After knocking Kid out, Link Meow kicked off his chest with both legs, sending him flying. At the same time, he used the recoil to flip backward, narrowly dodging Killer sudden attack.
(=`ω=)┫
"W–wait! We surrender!"
Unlike the hot-tempered Kid, Killer was far more pragmatic. When he had just forced Link Meow back, he hadn't even dared to swing his scythe, afraid of provoking this powerful Felyne any further.
(=ω=)Seeing the other side yield, Link Meow decided not to keep pressing the attack. Instead, he turned to look back at Sherwin, who was standing by the railing with the other Felynes, watching the show.
"Come back, Link. Good work." Sherwin waved at the little lynx.
Only then did Link Meow put away the Master Sword and Hylia Shield, trotting back onto the ship.
"Well done, very well done." Sherwin greeted him with a vigorous rub as soon as he returned.
(=ω=)Link Meow leaned into Sherwin hand, purring in satisfaction.
Klee Meow shouted excitedly from the side, "Big brother Link is amazing, meow!"
Seijuro Meow also came over, curious to ask Link Meow about how fighting under the influence of magnetic force felt different.
After rewarding the lynx who had just fought, Sherwin finally jumped down from the Dodo Advance, startling Killer, who had been helping the unconscious Kid retreat.
As for how to deal with Kid, Sherwin felt conflicted. According to the manga, this guy wasn't exactly a good person.
But the problem was, right now Kid hadn't done anything yet—in fact, he had even "helped" the Felynes a bit. If Sherwin just killed him here… it felt somewhat awkward.
Sherwin decided it was better to just give a casual warning… After thinking it over, he ultimately didn't make a move.
"When that browless guy wakes up, tell him this." Sherwin pointed at the still-unconscious Kid and said to Killer,
"This time, for the sake of you stepping up for my Felynes, I'll let you off. But also…"
In a flash, he appeared beside the unconscious Simmons, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him in front of Killer.
"This guy belongs to me. You don't have any objections, right?"
"Of course not." Killer answered without hesitation.
"Good." Sherwin nodded in satisfaction, then dragged Simmons back onto the ship.
Because of the Felynes, the Magnet-Magnet Fruit had to be given up for now. Naturally, he would make up for it with this Felyne Fruit – Tiger Form. Even if it didn't yield a Devil Fruit, at least there was still the bounty, right?
"Klee, come here and let me absorb a little luck!"
Back on the ship, Sherwin scooped up the Lucky Felyne and buried his face into her fur, taking in big exaggerated breaths.
Meanwhile, Hua Mei Meow directed the other Felynes to raise the sails and steer the ship out of the harbor.
Once Sherwin had absorbed enough of the little ragdoll good fortune, he didn't hesitate—he snapped Simmons neck cleanly, then reversed his grip on the hunter knife and drove it deep into his chest, giving an extra backward slash out of habit.
Moments later, a deep-blue mango covered in spiral patterns materialized right on Simmons' chest.
"Ha! It really appeared!" Sherwin picked up Klee Meow and planted a big kiss on her, grinning. "Klee, you really are my lucky star!"
"Ehehe~ Did Klee help big brother Sherwin? That wonderful, meow~"
The little ragdoll was already long used to Sherwin "borrowing" her luck. Being able to help made her happy too, so she rubbed her fluffy head against Sherwin cheek and even gave him a few playful licks.
Sherwin stroked Klee Meow small head, then pulled out the Hunter Handbook. As expected… without any "story bonus," this Devil Fruit didn't provide shards.
However, under the Zoan pool shards, a new option appeared—switching the fur base color and stripes to those of a tiger.
So it seemed that any Zoan worked—there was no need to specifically hunt down the Bull-Bull Fruit.
"This Tiger Fruit—does anyone want to eat it?" Sherwin put away the handbook and shards, then looked toward Hua Mei Meow with a teasing smile.
"Didn't you used to go by the nickname oaring Crimson Tiger'? This fruit seems to suit you pretty well."
But Hua Mei Meow only looked disgusted. "I'm already a cat. Turning into a bigger cat won't add much power, meow… But Admiral, aren't you tempted? You could become fluffy like us, meow."
"Sherwin big brother can become a cat too?" Klee Meow eyes instantly lit up.
