1 Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Tom's Smile Gradually Becomes Wanton

"Young man, if you're smart, hand over the money!"

In a narrow alleyway, four large men with knives surrounded a young man. These men all had a fierce look, and the one speaking was their leader.

These four burly men were robbing a young man who seemed fragile, and they appeared confident. Each of them had a malicious smile.

The young man being cornered looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, with a well-proportioned physique and an upright posture.

On the young man's shoulder was a blue cat. Judging from its appearance, it probably belonged to the British Shorthair Blue and White or the Russian Blue breed?

The cat seemed quite intelligent, looking at the four knife-wielding men with a vivid expression of fear. It was hard to fathom why a cat's expression could be so rich!

"Bosses, I really don't have any money on me!" The young man pretended to be frightened, his eyes darting around as he said, "Could you let me go this time? I'll give you the money once I earn it."

"Kid, are you playing games with me?" The leader of the group's face turned angry as he pulled out a bounty poster and waved it in front of the young man, "I'm Swort, the Great Cleaver with a bounty of 8 million Berries! I've taken down 56 like you already!"

"In that case, there's no other way." The young man's eyes lit up. After comparing the bounty poster and confirming it was the same person, he placed the cat he was carrying on the ground. "Tom, attack! Get him!"

There was a moment of silence in the air, followed by uproarious laughter from the four men.

"Hahaha!"

"Boss, he wants his cat to take you down!"

"Is he trying to make us laugh so he can claim the bounty?"

"Hahaha!"

Swort's three companions laughed until their stomachs hurt. What could a cat do? Look at how foolish it looked, still staring blankly at the boss. Was the poor little cat so scared that it forgot to run away?

Swort wiped a tear from his eye. He had laughed so hard that tears were flowing. He finally managed to regain his fierce expression and said, "Looks like we've been thoroughly underestimated."

Their laughter was justified. Tom's appearance was just too unimposing. Standing upright, he was about the same height as Chopper, and that goofy expression of his didn't look like he had any combat ability.

Tom stood on his hind legs, his big innocent eyes fixed on the young man. He held a finger to his mouth, looking utterly bewildered. It was as if he was saying, "I'm just a cute little kitty. Why would you make me deal with such a terrifying guy?"

However, Tom didn't have time to think any further. Swort's large blade came crashing down toward him. Not even a domestic cat, let alone a tiger, could survive a strike from Swort!

Yet, this time Swort missed.

Tom saw Swort's movement, and his fur stood on end. He instinctively moved to the side, narrowly avoiding the sharp blade grazing his back. Tom's little heart raced with fear.

Tom's heart was literally pounding, with a heart-shaped area on his chest rapidly bulging and receding.

Sweating with nervousness, Tom used his tiny paws to push his heart back into place. He cast a scared glance over his shoulder, his eyes welling up with tears.

He saw his own bare back, a small pile of blue fur on the ground, and the tip of a white tail.

"Wuwuwu…" Tom knelt on the ground in sadness, tears dropping onto the floor.

Tom carefully gathered the fur into a pile and then pressed it against his back, restoring it to its original state. He picked up the tip of his tail, aligning it with the cut on his own tail. He twisted it a few times, like twisting a bottle cap, and with a gentle stroke, his tail was back to normal. He then looked at Swort, a mixture of fear and anger in his eyes.

The bandits watched in astonishment as Tom performed his actions. This cat... what kind of principle was at play here?

Naturally, with their limited understanding, they thought of a possibility: "Could he be... a Devil Fruit user?"

The eyes of the four bandits lit up instantly. Abilities like this were worth a lot at the island's auction house. Capturing a Devil Fruit user could fetch a hefty price, perhaps enough for them to live comfortably for a long time.

However, the previous Devil Fruit users they encountered were powerful pirates. With their abilities, they didn't dare harbor any ill intentions.

But now, it was just a cat!

Why bother with robbing when they could simply capture the cat and sell it? It would provide enough for them to live a carefree life for a while.

Swort immediately shouted, "Be careful not to kill him!"

"Understood, boss!"

The four men laughed wickedly as they surrounded the trembling Tom, completely ignoring the young man who had played it smart and retreated to a corner.

The young man watched quietly, seemingly unconcerned about Tom's safety. He thought to himself, "Go ahead, guys. If you manage to kill him, I lose."

Though that's what he thought, his right hand was already pressed against his left hand's back, preparing for something.

