Sherwin had done this sort of thing many times—when it wasn't convenient for him to act personally, he would notify Kuma instead.
At the very beginning, he hadn't contacted Kuma very often, and most of the time he would wait quite a while before making the call.
After all, if Sherwin had just left and immediately afterward the local king ran into trouble—or even the entire country was overthrown by the Revolutionary Army—once or twice might be fine, but if it kept happening, it would be hard not to draw the attention of the Marines and the World Government.
However, after learning that the Revolutionary Army had begun following his suggestion—focusing primarily on secretly supporting and controlling regimes through "peaceful evolution"—he started passing information to Kuma more promptly and more frequently.
And so far, the World Government indeed had not noticed the faint connection between Sherwin and the Revolutionary Army.
Of course, the relationship between the investigation team and the Bonney Pirates had long since been exposed.
The old man didn't understand what Sherwin meant by those words, but with his rich life experience, he could sense that there might be a turning point.
Although he was still half doubtful, the old man repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Sherwin and took out all the food in his home to entertain them.
Sherwin thought for a moment. Even if he notified Kuma, there was no telling when he and the Revolutionary Army would take action. Based on Sherwin understanding of them, their manpower was actually quite stretched thin.
So he added, "We came this time because we heard that the Drum Kingdom used to be a renowned medical nation. We're here to exchange knowledge with the doctors. Afterward, we'll need a large number of patients to verify what we've learned. You can inform the others about this… Don't worry, it free of charge."
The old man named Darren immediately broke into a wide smile.
Driving Wapol away still had no clear outcome, but if there could at least be a doctor to treat them, that alone would already be a great blessing.
Because the doctors on the island had all been summoned by Wapol to Drum Castle, many people on the island were barely managing to live while dragging along their illnesses.
After finishing his instructions, Sherwin did not stay long at Old Man Darren house. After all, their main objective was to find the doctors around Wapol. So after sitting for a short while, Sherwin and the others continued toward the populated Drum Island port…
Even though Sherwin wasn't particularly willing.
Because just from looking at the welcoming banner in the village, he could already roughly guess what he was about to encounter.
…
"Oh my! You must be the world-famous Warlord of the Sea — 'Hunter' Sherwin-sama, correct? Truly a magnificent presence! Our King wapol has been eagerly anticipating your visit ever since he learned you would be coming to the Drum Kingdom! He specially arranged for me to welcome you here. Being able to meet Sherwin-sama today is an incomparable honor…"
Sure enough, when Sherwin arrived at the harbor with the Felynes, a fellow dressed like a clown immediately scurried over with a fawning expression, his mouth pouring out one sickening compliment after another.
"Alright, alright, that enough…"
Sherwin quickly cut off the man endless chatter and directly lifted Haibara Meow in front of himself, making his purpose clear.
"I came here because our ship doctor heard that the medical standards here are very high, so we've come specifically to exchange medical knowledge. So you can put away all these flashy arrangements. Just find a quiet place and let Ai discuss medicine with your doctors."
"Of course, no problem at all! I'll make the arrangements immediately!"
It had to be said that although this guy—who had appeared in the manga but whose name Sherwin couldn't remember—wasn't exactly a good person, his skill at bootlicking was quite impressive.
The moment he realized Sherwin didn't like the welcoming ceremony, he immediately ordered the guards to disperse the gathered civilians, then led out one of Drum Kingdom unique woolly hippos.
"Please mount this woolly hippo first. Lord wapol and our kingdom doctors are all waiting at Drum Castle."
At the same time, Sherwin caught sight of a small squad of guards peeling away from the group, likely heading off in advance to inform wapol.
Originally, Sherwin had thought he would get to experience the woolly hippo ability from the manga—climbing Drum Mountain as if walking on flat ground—but instead, it only carried them to the village closest to the harbor, where they transferred to a cable car…
Tsk! I forgot that Drum Kingdom still has this thing.
Although Sherwin had ridden several different kinds of cable cars back on Earth, this Drum Kingdom version—powered by a person pedaling in front like riding a bicycle—was something he had never seen before.
Still, he did not feel anything particularly special about it. The Felynes beside him, however, were all quite excited.
"What a pity. Klee Meow and Jinx would definitely be interested in this thing, meow~"
(=ΦωΦ=)
Shermie Meow, who was clinging to the edge of the cable car and leaning out to look down, sighed with some regret.
"It fine. We'll probably be staying here for a while. We can bring Klee and the others over to play later."
Not to mention that Haibara Meow medical exchange would take quite some time, Sherwin had just promised Uncle Darren that he would provide free medical consultations on the island.
Besides, he had not yet unlocked the map of Drum Island. Apart from the Lapahn, there were several other unique animals on the island that could help enrich the monster compendium in the Hunter Notes.
Most importantly, Tony Tony Chopper—who would become a member of the future main crew and might even grant Sherwin fragments of a Summoning Ticket—had not yet been met.
As the cable car arrived at the summit of Drum Mountain, Sherwin and the others soon caught sight of the "greatly renowned" wapol…
Just like in the manga, he was born with a foolish-looking face.
And because of the Human-Human Fruit, wapol had many parts of his body wrapped in metal plating, making him look even more like a cyborg than Franky or the Pacifistas.
"Hahahahaha! So you're Sherwin? Welcome to my kingdom! I am the greatest king of this country—wapol!"
After an opening speech utterly lacking in self-awareness, wapol enthusiastically expressed his admiration for Sherwin.
However, he was clearly unaccustomed to flattering others. As he spoke, he appeared extremely stiff and awkward.
wapol seemed to realize this as well—and unable to tolerate lowering himself any further, he tossed Sherwin to his subordinates after saying a few simple lines, then quickly slipped away.
Fortunately, Sherwin had no desire to deal with that fellow either. He couldn't wait for him to get lost, and couldn't even be bothered to ask who had informed him that the Felyne Investigation Team was coming to Drum Kingdom.
It was only at this moment that Sherwin learned that the man dressed like a clown was the advisor Darren had mentioned—Chess.
Aside from him, the ones left behind to receive Sherwin were the afro-haired Kuromarimo, the kingdom affairs officer, and the guard captain Dalton…
Hmm? Wasn't Dalton supposed to have been imprisoned by wapol for letting Chopper escape?
Sherwin, who still retained some memories of the manga plot, felt a bit puzzled but had no intention of looking into it further… It didn't really matter anyway.
What followed was simple. At Sherwin request, Chess quickly arranged for Haibara Meow and Purah Meow to be taken to the place where the "Isshi-20" usually conducted their medical research. Having already received instructions, the "Isshi-20" warmly welcomed the two Felynes.
Robin had initially planned to do as she did on Amazon Lily and browse through Drum Kingdom archives. However, Chess informed her that wapol considered those materials useless and had thrown them all away. The place that once stored the documents had already been converted into one of wapol entertainment rooms.
"In that case, why don't you come down the mountain with me and take a stroll?"
Sherwin promptly stopped Robin—who was so furious she was ready to give wapol a grand "Clutch" in full bloom—then held her with one hand and carried Shermie Meow with the other as they returned to the cable car.
As for Purah Meow and Haibara Meow, who were left in the castle, wapol likely didn't have the courage to provoke them.
Moreover, Haibara Meow was protected by three "elemental creatures," and Purah Meow bag was stuffed with a large number of mechanical guardians.
Even if all of Drum Kingdom military strength were combined, they wouldn't stand a chance against the two Felynes, so there was no need for Sherwin to worry.
…