Jinx, that little crazy cat, demonstrated with her actions an even more direct example for Shirahoshi—
"A weakling like you should just obediently let me bully you, meow! Hahaha!"
The little blue cat spoke while patting Shirahoshi head with her tiny paws, and from the sound, she wasn't being gentle at all.
"S-Stop! If you keep that up, I'll get angry!" Shirahoshi wrapped both hands around her head and shouted loudly.
But Jinx didn't believe a word she said. She continued to strike whenever she found an opening, raining another round of cat punches onto Shirahoshi head.
Sherwin held back the little doll who wanted to stop Jinx, waiting for Shirahoshi to change.
"...S-Stop bullying me!"
Not disappointing Sherwin expectations, Shirahoshi—who had been holding her head the whole time—suddenly swung her arms forcefully, knocking Jinx off her shoulder.
"Ah..."
Seeing Jinx sent flying by her, Shirahoshi first showed a moment of worry, but quickly forced herself into an aggressive stance.
"I-I told you to stop! Y-You deserved that!"
"Meowhahahaha! Don't tell me you think that enough to scare me?" The crazy cat twisted in midair, landed steadily, and immediately leapt toward Shirahoshi again. "I want to see what a timid thing like you can do, meow!"
(=`Д=)
"Ahhhhh! Don't come any closer!"
Shirahoshi initially tried to run away, but she was nowhere near as fast as Jinx. She was quickly caught, and the little maniac pounced on her again, unleashing another furious barrage of cat punches.
After being chased and beaten for a while, Shirahoshi attempted to "fight back" once more—screaming wildly while flailing her hands around with her eyes shut.
But even a small child could fight better than that. With such ineffective resistance, she couldn't touch even a single strand of Jinx fur. The crazy cat bounced around her body with ease, continuing to rain cat punches upon her without pause.
Under Jinx relentless pressure, Shirahoshi finally opened her eyes and truly began to "fight." Bit by bit, she even started mastering Observation Haki on her own—learning how to dodge, block, and counter properly.
If not for Jinx far superior combat experience, she would have been hit several times already.
"...Meow?"
(=ω=)
Klee Meow, nestled in Sherwin arms, blinked in confusion and tilted her head.
"What is it, Klee?"
Sherwin lowered his head, kissed the little doll once, and asked.
"It strange… Big Sister Jinx seems to be starting to like Big Sister Shirahoshi, meow…" The little doll continued tilting her head.
"But Klee also likes this Shirahoshi more. The old Shirahoshi never played around with us. She was a bit boring, meow."
As Klee Meow spoke, her eyes began to brighten, her tail swayed with energy, and then she wriggled her way out of Sherwin embrace and charged toward the still-"fighting" Jinx and Shirahoshi.
"Count Klee in! Klee wants to play with you two, meow!"
(=`=)
(=ω=)
Seeing Klee join in, the little leopard cat tugged at Sherwin sleeve with her swishing tail.
"Go on," Sherwin waved his hand, reminding her, "Just take care of Shirahoshi a little."
(=`=)b
Link Meow nodded firmly, patting her chest to show she was reliable.
With two more cats leaping into the chaos, Shirahoshi gradually shifted from tearful screaming to enjoying herself, as if she had begun to embrace the joy of "battle"…
Emmm…
Although this change delighted Sherwin, he couldn't help wondering—would the peace-loving Poseidon eventually become a war-loving fighter under the influence of these cats?
Sherwin suddenly pictured a version of Shirahoshi waving a giant trident, charging at the front lines while shouting Jinx-like phrases such as "Let the revelry begin!" and "Rampaging explosives are a girl best friend!" with an army of massive Sea Kings surging behind her…
Somehow, that scene felt more fitting for an Ancient Weapon.
He shook his head to dismiss the ridiculous thought. Even though he knew no amount of change would make Shirahoshi completely flip into another Jinx, he couldn't deny a strange anticipation in seeing such a scene someday.
While Sherwin mind wandered, the playful brawl between the cats and Shirahoshi slowly came to an end.
Shirahoshi had barely ever "fought" before and spent most of her life cooped up in the Hard-Shell Tower with almost no physical activity.
With her still being young, her stamina reserves and endurance were ordinary at best. After playing with the cats for a while, she was already gasping for breath.
"Alright, that enough for now. We still need to finish exploring this island."
Sherwin stepped forward at the right moment, calming the cats before turning to Shirahoshi, who was panting heavily yet smiling brightly.
"I think I understand what you meant, Sherwin!" Shirahoshi spoke first, eyes shining with excitement.
Sherwin lips twitched, emotions mixed.
What could he say? Her change was exactly what he hoped for—yet after all the effort he put into talking to her, it turned out a few cat punches from Jinx worked better than all his words…
So this really was a hot-blooded world where fists communicate deeper than speeches? And the art of talking things out is reserved for main characters only?
From there on, Shirahoshi continued handling all negotiations—but this time was different.
She performed far better than before, and even when facing pirates who openly showed discrimination against merfolk, she refuted them firmly.
Her tone remained polite, and those kinds of pirates were unlikely to listen anyway, but it was still leagues better than quietly backing down in tears.
Besides…
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!"
"Apologize to Shirahoshi right now! You rotten idiots meow!"
Jinx stood on Shirahoshi shoulder, firing her boom gun in a full burst at the pirates who had spoken rudely.
Ever since Shirahoshi learned how to "resist," Jinx attitude toward her flipped a full one-eighty.
She patted her chest and declared she would protect Shirahoshi from now on, and along the way she had stepped in for her more than once…
She even went for the mermaid tail… well, that part she still insisted on biting.
Even though Sherwin was already a veteran cat keeper, sometimes he still couldn't guess what went on inside a little cat head.
And so, under Jinx lead, Shirahoshi got to experience what it meant to be domineering and wield borrowed authority on Beastscreech Isle.
Watching Shirahoshi go from nervous and hesitant, soft-hearted and unsure, to later showing a hint of excitement, Sherwin suddenly felt that the scene he once imagined might not be impossible after all…