"You're Sherwin, right?! Let fight again!"
After filling his stomach and taking a good nap, Zoro immediately went to find Sherwin, who was busy petting cats, and challenged him once more.
However, Sherwin, completely absorbed in cuddling Klee Meow and Huamei Meow, didn't even lift his head. He kept rubbing their heads and replied, "I'm busy right now. If you want to cross swords, go find Seijuro."
Sherwin wasn't in the best mood—despite all the attention given to the Wado Ichimonji, it hadn't met his expectations, rewarding him only with a summoning ticket fragment.
Disappointed, he needed to soak up some cat energy to heal his heart, and had no interest in sparring with the super hopelessly directionless Zoro at the moment.
"Seijuro? Who that?"
Zoro didn't pester Sherwin the way he did Mihawk in the manga. Instead, he curiously asked about Seijuro Meow—probably because the misunderstanding had been cleared up,
and Sherwin wasn't the world greatest swordsman?Either way, the fact that Zoro was being this reasonable pleased Sherwin, so he pointed to the side.
Following the direction of Sherwin finger, Zoro saw a small black cat sitting upright in the distance. The cat stood, held its head high, puffed out its chest, and strode over to stand before him.
"I am none other than the humble Seijuro Meow, as spoken of by Lord Sherwin."
"…"
Zoro blinked. "Ah! You can talk?!"
Sherwin had to admit—Zoro reaction time was, without a doubt, the longest he had ever seen in anyone.
Still, while Zoro reaction time was slow, his recovery was lightning fast. He immediately pointed at Seijuro Meow and roared at Sherwin,
"Are you looking down on me?! You're actually letting a cat fight me with swords?!"
Sherwin finally raised his head to look at Zoro and sighed helplessly."Compared to me, a not-so-orthodox swordsman, Seijuro actually fits your definition of a swordsman better.
And in terms of swordsmanship alone, I'm far inferior to Seijuro. So it not that I'm looking down on you—it that you're underestimating him."
Hearing Sherwin explanation, Zoro immediately shifted his gaze back to Seijuro Meow. After calming down, he indeed sensed that sharp, distinct aura unique to swordsmen radiating from the black cat.
Even though Zoro didn't yet know Observation Haki at this point, his sensitivity to swords was extremely high.
What made Zoro even more puzzled was…
This black cat gave him a feeling somewhat similar to his own teacher, Koshiro!
Zoro instincts were not wrong. Seijuro Meow personality was indeed somewhat similar to Koshiro, and since both were swordsmen of a very high level, it was natural for them to exude a similar presence.
"Sorry, I was rude just now."Although Zoro could be brash, his nature was actually quite good. He sincerely apologized to Seijuro Meow, then "equipped" his three swords, took his stance, and said seriously,"Three-Sword Style, Roronoa Zoro—please teach me!"
Seijuro Meow looked at the katana clenched in Zoro mouth, a puzzled expression appearing on his furry cat face…
(=ω=)?
After all, aside from certain canine monsters, he had never seen anyone fight with a weapon held in their mouth.
Still, since the other party had formally issued a challenge as a swordsman, Seijuro Meow, also a swordsman, followed the etiquette between swordsmen. Drawing the Kikyo Sendogetsu at his waist, he took a middle stance and responded,"Flying Cat Sword Style, Hiko Seijuro—please teach me, meow!"
"Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
Zoro didn't waste words—he launched straight into a sword technique.
He couldn't help it.
In his previous matches against Sherwin, the first time he hadn't even reacted before getting knocked out, and the second time, under Sherwin demon mode flurry, he had barely managed to defend, with no chance to use his own techniques at all.
So this time, he'd been holding it in for too long—no warm-up, no probing—just going all out from the start.
And the Felyne appearance was still far too deceptive.Even though he now acknowledged Seijuro Meow as a swordsman, that small, adorable look still made it hard for Zoro not to underestimate him a little.
Subconsciously, part of him was already thinking of quickly defeating Seijuro Meow so he could move on to challenge Sherwin.
"Ferocity you've got, but your presence is lacking. And your opening is far too obvious, meow."
Seijuro Meow was still grateful for the guidance he had once received from Koshiro, so he was equally earnest when pointing things out to Zoro.
As he spoke, he thrust his blade toward the exact point where Zoro three swords crossed.
In the manga, even Mihawk had used a small dagger to stab this very point and block Zoro Oni Giri. Seijuro Meow move here was practically a perfect recreation of that classic scene.
But what seemed like coincidence was, in fact, inevitable.This point where the three blades met looked like the strongest part of Oni Giri, but in truth, it was its greatest flaw.
Not only could it completely stop Zoro follow-up attack, but it also struck precisely at his point of power, leaving him unable to exert any force at all.
Of course, while it sounded easy to counter this move, in reality, timing it perfectly required impeccable eyesight, speed, and swordsmanship talent.
Even Sherwin, without using Observation Haki, might not have been able to seize the moment so flawlessly.
The reason both Seijuro Meow and Mihawk could do it was simple—an overwhelming combination of talent and experience.
It wasn't that there weren't other ways to block the move—this was just the most stylish. And unlike Mihawk, Seijuro Meow main purpose here was to guide Zoro.
Unfortunately, Zoro couldn't appreciate that yet.Seeing his ultimate technique so easily blocked was already hard enough to accept—but what made it worse was that the one who did it was an adorable cat barely half his height.
"Uwaaaahhh—!"
With the sword hilt clenched in his mouth, Zoro let out an angry roar and wildly swung his blades at Seijuro Meow.
Yet Seijuro Meow remained as calm and composed as ever, effortlessly parrying the attacks. With a hint of disappointment, he said,
"Anger can be a good catalyst in battle, meow… but if you lose your composure because of it, that never a good thing for a swordsman."
As he spoke, he seemed to want to set an example for Zoro. Suddenly, he entered demon mode.
The once gentle blade work, like a flowing stream, instantly transformed into something as fierce and overwhelming as a raging storm.
"Flying Cat Sword Style—Cat Claw Slash, meow!"
Similar yet different from Sherwin demon mode flurry, Seijuro Meow Cat Claw Slash looked like a chaotic series of swings, but in reality, every strike was precise—either targeting points where Zoro couldn't exert strength or hitting spots that disrupted his balance.
Before long, Zoro was left struggling, his footing unstable.
Seizing the moment, Seijuro Meow spun and unleashed a powerful, sweeping slash toward Zoro side.
"Flying Cat Sword Style—Rolling Slash, meow!"
Zoro barely managed to raise two swords to guard his flank, but with his balance already thrown off, he was still sent flying by the blow.
Before Zoro could get up from the ground, Seijuro Meow Kikyo Sendogetsu was already resting against his neck.
"You've lost, meow." Seijuro Meow looked down at him coldly.
"I didn't use strength or speed beyond your capabilities, meow. But the moment you lost your calm, your defeat was already decided."
With that, Seijuro Meow sheathed his blade and turned away, leaving the dejected Zoro lying on the ground as he walked over to Sherwin side.
"Lord Sherwin, I have not failed you, meow."
"Oh! Seijuro big brother is amazing, meow!"
(=`=)"A mere dumb human is no match for us Felynes, meow!"
"Seijuro-sensei swordsmanship is as sharp as ever, meow."
"Mm, mm, mm, Seijuro, you're the best! Let me give you a proper reward!"Sherwin lifted Seijuro Meow into his arms and began petting him.
Seijuro Meow, out of habit, maintained a reserved composure for a moment—then his eyes narrowed in contentment. He began to purr softly, enjoying the service of Sher·Kato-Cat·Win.