Whether it was due to overconfidence in the Fishman strength or just the pirate world obsession with one-on-one duels,
when Sherwin was arguing with the Fishman and even when the fight began, the other Fishmen just stood by and shouted insults. None of them had any intention of stepping in.
What they didn't expect was that Sherwin would cut off the Fishman arm with his first strike, and kill him with the second. They didn't even have time to step in and help.
Because the battle between Sherwin and the Fishman ended so quickly—and completely unlike what the Fishmen had anticipated—they stood there in a daze for quite a while before finally snapping back to reality…
"B-Boss Arlong!"
"Avenge Lord Arlong!"
"Kill that human!"
Say what you will about the pirates being full of scumbags, but there one thing you can't deny—loyalty among pirates is one of their few redeeming qualities.
Even though they knew they weren't as strong as Sherwin, these Fishmen still howled and charged at him.
"Admirable loyalty, but still just a bunch of sinful thieves, meow," Seijuro Meow said with a tone of praise, stepping in front of Sherwin.
"Lord Sherwin, there no need for you to deal with these small fries. Please leave them to me, meow."
Sherwin nodded, not about to argue over something like this.
"Mink Tribe?" These Fishmen had once followed Tiger to liberate many slaves, so they naturally recognized the Mink Tribe.
One of them soon shouted angrily, "A Mink, working for a human?! How can you face your fellow kin who were taken as slaves by humans?!"
"Flying Cat Sword Style: Cat Claw Flash!"
Seijuro Meow had zero interest in wasting words with them. For one, he wasn't even from the Mink Tribe.
And even if he were, with his personality, he wouldn't lump all humans together with those slave traders.
"Waaahhh!"
"Damn it! This Mink is too fast! We can't get a hold of him at all!"
Cat Slash, or what could also be called demon mode frenzy, was undoubtedly one of the most suitable techniques for chaotic battles.
Combined with Seijuro Meow small frame and the natural agility of Felynes, the Fishmen couldn't even lay a finger on him.
Instead, they were being hacked to pieces by Seijuro Meow wielding a small-sized longsword, yowling in panic.
As the "Six-Sword Style Swordsman," Hatchan had, of course, clashed with Seijuro Meow. But no matter how many arms he had, they still couldn't catch the nimble cat.
On the contrary, three of his arms were sliced off by Seijuro Meow in a flash.
"Bwah-bwah-bwah—! Show yourself! Moomoo!"
With half his arms lost, Hatchan pinched his own mouth and let out a trumpet-like sound, summoning the sea cow that had been raised by the Arlong Pirates...
Yes, it was a real sea cow—with the head of a cow and the body of a fish.
Oh, right!
Sherwin eyes suddenly lit up, and he clapped his palms together with a heavy thud.
That sea beast called Moomoo had a decent amount of screen time in the original story. It even showed up again when Luffy and the crew reached Fishman Island later on.
So by the same logic that even Yuki-onna got a summon ticket fragment...
Wouldn't this be the third white summon ticket fragment?
If it weren't for the fact that this wasn't the best time, Sherwin would've pulled out his Hunter Manual right then and there.
Eager to finish the fight quickly and rush back to summon his new companion, Sherwin, who had only planned to watch, decided to snatch one monster from Seijuro Meow.
"Your blade too short—not suited to taking on something this big. So leave this one to me."
Sherwin said as much to Seijuro Meow, then leapt into the air, instantly positioning himself above Moomoo.
In the same moment, his Longsword was drawn, the tip of the blade aimed directly at the sea cow head.
Though this sea beast looked a little dopey—and served more as comic relief in the manga—it was still, at its core, a vicious monster.
Under Arlong command, it had helped destroy villages and the like. Not to mention that, when it encountered Sanji and the others in the manga, its first reaction was to attack and eat them—clearly a habit it had developed over time.
And the most critical thing was...
"You look really tasty. Klee and Sanji would probably love you (as meat)…"
Monster Hunter Style · Charged Tail Slash!
