Hunter in the One Piece World

The fact that the fiery red summoning ticket ended up summoning Klee took Sherwin by surprise—but thinking about it, it wasn't entirely unexpected either.

After all, as the famed "Mountain-Burning Master," she had always been closely tied to the fire element. In the original version, even Klee Vision was fire-based.

So, did that fiery red summoning ticket represent... a fire element character rate-up? Or maybe it just locked into a fire attribute character pool?

With too few cases to reference, Sherwin could only speculate about the function of the summoning tickets for now.

"A... a little miss, meow..."

While Sherwin was quietly analyzing the situation, Sanji-meow voice came from beside him, filled with mixed emotions.

Following the sound, Sherwin noticed Sanji-meow expression was just as conflicted as his tone—and he was looking at Klee-meow, who stood in front of Sherwin, with equally complicated eyes.

"Hello, big brother, meow!"

The cheerful Klee-meow beamed brightly and greeted Sanji-meow with a huge smile.

"Klee-sis is just too cute, meow!" Sanji-meow conflicted expression vanished instantly. He pulled out a dessert he had made from his pouch and offered it enthusiastically. "Would you like some fruit cake?"

Without a word, Sherwin stepped in between the two Felynes. While casting a disdainful look at Sanji-meow, he introduced him to Klee-meow: "His name is Sanji. He the chef cat who handles the cooking. Little Klee, it best to stay away from him."

"What with that look, meow?!" Sanji-meow flared up immediately. "I'm not a pervert, meow! I like Beautiful big sister Felyne! I don't have any weird thoughts about little Klee, meow!"

"Really?" Sherwin eyes were full of distrust.

An exasperated Sanji-meow looked like he was about to smash the cake in his hand straight into Sherwin face.

Thankfully, at that moment, Klee-meow tugged at Sherwin clothes with her paw and asked in her soft, childish voice, "Meowster, can Klee have a piece of cake, meow?"

"Of course you can, meow!" Sanji-meow shoved Sherwin aside and eagerly offered the cake in his hand. "Klee-sis can eat as much as she wants! Big brother Sanji will make more for you, meow!"

"Thank you, big brother Sanji, meow."

After thanking him, Klee-meow didn't immediately take the cake. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Sherwin.

"That right. If you want something to eat, just go to Sanji. We're all companions here, no need to be so polite." Sherwin gently patted Klee-meow on the head and added, "And just call me Sherwin."

"Okay, big brother Sherwin, Klee understands, meow."

Klee-meow nodded with a squint and finally took the cake from Sanji-meow, happily munching away.

At that moment, Sanji-meow leaned in close to Sherwin, nudging him twice and whispering, "Klee-sis is still so little... you're not actually thinking of letting her fight, meow?"

Before Sherwin could reply, Klee-meow, still eating her cake, suddenly raised her head and loudly objected, "Don't underestimate Klee! Klee is super strong, meow!"

"Relax," Sherwin had already considered Klee safety thoroughly. He pointed to the nearby Flame-Flame Fruit. "With that, her safety is basically covered."

Sure, constantly shielding Klee-meow and not letting her fight was possible, but with her personality, she definitely wouldn't be happy with that.

And based on the original Klee talents, as a Felyne—more specifically, as a bomb-specialist Felyne—Klee-meow was absolutely among the top tier. Sherwin had no reason to waste her potential.

That being the case, giving Klee-meow a Logia-type Devil Fruit, especially one that suited her perfectly like the Flame-Flame Fruit, was the best solution.

Of course, that only if Klee-meow herself was willing to eat it.

"Meow? This strange fruit… is it for Klee to eat, meow?"

Klee-meow, who had just finished her cake, leaned over to the Flame-Flame Fruit, curiously sniffed it, then exclaimed in surprise, "This fruit actually smells like fire, meow!"

As she finished speaking, she opened her mouth to bite into the Flame-Flame Fruit—only to be stopped by Sherwin hand.

"Meow?" Klee-meow looked at him in confusion, eyes full of grievance. "Isn't it for Klee to eat, meow?"

"Of course it is." Sherwin smiled and scratched the little ragdoll chin until she began to purr comfortably. Then he explained, "But I need to tell you something first. This fruit tastes really bad…"

Though the Devil Fruit effects would activate with just one bite, who knew what would happen if she spit it out? Klee-meow had no idea how bad it tasted, so Sherwin needed to give her fair warning.

If she backed out because of the flavor, that was fine too—she was still just a kitten, and Sherwin didn't intend to force her in any way.

