Ships

"Speaking of people you've known for a long time," Cherry fished a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Does this look familiar to you at all?"

"Hm?" Kin'emon took the note with coded writing on it from her and wracked his memory for answers. "No? Is it a secret message sent by the enemy?"

"I certainly think so, especially now that I know the recipient wasn't you," Cherry said.

One could almost hear the gears in Kin'emon's head ticking away as he put together the context clues that Cherry was handing to him.

"Is this… from the traitor?" Kin'emon asked in a hushed tone.

Cherry nodded. "I'm convinced the person who sent this message is your traitor. The question I have for you is, do you want to know who it is?"

"Why wouldn't I?!" Kin'emon whisper-shouted.

"Because you could use this opportunity to feed false information to the enemy. Do you think your acting skills are good enough to do so if you know for sure who it is?" Cherry asked him.

Kin'emon paused and considered that. "I'm a terrible liar…"

"Indeed," Cherry agreed with that assessment. "So I should only tell you if you want to deal with the traitor right away."

Being sneaky wasn't exactly a samurai's bread and butter, so Kin'emon had to put some serious thought into this choice.

Cherry neglected to mention the possibility that there was more than one traitor as she was fairly sure it wouldn't go over well with the man. He could scarcely wrap his head there being one traitor, let alone multiple. He might even suspect Cherry of treachery if she even suggested it.

It's not like Cherry had any reason to believe there were multiple traitors, in any case.

"I suppose that you're right, but only if I know who I can trust. I can't very well keep everyone in the dark about our true plans," Kin'emon decided.

Cherry nodded. "Well, you know you can trust Yasuie since you've only just gotten into contact with him again, and they were about to kill him. Probably that big fellow over there as well. This is my first meeting with him, so you know already that he isn't the one I found out."

"Dogstorm and Cat Viper are safe, too. They nearly sacrificed their entire country for one man," Cherry added.

"Good, good…" Kin'emon nodded as well. "I can't imagine for the life of me who the traitor is, though. We were all going to die in that boiling pot if not for Oden-sama's sacrifice."

"To be willing to die in place of revealing the truth, it sounds like they were never loyal to Oden to begin with. That kind of fanaticism isn't common, and certainly isn't a quality you find in turncoats," Cherry said.

"Perhaps you're right," Kin'emon sighed. Even now that he was actively searching his memory for any signs of treason, he failed to find any at all. However, if their allegiance had never changed then neither would the way they acted, so it would be impossible to tell.

If Cherry was being honest, she couldn't either. Kanjuro had always rubbed her the wrong way since they first met, but she could never pinpoint why; not even with her hyper enhanced senses. Even after obtaining definitive proof of his treachery, there was nothing in his act that she could point at and say "Aha! Gotcha, bitch!"

The man was just that good. Even his distress at Yasuie's would-be execution seemed entirely genuine.

It was maddening, really. Like he was able to convince himself that he was truly another person, whilst the actual Kanjuro lurked behind the curtain, waiting until no one was watching to come out of hiding.

Ironically, that true personality behind the scenes was what probably turned Cherry's instincts against him to begin with.

Instinct was an important skill for cultivators, and even more important was the ability to trust those instincts. You see a big pile of heavenly treasures in a demi-realm, but your gut tells you it's a little too good to be true? Ignore it and get possessed by some old fart, or worse.

Sometimes instincts were wrong and you'd lose out, but the risk of losing out and the risk of dying a horrible death were not the same.

"I need to talk with Yasuie about this. He'll know better how to handle our counter espionage," Kin'emon concluded.

"Just don't try to drag him into the battle. I've already insisted otherwise," Cherry warned.

Kin'emon nodded and walked towards the old man who was mingling with Ashura Doji.

Cherry turned her attention to the ships. They all seemed to float on their own, but that was a small miracle given the poor state of them. It seriously looked like there hadn't been the slightest maintenance done on them for years, likely since Ashura Doji first stowed them here.

Granted, the man couldn't risk exposing the ships to the enemy by making frequent visits, so Cherry would add a note for Franky letting him know not to chastise them too badly.

Hopping aboard, she first checked damage on the keel. That had been Merry's issue, and it was a serious one that could sink the ship without warning. They may not need to go far, but it was better not to leave anything to chance.

Cherry wondered where the ship-sheep was. She hadn't seen her ever since she had arrived in Wano.

…

"Baaaah!" Merry bleated, her tone filled with authority.

"RAWR!" an army of mutated animals roared back as they swiped forwards with paws and hooves.

The creatures were arranged in rows and columns, much in the same way that human armies were arranged. Merry didn't know why they did this, but they must have a good reason and that was good enough for her.

"Baaaah!" Merry bleated again.

"RAWR!" the army repeated, swiping with their other limbs in practiced unison.

Merry was very satisfied with their progress. They were once no better than rabid, wild beasts, but now they were a well oiled machine. A war machine.

Her crew was going to be so shocked at her accomplishment. Luffy would probably even agree to make her the admiral of his fleet!

An admiral may be above a captain under normal circumstances, but the King of the Pirates was surely even higher in rank.

A tiger stepped out of the formation, the very same one that liked to frequently cause trouble. Sure enough, he growled a challenge her way. He just couldn't accept serving under a sheep of all things.

Merry would show him once again that sheep weren't to be trifled with.

Merry swelled in size and charged the troublesome predator. He met her head on, an admirable quality if only she could harness it in her favor.

The tiger's claws raked against her as it leapt over her, but that wasn't enough as Merry lifted her forelegs and bounded upwards.

*Blam!*

She slammed into his stomach with her ram horns, knocking the breath out of the airborne feline. He tumbled and landed with a hard thump against the unyielding earth.

"BAAH!" Merry dared him to try again.

The tiger rolled onto his back and presented his belly. The first time he had done so.

Merry smiled in satisfaction.