"One hammer strike feels good. Continuous hammering feels even better."
*Duang*
One longsword
*Duang*
Two longswords.
Time flew by, and the Hammer had tirelessly finished forging over fifty blades.
The sky had already darkened.
It must be said, there's one good thing about the world of One Piece: people's physical stamina is ridiculously high.
Hammer, already burly and strong, worked at a pace far beyond anything his previous life could ever hope to match.
Finishing over fifty longswords in one day was already impressive. At this rate, with just one more sword, he would hit sixty. Encouraged, Hammer swung his hammer even faster.
Then disaster struck.
The hammer couldn't take the abuse, and with a *Bang*, it shattered into pieces the moment it struck the anvil again.
Hammer stared blankly at the broken hammer handle in his hand.
He immediately looked around, hoping to borrow another one, but it was already late, and all the workers had gone off to eat dinner, locking up all their tools in the process.
This good habit nearly drove the blacksmith crazy.
"Screw it, relying on others isn't as good as relying on myself.
"Since I got no hammer, then I'll BE the hammer."
Hardening his resolve, the blacksmith clenched his right fist, activating his Devil Fruit ability, and continued forging!
*Duang*
A sound, even heavier than before, rang out.
A regulation longsword was quickly hammered into shape.
Just as the sword was completed, a system notification suddenly popped up.
[Ding! Critical Crafting triggered. Longsword hardness increased by 100%. Special trait 'Sword Aura' granted.]
The blacksmith perked up immediately, a critical hit, and it even came with a skill!
Delighted, he picked up the longsword and flicked its blade with his finger.
*Ding*
A crisp ring. Through his deep familiarity with steel, the blacksmith could clearly sense that this sword was much harder than an ordinary longsword.
An effect brought by the 100% hardness increase.
Next, he gripped the sword in his right hand and gave it a fierce slash.
A faint sword glow appeared along the blade, and the next second, it shot forward.
A pale white arc of sword aura suddenly emerged, slicing toward the front.
"Oh no...crap"
"That's bad...really bad"
The blacksmith panicked; the direction he had slashed in was toward the iron furnace.
*Schhwing*
The next second, a sharp metallic sound rang out.
When Hammer rushed over to look, the iron furnace had been sliced clean in half.
Now the Hammer was even more dejected.
Adding insult to injury, adding insult to injury...
And if that wasn't enough, just then, Vice Admiral Lisk, who had gone off to eat, happened to return to the forge, just in time to see the blacksmith slashing the iron furnace.
His jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Hammer, how did you do that?!"
"Are you a swordsmaster?!"
He had mistaken the earlier sword aura for the flying slash, a hallmark of a master swordsman.
At that moment, he felt that this young man didn't belong in the forge.
"Admiral Zephyr, unbelievable, how can he just waste a talented swordsman and stuff him here in the forge? I'm going to go find him!"
Hammer was still in a daze when he saw Lisk pump his fist and stormed off, mumbling about something.
By the time he snapped out of it, the Vice Admiral was already gone.
Hammer was already serving punishment, and now he had caused even more trouble.
He hadn't caught what Lisk said at all and assumed Lisk had gone to report him to Admiral Zephyr.
Heart sinking to rock bottom, the blacksmith lay straight down on the ground, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep, waiting for his final judgment to arrive.
Meanwhile, halfway to Zephyr, Lisk suddenly thought going to him might not be the best idea. After all, Zephyr was the one who sent the blacksmith here in the first place.
So he changed course and headed for the office building, aiming to report to Admiral Sengoku.
"Admiral Sengoku, are you in? This is Vice Admiral Lisk from the arsenal, I have an important matter to report!"
"Come in."
Hearing Sengoku's reply, Lisk pushed the door open and entered, only to realize that Sengoku wasn't alone in the room.
"Vice Admiral Tsuru. Admiral Zephyr."
Seeing Zephyr, Lisk let out a weary sigh and looked at him with visible disappointment.
That sigh and look completely puzzled Zephyr.
'What's going on? Why sigh when you see me?'
"Lisk, what's the matter?"
Hearing Sengoku's question, Lisk gave Zephyr a long, thoughtful look, debating internally.
Seeing Lisk hesitate, Sengoku frowned slightly. "What's wrong? Didn't you say you had something important to report? Why aren't you speaking?"
Lisk opened his mouth to speak, but it was as if he was wrestling with himself inside; no words came out.
"Go ahead," Sengoku urged. "Vice Admiral Tsuru and Admiral Zephyr are both here. No need to hold back, just say what's on your mind."
Lisk thought, Forget it, I've come this far, this is for justice, after all.
"Alright, I'll say it."
Then, facing Zephyr, who was staring at him in bewilderment, Lisk spoke:
"Admiral Zephyr…"
A dramatic pause.
"…you've made a huge mistake!"
Zypher: ??
Sengoku:?