"Shocking! Holy Mary Geoise Struck by Violent Thunder, Celestial Dragons Suffer Heavy Casualties"
Sherwin took the latest issue of the Economic Times from the News Bird. The front-page headline featured this sensationally styled title, and directly below it was a photograph of the Holy Mary Geoise in utter disarray.
As for how the Economic Times obtained this photo...
Do not forget that Sherwin, the person involved, held the identity of a special correspondent for the paper. Although he was "neglectful of his duties" most of the time, he would occasionally contribute a story to his own news agency.
Then again... when did I ever mention the concept of "clickbait headlines" to that birdman Morgans?
Sherwin rubbed his chin, quickly tossing such trivial matters to the back of his mind before carefully reading the main text of the report.
Since Sherwin had provided first-hand information, Morgan report was largely consistent with the truth.
The only difference was that the article made no mention of Shirahoshi or anything related to the Ryugu Kingdom the Celestial Dragon attempt to forcibly seize Shirahoshi and the Felynes was framed as solely an attempt to snatch the Felynes.
This wasn't something Sherwin had requested. Given Morgan favorable impression of Shirahoshi, he wouldn't have deliberately hidden the matter either, so it was likely the World Government that had intervened to suppress that part of the content.
The World Government and the Navy still have a bit of a "sense of shame" after all, knowing that news of kidnapping another country princess wouldn't sound good.
Sherwin mocked them silently in his heart.
However, this was a good thing it indicated that the World Government did not currently intend to target Fish-Man Island—at least not openly.
Of course, even if they truly wanted to make a move, they would have to weigh the consequences carefully.
Setting aside the various advantages the Fish-Man race possessed in the deep sea, immediately after Sherwin led Shirahoshi and the others away from Holy Mary Geoise, he contacted Whitebeard.
After the Whitebeard Pirates arrived, they made a point of loitering near Marineford before grandly heading toward Fish-Man Island in front of a large crowd.
They were likely still there and had not yet departed.
"Now you can rest easy. It seems the World Government intends to squeeze us, the soft persimmons,' first."
As Sherwin spoke, he stuffed the Economic Times into the hands of Shirahoshi, who had approached him looking visibly anxious.
He had originally intended to leave Shirahoshi on Fish-Man Island, but the Mermaid Princess stubbornly insisted on staying with the Investigation Team.
According to Shirahoshi, since this incident started because of her, she felt obligated to face the consequences alongside Sherwin and the others.
King Neptune also agreed that it was better for Shirahoshi to remain with Sherwin. Beyond the reason Shirahoshi provided, the primary factor was Neptune belief that compared to the stationary Fish-Man Island, Sherwin group—who were now active primarily in the New World—was actually safer.
Of course, had he known Sherwin next plan involved picking a fight with Kaido, he might have reconsidered.
Regardless, Shirahoshi remained on the Dodo Advance, continuing her travels with the group. After giving her the newspaper to ease her worried heart, Sherwin picked up the official government-issued paper.
Sherwin connection to the Economic Times was no secret, and the World Government knew that attempting to use public opinion against him was largely futile.
Nevertheless, they still applied some "artistic processing" to their reporting. This resulted in two newspapers reporting on the same event in ways that looked entirely different.
In the official government paper, the Celestial Dragons had merely "friendlily" inquired about purchasing Sherwin Felynes.
Then, the "violent-tempered" Sherwin supposedly attacked them without provocation. Even when the Celestial Dragons had clearly prepared to leave, he relentlessly pursued them and set Holy Mary Geoise ablaze.
Furthermore, the report claimed Sherwin only managed to escape by taking the royalty of affiliated kingdoms hostage and even kidnapping the Mermaid Princess Shirahoshi.
Naturally, anyone with the slightest understanding of the Celestial Dragons—or anyone who had read the recent Economic Times reports regarding the Fish-Man race—would find this impossible to believe. Sherwin simply read it as a joke.
After finishing the "joke" fabricated by the World Government, Sherwin turned to the stack of bounty posters attached to the back of the paper.
As expected, the very first bounty poster was his:
"Hunter" Sherwin: Bounty 3,000,000,000 Berries. Dead or Alive.
