Bang! Bang bang! Bang!
Huge, strange fish with horns kept leaping out of the water, ramming toward Sherwin and the others as they walked across the bridge.
The tall steel guardrails erected on both sides of the suspension bridge were quickly twisted out of shape under the impact of the fighting fish. In the more severely damaged areas, several bars had already snapped completely.
"S-So ferocious…"
Shirahoshi had initially wanted to try soothing them, but these fighting fish gave the mermaid princess no face at all.
"Fish this lively should taste pretty good, meow."
Sanji Meow eyes sparkled. "Sherwin, let catch a few and bring them back to try!"
"Sure." Sherwin glanced around. "Which one of you is doing it?"
"If we're taking them back as ingredients, it better not to damage their bodies too much, right? Then I'll do it, meow… Hah!"
(=`ー=)
Huamei stepped in to stop Klee Meow and Jinx, who were about to throw bombs. Then she pressed her upright triangular ears down slightly, and Conqueror Haki burst forth in an instant, sweeping outward in all directions. The violent fighting fish immediately fell into a baby-like slumber.
"C-Conqueror Haki?!"
Law, who had been pretending to stay aloof nearby, nearly bit his own tongue.
He had already been thoroughly shaken by Sherwin cats, but seeing that they even possessed Conqueror Haki made Law feel as if all these years of his life had been wasted.
Even Bartholomew Kuma looked at Huamei with astonishment. Although after the story entered the New World it seemed like anyone with a bit of status could possess Conqueror Haki, compared to the vast population of the entire pirate world, the number was still extremely small.
In fact, even counting characters from the films, the original work had only shown a little over a dozen individuals who possessed Conqueror Haki. It only felt like there were many because most of them appeared as Luffy opponents.
Bonney didn't think that much about it. She raised both arms and cheered, "Big Sister Huamei is amazing!"
Since the nearby fighting fish had all been knocked unconscious by Huamei, the suspension bridge that had been on the verge of collapse instantly steadied. Sanji Meow picked out a few good-looking ones from the unconscious fighting fish and stuffed them into Link Meow backpack first…
As a proud hoarder, Link Meow had the largest backpack space in the entire investigation team, so he was often requisitioned as a temporary warehouse.
With no more interference from the fighting fish, crossing the bridge naturally became much easier. Before long, Sherwin and the others arrived at Green Bit, which was covered in countless gigantic plants.
From a distance, the forest on Green Bit didn't seem much different from other places. But once they got closer, the differences became quite obvious. One of the most notable features was that the plants here were extremely huge.
Of course, gigantic plants weren't anything unusual in the world of pirates. Whether it was Little Garden where the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre resided, or Amazon Lily and Rusukaina in the Calm Belt, or even that half of Jaya Island that was blasted up to the sky island by the Knock Up Stream, the plants there were all far larger than those in ordinary places.
However, the plants on Green Bit were different from those locations. Ordinary trees like coconut trees and oak trees weren't much different from those outside, but flowers such as roses, tulips, and peonies, along with various mushrooms and fungi, grew even taller than those trees—and by a wide margin.
Compared to them, coconut trees, which were commonly seen by the seaside, looked more like weeds instead.
Although Green Bit vegetation was quite distinctive, aside from Haibara Meow, who was searching for medicinal herbs, the other cats weren't paying attention to that at all…
"Sherwin big brother! There are lots of sounds appearing around us! Are they the little people tribe you mentioned, meow?!"
(ω≡ω)
After entering this fantastical forest, Klee Meow began looking around from Sherwin shoulder, and she quickly detected the movements of the little people.
Sherwin, who couldn't clearly remember some of the finer details, had initially thought that the little people would launch a direct attack on them. Instead, a slightly sharp voice came from within the forest.
"Are you good people? Or bad people?"
"Klee is a good kitty! Sherwin big brother said Klee is the most well-behaved, meow!"
＜(=`=)＞
The little calico put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly as she replied.
Bonney also raised one arm, unwilling to be outdone, and shouted, "Bonney is a good kid too! Everyone in Sorbet loves me the most!"
"When I was in Foosha Village, I was already a well-known good girl, meow!"
(=ω=)
Standing on Shirahoshi head, Jinx nodded as if it were only natural.
Meanwhile, Haibara Meow flicked her tail with a look of disdain and turned her little head to the side. "Hmph! A bunch of childish brats, meow!"
(`へ=)
As the dignified "Brain of the Cats," Lady Haibara Ai would never foolishly compete over who was the good child!
The little people had clearly never encountered a situation like this—where instead of panicking, their targets chattered noisily and competed to answer them. For a moment, they were at a complete loss.
After a brief silence, however, they decided to proceed according to tradition. "Then hand over all your weapons to us!"
"All of them? But Klee has quite a lot of weapons… Are you sure you want every single one, meow?"
(=ω=)
As she spoke, the little doll reached a paw into her small backpack, preparing to pull out a bomb.
Sherwin hurriedly stopped her.
On the other side, Jinx fur instantly bristled…
"My weapons are my friends! I won't hand them over to you, meow!"
(=`Д=)
"If you're good people, then give us your weapons! That the rule!" the small tribe members in the forest insisted stubbornly. "Otherwise, we'll strip you all naked!"
"Sherwin, didn't you say these little people are very kind, meow? Why do they feel like bandits… and perverts too, meow?"
(ω)
Haibara Meow tugged at Sherwin ear and asked with a suspicious look on her face.
"Uh… I don't know either…"
Sherwin spread his hands and curled his lips helplessly.
He only remembered that these little guys were very trusting. As for the detail about stripping people if they refused to hand over their weapons, he truly didn't remember that…
In the Dressrosa arc, whether it was Robin or Nami, there didn't seem to be any scene where they were stripped naked.
As for the other members of the Straw Hat crew… who the hell would deliberately remember scenes of men being stripped naked!
The small tribe really were quick to trust others, but that also meant they were even more single-minded than most people in the pirate world. So when they saw that Sherwin and the others had no intention of handing over their weapons, they immediately launched an attack…
"Take everything!"
With Captain Leo of the Tontatta Corps giving the order, dozens of palm-sized figures burst out from the surrounding plants and pounced toward Sherwin and the others.
"None of you are allowed to interfere, meow!"
(=`皿=)
Jinx shouted, baring her teeth in a vicious grin.
"Didn't they want my friends, meow? Then I'll let them get properly acquainted, meow!"
═┳(=`=)l▄︻╤
The little mad cat pulled out her Boom Boom Gun and electromagnetic pistol, leaping down from Shirahoshi head, laughing wildly.
"Meowhahahahaha! Come and say hello to my friends of a different size!"