The Dog Refusal Fruit, also known as the Flame-Flame Fruit, was a Logia Devil Fruit mocked by certain particularly vicious netizens as the biggest joke of them all.
Of course, the most important thing was...
This thing was a goddamn specialty of the One Piece world!
Sure, there was a chance the mobile game system had a crossover with another anime, but the odds were pretty slim. Besides, his own cat had brought this Flame-Flame Fruit back from outside.
"Uh... where did you find this fruit?" Xie Wen asked, still unwilling to give up.
Then Sanji Meow excitedly recounted how he had discovered the fruit-
"I was gathering some fruit to save for a fruit platter, and one of them suddenly turned into this weird-looking thing, meow!"
There was no doubt about it. This was the One Piece world.
After hearing how the fruit had appeared, Xie Wen finally stopped fighting the truth.
Actually, he had already considered the possibility that he had transmigrated into the One Piece world.
After all, starting out at sea, all the strange creatures on the island, and a Palico companion named Sanji-it would have been strange if Xie Wen hadn't thought of One Piece.
But despite spending so long on this island, he had never seen a pirate ship, which didn't really fit the "Great Pirate Era." He also hadn't encountered any Sea Kings, another specialty of the One Piece world just like Devil Fruits, so he had gradually stopped entertaining the idea...
Only for a Flame-Flame Fruit to pop up today and give him one hell of a surprise.
Still, once Xie Wen accepted this state of affairs, he felt it might actually be a little better.
Compared to a completely unknown other world, or Monster Hunter: World, whose plot was so simple it barely had any substance, he at least had a general understanding of how the story in the One Piece world unfolded.
Even if he had forgotten some details for the moment, encountering something related would probably jog those memories.
For Xie Wen, the real problem was that the power scale in the One Piece world was higher than in the Monster Hunter world, and those bizarre Devil Fruit abilities were all but impossible to guard against.
Even more troubling was the existence of those damned Celestial Dragons. For Xie Wen, who had one Palico with him and would have more in the future, that was definitely bad news.
I wonder where this island we're on is...
Now that he knew which world he was in and what he might encounter in the future, Xie Wen began considering their current situation.
The best starting location was naturally the East Blue. As the "Weakest Sea," any enemies they might encounter there wouldn't be too powerful, and they wouldn't run into Celestial Dragons. They might even get a chance to latch onto big shots like Garp or Red-Hair.
Besides, Xie Wen knew the most about the East Blue... after all, the manga hadn't really covered the other three seas.
The worst-case scenario was naturally starting in the Grand Line-more specifically, its latter half. Not only were the enemies numerous and powerful, but the odds of encountering Celestial Dragons were much higher. A small fry like Xie Wen, who hadn't awakened even a single type of Haki, would be nothing but fodder in the Grand Line.
Huh? Wait...
Xie Wen suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
With my Demon Mode plus Spirit Blade state, I might already be on the threshold of Armament Haki.
And don't I have a Logia Flame-Flame Fruit right here?
Although netizens joked that even a dog wouldn't eat the Flame-Flame Fruit, its abilities weren't actually bad. In fact, they were quite powerful. As a Logia Devil Fruit whose offensive power ranked among the best, it was more than sufficient for the first half of the Grand Line. Ace's bounty of over five hundred million back then was the best proof.
But...
Now that the Flame-Flame Fruit is in my hands, what point in the timeline is this?
Has Ace not set out to sea yet, or has he already died in the Summit War? Or has he not even been born, and this is the "pre-Pirates era," before Roger reached Laugh Tale?
Of course, regardless of which possibility was true, Xie Wen wasn't going to hand the Flame-Flame Fruit over to anyone else. As for what Ace or Sabo would do in the future...
That wasn't his meowing problem!
"Xie Wen, do you know what this fruit is, meow?"
Seeing Xie Wen doing nothing but staring blankly at the strange fruit, his expression shifting constantly, Sanji Meow's curiosity was practically bursting. Unable to hold back any longer, he kept pawing at him with his little paws, but Xie Wen, immersed in his own world, didn't react at all.
