With a loud blast of air, a small fireball squeezed out through the gap at the edge of the Bird Cage.
It turned back into a little ragdoll cat dressed in a red outfit, rolling a few times on the ground before stopping beside Shermie, who had escaped earlier. The little cat wobbled to her feet.
"Pat pat…"
The ragdoll cat carefully brushed the dust off her clothes, looked back at her "great achievement," then raised her head, waving her tiny paws toward the balcony above and called out to the Hunter:
"Sherwin, look! Klee controlled the explosion this time, meow~ Klee being good, meow!"
(=`=)
Sherwin: "…"
Shermie, who had almost been caught in the blast: "…"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku, staring at the enormous crater that had just appeared inside Marineford and finally understanding what Sherwin meant earlier: "…"
"Wahahahaha! And that after she controlled the power? Looks like little Klee bombs have gotten even stronger! As expected of Klee Meow, wahahahaha!"
Garp laughed gleefully, clearly remembering all too well the times he'd been blown up by Klee bombs before.
Obviously, what Klee Meow considered "controlling the power" was only her own understanding of it.
But to say she didn't hold back at all…
Well, the current explosion was still much weaker than the one on Skypiea. Although it blew the "Heavenly Yaksha" into a miserable state again, at least he hadn't lost consciousness this time, right? The Bird Cage hadn't even disappeared yet!
But if you wanted to say she had controlled her power…
Well, let just say there wasn't anything left inside the Bird Cage now except for a bloodied, tattered Doflamingo.
Everything else—including the threads created by his ability—had been completely obliterated.
Moreover, the ground inside the Bird Cage was now clearly lower than the area outside… roughly by two Doflamingos in height.
Doflamingo, still trapped inside, now had the top of his head just about halfway up the crater wall.
Hmm, from the looks of it, Klee Meow really was "controlling her power."
"Cough! Cough cough! Damn cat! And that damn Hunter!"
The Heavenly Yaksha spat out several puffs of black smoke from inside the crater, glaring viciously at the two little cats that had escaped from the Bird Cage, then shifted his gaze toward Sherwin above.
Sherwin didn't flinch at all, calmly meeting his stare.
At that moment, Doflamingo looked utterly miserable. His body was covered in soot and blood, and his pink feathered coat had been almost completely incinerated—what was once a flamboyant flamingo now looked more like a roasted Christmas turkey.
The only thing Sherwin found a little disappointing was that Doflamingo Belial-style sunglasses, though cracked in several places, still clung stubbornly to his face, preventing Sherwin from seeing the man eyes—those mysterious eyes hidden like Kakashi.
"Wha! You're still glaring at Klee? Are you not convinced yet, meow?!"
(=`н=)
The little ragdoll puffed up her cheeks angrily and was about to pull a bomb from her tiny backpack, while Shermie beside her had already drawn her third projectile.
"Enough! That enough!"
Fleet Admiral Sengoku hurriedly shouted to stop them.
If this went on any longer, Marineford would be completely demolished by these two little cats who casually unleashed area-of-effect attacks at will—especially that newly arrived Klee Meow… Sure, the intel had mentioned she specialized in bombs…
But Sengoku never imagined she'd be this good at them!
However, no one (or cat) paid any attention to his command. The Heavenly Yaksha wanted to use this chance to withdraw, but with those two dangerous little furballs staring straight at him, he didn't dare move an inch.
As for Klee Meow and Shermie… they didn't even know who Sengoku was, so of course they weren't going to listen to him.
"You'd better call them back, or I'll demand compensation for repairs!" Sengoku shouted irritably at Sherwin.
Seeing that the old man was genuinely panicking, Sherwin waved a hand toward the two little cats below and said, "Klee, Shermie, come back. Leave that guy alone."
The two little cats finally put away the bombs and projectiles in their paws and flew back to Sherwin side.
"Sherwin~" Shermie, having released her elemental form, landed lightly on Sherwin shoulder and rubbed her cheek against his head affectionately.
"This Warlord is way stronger than that big fat guy who plays with shadows. If Klee hadn't come to help, I might not have been able to beat him, meow~"
"Mhm, you've done well." Sherwin gently patted her small head and comforted her,
"You haven't had the Thunder Fruit for long. Once you manage to awaken its power—or learn Armament Haki—he won't be your match anymore."
"Sherwin~" Klee Meow, who was a bit slower flying up, dove straight into Sherwin arms, looking up at him with bright, eager eyes.
"Why did you call us back, meow? Klee hasn't had enough fun yet! That bad guy didn't even look convinced, meow!"
(=ˇˇ=)
"Ahem, it fine. If he not convinced, we can beat him up again next time. Let call it a day for now."
Sherwin scratched Klee Meow chin gently, coaxing her softly.
"Alright then."
Easily content, Klee Meow narrowed her eyes and purred happily, rubbing her head against Sherwin chest, completely forgetting about Doflamingo in an instant.
"Well then, I suppose Doflamingo won't have any objections now about you taking those three Devil Fruits."
Though Sengoku still felt a pang over the damage to the base, seeing the Heavenly Yaksha in such a miserable state gave him a quiet sense of satisfaction.
As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward Doflamingo, who had already been brought back into the base.
"Hmph!"
Doflamingo turned his head away with a cold snort, his expression as foul as ever — but that very reaction meant he had tacitly agreed with the statement. That made Sengoku mood a little better.
Because of Doflamingo status as both a former Celestial Dragon and one of the Seven Warlords, Sengoku had never been able to take action to avenge his adopted son, Rosinante. That fact had long weighed heavily on him.
Now, although most of his plans had ended in failure, the thought that he had been able to use Sherwin... cats to give Doflamingo a brutal beating still felt rather—
Well, perhaps not exactly a victory.
Sengoku, who had been trying to convince himself otherwise, looked down at the enormous, perfectly round crater below and found himself at a loss for words.
Just thinking about the upcoming reconstruction made his head throb painfully.
Maybe he really should follow Sherwin suggestion and demand repair costs from the Celestial Dragon...
Of course, the expenses themselves were a minor issue for the Marines. After all, this had been a mission assigned by the World Government, and Sengoku could easily have the costs reimbursed.
What truly troubled him was that during the time needed to fill the crater and rebuild the facilities, Marine Headquarter operations would inevitably be disrupted—and manpower had already been stretched thin lately.
"You, come with me. Yes, just you alone."
Setting aside the headache for now, Sengoku gestured to Sherwin, then turned to Vice Admiral Tsuru and Garp. "Tsuru, Garp, I'll leave things here to you for the time being."
Although he was a little worried that those little Felynes might cause more trouble once Sherwin left, after some thought Sengoku decided that if something did explode again, it would be better for it to happen in the reception hall than in his own office.
Sengoku office wasn't just filled with the paperwork he handled daily—it also contained a number of rare collectibles that even Garp hadn't been able to find, along with his beloved pet goat.
If Klee Meow were to accidentally blow any of that up, the Fleet Admiral would probably lose his mind.
"Huamei, keep an eye on these little ones for me."
After giving a brief instruction to Huamei, Sherwin followed Sengoku out of the reception hall.