So, he told Klee-meow everything he knew about Devil Fruits.

"So, do you still want to eat this fruit?" Sherwin asked softly, still scratching her chin.

A troubled expression appeared on Klee-meow face…

"If I eat it, I'll be able to control fire and turn into flames, meow? That sounds really fun…" Klee-meow was clearly interested in the Flame-Flame Fruit ability, but…

"Does it really taste that bad, meow?" Klee-meow looked at Sherwin pitifully, as if hoping to hear him deny it.

"I haven't actually eaten one myself," Sherwin shrugged, being honest. "But everyone who has eaten a Devil Fruit says the same thing… Wait…"

He rubbed his chin, trying to recall…

Maybe it different for animals?

In the original manga, Chopper never mentioned the Devil Fruit tasting bad, but considering his situation back then, that wasn't very convincing either.

Unable to decide, Sherwin suddenly turned to Sanji-meow. "Sanji, do you think you can make a Devil Fruit taste good?"

Sanji-meow rolled his eyes and answered, "I've never tasted a Devil Fruit before. How am I supposed to season it, meow?"

"Tsk, looks like your skills as a chef are pretty average." Sherwin talked big, not having to do it himself.

"You're just an amateur who cheats even when grilling meat! What do you know, meow?!" Sanji-meow was so angry he started furiously kicking Sherwin leg.

While the two of them were bickering, Klee-meow finally couldn't resist her curiosity. She carefully took a bite out of the Flame-Flame Fruit…

"Meowww… It really is so gross, meow!"

Klee-meow adorable little face instantly scrunched up into a frown. Fortunately, she remembered what Sherwin had just told her and didn't spit out the incredibly awful-tasting fruit in her mouth. Instead, she forced herself to swallow it.

"Klee never wants to take a second bite again, meow…"

After painfully swallowing the piece of fruit, Klee-meow kept frowning, eyes teary as she looked at Sherwin and said.

"If you don't want to eat more, then don't." Sherwin kicked the rest of the Flame-Flame Fruit far away, then gently picked up the little ragdoll Felyne, stroking her fur as he softly comforted her,

"Devil Fruits only need one bite to grant powers. It okay to take your time mastering it. We're going to be staying on this island for a while anyway."

Under Sherwin expert cat-petting technique, the expression on Klee-meow face quickly softened, and a cheerful purring sound came from her throat.

"By the way, I just heard you mention something about the Knights of Favonius. What that?" Sherwin asked while continuing to pet her.

He had already asked Sanji-meow about his experience before crossing over—same personality, but a completely different background.

He was just an ordinary chef Felyne. But Klee-meow lines when she first appeared seemed different from Sanji-meow.

"The Knights of Favonius is a super amazing organization that only the most elite escort Felynes in Mond Village can join, meow! Klee is the youngest knight in it!" the little ragdoll said proudly to Sherwin.

"Mond Village…" After listening to Klee-meow explanation, Sherwin didn't even know where to begin with the teasing. "Don't tell me your leader name is Jean?"

"Meow? Of course the leader is Granny Cat," Klee-meow tilted her head and answered with a puzzled look. But then she twitched her ears and mumbled thoughtfully,

"But everyone just calls her Granny Cat… Klee never heard anyone say her actual name, meow…"

"Now that you mention it, our village Granny Cat is the same way, meow!" Sanji-meow suddenly cut in.

"Uh… your village isn't called Germa, is it?" Sherwin couldn't help asking.

"What kind of weird name is that, meow," Sanji-meow rolled his eyes. "I'm from Cocotte Village, meow."

Oh… the original village. Finally, a familiar name—Sherwin let out a sigh of relief… though he wasn't quite sure why he felt relieved.

After thoroughly enjoying Sherwin cat-petting service, Klee-meow finally jumped down from his arms and started trying to master the Flame-Flame Fruit power.

"Fwoosh—"

A small ball of flame appeared on Klee-meow little paw. After twisting and wriggling for a moment, it quickly transformed into a miniature version of herself. Then, the flame continued morphing—into Dodoco, Sherwin, and Sanji-meow…

In the end, she even created a full-sized Rathalos above their heads. Every scale and claw of the Rathalos was clearly visible. The constantly flapping wings and the occasionally shifting eyes made it easy to forget that it was entirely made of fire.

"Seems like… it not that hard, meow?"

Klee-meow tilted her head and looked at Sherwin with innocent eyes as she retracted the flames.

Sherwin: "..."