Using a combination of lance techniques and swordsmanship from the West Blue, Sherwin thrust the famous blade Longsword with ease, piercing straight through Moomoo skull and driving deep into its brain.
The massive sea beast didn't even have time to let out a cry before the light faded from its eyes, its pupils dilating as it collapsed heavily into the sea.
By the time Sherwin dragged the sea beast onto shore, Seijuro Meow had already taken care of all the Fishmen on his end.
"Mm… Stay here and keep watch. I'm going to search this bunch of Fishmen charts and treasure."
Sherwin placed the sea beast beside Seijuro Meow, then pointed toward the iconic building at the center of Arlong Park.
"Lord Sherwin…" Seijuro Meow hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something.
"Relax, I don't intend to pocket the treasure." Knowing his cat temperament well, Sherwin laughed and rubbed Seijuro Meow head as he explained,
"You heard back in Kesha Village too—the Marines are colluding with these Fishmen. If we just leave it here, it might end up in the hands of those corrupt Marines. I plan to collect the treasure first and return it to the villagers."
"I misunderstood. Please forgive me, my lord, meow!" Seijuro Meow looked like he was about to kneel, only to be scooped up by Sherwin before he could.
"How did a little cat like you turn out so uptight?" Sherwin roughly rub his cat head, laughing helplessly.
"How many times have I told you—stop being so stiff. If you keep this up, I won't pet you anymore."
"Meow!" Seijuro Meow expression changed drastically. He flailed his little paws in a panic, clearly at a loss.
Sherwin didn't say anything more—he simply smiled, leaned his head closer to the cat.
"Meowww…"
Seijuro Meow hesitated for a bit, then shut his eyes, stretched out his head, and rubbed against Sherwin chin and neck a few times.
He then stuck out his tongue—covered in tiny barbs—and gave Sherwin cheek a few rough licks.
"Is that good enough now, meow?" Seijuro Meow asked grumpily, his ears flat like airplane wings as he glared at Sherwin.
"Of course! That the adorable little kitty I know~"
Sherwin completely ignored his expression and rubbed him even more vigorously before finally letting go of the samurai cat, who was now wagging his tail and even had one paw creeping toward the hilt of his sword.
Though he'd let go of Seijuro Meow, Sherwin was still silently savoring the moment in his heart…
He had just realized that teasing Seijuro Meow—a serious and upright cat—was a completely different kind of fun compared to teasing Klee Meow, that adorable little cutie, or Sanji Meow, that little troublemaker.
It gave him a distinct thrill, something akin to "forcing a good person down a wicked path."
"Ahem… I'll go look for the sea charts and treasure now. I'll leave things here to you!"
Sherwin smug expression must've been a little too obvious, as Seijuro Meow tail was whipping faster and faster, and the fierce glint in his eyes was growing stronger by the second.
Though Sherwin was quite fond of this kind of "unreserved" reaction, it was clear that this overly proper samurai cat was close to actually drawing his blade—so Sherwin, not wanting to push his luck too far, tossed out those words and dashed toward the nearby building.
Since Arlong never imagined that anyone in East Blue could defeat them, the Arlong Pirates hadn't even bothered to hide the wealth they'd plundered over the years.
Instead, they had packed it into a few ornate treasure chests and boldly placed them right in the first-floor room.
Sherwin opened the chests and took a quick glance. Aside from the usual hard currency like gold, jewels, and Berries, there wasn't anything particularly special.
No famous swords, no Devil Fruits. He didn't even spot any Grand Line exclusives like Dials or Beast Drugs.
That giant serrated sword Kiribachi hanging on the wall, though—it looked pretty decent for a greatsword-style weapon…
Sherwin pulled out his Hunter Manual, but the weapon encyclopedia didn't include Kiribachi.
Well, of course not. In the original story, it was a weapon Luffy crushed with his bare hands. Forget "famous sword"—it probably didn't even qualify as a "decent blade." It was just big.
"Feh!"
A weapon that couldn't be added to the encyclopedia was useless to Sherwin.
