If he counted the time before he transmigrated, Sherwin figured it had been over ten years since he had cried this miserably.
Things in the world of pirates were unreasonable even when they weren't Devil Fruits. Even after drinking the "medicinal wine," Sherwin hadn't had any sad memories stirred up, yet he simply couldn't stop crying.
And it wasn't the kind of dry crying where only tears flowed. There was a genuine sorrow lingering in his heart. It could be said that this mushroom was basically the sorrowful version of a Negative Hollow.
From a certain perspective, this thing was even more troublesome than Perona Hollow-Hollow Fruit, because it wasn't a Devil Fruit. Even Haki couldn't resist its effects.
Of course, its drawback was obvious as well. Unlike Perona Negative Hollows, which completely robbed their targets of the will to resist once they were hit, this mushroom didn't go that far.
Although Sherwin had cried miserably just now, he still had the ability to grab those little furballs who had tricked him and spank them. He simply chose not to.
After all, he hadn't exactly been kind to his own Felynes either. Teasing each other was one of the ways they showed closeness.
Since he had already fallen for it, there was no point dwelling on it. He would just bottle it up and find a way to get them back next time.
"Mm-hmm… So its effect really is the same type as the Laughter Mushroom. Looks like my guess was right. These mushrooms are part of a series, meow."
(=ΦωΦ=)
Haibara Meow nodded while quickly recording Sherwin reactions after "taking the medicine" in her experiment notebook.
Playful as she was, this little black-bellied cat was still very serious when it came to proper work.
As for the Hunter who had just been tricked…
Naturally, he cooperated with Haibara Meow research in his role as a qualified test subject.
"Now that you mention it… it is pretty similar. After eating a Laughter Mushroom, you also start feeling happy for no reason."
Sherwin nodded thoughtfully in agreement.
Although the Crying Mushroom was a specialty unique to Amazon Lily, there was a similar Laughter Mushroom found elsewhere. On some islands, it was even used to make a drink called "Happy Water"…
Mm, it really is water that can make people happy.
However, if you drink too much of that stuff, it easy to develop a psychological dependence. After all, the state of ordinary people in the world of pirates is… well, those who understand, understand. So quite a few people choose to use this kind of "happy water" to escape reality.
"It not just the Cry mushroom," Haibara Meow said, putting away her notebook and pen, shaking her head as she spoke.
"There also a Rage mushroom on this island. After eating it, you'll feel a nameless fury rising inside you… It seems pretty suitable for enhancing demon mode potions, meow."
Sherwin: "..."
What is this supposed to be? Emotion-type mushrooms for joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness?
The species in the world of pirates are, as always, completely chaotic.
Having already seen far too many strange and bizarre things, Sherwin calmly made that comment in his heart.
…
Over the next few days, Haibara Meow did not continue researching the mushrooms they had found on Amazon Lily.
Instead, she focused her efforts on figuring out how to remove the Hoof of the Dragon mark from the backs of the three Boa sisters.
Although it was merely a brand the Celestial Dragons used to mark their slaves, this thing was extremely unusual.
According to Hancock, the mark had been burned onto their backs with a branding iron by the Celestial Dragons—just as Sherwin had seen in the manga.
However, Haibara Meow told Sherwin that what appeared on Hancock back was actually more like a tattoo embedded deep within the skin, and there were no signs of any burn scars at all.
In Sherwin memory, when the Sun Pirates covered the Hoof of the Dragon mark, they seemed to have used branding as well…
Maybe this was some kind of tattooing technique unique to the world of pirates?
Setting aside the matter of tattoo techniques for now, the truly unusual aspect of the Hoof of the Dragon mark was its stubbornness—it simply could not be removed.
Haibara Meow once tried scraping off a small patch of Marigold skin. But after using Angel Potion to regenerate it, the portion that had been removed still retained part of the Hoof of the Dragon pattern, as if her skin had naturally grown that way from the start.
"I even suspect that if we washed off the tattoos of those fish-men in the Sun Pirates who were once slaves, we would still see this strange hoof mark underneath, meow."
(=ˇˇ=)
After a series of attempts, Haibara Meow spoke to Sherwin with a grave expression.
In other words, if the Celestial Dragons were truly determined to reclaim their slaves, simply covering the mark with a tattoo would not actually be of much use…
It was just that, given the temperament of those Celestial Dragons, they would hardly ever bother to go that far.
"You didn't test it on Hancock and the others?" Sherwin asked curiously. Having only speculation without verification didn't seem like something a research-oriented Felyne like Haibara Meow would do.
"They're far too deeply afraid of the Celestial Dragons, meow."
(ω≡ω)
Haibara Meow shook her head. "If they found out that the tattoo-covering method doesn't work, and I still haven't found a way to remove the mark, they would definitely start living in fear again, meow."
"Oh my! Our little Haibara Meow really is a good girl!"
Sherwin scooped up the little kitten in one motion and showered her fluffy little head with a barrage of kisses.
"Don't get so close! You stupid Hunter, meow!"
(=`Д=)
Haibara Meow waved her tiny kitty fists and smacked Sherwin repeatedly.
However, this tsundere little cat only sounded fierce with her complaints. The paws patting against Sherwin head didn't use any real strength at all, and her tail behind her had already curled into the shape of a question mark from happiness.
Very soon, Haibara Meow threw herself back into researching the Hoof of the Dragon mark, and this time she even pulled Purah Meow along, even though Purah Meow wasn't particularly skilled in this area.
Of course, Purah Meow so-called lack of skill was only in comparison to a fellow research-type genius cat like Haibara Meow, as well as native pirate-world genius scientists such as Vegapunk and Vinsmoke Judge.
With the full cooperation of the two genius research Felynes, their work quickly made progress. In the end, the solution unexpectedly circled back to the special mushrooms found on Amazon Lily.
And the one that proved useful was the "Body-Growing Mushroom" from the manga—the one that nearly killed Luffy and almost got his second brother plucked off.
Simply put, they made use of the "Body-Growing Mushroom" properties to transfer the Hoof of the Dragon mark onto the mushrooms that sprouted from the body, and then directly plucked them off.
As for how Haibara Meow and Jinx managed to accomplish this, and how they ensured it wouldn't reappear on the backs of the Boa sisters—
With Sherwin meager scientific knowledge, he naturally had no idea whatsoever.
Besides, with how the physics and ecology of the pirate world differ so drastically from Earth, even if he had been from the Academy of Sciences before transmigrating, he still might not have been able to figure it out.