"Wahahaha! Captain, you lost so miserably!"
"Knowing when to stop makes him a smart man."
"Oh! It's rare to hear such high praise from the Vice Captain!"
"Heehee~ That red-haired uncle was almost teased to death by you, Sherwin meow~"
"Sherwin is the best meow!"
"Hmph! Always using clever tricks, but well done meow!"
Even though Sherwin was the one who admitted defeat, neither Shanks' pirate crew nor the members of the Felyne Investigation Team believed that Shanks had won.
And Shanks himself felt the same way...
"Hahahaha! I've been played!"
Shanks scratched his red hair, shaking his head with a wry smile.
Although he felt a bit frustrated at first, with Shanks' easygoing personality, it was impossible for him to take such a small matter to heart, nor would he force Sherwin to continue fighting.
Sherwin had anticipated this exact reaction, which is why he acted as he did.
If it had been an old rogue like Garp, or someone like Hawkeye who was a man of few words and ruthless action, he certainly wouldn't have been allowed to brush things off so easily.
After the fight ended, Shanks followed pirate tradition and tried to drag Sherwin and the others into a banquet, but he was stopped by Sherwin.
"Do you have some time now?" Sherwin pointed toward Huamei. "If possible, could you give my Felyne some pointers..."
Previously, Huamei had referenced Rayleigh's performance in battle and Sherwin's "insider information" to figure out the Observation Killing technique on her own.
However, having the authentic Observation Killing to compare and verify against would surely be helpful to her.
Then there was the Divine Departure move. Although from an effects standpoint, it seemed to just use the power of Haki Infusion to push speed to the absolute limit, implementing it was actually extremely difficult. Huamei had studied it for a long time without success...
Unless she activated Flurry Rush, she could only produce a version that looked the part but lacked the true spirit.
"...Of course, I won't let you teach me for nothing. I can exchange other things with you," Sherwin added after expressing his thoughts to Shanks.
However, Shanks laughed and patted him on the back. "Isn't it just some guidance on combat techniques? It's no big deal, no reward needed!"
Shanks being so magnanimous was within expectations, but Sherwin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask, "Is that really okay? These are techniques left behind by the Pirate King, after all."
"Eh? How did you know?" Shanks asked back in surprise.
Sherwin rolled his eyes speechlessly. "Didn't I tell you before? I had a fight with Rayleigh at the Sabaody Archipelago... In fact, if it weren't for that fishman pirate, I would have just asked him to teach me... He actually liked my Felynes quite a bit he just didn't like the look of me."
Speaking of this, Sherwin couldn't help but curl his lip.
Strictly speaking, Hatchan had actually died at the hands of Seijuro Meow, but it was reasonable for the Hunter to take the blame for the Palico's actions.
"Hahaha, Mr. Rayleigh is just like that. Actually, even if you had asked him directly, he most likely would have taught you."
Although Shanks didn't know much about Hatchan's situation, he knew Rayleigh. From Sherwin's words, he roughly guessed that Rayleigh didn't actually blame Sherwin—or rather, didn't think he was in the wrong—but simply couldn't swallow his pride because of his friendship with that fishman.
After offering an explanation for Rayleigh, Shanks excitedly ran over to Huamei. "Come to think of it, when I was on the Oro Jackson, there was a cat Mink companion too."
As he spoke, he reached out his hand wanting to pat Huamei's head, but the beautiful big sister Felyne dodged it with a look of utter disgust.
Sherwin curled his lip. "Nekomamushi, right? We've already met him at Zou."
"Really?!" Shanks, who failed to pet the Felyne, didn't mind. He turned around with a face full of pleasant surprise.
"That's right! With so many Minks on your ship, there's no way you haven't been to Zou... If I had known, I would have mentioned Nekomamushi first instead of Mr. Rayleigh!"
Shanks slapped his thigh in quite some frustration.
"Ah, because they were dissatisfied with my evaluation of Kozuki Oden, they were each beaten up once by my Felynes and me before they reluctantly accepted my point of view."
Sherwin looked at Shanks with a half-smile. Only after the look of embarrassment resurfaced on the other man's face did he speak slowly:
"So, why didn't you mention Luffy and Ace? After all, I taught them Armament Haki for a period of time... although that was a deal made with old man Garp."
"You really do know Luffy!" Shanks patted Sherwin on the back again, then explained: "I was just a bit worried after seeing what happened with Yasopp earlier..."
Sherwin rolled his eyes: "You're not his father; on the contrary, you saved his life. What's there to worry about?"
"That's true..." Shanks scratched his hair, a realization dawning on him: "Wait! Since you knew Luffy and I knew each other, why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Because of a wicked sense of humor, obviously...
"Naturally, it's because I didn't want you to guide my Felynes just because of those connections," Sherwin said with righteous conviction.
"Even if you don't think it's a big deal, I can't look at it that way. No matter how you slice it, these are combat techniques from the Pirate King's lineage. I can't accept such a gift with a clear conscience."
"Hahahaha! You're far too polite! We're all men of the sea, no need to be so calculative!"
After a brief stun, Shanks laughed heartily while patting Sherwin's back again. "Besides, I am 'Red-Haired' Shanks, one of the Four Emperors. Is there anything I can't get? I appreciate the sentiment, though!"
"The whereabouts of Roger's son."
Sherwin spoke with a calm expression, causing Shanks' laughter to come to an abrupt halt.
"What did you say?! Captain Roger's child is still alive?!"
Shanks grabbed Sherwin's arm in a mix of pleasant surprise and shock, though a hint of doubt still flickered in his eyes.
"Yeah, I actually already shared this news with Rayleigh, but after thinking it over, I figured you'd be interested in this too."
"Of course! Hurry up and tell me!"
Shanks urged impatiently, "Is it just Divine Departure and Observation Killing? As long as you want to learn, I can teach you all of my combat techniques!"
"Actually, you've probably met him before" Sherwin continued unhurriedly. "It's Luffy's sworn brother, Ace. Back then, after Roger turned himself in, he entrusted his child to old man Garp's care…"
After explaining Ace's situation to Shanks in detail, Sherwin patted his shoulder in return. "It's a pity you met Luffy first; otherwise, that straw hat would have been more suitable for Ace."
"No..." Shanks shook his head after digesting the joyful news. "I have indeed met Ace, but I still believe Luffy is more suitable for that straw hat."
Oh?
Sherwin raised an eyebrow. So, compared to the biological father and son, Roger and Ace, was the similarity between the "Joy Boys" even higher?
This situation couldn't help but remind him of the two brothers, Asura and Indra, who were constantly reincarnating in a neighboring series.