With Hammer's return, the heavy, oppressive atmosphere around Marine Headquarters seemed to vanish instantly.
The repairs on the Warhammer proceeded in an orderly manner.
Hammer, accompanied by Hina, buried himself once again in the armory workshop.
"Hina, stop making more Black Hammers for now. Use your ability to create separate metal strips instead, stock them up, and have someone move them to the Warhammer."
"Some of the repair materials can be fused with the Black Hammer components, they're pretty durable."
Hina nodded and started prepping the materials.
Watching her work diligently, Hammer nodded in satisfaction.
Although Hina was still young, under his tough training, her control over her Devil Fruit powers had become impressively refined.
She'd even developed several new techniques. In terms of physical training, Lance and Shirley were helping her improve, and her growth was well-rounded.
In contrast, Hammer himself had hit a plateau in terms of power.
His Armament and Observation Haki, and his Devil Fruit development, had all stalled. Still, he wasn't the least bit bothered. His passion remained with forging weapons.
Thanks to his air shaping ability, forging was now even more intuitive.
He was churning out an endless variety of weapon designs.
He even crafted a naginata that looked like Ame-no-Habakiri, though it hadn't quite reached the Supreme Grade.
As for forging the promised custom weapons, he hadn't begun. The Jewel Ice Sheetissue hadn't been resolved, and working with the Light Crystals was even further off.
purupuru puru
"Lance, how long until the Warhammer is repaired?"
"A month? Why so long?"
"...Fine, one month it is. I've already asked Hina to prepare the materials. I'll send them over in batches."
"Oh, by the way, that Devil Fruit Sakazuki sent over, forget it. Zoan-type: Mouse-Mouse Fruit, Porcupine Form. Totally doesn't suit you."
Lance: 'Porcupine? That's a type of mouse? Huh, learned something new today...'
So, a month-long break. Hammer figured he could finally enjoy some rest.
New World, on an island somewhere…
A damaged navy ship was docked at the shore. Right next to it, a pirate ship: the Oro Jackson.
"Golololol! If you wanna catch me, at least send Garp or Sengoku! You lot are nowhere near enough!"
The captain of the Roger Pirates, Gol D. Roger, held a marine by the collar, speaking in his usual cocky tone.
Suddenly, his eyes flashed red as he looked toward a distant direction.
"That presence… Whitebeard, huh? Golololol!"
At the same moment, the Whitebeard Pirates also landed on the same island.
Kozuki Oden led the charge toward Roger's camp, with Whitebeard following behind.
The two legendary crews clashed, a battle that lasted three days and nights.
In the end, the two emperors sat down together… for a feast.
"Oi! Whitebeard, heard you had it rough lately!" Roger taunted mid-drink.
Whitebeard's brow twitched in irritation.
"Hmph! You're one to talk. I heard someone got struck by lightning, hope your bolts and screws are still intact!"
The two stared each other down, and the next second, burst into laughter.
"Golololol I heard Zephyr came to the New World! What's the deal with that?"
At Roger's question, Whitebeard's face twisted into slight annoyance.
A certain punk's face popped into his mind, Hammer.
"Tch. That guy, Hammer, a rising star in the Marines. Who knew he'd attract so much attention? Not just Zephyr, even Sengoku and Garp came at me for payback!"
"Especially Zephyr, showed up with some crazy arm-armor. Even I couldn't get the upper hand at first. And that Hammer brat just kept pounding on me like he didn't care about pain."
Remembering those days, Whitebeard sighed helplessly. Sure, he was incredibly powerful, but even a tiger can't fight off a pack of wolves. Especially when those wolves are on his level.
Roger laughed heartily, while a red-nosed kid nearby shivered the moment he heard the name Hammer.
"Hey, Buggy, you okay?"
"Back off, Shanks. Just remembered something awful."
"What? That time you got struck by lightning? Not gonna lie, Buggy, ever since that happened, you haven't been the same."
"Screw off!"
The kid, Buggy, still looked baby-faced. His blue hair was missing a patch on top, classic lightning burn. Anyone who knew him would know why.
....
One month later – Grand Line, near Reverse Mountain.
"Kuzan, why is your ship dragging an iceberg behind it?"
Hammer had arrived on the fully repaired Warhammer, right on schedule.
The first thing he saw was Kuzan's battleship towing a massive block of ice.
Inside the iceberg, faint human silhouettes could be seen.
"Hahaha, those are prisoners! My ship's got limited space, so I froze them for easy storage. Caught more and more, and well, the iceberg happened!"
Kuzan was clearly proud of his solution.
Hammer and his crew instinctively took a step back.
"Man, you got some weird hobbies. I know you're the Ice Man, but carrying around frozen human sculptures? Kinda creepy."
Kuzan: "..."
"Alright, Kuzan. While we sail, let me tell you about the Jewel Ice Sheet."
Just hearing the name made Kuzan perk up and rush to Hammer's side.
"The Jewel Ice Sheet, also known as Unmelting Ice, after exploring with Dr. Vegapunk, we've finally found a way to modify it."
"Use ice against ice, to assimilate it."
Hammer began explaining the full properties of the Jewel Ice Sheet to Kuzan.
Kuzan was fully engrossed. Once he heard that the Unmelting Ice had existed for millennia, was perfect for weapon forging, and that his Ice-Ice Fruit could help convert it into forgeable material, he was all in.
"So, Kuzan. I'm leaving this chunk of Jewel Ice Sheet with you. When you're done modifying it, let me know, and I'll come pick it up."
He placed a specially reinforced iron box in front of Kuzan; inside was the legendary Jade Ice.
Kuzan was a little stunned. He didn't understand why Hammer was leaving it so suddenly.
"What's with that look? Bro, I don't have time to wait for you to finish the work. I'm just here to deliver the ice. Whether or not you can figure it out, it's all on you."
"Ahahahaha!"
BOOM!
Suddenly, the Warhammer shook violently. The next second, Shirley's voice rang out:
"Enemy attack!"
"A swordsman's slash!"
"11 o'clock! One enemy only!"
Hammer and Kuzan looked at each other.
"Enemy? Just one person? …What the hell?"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
p@treon.com/DaoistJinzu