Sherwin and the two Felynes moved quickly, and in just a moment, they had looted the gangsters clean.
But...
What a bunch of broke losers!
Probably used to swaggering around town, these guys barely carried any money on them. After searching the whole bunch, Sherwin only managed to scrape together just over 70,000 Berries...
Not even enough to buy a decent sword! Zoro had to pay 100,000 Berries back in Loguetown just for two crappy swords!
Hmm, although Sherwin already had the longsword, and it felt pretty good to use, still...
Fighting with a fish looking longsword just feels a little... you know what I mean.
So he'd still been hoping to get a proper sword, but this gang really was damn disappointing!
Grumbling to himself, Sherwin picked out two pirate cutlasses that looked somewhat pleasing from the gang members and stuck them at his waist... Seems like weapons here in West Blue lean more toward European styles.
Couldn't find a suitable wild katana, so dual blades would do for scrubbing backs or whatever.
But now the main issue is... these gangsters are so poor, what about compensation for the town?
Sherwin looked over the black suits sprawled all over the ground.
Maybe... make the gang pay ransom for their own people?
But when it came to the loyalty and integrity of gangster organizations, Sherwin really didn't have much faith.
"Sherwin big brother, did Klee get in trouble again meow?" The little ragdoll looked up pitifully and asked.
"How could that be?!" Unlike Captain Jean, Sherwin was very indulgent toward Klee Meow.
"These were all real bad guys who wanted to do all sorts of evil. Klee was doing a public service! Hmm... though the methods were a bit excessive. Next time something like this happens, don't use that many bombs."
Considering his own wallet, Sherwin still gave Klee Meow a little reminder in the end.
"Actually... Klee knew that too, it just that I got too excited and ended up throwing too many meow... ehehe..."
Klee Meow scratched the back of her head and stuck out her tongue a little shyly.
What could Sherwin even say to that? He could only pat Klee Meow on her little cat head, "It, it okay... just be more careful next time."
That little brat Sanji Meow was even adding sarcastic remarks from the side: "Klee little sister is amazing meow! If it were Sherwin doing it, with this many people he'd have to slash away for a long while, but you took care of them all in one go. Even if there was a tiny mishap, it totally understandable meow."
"Ahem... I didn't expect that Mr. Cody and I both underestimated you all."
Uncle Bucks, finally coming back to his senses from the shock, picked up his fallen rapier and walked over to Sherwin, casting surprised and wary glances toward Klee Meow and the little backpack behind her.
"Still, thank you and Mr. Cody for your kindness." Sherwin first expressed his gratitude, then pointed at the gang members and asked,
"Do these guys have bounties? Where the nearest Marine base?"
Right now, Sherwin only wanted to make money.
However, Bucks shook his head and replied, "They're all small fry, no bounties. And the Marines don't really deal with gang matters either."
"But you don't have to worry. The residents here won't ask you for compensation." Bucks clearly guessed what Sherwin was troubled about and continued to explain.
The gangs in West Blue were actually quite similar to the big-name pirates who claimed turf in the New World.
Though they did exploit the civilians under them, they also provided protection and would sometimes fend off pirates who came to raid.
For civilians caught in crossfire during gang conflicts like this, the gang in charge of that territory would also offer some aid... of course, just enough to barely keep the victims alive.
Add to that some help from the other townsfolk, and so even if Sherwin couldn't pay compensation, it wouldn't be a big issue.
This was also why the Marines in West Blue rarely got involved with gangs. Compared to the more chaotic pirates, the gangs, in a way, helped maintain order.
What a twisted society...
Sherwin sighed helplessly.
But considering that even on Earth there are some countries where gangs are legalized, and that this is a pirate world far more chaotic than Earth, it really not that surprising such a social structure would form.
In fact, in places without gangs, those without some form of armed protection might actually be in a worse situation.
For a brief moment, Sherwin even felt an impulse to join the Revolutionary Army... and then quickly suppressed it.
That kind of thing isn't something you can decide on a whim, and his current circumstances weren't suited for deeply involving himself in Revolutionary Army activities either.
However, Sherwin still intended to offer some compensation to the civilians who were caught in the mess.
If earlier it was just to take care of Klee Meow feelings, her childhood education, and because his basic morals didn't allow him to just run off, now Sherwin genuinely wanted to compensate them from the bottom of his heart...
As for how much he could afford... hmm... seventy thousand Berries plus helping with the rebuilding—about the limit of what Sherwin could manage.
He wasn't some kind of saint. Compensation within his ability was already enough to prove he hadn't wasted the education he received before crossing over.
However, Sherwin plan didn't end up happening in the end...
Because when Mr. Cody arrived and learned of his intentions, he waved his hand and took over the entire matter of compensation.
As for this stroke of luck, Sherwin certainly wasn't going to refuse, and the other party also brought up a request in return—protect Cody fleet while they attended a trade fair.
After thinking it over for a moment, Sherwin agreed.
Of course, he actually understood too—Mr. Cody "hiring" him was more about helping him cover the compensation.
After all, Klee Meow only threw a few bombs—no one would actually hire a big walking explosion as a bodyguard.
But Sherwin knew he did have the strength. Anyway, Cody was a pretty nice old guy, and whether he really needed Sherwin help or not, spending a bit of time escorting him was no big deal.
Besides, Sherwin originally planned to collect as much intel as possible, and a trade fair sounded like exactly the kind of place perfect for gathering information… maybe he could even find a good sword there and unlock the weapons page in the manual while he was at it.
After briefly confirming the escort job with Cody, Sherwin pocketed his "fortune" of seventy thousand Berries and continued wandering around the town with the two Felynes.
Even though it wasn't enough to buy a weapon, it should still be more than enough to get the Felynes a few trinkets, a sea chart of West Blue, and a few past issues of the newspaper.
Both of the Felynes had modest requests—Klee Meow wanted some snacks and little local toys from Color Paper Town, while Sanji Meow stocked up on a few seasonings.
My Felynes are so thoughtful!
Moved by this, Sherwin, seeing that he hadn't spent much of his money yet, took the two Felynes to the clothing shop in town and bought two new outfits each for them and for himself...
Although the Felynes outfits were naturally very sturdy—Sanji Meow chef uniform hadn't even gotten a scratch so far—Sherwin still decided to buy some extra clothes for them to rotate.
If Cody ship weren't leaving tomorrow, Sherwin would've even considered getting custom-made clothes for them. After all, human children clothes didn't quite fit Felynes perfectly in certain areas.
After burning through most of the seventy thousand Berries he had just "earned," Sherwin and his group finally made their way to the tavern in Color Paper Town. With the money he had left, he bought a map of West Blue and a few past newspapers from the tavern owner...
Sherwin didn't really understand why a tavern owner would be selling stuff like that, but it was Uncle Bucks who pointed him in this direction.
Thinking about it more carefully, while he wasn't too sure about maps, it did seem like newspapers being sold in taverns was something that had popped up in the manga before.
Probably because there no such thing as a newsstand in the pirate world.
With that thought in mind, Sherwin opened the map of West Blue and pulled out his Hunter Manual, wondering if using a regular map could help advance the exploration percentage on the dynamic map.
But the moment he unfolded the map, he was stunned—
This damn thing can be called a map?!