At first, Klee Meow thought it was pretty fun to use fire and the Dodo Bears to force Trafalgar Law to dodge left and right… After all, when a cat catches a mouse, it usually likes to play with it for a while first.
But after playing like that for a while, the little ragdoll started to feel bored.
Since she still needed Law help later to treat her new friend Bonney, there were many times when she could have burned him, but Klee Meow deliberately held back, suppressing her flames so as not to actually scorch him.
And as the space he had to dodge in grew smaller, instead of playing around, Klee Meow focus shifted more toward making sure she didn't actually hurt him…
Naturally, that made it impossible for the little ragdoll to stay interested in this "game."
However, ending the fight right away wasn't so simple either. Whatever else might be said about Law powers, his skill in dodging was top-notch.
If Klee Meow wanted to win without hurting him, just using fire to pressure him wouldn't work.
But when it came to taking down an enemy without injuring them, Klee Meow was an expert!
After all, so many pirates and fish had already fallen victim to her sonic bombs.
With her plan decided, Klee Meow didn't immediately throw a sonic bomb at Law. Instead, she tested his alert range using a few fireballs and those three Dodo Bears.
Once she determined roughly at what distance he would use his ability to escape or counterattack after being attacked, Klee Meow picked out a bomb with a large enough blast radius, one she had specially named "Buzz Buzz," and tossed it toward Law.
Then, just as the Buzz Buzz Bomb entered Law alert range, she detonated it herself…
"Art is an explosion, meow!"
With a sound wave that was visible to the naked eye, Law—caught right in the blast—felt his brain buzzing, as if someone had shoved an egg beater into his head and scrambled his brain like eggs.
No wonder he tried to cover his ears…
That thought barely crossed Sherwin mind when the next moment, Klee Meow sonic bomb had already rattled his brain so hard he couldn't think straight anymore.
"Abba… oogee… gibber gabber… makka pakka…"
Law lay sprawled flat on his back, his mind completely blank, staring up at the sky with vacant eyes while mumbling a string of meaningless sounds.
"Wow! He didn't even pass out… and Klee used the newest version of the Buzz Buzz Bomb, meow."
Klee Meow retracted the flames around her, hopping over to Law side. She tilted her head, surprised, as she watched him gape and smack his lips like a fish gasping for air, murmuring in awe.
Then… the little ragdoll picked up a random twig from who knows where and started poking Law cheek with it over and over.
"Whew… good thing Klee didn't use the model with the largest range this time. Looks like even though she picked up a few bad habits from Ai, she still obediently listening to me."
Sherwin lowered his hands, shook his head hard to get rid of the ringing in his ears, and spoke smugly.
After hearing Sherwin warning earlier and plugging his ears just in time, Kuma glanced at Klee Meow—who was squatting next to Law, poking at him with the stick—with a complicated expression. In a dry voice, he asked, "This isn't the one with the largest range?"
"Of course not," Sherwin answered matter-of-factly.
"Klee Meow developed the Buzz Buzz Bombs to deal with ordinary pirates who aren't strong enough to defend themselves.
She made them according to a standard that could cover an entire pirate ship of the largest size.
This smaller version—uh, right, they're called Buzz Buzz Bombs now instead of Boom Booms—is just the kind she usually uses to blast fish."
"…She uses them for fishing…"
Suddenly, Kuma felt like the weapons Lindbergh developed for the Revolutionary Army weren't anything special after all.
In fact, Dragon might want to consider sourcing his weapons from Sherwin instead.
Compared to Sherwin and Kuma, who had managed to cover their ears in time, the Heart Pirates weren't nearly as lucky.
While they weren't directly inside the "effective range" of the Buzz Buzz Bomb thanks to the flames blocking the path, sonic bombs weren't something you could simply avoid by being a little farther away.
So while the members of the Heart Pirates hadn't fainted, they were all temporarily deaf, shouting at the top of their lungs and talking past each other like a bunch of headless chickens.
"What did you say?!"
"I—SAID—GO CHECK ON THE CAPTAIN?!"
"Huh?! What are you saying?!"
"Sorry! My voice was too quiet!"
"Bepo, why are you suddenly all depressed again?!"
That was pretty much the situation.
While the Heart Pirates were still having their nonsensical shouting match, Sherwin and Kuma had gone over to Law side.
"You don't think he got shocked stupid, do you?"
Looking at Law completely "played-out" appearance, Kuma asked worriedly.
Though there was a trace of sympathy in his voice, the main concern was… if Law really did become a fool, what about Bonney surgery?!
"Relax, relax, Klee knows how to control her power. With this guy constitution, he'll come around in a bit."
Having taken Klee Meow sonic bomb head-on himself before, Sherwin spoke with confidence.
He dug into his bag, pulled out a mirror and a stack of photos, then plucked out a photo of Seijuro Meow. After trimming the edges, he carefully fit it onto the mirror.
Kuma watched curiously, not understanding what Sherwin was planning.
"Klee, lend me your colored pens."
After making sure the photo and mirror fit perfectly together, Sherwin called over to the little ragdoll, who had now shoved the twig up Law nose.
Klee Meow naturally obeyed obediently and climbed onto Sherwin shoulder, curiously peeking around as she asked, "Sherwin-nii, what are you doing meow?"
"Hehehe… just watch and you'll see."
Sherwin didn't explain and instead picked out several pens of different colors, scribbling all over the photo.
Bepo craned his neck for a look, and the corners of his mouth twitched violently.
…
"Ugh…"
Lying on the ground, Trafalgar Law let out a pained groan. His once unfocused eyes slowly regained their clarity.
Though his ears were still ringing loudly and everything before him was nothing but indistinct overlapping images, at least he was conscious again.
So I lost…
Law sighed inwardly with an unreadable expression, then blinked hard a few times until the wavering shadows finally merged into a single image.
And there he saw Klee Meow, Sherwin, and several of his own crewmates—all gathered around him.
Before Law could voice his confusion, Sherwin cut in with a bright smile, "You're awake? Don't worry, the operation was a success. You're now an adorable kitty!"
Meanwhile, Bepo struggled to hold back his laughter as he held up a "mirror" in front of Law. Reflected in the "mirror" was a sharp-eyed black cat—and the most crucial detail was…
It was wearing the exact same hat and clothes as Law.