"What do you want that thing for?!" Xie Wen froze for a moment, then asked, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Sure, the original Sanji desperately wanted the Clear-Clear Fruit, and no other fruit would do. Anyone in the know understood why, but that reason made absolutely no sense for Sanji Meow!
As a Palico, Sanji Meow usually wore a chef's outfit, but going without clothes made no real difference to him. Fundamentally, he was a cat. Even naked, he still had a thick coat of fur covering him.
So Xie Wen simply couldn't figure out why Sanji Meow wanted the Clear-Clear Fruit...
Surely he wasn't just trying to stay in character?
At Xie Wen's question, a lecherous grin spread across Sanji Meow's furry little face. "Once I'm invisible, I can go rub against all the older Palico ladies and groom their fur, right out in the open, meow!"
Xie Wen: "..."
"Right out in the open" and "all" were truly inspired choices of words.
Although their reasons differed slightly, the two Sanjis wanted essentially the same thing.
Except...
"You cats should have pretty sharp hearing and senses of smell, right? Would being invisible really stop them from noticing you?"
"Oh, right!" Sanji suddenly realized. His spirits visibly sank, but he soon rallied and asked, unwilling to give up, "Then is there a fruit that makes you invisible and hides your sounds and scent too, meow?"
"I don't think so..." Xie Wen answered, utterly exasperated.
"Ahem... I was really just asking, meow..."
Apparently uncomfortable under Xie Wen's disdainful stare, and realizing that his reason sounded a little indecent, Sanji Meow composed himself and forced out an explanation before offering a more respectable reason-
"Besides, I'm not a combat cat. This Flame-Flame Fruit has really powerful abilities, right? Giving it to a chef cat like me would be a waste, meow."
"Hmm..."
Xie Wen nodded. That was a fair point.
Judging by how faithfully Sanji Meow reflected his original character, Xie Wen figured the cat's talent for combat couldn't be bad, and switching to a combat role would be easy. But since Sanji Meow himself wasn't particularly interested in fighting, Xie Wen had no reason to force him.
As for running into slave traders or even the Celestial Dragons in the future...
He just had to become strong enough himself.
Never underestimate the determination of a veteran cat servant!
Besides, perhaps he could eventually summon ridiculously powerful cats like Saitama Meow, Kakarot Meow, or Kusuo Saiki Meow.
Xie Wen indulged in some optimistic daydreaming.
Speaking of which...
An idea suddenly struck Xie Wen.
At the same time, Sanji Meow, whose thoughts were in perfect sync with his, called out first. "Xie Wen! Quick, check the Hunter's Notes, meow! Aren't Devil Fruits a specialty of this world, meow? They should unlock a page, right?"
"You read my mind."
Xie Wen smiled and rubbed Sanji Meow's head, then took out the Hunter's Notes.
Sure enough, a page titled "Devil Fruit Encyclopedia" had been unlocked, containing information about the Flame-Flame Fruit.
As Xie Wen turned to that page, a white light flashed across it, and a long, narrow "bookmark" appeared between the pages...
So only the first time gets the full cutscene?
Grumbling inwardly, Xie Wen picked up the clearly much longer, fully intact slip of paper.
Perhaps because Devil Fruits were rather special even in the One Piece world, the Summon Ticket he received this time wasn't a fragment, but a complete ticket.
This Cheat Ability of mine is surprisingly generous...
Xie Wen smacked his lips and examined the Summon Ticket closely.
Then he discovered that the words on it weren't "Palico Summoning Ticket," as he had previously assumed, but "Companion Summoning Ticket," followed by a paw-print symbol.
Moreover, this complete Summon Ticket was a different color from the earlier fragments. Those had off-white backgrounds with pale gray patterns, while this ticket had a fiery red background and orange-red patterns that immediately brought flames to mind. Even the shapes of the patterns incorporated elements of fire...
Xie Wen instinctively glanced at the Flame-Flame Fruit lying nearby. He certainly wouldn't believe there was no connection between them.
So would using this ticket summon Ace Meow or Sabo Meow? Isn't that taking the crossover a little too far...?
Xie Wen scratched his head. He wasn't unhappy about it, though Sanji Meow might be rather disappointed.
But all that was secondary. The most important thing was to hurry up and summon a new cat.
So Xie Wen held the Summon Ticket high overhead...
"Come to think of it... how do I use this thing?"
Xie Wen lowered his raised hand and looked awkwardly at Sanji Meow beside him.
"How would I know, meow!"
Sanji Meow, who had been so nervous he could barely breathe, grabbed Xie Wen's hand and chomped down on it.
"Do I have to say it out loud?"
That's kind of embarrassing...
