Just like when he first arrived at the South Blue, upon entering the North Blue, Sherwin imdiately took out the Hunter Handbook and had Huai ow plan out the route for this journey.
"...Admiral, if you keep staring at like that, I won’t be able to properly plan the course, ow."
Huai ow set down the map in her paws and said helplessly to Sherwin, who was glaring at her with a face full of resentnt.
Sherwin didn’t say a word, continuing to stare at her with that sa expression.
"Alright~ it my fault, ow~" Feeling flustered under Sherwin gaze, Huai ow leaned closer, rubbing her little head against his face as she acted spoiled.
"I was just humoring Haibara ow, Admiral. Please forgive , okay, ow?"
With Huai ow being this affectionate, how could Sherwin possibly refuse?The resentnt on his face instantly vanished as he picked up Huai ow and rubbed against her lovingly with all his might.
"Alright, alright, I forgive you."
"Then hurry up and let go, I still need to plan our next route, ow." Huai ow lightly patted Sherwin head, speaking in the tone one would use to coax a child.
"That right, ow! Let go of Sister Huai, ow!" Sanji ow kicked at Sherwin with all his strength, even coating his legs with Armant Haki.
"Klee wants kisses and cuddles too, ow~" The little ragdoll jumped onto Sherwin back, tugging at his ears and making a fuss.
"Hmph! A bunch of childish fools, ow!"
The culprit, Haibara ow, mocked coldly from the side.
And then she was imdiately scooped up by Sherwin, who started rubbing her fur like crazy. Just when she began to feel comfortable, Sherwin suddenly stopped and turned to pet Klee ow instead.
"Ahhhhhh! Sherwin, you big stupid idiot, ow!"
Haibara ow leapt onto Sherwin shoulder and bit down on his much-abused ear, while Sanji ow kept hamring away at Sherwin equally unfortunate shin with relentless kicks...
No good... Just one Huai ow wasn’t enough to keep this bunch of little troublemakers under control.
He needed to summon one or two more parent-like cats. If nothing else, cats like Seijuro ow or Link ow—those well-behaved ones who didn’t cause much trouble—would do.
As Sherwin dealt with the mischievous bunch, he muttered to himself in his heart.
Thanks to their experience in the South Blue, Huai ow quickly set the course. They would make a full circle that would eventually bring them back to Reverse Mountain.
The island where they had previously encountered the Heart Pirates was also part of the plan—after all, since they had already mapped part of it, it couldn’t just go to waste.
With the route confird, the Investigation Team set sail toward the first island. Soon, they spotted a lighthouse island in the North Blue, one that served a similar function to Loguetown and was located very close to Reverse Mountain.
And then Sherwin finally understood why the pirate forces in the North Blue were considered the strongest...
They hadn’t even reached the lighthouse island port yet when they saw a group of pirates fiercely clashing in the surrounding waters.
With just a rough glance, Sherwin could tell there were at least five different factions involved in the fight.
He also noticed the wreckage of several Marine warships—clearly taken out first after being targeted collectively by the pirates.
"...Mm. What a grand welcoming ceremony this is..."
Sherwin looked at the pirate ships that had, without a word, opened fire on the Dodo Advance, and couldn’t help but sigh.
Among the Four Seas, aside from the West Blue where he first crossed over, the North Blue "first impression" was by far the most unforgettable.
As for the incoming cannon fire, Sherwin naturally didn’t care. With just Klee ow alone, the barrage could easily be stopped.
But after Klee ow intercepted the first wave of shells, Sherwin called out to the little ragdoll...
"Klee, how about we try out our combo technique against these enemies this ti?"
"Yes, yes, let do it!" The little ragdoll quickly stuffed the bomb she had just pulled out back into her backpack, her eyes sparkling with excitent.
"Klee been wanting to try it for so long, ow!"
The other cats all turned curious gazes toward them. None of them knew when Sherwin and Klee ow had co up with a combination technique.
"Klee!" Sherwin drew his Longsword.
"Here I co, ow!"
Klee ow imdiately leapt onto Sherwin right shoulder. At once, her entire body transford into elental fire—leaving only her little head and paws clinging to his shoulder.
The flas spread swiftly along Sherwin arm, wrapping around his right arm and the Longsword in his hand.
"Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi, ow!"
As the flas ford by Klee ow completely enveloped Sherwin right arm and Longsword, Sherwin raised the flaming arm and blade high above his head. In unison, man and cat shouted:
"Ultimate Secret Sword: Kagutsuchi (ow)!"
Sherwin then crouched slightly, pushed off with force, and leapt into the air. Swinging his right arm fiercely toward the pirate ships ahead, he once again spoke in perfect sync with Klee ow—
"Monster Hunter Style: Heavenly Dance of Inferno (ow)!"
A massive flaming slash shot forward, then split into countless smaller fla slashes under Klee ow control, raining down upon the pirate ships like a blazing storm.
Whether they had attacked Sherwin and his companions or not, every pirate ship was ignited under this strike.
It wasn’t that the pirates hadn’t tried to block it—but a flying slash ford from the combination of a Logia fruit ability, Armant Haki, and Monster Hunter skills was sothing even the strongest pirates of the North Blue could not withstand easily.
So ships carried stronger fighters, so the flas were not severe there. But the weaker pirate ships were in dire straits—not only were their vessels set ablaze, but Sherwin flying slash had carved a massive gash straight through their hulls.
"Well done, Klee! But if you burn the ships down completely, we won’t be able to get the pirates treasure."
Sherwin cautioned the fiery cat on his shoulder as he used his dance-like leaps to spring toward the less-burning pirate ships.
"Oh, right! Klee almost forgot, ow!"
The little doll, who had been about to set the pirate ships ablaze again, hurriedly pulled back her outstretched paw.
At this mont, Sherwin landed on the pirate ship that had taken the least damage.
"Don’t panic! He only one man! Everyone attack together!"
The lines of these disposable villains carried no originality, and Sherwin had no patience to waste words with them.
He charged directly at the one with the strongest aura, while Klee ow, without needing his command, instinctively targeted the rest of the small fry pirates—
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, ow!"
"Monster Hunter Style: Blazing Blade!"
With Sherwin and Klee ow working in perfect coordination, this group of North Blue pirates—who had already exhausted themselves fighting each other earlier—couldn’t possibly hold out for long. Soon enough, the man-and-cat duo had utterly shattered their formation.
What did surprise Sherwin a little, however, was that the man before him—presumably the captain—actually possessed Armant Haki.
But his Armant Haki was so feeble it was even weaker than that of the Kuja pirates. Sherwin didn’t even need to use his own Armant Haki to break through the man defense.
Judging by his strength and speed, his physical ability wasn’t even as good as Sherwin back when he hadn’t yet realized this was the pirate world. Sherwin couldn’t imagine how this guy had awakened Haki at all...
Perhaps it was related to individual talent? Could it be that those with lower overall talent found it easier to awaken Armant Haki?Sherwin thought of how, later in the manga, even ordinary marines could use Armant Haki—so maybe this wasn’t entirely impossible.
"You... who the hell are you? Why are you attacking us?!"
The pirate, barely managing to block Sherwin slash with his pitiful Armant Haki, shouted in desperation.
"That a funny thing to say." Sherwin raised his burning Longsword, swung again, and replied, "Weren’t you the ones who attacked first?"
"Those damn idiots!"
The naless captain cursed the pirates who had attacked Sherwin earlier, still trying to resist—but the difference in their strength was far too great. His struggle was aningless...
Even the pirate ship in the best condition had fallen so easily to Sherwin and Klee ow working together. The remaining ships naturally posed no challenge.
Before long, the once noisy sea grew silent, broken only by the crackling of flas consuming wood and the groans of a few pirates who still clung to consciousness.
After Klee ow extinguished the remaining flas, Sherwin led the cats to begin looting the treasures from the pirate ships.
During their plundering, the Marines arrived—late, just like the cops in a movie. But the colonel leading them was sensible enough not to lay a hand on Sherwin spoils.
In fact, after taking custody of the pirates, the colonel respectfully handed over the proof of bounty exchange without Sherwin even asking, and even went so far as to invite Sherwin to visit the Marine base as a guest...
It seed that the Marines situation in the North Blue was not very optimistic...
Watching the man obsequious attitude, Sherwin gained an initial understanding of the state of affairs in the North Blue.
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