After striking his pose, Seijuro Meow lightly tapped the ground beneath his feet and leapt into the air. Using the power of his pneumatic greaves, he shot toward the still-stunned Shura.
"Just a mere cat!"
Snapping back to his senses, Shura had no time to think about that flame-spewing contraption—whether it was a cat or a tiger, he didn't care.
When he saw that the invaders had only sent over a little black cat barely reaching his waist, he couldn't help but laugh in anger.
"Panleg!"
Since the other side only sent a "pet," Shura decided to let only his mount fight. He flipped off his saddle and shouted the name of his Big Bird.
"Gu-ga-ga-ga!"
The bird named Panleg instantly stretched its long neck and opened its beak, spewing a ball of flame toward Seijuro Meow.
Facing the incoming blaze, Seijuro Meow neither dodged nor flinched. He swung the longsword in his paw and sneered,
"This level of flame is far too weak compared to Princess Klee Meow meow... Flying Cat Sword Style—Flame Sever!"
The blade, barely a meter long, effortlessly split the flames in two. Unscathed, Seijuro Meow passed straight through the parted fire and appeared right before the stunned Panleg.
The feline samurai raised his Kikyo Sendongyue to the side of his head, extended his other paw forward, and took a stance similar to Saito Hajime Gatotsu from Rurouni Kenshin...
"Flying Cat Sword Style—Final Sting! Sparrow Bee!"
So it wasn't Gatotsu after all!Sherwin covered his face, his mind screaming in disbelief, feeling that his cat sense of style was drifting further and further off track.
Which meant only one thing...
He'd have to tell them even more stories!
The Hunter watching the spectacle made a silent decision, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Gaa—!"
The Big Bird struck by Seijuro Meow let out a miserable cry, but it didn't die.
That was because Seijuro Meow hadn't aimed for a vital spot—his strike merely pierced through the bird beak, destroying the Flame Shell inside its mouth in the process.
"Stop it right now!"
Shura Observation Haki had already foreseen this moment, but Seijuro Meow attack was too fast for him to intervene.
He couldn't save his mount in time and could only thrust his spear toward the little black cat with all his strength.
At this point, he no longer dared to treat the "pet" before him as something harmless.
Unruffled, Seijuro Meow twisted his waist, spinning his entire body rapidly. The Kikyo Sendongyue in his paw traced a beautiful arc, clashing against the tip of Shura spear.
"Flying Cat Sword Style—Rolling Flash!"
A tremendous force surged from the point of contact. Shura spear was knocked aside, and the overwhelming impact sent him staggering, his body tilting off balance as he fell straight down from the tree.
"How… how is this possible?!"
As one of Skypiea Four Divine Priests, he couldn't believe that his strength was inferior to that of such a tiny cat—though, according to the Gatekeeper, the other party was said to be a member of an intelligent race called the Mink Tribe.
"Gu-ga-ga!"
Despite its injured beak, Panleg dove down loyally to catch Shura, then flapped its wings to gain altitude again, soaring past Seijuro Meow, who stood poised on a tree branch, and circling above him.
"This troublesome cat… you're really starting to annoy me! I'll show you how a priest of God delivers judgment!"
Shura growled as he tugged down the goggles on his forehead and swung his arm sharply. "Ordeal of String!"
Invisible cords of Cloud Rope shot out from his hand, attaching to the surrounding trees.
As Panleg continued circling above, the cords wove together into an unseen net around Seijuro Meow.
But such movements couldn't possibly escape Seijuro Meow Observation Haki.
The little black cat simply lowered his Kikyo Sendongyue, allowing his opponent to finish setting the trap without making a move.
After setting up his "Ordeal of String," Shura immediately raised his spear and dove straight toward Seijuro Meow, intending to drive him into the cloud ropes.
Seijuro Meow tilted his head slightly, thinking for a moment, then decided to play along.
As he leapt aside to dodge Shura diving strike, he landed precisely within one of the patches of cloud rope.
However, the ropes didn't behave as Seijuro Meow had expected—they didn't slice into him at all. In fact, he couldn't even feel anything touching his body.
"Ha!"
Through his goggles, which allowed him to see the invisible cloud ropes, Shura saw his plan working so easily that he couldn't help but laugh.
Urging his Big Bird to charge again, he aimed to make Seijuro Meow come into contact with even more of the ropes.
That was because the ropes only took effect once a certain number of strands had latched onto the target. In small amounts, even a baby wouldn't feel the slightest discomfort.
Having no idea what his opponent was up to, Seijuro Meow continued to humor him.
Casually parrying Shura spear thrusts, he moved about according to Shura intentions, letting himself brush against more and more of the cloud ropes.
After the man and cat had circled the trees several times, Seijuro Meow finally felt something different…
"Hmm?"
The sword in his paw suddenly felt sluggish, and his body began to grow heavy.
The nimble movements he'd been performing moments ago abruptly froze in midair, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
"Gahahahahaha! It finally worked!"
Laughing wildly, Shura pulled his mount higher into the air. Aiming his spear—loaded with a Flame Shell—at the immobilized Seijuro Meow, he dove down toward him once more.
"Accept your judgment! If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for stepping onto the land of the gods!"
"So this is all your trick amounts to, meow?"
Seijuro Meow sighed in disappointment. Electricity crackled around his body, and in an instant, he tore himself free from the cloud of ropes.
He had thought that if his Felynes Form didn't work, he'd try Armament Haki and demon mode instead—but the little black cat only sighed again in even deeper disappointment.
Then, facing the shocked and terrified Shura above, he swung sword in his paw…
"Flying Cat Sword Style: Crescent Moon Slash, meow!"
After all the circling around, Seijuro Meow ended up bringing back the move name that Sherwin had once abandoned.
A massive crescent-shaped blade of energy shot forward, slamming heavily into Shura, who didn't even have time to brake.
With a spray of blood, Shura fell straight down from the cross-legged back of the Big Bird.
"Gu-ga-ga-ga!"
The Big Bird, whose feathers were only slightly cut and whose skin was barely scratched, didn't hesitate for a moment.
It beat its wings with all its might and flew toward the opposite direction of Seijuro Meow without even a single glance at its former master.
"That guy spear techniques wasn't bad, but it a shame he focused too much on those ropes and couldn't bring out his full strength, meow."
Back aboard the Dodo Advance, Seijuro Meow shook his head regretfully as he gave his evaluation.