c"Boss Sherwin, I've taken care of that group of pirates!"
Shirahoshi dragged the Bablin Pirate ship back to the Dodo Advance, proudly claiming credit in front of Sherwin. "This time I definitely didn't miss any treasure!"
"Mm, well done."
Sherwin approvingly patted her fish tail.
Although he didn't think there would be anything valuable on that pirate ship, when dealing with a child, encouragement always came first.
However…
She still held back…
After sweeping over the pirate ship with Observation Haki, he discovered that all the pirates aboard were still alive. There weren't even many seriously injured—most had only temporarily lost their ability to move.
Well, it had been quite some time since they'd turned pirates in for bounties. This was a good opportunity to relive his old days as a bounty hunter.
Just like when they usually killed pirates—no matter how reluctant Shirahoshi felt, she would never speak up to stop them—this time, since Shirahoshi had been the one to act, Sherwin naturally wouldn't go in to finish them off either.
However, while he chose to consider Shirahoshi feelings, Jinx jumped onto her head and unceremoniously began smacking her with her little paws.
"You idiot! Pirates like these deserve to die! Why bring them back, meow?! Just throw them all into the sea, meow!"
(=`Д=)ジ
"B-But… can't we still turn them in for bounty money?"
Shirahoshi covered her head and retorted weakly.
"Even dead pirates can still be exchanged for money, meow!"
That excuse obviously couldn't fool Jinx. The little crazy cat said coldly, her feline eyes flashing with a dangerous glint as they casually swept toward the group of pirates on the neighboring ship.
A trace of reluctance flashed across Shirahoshi face, but just like before, she didn't try to stop Jinx.
However, the little crazy cat didn't actually make a move. If anything, she might care about Shirahoshi even more than Sherwin did. The things Sherwin had thought of, she had naturally thought of as well. Her earlier scolding had simply been out of concern that Shirahoshi soft heart would cause her trouble in the future.
So after lecturing Shirahoshi in a rather stern tone for a while, Jinx let the matter drop and didn't pursue it any further.
"Hehe… Big Sister Jinx, want to chew on some fish tail?"
Seeing through Jinx true intentions, Shirahoshi reached up, lifted her down from her head, and even proactively offered her tail to the little crazy cat.
"Ah-woo!"
(=`=)
Jinx had no idea what "being polite" meant. She leapt straight off Shirahoshi palm in one bound, pouncing onto her fish tail and happily gnawing away.
Meanwhile, Sherwin, together with Kaido Meow, Suika Meow, Robin, and the metal tiger Jin, moved all the treasure and the pirates from the pirate ship onto the Dodo Advance.
"Great! I was just worrying about not having anyone to test my medicine on, meow!"
＜(=`=)＞
Haibara Meow looked at the dozens of pirates in front of her and nodded in satisfaction.
Sherwin: "..."
Suddenly, he felt that Shirahoshi sparing their lives might not have been such a good thing after all.
…
While the Babulin Pirate Crew was enduring a living hell under Haibara Meow care, Sherwin and the others soon arrived at the first island after returning to the first half of the Grand Line.
Unfortunately, there was no Marine base on this island, so Sherwin had no way to turn them in for bounty money.
Well, Haibara Meow was actually quite happy about that.
Since Sherwin destination was to make a detour to Drum Kingdom, it was naturally impossible for them to follow the outermost route and go through the "traditional" path of the first half of the Grand Line again. Instead, just like when they traveled from the East Blue to the South Blue, they would cross the Grand Line by using the Eternal Poses they had collected along the way.
"…You idiot, you're not planning to go to St. Poplar to see that woman named Stussy, are you, meow?"
(ω)
After hearing that Sherwin intended to buy an Eternal Pose for the neighboring route, Haibara Meow immediately raised her little head and stared at him suspiciously.
The little kitten suspicion was actually quite reasonable. After all, St. Poplar Island was on the same "latitude" as where they currently were.
However, Sherwin felt that this little schemer was simply looking for an excuse to slander him again. After all, this mischievous little cat had done that plenty of times before.
"You're overthinking it." Sherwin rolled his eyes, then reached out and firmly pressed down on the little schemer head. "My main goal is to unlock more of the map. I have no interest in revisiting islands we've already been to."
"Really, meow?"
Haibara Meow still looked doubtful. "Then why are you choosing such a troublesome way of crossing the Grand Line? You could just follow the Log Pose straight ahead and return to the New World again. You could even go look for that moving island while you're at it, meow."
"Heh…"
Sherwin let out a soft chuckle, then said unhurriedly, "Originally, I was planning to stop by the Drum Kingdom, known as the 'great medical nation,' so you could exchange knowledge with the doctors there. But since you've put it that way…"
"The great medical nation?! Really, meow?! You're not lying to me, are you?"
(=ˇˇ=)
Haibara Meow ears shot straight up, and her tail swayed unconsciously behind her. Clearly, she was very interested in the Drum Kingdom Sherwin mentioned. However, given their past scheming against each other, the little kitten still maintained a basic level of suspicion.
"About that, you can confirm it with Robin," Sherwin replied calmly with a shrug, since he wasn't lying. "Drum Island isn't far from Alabasta. She should have heard of it."
Of course, Sherwin "kindly" left out the part about how the king had monopolized all the doctors in the Drum Kingdom…
In any case, there was still Dr. Kureha, that century-old lady. Even if he couldn't find an excuse to make a move against Wapol when the time came, Haibara Meow would still have someone to exchange knowledge with.
"Actually, if we hadn't been busy dealing with Crocodile back then, and then hiding Robin whereabouts afterward, I was planning to drop by on the way," Sherwin added before Haibara Meow could question him again.
Hearing him lay it out so logically, Haibara Meow already believed most of it, but she still cast a questioning look at Robin.
She saw Robin nod and reply, "When I was in Alabasta, I did hear that the Drum Kingdom medical standards were highly advanced. However, King Cobra of Alabasta didn't think very highly of the Drum Kingdom king."
Whether the Drum Kingdom king was incompetent or not didn't matter to Haibara Meow at all. She only needed to know that this great medical nation truly existed.
"I'm going! I'm going, meow!"
(=＞＜=)
After confirming the Drum Kingdom was real, the excited little kitten immediately threw her arms around Sherwin. Rubbing her fluffy little head against his thigh, she pinched her voice into a sweet tone and said, "Big Brother Sherwin is the best~ Ai likes you the most, meow~"
(=ω=)
"You little rascal…"
Bending down, Sherwin picked up the coquettish little kitten. With a doting smile on his face, he gently scratched under her chin, yet mercilessly teased, "…Since when did you get such a thick skin?"
Then he was fiercely bitten by the kitten, who had flown into embarrassment and anger.
"You stupid Hunter, meow!"
(=◣皿◢=)
Haibara Meow clamped down hard on Sherwin palm, cursing him indistinctly through her mouthful while glaring at him viciously with her ice-blue eyes.
Yes, this was the normal Ai.
Sherwin calmly pulled his hand out of the little kitten mouth. Then, using just a few simple moves of the Kato Cat Hand, he successfully soothed the furious little cat.