Drum Island is a winter island located in the first half of the Grand Line.
The island is covered in snow all year round, and its mountains are uniquely cylindrical, looking from afar like rows of enormous drums. Both the island and the kingdom built upon it derive their names from this distinctive landscape.
"Wow! It a winter island, meow!"
(=`=)
Even though she is a user of the Flame-Flame Fruit, Klee Meow absolutely loves playing in the snow. So when she caught sight of the snow-white Drum Island in the distance, the little one immediately grew excited and began tugging at Sherwin ears.
At that moment, however, Sherwin paid no attention to his poor ears.
Not long ago, Klee Meow had spent nearly a week tinkering alone on an uninhabited island. During that entire time, there hadn't been a single explosion.
When she finally emerged from the workshop carrying the Dyna Stone—only missing a few small chips—she immediately pulled Jinx, Haibara Meow, Purah Meow, and Suika Meow aside to whisper among themselves.
Yes, that right. The ones summoned by the little ragdoll were precisely the members of the "Weapons R&D Team" who had previously brainstormed together and come up with that "super awesome concept" to deal with Kaido.
And yet, this group of little troublemakers was deliberately keeping things from Sherwin.
Although with Klee Meow taking the lead and Jinx involved, Sherwin could more or less guess that whatever they were making was inseparable from explosions.
But even explosions come in different grades. What he feared was that the kittens might get carried away and create something even they themselves couldn't control.
As a result, Sherwin had been on edge these past few days. Even when petting the cats, he found himself distracted.
And it wasn't just him. Huamei was also somewhat worried. However, this time Klee Meow and the others were determined to keep it secret, and Huamei couldn't very well punish them over something that hadn't even happened yet.
Forget it… when soldiers come, block them when water rises, dam it. At worst, I'll lure Kaido to a more open area before letting Klee Meow make her move. Our little angel is so sensible—she probably won't go too overboard… right?
After agonizing over it for several days, Sherwin ultimately chose to trust them.
Of course, what he trusted wasn't that the bomb they were building wouldn't cause trouble. After all, expecting the runaway sun and the rampaging blue cat not to stir up chaos was less realistic than hoping some Hunter would suddenly awaken Conqueror Haki.
What Sherwin chose to believe in was the Spark Knight absurd good luck—the kind that ensured no matter how much trouble she caused, the consequences would never be too "serious."
The moment he decided to slack off, the world suddenly felt vast and unburdened.
After handing the future over to fate, Sherwin instantly cured his mental exhaustion.
And then…
"Cut it out, cut it out! If you keep pulling, my ears are going to fall off!"
Sherwin scooped the little ragdoll from his shoulder into his arms and "viciously" pinched her chubby cheeks.
Klee Meow, of course, didn't take his expression seriously at all. Giggling, she hugged the hand that was pinching her cheek and started gnawing on it with cheerful "ah-woo, ah-woo" sounds.
"Hmph!"
(=`へ=)
A certain little milk cat, feeling ignored, swished her tail in dissatisfaction and, copying Klee Meow, began tormenting Sherwin other ear.
At the same time, Dodo also joined in purely for the fun of it, grabbing fistfuls of his hair.
Then Sherwin felt a weight settle onto his back, and Shermie Meow teasing voice—tinged with a bit of grievance—floated up faintly.
"Sherwin dear is really popular with children~ I, on the other hand, am always being neglected by you, meow~"
Sherwin: "..."
Fortunately, the cat entanglement didn't trouble the Hunter for long… though he was actually enjoying it quite a bit.
As the Dodo Advance docked at Drum Island, the cats clinging to Sherwin and acting spoiled finally stopped tormenting him. Klee Meow even gave his face a forceful kick and became the first to jump off the ship.
"Yahoo! The snow is so thick, meow!"
(=＞＜=)
The little ragdoll rolled several times in the deep snow. Only after her head and tail were both coated in a layer of white did she spring back to her feet, then vigorously shook her body, scattering the snowflakes everywhere.
(ω≡ω)
"Brother Sherwin! Brother Sanji Meow! Brother Link! Sister Jinx! Sister Suika Meow! Sister Shermie Meow! Sister Shirahoshi! Hurry up and come down for a snowball fight, meow!"
After shaking off the snow, Klee Meow immediately called out to them with boundless energy.
"Shirahoshi! Let go, meow!"
(=`=)ジ
"I'm coming too, meow!"
(●`●)
The battle-loving little crazy cat and the little drunk cat were the first to respond. The other Felynes and Sherwin followed right after.
