The Fiercest Cat Meets the Dragon!

"Black Cat, don't these Marines seem a bit off, meow?"

Fishing Cat stood at the stern of the ship, gazing at the fleet of Marine ships still relentlessly pursuing them. He curiously asked the Den Den Mushi in his hand, as he only had a vague feeling about it and couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

This was the moment when Tripod Cat, who was just a tad smarter than him, would come to his rescue!

"It's the artillery fire, meow!"

Sure enough, Black Cat didn't disappoint this time. The expression on the Den Den Mushi, which resembled their third brother, looked very serious.

"The Marines are gradually reducing the frequency of their artillery fire, meow!"

Tripod Cat, who was also standing at the stern of the black ship, spoke while pondering the issue with a mix of suspicion and unease. However, Fishing Cat on the other side showed a look of delight and laughed, "Could it be that they're running out of cannonballs, meow?"

The former immediately shook his head, dismissing the possibility.

"That's impossible. Everyone knows that the South Sea Marines are the second wealthiest among the four seas. Cannonballs are as common to them as bullets are to us, meow."

Just then, with the final explosion echoing over the nearby waters, the world suddenly fell silent. The sound of waves crashing against the deck once again became the dominant melody.

"Black Cat, they've stopped firing, meow!"

Fishing Cat, the white cat, shouted in surprise. Since the two ships weren't far apart and the artillery had ceased, Tripod Cat, the black cat, could faintly hear it even without the Den Den Mushi.

"Strange, very strange. We're still a long way from Reverse Mountain, and these Marines still don't seem intent on catching up, meow."

The latter looked around the sea and realized they were once again surrounded on three sides, but the Marine ships were now just quietly following.

[Tap tap tap tap]

At that moment, a series of hurried footsteps approached Tripod Cat from behind. As he turned around, he saw a crew member running toward him in a panic, spreading his arms wide and shouting, "Captain! There are Marines ahead of us too! And... and they're, they're, no, they're super huge—!"

At the same time, a similar situation was unfolding on the white ship.

In the next moment, Black Cat and White Cat moved at an astonishing speed, turning into blurry afterimages as they rushed from the stern to the bow. There, they saw five unimaginably massive Marine warships heading straight toward them.

"What... what is that, meow?"

Fishing Cat, the white cat, muttered in disbelief, his mouth agape. As a Cat-Cat Fruit user, his visual abilities were exceptionally strong, allowing him to see more clearly than most.

The warships ahead were estimated to be several times larger than the South Sea Marine ships behind them, especially with their terrifyingly large triple-barreled turrets.

"If I'm not mistaken, those must be the legendary Marine Headquarters warships, meow," Tripod Cat answered, his face pale.

"Marine Headquarters?"

"Yes, I never expected the nobles of the South Sea to have such influence, actually calling in the Headquarters Marines to capture us." Tripod Cat's mood at this moment was complicated.

Feeling both despair and an inexplicable sense of flattery, after all, among all the pirate crews in the South Blue, none had ever attracted the attention of the Marine Headquarters. In that regard, they were quite impressive.

"Ah, what am I thinking about at a time like this? Meow?!"

On the other side, aboard the warship, Dragon received an inquiry from the lower deck sailors about whether to open fire. His answer, of course, was no. With the firepower of these headquarters-class warships, just one hit would essentially disable the enemy ship, and then how would they practice?

"Rear Admiral Avène, I'll leave this to you. Please notify the warships from the South Blue to return, and convey my thanks and appreciation for their hard work."

"No problem, looking forward to your performance!" Rear Admiral Avène replied with a gentle smile.

Performance?

Dragon gave him a puzzled look, but at that moment, the familiar sound of cannon fire rang out again, followed by two sharp whistling sounds piercing through the air.

Looking up, they saw two red-hot cannonballs hurtling towards them at high speed.

"Well, I never expected the pirates of the South Blue to have such guts, actually charging towards us!" Rear Admiral Avène raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

At the same time, Dragon transformed into a pale green whirlwind and soared into the sky, the fierce winds causing Rear Admiral Avène's Justice Coat to flap noisily.

"So this is the power of the Logia-type Hurricane Fruit, pretty cool~" The latter watched the departing green whirlwind with a look of envy in his eyes.

Onboard the Black Cat Pirates' ship, the Den Den Mushi in Tripod Cat's hand showed a fierce expression.

"Forget about headquarters or branches, since there's no way out, we'll just have to fight our way through. After all, it's just three warships, even if they're a bit bigger, at most they have a few times more people. Let's take them on, meow!"

Hearing Fishing Cat's words, Tripod Cat had to admit that in this situation, the other party had more courage than he did, and indeed, that was the only way.

At this moment, he fully realized the South Blue Navy's intention: not to drive them into the Grand Line, but to corner them in front of this Marine Headquarters fleet! "You're right, sometimes you just have to fight with all you've got, and now is one of those times, meow!"

With that, Tripod Cat's body underwent a dramatic transformation visible to the naked eye. His size rapidly expanded, thick white-yellow fur grew from his pores, his ear tips became rounded, and his pupils turned a pale green.

This was the beast form of the Zoan-type Cat-Cat Fruit, Pallas Cat Form! The Pallas's Cat, also known as the Manul, is recognized as the most powerful and ferocious cat, living in cold regions. It's said that they have undergone little evolution over five million years, thus retaining their most primitive form.

"Prepare for battle! Meow—!"

Tripod Cat shouted to the surrounding crew, his voice rougher than before.

"Meow!!!"

Nearly three hundred crew members from the Black Cat Pirates and White Cat Pirates roared in unison, both to cheer for the upcoming battle and to express their trust in the strength of their two captains.

After all, they were two Devil Fruit users, what was there to fear?!

In the next moment, some people noticed that the cannonballs they had fired were actually reversing mid-air and heading straight back towards them. The two dark cannonballs grew larger and larger in their vision.

"Watch out!!"

A piercing scream alerted all the pirates on both ships to the danger.

[Swish! Swish!]

Fortunately, the captains they had always trusted did not disappoint.

A white and a black blur leaped over the tall mast. With sharp cat claws tearing through the air, the two cannonballs that were flying back towards their respective ships were instantly sliced into three pieces, zooming past the ships and exploding on the sea surface.

"Wow!!"

Such a stunning scene immediately excited the pirates on both ships. Every time they witnessed their captains 'tearing apart' cannonballs with their bare hands, they reacted this way.

However, the expressions of 'Tripod Cat' and 'Fishing Cat' as they landed back on the deck showed no signs of relaxation. Instead, they became even more alert and tense.

They knew very well that cannonballs couldn't fly back on their own. Such an illogical event, as Devil Fruit users, the first thing they could think of was the power of a Devil Fruit.

Moreover, as Zoan-type users, their sixth sense was more sensitive. This unprecedented sense of intense crisis made their fur stand on end.

[Whoosh!]

Suddenly, a strong wind rose from the deck of the black ship, lifting a dozen pirates with drastically changed expressions high into the air. In the area that had been abruptly cleared, a tall and burly Marine officer appeared in the wind.