"Hsss-"
The little cat flattened his ears and hissed threateningly at the stupid upright ape, but Xie Wen still didn't react...
"...Xie Wen! What are you spacing out for, you idiot, meow?!"
At the end of his patience, Sanji Meow finally lost control, leaped up, and delivered a kitty kick straight to Xie Wen's face.
"Ow!"
That kitty kick finally snapped Xie Wen out of his mental whirlwind, and he stared in bewilderment at Sanji Meow, who had just kicked him for no apparent reason.
The cat glared angrily at him for a while before repeating his question. "Do you know what this fruit is, meow?"
"Oh, this thing is called a Devil Fruit. It's something pretty amazing..."
Having come back to his senses, Xie Wen gave Sanji Meow a brief explanation of Devil Fruits, then explained the background of the One Piece world as well.
Naturally, this time he also properly explained the concept of another world to Sanji Meow.
"So... there aren't any other Palico ladies here at all, meow?!"
Sanji Meow couldn't care less about the Pirate King, the Grand Line, the Four Seas, or any of that. All he cared about were his Palico ladies.
Knowing Sanji Meow's personality well, Xie Wen had expected this, so he said unhurriedly, "This world might not have Palicoes or Melynxes, but it does have a race called the Mink Tribe. They include all kinds of cat people, as well as other feline Minks, like leopard people, tiger people, and lion people."
Sanji Meow, who had looked utterly drained of color a moment ago, instantly sprang back to life. He jumped onto Xie Wen, his eyes shining as he cried, "Where can I find cat Mink ladies? I want to go meet them, meow!"
"Ahem... most Minks live in the latter half of the Grand Line. With our current strength, I'm afraid we can't get there." Xie Wen immediately doused his enthusiasm again. "Even if this island is in the Grand Line, it'll still be hard to meet them. There are far more bad people here than in your original world. Besides, the Minks' homeland is constantly moving. Without a special means of locating it, it's very difficult to find."
"Didn't you say this fruit was really powerful? Then hurry up and eat it, meow!"
Whenever cat ladies were involved, Sanji Meow's little brain worked especially fast. He promptly held the Flame-Flame Fruit up in front of Xie Wen and urged him on.
"I can't eat this. At least, not right now."
Xie Wen waved his hand. It wasn't that he disliked the Flame-Flame Fruit. It was a Logia Devil Fruit, after all, and if he wanted to improve his strength quickly, this was undoubtedly the easiest and most effective method.
But considering their current circumstances, Xie Wen felt he shouldn't eat any Devil Fruit just yet.
They couldn't forget that they were currently on a deserted island. Unless a ship happened to pass by and its crew kindly agreed to give them a ride-a very unlikely prospect-they would probably have to set out to sea on their own.
And without a skilled shipwright, there was a good chance he would end up in the water after setting sail. Xie Wen didn't have Luffy's protagonist plot armor, letting him head out in a little canoe and still get fished out of the sea safe and sound.
"Speaking of which, don't you want to try it?"
Xie Wen pushed the Flame-Flame Fruit back toward Sanji Meow. With a Palico's small size, it would be much easier for him to rescue Sanji Meow if he fell into the water. Besides, Sanji Meow had found the Flame-Flame Fruit in the first place.
And...
"This fruit lets you control flames however you like. That should be pretty tempting for a chef, right?"
Sure enough, a trace of longing appeared on Sanji Meow's furry little face, but it quickly vanished.
"Um..." The little cat squirmed bashfully, then asked with an expectant look, "Is there a Devil Fruit that makes you invisible when you eat it, meow?"
Xie Wen: "..."
If you leave out absurdly powerful Elder Dragons like Alatreon and Jhen Mohran, Monster Hunter's power scale is nowhere near One Piece's.
Even if you include those Forbidden Dragons, including Fatalis, the strongest according to the official lore, I think it still falls a little short.
Unless you insist that Elder Dragon scales and all the equipment made from their materials can withstand Haki and various Devil Fruit abilities. But then it just becomes a contest of lore, with the winner decided by which side can make the more extravagant claims.
Before you continue