Monster Hunter of the One Piece World

"Zamtrios—Zamtrios Spike!"

Facing Sherwin aerial slash, Don Chinjao didn't dodge or evade. Instead, he leapt straight up, using his own head to clash directly against the longsword in Sherwin hands.

Clang!

The pitch-black blade collided with the equally dark skull, producing the sharp clang of metal striking metal.

Although it was once again a clash of Armament Haki, this time Sherwin experience was completely different from their first exchange.

During their initial encounter, even though Sherwin had been at a disadvantage in both Haki and raw strength, he'd still managed to hold his ground—despite not having activated his demon mode back then.

But now, not only had Sherwin entered demon mode, he had also unleashed a more powerful technique. Yet the result—

He still couldn't withstand it!

The two had briefly remained locked in midair, but Sherwin Monster Hunter style always focused on explosive bursts. As his strength faltered, the longsword in his hands was shaken loose by Chinjao bald head.

Immediately after, that gleaming, bald head surged forward and slammed straight into Sherwin chest. Even though he tried his best to shield himself with Armament Haki, it still felt like he had just swallowed one of Klee Meow homemade bombs. A tremendous force exploded in his chest cavity.

"Wah—!"

Sherwin vision went black. He felt like he was about to pass out in the next second.

Fortunately, Sherwin wasn't fighting alone.

"Super Boom-Boom Spark Meow!"

Breaking free from the stun of the Conqueror Haki, Klee Meow immediately conjured a massive flaming four-leaf clover.

Streams of fire, like machine gun rounds, erupted from the center of the clover, wildly sweeping toward Chinjao and forcing him to halt his pursuit of Sherwin.

Sherwin took advantage of the opening created when Chinjao was entangled by the flame barrage and finally managed to catch his breath.

Without wasting a second, he immediately used the Insect Glaive aerial vault technique to quickly regain his balance midair.

Although he didn't actually possess an Insect Glaive or an aerial maneuver system like the Kinsects, Sherwin, relying on the inherited memories of Insect Glaive and Wirebug aerial skills, had developed a move similar to Geppo…

Monster Hunter Style: Leaping Thrust Slash!

Sherwin stepped on the air, still mid-flight, and lunged toward Chinjao again. At the same time, Klee Meow stopped her barrage in coordination, and Sanji Meow—who had been charging up for quite a while—leapt high into the air, launching a pincer attack on Chinjao from both front and back.

"Supreme Minced Meat Meow!"

However, Chinjao didn't take Sanji Meow strongest attack to date seriously. After all, the little yellow cat strength was still far from enough.

With just basic Armament Haki hardening, Chinjao effortlessly endured the kick.

Even when facing Sherwin assault, Chinjao again used Armament Haki to tank it, then used the force of Sherwin downward slash to launch himself straight at Klee Meow—the greatest threat on the field.

"Taste Klee Boom Boom Bombs Meow!"

The little ragdoll swiftly scattered a flurry of bombs into the air, then elementalized her body and darted toward Sherwin direction to escape.

Among the bombs weren't just "ordinary" explosives—there were also Sonic Bombs Klee Meow usually used for blasting fish. Caught off guard, Chinjao was stunned for a moment by the sudden sonic blast.

Seizing the opportunity, Sherwin dashed over using his aerial vault technique and brought down another Rising Slash directly toward Chinjao head.

After several rounds, Chinjao finally gave up on chasing Klee Meow. He realized that unless he dealt with Sherwin—the "meat shield"—first, he wouldn't be able to catch that slippery little ragdoll any time soon.

So, Chinjao switched tactics and began launching relentless attacks at Sherwin, forcefully pushing through Klee Meow flame barrage.

At first, Sherwin could still go toe-to-toe with him for about a dozen exchanges. But as his demon mode rapidly drained his stamina, and his charged slashes and True Charged Slashes were interrupted under Chinjao pressure, he was quickly overwhelmed—his blood surging and forced to keep retreating.

Damn it! In the manga, Luffy hadn't even learned advanced Armament Haki yet, and he still managed to trade blows with Chinjao—and even hammered that dented skull of his back into shape!?

At this point, Sherwin truly understood what Chinjao meant when he talked about the "quality" of Haki. Just because he had learned Armament Haki didn't mean he could fight other Haki users on equal footing.

Sherwin, who had started getting a little cocky after mastering both types of Haki, was once again brought back down to earth.

But even with his mindset corrected, it didn't matter at the moment. After taking another direct hit from Chinjao "Spike," Sherwin could no longer hold on.

He was smashed headfirst into the ground by that shiny head, and though he remained conscious, the searing pain all over his body, the severe drain on his strength, and the buzzing in his skull made it impossible for him to get back up for the time being.

After taking Sherwin down, the two Felynes didn't last much longer either. Klee Meow, after all, was a bomb specialist—once Chinjao closed the distance, she couldn't mount much of an effective counterattack.

Besides, she knew this wasn't a battle to the death, so once she was caught, the little ragdoll obediently admitted defeat.

As for Sanji Meow, the chef cat—there was even less to say. Without a Devil Fruit and lacking Armament Haki, he couldn't pose any real threat to Chinjao.

