"Wahahahahaha! Sherwin, kid, this ship of yours is way more impressive than the ones the Marines have been outfitting lately!"
As everyone prepared to leave Fish-Man Island and head for the surface, Garp and Sengoku—those two old fogies—abandoned their own warship and thick-facedly hopped onto the Dodo Advance.
"To think it can even turn into a submarine our warships can only turn into airships."
Sherwin glanced sideways at Garp and said flatly, "If the CP agents stole the original blueprints from Water 7, then there should definitely be a section for the Ceadeus form."
"Hahahaha! Is that so? I wouldn't really know about that," Garp said, rubbing the back of his head and laughing it off as if he hadn't caught Sherwin sarcasm at all.
Purah Meow, hearing them discuss the Dodo Advance, leaned over and offered a matter-of-fact deduction:
"The Marines probably don't lack the desire to build them, but rather they lack a stable power source to support a hull undergoing multiple transformations. It only because I have Klee Meow and Shermie Meow that I have enough confidence to design the current Dodo Advance meow! Check-it!"
(ゝω)~☆
"There is another reason: doing so simply isn't cost-effective for the Marines and the World Government meow," Purah Meow continued.
"Mass-produced warships don't need multi-form designs. If it were up to me, I would choose to manufacture different transformation types separately and then divide them into different fleets. Multi-form warships are better suited for special units, like CP agents and the like meow~ Check-it!"
(ゝω)~☆
Although Sengoku tried his best to suppress his surprise, Sherwin still caught the fleeting expression on his face.
It looked like Purah Meow had hit the nail on the head.
Then again, it made sense. The people in the Marines weren't idiots since they had already plagiarized the "Valstrax," there was no way they would overlook the other forms.
"Oh, right! There also that method! Sengoku, when we get back, can we talk to the people in the Science Unit?"
Garp struck his palm in a moment of realization and excitedly suggested to Sengoku, "It would be best to change my ship into this... Ceadeus form, so that in the future, even in places other than Sabaody Archipelago, I can dive to the bottom of the sea!"
Well, okay, let me correct myself... there are still a few idiots in the Navy...
While accompanying the two old men in their idle chatter, Sherwin and the others arrived at the surface of the sea.
Pirates who want to cross the Red Line can only pass through the middle of Fish-Man Island by coating their ships and drilling through from beneath the Red Line, but the Navy and members of the World Government do not need to go through such trouble.
Directly below Mary Geoise, on both the "Paradise" and "New World" sides, there is a small island called "Red Port" that sandwiches the Red Line in the middle.
Through the "Bubble Lifts" at these two Red Ports, World Government personnel can travel back and forth between the two sea areas separated by the Red Line.
For this reason, the World Government specifically transplanted several Yarukiman Mangrove trees from the Sabaody Archipelago to maintain the operation of the Bubble Lifts.
For whatever reason, all members attending the Reverie were arranged to land at the Red Port on the "New World" side, so a large group of reporters had gathered here early on.
As Sherwin and the others landed, the reporters who were originally filming other members of the royal families immediately swarmed over.
The Fish-Man royal family, whom the public rarely gets to see the Mermaid Princess, who had already earned a reputation for beauty not inferior to the Pirate Empress Sherwin, the Warlord who had recently taken down a Warlord and had previously taken down another and Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who had been rarely seen since his retirement a while ago.
With a lineup like this, even the most novice reporter would know exactly where to point their camera.
Whether it was Sherwin, the Felynes, or Shirahoshi, they had long since grown accustomed to such scenes.
They simply ignored the reporters on both sides and followed Garp and Sengoku toward the bubble elevator. In contrast, King Neptune and the three Neptune brothers seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention.
Of course, Sherwin and the others didn't completely ignore the crowd of journalists...
Because for a grand event like this—which was a massive story in itself and likely to generate even more big news later—that bird-man Morgans certainly wouldn't miss it.
As the absolute tycoon of the world media industry, the World Economic Journal naturally occupied the best vantage point. Thus, as soon as Sherwin and the others stepped off the ship, they spotted Morgan conspicuous bird head.
"It Uncle Morgans meow!"
