Clack.
As Sanji Meow pressed the button on the canister, his whole body was instantly wrapped in a burst of rainbow-colored light.
"Whoa—! He transformed!" Ace didn't take the chance to attack. Instead, his eyes lit up as he exclaimed, "So cool!"
But when the light faded…
"Eh? Doesn't look like much changed?" Ace scratched his head in confusion.
Sanji Meow, after transforming, was still dressed in his white chef uniform. The only additions were a belt with a knife-and-fork emblem and a pair of greaves equipped with jet nozzles.
In truth, the chef uniform on Sanji Meow had already been replaced. The chef set from the Monster Hunter world had long been tucked away by the little yellow cat into his Felyne Paw Pouch. What he wore now was actually a Germa battle suit of the same design, crafted by Haibara Meow.
Of course, there was no need to explain all that to Ace. Once Sanji Meow changed gear, arcs of electricity flickered around him again, and his small figure blurred, vanishing before everyone eyes…
"Diable Jambe · True Flurry of Lilies Meow!"
With the aid of the jet boots, Sanji Meow attacks became even more agile and tricky. Ace, who had been holding his own with pure battle instincts, for the first time fell into disadvantage.
It had to be said—the Germa battle suit, more precisely its jet propulsion system, was practically tailor-made for the nimble Felynes. From some perspectives, the boost it gave the cats was even stronger than what it gave Reiju and the other true cyborgs.
Even Meowjirou, who originally had no intention of relying on the power of the battle suit, silently changed his mind after sparring a few times with Link Meow while wearing it.
Although the tide of battle had shifted sharply, Ace didn't panic at all. On the contrary, his fighting spirit flared even higher.
Gritting his teeth, he used Armament Haki to take the blows head-on, while keeping his focus sharp, tracking Sanji Meow movements.
"Haha! Found you!"
Ace, his face already bruised and swollen from Sanji Meow attacks, suddenly burst into laughter. Then, spinning around, he swung his fist backward.
Boom!
After putting on the battle suit, Sanji Meow attack was blocked head-on by Ace for the first time. A bad premonition instantly rose in the little yellow cat heart.
Sure enough, Ace went on to intercept Sanji Meow strikes with pinpoint accuracy several more times, even finding opportunities to counterattack. The once-tilted battle was pulled back to even ground.
"Observation Haki, huh…"
Sherwin smacked his lips. He wasn't particularly surprised at Ace sudden breakthrough in the middle of battle.
Not to mention, this sort of thing was very common in shōnen manga. The very design of Haki made it easier to break through during combat.
And Ace—an important character in a hot-blooded manga with the bloodline of a Pirate King—apart from this not being a duel of pride or a fight to the death, his mid-battle breakthrough practically had its buff maxed out.
"Sanji, can you handle this?!" Sherwin suddenly shouted at the little yellow cat. "If you lose here, I'll laugh at you for at least a month!"
Of course, this was just his way of cheering Sanji Meow on.
Sure, Ace was a major character with buffs stacked sky-high, but wasn't their own Felyne also a transmigrator blessed with his own fortune? Local characters might manage mid-battle breakthroughs, but that didn't mean transmigrators like them were destined to be stepping stones!
"Good luck, Brother Sanji Meow!"
"This is the first time my battle suit is being used in a real fight—don't you dare drag its reputation down, meow!"
"Sanji little brother, if you lose this time, I'll be adding more training for you, meow!"
The other cats all raised their voices to encourage Sanji Meow.
But to the little yellow cat, the most uplifting words came from Hua Mei Meow—
"Do your best, Brother Sanji."
Though it was nothing more than a simple sentence, it instantly pushed Sanji Meow fighting spirit to its peak.
"I will never let Sister Hua Mei down, meow!!!"
(=`Д=)…And what about us?
Sherwin, the first to speak, narrowed his eyes slightly, already regretting that he'd cheered for this little bastard who valued women over friends.
On the other side, the Spade Pirates swere also shouting encouragement for their captain.
"Don't lose, Captain!"
"You're the man who'll become Pirate King! How can you fall here?!"
With both sides companions cheering them on, the battle between Ace and Sanji Meow grew ever fiercer. The reefs beneath their feet and all around were shaken by the clash, cracking and breaking apart.
"Hahaha… youth really is a wonderful thing."
Crocus rubbed the top of his bald head and couldn't help sighing.
Everything before his eyes reminded him of the days when he had sailed with Roger. It had been a long time since he'd seen such a lively, spirited scene.
With both fighters burning with fighting spirit, the hot-blooded clash kept dragging on…
Dragging on…
On…
…
"How about… we go have dinner first?"
Sherwin looked up at the sky, which had long since grown dark, and made the suggestion.
That the one troublesome thing about the One Piece world—with health bars and stamina bars so ridiculously thick, whenever two evenly matched opponents collide, it not unusual for the fight to last three or five days. The admiral duel between Aokiji and Akainu had even lasted ten full days.
So, as the battle fell into a stalemate, Sherwin, who had at first been watching with interest, was already growing impatient.
"Yay, yay! Klee Meow will fry fish for everyone, meow!"
The little ragdoll, who had started off full of excitement but was now so bored it was yawning, immediately responded.
Right after, Seijuro Meow, who had been meditating, silently rose to his feet, and Link Meow, who had been dozing, also opened his eyes.
(=Φω=)Huamei Meow, who had been nestled in Sherwin arms, jumped down to the ground. "I'll go call Haibara out, meow."
As for the Haibara Meow she mentioned, she had already slipped back into the lab long ago to tinker with her research.
Crocus, lying on his deck chair, also jolted awake and pulled the newspaper off his face.
Deuce and the others had been watching Ace and Sanji Meow fight the whole time, but when Sherwin extended an invitation, they recalled the feast they'd eaten at noon and instantly abandoned their captain, hurrying over eagerly.
Though Link Meow cooking wasn't on Sanji Meow level, it was still excellent. Combined with Sherwin plentiful barbecue and Klee Meow signature fried fish, the dinner turned out quite lavish.
Considering that both Ace and Sanji Meow had already broken through mid-battle, yet hadn't shown much clear improvement for a while, Sherwin called out to the man and cat still fighting:"How about you stop for now, eat something to replenish your strength, then continue later?"
"No more, no more! Even if we keep fighting, we won't settle this!" The one who stopped first was surprisingly Ace, the more aggressive one, and he didn't seem intent on continuing.
For Ace, going from being completely suppressed to fighting sanji to a draw left him fairly satisfied with his progress. The only regret was that he still hadn't achieved his real goal of challenging Sherwin.
Sanji Meow, though a little frustrated, also had no intention of dragging the fight on. After all, his main duty was being a cook, not a fighter.
Of course, that didn't mean Sanji Meow was ready to accept things as they were. He might acknowledge that this time he and Ace ended in a draw, but he definitely wouldn't be content with being caught up to so easily.
"Next time we meet, I'm going to kick you to death, you idiot meow!"
The little yellow cat huffed, waved a tiny fist at Ace, and secretly resolved to step up his regular training.