Flames dyed the sky red.
But they were quickly devoured by the slash.
The slash, having absorbed the flames, also lost its original power, and Hammer casually shattered it with his Air Hammer.
Just then, a shout rang out:
"Hammer! Go! Smash him to bits!"
It was Scarlett, in that instant, a strange surge of emotion welled up inside him.
"One last blow, John! Go repent in hell!"
"Hammer-Hammer Fruit, Full Power!!"
A terrifying chorus of hammering sounds echoed across the battlefield.
John, who had just unleashed his slash and was catching his breath, suddenly sensed danger.
He tensed up immediately.
Hammer raised both hands to the sky, and from his palms, countless hammering echoes spread outward.
The air hammered down, the wind hammered down, the formless hammer strikes turned everything around him into an extension of his blows.
[Ding! Devil Fruit Development Level: 99%, awakening imminent]
Assimilation, one of the abilities tied to Awakening, particularly for Paramecia-type fruits. It allowed the user to affect their surroundings.
Right now, Hammer had only begun to grasp this power. He hadn't fully awakened his fruit yet, leaving everyone wondering, what would the Hammer-Hammer Fruit become once it did?
But for now, with assimilation active, hammering impacts radiated outward from Hammer, saturating the battlefield.
Hammer closed his eyes, his mind clearer than ever.
He could feel his power reshaping the environment.
Hammer strikes. Shaping. Assimilation.
The insights flooded his consciousness.
"So this is the interconnected nature of abilities… My mind has never been sharper."
"Blacksmithing. Forging. Hammers…"
"Hand-forging is an art, but nothing is more direct, more brutal, than a power hammer or a hydraulic press."
Hand-forging is the soul of the craft, but there's nothing more direct or terrifying than brute-force forging machines or a hydraulic press.
His eyes snapped open.
He extended his hands, one above the other, poised in front of his chest.
He knew exactly what he was about to do.
"Hammer-Hammer! Shaping! Assimilation!"
With his roar, the hammering forces surged toward Captain John.
In an instant, John felt the air and space around his body freeze solid.
He tried to bolt.
But Hammer didn't give him the chance.
"Omnidirectional Hammer!"
The interference move poured out once more, and Hammer's body began to tremble from the strain of using his powers at full throttle, pain flickering across his face.
Yet his eyes stayed unwavering.
"Captain John… your era ended long ago. Go reunite with your old captain, Rocks!"
"Shaping, HYDRAULIC PRESS!!!"
Hammer's roar shook the battlefield.
A hydraulic press, a machine that uses fluid as a medium to transfer energy for forging and shaping metal. Beyond forging, it could be used to straighten, assemble, compact, mold, and more.
But Hammer's creation used no fluid for power, only endless hammer strikes as the driving force.
Under John's horrified stare, a cylindrical construct formed above him. The hammering impacts around him locked him in place, leaving no room to escape.
"Impossible! How can your ability be this absurd?!"
And yes, it was absurd.
The Hammer-Hammer Fruit lacked the destructive power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit or the mobility of the Float-Float Fruit.
All it had was hammering force.
Yet under Scarlett's unwavering support, Hammer's will pushed the Hammer-Hammer Fruit to its limit.
Using hammer strikes to compress space, trapping enemies.
Using hammer strikes to shape deadlier weapons, annihilating foes.
And now.
The ultimate crushing tool.
A hydraulic press that would flatten its target with sheer, unrelenting force.
As the cylinder took form, agony wracked Hammer's body.
But he gritted his teeth, his hands slowly pressing together.
The press descended toward John.
"Damn it! I'm Captain John! A legend of the seas! I won't be killed by some Marine rookie!"
"RAAAAH!"
Desperation drives progress.
John roared, his twin swords shot up, all his Haki pouring into the blades.
The cylinder met his swords.
The next moment, John's face twisted in shock. What did he feel?
Not weight, not pressure.
Through his swords, the cylinder poured wave after wave of raw impact into him.
Yes, though named a Hydraulic Press, at its core it was still hammering and impact force.
The instant John froze in shock, the press slammed down.
Terrifying impact waves made his hands tremble uncontrollably, the raw force battered his flesh so fiercely he could barely hold his swords.
"No!!"
A surge of mortal terror washed over Captain John.
His miserable scream brought the entire battlefield to a halt, and everyone turned to the source of the sound.
Tyrant. Scorpion.
Onigumo. Doberman.
Lance. Shirley. King Riku's people.
Scarlett.
Shock filled every face, even Sakazuki looked genuinely surprised.
In all these years, he had never seen Hammer unleash such an attack, his fruit pushed to the limit, all caution thrown aside, face flushed red with pain yet still pressing on.
"All these years… it's the first time I've seen Hammer like this."
"Could it be… all for her?"
Sakazuki glanced at Scarlett, who watched Hammer, eyes shining with emotion, his own face puzzled and full of doubt.
"DIE! PAY THE PRICE FOR YOUR CRIMES!"
Hammer's final roar echoed.
The hydraulic press slammed down once more.
CRACK!
DUANG!
BOOM!
The sound of bones shattering rang out, the terrifying blows buried John completely.
A corpse?
Against the full power of the Hammer-Hammer Fruit, there was no corpse.
Captain John of the Rocks Pirates, DEAD.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu