After taking down the Black Cat Pirates flag from the Black cat ship and painting over the cat-skull emblem on the sails with white paint, Sherwin and the cats gathered around to discuss a very important matter—
What to name the ship.
With Sherwin usual laziness, he naturally suggested something simple like "Explorer I / II," or even just keeping the name Black cat ship. Unsurprisingly, both of these suggestions were immediately rejected by the cats.
"How about 'Art Is Explosion, Meow!'" That name, of course, came from the team one and only bomb-throwing cat—Klee Meow.
"Pretty Kitty Big Sister, Meow!" No need to guess whose suggestion that was—it could only be from the little yellow cat, Sanji Meow.
Even Seijuro Meow, who usually focused on nothing but sword training, came over to join the fun: "Since the ship figurehead is a black cat, I think we should just call it 'Black Cat, Meow.' Simple, direct, and easy to remember, meow."
He said it with such a straight face, as if it was a fair, impartial suggestion with no personal motive at all… if only he wasn't a little black cat himself.
Ignoring the increasingly uncharacteristic samurai cat, Sherwin turned his gaze to Hua Mei Meow.
"Hmm… How about 'Maria, Meow'?" The little tabby propped her chin on her paw and suggested after thinking for a moment.
"Any special meaning behind it?"
Sherwin remembered that "Maria" was the Christian name Li Huamei used in the game, adopted to better communicate with Westerners. But Hua Mei Meow didn't have any such name.
Could it be that this name held some other meaning for her?
But Hua Mei Meow shook her head. "No idea. It just popped into my mind, meow."
Sherwin rolled his eyes. And here he was, getting his hopes up for no reason at all.
Since Sherwin, who usually had the final say, had already been kicked out of the naming process, the cats began a lively and heated debate.
Normally, the others would let Klee Meow have her way. But for some reason—maybe this topic really hit the sweet spot—every single cat was extra enthusiastic about naming this cat-themed ship.
Klee Meow didn't even need to be mentioned—her obsession with explosions had always been obvious.
Because of his fur color, Seijuro Meow also stubbornly refused to back down for once. Even Huamei Meow, who casually came up with the name "Maria," wasn't willing to give up on the name she had chosen...
Only Sanji Meow gave up easily on his own suggested name, "Beautiful Big Sister Kitty." Once again, he was bewitched by a beautiful Felyne big sister, so he chose to side with Huamei Meow.
But under Klee Meow angry glare, he immediately began wavering between the two Felynes.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing..." It was Sherwin first time getting a headache from all the cats meowing at once.
While quickly pulling out paper and pen from his bag, he said, "How about this—we draw lots. Whoever wins, we'll go with their name."
As he spoke, he divided the paper evenly into four pieces, and on one of them, he casually drew a five-pointed star.
This method, which appeared fair, actually favored the lucky Klee Meow a little more—but no one had any objections...
Mainly because Seijuro Meow didn't yet have a solid concept of Klee Meow luck, Huamei Meow didn't know anything about it,
and while Sanji Meow was aware of Klee Meow unusually good fortune, he had already given up on his own name idea and was still wavering between the beautiful big sister and the cute little sister.
"Sanji little bro, do you have something to say, meow? If you keep hemming and hawing, girls won't like that, meow."
Before the drawing began, Huamei Meow looked curiously at Sanji Meow, who had been pacing back and forth beside her looking like he had something to say, yet remained silent for a long time.
Even after she said that, the little yellow cat still looked hesitant. He opened his mouth several times but closed it again without saying a word.
"He probably wants to tell you that Klee is very lucky," Sherwin immediately saw through Sanji Meow inner struggle.
"But if he says it, he feels like he betraying Klee, which is why he like this."
"Meow? Klee luck is really good, meow?" The little plush toy, completely unaware of the situation, tilted her head, then said generously, "Then Klee will go last, meow. Or we can use a different method, meow?"
