Sherwin was unaware that a certain individual with the "Face-Face Fruit" ability was heading his way. Guided by the Monster Hunter Map, the Dodo Advance had already arrived in the vicinity of that mobile island.
Before him lay the boundless, vast sea.
"It looks like it not Tesoro..."
Sherwin sighed with regret, then looked up toward the sky.
Although Shiki islands were home to many strange creatures, Sherwin remembered those were mostly evolved through human intervention.
Even if they were recorded in the Bestiary, they would likely only update the maximum size records or add a few sub-species the probability of a summoning voucher appearing was quite low.
Tesoro golden ship was different. As the world largest center for consumption and entertainment, the chances of finding Famous Blades or Devil Fruits there were high.
Furthermore, Tesoro had more fruit users under his command—just by opening "blind boxes," Sherwin should have been able to get a fragment or two.
Regardless, since he had run into Shiki, he could only settle for causing him trouble first.
He just didn't know exactly how high Shiki had lifted those islands at any rate, Sherwin couldn't spot anything unusual in the sky with the naked eye.
"Eh? So you wanted to go to Gran Tesoro, Hunter Meow?"
(=ω=)
Huamei flicked her ears and turned her head to look at Sherwin. "Then wouldn't it have been easier to just ask Mr. Morgans or Shakky for a Permanent Pointer? Those pointer merchants should have them for sale too, Meow."
"...Eh?"
"That is the most famous entertainment city in the world its location is naturally public knowledge, Meow."
Huamei said as if it were common sense.
That right!
Sherwin suddenly realized.
Damn! I fell into a habitual way of thinking!
Because he remembered Gran Tesoro as a ship-island similar to Moria Thriller Bark, and combined with the fact that the moving island of Zou couldn't be captured by a Log Pose, Sherwin had subconsciously assumed its position couldn't be recorded by a pointer either.
But the actual situation was that Thriller Bark couldn't record magnetism because it was an island moved over from the South Blue, and Zou wasn't a real island, but a giant elephant.
Gran Tesoro was different from both it was remodeled from a certain island within the Grand Line, so it possessed magnetism for a Log Pose to record.
Furthermore, it was the same for those islands Shiki had moved into the high altitude. Since they originally existed within the Grand Line, they should be captured by a Log Pose just like the half of Jaya on the Sky Island.
"Ahem... Dodo Advance, fly up and take a look!"
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Sherwin patted the railing of the Dodo Advance and stiffly changed the subject.
[Dodo Advance! Transform and set off, Meow!]
(=＞＜=)
The ship spirit perched on Sherwin head waved her arms excitedly. Under her control, the ship beneath her feet switched to Valstrax Mode, drawing a giant "J" above the sea surface and soaring toward the clouds overhead with extreme ferocity.
The speed of the Dodo Valstrax was naturally nothing to scoff at. Shiki, who was currently traveling, had no time to react at all before Sherwin and the others had already arrived beside that "corner of the island"...
"Uh, it turns out we didn't just pass by the edge of the island this thing is actually just this small."
Sherwin looked at the flying ship in front of him, which had been modified from a tiny island, and scratched his cheek in some embarrassment.
Right, Shiki islands seemed to stay in fixed locations, while usually, only his pirate ship flew around everywhere.
Sherwin, finally remembering this fact, felt a bit uneasy...
Missing out on those rare and exotic beasts was a minor issue, but the key was that he remembered there was a group of indigenous people on that island.
If he were to take down Shiki now, once the island lost the maintenance of the Float-Float Fruit power and fell, those people would essentially have no chance of survival.
Although at the end of the movie version, that group of indigenous people had evolved the ability to fly, the current timeline was two years earlier than the movie.
The "evolution value" of those people most likely hadn't accumulated enough yet, and Sherwin couldn't possibly gamble on the probability of them breaking through in a life-or-death moment.
If he didn't know, there would be nothing he could do, but since he did know, Sherwin could never do such a thing. Otherwise, what difference would there be between him and the Celestial Dragons he despised?