Once Klee Meow was captured, he wisely stopped his hit-and-run harassment tactics.

"Sherwin-nii, are you okay meow?"

After helping to pull Sherwin out from the rubble, Klee Meow leaned in front of him and gently pushed his head with her paw, asking with concern.

"Hiss… I'm fine…" Sherwin groaned as he struggled to sit up, scratching Klee Meow under the chin in reply.

Though his body ached badly, the injuries Sherwin had sustained wouldn't be considered serious by either the standards of the pirate world or the Hunter world.

With a night rest, he'd probably recover most of the way. And if he had a meal of Sanji Meow recovery-type Felyne food, he'd heal up even faster.

In other words… Grandpa Chinjao had most likely held back.

Klee Meow also hadn't used her higher-temperature blue or purple flames, but given Chinjao mastery of Haki, at most he would've suffered a bit more—it wouldn't have changed the outcome.

Tch! He had thought that with his current strength, even if he wasn't quite on par with post-training Luffy, he shouldn't be too far behind…

Turns out, there really is a big difference between being properly trained and just fumbling around on your own.

"Hahahahaha! Don't look so down!" Don Chinjao patted Sherwin on the back, nearly pounding him into the ground again.

"At your age, having this level of strength is already amazing. When I was your age, forget Haki—I hadn't even figured out Hasshoken yet."

You just haven't seen Luffy, who went from a Supernova to a Yonko in two years, or Koby, who went from a weak ordinary person to a top-tier Marine captain.

Sherwin curled his lip, but didn't belittle himself. After all, he was a transmigrator who had inherited the name of the Hunter, and in the future, he'd be able to summon even more talented Felyne companions.

...

After that, Sherwin and his group lingered in the Flower Country for a few more days. During that time, Sherwin had several more solo matches with old man Chinjao. His Haki had improved in quality, but the increase wasn't significant.

Even though Chinjao had done his best to adjust his strength to match Sherwin for sparring, a training partner was still just a training partner—it was nothing like a real fight.

And the power system in the pirate world leaned heavily on one mindset. Knowing that he wouldn't truly get hurt, Sherwin training with Chinjao could only take him so far.

Originally, Sherwin thought that after learning about Klee Meow Devil Fruit powers, Chinjao would ask them to help unlock the treasure in the Ice Continent. But the old man never brought it up, and Sherwin hadn't spotted that eternal glacier near the Flower Country either, so he had no way to bring it up himself.

So, after stocking up on a lot of local specialties and kitchenware like steamers for making buns, Sherwin and his crew said their goodbyes to Chinjao and Horesha, leaving the island where they had stayed the longest—aside from the initial uninhabited one.

"Ahem, Sanji, come here for a sec." After setting out to sea, Sherwin called Sanji Meow over, patted him on the shoulder, and solemnly instructed,

"Now that you've learned Observation Haki, from now on, when Klee doing her experiments, it your job to keep an eye on her!"

"Why meow?! Isn't that your job?!" Sanji Meow jumped up like he'd just been hit by Chinjao Conqueror Haki, fur bristling as he flatly refused, "I'm not doing it, meow!"

"Aww… didn't expect you to dislike little Klee that much…" Sherwin said with a mock sigh, casting a glance at Klee Meow.

"T-That not true, meow! Klee-chan, don't listen to this sneaky, devious guy nonsense, meow!"

Sanji Meow immediately turned to explain to Klee Meow, who was already starting to pout. "I just don't want to do Sherwin stupid chores! This is his job, meow! If anyone dislikes you, it him, that why he trying to dump this on me, meow!"

But Sherwin had come fully prepared.

"Oh, that because I have other things to do. Once I'm done, I'll come switch shifts with you."

"What Sherwin-nii going to do, meow? Can Klee help?" The little ragdoll Felyne eagerly bounced over.

Even Sanji Meow, who had just been glaring at Sherwin, couldn't contain his curiosity. He shuffled over while grumbling, "What dumb idea did you come up with this time, meow?"

"It nothing big," Sherwin said as he pulled out the typewriter he'd bought in the Flower Country. "I'm planning to submit an article to the World Economy News."

"Is it Neko Naruto, meow?! Is it Neko Naruto, meow?!" Klee Meow lit up with excitement. "Klee can help draw the illustrations, meow!"

"Uh… no. Neko Naruto isn't really suitable." Sherwin shook his head.

The plot of Naruto was way too long. It was one thing to retell a simplified version to Klee Meow, but actually writing or illustrating it? He'd rather just drop dead.

Then Sherwin added, "But I will need help from the two of you later."

Sanji Meow blinked. "There something for me too, meow? Just putting it out there—I'm not helping you write, meow."

"Relax, you won't need to write anything. I just need some of your opinions," Sherwin said with a small smile. "Because what I'm planning to write is…"

(Regarding Haki quality, the manga actually mentions it as well. Specifically during Luffy fight with Katakuri—at the beginning, Luffy Armament Haki couldn't compete with Katakuri. He even commented on how unusually hard Katakuri Haki was.)