(=ΦωΦ=)
"Mr. Morgans, we meet again. Thank you for taking care of us all this time."
Klee Meow, who had also spotted him, raised a paw to wave at Morgans standing at the very front, and Shirahoshi followed suit by greeting him as well...
This made the bird-man incredibly happy.
After a brief greeting with Morgans, Sherwin and the others continued following Garp and Sengoku forward. However, before they had even taken two steps, another commotion erupted ahead, and a familiar figure blocked their path.
"Garp!"
"Wow! It Grandpa Chinjao! It been a long time, meow!"
Klee Meow jumped down from Sherwin body and quickly scurried up onto Chinjao.
"Oh oh oh, my little darling Klee, let Grandpa have a good look at you~ You've really become more and more adorable!"
Chinjao, who had been aggressive just a moment ago, instantly transformed back into a kind old grandfather.
And the next words from Klee Meow moved him so much that he directly burst into tears...
"Klee, Brother Sherwin, and Brother Seijuro helped Grandpa Chinjao seek revenge against Grandpa Garp, meow. It just that we didn't win in the end Grandpa Garp is indeed very powerful, meow."
"Garp! You bastard! How could you lay a hand on such an adorable little one?!"
Moved to tears and snot, Chinjao turned around and switched back to a state of bristling hair and beard, roaring at Garp.
"I didn't do anything to little Klee! Besides, if it weren't for you talking nonsense, how could a well-behaved and obedient little Klee possibly come looking for a fight with me?!"
Garp was also fuming, mainly because Klee Meow words clearly favored Chinjao, his former defeated opponent. How could he possibly endure that? Naturally, he shot back without a moment hesitation.
However...
Well-behaved and obedient?
Sherwin mouth twitched, but he remained silent, quietly watching these two old men—whose combined age was nearly two hundred years—argue like children over Klee Meow affection.
"Enough! Garp! Stop making a scene here!"
In the end, it was Sengoku who stepped in and dragged Garp aside, finally bringing the bickering between the two overgrown children to a halt.
Because of the delay, Sherwin group joined the delegation from the Flower Country and boarded the same bubble elevator.
Though called an elevator, it was more like a massive ship. Even giants like Shirahoshi and Neptune could move around freely on it, and the center of the elevator was equipped with facilities specifically for rest and entertainment.
"Allow me to introduce you. This is the King of our Flower Country—His Majesty Ramen."
After boarding the elevator, Chinjao brought over a bald man who had a dragon tattooed on his head, an iron chain around his neck, small round sunglasses, and two long, thin mustaches.
Yet, compared to his eccentric appearance, Sherwin felt more inclined to complain about the man name... because according to the linguistic habits of this world, everyone would usually refer to him as—King Ramen.
It sounded exactly like a brand of instant noodles.
Although his name was full of oddities and he looked like a total eccentric, King Ramen was actually quite easy to get along with.
He showed no signs of resistance toward King Neptune and instead engaged him in a very friendly conversation.
While the two kings were having their cordial meeting, Chinjao pulled two rather distinctive-looking fellows over to Sherwin and introduced them: "These are my two useless grandsons, Sai and Boo."
Facing these two—or more accurately, facing Sai—Sherwin felt a bit of awkwardness. After all, Sai future wife was currently standing behind him in a maid outfit.
However, what Sherwin didn't know was that Sai and Boo were feeling equally awkward at that moment.
Since they had previously asked Chinjao for guidance on Haki cultivation, they had heard no shortage of praise for Sherwin from the old man. During that period, Sherwin had maintained a low profile and wasn't particularly famous.
This had led Sai and Boo to view Sherwin, the "prodigy from another family," as a rival.
But as Sherwin reputation gradually grew, their mindset began to shift.
When Sherwin defeated Cracker, they still weren't quite ready to concede. When he took down Crocodile, they only felt that Sherwin might be slightly stronger than them.
It wasn't until he resolved the siege of the pirate alliance and fought a battle against Kaido of the Four Emperors that the two were forced to accept reality, though that initial spark of defiance wasn't so easily extinguished.
So, while Sherwin was only feeling a little bit awkward, the emotions swirling in their hearts were far more complicated.