Just as the Felyne Investigation Team decided to head toward the moving island—uncertain if it was Tesoro Gran Tesoro or Shiki Flying Archipelago—the rest of the world was in an uproar due to the day news.
Because of Sherwin long-standing good reputation and the adorable nature of the Felynes, the Felyne Island Investigation Team had always enjoyed immense public support.
When contrasted with the reports from the News Bird, the content in the official government newspapers was met with almost total skepticism more accurately, nobody believed a word of it.
The World Government clearly understood their reports lacked credibility. Consequently, in several subsequent articles that Sherwin had not yet browsed, they "exposed" Sherwin past "crimes."
These included: the assassination of former King Bekori of the Sorbet Kingdom, harboring the wanted fugitive Nico Robin, and maintaining contact with Yonko Big Mom and Whitebeard.
Furthermore, likely feeling these charges were not heavyweight enough, the official reports pinned several "black pots" committed by others onto Sherwin head, striving to portray him as a man who was righteous on the surface but heinous in reality.
Had Morgan News Bird not already stripped Doflamingo reputation bare, the World Government likely would have attempted to rebrand the "Hunter" as the "Heavenly Yaksha."
To bolster the credibility of this smear campaign, the reports even dragged other Warlords through the mud. They highlighted Cavendish identity as the "Hakuba of Rommel" and Gecko Moria habit of grave-robbing.
Coupled with Crocodile, who had attempted to steal a kingdom, and the Heavenly Yaksha, who had successfully done so... the World Government was willing to degrade the overall evaluation of the Seven Warlords of the Sea just to deal with Sherwin.
In truth, if they had really wanted to dig for dirt, they could have found "criminal facts" even for Jimbei and the Sun Pirates.
However, since the Warlords possessed the legal privilege of plunder, their "dirt" didn't really count as such. Under the Warlord system, the actions of Cavendish and Moria were technically legal, even if they were unsavory.
It must be said that the World Government tactic had a slight effect. A portion of the population was indeed led into the government logic: if there were so many villains among the Warlords, then Sherwin certainly couldn't be a good person either.
However, such people were few. Most remained dismissive, never forgetting that it was Sherwin who had defeated both Crocodile and the Heavenly Yaksha, and Sherwin who had rescued the shadows stolen by Moria.
While the majority of civilians trusted and supported Sherwin, the opinions among the kings of various nations were deeply divided.
Setting aside those countries that had received favors from Sherwin, even those with no prior contact held differing views.
Some believed that even if events transpired exactly as the News Bird reported, Sherwin should still be captured or killed. Among those holding this view were several witnesses who had attended the Levely.
Their reason for supporting the World Government was simple: if a madman could kill a Celestial Dragon so casually, he was far too dangerous to their own status as the ruling elite. He had to be eliminated.
Another group of kings, however, held a deep resentment toward the World Government.
What they saw was that today, the Celestial Dragons could kidnap the princess of Ryugu Kingdom for their own selfish desires, while the World Government not only failed to intervene but actively aided the tyranny.
What would happen tomorrow if a Celestial Dragon wanted to seize their own country princess, prince, or even the entire nation?
Unwittingly, Sherwin had done the Revolutionary Army a massive favor. Certain nations that the revolutionaries believed could be won over—yet had remained staunchly aligned with the World Government—began to waver after this incident and started making secret contact with the Revolutionary Army.
Yet, none of this was as significant as one singular fact.
That is—
A Celestial Dragon had been killed, and Mariejois, known as the Domain of the Gods, had been reduced to ruins.
In the movie Iron Man 2, Ivan Vanko, "Whiplash," said a particular line: "If you can make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him."
This sentiment applied perfectly to the Celestial Dragons. Once the world realized that Celestial Dragons could indeed be killed, a hole was punctured through the high-pressure reign they had maintained for so long.
Furthermore, the world was home to a group known as "Pirates." With Sherwin leading the way, there would inevitably be those among them driven by ambition, hatred, or other motives who would seek to replicate this "great achievement"...
Take, for instance, Marshall D. Teach, who was currently still playing the role of a loyal son on Whitebeard ship.
"Zehahahahaha! That Hunter has pulled off something incredible! A first bounty of 3 billion—even Pops couldn't manage that, could he?"
Teach brandished the latest newspaper, laughing and shouting boisterously with the others, though his eyes remained fixed intently on the bounty posters for Shermie Meow and Klee Meow.
Already coveting these two Logia Felynes, he now felt an even more urgent desire to obtain those two Fruits...
Unfortunately, there was still no news regarding the Dark-Dark Fruit he had been yearning for.
Meanwhile, Whitebeard, who had learned of the situation ahead of time from King Neptune, was currently stewing in a foul mood.
"Damn brat! You called me over to help but didn't leave me a single bottle of booze!"
Ever since tasting the Ibuki Gourd sake specially crafted by Suika Meow, Whitebeard found it impossible to enjoy any other alcohol. Even though the supply Sherwin had left him was once plentiful, he had long ago begun rationing it with extreme stinginess...
He also had to remain constantly vigilant against his own wine-loving foster sons, who were always trying to steal his stash.
When Sherwin called him over this time, Whitebeard had expected to replenish his stock and drink to his heart content. Instead, Sherwin merely acknowledged him and then—without giving him a chance to speak—slipped away with Shirahoshi.
Marco, on the other hand, breathed a massive sigh of relief. He had been agonizing over how to persuade Whitebeard to drink less, never imagining that an unintentional prank by Suika Meow would solve the problem.
In fact, a large portion of the crew members who had gone to steal Whitebeard sake were actually acting under Marco secret arrangements.
While Whitebeard stewed in his resentment toward Sherwin, the atmosphere over at BIG MOM was one of pure jubilation.
From Charlotte Linlin perspective, now that Sherwin had fallen out with the World Government, there was a high probability he would come to seek her protection.
When that happened, she could simply marry off one—or even several—of her daughters to him, firmly binding him and those powerful "cat Minks" to the BIG MOM Pirates.
With that, she would gain top-tier combat power just below the Emperors and obtain Nico Robin, who could translate the Poneglyphs.
Wouldn't the throne of the Pirate King be within her grasp? Charlotte Linlin thoughts were filled with a "naivety" that perfectly matched her character.
"Worororo! Attacking the Celestial Dragons? Why didn't I think of such an entertaining idea?"
If Teach was only planning to see if he could kill a few Celestial Dragons in the future, Kaido was already prepared to put the idea into immediate action.
"You can't do that, Boss!"
"Plague" Queen grabbed Kaido leg, desperately trying to stop him. "If you do this, our cooperation with the World Government is finished!"
Queen knew exactly how to persuade Kaido. If he had said this action would bring retaliation from the World Government, his boss would only have become more excited however, when it came to Wano arms trade, Kaido suddenly calmed down.
"Humph! Then let those fellows live for a while longer!"
Failing to cause trouble, Kaido gulped down some sake and suddenly burst into tears. "Waaaaah! Why won't the man I admire so much become my subordinate?! He always ruining my plans!"
And so began the Beast Pirate customary routine of their captain drunken rampage.
"Beckman, pay for the drinks. I seem to have forgotten my wallet."
On an ordinary island in the New World, "Red-Haired" Shanks set down an empty bottle and shouted at his first mate, Benn Beckman, with a cheeky grin.
After Beckman helplessly settled the bill, Shanks stood up and gestured for his crew to head toward the docks.
"Let go. We're going to meet this lately active 'Hunter.' I have some things I want to discuss with him... After all, I helped him out before he should give me that much face."