Still, after a moment's hesitation, Xie Wen softly called to the Summon Ticket in his hand, "Summon Palico!"
The instant he finished speaking, the Summon Ticket spontaneously caught fire.
"It really is voice-activated... Did whoever made this Cheat Ability never consider someone who can't speak?"
Muttering, Xie Wen quickly let go and stepped back a few paces, leaving enough room for the new cat.
The Summon Ticket hovered in midair, burned away within moments, and turned into a wisp of smoke that dispersed in the wind...
"So where's the older Palico lady?" Sanji Meow looked around, then hooked his little claws into the hem of Xie Wen's clothes and demanded, "Didn't you say you could summon a new Palico? Where is she, meow?!"
"Beats me..."
Xie Wen spread his hands, likewise looking all around for the summoned cat.
Could my Cheat Ability's summoning system not have been implemented yet? Surely my luck couldn't be that bad?
While he puzzled over it, a sudden blaze lit up the distant woods. A deafening boom followed, startling a great flock of birds into the air.
"What happened, meow?!"
Startled, Sanji Meow's tail puffed up. With his ears flattened sideways, he stared uncertainly in the direction of the sound.
Then...
He pointed at the startled birds in the sky and shouted, "Ah! It's the new Palico, meow!"
Xie Wen followed the direction of his little paw, but all he could see was a scattering of tiny black specks representing the birds. He couldn't tell which one was the new cat.
Before long, though, he no longer had to worry about that. One of those specks was growing larger at an incredible speed, reaching him almost in the blink of an eye.
"...Isn't this summoning method a little too explosive...?"
Grumbling, Xie Wen quickly braced himself and caught the cat flying straight at him.
"Aww... the experiment failed again, meow..." The little ball of fluff in his arms gave an adorable, mournful whimper, then shook herself and raised her head. Looking at Xie Wen with ruby-red eyes, she cried delightedly, "Oh! It's big brother Sapphire Star, meow!"
The Palico before him had very obvious kitten features. Compared to an ordinary cat, she looked about one or two months old...
Eight-year-old Sanji Meow was one thing, but this cat was probably only three or four in actual years, right? At any rate, she couldn't be older than five.
And that long fur and plush-toy appearance...
A ragdoll?
Although her eye color wasn't quite right, she had to be a ragdoll.
After all, ragdolls had such distinctive features that anyone with even a little knowledge was unlikely to mistake them. And Xie Wen had actually spent some time volunteering at an animal rescue center.
Once the Little Plushie recognized Xie Wen as the "Sapphire Star," she immediately grew excited, twisted around, and jumped out of his arms.
Now it was clear that this new Palico really was a kitten. She was noticeably smaller than Sanji Meow.
After landing, the Little Plushie first put the hat she had been holding onto her furry little head. Then she carefully brushed the soot left by the explosion off her clothes, and finally licked her paw and washed her face. Only then did she formally introduce herself to Xie Wen-
"Klee, Spark Knight of the Knights of Favonius, reporting for duty, meow! ...Um-what was I supposed to say next, meow? Klee can't remember it, meow..."
The Little Plushie scratched her ear with a paw, an adorably puzzled look on her face.
Xie Wen, who had already recognized her: "..."
There was no helping it. Even though Xie Wen had quit all mobile games before transmigrating, there was no way he wouldn't recognize her.
Her red beret and dress, the little backpack on her back with Dodoco hanging from it, and the signature four-leaf clover motif all told Xie Wen that this Palico's counterpart was none other than Mondstadt's greatest fighting force, a regular in solitary confinement, the scourge of Cider Lake's fish, the Crimson Legend, the Fleeing Sun, the renowned-
True Lord of Setting Mountains Ablaze!
I've already worked out a rough idea of the cat lineup. Besides Monster Hunter's Palico roles, like severing, blunt damage, and healing, some of the Palicoes will also fill positions on the crew.
Basically, they'll correspond to the roles of Pirates crew members in the manga, such as a musician cat who plays the hunting horn, an Artisan Cat responsible for ship maintenance, or a navigator cat who excels at exploring the seas.
I'll also try to give the cats different personalities. Well-behaved cats, little troublemakers, aloof cats, clingy cats-I want to write them all!
But I've only decided on some of the characters to summon so far. Others are still undecided, and several roles have multiple candidates...
The shipwright cat is especially tricky. I've already used lots of scientist characters in my previous Marvel story, so I don't really want to repeat myself. But there aren't many well-known anime scientists, and even fewer would work as Palicoes. If I choose an obscure one, most readers might not recognize them, so I still haven't settled on anyone.
If you have any character recommendations, feel free to share them. They don't have to be for the shipwright cat...
Of course, I won't necessarily take your advice.
Before you continue