"Judging by that look on your face, I'd say you already have an idea, right?"
Shaka noticed the slight grin on Hammer's face and couldn't help teasing him.
"Mm, I do have a rough idea, but actually putting it into practice will have to wait a few months."
If his cooldown period wasn't over, forging would be pointless anyway.
Might as well take this time to rest up.
"Hammer-kun I wonder if the next exclusive weapon will be mine?"
"I've been waiting sooo long, you know…"
Borsalino's sly voice suddenly sounded behind Hammer, making him shiver from head to toe.
He had to admit, Borsalino's creepy tone really gave people goosebumps.
"Monkey Bro, you know Sengoku is our superior, right~?"
"So what? Are you saying I have to wait my turn behind Sengoku-san?"
Borsalino didn't care about Hammer's excuse at all.
"I know you already finished Kuzan's exclusive weapon, yet poor me, your dorm buddy who struggled through thick and thin with you, gets left for last!"
Hammer: ' So that's why you always steal my snacks and fruit in the dorm, huh?'
"Just wait, the next exclusive won't be for another two months at least. Last time, forging Kuzan's weapon drained my ability so badly I couldn't use it for a while."
Borsalino: ???
Shaka: ???
'Wait, Devil Fruit powers can get overused?'
'Yet another piece of weird knowledge added to the list.'
"Dr. Vegapunk, I'd like to stay on Punk Hazard for a while to upgrade my weapons, would that be allowed?"
In Hammer's eyes, even if he couldn't use his power to forge, he could still use this time to improve the Warhammer battleship's armaments.
And Punk Hazard was the best place for that.
The combination of advanced tech and forging made Hammer very interested.
"As much as I'd like to keep you here, I'm afraid that's not possible."
"Why not?"
Hammer was a bit confused at Shaka's refusal. He was a Marine HQ Vice Admiral, he shouldn't be a problem staying here.
"Yes indeed, Hammer-kun, you really can't stay this time."
"As for why, care to take a guess?"
Even Borsalino shot down Hammer's plan, which gave him an uneasy feeling.
"Don't tell me something happened at HQ while I was out?"
"It's Old Man Kong or Old Man Sengoku, isn't it?"
He had to admit, Hammer's intuition was pretty sharp, the moment there was trouble, his first thought was HQ's on fire again.
"It's the Celestial Dragons. Led by Saint Ethanbaron V. Ori, nine Celestial Dragons went straight to Marineford for a face-to-face with Fleet Admiral Kong."
"And what did they want to talk about? Well, you, Vice Admiral Hammer."
Hammer: !???
'What the heck? Celestial Dragons showed up at Marineford?!'
'Holy crap, good thing I ran fast. If I'd stayed home, I'd have been surrounded by them by now.'
"Dr. Vegapunk is right. HQ is happy you caught Golden Lion, but the Celestial Dragon issue is way more serious."
"So~ Hammer-kun, you'll just have to head back to HQ for now."
Borsalino's eyes were full of mischief, which made Hammer furious.
'What? The Celestial Dragons fancy me now, and you're this amused? Damn monkey!'
"Fine then, but I want to stock up on weapons and ammo first, deal?"
He'd come all this way, if he didn't haul something back, he'd be letting himself down.
"Take as much as you want. The mission's done, so whatever's left here, just take it, I have no objections."
'See that? Now that's what you call rich and generous.'
'These guns and cannons from Punk Hazard would drive people crazy if sold outside. But to Vegapunk, they were basically scrap metal. Tsk tsk, can't compare, can't compete.'
And so the mad stocking spree began.
Guns, cannons, bombs, Hammer had his crew load up everything.
Borsalino stood by, the corner of his mouth twitching non-stop.
But who was Hammer? Nicknamed the Skinner, not a single piece of gear would slip past him.
Soon enough, the Warhammer battleship's weapons and ammo were fully restocked, everything from flintlocks to howitzers.
Once the haul was complete, Hammer happily set sail for Marineford.
A few days later, at Marineford.
"So you're saying the Celestial Dragons came to snatch me?"
Hammer stared at the three old Marine officers in front of him, looking horrified.
Old Man Kong rubbed his head, Sengoku nibbled on senbei, and Tsuru drank her tea.
"Mm… Even though Fleet Admiral Kong turned them down, I doubt the Celestial Dragons have given up. Right now, Hammer, you're practically a treasure in their eyes."
"Even the Five Elders are involved now."
Hearing Sengoku's words, Hammer's head instantly began to ache.
"Wait wait wait, I'm just a blacksmith! What the heck do the Celestial Dragons want with me?!"
"Ahhh, life, always full of surprises."
"Listen up, Sengoku, I'm a hard-working, honest Marine! You can't just hand me over to the Celestial Dragons, HQ would be the real loser here!"
The thought of Mary Geoise gave Hammer a headache, that's why for a long time, he'd let Kong handle any dealings himself. Whenever the Five Elders asked for something,
CP0's Stussy would come collect it directly.
Hammer hadn't had direct contact with Celestial Dragons for a long time.
He thought he'd finally shaken them off, but who'd have guessed that incident with Whitebeard shot his name to the top at Mary Geoise.
Now every Celestial Dragon knew his name.
"Relax, as long as you don't want to go, I guarantee nobody can drag you to Mary Geoise."
Kong's tone was firm and left no room for doubt.
"Good! Fleet Admiral Kong, that's more like…"
"So, about my exclusive weapon, you got any plans yet?"
'...Well, so much for being touched.'
'Of course this old fart wouldn't be that pure-hearted.'
"Forget it! Just let me go to Mary Geoise instead!"
"At least there I'd never worry about food or drink, and my safety would be guaranteed!"
"Hmph!"
Kong immediately got his throat pinched, unable to say a word for a long time.
"Alright, you two, enough bickering."
"Hammer, the Celestial Dragons aren't an issue for now, but since you do have dealings with Mary Geoise, stay sharp."
"You know very well what kind of people they are."
Tsuru stepped in and ended Hammer and Kong's back-and-forth.
At her words, Hammer nodded seriously.
All he ever wanted was to squeeze some money out of the Celestial Dragons, he never planned to get tangled up with them for real.
"By the way, Saint Ori left you quite a few high-grade forging materials."
"It's rare to see a Celestial Dragon be that generous."
"I have to say, you've really caught their attention this time."
'Oh? They even brought gifts?'
'Now that was good news!'
Hammer's eyes instantly lit up at the thought.