???
(=ω=)
Seeing the mark on Hancock back, Klee Meow scratched her head in confusion.
The little Felyne simply couldn't understand it. To her, it looked a bit like the paw print emblem used by their Investigation Team—what was there to hide so carefully?
Just as Klee Meow was puzzling over it, Haibara Meow and Jinx, who had entered the room right after her, also came over to her side.
Like the little ragdoll Felyne, the small crazy cat and the little milk cat were equally baffled after seeing this strange pattern, unable to figure out what was so secret about it.
Jinx, who had originally planned to photograph the "moss" on Hancock back and publish it in the newspaper to teach her a lesson, looked especially disappointed.
"Who there?!"
Hancock, who had been washing her hair, seemed to sense something and suddenly spun around.
The little Felynes were still maintaining their astral possession state, so Hancock hadn't actually noticed them.
However, the two "Devil Fruits" hanging on Haibara Meow body, which could not enter astral possession…
Even though their presence wasn't very strong, at this distance, with Hancock level of strength, she could still sense them.
"Ah… we've been found out, meow."
(=＞＜=)
Klee Meow rubbed the back of her head and stuck out her tongue playfully.
At this moment, she still had no idea how serious the situation was.
Then in the very next second, a heart-shaped pink beam of light shot straight toward them…
"mero mero mellow!"
"Meow?"
In her panic, Hancock forgot that in the eyes of the cats, the world most beautiful woman was not much different from any other human…
From a certain point of view, she might even be less impressive than Big Mom and her bizarre daughters.
"Big Sister!" "Big Sister, what happened?!"
At that moment, Sandersonia and Marigold, who had heard the commotion outside, rushed in. What they saw made their minds go blank—three small furred cats standing by the edge of the bath, facing off against Hancock…
"How did you end up here?!"
The two of them froze instantly.
Not to mention Jinx, who had defeated Marigold in the arena—Klee Meow, who had appeared in the News Bird several times and enjoyed huge popularity thanks to her cute looks, was also someone they knew well…
She was the most troublesome Logia-type Devil Fruit user!
And most importantly, these little cats were completely unaffected by the Sweet-Sweet Fruit. They were, in every sense, a natural counter to their big sister.
Not to mention that aside from these three cats, there were even more cats outside, as well as Hunter Sherwin, another of the Seven Warlords whose strength surpassed Hancock.
So now, this was no longer a question of whether they should silence witnesses—but whether they even could.
"Why are you so angry, meow?"
(=ω=)
Sensing the emotions of the Boa sisters, Klee Meow grew even more confused. Because aside from anger, she felt other emotions as well—
Fear, worry, sadness, confusion, pain…
The last time the little ragdoll had sensed such complicated emotions was when nekomushi and inuarashi of Zou had their defenses shattered by Sherwin.
Moved by the emotional reaction of the Boa sisters, the little angel Klee Meow no longer bothered to dwell on Hancock bullying the cats earlier. She softened her tone and took the initiative to apologize.
"I'm sorry, meow. We were just curious about what that curse was, so we sneaked in to take a look… Please don't be angry, okay, meow?"
(=ω=)
After firing off a mero mero mellow, Hancock gradually calmed down. Realizing that there was nothing she could do against these cats, she fell silent for a moment, then slumped to the ground as if all her strength had drained away, hugged her knees, and began to sob quietly.
"D-Don't cry…" Seeing Hancock like this, the little ragdoll panicked even more.
She trotted over to her side and gently patted her shoulder to comfort her. "Klee promises you, meow. I won't tell anyone else about the pattern on your back."
Haibara Meow and Jinx exchanged a glance, then followed up, "Yeah, yeah, we'll keep it a secret for you too, meow!"
Given the personalities of those two little troublemakers, they naturally wouldn't change their attitude just because Hancock shed a few little pearls.
But since Klee Meow had already spoken, as the older sisters they could only go along with it.