And he had no intention of switching to a greatsword playstyle either, so he immediately ignored the giant serrated sword and flipped the manual to the monster encyclopedia page.
As expected, characters or items from the original work do come with weighted bonuses. A familiar white flash appeared, and the third white Summoning Ticket fragment was obtained.
However, after synthesizing the complete Summoning Ticket, Sherwin didn't rush to summon right away. Naturally, when welcoming a new companion, everyone had to be present.
Sherwin put away the Summoning Ticket. For now, he wasn't in the mood to touch the treasure in front of him and instead continued running upstairs...
If he remembered correctly, Nami charting room should be on one of the higher floors.
Sherwin memory was spot-on—Nami charting room had actually been placed on the top floor by Arlong.
The small room was filled with bookshelves stacked with materials and textbooks related to navigation, a small drawing desk, and several stacks—no, they should be called piles—of nautical charts, even taller than the bookshelves.
It only been a few years... and she already drawn this many maps? Nami should only be around thirteen or fourteen now, still a middle schooler.
Seeing the bloodstained drawing pen on the desk, Sherwin suddenly felt that letting Arlong die so easily had been too merciful.
Then again, with so many charts here, could they really all be of the East Blue? And they weren't even completed.
Sherwin casually picked up a few charts and looked at them with curiosity.
So that how it is...
Although there were many numbers, symbols, and annotations he couldn't quite understand, Sherwin was still able to roughly figure out just how detailed these charts were thanks to some intuitive graphics...
They didn't just mark the positions of the islands in the East Blue; they also noted the ocean current directions at different times, general climate conditions, and some things Sherwin couldn't quite make sense of.
In short, with maps like these, as long as you weren't a super-directionally challenged guy like Zoro, you could easily sail through these waters even with zero navigation knowledge.
So... Arlong plan to dominate the East Blue using Nami charts wasn't entirely self-deception?
Sherwin scratched his head. Considering the Fishmen combat strength underwater, and the water-manipulating techniques in Fishman Karate, what had seemed like a joke of a plan might actually have a sliver of plausibility...
Well, that assuming they didn't run into Garp dropping by to visit his grandson, or head to Shimotsuki Village and provoke Koushirou.
Still, even ignoring the problem of powerful human opponents, trying to dominate the world this way was pure delusion.
Maybe in the Four Blues, Fishmen could use this method to control the seas, but once you reached the Grand Line with its bizarre weather, the usefulness of these maps would drop drastically.
And for Arlong and his crew, who had fled from the Grand Line to the East Blue, there no way they didn't understand that. So in the end, they really were just lying to themselves.
Sherwin sighed and shook his head, then put the charts back where he found them. These charts were indeed very useful for Fishmen who could manipulate water, but for him, they were pretty much useless.
All Sherwin wanted was a precise map that could be "recognized" by the dynamic map in the manual. Ocean currents, weather patterns, and the like—he wouldn't understand them even if they were handed to him.
So, Sherwin continued digging through the pile of sea charts, and before long, he found a standard version of the map—a very complete map of the East Blue, no less.
Well, that made sense. Given the Fishmen innate talent for moving freely through the ocean, simply confirming the positions of the various islands in the East Blue would have been an easy task for them.
Sherwin opened the Hunter Manual again, and sure enough, the virtual progress bar for the East Blue was instantly pushed to one hundred percent.
"Whoa! That a huge win!"
With a 100% complete virtual sea map, Sherwin could now test whether uploading a fully mapped region would yield any extra rewards.
He put away the Hunter Manual, thought for a moment, then picked a few books from the shelves that contained various navigation knowledge—planning to bring them back for Sanji Meow to study...
Kids should read more books if they want to have a bright future!
Sherwin figured that once Sanji Meow sensed the sincere, fatherly care behind this gesture, he would surely be moved.
As for the rest of the sea charts here, better to let Nami decide what to do with them herself.
Placing the materials that Sanji Meow would be using for the foreseeable future into his Hunter pouch, Sherwin returned to the first floor, easily picked up the ten or so treasure chests stored there, and carried them out.