They stayed by the shore for a while, having a snowball fight with the Felynes. They even carried some snow onto the ship and built a few snowmen with the Dodo Advance, since it couldn't leave. Only when Haibara Meow increasingly impatient urging grew louder did Sherwin and the others finally prepare to enter the island.
However, something struck Sherwin as slightly strange. They had been making such a racket here for quite some time, yet not a single person from the Drum Kingdom had appeared… In his memory, in the manga, Luffy and the others were surrounded by villagers the moment they landed.
Was it because they hadn't been attacked by Blackbeard, so their vigilance wasn't as high?
Of course, it was also possible that they had landed in the wrong place. With the Dodo Advance current performance, Sherwin and the others didn't need to worry about ports at all. They could dock anywhere without issue—after all, the Dodo Advance could handle itself.
Although Sherwin had always been looking for an excuse to make a move and get rid of Wapol, their main objective this time was for Haibara Meow to exchange medical knowledge with the doctors here.
After giving it some thought, he decided to bring only Haibara Meow, Robin—who wanted to learn about the island history—and Shermie Meow, who had been feeling just a tiny bit resentful earlier.
But then, recalling Wapol bizarre "Doctors 20," whose medical practices actually involved adzes, chisels, axes, and saws, Sherwin added Purah Meow, the little Druid, to the group as well.
Whether the negotiations succeeded or they ended up fighting directly, they could bring the other Felynes onto the island later.
As for Klee Meow, who usually liked to stick close to Sherwin, this time she didn't even wait for him to say anything before volunteering to stay behind and continue researching the Dyna Stone and that "big guy."
Mm. Having already chosen to lie flat, the Hunter remained perfectly calm about it.
Shirahoshi had actually wanted to follow Sherwin onto the island and show the goodwill of the Fish-Man race.
But during the earlier snowball fight, her exposed fish tail had quickly been frozen stiff. Now she was hugging Kaido Meow for warmth.
And with the only two research-focused Felynes busy going ashore to exchange knowledge, there was no time for them to make her any cold-weather gear for the moment.
…
The cylindrical peaks of Drum Island were mostly concentrated in the central region of the island. The outermost area, on the other hand, was covered in dense forest. With Sherwin and the other pace, passing through the forest was an easy task.
Before long, they arrived at a village built between the forest and the mountains.
However…
"Are they celebrating some kind of festival, meow? Check-it!"
(=ω=)
Because the Druid fur was relatively sparse and she was more sensitive to the cold, Purah Meow had tucked herself directly inside Sherwin clothes.
Only a cute little cat head peeked out from his collar. At this moment, she stretched her neck and looked curiously toward the festively decorated village ahead.
Due to the unique geography of the pirate world, nearly every inhabited island had one or two of its own exclusive festivals. So encountering a scene like this wasn't particularly surprising.
What truly puzzled Sherwin and the others was—
"If they're celebrating a festival, then why is this village so deserted, meow?" Shermie Meow, equally confused, deliberately expanded her wide-range Kenbunshoku Haki to sense the surroundings…
"Where did everyone in this village go, meow? I can only sense a dozen or so voices… No, wait—there another village farther away that the same. There are barely any people there either, meow… Oh! Found them, meow!"
It wasn't until Shermie Meow expanded her Haki to cover nearly half of Drum Island that she finally sensed a large number of human "voices."
"Sherwin dear~ they've all gathered by the sea in that direction. No idea what they're doing, meow~"
(=ω=)σ
Shermie Meow rubbed her head against Sherwin cheek while pointing toward their right front.
"Maybe it some kind of festival that has to be celebrated by the sea? Like a Sea God Festival or something."
Well-traveled and knowledgeable, Robin guessed.
Haibara Meow, on the other hand, was more concerned about the doctor.
"Since they're all at the seaside, let just head over there directly, meow!"
(=ˇˇ=)
The little kitten pawed at Sherwin ear as she made her suggestion.
"Don't. Let find someone in the village and ask what going on first. And didn't they say the doctors here are all under the king control? Even if you go looking for those villagers, it won't help."
Sherwin stroked Haibara Meow head, soothing her anxious mood as he walked into the village together with Robin.
"Mm, I don't think we need to ask after all…"
Robin patted Sherwin arm and pointed at a banner not far away.
Because of the angle earlier, they hadn't been able to see what was written on it clearly. But as Sherwin and the others entered the village, the words on the banner came into view—
[Welcome, Hunter, for condescending to grace the Drum Kingdom with your presence]
Sherwin: !!!!!!!!!!