71 The Influence of the Traveler

The white anti-eavesdropping Transponder Snail was quickly delivered into Sherwin hands.

He didn't have much of a reaction to it, but Klee Meow was absolutely delighted with the little guy. She was usually the one in charge of feeding the Transponder Snails, and now that there was a new one, the little ragdoll was overjoyed.

Along with the anti-eavesdropping Transponder Snail came a special journalist pass, which was clearly more prestigious than the one Sherwin had previously received.

After storing the new press pass, Sherwin connected to the eavesdropping Transponder Snail, and then...

He used Uncle Cody identity to exchange for another famous blade.

He didn't feel the least bit guilty about it. While it was true that Uncle Cody had treated him well when they were together, the man was still a CP agent—who knew how much of it was just an act? Besides, Sherwin didn't think Morgans would go around blabbing Cody identity,

so he had merely used a piece of information that would hardly affect anyone in any meaningful way to exchange for... well... basically a piece of useless intel in return...

Who knew if that damn Bird Morgans had done it on purpose.

Because the famous blade in question was currently in the hands of a Marine branch major in the West Blue. Unless Sherwin wanted to get himself on a wanted poster, there was basically no hope of acquiring it.

Morgans also told him that this was the last famous blade in the West Blue with a confirmed location. The rest were just Schrödinger-style rumors—either unverified, or formerly confirmed but already taken by someone else and thus outdated.

But that was just how it was. There were only eighty-three blades on the list of famous swords to begin with, and once you discounted the twelve Supreme Grade Blades—rarer than Devil Fruits and barely ever circulated—getting intel on three blades with confirmed locations in the West Blue was already quite impressive...

As for the other two, of course they were the Long Moon Sherwin extorted from Bege, and the Asaran that Morgans had previously told him about.

In fact, Sherwin had already gotten his hands on Asaran before the eavesdropping Transponder Snail even arrived.

And acquiring it was quite straightforward—Sherwin bought Asaran from its previous owner at a premium price of 1.5 million Berries.

It was then registered in his weapon compendium, but unfortunately, it wasn't a greatsword and didn't suit Sherwin fighting style.

So he just threw it in his bag to gather dust. He figured he'd sell it or give it away someday when the chance came.

Also, as expected—no new summon ticket shards...

However, this was within Sherwin expectations. The first shard of every ticket type was always given when a specific compendium page was first unlocked.

The second shard of the same type had only appeared when he first unlocked the Sea King category in the monster compendium.

So, for the second weapon-type summon ticket shard, Sherwin guessed he'd either need to acquire his first Supreme Grade Blade or collect enough of the Grade-Quality Blades for it to trigger.

…

After the Land of Flowers arc, the World Economy News continued publishing four more articles titled "West Blue Travel Guide", all of which were warmly received by readers.

Sherwin pen name, "The Traveler," gained quite a few fans as a result. Some of them even came to the West Blue in person, using the travel logs printed in the newspaper to track him down...

Fortunately, Sherwin had already anticipated this. The drafts he sent to Morgans after that weren't in the same order as his actual travel route.

Which was just as well—if his cheat ability were something like a "Popularity System" or something like that, he'd probably have five or six cats following him around by now.

In addition, his travel journal unexpectedly triggered an incident that was absurd—yet totally in line with the worldview of the pirate world.

After reading his Land of Flowers arc, BIG MOM sent her fourth son, Charlotte Oven, the Minister of Baking in Totto Land, along with a crew to the West Blue, aiming to kidnap a few chefs to take back with them.

But they ran into Vice Admiral Gumir from G-2 Branch on his way back to HQ for a report—and were forcefully beaten back. This incident gave Morgans another juicy news story.

But that wasn't the end of it. An enraged BIG MOM sent one of the Sweet Commanders, Charlotte Snack, next.

This time, however, the Navy was already prepared and intercepted them halfway. Snack was nearly captured.

And so... the World Economy News gained yet another front-page headline.

Precisely because of all this, Morgans—who had already come to see Sherwin as a lucky star—didn't hesitate to hand over every piece of intel from the West Blue related to Devil Fruits and famous blades.

Unfortunately, most of the Devil Fruit information had already expired—either the fruit had long been eaten, or it had changed hands again or been snatched away, its whereabouts now unknown.

As for the famous blades…

"Up ahead is the Suwak Pirates base, right?"

Sherwin stood at the bow of the Explorer One, gazing at the tiny island in the distance—no bigger than a palm in appearance.

With a sigh that lacked confidence, he muttered, "Let hope this intel isn't wrong this time."

He had already checked nearly ten places, only to find rumors or arrive too late. The one time he did find a real lead, the sword in question was a family heirloom, and no amount of money could make the owner part with it.

That forced Sherwin to resort to a rather questionable method—he had Sanji Meow sneak into the man home and steal the famed sword. After registering it in the weapon compendium, they returned it quietly.

Aside from that one, Sherwin hadn't found any reliable information since.

Looks like Klee Meow good luck isn't omnipotent after all…

Sherwin sighed again, left with no choice but to pin his hopes on this latest lead.

According to the intel Morgans had given him, this time they might encounter the greatsword Centaur, one of the 21 O Wazamono grade blades.

As the island loomed closer, Sherwin paused, reached over his shoulder, and lifted the little plush doll who had been tugging at his ear. Holding her by the armpits, he raised Klee Meow high into the air—just like the old baboon raising Simba in The Lion King.

"Meow?"

The lifted plush tilted her head, confused.

"Klee, bless us! This time we will get the goods!"

With one foot planted dramatically at the bow, Sherwin raised the little cat high, making a grand wish like a fortune-teller with wild conviction.

Though little angel Klee Meow didn't quite understand what Sherwin was doing, she still cheerfully responded, "Okay, okay! Klee will bless big brother Sherwin, meow!"

"..."

Sanji Meow, who had been watching this scene from the side, rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath while holding his head with a paw, "What an idiot, meow..."

Sherwin glanced at the little yellow cat, sneering slightly, and sighed in mock despair, "Sigh… who knows when we'll finally be able to summon a new companion..."

"!!!"

Sanji Meow, who had just been facepawing, jolted upright, then threw both paws into the air and shouted at the top of his lungs,

"Klee-chan, bless us! This time we will find a famed sword and get a new summoning ticket, meow!!!"

"Mhm! Klee wants to meet a new friend too, meow!"

Now understanding the situation, the little plush nodded eagerly.

While Sherwin was clowning around with his cat companions, the Explorer One had already neared the Suwak Pirates base—and was quickly spotted by them.

Probably because it was just a small single-masted sailboat approaching, the pirates on the island didn't take Sherwin and his crew seriously at all.

Not only did they skip any long-range cannon fire, they merely sent out two small boats to approach Explorer One, clearly thinking the ten or so people onboard would be easy enough to handle.

Naturally, the result was…

"Send a signal to the people on the island. Tell them you've already taken control of this ship."

Sherwin held the Longsword against the neck of a pirate whose face was beaten black and blue, ordering him coldly.

All around them, the other pirates had been taken down and were now obediently being tied up with rope by two little cats.

"No tricks," Sherwin warned as he pressed the Longsword slightly deeper.

"Y-yes! How would I dare to play tricks?"

Most low-ranking pirates had at least one redeeming trait: knowing when to submit. This one was no exception.

He had no intention of trying anything funny—because even if his captain somehow managed to defeat Sherwin, he'd definitely be the first one punished.

So it was better to do exactly as Sherwin said, get tied up, and quietly wait for the final outcome.

And just like that, Sherwin and his crew smoothly brought the Explorer One ashore.