"Tch. Some no-name pirates from the Four Blues actually dared to attack the Marines?"
"Sink to the bottom of the ocean."
Lance stood expressionless, looking at the shattered remains of the pirate ship in front of him.
The pirates had attacked as soon as they saw the Warhammer, but unsurprisingly, they were instantly blown to pieces by its overwhelming firepower.
The surviving pirates were all captured and thrown into the lower hold.
"Who knows how long Hammer's gonna keep hammering away..."
"We've practically circled the entire East Blue by now."
"Whatever. If nothing else, we'll just head straight to the West Blue."
As the first mate, Lance had a lot on his plate. The most frequent task? Charting their course, since his commanding officer was the textbook definition of a hands-off leader.
Suddenly, a tremor shook the center of the ship.
It was strong, growing more intense by the second. The whole ship began to sway. Lance immediately felt something was wrong. Sure enough.
In the next moment, a column of fire shot skyward, piercing straight through the warship and burning through several layers of deck.
"What the hell! We've got a situation!"
At the same time, Hammer's exasperated voice rang out.
"HAMMER! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
"YOU JUST BLEW A HOLE IN OUR SHIP!"
Lance had reached his limit!
Hammer looked up sheepishly through the massive hole in the deck at the furious Lance, yelling at him.
He wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.
In his hand was a hammer. Yes, a hammer. A long-handled one.
"Uh, this was an accident. A real accident."
"I don't believe you for a second! What were you doing?!"
As more and more people turned their eyes toward him, Hammer grew even more embarrassed.
Due to the damage, the Warhammer had to dock at an island in the East Blue called Glaze Pearl Island.
"So let me get this straight… You just wanted a hammer that felt right in your hand?"
"And then the hammer developed a mind of its own? It can breathe fire now? And that's how you burned through the ship?!"
Lance was yelling furiously, practically spitting in Hammer's face. Hammer could only listen awkwardly.
But the moment Lance mentioned the hammer's ability, Hammer's face lit up with excitement. He argued:
"It's not ordinary fire, it's spiral flame! Can you imagine? Shooting fire in a spiral! It's nearly as powerful as a laser!"
"High heat! High penetration! And burning flames on top of that! This hammer is legendary!"
Lance looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel. "Legendary? More like you're the legend! A legend in stupidity!"
"Spiral fire? More like you're about to spiral into the sky yourself!"
"We're lucky the Warhammer was made with special steel. One more blast like that and you would've set the whole ship on fire!"
You couldn't blame Lance for being mad. Playing with fire on a ship? Seriously? Other than that one dumb samurai and that weirdly sturdy little lion ship, nobody else would dare try it.
"C'mon, it was just a little accident! You already confiscated the hammer, so let's just move on~, yeah?"
Hammer flashed a grin, which only made Lance angrier.
At that moment, Lance thought of someone, Bogard, Vice Admiral Garp's long-suffering right-hand man.
'Now I understand the pain etched into Bogard's soul...'
'Having a superior officer like this... Ugh!'
Hammer, for his part, had no idea Lance had just mentally compared him to Garp. Otherwise, he definitely would've started a full-on debate.
He, Hammer, was nothing like that booger-picking old man!
While Lance was mentally ranting about Vice Admiral Garp, chaos had already broken loose in the New World.
Garp was rushing at full speed toward Biso Island in the New World.
New World Outskirts – Biso Island
The island was now full of craters and fissures.
"Old man! You're running out of steam!"
"Hmph! You're not much better yourself! Steel Bone: Mountain Crusher!"
A red figure and a massive one clashed again.
It was none other than the great pirate Red Count, Patrick Redfield, known simply as "Red."
And the Marine's Supreme Commander, Steelbone Kong.
They had been fighting for days.
Both were legendary titans of the sea. In an all-out fight, even the island itself had taken heavy damage.
But after days of battle, their stamina was nearly depleted.
"Huff… Huff…"
Kong was covered in sword wounds, blood at the corner of his mouth, glaring furiously at Red, not far off.
Red, though in better shape, was also pale, his once-elegant red coat in tatters.
"Hehhehhe... You've gotten weaker, old man."
Faced with yet another taunt, Kong didn't even bother to respond. Better to save his breath and regain a sliver of strength.
Seeing Kong fall silent, Red didn't press the issue. He raised his umbrella-sword again, coated in Armament Haki.
"The sea belongs to pirates, old man!"
As he finished speaking, waves of Conqueror's Haki erupted, much weaker now, but still overwhelming.
Kong gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn't block this next move.
He sighed internally: 'Damn it… I really am getting too old…'
'Wait… what's that?'
"This ends now, Kong! Umbrella Sword: Hundred Shadow Slash!"
A hundred shadowy sword slashes shot forth, cutting off all routes of escape. Kong had no choice but to take the hit.
In that desperate moment, two voices roared out in unison.
"Old man Kong!"
"It's not over yet! The Marines will never bow to pirates! Witness our Marine's unshakable justice- Hammer's Legendary Sword!"
Winterborne unseated! Ice spread across land, sea, and air!
At the last moment, Kong's hand had brushed against the sword at his waist, Witerborne, a weapon he'd carried only as decoration, never once used in battle. But now, it was his final trump card.
A terrifying cold burst forth. Even Kong himself trembled, but he gritted his teeth and poured the last of his Armament Haki into it.
He forced out one final slash.
The sealed frost energy, suppressed for so long by the memory-metal scabbard, exploded outward.
No sword technique needed. The sheer force created a massive tidal wave of frozen energy.
Red's Hundred Shadow Slash was instantly blocked by the freezing wave.
The only reason it worked was that both of them were practically drained. If either had been at full strength, the frost wouldn't have done a thing.
But now, it has become the deciding factor.
"What is this?!"
A light flickered in Red's eyes, his Observation Haki.
His Observation Haki was far stronger than most. He could even read minds.
In a flash, he understood the truth behind this moment from Kong's thoughts.
Forged by human hands… Was it foresight, or just coincidence…?
He saw a mental image, a young man named Hammer handing the blue sword to Steelbone Kong.
"AAAAAARGH!!! You're finished! Red Count!!!"
The vision shattered. The freezing force engulfed Red.
Moments later, a statue of ice stood there, frozen mid-thrust.
Kong managed a faint smile.
Even with Armament Haki, his right hand was frostbitten, and he had nothing left in him.
"Hammer, kid…I owe you one…"
New World, Biso Island.
The great pirate… the Red Count.
Patrick Redfield was defeated!
.....
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