No matter how powerful Divine Departure was, it still had its limits.
Unlike a certain bear's Devil Fruit ability, Hammer could clearly feel his body gradually recovering while flying through the air, and his speed was beginning to slow down.
If his senses weren't mistaken, he had only flown several dozen kilometers so far.
Actually, this wasn't Roger's fault.
The reason Hammer flew so far was entirely because of his own Devil Fruit ability.
Although the hammer strikes had lost against Divine Departure, the shockwave effect still remained.
It just became a reverse effect.
The shockwave had been carried away by the slash and blasted Hammer flying all at once.
"DAMN IT! If I fall into the White-White Sea, I'm dead for sure!"
"My body! Hurry up and start moving again!"
Feeling himself beginning to descend, Hammer panicked and desperately tried moving his body.
Finally, just as he was about to hit the cloud sea, his body recovered enough to move again.
Hammer frantically stomped through the air with both legs, activating Geppo.
Only then did he avoid plunging into the cloud sea.
Using Geppo, Hammer quickly gained altitude again and began searching for somewhere to land.
Soon, he spotted an Island Cloud with some buildings atop it.
Although the place looked fairly ordinary.
But at this point, any landing spot was good news.
Hammer casually summoned a flying sword and shot toward the Island Cloud with a whoosh.
After flying for a while, Hammer finally landed.
But before he could even take a few steps, a group of Sky Islanders surrounded him.
The leader sized Hammer up arrogantly from head to toe.
"A Blue Sea person? Rare sight. To think someone actually came to Birka."
"According to Birka's regulations, any Blue Sea person who steps foot here must pay one billion Extol."
"That's equivalent to one hundred thousand Beli from your Blue Sea."
'What the hell? Another entrance fee? Birka? Why does that sound so familiar?'
Hammer immediately looked around carefully.
It was indeed a Sky Island.
Although the Island Cloud didn't seem small, it also wasn't very large.
A vast expanse of white.
Compared to Angel Island, it was far inferior.
Well, that couldn't be helped.
Angel Island possessed Upper Yard, land blasted up from the Blue Sea, something other Sky Islands simply didn't have.
From Hammer's perception, Birka's population wasn't small.
Although it seemed somewhat inferior to Angel Island, it was still quite a prosperous Sky Island.
And if this really was Birka...
Heh.
That damned Roger had indirectly blasted him all the way here.
Not bad.
Not bad at all...
"100,000 Beli? Small change. Here."
Hammer casually took out 100,000 Beli and handed it over.
Seeing him pay so easily, the man nodded, pocketed the money, and turned to leave.
Watching their departing backs, Hammer grinned.
"Birka, huh... Birka... I hope I find something worthwhile here."
With a try-and-see mindset, Hammer slowly walked toward the white cloud-built town.
Birka was ordinary.
At least in Hammer's eyes.
White houses atop white clouds, filled with Sky Islanders dressed in white.
'Mm... not nearly as fun as Angel Island.'
Although the marketplace also sold many kinds of Dials, Hammer had already bought plenty at Angel Island and had zero interest anymore.
Instead, after wandering around for quite a while, he still hadn't found what he wanted.
Entering a restaurant, Hammer casually ordered two Dial-based meal sets and began eating while deep in thought.
"By all logic, Enel should've been born in Birka."
"At this point in time, he should only be twelve years old, right?"
"So where exactly did he obtain the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
"And how did he uncover the secrets of the moon?"
"Strange. My Observation Haki hasn't detected anything unusual."
"And Birka isn't nearly as massive as Upper Yard either."
For a moment, Hammer fell silent.
Staring at the endless White-White Sea, Hammer suddenly froze.
'Wait a second...'
He slowly put down his food and stood up, staring intently at the distant cloud sea.
To Sky Islanders, the White-White Sea also served another purpose, punishment for criminals.
This punishment was called "Cloud Drifting."
It meant throwing both person and ship into the White-White Sea and leaving them to drift until death.
Once someone entered the endless White-White Sea, there was basically no option except drifting endlessly,
Unless they somehow knew the direction.
Thinking about this punishment, then thinking about Enel's violent personality,
Hammer suddenly realized something.
But right now, he couldn't act alone.
Lance and the others were still searching for him.
Thinking this, Hammer pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his coat.
Looking at the sleeping snail, Hammer felt a little speechless.
Shirley had practically forced it into his hands earlier, saying she was worried he'd go missing again.
And now it had actually happened.
The mighty Hammer had lived gloriously his whole life, so why did he always end up getting beaten into losing contact?
pururu puru
"Hello? Lance? It's me. I'm not dead!"
"Bastard! Don't curse me! Keep talking like that and I'll hammer you into the deck."
"I'm in the south. Keep heading south."
"If you see an Island Cloud, don't land. This place is a black-hearted island, they charge entrance fees."
"We've got too many people. Can't afford it. We're poor!"
"Call me when you're close. I'll fly out to meet you."
"That's it. Click!"
After hanging up, Hammer looked around.
'It would still take some time for the Warhammer to arrive.'
'During this period... enel should still just be a child.'
Hammer decided to search for the future destroyer of Birka first.
Relying on his memory, he headed toward places Enel might appear.
As he walked, Hammer thought deeply.
Without realizing it, he had already passed through the lively streets and arrived behind Birka's town, at a comparatively desolate area.
He noticed several dilapidated old buildings.
Just as he prepared to investigate further, a figure suddenly descended from above.
Hammer focused his gaze.
It was a young boy holding a wooden stick, glaring viciously at him.
Looking at the immature yet strangely familiar face, Hammer instantly confirmed the boy before him was Enel.
However, his eyes were currently filled with hostility.
Hammer realized that at this point, Enel had not yet become the "God" ruling Sky Island.
He was merely a child.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?!"
Before Hammer could speak, Enel had already questioned him.
He even stepped forward, pointing the wooden stick at Hammer.
Hammer felt speechless.
'Why did Enel love sticks so much?'
'Right now it was a wooden stick.
'In the future it would become a golden staff.'
'Sigh.'
'Wouldn't another weapon be better?'
Thinking this, Hammer suddenly decided to tease him a little.
"Me?"
"I'm God."
"Bullshit! There's no such thing as gods!"
"And if there were, I'd beat them flat!"
"..."
'Wait.''
'Why was this development completely different from his future???'
"Kid, have you ever seen a god before?"
"No."
"Then how do you know a god wouldn't look like me?"
"Because a god wouldn't have shellfish meat hanging from his mouth!"
Hammer was horrified.
He immediately reached toward his mouth.
Well damn.
Turns out he'd gotten food all over himself and completely forgotten to wipe it off.