"Heh... thanks to you, I'm no longer the Fleet Admiral."
Sengoku spoke with a stiff face, spreading his hands and answering with a hint of sarcasm.
Sherwin responded with a shrug of his own, saying quite innocently, "You can't blame me for that. Sakazuki was the one looking for trouble for no reason I hadn't even met him before that."
"It doesn't matter," Sengoku shook his head. "I've retired anyway... I came here this time for something else."
Sherwin rubbed his chin...
"Rocinante?"
"You knew? As I thought... that pirate named Trafalgar Law is indeed the brat who had Amber Lead Syndrome back then..."
Sengoku nodded in realization, sighing with a complicated tone.
However, Garp, who was standing nearby, was completely bewildered. "What kind of riddles are you two playing? I don't understand a word!"
Yet Sengoku was in no mood to pay him any mind and asked again, "Then do you know the identity of Donquixote Doflamingo?"
"I know. A former Celestial Dragon. Doflamingo wanted to return but failed and was almost beaten to death in Mary Geoise.
So, I don't think those Celestial Dragons will come looking for trouble with me because of him... even though those CP0 agents in Dressrosa seemed to intend to save his life at the time."
Sherwin shrugged, not caring in the slightest.
"Regardless, I still want to thank you for avenging Rocinante."
Sengoku, who had been maintaining a cold expression, suddenly revealed a kind smile and bowed deeply to Sherwin.
This gave Garp a shock.
"Sengoku, you..." He opened his mouth but didn't press further about who Rocinante was.
Instead, he intentionally picked his nose and said with a look of dissatisfaction, "I was wondering why you insisted on coming with me, when you usually find me so annoying that you won't even share your rice crackers."
"...You shut up!"
Even though he knew Garp was intentionally trying to steer the conversation away from a topic that saddened him, Sengoku couldn't help but roar at him.
Even if you want to change the subject, couldn't you find a better way?!
Meanwhile, King Neptune, who was supposed to be the primary guest for the Marines this time but had been left sidelined, stroked his beard and muttered thoughtfully to himself, "Donquixote? That surname sounds somewhat familiar..."
"The Celestial Dragon that Queen Otohime saved back then was a Donquixote he and Doflamingo should be considered relatives," Sherwin said directly upon hearing his mutterings.
"Perhaps we'll even run into him when we go to Mary Geoise this time."
Then, Sherwin suddenly cast a somewhat surprised sidelong glance at King Neptune...
It had just occurred to him that Fish-Man Island had been busily working to join the World Government during this period, yet a guy like Neptune hadn't even thought of trying to use that connection with the Celestial Dragon? Clearly, back when Otohime was still around, she had sought his help to navigate the upper-level relationships.
Sure enough, the greatest political achievements of King Neptune life were finding a good wife and making a good friend.
Even though Sherwin had long since grown accustomed to the "excellent" matchmaking mechanics of the Pirate World, he still couldn't help but roll his eyes and silently complain in his heart.
The discussion regarding Doflamingo ended there. Since the last time Ryugu Kingdom participated in the Reverie was many years ago, Garp adjutant, Bogard, specifically went over all the various precautions for heading to Mary Geoise before they set off.
Considering the complex environment of Mary Geoise and wanting to have a way to respond should those highly probable "accidents" actually occur, Sherwin had already discussed things with the Felynes and assigned the teams before arriving at Fish-Man Island.
Sherwin himself was definitely going, and the lucky Spark Knight naturally had to be brought along as well. Additionally, he wanted Shermie Meow to use her Observation Haki to investigate the existence of Imu, so she had to be brought along too.
As the big sister to Shirahoshi, Jinx was determined to go along and repeatedly promised Sherwin that she would definitely not cause any trouble.
However, since the two little cats most prone to causing mischief were both coming along, Huamei Meow—the one best suited to keeping an eye on them—naturally had to be included as well.
Sanji Meow, in his capacity as a chef, was extremely interested in the cuisine of Mary Geoise, the seat of the world highest power.
He persistently insisted on coming along, and considering his current strength was not lacking and he could protect himself in case of an accident, Sherwin agreed.
Additionally, since they might encounter special circumstances, Link Meow, who could transmit messages silently and quickly, was also brought along by Sherwin.
On the other hand, as a survivor of Ohara, Robin naturally could not go to Mary Geoise. Although Purah Meow had eaten the Snow-Snow Fruit, like Haibara Meow, she was still not suited for direct frontal combat and was better as a logistics support member, so she stayed on the ship.
Since Klee Meow and Shermie Meow, the two highest combat powers, as well as Huamei Meow and Link Meow, were following Sherwin as primary combatants, the safety of the Dodo Advance had to be ensured.
Kaido Meow, whose strength ranked near the top of the Investigation Team, naturally had to stay behind. Along with Seijuro Meow, who frequently guarded the ship,
and Suika Meow, who was left behind for fear she would get everyone else drunk, they would be able to handle things whether they needed to break into Mary Geoise to rescue people or if they encountered any trouble outside.
Originally, Sherwin did not intend to bring Baby-5 to Mary Geoise due to her strength, but while Bogard was explaining the precautions, he mentioned that they were not allowed to carry weapons onto the Red Line.
Sengoku specifically reminded Sherwin from the side, "Don't try to be clever. Those patial bag in your hands are no secret the Navy and the World Government have been looking for an opportunity to study them for a long time."
"Lord Sengoku..." Bogard looked over helplessly.
However, after giving the warning, Sengoku closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
It was precisely because of this that Sherwin decided to bring Baby-5 along after all.
Although his combat power was not poor even while empty-handed, a Hunter with a weapon and one without were two completely different concepts.
Thinking about it this way, Baby-5 recruitment had actually happened at quite a perfect time.
As for the idea that there wouldn't be any conflict during this trip, Sherwin hadn't even considered it.
In the original story, Shirahoshi—who was already targeted by the Celestial Dragons—plus the True Lord of Setting Fire to Mountains and Jinx, who was essentially Jinx as a little blue cat...
With this lineup, how could they possibly stay peacefully in Mary Geoise for a whole week?
What Sherwin and Huamei Meow were thinking was simply to reduce the scale of the conflict as much as possible.
After all, looking at the situation in the original story, whether it was Neptune group, or Sai and Leo who eventually beat up a Celestial Dragon, along with their respective kingdoms of Kano and Dressrosa, they had all managed to get away scot-free.
So...
It shouldn't be a big deal?
The Hunter thought to himself, feeling extremely lacking in confidence.
Actually, as long as he suggested that King Neptune not bring Shirahoshi, there was a high probability that the conflict could be avoided, but Sherwin did not intend to do so.
This was because he hadn't been optimistic about King Neptune plan from the start. However, if they weren't allowed to see exactly what kind of virtue the World Government and the Celestial Dragons possessed and be made to feel completely disappointed, this family would continue to waste their efforts just like Queen Otohime.
As for not letting Klee Meow and Jinx participate...
On what grounds?!
My cats aren't going there to cause trouble. As long as those Celestial Dragons behave themselves, naturally, there won't be any conflict!
In any case, Sherwin couldn't bear to let his cats suffer any grievances. At worst, he'd just rebel against the bastards. If they pushed him too far, he'd just go join—ah, no—go seek refuge with Dragon!