"Attack!" Swort ordered, and two of his subordinates rushed forward with their hands outstretched.

Tom was terrified and opened his mouth wide, sticking out his tongue. Then, he abruptly fell to the ground, pretending to hide in fear.

As a result, the two subordinates collided mid-air with a loud crash, their faces smacking together, and stars circling around their heads.

Their hands, initially reaching for Tom, ended up intertwined in a firm grip. They hung suspended in the air for a second before landing on the ground, their eyes spinning as they passed out.

Seemingly hearing the noise of the two falling, Tom sneakily raised his head to observe. Seeing the dazed expressions of the two, he perked up and stood.

"Ah~ hahaha..." Tom covered his belly with one hand, pointing at the two idiots with the other hand. He burst into very human-like laughter.

"Those two idiots!" Swort was a bit annoyed. He had been ridiculed by a cat, unable to bear it. "Block his path! I'll deal with him myself!"

The remaining subordinate obediently held his knife, blocking Tom's way, while Swort raised his great sword and swung it toward Tom. Worried about killing Tom, he used the flat side of the blade.

However, what happened next completely exceeded Swort's imagination:

He swung left, but Tom dodged right.

He swung right, but Tom dodged left.

He swept horizontally, and Tom agilely dropped to the ground.

He swept downward, and Tom lifted himself up by his tail!

...

Three minutes later, Swort was panting heavily, sweat drenching his back. Normally, he could engage in intense combat with someone for one or two hours without losing his energy. He didn't know why he was so exhausted today.

Not far away, the young man, who was watching the

scene unfold, yawned. This guy had been using the same few moves over and over again. He hadn't even called out any cool move names. He was simply unskilled and lacked flair.

Meanwhile, within those three minutes, Tom had evaded Swort's strikes over a hundred times. His movements became increasingly skillful and fluid, and his smile grew more unrestrained.

This person was even dumber than he had imagined. Jerry and the relatives from the Jerry family were far stronger than this guy.

Seeing Swort panting and lowering his sword, Tom used both hands to stretch his mouth wide and stuck out his tongue. "Lalalala~~"

Tom was taunting, and it worked brilliantly.

Swort's eyes turned red, and he swung his sword with all his might, unleashing his most powerful strike of the day, using the sharp edge of the blade this time.

At the moment he swung, Swort even had a premonition that this strike would definitely not miss!

"Ah~" a cry of agony echoed, but it didn't come from Tom. Swort's strike landed squarely on... his last subordinate.

Tom had somehow extended his leg and tripped the stumbling subordinate, who fell just in time to be struck by Swort's blade.

"Boss! I..."

A deep gash appeared on the subordinate's chest, blood spraying out like blossoming flowers. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, his knife flying out of his hand as his arm swung downward.

Coincidentally, the knife soared toward Swort's head. The hilt of the knife struck him, and Swort, weakened from his efforts, was hit on the head, causing his eyes to roll back and him to stagger.

Tom flashed a triumphant smile and hopped up lightly, using one hand to pat his stomach and the other to gesture up and down. He seemed to be indicating that everything was easy.

"Well done, Tom! I owe you an extra meal later!" The young man walked over, stroking Tom's head with happiness evident in his voice.

Tom nuzzled the young man's palm, his mouth salivating uncontrollably at the mention of an extra meal.

"Let's tie them up and take them to the Marine base. If Tom is really worth 8 million, we can move out of Uncle's place soon and get you a more comfortable cat bed."

Tom imagined his previous cozy bed, nodding in agreement and reaching behind him to retrieve a rope. Skillfully, he bound the incapacitated bandits.

The young man wasn't fazed by Tom's actions; he was accustomed to it. Whenever Tom turned around, he seemed to pull out all sorts of objects from behind him. No one knew just how many things Tom had hidden.

If Tom were turned upside down and shaken, matches, firecrackers, mousetraps, and all sorts of odds and ends would fall out. It was as if he had a pocket dimension behind him, an incredibly mysterious phenomenon.

Right now, Tom even produced a pile of tools, found some planks around, and built a makeshift cart. He stacked the four bandits haphazardly onto it.

The bandits were piled in an irregular manner, seemingly about to fall at any moment. However, they swayed oddly, never veering beyond the confines of the cart.

Working together, Tom and the young man pulled the cart toward the nearest Marine base.