The Little Kitties' Fighting Power

"Ahem... be good, Klee. Let your big brother handle this one, okay?"

Hearing the Hill-Dousing Lord speak up, Xie Wen no longer had time to pay attention to Capone Bege or Vito the Weird Gun. He lifted the little Ragdoll down and stroked her head as he tried to persuade her.

Anywhere else, letting Klee Meow fight would have been fine, but they were inside a building, with a whole crowd of innocent bystanders around them!

"But you fought last time, Big Brother Xie Wen, meow... it should be Klee's turn now..." The little Ragdoll twitched her ears. Still unwilling to give up, she raised a little paw and promised, "Klee will be careful not to make too much of a scene, meow!"

That's what you say when you're doing experiments, too!

Of course, Xie Wen could never actually yell that at her. Although he could make Klee Meow behave simply by being a little firmer, he still wanted to find an explanation she could accept rather than forcibly suppressing her wishes...

That was what happened when someone was both a slave to his cats and a doting father. He dreaded his little darling suffering the slightest hurt, especially if he was the one causing it. That was something he was ten thousand percent unwilling to do.

"What an idiot, meow..." Sanji Meow could no longer stand watching from the sidelines. He cut into the conversation between the two of them-one human and one cat. "If we're taking turns, shouldn't it be my turn now, meow? Besides, their boss hasn't made a move, so you shouldn't be fighting for our side either, Xie Wen, meow."

You're a chef cat. Why are you getting involved...?

Xie Wen looked at Sanji Meow with a hint of helplessness.

He knew Sanji Meow was saying this to help him out. He also knew that, although the little fellow never showed it, he actually minded having to hide behind him and Klee Meow in every battle. Ever since Klee Meow joined them, he had been training hard, and his strength was nothing like it had been before.

To say something that would discourage Bax, Sanji Meow was now strong enough to beat him without any trouble.

But Xie Wen was not quite sure he could defeat Vito the Weird Gun. The reason was the same as he had mentioned before: supporting characters like this were unlikely to make a massive leap in strength over a short period. Even if Vito had yet to reach the level that would later earn him a bounty of nearly a hundred million, he should still have been fairly strong.

Besides, unlike Klee Meow, Sanji Meow had no Devil Fruit ability to protect him from serious injury.

So, rather than letting Sanji Meow fight, Xie Wen would have preferred to let Klee Meow blast away to her heart's content.

But just as the refusal reached his lips, Xie Wen forced himself to swallow it...

Sanji Meow wore an unusually serious expression. Clearly, he had not said this merely to help Xie Wen out of a bind. He genuinely wanted to take this fight.

That made sense. Although the original Sanji was a hopeless pervert, he could be surprisingly serious when it counted, and he had clear principles guiding his actions. Given how closely his own cat resembled the original, it was hardly surprising that Sanji Meow would insist on something like this.

"Sigh... all right. I'll leave it to you." Just as Xie Wen took Klee Meow's feelings into account, he could not refuse Sanji Meow's request to fight under these circumstances. All he could do was sigh helplessly, reach out, and rub the little yellow cat's head. "Make sure... you don't lose."

He had originally meant to tell Sanji Meow to stay safe, but in the end, he changed his words to give him some encouragement instead. Xie Wen knew that was what Sanji Meow wanted to hear more.

"Go, Big Brother Sanji, meow!" Klee Meow no longer clamored for her turn, either. Instead, she waved her little paws and cheered Sanji Meow on.

"Don't you worry, meow... Boss!" Sanji Meow lifted his head proudly, gave Klee Meow a thumbs-up, then marched up to Vito the Weird Gun with his head held high.

By now, Vito the Weird Gun was nearly insane with anger. Sticking out his long, Orochimaru-like tongue, he laughed in fury. "Nyorororo... you really are looking down on me, lick... but don't worry, little kitty. Merchandise like you is very valuable, lick."

Perhaps because he had such a long tongue, Vito habitually tacked "lick" onto the end of his sentences, much like the Palicoes' "meow." Compared with the adorable cats, however, his verbal tic was rather disgusting.

"So I won't kill you, or do any irreversible damage... because then you wouldn't be worth anything, lick."

As he spoke, Vito slipped his oversized revolver back into the holster at his waist. He bent down and gave Sanji Meow, who barely reached his legs, a cruel smile.