"Then in the future, Klee can groom fur together with Sherwin big brother, meow!"(=ω=)
"Ah… well… actually, in my heart, I already have a fruit that suits me much better." Sherwin gave the little ragdoll an apologetic smile.
"What fruit does Sherwin big brother want to eat, meow?" The obedient Klee Meow didn't get upset—instead, she curiously pressed on with her question.
Back before crossing into this world, Sherwin had all kinds of fantasies about the most famous specialty of the One Piece world:
Devil Fruits. Naturally, the ones he desired were those that shone brilliantly in the original story—the powerful Logias, the mythical Zoans, and of course the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the Soul Fruit, and many others…
But after crossing into this world, his thoughts naturally changed.
First of all, Logia-type fruits that can instantly boost combat power and survivability should naturally be given to those Felynes whose strength isn't very high to begin with.
Secondly, just like how the Flame-Flame Fruit summoned Klee Meow, the Felynes summoned through the Devil Fruit Summon Ticket would most likely have a high affinity with the corresponding fruit. Naturally, Sherwin wouldn't compete with them for it.
Lastly, Felynes like Sanji Meow, who aren't afraid of water, are still in the minority. What more, in Sherwin opinion, quite a few Felynes in the Research Commission would probably end up eating Devil Fruits, so it was best for him to retain his ability to swim.
Under that premise, Sherwin instead valued the method of granting Devil Fruit abilities to inanimate objects. The problem was that, as far as he remembered, those objects were always imbued with Zoan-type powers, which wasn't what he wanted.
As for the fruit Sherwin desired most, of course, it was the String-String Fruit of Heavenly Yaksha Doflamingo. That fruit could completely replace the Wirebugs, and was even more versatile than them.
With the String-String Fruit, Sherwin could not only unlock a wide range of powerful Wirebug techniques, but also upgrade them across the board without ever having to worry about running out of "Wirebugs." On top of that, he could create clones and extra arms out of string to pet cats—truly killing multiple birds with one stone!
But Doflamingo wasn't someone easy to deal with, and he had once been a Celestial Dragon. So, apart from the String-String Fruit, Sherwin also considered fruits like the Spider-Spider Fruit or the Silkworm Fruit.
Since those were Zoan-types, he could theoretically "create" a kind of Wirebug launcher with them. While those wouldn't let him pet cats, they would actually be more suitable for his combat needs.
After listening to Sherwin explanation, Klee Meow blinked her big ruby-like eyes…
"Klee doesn't really understand, meow…"
(=ω=)"Klee will help big brother Sherwin find those fruits, meow!"
Whether she understood or not, Klee Meow was always such a considerate little angel.
Sherwin scooped up the little ragdoll and smothered her with kisses again, when Haibara Meow beside them snorted and said,
"Looking for Devil Fruits… I can't help with that, meow… but if it about making a Wirebug launcher, I might be able to give it a try, meow…"
"I-I'm not saying this to help that idiot Sherwin, meow! I'm just interested in what he said about granting Devil Fruit abilities to inanimate objects… y-yeah, that all it is, meow!"Realizing everyone eyes had turned toward her, Haibara Meow hurriedly added in a fluster.
"Mhm, mhm, our little Haibara isn't just a miracle doctor, she also a genius researcher. It perfectly normal for her to be curious about such things."
Sherwin chuckled as he agreed, pulling the tsundere little kitten into his arms as well and showering her with a few firm kisses.
"Stop it, meow! You idiot!" Haibara Meow flailed her paws, pummeling Sherwin face with a flurry of kitty punches while shouting,"I didn't say that because I wanted you to kiss me, meow!"
Of course, despite her words and those little punches, the strength of her struggling was practically nonexistent—purely an act put on for the other Felynes to see.
After being together for so long, the others all understood Haibara Meow personality by now, so they wisely chose to see through it without saying anything.
Only one naive little ragdoll couldn't make sense of it…
"But Big Sister Haibara, you look really happy… Klee Observation Haki says so, meow~"
ω"…Meow!"
(=`Д=)
Flustered and furious, Haibara Meow swiped a claw across Sherwin face, then turned and bit his hand before dashing into the cabin in a blur.
Sherwin: "…"