And besides…
Now that they had already been discovered, in order to avoid being punished afterward by Lord Huamei, it was also necessary to get on good terms with Hancock, so that she wouldn't run off to complain to Huamei Meow.
As the saying goes, sincerity is the ultimate trump card.
Klee Meow the little angel always made her goodwill unmistakably clear, and Hancock was no exception.
"This mark… is called the Hoof of the Dragon. It is a crest belonging to the Celestial Dragons…"
After gently wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes, she honestly told the cats about the origin and meaning of the pattern on her back.
"It is branded onto every person kept by the World Nobles. It is proof of being a 'lower race' that can never be erased for an entire lifetime…"
"Celestial Dragons!"
∑(=ΦДΦ=)
The little ragdoll suddenly understood. "Klee heard Brother Sherwin talk about them before. They're a bunch of really bad and really troublesome bad guys, meow! So you were bullied by them?"
"No wonder your attitude toward us suddenly got better. Is it because we freed those slaves at the Sabaody Archipelago before, meow?"
Haibara Meow nodded with a look of understanding.
"Yes," Hancock said after finally opening her heart, no longer being stubborn and speaking frankly.
"My sisters and I were rescued from the Celestial Dragons back then. So after learning that the Hunter had also freed slaves, we stopped holding any grudge against you…"
"Hmph! Even if you did hold a grudge, we're not afraid, meow! You couldn't beat us anyway, meow!"
(=へ=)
Jinx crossed her arms and curled her lips dismissively.
Hancock, who had been sinking into dark memories and feeling emo, was choked up by that remark, and her emotions instantly lost their rhythm.
"..."
She gave the little blue cat who had disrupted her mood a speechless look, then steadied herself and continued,
"Speaking of which, the person who saved me back then was connected to you—and to Jinbe as well… He was the founder of the Sun Pirates, the fish-man Fisher Tiger.
The Sun Pirate tattoo was actually created to cover up the Hoof of the Dragon branded on the fish-men who were rescued."
"Oh! I've heard Princess Shirahoshi mention him!" Jinx nodded in agreement. "He was an amazing guy, meow."
"Big Brother Sherwin also told Klee about that fish-man named Tiger, meow!" the little ragdoll added from the side.
"Big Brother Sherwin even said that if he hadn't died, he would actually have been more suitable to be the king of the Ryugu Kingdom than Uncle Neptune, meow!"
Among the three kittens, Haibara Meow was still the most reliable. She didn't let her thoughts scatter along with the other two, but instead asked curiously,
"Then why don't you learn from the Sun Pirates and cover this mark with a new pattern, meow? That shouldn't be something very difficult, meow."
(=ω=)
"Because… I don't want to—and I don't dare to let others see this mark…"
Hancock hugged herself tightly, curling up into a ball, her voice trembling as she answered.
"I'm afraid that this secret might leak out through someone else mouth, so I'd rather use the excuse of the Gorgon Curse to keep others from seeing my back.
And besides… covering it up with another mark would also make me recall that dark past I never want to touch again…"
"Wuwu… waaah—!!! Aaaah—!!!"
As Hancock spoke, Sandersonia at the side seemed to recall her own miserable experience from back then as well. Triggered by psychological trauma, she clutched her head and wailed.
"Sister Sonia! Calm down!"
Marigold hurriedly held down her somewhat out-of-control second sister. Only after her calls did Sandersonia gradually calm down.
"Those Celestial Dragons really are just like Big Brother Sherwin said—nothing but a bunch of bad guys, meow!"
(=н=)
Seeing the Boa sisters like this and feeling the extreme fear in their hearts, the little ragdoll puffed up her cheeks in righteous indignation…
"If there a chance, Klee will definitely blow them all up into the sky, meow!"
"But…"
After speaking up passionately, Klee Meow then looked at Hancock with a serious expression.
(=ˇˇ=)
"Even though what they did to you was really pitiful, that still not an excuse for you to bully other people and cats whenever you want! If you do that, wouldn't you just become the same as those Celestial Dragons, meow?!"
…