While Sherwin and the others were helping Touma Meow integrate into the pirate world, the latest issue of the Economic Times was delivered across the globe by News Birds. As "old acquaintances" of Shiki, the Four Emperors naturally did not miss this piece of intelligence.
"Mama mama! Even that guy Shiki fell at Sherwin hands? That kid is getting stronger and stronger... I should have forcibly kept him back then!" Charlotte Linlin said with some annoyance.
She then quickly turned her anger toward her daughters: "You useless lot! So many of you, yet you couldn't even snatch him away from one Nico Robin!"
"Mama, I don't think Sherwin has those kinds of feelings for Nico Robin..." Katakuri immediately stepped forward to shield his sisters.
"Could it be because he hasn't reached the right age? According to the intelligence, Sherwin is currently not even twenty years old—he might not even be an adult yet. Perhaps he just hasn't developed those thoughts."
"Oh? Is that so?" Charlotte Linlin paused, her expression of regret deepening. "To have such power at such a young age, I definitely should have forced him to stay back then!"
Compared to the annoyed BIG MOM, Kaido side was filled with anticipation.
"Wororororo!" Kaido tilted his head back and gulped down a massive swig of sake, laughing loudly.
"That brat strength is growing! Next time we meet, I must have a real fight with him! Then, I'll make him my subordinate!"
After speaking, he slammed his empty sake cup onto the ground. Reaching out, he grabbed his newly forged mace, "Hassaikai," and without warning, swung it toward the three Lead Performers who were accompanying him.
The All-Stars sighed in unison. Well-acquainted with their captain temperament, they had already prepared for combat the moment they saw Kaido smash his cup.
As for the other members, they had collectively bolted immediately after delivering the newspaper.
After all, every time their Governor saw news related to the Hunter, he would fly into a drunken frenzy. More than a few of their predecessors had been hospitalized because of it no matter how foolish they were, they knew what to do.
Boom—!
As Hassaikai descended, the banquet hall floor instantly shattered into a massive web of cracks, kicking up a heavy cloud of dust.
"Come! Fight me!"
Only after the strike landed did Kaido voice roar out from within the dispersing dust.
"Once that Hunter joins us in the future, for the next year—no, three years—he'll be the one responsible for fighting the boss!"
"Queen the Plague" grumbled unhappily as he shifted into his hybrid Human-Brachiosaurus form.
Beside him, "King the Conflagration" and "Jack the Drought" nodded in solemn agreement. As for the possibility of Kaido failing to "recruit" him, the thought never even crossed the minds of the three Lead Performers at worst, the brat would simply be sent to Udon to work as a miner.
"Gurarararara! So this is the 'true terror of a pirate' that Shiki was talking about?"
Whitebeard, who had shared a brief exchange with Shiki before his disappearance, finished reading the newspaper. Upon learning the details of Shiki plan, he tossed it aside with a look of pure disdain. "Utterly nonsensical. No wonder he lost to that brat Sherwin."
While Whitebeard dismissed it, the other members of the crew felt differently—especially the veterans who had clashed with Shiki in the past and knew exactly how powerful the man truly was.
"It a shame he has such a prejudice against Lord Oden and refused to help us take back Wano," Izo muttered with a hint of regret.
Marco and Ace opened their mouths, then hesitated...
Unlike Izo, the two of them lacked a filtered view of Kozuki Oden—or rather, they weren't as deeply infected by the "Oden Virus." After hearing Sherwin analysis, they actually found his perspective quite valid.
They didn't believe Sherwin held a prejudice against Oden rather, it was Izo who had overly idolized him. However, out of consideration for their comrade feelings, they exchanged a glance and wisely chose not to speak the blunt truth.
Elsewhere, Marshall D. Teach clutched the newspaper, his heart a swirling mess of envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Using legendary pirates and even the World Government as stepping stones to spread one name across the seas—eventually becoming a Emperor or even the Pirate King—was the exact path Teach had been secretly plotting.
Yet, while Teach had endured in the shadows for decades without even seeing the start of his plan, Sherwin had already surged ahead, achieving fame and power nearing that of the Four Emperors.
For a brief moment, Teach even felt a flicker of doubt...
Was gambling all his hopes on a Dark-Dark Fruit that he had no lead on truly the right choice?
Ultimately, Teach transformation into "Blackbeard" relied on this very endurance and gambling nature. After that momentary lapse, he reaffirmed his chosen path.
More importantly... after investing decades of sunk costs, it was far too late to switch tracks now.
"Captain, are we still going to look for that Hunter? It feels like he isn't very friendly toward us pirates."
The round Lucky Roux quipped with a grin, chomping on a large bone of Sea King meat.
Shanks scratched his brow, set down the newspaper, and gave a dry laugh. "Ahahaha... it should be fine, right? Didn't they say he has some history with old man Rayleigh?"
Unlike his crew members who had never faced Shiki, Shanks had fought the man alongside the Pirate King, Roger.
His impression of "Golden Lion" Shiki was frozen in the era of the Edd War—a man capable of fighting Captain Roger to a standstill.
Had it not been for that sudden storm, they might have even lost. Learning that Sherwin had taken down Roger former rival sparked a trace of wariness even in Shanks.
However, as a Yonko, wariness was all it was. Fear was out of the question Shanks didn't believe his current self would fall short of an aging Shiki.
"Besides... that Hunter isn't unfriendly to all pirates. He has his own code of conduct."
Shanks, who approved of Sherwin track record, smiled and continued, "I think we'll actually get along quite well."
"Then there is one more problem..." Benn Beckman, the Vice-Captain of the Red Hair Pirates, reminded him calmly.
"Do you know where to find him? His ship can fly and possesses terrifying mobility. Our Red Force is a magnificent ship, but it lacks the capability to chase them down."
"Uh..." Shanks scratched his head and burst into laughter. "Hahahaha! We'll just ask around as we go. We'll find a way!"
Benn Beckman sighed helplessly. His captain was as unreliable as ever, meaning the planning would ultimately fall to him.
"Why don't we ask Morgans? The Hunter seems to be on good terms with him he might know something."
"But I don't have Morgan contact info either."
Shanks spread his hands with an innocent look.
"Hiss—Phew—" Benn Beckman took a deep drag on his cigarette, finally unable to restrain himself from roaring at Shanks: "Can't you just go ask?! It not like finding a branch of the World Economic Journal is hard!"
"Hahahahaha! Captain, you're getting lectured by the Vice-Captain again!"
The other members of the Red Hair Pirates, far from finding anything wrong with the scene, joined in to laugh loudly at his expense.
Shanks didn't get angry instead, with a face full of apologetic smiles, he bowed and scraped to his Vice-Captain. "Alright, alright, don't be mad. I'll arrange for someone to go ask right away."
Well, if Sherwin were to see this scene, he would likely find he had much in common with Shanks.