Well, in the original story, after the Warlord system was abolished, Mihawk had the highest bounty at over 3.5 billion, so my current value seems fairly normal?
Sherwin rubbed his chin, feeling that the person responsible for setting the bounties was quite reliable, as his own assessment of his strength was similarly just a notch below Mihawk.
However, the bounty itself didn't really matter the key was that Sherwin had finally achieved the "Wanted" milestone. After all, having traveled to the world of One Piece, it felt like something was missing without a wanted poster.
"Wow! Brother Sherwin is wanted meow!"
(=ω=)
The little Ragdoll on his shoulder cheered happily, then tilted her head in confusion, gently tugging Sherwin ear as she asked,
"So Brother Sherwin, are we pirates now meow? But Klee Meow doesn't want to be a pirate meow..."
"Of course not, we don't even have a pirate flag." Sherwin patted her small head.
"It not just pirates who get wanted posters. Robin wasn't a pirate before, and she was wanted, right?"
"Oh, right..."
∑(=ΦДΦ=)
The little Ragdoll came to a realization and then pulled his ear again, urging him, "Then Brother Sherwin, look quickly! Is there a wanted poster for Klee Meow too?"
"I know, I know."
Sherwin flipped to the next wanted poster. On it was a majestic little Forest Cat wrapped in lightning, floating gallantly in the air.
"It Shermie Meow !"
(=`=)
Klee Meow cheered enthusiastically once again.
"WildThunderclap" Shermie Meow, bounty 2,030,000,000 Berries, Dead or Alive.
Why was there such a specific odd number? It was hard to say what the Navy "pricing" standards were...
However, as the one who ultimately used a massive lightning Kirin to hold back a large group of Navy top brass—including Navy Admirals, the Navy Hero, and the former Fleet Admiral—Shermie Meow having this bounty wasn't surprising at all. In fact, Sherwin felt this price tag was a bit low.
And he wasn't the only one who thought so...
"Why is Shermie Meow sister bounty lower than a dummy like you, Sherwin?! Is the person arranging the rewards blind, meow?!"
(=`Д=)
Sanji Meow spoke up indignantly on Shermie Meow behalf.
He even took the opportunity to kick Sherwin twice.
Sherwin flicked the little yellow cat forehead in return and then handed the wanted poster to Shermie Meow herself.
"Heehee~ The Navy photographer is quite skilled meow~ I really like this photo meow~"
(=ω=)
Shermie Meow looked at the photo on the wanted poster and nodded with satisfaction.
Sanji Meow, as usual, flattered her from the side: "Shermie Meow sister looks beautiful no matter how the photo is taken, meow!"
The third wanted poster finally belonged to that little arsonist, Klee Meow—
"Spark Knight" Klee, Bounty: 770,000,000—Only Alive.
As for the image on the poster, it captured the little Ragdoll Felyne with her cheeks puffed out, stuffed full of food. The cuteness level was off the charts, and based on the background, it seemed to have been taken during their time in Dressrosa.
While the photo was adorable, Sherwin wasn't particularly satisfied with Klee Meow bounty... He never imagined the little Ragdoll reward wouldn't even break one billion.
After all, the "True Monarch of Mountain Fires" was recognized by the Hunter group as the member with the greatest destructive power.
Even if the World Government didn't know much about Klee Meow, the fact that she burned down nearly half of Mary Geoise should have earned her more than this, right? However, what confused Sherwin even more was the "Only Alive" stipulation.
Was it because that female Celestial Dragon still hadn't given up on seizing the Felynes, or did the World Government want the bomb technology Klee Meow possessed? Or perhaps the little Ragdoll luck attribute had been triggered, causing the person issuing the bounty to make a mistake?
"Meow-hahahaha! Klee has a wanted poster just like Brother Sherwin now, meow!"
(=＞＜=)
The little Ragdoll didn't care about the amount of her bounty. She snatched her wanted poster from Sherwin hand and ran excitedly toward the laboratory.
"Klee is going to show this to Sister Haibara, meow!"
As she carried that wanted poster away, the fourth one was revealed...
"Devil Child" Nico Robin, Bounty: 500,000,000—Dead or Alive.