"He coming out!"
"Thank you for saving us!"
"Waaaah… Father, Mother… someone has finally avenged you!"
As soon as he stepped outside, Sherwin was immediately surrounded by a large group of villagers.
They all began talking over one another, expressing their gratitude toward him, leaving Sherwin feeling a little embarrassed.
After all, the most noteworthy good deed he'd done before this was helping carry an elderly neighbor to the ambulance during a sudden medical emergency.
Sherwin scanned the crowd around him and quickly spotted a few familiar faces—
The man and some of the residents he had met earlier in Cocoyasi Village, the heavily scarred Ajian with a windmill stuck in his hair, Nojiko with her short blue hair and tattoos, and Nami, who was sobbing uncontrollably in Nojiko arms.
"All the money that Arlong took from you is here," Sherwin said, setting down the treasure chests he was carrying.
"There might still be some hidden inside, but I didn't bother checking."
"We can't accept it! These treasures should be taken by you, our benefactor, as a reward!"
The man who had almost been killed by Coo was the first to speak, and the others quickly followed suit in agreement. Even the money-loving Nami had no objections.
"I already have the bounty on Arlong and the others. That enough," Sherwin waved his hand, firmly declining.
Not to mention he didn't lack money— even if he did, he still wouldn't take these treasures.
After a few rounds of back-and-forth, when it became clear that Sherwin was determined not to take the money, the villagers, though deeply moved, also secretly breathed a sigh of relief…
They really did need this money to help rebuild the village economy. While they wouldn't have objected if Sherwin had taken it, being able to keep it was obviously for the best.
"Then please, let us show our gratitude properly!"
Since Sherwin refused the treasures, the villagers decided to thank him in another way—through the most common and beloved method in the pirate world: a banquet.
Of course, Sherwin wouldn't turn down something like that. However...
"I still have a few companions on the ship. I'll go and bring them over. Also, I'm taking the sea beast and Arlong head, along with those of the other bounty officers, to claim the rewards."
"Naturally! We'll prepare food in the village and wait for you and your companions to arrive!"
After turning down the villagers' offer to help, Sherwin and Seijuro Meow hoisted the massive corpse of Mohmoo and headed in the direction where the Explorer No. 1 was docked.
As for the heads of Arlong and the other officers with bounties, they had been stored in Seijuro Meow old-fashioned wallet—or more accurately, a cloth pouch.
"Sherwin-nii is back, meow!"
They had only just caught sight of the Explorer No. 1 when Klee Meow had already leapt off the ship and pounced onto Sherwin.
The little doll-like Felyne climbed expertly onto Sherwin shoulder while eyeing the massive sea beast corpse.
"Waaah—! Such a big cow... fish... meow? Are we eating this today, meow?" Klee Meow mouth sparkled with a glint of drool.
"No, someone treating us to a meal today. I just brought it back so Sanji can start prepping it."
Sherwin, carrying both the Felyne and the sea beast, walked up to where their ship was docked.
Sanji Meow, who had long been itching with impatience, quickly jumped off the ship and started circling the sea beast, calculating the best spot to make the first cut.
Sherwin, meanwhile, didn't forget to take out his Hunter Knife and dig around for materials. Unfortunately, his luck wasn't great.
All he managed to pull out was an extra horn. Earlier, when he looted Arlong, he had only gotten a pair of teeth...
"Hold off on processing this guy for now," Sherwin called to the still-busy Sanji Meow and waved him over, then held up the summoning voucher between his fingers. "We're about to get a new companion."
"Could it be a beautiful big sister Felyne this time, meow?!" Sanji Meow immediately dropped the ingredients and dashed to Sherwin side like the wind.
"How would I possibly know that?" Sherwin said, exasperated but amused, then handed the voucher to Sanji Meow.
"Wanna try summoning this time?"
Sanji Meow didn't hesitate. He took the voucher, raised it high, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Come out! Beautiful big sister Felyne, meow!"