As for secretly following behind Shiki pirate ship, that was clearly impossible now...
The noise made by Dodo Advance while flying was not small. Moreover, if he remembered correctly, Shiki pirate ship also had long-range monitoring capabilities, likely designed to better observe the sea surface from the air.
In fact, the Dodo Advance also had a similar device, but after summoning the even more useful cat-radar Shermie Meow, that device had basically been left unused.
And after the ship spirit of the Dodo Advance appeared, there was even less need for such a thing.
While Sherwin was feeling depressed, Shiki, who had already discovered the Dodo Advance, was also feeling a bit panicked.
That right, he, Golden Lion Shiki, was once a great pirate who could rival the Pirate King Roger, but that didn't mean he lacked self-awareness.
The injury on his head and the disability of his legs had already caused his strength to decline significantly he now found it very difficult even to use Haki.
If it were only that, Shiki would still have the confidence to fight Sherwin, because he had already developed the power of the Float-Float Fruit to an extremely high level. Even without Haki, he was confident enough to trade blows with other powerhouses.
But there was a prerequisite to all of this: the opponent must not have the ability to manipulate the weather.
Severe weather was the absolute nemesis of the Float-Float Fruit, which was why Shiki had spent a massive amount of time and money assembling an elite team of navigators.
In Shiki original timeline, it was because of the weather that he had developed a grudge against Luffy, and it was ultimately the weather that led to his defeat at Luffy hands.
As it happened, there was a cat in Sherwin team who could control thunder and lightning.
If Shiki knew that besides Shermie Meow, who controlled lightning, there was also a Purah Meow who could bring frost and snow, and a Kaido Meow who could summon wind and rain, he would definitely be more than just "a little" panicked.
However, Shiki was an old-school great pirate after all. Although he felt some inward turmoil and his brain was a bit glitchy due to the steering wheel embedded in his head, he would never easily retreat or back down in front of a junior like Sherwin.
Then, Sherwin saw Shiki—dressed in yellow robes, with exaggeratedly long hair despite the bald patch on top of his head where half a steering wheel was lodged—walking out from the cabin of that massive flying ship.
What made Sherwin slightly puzzled was that Shiki was clearly from the same generation as Roger and Whitebeard, yet he looked much younger. Aside from the baldness likely caused by the steering wheel, his long, thick golden hair and pitch-black beard made him look less like a legendary figure from twenty years ago and more like he belonged to the same generation as Kaido.
Regardless of whether Shiki just looked young or actually was young, this flying "Golden Lion" looked far less pleasing to the eye than the Rajang from Monster Hunter...
While Sherwin was busy complaining internally, Shiki left the flying ship alone and flew toward the Dodo Advance, which had already switched to Paolumu mode. He stopped at a "safe distance" about ten meters away—neither too far nor too close.
"Jiehahahaha! If it isn't the recently famous Hunter and the Felyne Investigation Team? I didn't expect to run into you here. I've heard of your great names for a long time and have been wanting to meet you!"
Floating in mid-air, Shiki acted heroically as he greeted Sherwin.
Of course, he knew how Sherwin had treated pirates before, but hadn't Sherwin already fallen out with the World Government? Furthermore, a major reason Shiki took the initiative to approach and talk was that he didn't believe Sherwin had come looking for him on purpose.
After all, his pirate ship had been hidden in the clouds there was no way Sherwin could have known his location in advance.
Additionally, while he also wanted to compete for the title of Pirate King, Shiki wanted revenge against the World Government even more.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent twenty years buried in research just to destroy the East Blue... that wouldn't help him become the Pirate King at all.
In Shiki eyes, Sherwin—who had attacked and killed Celestial Dragons and devastated Mary Geoise—was an ally who could be won over.
"Oh... hello, hello. But..."
Hearing Shiki greeting, Sherwin realized the other party took this meeting as a coincidence. Thus, the despicable Hunter decisively put on an act as if he didn't recognize Shiki at all.
"...Who are you exactly?"