"No need," Huamei Meow pulled the adorable and considerate Klee Meow into a hug and gave her fur a firm lick.
"Klee, your good luck is your own skill. Let just stick with drawing lots, meow."
(==)Seijuro Meow also nodded and said, "I have no objections, meow."
Only Sanji Meow looked a little unhappy... After all that internal struggle, it turned out to be pointless, and he still failed to win over Big Sister Huamei.
It all Sherwin fault, that big dumb idiot, meow!The little yellow cat shot a fierce glare at Sherwin.
Sherwin rolled his eyes. With how well he understood this little troublemaker Sanji Meow, he could tell the cat was just venting his frustration on him.
"Alright, let start the draw," Sherwin ignored the powerless rage of Sanji Meow and placed the folded, shuffled slips of paper in front of the Felynes.
"Huamei sis, you guys go first. Klee will take the last one, meow." The little plush kept her promise and politely offered.
Huamei Meow didn't hold back. She casually picked the nearest slip of paper and unfolded it right away."Looks like my luck isn't so great, meow."
Although she had previously argued hard for the right to name the new ship, now that it came down to chance, Huamei Meow remained perfectly calm.
Next, Sanji Meow picked a slip and made a very gentlemanly promise to Huamei Meow: "If I draw the winning one, I'll give the naming rights to the beautiful Huamei sis, meow!"
Unfortunately, he didn't win either.
Then came Seijuro Meow, who unsurprisingly also drew a blank. The little black cat laughed freely, "Klee-hime luck really is amazing. I gladly admit defeat, meow."
"Meow~?" Klee Meow, who had won without lifting a paw, tilted her head in confusion. She didn't seem to know whether she should be happy or not.
Sherwin gently patted her little head and comforted her, "You didn't cheat, and you even let everyone else draw first. So this victory is well deserved."
Only then did Klee Meow brighten up. "Then can Klee change the name, meow?"
"Of course. You won the naming rights—you can name it whatever you like."
And so, the Hundred Tricks: Black cat was officially renamed to "Art Is Explosion—Beautiful Black Cat Sister Maria", or simply "Explosion Black Cat Maria" for short.
Klee Meow was the cutest little angel in the whole wide world!
Sherwin and the other three Felynes agreed with that statement one hundred thousand percent.
Now that the new ship name was finally settled, the next problem to deal with was what to do with the old one.
Explorer No. 1 was only a small single-mast sailboat, but it was still a seaworthy vessel.
Unlike the anglerfish submarine that came with Huamei Meow summon—which could be stored in the cargo hold—it had a mast, a relatively fragile and space-consuming part, which made internal storage impossible...
If the mast were dismantled, the Explosion Black Cat Maria might have enough space inside to hold it, but getting it in would be another major issue. Plus, wasting that much ship space wasn't a wise choice.
Tying Explorer No. 1 behind with rope or chains, like they were doing now, could only work as a temporary measure. Once they ran into rougher weather or an attack from a large sea beast, Explorer No. 1 being towed at the rear would instantly become a burden.
Right now, while they were still in the relatively safe East Blue and had enough strength to protect Explorer No. 1 from harm, that wouldn't be the case once they entered the more dangerous South Blue, North Blue, or even the Grand Line. There'd be no guarantee of its safety.
"…So, we can only sell Explorer No. 1," Sherwin shrugged as he gently patted Klee Meow little head, explaining it to her.
The other Felynes didn't really mind selling the old ship, but Klee Meow was a bit reluctant. After all, the little plush personality leaned toward collecting all kinds of "treasures"… even though, most of the time, she'd forget where she hid them.
But after Sherwin explanation, Klee Meow didn't act spoiled. She agreed to selling Explorer No. 1.
"Klee really is the cutest and most sensible little kitty~"
Sherwin scooped the little plush into his arms and gave her a good rub, successfully cheering her up and bringing back her usual giggly, cheerful self.