Who-Who was extremely irritated right now.
Not only because he had been held back by an insignificant Felyne, but also because Link Meow hadn't spoken a single word from start to finish.
Unlike the "taciturn" Link Meow, Who-Who was someone who loved talking during combat.
And it wasn't that he was trying to provoke his opponent with trash talk to make them slip up—it was simply a personal habit.
This probably had something to do with his past as a CP agent. As an intelligence operative, he had always needed to keep his mouth tightly shut, so after defecting from CP9, Who-Who developed a bit of a retaliatory tendency to ramble.
However, aside from sending him reaction images, Link Meow didn't say a single word.
Even though those expressions conveyed plenty of information, for someone like Who-Who—who enjoyed chattering and even trading verbal blows with his opponent—this kind of feedback was pure torture.
Fortunately…
Out of the corner of his eye, Who-Who glanced toward Katakuri side and saw that they had also been stopped, which finally improved his mood a little.
But then, in the next instant, he saw Jack—who was being ridden on the back by Suika Meow, charging around wildly like a startled horse…
The bit of improvement his mood had just gained instantly turned even worse.
レ(=`ω=)┫
Link Meow had no idea about Who-Who complicated state of mind. When the little leopard Felyne saw that his opponent actually dared to look around while fighting him, he immediately leaped up and brought his blade down in a jumping slash.
"Soru!"
Who-Who hurriedly used Soru from the Six Powers to evade, but the moment Link Meow landed, he immediately shook his body and chased after him with Silent Step.
"Geppo!"
=(=`ω=)
Dance-Stepping Leap!
One big cat and one small cat leapt into the air in succession.
"Rankyaku!"
(((レ(=`ω=)
Crescent Moon Slash!
"Damn it! Tekkai!"
After several consecutive exchanges where his responses were all countered by Link Meow using similar methods, Who-Who grew increasingly irritated.
But the little leopard Felyne attack was already right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to hard-block it with Tekkai reinforced by Armament Haki.
(=`ω=)
Link Time + Hunter Art · Sword Dance!
The Master Sword in the little leopard Felyne hands traced streaks of flowing light, slashing at Who-Who again and again at extreme speed.
As usual, the combo ended with a heavy shield bash, smashing Who-Who violently from the sky back down to the ground and creating a cat-shaped crater.
That said, although Tekkai from the Six Powers doesn't look particularly impressive in the manga, it isn't truly something that "can't block anything."
Especially with someone like Who-Who using Tekkai combined with Armament Haki, the defensive power was still extremely formidable.
So after taking Link Meow full combo head-on, Who-Who didn't suffer too much damage. He quickly sprang out of the crater and immediately launched a counterattack.
"Iron Body: Fang Flash!"
Who-Who bared the two fangs that were even longer than his strange daggers and stabbed viciously toward Link Meow, who was still in midair.
Link Meow, however, remained completely unhurried. He calmly adjusted his angle and raised the Hylian Shield in front of himself.
"Not good!"
Who-Who was shocked, but it was already too late to change direction. He could only force as much Armament Haki as possible into those two long fangs.
Even so, it was all in vain.
(=`ω=)┫く
Perfect shield parry!
Who-Who only heard a burst of cracking sounds. His mouth went numb, a strong taste of rust spread instantly, and his entire body was sent flying back into the crater that had just been smashed out.
Along with the blood spraying from his mouth, two white broken fangs spun as they flew into the air, only to be caught by Link Meow, who was stepping through a dancing leap.
(=ω=)
Link Meow, who loved collecting all kinds of strange little ornaments, narrowed his eyes, clearly very satisfied with this pair of "trophies."
...
Just as Suika Meow, Huamei Meow, and Link Meow joined forces to stop the Beasts Pirates, the situation on the Big Mom Pirate side was also far from smooth.
Katakuri had only just started to feel relieved upon seeing Jack and the others being held back, when his Observation Haki already foresaw what they would face a few seconds later…
"Everyone! Move closer to me, now!"
Katakuri shouted as he directly activated his Devil Fruit awakening, turning the surrounding ground into mochi. A massive hemispherical mochi wall rose up, enveloping both himself and a wide area around him.
Trusting Katakuri completely, the Charlotte Family rushed to his side immediately.
The members of the subordinate pirate crews were a beat slower, and the pirates who were farther away were blasted into the air by a massive explosion.
Although Katakuri mochi wall blocked the blast, it was still torn open with a huge gap.
From that opening fell a small blue cat, her body wrapped in ammunition, holding a machine gun in one hand and a rocket launcher in the other.
"I never even imagined that one day I'd blow up the entire battlefield… my combo move with Klee Meow really is the strongest, meow!"
(=`=)
Jinx sighed with emotion for a moment, then greeted Katakuri and the others in front of her. "Hello there, and then… you can go die now, meow!"
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!"
"Whoosh—boom!"
The bang-bang gun in the little mad cat hands spewed blazing muzzle flashes, while Fishbone launched missile after missile of death.
After eating the Explosion Fruit, she no longer had to worry about injuring herself by mistake.
Missiles trailing fiery exhaust and countless bullets infused with Armament Haki formed what looked like chaotic firepower, yet was in fact terrifyingly precise, firmly pinning the Big Mom Pirates in place.
Katakuri possessed Observation Haki capable of seeing the future, yet under Jinx overwhelming suppressive fire, he couldn't find even the slightest opening to counterattack.
He could only keep working together with Cracker, using their abilities to create mochi walls and biscuit walls to block the explosions—each one weaker than the initial "cat–cat combo technique," but coming one after another without pause.
Fortunately, the little mad cat firepower suppression still followed some basic rules.
Even though Fishbone had been modified by Purah Meow and Suika Meow abilities, the ammunition inside was ultimately limited. After a round of frenzied bombardment, her Reaper Missiles were finally exhausted.
And with Armament Haki bullets alone, Jinx had no way to keep Katakuri and the others pinned down.
"Trying to run?! Flowing Mochi Mass!"
Having been forced into passive defense the whole time, Katakuri foresaw through his Observation Haki that, once the missiles ran out, Jinx planned to rocket-jump away.
He immediately activated his awakened ability, controlling the ground beneath—now transformed into mochi—to surge toward the little mad cat.
"Flying Cat Sword Control Style · Secret Art · Nine-Lives Cat Flash."
Just as the mochi mass was about to seize Jinx, Seijuro Meow flashed in front of her, swinging the "Kikyo Tōgetsu" in his hand to disperse it.
Taking the opportunity, Jinx blasted off into the distance on Fishbone, flames jetting out behind her.
But the little mad cat had no intention of leaving the battlefield just yet. While still in midair, she had already turned back and set up her bang-bang gun, spraying fire down at the Big Mom Pirates below.
Katakuri had actually foreseen Seijuro Meow arrival as well, but in the future he saw, his own hastily made move simply couldn't stop Jinx from escaping—so he didn't even bother wasting the effort.
And moreover…
A figure carrying the longsword stepped up before him and provocatively crooked a finger at Katakuri.