"Kid, if you know what's good for you, hand over all your money!"
In a narrow alley, four burly men with knives surrounded a young man. Each of them had a fierce glint in their eyes, and the one speaking now was clearly the leader.
The four thugs were intent on robbing this fragile-looking young man, all wearing sly smiles.
The young man looked only about seventeen or eighteen, with a fit build and upright posture.
Perched on the young man's shoulder was a blue cat. Judging by its appearance, it was probably a British Shorthair or Russian Blue.
The cat seemed intelligent, looking at the four knife-wielding men with a vivid expression of 'fear' on its face—who knew why a cat's expressions could be so rich!
"Bosses, I really don't have any money!" the young man said, showing fear appropriately, his eyes darting around. "Can you let me go this once? I'll pay you once I earn some money?"
"Kid, are you mocking me?" The leader scowled, pulling out a wanted poster and thrusting it in front of the young man. "I'm Sword, the great cleaver with a bounty of 8 million Berries! I've already taken down 56 people like you!"
"In that case, there's no other way." The young man's eyes lit up, confirming it was indeed the same person on the poster, then placed the cat from his shoulder onto the ground. "Tom, go! Take him down!"
The air fell silent for a moment before the four men burst into laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"Boss, he wants to send a cat after you!"
"Could it be he's planning to make us laugh to death and then collect the bounty?"
"Ha ha ha!"
Sword's three subordinates laughed so hard their stomachs hurt. What could a cat possibly do? Look at it, staring blankly at the boss, probably so scared it forgot to even run away.
Sword wiped the corner of his eyes, having just laughed to the point of tears, and regained his menacing expression: "Looks like we've been completely underestimated."
It wasn't surprising they laughed—Tom had zero intimidation. Standing upright, he was about the same height as Chopper, and his goofy, innocent look gave no hint of any combat ability.
Tom stood on two legs, big innocent eyes fixed on the young man, a finger in his mouth, looking utterly confused: I'm just a cute little cat, and you expect me to deal with that scary guy?!
But there was no time for Tom to think. Sword's massive blade came crashing down toward his head. Even a tiger would be no match for this blow.
However, this time Sword missed.
Tom's fur bristled as he instinctively dodged, the sharp blade scraping past his back, his little heart pounding.
It was really pounding. On his chest, a heart-shaped patch visibly thumped out and in.
Cold sweat formed on Tom's forehead. He used his tiny paws to press the heart back in place, fearfully glancing behind him, only to see his smooth back missing fur, a small pile of blue hair on the ground… and a white tail tip.
"Waaah…" Tom knelt, tears dripping to the ground.
He carefully gathered the fur into a pile, pressed it back on his back, then aligned the tail tip with the rest of his tail, twisting it a few times like a bottle cap. With a gentle stroke, his tail returned to normal. He then glared at Sword, scared but angry.
The robbers stared, dumbfounded. What kind of magic is this cat using?
Naturally, they considered one possibility: "Could it be… a Devil Fruit user?"
Their eyes lit up. On this island, there was a human auction house, where a Devil Fruit user was extremely valuable—catching one could be worth hundreds of their robberies.
Previously, they only met powerful pirates as Devil Fruit users, and their small-time skills were not enough to mess with them.
But now… just a cat!
Why rob anyone? Capturing and selling this cat alone could make them rich for a long time.
Sword shouted immediately: "Be careful! Don't kill it!"
"Understood, boss!"
The four surrounded trembling Tom, while the "sensible" young man had already moved to the corner, ignored by them.
The young man quietly watched the show, seemingly unconcerned for Tom's safety: Go ahead, if you kill him, I lose.
He thought this, but his right hand was pressed on his left, seemingly preparing something.
"Attack!" Sword commanded. Two subordinates lunged forward with open hands.
Tom gasped, mouth wide, tongue stretching long, then flattened himself on the ground, covering his head.
The two subordinates collided face-to-face midair, stars spinning in their eyes.
Their hands, meant to grab Tom, locked together, and they fell to the ground side by side, dazed, next to Tom.
Hearing the noise, Tom peeked, saw their foolish faces, and sprang energetically.
"Ah~ ha ha ha…" Tom covered his belly with one paw, pointed at the two idiots, and let out a very human-like laugh.
"Those two idiots!" Sword was furious at being mocked by a cat. "Block its way, I'll handle it myself!"
The remaining subordinate obediently held a knife behind Tom, while Sword raised his blade to strike, using the flat side to avoid killing him.
What happened next completely shocked Sword:
He slashed left—Tom dodged right.
He swung right—Tom dodged left.
He swept horizontally—Tom ducked swiftly.
He swung downward—Tom lifted himself by his tail!
Three minutes later, Sword was out of breath and drenched in sweat. Normally, he could fight intensely for hours, but today he was exhausted in minutes.
The young man nearby yawned, unimpressed by the cat's moves—so few, so clumsy, not even named attacks. Truly unskilled yet proud.
Tom, after dodging over a hundred strikes in three minutes, became more fluid and confident. His smile grew bold.
This guy was clumsier than expected; Jerry and his relatives were much stronger.
Seeing Sword lean on his sword to catch his breath, Tom stretched his mouth, stuck out his tongue: "Bleh bleh bleh~~"
Tom's taunt worked perfectly.
Sword, eyes red, gripped his sword with all his might and slashed—this was his strongest strike yet, using the blade, not the flat side.
He had a premonition—this strike would not miss!
"Ah~" A scream—but not from Tom. Sword's strike hit his remaining subordinate.
Tom had extended his leg, tripping the fleeing subordinate. The poor man fell into the path of Sword's blade.
"Boss! I…"
A deep cut appeared on the subordinate's chest, blood spraying, eyes rolling back, collapsing. His knife flew from his hand.
Coincidentally, the knife hit Sword on the head. Exhausted, Sword was knocked back, rolling, eyes wide.
Tom smiled victoriously, lightly hopping and flicking Sword's back of the head with a paw.
Sword fell flat.
Tom proudly looked at the young man, patting himself as if to say the job was done.
"Good job, Tom! A treat later!" The young man patted Tom's head, praising happily.
Tom rubbed against his hand, drooling at the thought of a treat.
"First, tie them up and take them to the navy base. If they're worth 8 million, we can finally move out of the old man's house and get you a comfy new cat bed."
Tom imagined his old cozy nest, nodded happily, and pulled out a rope seemingly from nowhere, expertly tying up the robbers.
The young man was unfazed—Tom always produced tools from under his fur, and no one knew how much he hid.
Shake Tom upside down and matches, firecrackers, mousetraps, and other random items would fall out—he was like a four-dimensional pocket, magical indeed.
Now, Tom even pulled out some tools, found some planks, and built a simple flat cart, stacking all four men on it.
The robbers wobbled unpredictably but remained on the cart.
One young man and one cat together pulled the cart toward the nearest navy base.
[Please give powerstones if you're enjoying the story.
I'm mass releasing until chapter 100 then 2-3 chapters per day.
50 chapters today and the rest over the next 5 days]