But when it came to trading barbs, Sanji Meow was not intimidated in the slightest. He tilted his little head up and returned a disdainful smile. "Is that so, meow? Then I'm just the opposite. As a chef, I prefer to finish preparing my ingredients before judging their value, meow."

"You've got some nerve, lick..." Unable to contain his anger any longer, Vito reached out with his huge hand to grab Sanji Meow.

With his natural agility, Sanji Meow easily dodged the hand. Then, taking advantage of his small size, he ran straight up Vito's arm and onto his body.

Perhaps because he was so used to climbing onto Xie Wen's shoulder, Sanji Meow reached Vito's shoulder in the blink of an eye, raised his foot, and kicked him in the face.

"Cheek Meat SHOOT, meow!"

Vito the Weird Gun had never expected Sanji Meow to be so fast. What he had expected even less was that Sanji Meow was strong, too. That single kick sent Vito flying.

This was no joke. Palicoes took part in hunts for all sorts of large monsters. Sometimes, they even accompanied hunters to slay gigantic monsters like Lao-Shan Lung. Underestimating their strength could cost someone dearly.

"D-damn it!" Vito climbed up from the floor, his face full of disbelief. He even forgot his disgusting verbal tic.

After taking that kick, Vito no longer dared to be careless. Although he still did not draw his signature revolver, the power and speed of his punches and kicks rose by more than a single notch.

Yet Xie Wen, who had still been a little worried, relaxed at that moment.

Vito was... this weak at this point?

In truth, with Vito's fighting ability, he could hardly be considered weak in the West Blue. At the very least, Bax could not beat him.

But compared with the strength he had displayed in the manga, where he could easily capture the later versions of Chopper and Nami, his current self seemed very weak. Even accounting for Chopper and Nami being captured to serve the plot, the gap was a little too large.

It looked like the rules of the normal world I lived in before transmigrating couldn't be used to judge this absurd pirate world. So Vito the Weird Gun was another beneficiary of a version update?

Or, to put it more reasonably, anyone who entered the Grand Line, encountered higher levels of power, and still managed to make it all the way to the New World in its second half would rapidly grow stronger along the way. Those who failed to improve were either eliminated en route or sensibly stayed in the first half.

Whatever the actual explanation was, the weaker Vito was, the better things were for Sanji Meow. Naturally, Xie Wen was happy with that.

After exchanging blows for a little while, Sanji Meow also realized that his opponent was nothing special, and his fighting grew increasingly fluid.

He darted nimbly up and down Vito's body, throwing in a kitty kick every so often.

"Shoulder meat! Neck meat! Breast meat! Back meat! Ribs! Loin! Belly meat! Three-Level Minced Meat, meow!"

Sanji Meow's tiny body kicked the towering Vito back and forth, leaving everyone present staring with their jaws hanging open.

Once Xie Wen confirmed that even drawing his gun would not save Vito from defeat, he shifted his attention from Sanji Meow to the grim-faced Capone Bege.

Xie Wen did not believe a word of Bege's claim that he would let the matter drop if they won.

Capone Bege was a genuine villain. Going back on his word was routine for him, and he had always been willing to use any means necessary. Xie Wen did not believe he would simply stand by and watch his subordinate lose.

But to Xie Wen's surprise, even after Vito drew his gun and still could do nothing but take kicks, Capone Bege merely looked a little grimmer. He made no other move.

Was he wary of my strength and Klee Meow's?

Or...

Xie Wen glanced at Cody, whose background was somewhat mysterious.

After looking through everyone's feedback, all I can say is that writing against the current trend really is a cardinal sin...

I envisioned this book as primarily a story about "travel." That doesn't mean there won't be any fighting, just that it really isn't what I want to focus on, at least not in the early stages.

I felt that, apart from the Grand Line, One Piece still had three largely unexplored seas, yet hardly any fanfiction covered them, so I wanted to give it a try. But I forgot that fanfiction readers are more interested in seeing the protagonist interact with canon characters...

I did actually plan to write that part, too. I just put it later in the story.

As for the protagonist being too strong right now... mostly, I couldn't bear to let the kitties get hurt, so I deliberately set their strength high from the start.

Well, I'll probably have to start revising my stockpiled chapters again... if you have any more suggestions, feel free to share them. I'll make adjustments as appropriate... _(`"∠)_

As for the update speed, there really isn't anything I can do. I need those recommendation slots, so this is the only update pace I can manage. As for when the book goes premium...

If I still have a stockpile by then, I'll immediately release half of it... a third... a quar... ahem, anyway, there should be more updates then!