Although the lack of a loot drop left Sherwin somewhat depressed, he quickly adjusted his mood and turned to pick up the Longswords Outen and Kogarashi, which were perfectly suited for dual-wielding.
After all, he had missed more than one or two Devil Fruits along this journey he had even let a Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit slip away, so a Paramecia-type Float-Float Fruit was naturally no big deal.
Besides, thinking carefully, Sherwin didn't actually have much need for the Float-Float Fruit. In terms of flight capability, the Dodo Advance, the raid suits, the Insect Glaive, and Stage Jumping could all achieve it.
In terms of wide-range attacks, could the Float-Float Fruit really compete with Shermie Meow Kirin or Klee Meow bombs? Even when it came to moving mountains and transporting islands, they now had Kaido Meow, who had eaten the Mythical Azure Dragon Fruit.
After stowing away the two famous Longswords left behind by Shiki, Sherwin glanced through his Hunter Manual.
To his disappointment, perhaps because the movie version weight wasn't high enough, it hadn't granted him any summoning fragments for the weapon pool...
Wait, if the movie version weight wasn't high enough, why did I obtain two fragments for the monster pool? Even after using it for so many years, Sherwin still hadn't figured out the exact patterns of his Cheat.
After putting the Hunter Manual away, Sherwin rushed to the palace. Dr. Indigo and Shiki subordinates had already been dealt with by the "Black Group" and the Guardians. The two researcher Felynes were directing their respective "subordinates" to transport Indigo experimental data and the plant known as IQ.
"You came too slow, meow!"
(=`皿=)
Haibara Meow lunged forward and bit Sherwin arm with a crunch, then skillfully climbed onto his shoulder. She habitually tugged at his long-suffering ear, a satisfied expression finally appearing on her cute, furry little face.
Purah Meow was much more well-behaved. She also pounced into Sherwin arms, then stretched her neck to affectionately rub her small head against Sherwin chin and neck for a long while.
"Sherwin, when are we going to raid Vegapunk base, meow? Check-it!"
(ゝω)~☆
Well... she wasn't actually being that well-behaved.
Sherwin didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he rubbed Purah Meow curly little head. "Why are you suddenly interested in this?"
"Because I've seen Haibara having so many harvests lately, and I'm a little envious meow~ Check-it~"
(ゝω)~☆
Purah Meow rubbed her head against Sherwin palm while staring up at him with wide, pleading, adorable eyes.
Sherwin thought about it carefully. The mushrooms from Amazon Lily, the medical expertise of Drum Kingdom, the cultivation techniques of the Tontatta Kingdom, plus the current IQ and Daft Green...
Haibara truly had gained a lot during this period. In contrast, Purah Meow technical accumulation was still the same "old three" acquired from Water 7, the Germa Kingdom, and Punk Hazard.
At most, he could add the Sky Island Dial technology and the Ark Maxim.
Comparing them like this, it did make it seem like Sherwin was being a bit partial...
But the Hunter had his own excuses. In the bizarre technological landscape of the One piece world, most top-tier engineering was concentrated within a few specific factions.
In contrast, medical technology flourished everywhere due to the world vast biodiversity. Furthermore, because of the starkly different geography and climates between sea regions and islands, medical techniques in various places each possessed unique characteristics.
Whether in terms of acquisition difficulty or technical diversity, mechanical technology simply couldn't be compared to medical technology hence, it made Sherwin look biased.
However!
Since the Felyne had made a request, these excuses no longer mattered.
While it wasn't the best time to head to Egghead Island and further provoke the World Government, there were other ways to obtain the technology Purah Meow was interested in.
For instance, there was Vegapunk hometown, the mechanical Island —specifically Future Land Barjimoa—where Franky had studied, as well as the small Sky Island Weatheria where Nami had trained.
"I'm sorry, I've been a bit neglectful of your thoughts lately... Although we can't go to where Vegapunk is for now, and I don't know the exact location, we can go directly to Vegapunk hometown. There still a lot of his technical data left there."
Sherwin rubbed Purah Meow head and spoke with a smile.
The location of the small Sky Island, Weatheria, was not fixed it drifted aimlessly with the wind, and there were almost no Eternal Poses in circulation, so finding it would likely take a lot of time.
In contrast, Barjimoa was much easier to find. As Vegapunk birthplace, the island was quite famous, and getting an Eternal Pose wouldn't be difficult.
Moreover, compared to the hard-to-categorize technology of Weatheria, the tech on Barjimoa was definitely more in line with Purah Meow interests.
However, Sherwin suddenly realized a blind spot...
Since Weatheria position moved with the wind and was unpredictable, how did Kuma accurately slap Nami there in the original story? Does the Paw-Paw Fruit come with a built-in GPS function?
"Meow?! Sherwin, you're the best meow~ Check-it!"
(=＞＜=)
While Sherwin was lost in thought, the little Purah Meow in his arms had already lunged onto his face, happily hugging his big head and licking him.
Purah Meow hadn't actually expected Sherwin to go and ransack Vegapunk the little cat was just looking for an excuse to act spoiled. She hadn't expected such an unexpected harvest!
"By the way, where are the others?"
After finally calming the excited Purah Meow down with his "Cat-Taming Hands," Sherwin asked curiously.
According to the original plan, they were supposed to bring the Dodo Advance along to meet up with Haibara and Purah Meow, while simultaneously transplanting the IQ onto the ship.
"Klee said she smelled the scent of treasure, so she took the Dodo Advance to go loot Shiki vault first, meow."
(=ΦωΦ=)
Haibara Meow casually tugged at Sherwin ear and replied, "I estimate they are just about to return, meow."
Just as she finished speaking, a rhythmic "thump-thump-thump" of footsteps echoed from the distance. As the sound rapidly approached, a large mechanical monkey crackling with electricity and sporting a pair of bull horns appeared in Sherwin field of vision...
Using a Rajang form to scavenge the "Rajang" legacy—the Felynes in our family certainly understand black humor.
Sherwin silently complained to himself.
"Brother Sherwin~ Klee found something good, meow!"
(=`=)
The little Ragdoll cat was the first to leap off the Dodo Advance, throwing herself into Sherwin embrace.
"Oh? What good things did our little treasure-hunting expert find this time?"
Sherwin leaned in to rub noses with Klee Meow, then supported her small backside to hoist her onto his other shoulder.
Although he asked the question, Sherwin actually didn't hold much hope for Klee Meow so-called "treasure." After all, in the little Ragdoll heart, explosives also counted as treasure—and held a very high priority at that.
However, Klee Meow answer gave Sherwin a pleasant little surprise...
"It the Poneglyph that only Big Sister Robin can understand, meow, but it printed on cloth."
(=`=)
The little Ragdoll cat wobbled her head restlessly and continued, "Sadly, Big Sister Robin also said it wasn't one of the red ones."
That right! Given Shiki status and power back then, it was impossible for him not to have obtained a Poneglyph, so it was perfectly normal for him to possess a related rubbing.
"Mua~ Our Klee Meow is the best!"
Sherwin turned his head and gave the little Ragdoll cat a big kiss.
Although other Poneglyphs were useless to Sherwin—aside from the Road Poneglyphs and the one recording Uranus—one shouldn't forget that his Hunter Handbook contained a specific notebook for collecting them!
Even though Sherwin still didn't know the specific rewards for the notebook, as a veteran collector and achievement-hunting player, simply seeing his collection grow felt incredible.