"Wahahahaha! Sherwin! This live broadcast was a huge success!"

Before Shanks could find them, Morgans had already called ahead. Judging by his excited voice, he was clearly very satisfied with the concert.

Sherwin took the opportunity to mention the "Elegia Restoration Plan" they had just discussed.

"Help with publicity? No problem! The World Economic Journal and Elegia used to collaborate quite a bit in the past; I’m very familiar with this line of business!"

With a world-class diva like Uta involved, there would be no shortage of popularity and traffic. Morgans naturally had no reason to pass up such a massive news generator.

"However... Elegia was destroyed by ’Red-Haired’ Shanks back then. Are you sure he won’t do it again?"

As soon as Morgans said this, the smiles on Uta and Gordon’s faces instantly froze.

Sherwin pretended not to notice and said calmly, "Don’t worry, Shanks will give me face."

"Oh right, there were reports earlier that Red-Haired specifically went to Karakuri Island to find you..."

Morgans probed further, "Do you have a relationship with him? But didn’t you ask me about his whereabouts before? Or did you two have a fight? Did you win again?"

The bird-man got excited, talking to himself.

"This is big news! Sherwin, why didn’t you tell me?!"

Morgans spoke in a complaining tone.

Sherwin: "...We didn’t fight. It’s just that those drunks in the Red Hair Pirates were craving the Ibuki Gourd wine in Suika’s hands, so unless it’s necessary, they won’t make things difficult for me."

Morgans, who had tasted Ibuki Gourd Wine before, suddenly understood.

"So that’s how it is... it fits Red-Hair’s personality. Speaking of which, the destruction of Elegia didn’t seem like something he would do.

If Red-Hair hadn’t admitted it himself, I would have thought the World Government was framing him again."

In truth, there was still a frame-up involved, but it wasn’t the World Government’s doing; it was a burden Shanks had chosen to shoulder himself.

Sherwin glanced at Uta, whose expression was complicated, but chose not to expose the truth just yet.

After all, Shanks’ daughter was behaving a bit like an Uchiha; even without eating those mushrooms, her mental state wasn’t exactly stable. It was better to take things step by step.

"Speaking of Ibuki Gourd Wine, Sherwin, the stock you gave me last time is all gone. Hurry up and send me more! No! I’ll just send some winged men to Elegia to pick it up!"

Morgans clearly didn’t have much interest in discussing the past further. After a casual remark, he began pestering Sherwin for more wine.

As Sherwin’s social circle continued to expand, the Ibuki Gourd Wine produced by Suika Meow had already become famous. Most pirates couldn’t keep their mouths shut, and word was bound to get out eventually.

Aside from supplying a few friends, Tesoro had already started selling Ibuki Gourd Wine. Even with limited shipments to maintain its prestige, the wine quickly became a sensation among the elite of the pirate world.

According to Tesoro, the mere fact that Ibuki Gourd Wine was available for sale had significantly increased the foot traffic and revenue of the Gran Tesoro.

The money earned was secondary; more importantly, Tesoro relied on it to strengthen his connections with more Celestial Dragons.

However, to save face for the Celestial Dragons, the wine sold by Tesoro was renamed "Gold Wine."

Even though everyone knew exactly where it came from, they all tacitly agreed not to expose the truth—even the Celestial Dragons themselves were playing dumb.

Though, for some of them, they might actually just be that stupid.

"Y-you know Sha... Red-Hair?"

Once Sherwin hung up the phone, Uta couldn’t help but step forward and ask.

"Yeah, but don’t worry, he’ll give me that much face. He won’t attack Elegia again," Sherwin continued to play dumb.

Uta and Gordon naturally weren’t worried about that, but for a moment, they didn’t know how to respond.

Just then, Shermie Meow suddenly tugged at Sherwin’s trouser leg. "Sherwin~ Someone has landed on the island meow~ It’s that guy who likes to shut himself inside biscuits meow."

(=ω=)

"Then I’ll go meet him first. You guys stay here and play for a while."

Sherwin decisively carried Klee Meow and Haibara Meow away, giving Uta and Gordon some time to adjust their mindsets while assigning tasks to the two little Felynes—telling Uta the story of "Naruto Meow" and researching the mushrooms on this island.

However, as soon as Sherwin mentioned a couple of the mushrooms’ characteristics based on his own memory, Haibara Meow immediately waved her little paws and interrupted him.

"Isn’t what you’re talking about just an Exciteshroom? This thing was thoroughly researched long ago, and it’s recorded in many books. I have one in my bag meow... here." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

(ω)

The kitten pulled a mushroom that was half pink and half yellow with a pair of little "ears" from her bag and handed it to Sherwin.

"What an interesting mushroom, it looks just like a mouse meow... can Klee Meow try it meow?"

(=﹃=)

The little Ragdoll asked eagerly.

"Eating one or two is fine, at most you won’t be able to sleep for a few days, but eating too many is not allowed, you’ll drop dead from mental exhaustion meow."

"Not being able to sleep is way too scary meow!"

(ω≡ω)

The little Ragdoll’s paw that was reaching for the Exciteshroom immediately pulled back, and she shook her little head like a whirlwind. "Then Klee Meow won’t eat it meow!"

Reaching out to poke the little dummy’s nose, Sherwin asked with some doubt, "Haibara, is this Exciteshroom something very common?"

"It’s not exactly common, but it’s an excellent material for making stimulants, so anyone with even a slight understanding of food or pharmacology should know about it meow.

Anyway, it was mentioned in the first batch of medical books you bought for me back then, and the appearance of the Exciteshroom is very distinctive; it’s basically impossible to mistake it for something else meow."

(=`ー=)

Although it was still unclear why Sherwin was asking these questions, Haibara Meow put away the Exciteshroom and answered honestly,

"As for its pharmacology, other doctors have already researched it very thoroughly. I have nothing to add, meow."

Sherwin had initially thought that Elegia focused solely on music, so they might not know much about Exciteshroom, leading Uta to try achieving her vision by eating the fungi only to have her mind warped by them.

But according to what Haibara Meow was saying now, that possibility was slim to none.

In other words, was it highly likely that Uta was eating them like crazy while knowing exactly what the Wake-Mushrooms would do?

The thought made Sherwin feel a bit overwhelmed.

Shanks’ daughter’s mental state and psychological issues were even worse than he had imagined...

He was actually a bit glad he hadn’t directly exposed Uta’s facade just now; otherwise, if a rebellious young girl like that got triggered, there was no telling what she might do.

The key issue was that her Sing-Sing Fruit ability was very troublesome. If they didn’t take precautions from the start, they would succumb the moment Uta opened her mouth.

At the same time, Sherwin finally understood how his friend felt back then when his daughter went off to play rock music...

Our Felynes are still the best—well-behaved and obedient.

At most, they’re just a little mischievous occasionally...

For example, explosions, explosions, and more explosions.