"Great! More enemies, meow!"
(=`=)l▄︻╤
Whenever Jinx is around, the Research Group first strike is almost always hers...
"Hello there! Say hello to my friends! Meow-hahahahahaha!"
The little crazy cat pulled out Pow-Pow and fired two bursts at the charging samurai, intercepting them and forcing them to retreat back toward Kawamatsu and the others. Then, she decisively pulled out her rocket launcher.
"R~~~P~~~G~~~!!!"
■≡(=`=)■■＞
Accompanied by the little crazy cat elongated, joyful cry, a shell painted with a vicious face trailed a long flame behind it, effectively choking back the words Kawamatsu had intended to use to de-escalate the situation.
Jinx wasn't a fool she naturally knew these samurai weren't true enemies. At most, they were related to that idiot Kozuki Oden, meaning their heads weren't quite right—just like Nekomamushi, Inuarashi, and the recently met Yamato.
However, even if they weren't enemies, they weren't exactly friends either.
Since the samurai had already made the first move, it was only natural for them to fight back, right? Besides, they were subordinates of that idiot Oden as long as she didn't kill them, Sherwin and Huamei wouldn't mind her getting involved, meow!
Jinx set up Pow-Pow again and unleashed another strafing run on Kawamatsu and the others, her mind secretly calculating.
The little crazy cat wasn't just smart she was clever. She had already thought through the consequences of her actions. In fact, even that first snowball she threw had been entirely intentional.
Sherwin, who was well-acquainted with Jinx personality, quickly guessed her little scheme after a brief moment of daze.
Just as Jinx had expected, Sherwin didn't stop her. Instead, he held back Klee Meow and Shirahoshi, who wanted to step in and help, and called out to Hiko Seijuro to stop him from trying to break up the fight.
He had everyone retreat to the side, completely handing the battlefield over to this battle-hungry little mad cat so she could let loose.
With Sherwin reminder, Huamei Meow also understood Jinx little calculation. She gave Sherwin a sharp, annoyed look: "Go ahead and keep spoiling her, Admiral! Aren't you afraid this troublemaker will cause even bigger disasters later, meow?!"
(=へ=)
"Don't worry, Jinx is still... well... very well-behaved..."
Sherwin stroked the little calico head, comforting her with a hint of a guilty conscience. "I mean... at least the Super Mega Death Rocket she just used wasn't the Klee-enhanced version, right? Under the guidance of our Great Huamei, Jinx is now a well-behaved kitty who knows how to exercise restraint."
Though she didn't know much of it.
Sherwin, having gone out of his way to flatter Huamei Meow, silently added that part in his heart.
The Great Huamei was naturally not going to be fooled by such a petty trick, but she merely curled her lip and said nothing more.
After all...
They are nothing more than some followers of Kozuki Oden. Huamei looks down on Kozuki Oden himself in all sorts of ways, so she naturally cares even less about these foolish samurai who follow him.
Hiko Seijuro, who also possesses samurai attributes, actually had a fairly good impression of them. After all, a lord lack of virtue does not affect a samurai loyalty and honor, which was why he had wanted to step forward to break up the fight just now.
However, after Sherwin spoke up to stop him and confirmed that Jinx had no intention of dealing a killing blow, Hiko Seijuro went with the flow and abandoned his plan to intervene.
"Meowhahahaha!"
＜■■(=`=)l▄︻╤
The little blue cat, with a fish bone in one hand and a Pow-Pow Gun in the other, was very happy right now.
Aside from the fact that no one was stopping her from fighting, another reason was that her opponents this time were all "melee units"...
She, Jinx, loves using her guns and cannons to clash with people blades meow!
What made Jinx even happier was that these "melee units" were exceptionally resilient.
Kawamatsu and the others had only been caught off guard by the little crazy cat during the initial exchange.
Very quickly, the battle-hardened samurai began to adapt to Jinx attacks. By now, no one was sustaining further injuries, and they were even managing to retaliate with occasional flying slashes.
Although Jinx wasn't using her more powerful ammunition, this group of samurai had only recently been rescued.
Their strength was significantly compromised, and they were all riddled with injuries their leader, Kawamatsu, had been forced to eat poisonous fish for over ten years...
It was no wonder that before Wano was occupied by Kaido, the World Government had always dealt with them cautiously.
Aside from the natural geographical and climatic barriers surrounding Wano, the average strength of these samurai was truly not to be underestimated.
When he thought about how, years later, Hyogoro and the others would still be able to assemble a force of five thousand samurai, Sherwin felt more and more that Kozuki Oden past actions were just too damn foolish.
At that time, the number of samurai he could have gathered would have been even greater, and their strength would have been superior, while Kaido forces were certainly far weaker than they were now.
In other words, after Oden spent five years dancing like a fool, even if he hadn't sought help from Whitebeard and the others, he likely could have repelled the Beast Pirates using only the military might of Wano itself...
Instead, he charged in with only the Nine Red Scabbards.
As for the argument that he had lost the people support after the dancing, setting aside the fact that he could have proactively explained himself, Hyogoro and Shimotsuki Yasuie had believed in him the entire time.
With the prestige of those two alone, raising an army of ten or twenty thousand men would have been easy.
Wow... I can't think about this anymore the more I think, the more my blood pressure rises...
Sherwin took several deep breaths to calm his emotions, then refocused his attention on Jinx.
As the samurai gradually adapted to Jinx attack patterns and combat rhythm, their responses became increasingly effortless. If nothing changed, a further counterattack was about to begin...
Sure enough, the group of samurai soon began to coordinate with one another, pushing forward while enduring Jinx firepower.
Despite the little crazy Felyne also sensing something was wrong and beginning to retreat, the distance between the two sides continued to close.
Then, when they were about ten meters apart, Kawamatsu—the strongest of the samurai, who had been protected in the middle and had yet to make a move—suddenly rushed out from the crowd, heading straight for Jinx, whose face was filled with shock.
"Kappa-style: Menamugawa!"
Kawamatsu held his sword in a reverse grip, and the "Soto Muso" in his hand fell toward the little blue Felyne head like a cascading waterfall.
"Eee—Fooled you, Meow~"
(=＞Φ)
Jinx, who had originally appeared "panicked," made a face at Kawamatsu as he leaped above her and angled the Fishbones toward the ground...
Gunlance Hunter Art: Blast Dash!
A burst of flames erupted from Fishbone shark mouth, propelling Jinx backward. The little crazy Felyne also utilized her fruit power, as two bursts of fire exploded from beneath her feet, further boosting her initial speed and easily evading Kawamatsu surprise attack.
This was not the end.
Recognizing that Kawamatsu belonged to the Fish-Man Tribe, Jinx put away her weapons mid-air and struck at him after his slash missed, using a Felyne punch technique—
"Felyne Karate: One Kilogram Equivalent Straight Punch meow!"
Equivalent is a chemical term that can be used in many contexts here, Jinx is specifically referring to TNT equivalent, which represents the explosive power equal to a certain number of grams or tons of TNT.
The power of a single grenade is approximately 200 grams of TNT equivalent Jinx punch was roughly equal to a tank shell.
However, everyone understands how physics works in the world of pirate, so it is enough to grasp the general idea without needing to look into it too closely.