Monster Hunter of the One Piece World

This pirate crew certainly lives up to their name, "Skull hunter." Skull-themed decorations were scattered all over the ship, and… some of them were most likely made from actual skulls.

Strangely enough, the figurehead at the prow wasn't a skull, but a creature with the head of a wolf and the body of a fish… probably some kind of sea beast from the West Blue.

"Let those two little guys handle looting the spoils," Sherwin said to Odelia after surveying the area. "Let find some rope and tie these pirates up first."

Of course, the fastest way would've been to just finish the pirates off, but with Klee Meow around, Sherwin didn't want to make the scene too bloody.

Even though Klee Meow herself probably wouldn't mind, Sherwin was consciously trying to control the situation.

That didn't mean he was planning to let these people go. There were a few pirates out there like Luffy who were more like adventurers, but the Skull hunter clearly weren't one of those.

So Sherwin planned to identify anyone worth a bounty later, and then sink the rest ship and all to feed the fish.

As he finished tying up a few pirates, one of them stirred—likely because Sherwin had moved him a bit too roughly. The guy actually looked like he might regain consciousness…

It was probably because Klee Meow had messed around earlier, wasting some time. Otherwise, even if Sherwin had slapped the pirates full-force across the face, they wouldn't have woken up so easily.

Don't ask how Sherwin knew that—he was involved in the entire development process of the Boom-Boom Bomb.

He gave his head a sharp shake to fling out those unpleasant memories, then thumped the pirate head again and shouted toward the two cats who had already gone into the cabin:

"You two be careful! Someone might be faking it or just starting to wake up!"

Of course, Sherwin warning was mainly for Sanji Meow. In the West Blue, where Armament Haki was rarely seen, Klee Meow, with her Logia powers, didn't really have to worry about sneak attacks.

That was the reason Sherwin had her eat the Flame-Flame Fruit in the first place.

Speaking of which...

The only pirates who could withstand Klee Meow Boom-Boom Bombs—or recover that quickly—were most likely the strongest ones in the crew.

"Odelia, that twenty-seven hundred… no, I mean that guy named Condis—what does he look like? And who are the strongest ones in this crew?"

Sherwin had just done a quick sweep but hadn't seen anyone who looked like the captain.

"No idea," Odelia said with a shrug. "The Skullhunter Pirates aren't particularly famous or strong. I only remembered their flag because they're pretty brutal."

Fair enough. The gangs in the West Blue were far scarier than most pirate crews.

Sherwin sighed helplessly. "Alright, just stay close to me and don't wander off too far."

After giving Odelia the reminder, Sherwin scanned the area again, intending to tie up any pirates whose clothes looked more unique—just in case one of them regained consciousness and tried a sneak attack.

It had been mentioned before: Sherwin had a bit of a jinxed-mouth kind of talent. And since he'd just yelled his warning so loudly...

Bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang!

A pirate who had been lying on the deck pretending to be dead realized he couldn't keep up the act any longer. While Sherwin was still looking for Condis, the man suddenly sprang up, flintlock pistols in both hands, and fired wildly at Sherwin.

Sherwin had no idea how the guy managed to rapid-fire with flintlocks. The bullet speed was almost on par with Vette dual revolvers.

Then again, the technology in the pirate world was never worth nitpicking—later on there were spaceships, cyborgs, Transformers, and even orbital weapons. Who knew if those flintlocks just looked old-fashioned on the outside but were actually packed with some kind of "I reckon this works" black tech?

And really, if we're being picky, Klee Meow bombs—despite having such cute names—weren't exactly scientifically accurate either.

While grumbling internally, Sherwin drew the Longsword from his back and deflected the incoming bullets.

"Odelia, find somewhere to hide!"

Of course, Odelia didn't need the reminder. Experienced as she was, she'd already taken cover behind a mast the moment the shots were fired.

Only then did Sherwin relax and charge at the pirate.

The pirate fighting style had a bit of gun kata flair to it. He wasn't as good as the gun freak Vette, but he could probably go toe-to-toe with Uncle Bucks.

Of course, that level of strength was nothing in front of Sherwin. After dodging the bullets and closing in with ease, he slashed twice and shattered both of the guy black-tech flintlocks. Then he followed up with a clean strike to the pirate chest.

The man let out a shriek and collapsed back onto the deck, his body twitching twice before he stopped breathing.

It was Sherwin first time killing someone, and although he felt a twinge of discomfort, he quickly shoved it down. Probably thanks to his extensive hunting experience on the island… and those inherited memories from the hunters.

"That guy probably Condis, huh?" Sherwin shook his head, sheathed the Longsword, and walked over to give the pirate corpse a nudge, muttering to himself.

After all, those high-tech-looking flintlocks matched the ones on the pirate flag. As for the dagger… maybe he didn't have time to draw it?

Come to think of it, wasn't Condis called the "Skull hunter"? A flintlock and a dagger didn't seem like ideal tools for decapitation…

As Sherwin puzzled over that, Klee Meow, having heard the commotion from inside the ship, came bounding out excitedly. "Is there an enemy, meow?! Is there an enemy, meow?!"

Just as the little ragdoll dashed out of the cabin, another figure sprang up from the deck and lunged at her.

"Don't—!" Sherwin was startled and quickly shouted to stop Klee Meow, who was about to pull out a bomb... or rather, had already pulled it out.

If she threw a bomb now, he'd be fine, but Odelia beside him and Sanji Meow following behind Klee Meow might not be so lucky.

But just as he spoke, he saw several pale arms suddenly "grow" out of that person body. Accompanied by a few crisp cracking sounds, the unlucky guy collapsed to the ground like a pile of noodles.

Sherwin quickly turned to look at Buano Odelia... no, now she should be called—

Nico Robin!

(Robin identity had already been guessed by many. After all, the hints were pretty obvious.

As for those saying it too cliché or tacky... well, you've already come to the West Blue—how could you not run into Robin?

Besides, I think this setup is at least more reasonable than a scene where the character walks up and immediately announces, "I'm Nico Robin, with an official bounty of 79 million Berries," right?)