To know this, Mary Geoise gathers the wealth of the entire sea.
Every Celestial Dragon living in Mary Geoise is basically a walking mountain of gold.
And this time, the one giving the gift was Saint Ethanbaron V. ORi, the Celestial Dragon from the Financial Martial God family, which made it even more valuable.
"This is it."
Sengoku, very tactful, placed a large chest in front ofHammer.
Hammer couldn't wait to flip it open.
At once, a dazzling array of colorful ores filled his view.
"As expected of the Celestial Dragons' collection…"
"The purity of this Flameweave Stone, tsk tsk, unbelievable!"
"Huh? What's this? A shell?"
Suddenly, Hammer pulled out something shaped like a shell, immediately drawing the attention of the three veterans.
"This kind of shell, shouldn't this only exist on Sky Islands?"
The four of them gathered around the shell, marveling at it together.
After all, while common on Sky Islands, this thing was extremely rare down on the sea.
"A Sky Island Dial"
Hammer held the shell and fell deep into thought.
Countless ideas flashed through his mind in an instant.
Boom!
Suddenly, the shell in his hand popped open, and a blast of fierce wind shot out.
"Holy crap!"
"You bastard, Hammer! You did that on purpose!"
Sengoku, standing right in front of it, took the full brunt of the wind blast.
It sent him stumbling backward, hair blown sky-high, like some spiky cartoon character, except his hair was black.
"A Jet Dial"
This sudden burst of wind left Hammer dumbfounded.
By all logic, this type of extremely rare Sky Island Shell should have gone extinct by now, yet the Celestial Dragons even had this? But the Sky Island Shell… Sky Island…
Hammer suddenly got a new idea.
"Hey, you three, do you know much about Sky Islands?"
Hammer actually knew quite a bit about Sky Islands, thanks to the Skypiea arc from his past life.
But now, sailing this ocean for real, this was his first time seeing something actually related to them.
"Hmm… Sky Islands?
"Sky Islands are in the Grand Line, so remote that ordinary people can hardly reach them, and many even doubt they exist. But they're real, and there are many of them, all floating above the white sea of clouds where the air is thin."
"Residents there wear small white wings on their backs as decoration. They use special 'Clouds' and 'Shells' as basic materials for daily life, crafting buildings, tools, and even weapons through unique methods."
"The Marine archives have a lot of records on Sky Islands, and over the years, Sky Islanders have indeed appeared at sea now and then."
Vice Admiral Tsuru slowly explained everything, exactly asHammer knew it.
"But how to get to a Sky Island, that's the real headache."
"I have no idea about that."
Hammer nodded. 'Getting to a Sky Island was possible, just very difficult.'
First option: just fly up there directly. Uh, basically impossible, very few could do it.
Second option: follow a normal sea route. If you set off from the Top of the West Sky, you'd encounter several Sky Islands along the way.
Third option: use the Knock-Up Stream.
First option, out. Hammer couldn't fly that high, and even if he could, he'd land in the White Sea and drown.
Second option, out. He had no idea where the Top of the West Sky even was.
So that left only one way: the Knock-Up Stream…
Just picturing himself being blasted up to the sky on a ship madeHammer's legs shake.
"Hammer, what's with you? Why are you shaking?"
Vice Admiral Tsuru immediately noticedHammer's strange behavior. He quickly pulled himself together.
"It's nothing, nothing, just thinking of something. Got a bit nervous." Hammer forced himself to calm down, while Sengoku had managed to fix his wind-blown hair.
"Old Man Kong, Old Man Sengoku, I want to take a trip to a Sky Island."
Kong: ?????
Sengoku: ?????
"What the hell for? It's in the sky, and you don't even know how to get there!"
Kong grumbled in disbelief. He really couldn't figure out Hammer's brain.
What was so interesting about Sky Island?
"I think I might find some new materials there to improve my forging."
"Plus, it's a perfect place to hide from the Celestial Dragons, isn't it?"
Of course, Hammer had his reasons; it was Sky Island!
Whether it was Sky Island Dials or Cloud Iron, everything there was amazing. Who knew what new creations they'd inspire?
"But, Hammer, do you even know how to get there?"
Sengoku looked thoughtful but still skeptical.
"I heard rumors about a Sky Island when I was patrolling the Four Seas before. I plan to give it a try."
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?"
"But one thing, I'll need HQ to assign me a bodyguard. Who knows what's up there? If some huge monster pops out, with my strength, pfft, I wouldn't even be a decent appetizer."
Kong: …
Sengoku: …
Even Tsuru was speechless this time.
"Hammer, why are you so lacking in confidence?!"
"You literally teamed up with Borsalino to beat Golden Lion Shiki! What the hell are you afraid of?!"
Sengoku finally lost it; he just couldn't handleHammer's cowardice.
But Hammer didn't care at all about his outburst; he just kept talking:
"Don't say that, Sengoku."
"Just look at the freaks I've run into since setting out to sea."
"Bryndi World, terrifying, right?"
"Roger, terrifying, right?"
"Whitebeard, terrifying, right?"
"Golden Lion, terrifying, right?"
"I'm just a blacksmith. How many times have I actually sailed out? And every time it's been some monster or demon!"
The three fell silent. Come to think of it, he had a point. This guy had some absurd pirate-magnet curse.
Every time he went to sea, it was big-name pirates galore, and his luck was truly unmatched.
"But Hammer, your strength is really strong, too. I'd say even Sakazuki or Borsalino would struggle to beat you outright."
"Cut it out, I'm just a blacksmith, swinging a hammer around. You think I can beat magma? Or light?"
Hammer didn't see himself as a real combatant at all. And if he was, he was the absolute bottom tier.
Didn't they see how his Devil Fruit awakening was all about avoiding fights? He gave his power to others so they could fight instead.
If he really couldn't win, he'd just turn into a hammer and fly off! Genius!
"Get me a bodyguard, I'm only going to Sky Island anyway, not the New World. It'll be much safer."
"…Who do you want as your bodyguard?"
"How about Kuzan, Sakazuki, or Borsalino?"
"Get lost! Dream on! Forget about any of that!"
"…Who's on vacation then?"
"Garp!"
"Forget it, I'd rather go to Mary Geoise…"
Sengoku: I! @#!@￥!#%
Kong: I #￥#￥!#%!...!@#
Tsuru: 'Sigh, there's no saving this guy.'