A moment later, a dark gray paw almost as large as the head of the Dudu-Go ship spirit stretched out from the bottom of the pit.
It hooked over the edge of the cat-shaped hole, pressed down slightly, and a gigantic Felyne with long, dark gray fur leapt out.
Although it couldn't compare to the exaggerated size of Cat Viper, the Felyne before them was still taller and more powerfully built than the ordinary Mink tribes on Zou.
Because of the influence of the pirate world, Sherwin height had already broken past three meters, yet even so he could only meet the other gaze at eye level.
And a Felyne of such size naturally belonged to a breed that came as no surprise—a Maine Coon.
"Hm? That an unfamiliar flame. Were you the one calling out to me earlier, meow?"
The burly, imposing Maine Coon paused slightly when he saw Sherwin, but his tone was unexpectedly gentle, completely mismatched with his appearance.
The moment he spoke, Sherwin knew where he came from.
The one associated with the term "flame" could only be Kamura Village from Rise.
Mm, Kaido Meow coming from the distinctly Japanese-flavored Kamura Village… reasonable.
Moreover, this Kaido Meow personality seemed quite different from his original counterpart. Instead, it was closer to the temperament often described as that of a "gentle giant," commonly attributed to Maine Coons.
And yet, when Maine Coons fight other cats, they can be extremely fierce—on that point, he fit Kaido original model perfectly.
Sherwin was somewhat surprised by how far Kaido Meow demeanor diverged from his original, but he didn't make too much of it. After all, there was already the precedent of Seijuro Meow.
Besides, personality is shaped by many factors. The reason Kaido came to hold his current belief in the law of the jungle was because he had been betrayed by the king he once served in his youth, and later encountered the ill-intentioned guidance of Kurozumi Higurashi.
In fact, judging from the small amount of depiction of Kaido youth in the manga, he initially didn't really like that kind of meaningless fighting.
And the things Kaido encountered in the pirate world would be almost impossible in the Monster Hunter world.
Whether it was the Hunter Guild or the Felyne clans, they would only wish for their own combat power to be as strong as possible—how could they possibly trip him up instead?
So Kaido Meow having a personality completely different from his original was actually very reasonable.
Or rather, if his personality were the same as Kaido, that would be even stranger.
"That right, it was me who called you—more precisely, summoned you."
Sherwin compared the differences between the two Kaidos in his mind as he replied, "Actually, this is no longer the world you originally came from…"
After giving a brief explanation, Sherwin pulled Klee Meow and the others forward and introduced them one by one.
"They're all like you, having responded to my summoning and come to this world. This is Klee Meow, Haibara Meow, Sanji Meow… and these two are natives of this world, Nico Robin and Shirahoshi. And this is the Dudu-Go, our ship spirit…"
Aside from Klee Meow pile of Dudu Den Den Mushi that were impossible to tell apart, Sherwin introduced everyone else—including Shirley and Dudus—to Kaido Meow.
"Big brother, you're so tall! This is the first time Klee has ever seen such a huge Felyne, meow!"
(=`=)
The little Ragdoll exclaimed as she spoke, then used both hands and feet to climb up onto Kaido Meow, hugged his massive head and licked it twice, before darting back and forth curiously between his two shoulders.
"My build is already considered quite large among Felynes. I've also met some clansfolk with relatively big physiques during my travels, but whether it me or them, compared to you, we're still far behind, meow…"
Seijuro Meow looked at Kaido Meow tall figure with a hint of envy and sighed.
The samurai cat had always wanted a height close to that of humans, so he could better spar with human swordsmen. Kaido Meow build was practically the perfect physique he had dreamed of.
"Why isn't it big sister… why isn't it big sister… why isn't it big sister…"
orz
Well, who this idiot was didn't really need explaining.
"Meow-ro-ro-ro," Kaido Meow smiled gently, lifting a paw to lightly stroke the little doll who was restlessly darting back and forth on his shoulder.
"Being tall is actually quite troublesome, meow. Not only is it hard to find suitable equipment, but whenever danger appears, those monsters always lock onto me first, meow."
So even the laugh is this similar…
Sherwin twitched the corner of his mouth, speechless.
"Oh… then you really are a bit unlucky, meow," the little doll nodded in agreement, then promised with a serious expression,
"But don't worry, meow! Klee Meow, Brother Sherwin, Sister Huamei, and everyone will protect you! Klee Meow bombs are super amazing! Brother Sherwin and the others are all very strong too, meow!"
(=ˇˇ=)
"Protect me?" Kaido Meow froze for a moment, then his smile grew even gentler.
He softly patted Klee Meow little head and murmured in a low voice, "That something I haven't heard in a very long time, meow."
"Um… you still haven't told us your name, meow," Huamei, who had been silent until now and only observing Kaido Meow with a furrowed brow, finally spoke up.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it, but your outfit feels very familiar to me… and that laugh just now… hm, perhaps I'm not overthinking it after all, meow."
"Actually, I have the same feeling, meow…"
(=`=)
Seijuro Meow and Link Meow, who had previously come face to face with Kaido in his human form, also echoed the sentiment.
Seijuro Meow, who knew that this world even had a human version of Sanji, subconsciously glanced at the small yellow cat beside him who was still stuck in an orz pose.
"Yeah, Klee Meow also thinks you look kind of familiar, big brother… even though this is clearly our first time meeting, meow…"
(=ω=)
The little doll tilted her head as she examined Kaido Meow, scratching her small head in confusion.
Jinx and Suika Meow, on the other hand, recognized the outfit Kaido Meow was wearing.
However, just like Huamei, they were both waiting for Kaido Meow answer.
Jinx was even itching with anticipation as she pulled out her boomstick—if anything went wrong, she would immediately unload a full burst into this gigantic Felyne.
"Hm? Because of my size, I haven't had suitable equipment to wear for a long time now. This is just ordinary clothing that the humans of Kamura Village usually wear, specially tailored in an extra-large size, meow."
Dressed in a Japanese-style robe, Kaido Meow looked down at his clothes in confusion, then reached back to remove the spiked club strapped to his back. Holding it up as he spoke,
he added, "My name is Kaido. I specialize in blunt-type weapons, meow."
"Kaido!!!"
The originally dazed Sanji Meow suddenly sprang up, assuming a guarded stance. "Where is that bastard Kaido, meow?!"
"???"
Kaido Meow, who had been inexplicably cursed at, stood there completely dumbfounded.
"Brother Kaido, don't be angry. Brother Sanji isn't scolding you, meow." Klee Meow, the little angel, hurriedly explained to him.
"We were attacked earlier by a very bad guy. His name was also Kaido, and his outfit and weapons were exactly the same as yours, meow… Eh?! Klee remembers now!"
∑(=ΦДΦ=)
The belatedly enlightened little Ragdoll suddenly reacted.
"In the East Blue, there also a Brother Sanji who looks exactly like Brother Sanji, meow!"