Klee Meow gold-fish scooping game still hadn't achieved a breakthrough from zero, but the position of Shogun of Wano Country had finally reached its ultimate conclusion...
The person who became Shogun didn't come as much of a surprise to Sherwin it was Shimotsuki Yasuie, the only survivor among the previous generation of Daimyo.
To be honest, handing the Shogun position to Shimotsuki Yasuie wasn't much different from handing it back to the Kozuki Clan.
Yasuie was a die-hard fan of Oden back when Oden was still a reckless youth, Yasuie believed in him implicitly, proactively giving him money and helping the Akazaya Nine grow.
After Oden died, he continued to believe in Kozuki Toki deathbed prophecy, willing to risk his life for the return of Momonosuke and the others.
Therefore, Sherwin had reason to believe that when Momonosuke returned from twenty years ago in a few years, even if Shimotsuki Yasuie didn't immediately relinquish the Shogun title, he would certainly follow the lead of the Kozuki Clan.
Compared to these Daimyo, the political maneuvering skills of those samurai were still far too green...
Though Shimotsuki Yasuie tactics weren't particularly sophisticated either.
Despite not being entirely satisfied with this result, Sherwin had no intention of meddling in Wano internal affairs.
After finishing his tour of Wano Country and taking the Dodo Advance deep underwater to visit the old site of Wano, Sherwin prepared to leave with the Felynes.
He didn't even notify the new "Shogun" Shimotsuki Yasuie of his departure, only saying goodbye to Issho and Kozuki Hiyori.
"My previous promise still stands. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to find me."
Issho did not try to convince Sherwin and the others to stay he simply reaffirmed his commitment.
Kozuki Hiyori, no longer a princess, could not represent Wano Country for the time being, but she nodded in agreement: "The Kozuki Clan feels the same!"
Sherwin merely gave them a casual wave of his hand, then had the Dodo Advance, already switched to Paolumu mode, slowly rise into the air and fly toward the borders of Wano.
"Hmm... Klee still hasn't caught the goldfish meow..."
(=Φ3Φ=)
The little Ragdoll lay on Sherwin shoulder, watching the shrinking Wano Country. She pouted her small mouth and muttered with some unwillingness.
"Alright, alright~ That game isn't complicated. If it comes down to it, I'll catch some small fish later and put them in a basin for you to play with."
Sherwin skillfully scratched Klee Meow little head, comforting her softly. This instantly turned the little Ragdoll cloudy mood into sunshine, as she narrowed her eyes and let out a comfortable purr.
[Brother Sherwin, where are we going next meow?]
(=ω=)
After flying away from Wano Country, Dodo Advance impatiently crawled out from its main body, then used both hands and feet to climb onto Sherwin head and sit down.
Having returned to its "exclusive seat" with satisfaction, Dodo Advance lowered its head, tugged at Sherwin hair, and asked.
However, before Sherwin could speak, Yamato stepped forward first...
"Wow! It a Felyne I've never seen before!"
Having finally left Wano Country and prepared to come into contact with the outside world that could only be understood from Oden journal, Yamato was now full of curiosity about everything...
"You look so much like Klee?"
"Are you her sister?"
"I'm Yamato, Kaido daughter! What your name?"
"Why didn't you appear in Wano Country together before?"
"I just saw you crawl out of the deck, is that your Fruit ability?"
Yamato rattled on incessantly like a machine gun while sizing up Dodo Advance on Sherwin head.
"She is Dodo Advance meow~ She is also the younger sister of Klee and everyone else meow!"
(=`=)
The little Felyne introduced herself to Yamato with great pride.
"Dodo Advance? Isn't that the name of this ship?" Yamato paused for a moment before realization struck her. "I know! It a Ship Spirit! It a Ship Spirit, right?! Roger Oro Jackson had one too, though it seems they never actually saw what it looked like... So Ship Spirits are all cats?!"
"How is that possible! You dummy!"
Perhaps because she was often at the receiving end of Sherwin karate chops, Baby-5 had somehow picked up the habit of chopping others as well. As she delivered a chop to Yamato, she explained proudly, "Obviously, only our ship is special! No other ship spirit could possibly be as cute as Dodo!"
"Ohhh, hello there, Dodo~ I'm big sister Yamato~"
Yamato didn't get angry at the chop she just laughed sheepishly while rubbing her head and greeted Dodo.
[Dodo knows you. You're the dummy who likes that dummy Kozuki Oden and even wants to become that dummy meow.]
(=`ー=)
Dodo crossed her arms and nodded with an air of great importance.
Yamato: "..."
No matter how much she admired Kozuki Oden, being constantly looked down upon and mocked by these cute Felynes was starting to wear even on Yamato thick skin.
"Actually, I don't really want to be Oden anymore..."
She offered a weak explanation, though she didn't sound particularly confident.
However, Dodo didn't care about such trivial matters. She looked down and tugged on Sherwin hair again, returning to her original question—
[Sherwin brother, where are we going next meow?]
(=ω=)
"Hmm..."
Faced with the question from the Dodo Advance, Sherwin fell into a moment of hesitation.
Originally, he had planned to seek out Wang Zhi on Pirate Island for revenge after finishing his business with Kaido. However, Pirate Island had already been occupied by Kaido Beast Pirates, and Wang Zhi, lacking any backbone, had directly surrendered to Kaido. Given this turn of events, it seemed somewhat counterproductive to go out of their way to provoke them again.
As for the idea of simply dropping a "Little Girl" and making a run for it...
Having already suffered once, Kaido was unlikely to be foolish enough to go head-to-head with a "Little Girl" again.
Furthermore, although that series of seals wasn't theoretically necessary, Purah Meow and Klee Meow both stated that without them, there was no guarantee the "Little Girl" wouldn't be accidentally detonated.
Therefore, even with a sneak attack, Kaido would have more than enough time to deal with the "Little Girl," and there was little chance of using it against other members of the Beast Pirates.
This was unlikely to change unless Klee Meow and the others upgraded the "Little Girl" again, developing a faster or more discreet detonation method.
With Pirate Island off the table, it seemed they truly didn't have anywhere they strictly needed to go.
Since that was the case...
Sherwin pulled out the Log Pose for the first time in ages.
"Come, Klee, it time for you to shine again! Pick a direction from these three needles and lead the way!"
With no clear destination in mind, it was best to let the luckiest star of the research team guide them.
After all, this was how Sherwin had always handled things.
Once they reached a suitable island, they would proceed with the summoning of the new Felyne!
In the meantime...
They would also wait for the results of Haibara Meow experiments to see if they could scrape together another summoning ticket.