77 Samurai Cat

When Sherwin summoned Klee Meow the first time, the summoning ticket had spontaneously combusted—an unmistakable trait of a fire-type UP banner. This time, summoning the blade-type Felyne followed a similar pattern...

With Observation Haki activated, Sherwin sensed a sharp aura rapidly gathering in the iron-gray summoning ticket in his hand. He quickly let go, and in the very next instant, the ticket seemed to have been slashed by something—it was cleanly cut in half.

Immediately after, more and more "cut marks" appeared on the ticket, and in the blink of an eye, it was shredded into tiny fragments...

In fact, calling it "fragments" didn't quite do it justice—because the ticket had literally been sliced out of existence.

What the hell was that? Atomic slash? Did I just summon an atomic samurai Felyne?

Sherwin scratched his head a little, still patiently waiting, using his Observation Haki to stay alert to any changes around him.

He and Sanji Meow had both experienced summoning once before, so they were able to stay calm. But Klee Meow clearly didn't have that kind of patience.

When she saw the summoning ticket vanish, she tilted her little head and looked around. Seeing that no new Felyne had appeared, she immediately started tugging at Sherwin clothes.

"Sherwin-nii, where the new friend? Why can't Klee see them, nya?"

"Don't worry. You didn't get blasted over here instantly either, remember?"

Sherwin held the restless little plush-like Felyne and gently patted her back as he explained.

Knock knock knock...

At that moment, the room door was suddenly knocked upon. And just as the knocking sound echoed, Sherwin also simultaneously sensed a new aura—it had abruptly appeared outside the door.

Well, this method of arrival... wasn't all that unexpected. The only surprising part was that the newcomer actually knocked.

"Is it the new friend, nya?!"

Klee Meow excitedly waved her little paws, smacking Sherwin face and nose in the process.

"Is it a beautiful big sister Felyne, nya?!"

Sanji Meow was even faster to react. He darted straight to the door and leapt up to fling it open...

"Huh? Why did Sanji-nii turn white, nya?"

"Young man, are you alright? Do you need me to go find a doctor for you, nya?"

The newly summoned Felyne outside the door asked kindly. That deep, magnetic baritone voice instantly explained the reason for Sanji Meow ashen-white state.

Sherwin stepped forward, scooped up the now soul-departed Sanji Meow, and set him aside. Then he turned to the newcomer and said, "Don't worry about him. Just let him be for a while. Come on in first."

"Then I shall respectfully accept your invitation."

The new Felyne spoke in a rather archaic tone. He nodded to Sherwin and stepped into the room.

Under the lighting, his appearance became much clearer to Sherwin.

It was a black long-haired cat—Sherwin couldn't quite identify the breed. He was a bit taller than Sanji Meow, standing at about 1.2 meters. He wore a simple cyan short robe, but over it, he had a rather flamboyant white cloak. The cloak was lined with red, and its massive collar stood tall like a vampire count cape.

At his waist hung a longsword with no decorations—no guard, nothing fancy—just a plain wooden scabbard.

As expected from a blade-type UP banner. And this outfit…

Sherwin scanned the Felyne clothing up and down. It looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen it before.

While Sherwin was sizing him up, the Felyne was also observing Sherwin. The two simply stared at each other, neither speaking a word. Combined with the "deceased" Sanji Meow, the whole room fell into an eerie silence.

In the end, it was Klee Meow—still in Sherwin arms—who broke the silence. Tilting her plushy head, she curiously asked, "Hello, big bro nya! I'm Klee. What your name, nya?"

"Ah… I have been most discourteous, nya."

The black Felyne took two steps back, then knelt on one knee before Sherwin and bowed his head.

"A wandering ronin—Hiko Seijuro. From this day forward, I pledge myself as the blade in the hands of the esteemed Hunter, nya!"

"Ah!" Upon hearing the name, Sherwin suddenly came to his senses. No wonder that outfit looked so familiar!

Hiko Seijuro—he was the mentor of Himura Kenshin in the manga Rurouni Kenshin, and one of the top-tier characters in terms of strength throughout the series.

Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū, huh? That sword style was insanely stylish, and it revolved around battōjutsu—perfect for someone like Sherwin, who had already mastered Three-Sword Nose Song and Divine Might Iaijutsu.

The only downside, Sherwin thought, was that Rurouni Kenshin as a whole had a much lower power scale.

Hiko seijuro meow Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū would most likely have to adapt and merge with the swordsmanship of this world.

"Sherwin-nii…"

Sherwin, lost in thought, was pulled back to reality by the voice of Klee Meow in his arms. Only then did he realize seijuro meow was still kneeling there. He hurried forward to help him up.

"Just call me Sherwin. We're companions, not master and servant."

But seijuro meow shook his head. "Lord Sherwin is the master to whom I have sworn loyalty. I cannot abandon proper decorum, nya."

Huh? Was Hiko Seijuro really that uptight of a character?

Sherwin scratched his head, feeling like this seijuro meow didn't quite match the Seijuro from his memory.

But then again…

Who cares if you're in character or not—as long as you're a cat, you can't escape the divine hands of Kato Cat!

Sherwin gently set Klee Meow down, then reached out and gave seijuro meow a good ol' vigorous rub. The once-serious seijuro meow quickly squinted his eyes, purring contentedly as he leaned into Sherwin hand, nuzzling against the holy paw of Kato Cat.

"Hehe~"

Sherwin withdrew his hand, smiling warmly at the clearly-enjoying Seijuro Meow.

"S-Sorry… I… I…"

Snapping back to reality, Seijuro Meow stammered, bowing his head in shame.

"It fine. As a cat, there nothing embarrassing about liking to be petted." Sherwin reached out again to gently ruffle Seijuro Meow furry head.

"Besides, we're not in our original world anymore, so just relax a bit."

"Not in our original world?" Seijuro Meow blinked and murmured,

"Now that you mention it, the furniture style here is different from what I'm used to. I thought I had just arrived on another continent, meow…"

Hmm, from the sound of it, Seijuro Meow must've traveled to quite a few places before being summoned.

But his past experiences could wait for later. Sherwin first explained the general situation of the pirate world and the method he used to summon a Felyne.

"A completely different world from before?" Seijuro Meow pondered for a moment, then a grin of excitement slowly spread across his face.

"And with all sorts of skilled sword users… sounds like a real challenge, meow!"

"Exactly. In fact, I was just planning to visit a swordmaster of this world. I think you'd have a great exchange with him. Also, I'd like to learn Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu from you." Sherwin seized the opportunity to make his request to learn swordsmanship.

"Meow? How did Lord Sherwin know about the sword style I created, meow?" Seijuro Meow asked curiously.

"..."

Oh, right—"Hiko Seijuro" is a name passed down through generations of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu swordmasters, so...

Could this cat before him actually be the original Seijuro Meow? No wonder his personality feels different from the one in the manga.

"It an honor that Lord Sherwin wants to learn my swordsmanship, meow. However…" Seijuro Meow corrected him seriously,

"The sword style I created isn't called Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. It called Flying Cat Sword Style, meow."

Sherwin: "…Ahem, great name!"