Boom! Boom!
Boom!
"Oh, what a mischievous little fellow! Let me catch you!"
Under the cloak of night, Cross rampaged through the village, destroying multiple houses and kicking up clouds of dust, all in an attempt to catch the small, two-tailed cat.
The villagers, witnessing the seemingly delicate Cross's sudden ferocity, collapsing wooden and stone houses with mere body checks, could hardly believe their eyes.
The Nekomata, scampering frantically, would occasionally grow larger or shrink smaller. Coupled with the dark night, the village's complex environment, and the cover of a dozen other cats, it desperately tried to shake off Cross.
Yet, no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn't escape his pursuit.
When the other playful kittens tried to interfere with Cross, the Enliven creatures circling in the sky simply snatched them up and carried them aloft.
The terrified kittens could then be heard meowing frantically, struggling endlessly in the Enliven creatures' talons.
Before long, Cross and the Nekomata continued their chase, leading them to a desolate graveyard outside the village, overgrown with weeds.
The Nekomata suddenly stopped, its large, round vertical pupils, like emerald amber, fixated on Cross.
"Little cat, why aren't you running anymore?"
Cross patted the dust off himself and said with a smile, "If you don't want to run, then just obediently revert to your human form!"
"You annoying guy, meow—"
The Nekomata furiously spat out a word, then let out a piercing cry. Rings of ripples spread outward, as if some miraculous power had erupted.
"Hm?!"
Cross's expression subtly changed. He instinctively looked around and saw a rotten arm breaking through the earth beneath a tombstone.
Thump-thump~
Thump-thump-thump~
Following this, decaying corpses and skeletons crawled out from underground, dressed in ragged clothes, with disgusting maggots wriggling all over their bodies, emitting a foul, pungent odor.
"As expected, it can control corpses… A Mythical Zoan ability… How disgusting!" Cross muttered with a grim expression.
"Meow!"
The Nekomata let out another piercing cry, as if it were a signal for attack. Dozens, even hundreds, of swaying corpses and skeletons began to walk forward, picking up speed until they were running towards Cross.
"These are the villagers' ancestors, aren't they? What a nuisance!"
Cross frowned deeply, re-sheathing his Kagehide. He skillfully dodged the attacks from these corpses.
If he wanted to, he could easily dismember these 'people' with his sword, but since they were the villagers' ancestors, he felt reluctant to destroy them.
However, these corpses were truly disgusting. Cross, who had a slight obsession with cleanliness, absolutely didn't want to be touched by them.
So, he leaped high into the air, using Geppo to gain altitude, soaring over the 'reanimated' corpses in front of him, and reached out to grab the Nekomata's head.
"Meow, meow, meow!"
The Nekomata was stunned, never expecting this wingless guy could fly.
Then, it quickly rolled, narrowly avoiding Cross's grasp, before flipping back onto its feet. Its four paws pushed off with sudden force, and it shot out like a black bolt of lightning.
Its sharp, hook-like claws extended from its paw pads, aiming directly for Cross's neck.
"Perfect timing!"
The next second, Cross smiled and quickly extended both hands, precisely grabbing the Nekomata's two front paws.
"Meow! Meow! Meow!"
The Nekomata stood on its hind legs, its gaze meeting Cross's at close proximity, then it struggled desperately in a panic.
However, Cross's hands were like steel clamps, firmly gripping the Nekomata's front paws. This made it impossible for the Nekomata to break free.
"Meow!"
The Nekomata cried out urgently, opening its mouth and biting towards Cross's neck.
Clang.
Seeing this, Cross showed no intention of dodging, letting the Nekomata bite his neck and continuously tear at it.
"Meow?!"
A moment later, the Nekomata was somewhat dumbfounded. It felt as if it were biting a piece of alloy steel plate. Its incredibly sharp, double-edged saw-like teeth scraped against Cross's shiny black neck, even producing sparks, yet it couldn't inflict the slightest harm.
"It's useless. Just obediently surrender!"
Cross wore a doting expression, intimately rubbing his cheek against the Nekomata's soft black fur. Then he pressed the creature to the ground and reached out to grab its neck.
"Meow…"
The Nekomata felt intense suffocation and its eyes rolled back involuntarily. Its body unconsciously shrank to the size of a kitten.
"Huh?!"
Cross was somewhat surprised. He released the Nekomata's neck, reached out, grabbed the soft flesh at the back of its neck, and lifted it up.
"Let me go, meow! You hateful two-legged beast, meow! Meow! Meow!"
The Nekomata cried out in anger, like a normal adorable kitten, its four legs flailing in the air, yet it still didn't transform into human form.
"What in the world is a 'two-legged beast'?!"
After a long pause, Cross looked uncertain and asked softly, "Could it be that you… are truly just a cat?!"
...
The next morning.
"What!!!"
Gion's surprised cry echoed from the captain's cabin: "You're saying this cat is that monster?!"
"Don't shout so loudly!"
Cross sat calmly on the soft sofa, leisurely sipping red tea. On the solid wood coffee table in front of him, a small black cat was tied with an iron chain, lying prostrate and resigned.
"Are you sure you're not joking?"
Gion knelt in front of the coffee table, looking at the small black cat from left to right, unable to fathom how this adorable little black cat could have defeated hundreds of Marine soldiers.
"It's just a cat that accidentally ate a Zoan: Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Nekomata!" Cross glanced at Gion and explained.
"A Mythical Zoan…"
Gion gasped, her voice filled with regret. "To think it ate a Mythical Zoan that's even rarer than a Logia type… This is truly… good fortune!"
"So, what do you plan to do with it?"
Gion then looked at Cross and asked softly.
"I'm having a headache over that myself!" Cross said helplessly. "This little guy injured many villagers, and even those from Marine Headquarters G-46 Branch and your subordinates. It wounded and killed nearly a hundred people, but killing it would be such a waste."
Hearing Cross mention her subordinates, Gion's expression turned cold. Her eyes, filled with killing intent, glared at the small cat. "This little guy… needs a good lesson!"
"Meow~"
The small black cat pitifully glanced at Gion, its head drooping weakly.
"I asked it, and it said that because the villagers often went into the mountains to hunt and competed with it for prey, it would enter the village each month to hunt some livestock, which caused the conflict. Later, when the Marines came to deal with it, the conflict escalated even more!" Cross continued to explain.
"Huh?!"
Gion looked confused. "You can speak cat?"
Upon hearing this, Cross rolled his eyes at Gion and said, "This little guy has an ability. It can understand human speech and also speak human words!"
"So that's how it is, how clever!" Gion suddenly understood. Then she stood up and said in a deep voice, "However, it would truly be a waste to kill a small cat with a Mythical Zoan ability. We should try to subdue it!"
"At the very least, imprisoning it in Impel Down is better than killing it!"
"Great minds think alike!"
Cross smiled and nodded slowly. "I've even given it a name. How about we call it Bastet?"
"Bastet… the legendary cat goddess! A good name!" Gion showed a look of admiration.
——————————
Bastet: In Egyptian mythology, the cat goddess, goddess of war and protector of Lower Egypt.
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