Sherwin turned his head and saw the anxious Shirahoshi. Only then did he belatedly remember that the "little" mermaid Observation Haki wasn't very good at sensing the strength of someone presence.
But…
"Just look at Whitebeard with all those IV tubes stuck in him. How good could his body possibly be?"
"I-I know that Pop health isn't very good, but…"
After crying out in alarm, Shirahoshi had calmed down slightly, yet she still muttered with a worried expression, "Sherwin, you just said that Pops Whitebeard might not even have a few years left to live…"
"You can relax. As long as Whitebeard doesn't go picking a fight with the other Yonko or the Marines, living another seven or eight years shouldn't be a problem."
Sherwin words offered no real comfort. Shirahoshi still looked deeply troubled.
"Edward Newgate, huh?"
After being stunned for a moment, Dr. Kureha couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "That young man from back then has grown old too…"
Sherwin wasn't surprised at all that Kureha knew Whitebeard. After all, she was an old woman whose age could rival that of the Giants. And with her personality, if she claimed she had once been a pirate in her youth, Sherwin would believe it one hundred percent.
Having been stirred into reminiscing by Sherwin words and lost in memories of the past for a while, Kureha came back to her senses and continued,
"Although I haven't seen Whitebeard current condition, for someone of his strength to need IV drips at such a relatively young age, either he accumulated too many injuries over the years, or he suffering from some kind of incurable disease."
Huh?
Sherwin froze slightly.
Kureha first guess matched his own thoughts, but the second possibility caught him off guard.
However, now that she mentioned it, it wasn't impossible. After all, there seemed to be quite a few incurable diseases in the pirate world…
"Alright, don't just stand outside. Come in and sit for a while!"
Since she had taken a liking to Sherwin, Kureha attitude was fairly friendly, and she proactively invited them into her home.
After stepping inside, Sherwin quickly swept his gaze around. Aside from several bookshelves crammed full of books, what filled the place the most weren't medical instruments, but all kinds of cold weapons hanging on the walls and placed around the room—everything from swords to spiked clubs.
As a result, the place didn't look like a clinic or a doctor residence at all. Instead, it resembled a weapon shop or the private collection room of some weapons enthusiast.
Additionally…
Chopper was nowhere to be seen.
"Waaah… Sherwin, I still can't get in…"
While Sherwin was looking around, Shirahoshi, whose large body was blocked outside, gazed pitifully through the doorway at Sherwin and the Felynes inside.
"Uh…"
Sherwin scratched his head and looked at Kureha somewhat helplessly. "How about we just sit outside for a while? The snowy scenery here is actually pretty nice."
"Hahahahaha! I'm liking you little brats more and more!"
Kureha didn't mind at all. She took some food from a cabinet and walked outside, and at the same time instructed Sherwin, "Bring that stove and teapot from the table. Actually, just carry the whole table out too."
Very soon, they formed a circle in the open space in front of the treehouse, tasting the food and black tea from Kureha home while chatting casually.
As a "young lady" over one hundred and thirty years old, even though Kureha had been staying on Drum Island, she still knew quite a bit of information from the outside world that was no longer widely circulated.
So later on, it was basically Robin asking her various historical questions.
However, Kureha had only lived for over one hundred and thirty years, not eight hundred, so regarding the Void Century that Robin cared about most, she knew nothing as well.
Robin naturally didn't feel disappointed. After all, she had been pursuing that reverence and coming up empty-handed for more than ten years already. So she quickly moved on to other topics, mainly cross-verifying them with the historical knowledge she had gathered.
Sherwin wasn't in a hurry either. He still wanted to see if he could wait for Chopper. With his reassurance, Klee Meow and Shermie Meow didn't make much of a fuss.
As for Jinx…
The little crazy cat was extremely interested in the weapons Kureha had collected. She had already obtained permission and slipped into the tree house early to admire and handle them.
After sitting there for a while, Shermie Meow, who had been lying on Sherwin lap with her eyes half-closed, enjoying the petting, suddenly flicked her tail. She straightened up, leaned over Sherwin shoulder, and looked behind him.
"Sherwin dear~ look, there a strange little guy over there, meow~ He looks like a Mink~"
(=ΦωΦ=)σ
Sherwin turned around to look. As expected, it was Chopper. He was hiding in his signature backwards fashion, with half of his head concealed behind a tree while most of his head and his entire body were exposed outside.
There was also a basket strapped to his back filled with various plants and herbs. Clearly, he had been out gathering medicinal ingredients earlier.
"Hello, meow!"
(=`=)
A bit bored and having been playing with Sherwin ears the whole time, Klee Meow enthusiastically greeted Chopper. Before he could even react, she darted right in front of him.
"Are you a cat too, meow? You look a little different from Klee, meow."
(=ω=)
The little ragdoll tilted her head, studying the figure in front of her who was about the same size as herself.
"I'm a reindeer!"
Chopper pointed at the top of his head and shouted, "Can't you see the antlers on my head?!"
"A reindeer, meow?" Klee Meow tilted her head again in confusion. "But you look so small. Other reindeer are much bigger, meow."
"Then what about this?!"
Easily swayed by his emotions, Chopper instantly switched into his human form, turning into a somewhat strange-looking, furry, muscular man.
"Oooooh! You turned into a big guy! That amazing, meow!"
(==)
Klee Meow eyes lit up as she cheered excitedly.
Flattered, Chopper immediately twisted back and forth like a strip of kelp.
"Idiot~! Even if you compliment me, I won't be happy~!"
Although the situation was a little different, Klee Meow had seen something similar before. When her big sister Haibara acted tsundere, she spoke in exactly the same way, so the little ragdoll did not misunderstand.
However, it didn't take long before Klee Meow grew puzzled again.
"But your Moon Lion looks different from Uncle Inuarashi and the others, meow. And you didn't eat a Moon Lion pill…"
Chopper, still in his large humanoid form, looked completely confused.
"What a Moon Lion? And didn't I say I'm a reindeer?! How could I possibly turn into a lion?!"
"But your antlers are gone!"
(=`ω=)σ
Klee Meow said with a serious expression, "So you're definitely not a reindeer! Uncle Kadan and the others all have antlers, meow!"
"Th-Then this should prove it, right?!"
To prove his identity as a reindeer, Chopper quickly switched into his beast form, completely transforming into a reindeer.
"Ooooooh——!!!"
(==)
Seeing that Chopper actually had a third form, Klee Meow grew even more excited. She turned her head, waving her little paws as she shouted loudly, "Brother Sherwin! Come over and look! This reindeer is so interesting, meow!"
Then she looked back at Chopper, her ruby-like eyes sparkling with anticipation. "You really can't use Moon Lion, meow? You can already transform into three different forms."
"So what exactly is Moon Lion?!"
The utterly confused Chopper felt like he was on the verge of breaking down.