curled his lip, not particularly surprised.
After all, setting aside the fact that that bastard Doflamingo had framed him, if someone were to tamper with the "Crimson Glow Valstrax Subspecies," it would indeed make more sense for it to be him rather than the Heavenly Yaksha.
His ship technology had been stolen. He was the one who clashed with Akainu. Among the Seven Warlords, he was also the one with the best relationship with the BIG·MOM Pirates.
On top of that, Doflamingo had the status of a former Celestial Dragon…
Thinking it through like this, Sherwin felt that the CP only partially believing it—rather than coming straight to cause him trouble—was already extremely rare, even unbelievable.
At the same time, he understood even more clearly just how brilliant Doflamingo framing scheme was…
Sure enough, he still needed to kill that guy as soon as possible!
Sherwin once again strengthened his resolve.
"Then why didn't you completely believe him?" After figuring it out, Sherwin couldn't help asking curiously.
"To be honest, after thinking about it just now, even I feel like it makes more sense for me to be the one pulling something behind the scenes than for Doflamingo."
"Because you and Doflamingo don't get along."
Uncle Cody stated a blunt truth, then added, "Also, Admiral Kizaru and the Marines who were on the ship at the time all said that after you Seven Warlords boarded, none of you made any unusual moves. On the contrary, Doflamingo was the one constantly walking around on the ship, so from that point of view, his suspicion is actually greater…"
"But don't expect us to go after him over this."
"A former Celestial Dragon, I know."
Sherwin curled his lip in disdain.
"Cough, cough…" Cody clearly didn't want to continue discussing the Celestial Dragons and stiffly changed the subject.
"Anyway, that the situation. Wait on Chain Island. The Dyna Stone will be delivered within a week."
"Wait," Sherwin quickly stopped Cody, who was about to hang up. "If you manage to 'withhold' part of my reward, would that help you?"
"Of course it would," Cody didn't hide anything and answered honestly.
"Although the Dyna Stone itself isn't anything particularly remarkable to the World Government, the key lies in whether I can withhold your reward. If those above know you voluntarily gave up part of it out of goodwill, their evaluation of me would be even higher."
"Got it."
Sherwin nodded. It seemed that, in the eyes of the World Government, he still carried a bit of weight.
So he decisively said, "Then just send over two Dyna Stone. I originally only wanted two anyway."
"…Then why did you ask me for three before?!"
Uncle Cody tone sounded just a little on the verge of collapse.
Sherwin, however, replied as if it were perfectly natural, "If I can take advantage of a bit more, why wouldn't I? I was just planning to bargain at the start. Who knew you'd agree so easily, Uncle?"
"…"
Cody on the other end fell into silence once again.
A moment later…
Click.
Seeing the Den Den Mushi suddenly revert to its original appearance, Sherwin set down the receiver with clear dissatisfaction.
He actually hung up without saying a word. These CP agents really had no manners at all!