"...Jiehahahaha! It normal that you don't recognize me after all, I've been off the grid for nearly twenty years."
A flash of annoyance crossed Shiki face, but it was quickly replaced by that same heroic, boisterous laugh.
"However, you might have heard of my name. I am..."
After dragging out the last word, Shiki suddenly began dancing in mid-air for no apparent reason. After a sequence of hard-to-evaluate vigorous dancing, Shiki struck an equally hard-to-evaluate finishing pose before finally finishing his sentence—
"...A rooster!"
Sherwin: "..."
The steering wheel stuck in Shiki head really did have a massive impact on him.
"Ah! No! It Shiki!"
Since his subordinate Dr. Indigo wasn't around to provide the punchline, Shiki maintained that strange finishing pose for a good while before suddenly having an epiphany and correcting himself.
He spread his arms wide and announced with a face full of pride: "I am the captain of the Flying Pirates—'Golden Lion' Shiki!"
Upon hearing the title "Golden Lion," the Felynes on the ship all turned to look at him. However, after sizing Shiki up for a moment, they couldn't see any resemblance between him and the "Admiral," so they all looked away in great disappointment...
This left Shiki, who was still looking to show off, feeling completely bewildered.
"Shiki? I seem to have some impression of that name... where did I hear it before?"
Before Shiki could speak, Sherwin spoke up first, pulling his attention back while steering the conversation away from the cat strange reactions.
Given Sherwin mischievous nature, he originally intended to keep teasing Shiki for a while. However, considering he still needed Shiki to lead them to that man-made sky island, the "kind" Hunter gave up on the idea of further playing with him.
After maintaining a look of deep concentration for a moment, Sherwin face showed a look of sudden realization, followed by a hint of surprise.
"I remember now! You're the only pirate to ever escape from Impel Down, a pirate from the same era as the Pirate King, Roger!"
"Jiehahahaha! That right! It me! To escape from that godforsaken place, I paid the price of both my feet!"
Shiki unhesitatingly showed Sherwin the two famous blades used to replace his feet: "Kogarashi" and "Oto".
Although the names of these two famous blades sounded very Japanese, they were not actually tachi. Instead, they were a pair of common double-edged swords. The blades weren't particularly long, being on the shorter side even for single-handed swords...
They were very suitable for use as dual blades.
"Hmm?"
Shiki noticed Sherwin gaze lingering on the twin swords at his legs and immediately recalled one of the Hunter great hobbies—collecting famous blades.
"Jiehahahaha! Have you taken a liking to my 'Kogarashi' and 'Oto'? Actually, it not impossible to give them to you..."
To Shiki, although these two weapons that had followed him for years were important, they weren't that significant if he could make Sherwin his ally.
Furthermore, after using these two swords as prosthetics, Shiki rarely used swordsmanship anymore. Conversely, his fruit ability had seen considerable progress after maintaining the island known as Merveille for so long.
"Oh? Then... what is the price?"
Sherwin knew clearly that Shiki was a typical pirate, and a great pirate who had been famous for years. His title as the "Hunter" might make Shiki wary, but it would never make Shiki act this "friendly."
Therefore, he definitely wanted something.
"You should be quite unhappy with the World Government right now, shouldn't you?"
After confirming that Sherwin had no intention of attacking, Shiki, who had been keeping his distance, finally approached.
He landed on the deck of the Dodo Advance, spread his arms wide, and extended an invitation to Sherwin with a face full of arrogance...
"So, do you want to join me and subvert this world?!"
"Troubling the World Government? I'm quite interested, but I don't believe that our combined strength alone would pose a threat to them. Don't end up locked in Impel Down again... you don't have a second pair of legs to chop off this time."
Although Sherwin words were blunt, they further eased Shiki worries. Previously, the Hunter public image was one of uncompromising justice.
If Sherwin had simply chosen not to participate after learning his intentions, it wouldn't have mattered the fear was that Sherwin righteous reputation might lead him to obstruct the plan.
Judging by Sherwin reaction, however, his resentment toward the World Government seemed significant, making the possibility of recruiting him much higher.
Of course, considering Sherwin long-standing reputation, Shiki did not intend to reveal his entire plan just yet.
Instead, he spoke with some reservation: "In fact, I have been secretly contacting and recruiting other pirates over the years. When the time is right, I will immediately summon them to form a massive pirate alliance!"
Hmm... in the movie version, Shiki did indeed gather a large group of pirates, though their strength was quite underwhelming, as they were dismantled head-on by Luffy Gear 3-era Straw Hat crew.
While the evolved animals played a part, it didn't change the fact that they were a motley crew.
Thinking about it, this outcome was actually quite logical. Truly powerful pirates wouldn't choose a failure like Shiki, who had been captured and sent to Impel Down wouldn't joining the Four Emperors be a better option?
Following this line of thought, Shiki seemingly redundant act of destroying the East Blue became more rational.
Threatening the World Government and the Navy was secondary the primary goal was to use the destruction of the East Blue to announce his return and the power he wielded to the world. Only then would more and stronger pirates flock to join him.
Given the rudimentary strategic environment of the One Piece world, Shiki plan actually possessed high operational feasibility.
It was simply a stroke of misfortune that he crossed paths with the protagonist of destiny, Luffy, leading to his premature defeat before his campaign could even truly begin.
Recalling the plot, an involuntary trace of mockery surfaced on Sherwin face.
Shiki misread this expression, assuming Sherwin looked down upon the pirate alliance he had assembled. However, Shiki didn't take offense, as he didn't particularly value those pirates himself.
"Jie-ha-ha-ha-ha! Those pirates are merely the appetizer. I gathered them primarily to deal with the rank-and-file Marines. My true trump card isn't those pirates, but a miraculous plant called IQ!"
It was evident that Shiki truly wanted to recruit Sherwin, even going so far as to risk revealing the core of his plan before Sherwin had agreed to the alliance.
There was no other way the pirates Shiki respected were either overly ambitious and seeking to become the Pirate King themselves, or had long since been recruited by his old acquaintances. Finding a reliable helper was simply too difficult.
Thus, even knowing the risks of bringing Sherwin aboard, Shiki couldn't resist taking the gamble...
Pirates, by nature, were a bunch of high-stakes gamblers.
"IQ?"
"A miraculous plant, meow?"
(=ω=)
Sherwin continued to play dumb, already knowing exactly what was going on, while Haibara Meow, who originally had no interest in their conversation, quickly perked up her ears.
"Jieh-ha-ha-ha-ha! If you want to know the specifics, why not come with me to my secret base in the sky for a tour?"
Shiki issued an invitation to Sherwin once again.
The Hunter, his ears being tugged by an impatient Haibara Meow, was momentarily stunned...
He was still thinking about what excuse to use to follow Shiki, but how did this suddenly become a mutual attraction?