"Hammer-san! I feel completely fired up right now!"
"HAHAHA! Ice Ball! Ice Age!"
Wearing the suspenders pants, Kuzan gripped the blue sphere and leapt high into the air.
The power of the Logia Ice-Ice Fruit erupted completely.
In an instant, an enormous crystalline ice lotus condensed in the sky, growing larger and larger.
The terrifying pressure it emitted became increasingly intense.
"Good lord…"
"Was Kuzan's freezing aura always this imposing before?"
"How come I never noticed?"
Looking at the ice lotus in the sky, Lance suddenly lost confidence.
"Don't underestimate that ridiculous outfit and that ice ball."
"The weapon I forged was custom-made specifically for Kuzan."
"It can massively amplify the power of his freezing aura."
"With Kuzan's current state, I'd say even if you dragged Golden Lion over here, Kuzan could probably fight him head-on."
Hammer wasn't exaggerating at all.
The Logia Ice-Ice Fruit was already one of the strongest fruits in existence.
After being amplified by the Frozen Ruyi, Kuzan's strength had increased tremendously.
After all, he was ice itself.
However, as Hammer watched the increasingly massive ice lotus in the sky, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
Whether it was because of the outfit's influence or Kuzan's own personality, if this kept going, things would become difficult to clean up.
"Kuzan, that's enough!"
"There are still soldiers down there!"
"Why are you making some giant ice lotus, you idiot?!"
"Oath Hammer! Heavy Hammer Flame!"
As Hammer cursed loudly, his body instantly transformed into the awakened Oath Hammer state.
The hammer shot into the sky while dragging massive flames behind it.
Endless fire immediately ignited beneath the ice lotus.
To speed up the melting process, Hammer even flew circles around the bottom of the lotus while continuously spewing flames.
"Wow, Hammer, that form of yours is pretty unique."
"Your Devil Fruit awakening is really interesting, haha."
Seeing Hammer step in, Kuzan finally stopped fooling around.
At the same time, he canceled the transformation state of the Frozen Ruyi and allowed Hammer's flames to melt the ice lotus completely.
Only after all the ice had melted did Hammer return to human form and slowly land on the ground.
"Alright."
"You've already gotten your exclusive weapon."
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
"Old man Sengoku and old man Kong dumped a bunch of missions on me. I still have work to do."
"Ah la la, Hammer-san is voluntarily doing missions now?"
"That's rare."
"Though honestly, I don't really believe it, hahaha."
Faced with Kuzan's teasing, Hammer silently smashed him with a hammer strike.
Naturally, Kuzan exploded into shattered ice again.
Then Hammer took Lance and the soldiers and left.
...
When Hammer's group returned to the Warhammer.
Lance and the soldiers were dumbfounded again.
What were they seeing?
Shirley was training a group of Kung Fu Dugongs?
Where had these fifty dugongs come from?!
"Why are all of you staring with your eyes popping out?"
"This is the Kung Fu Dugong Squad I specially recruited!"
"From now on, they're members of our Warhammer crew!"
Hammer proudly looked at the training Kung Fu Dugong squad.
"No, Hammer…"
"In just a few days, where did you even find so many Kung Fu Dugongs?"
Lance knew about Kung Fu Dugongs.
They were creatures that worshipped strength above all else.
"Obviously I subdued them and recruited them into the Marines."
"Did you really need to ask?"
"Alright, everyone board the ship and continue sailing."
"Lance, don't forget what I told you."
Lance nodded.
Of course he hadn't forgotten.
After his sparring match with Kuzan ended earlier, he'd already found a merchant guild and spread the message Hammer wanted distributed.
By now, rumors were probably spreading across the Grand Line already.
Whether Hammer's method would work or not, though,
That was another question.
....
As the Warhammer resumed sailing, a piece of news regarding Master Ornn spread rapidly across the Grand Line.
"Master Ornn has departed for the West Blue?"
"I heard Master Ornn invented a new tool capable of completely remodeling a weapon or item, giving it a new life. I wonder if it's true."
"So even an ordinary sword could have a chance to become a famous blade?"
"Who knows?"
In an instant, every island across the Grand Line began discussing Master Ornn's weapon reconstruction.
This information also reached the ears of a certain young man.
The man carried a massive sword on his back, possessed a stern face, and had eyes sharp as a hawk.
It was one of Hammer's targets for this voyage: Dracule Mihawk.
At this moment, he was resting in Water 7 when he suddenly overheard passersby discussing Master Ornn.
As one of Hammer's previous victims, he naturally knew that Master Ornn was Hammer himself.
"That bastard went out to sea again?"
"Good."
"I'm going to cut him down!"
"…Wait?"
"He can remodel weapons?"
The moment he heard this, Mihawk instantly pulled out his Supreme Grade Black Blade, Yoru.
"Hmph."
"Whether it's true or not, I'll go find that bastard first."
"The West Blue, huh?"
"Very well."
And just like that, after hearing the news, Mihawk immediately departed for the West Blue.
At the same time, on a certain island in the West Blue.
A pitch-black ship filled with terrifying gothic elements was docked at the shore.
A man with horns on his head laughed wildly.
"Kishishishi!"
"Master Ornn?"
"Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Hammer?"
"So he's coming to the West Blue again?"
"This time I absolutely can't let him escape!"
"His shadow is mine!"
"With his shadow, I'll have an invincible blacksmith!"
"Then, boys, I'll replace all your weapons with the best ones available!"
"Kishishishi!!!"
Strange laughter echoed across the area, followed by cheers from pirates.
Gecko Moria.
A notorious pirate of the West Blue.
Just like Dracule Mihawk, he had also set his sights on Hammer, who was soon arriving in the West Blue.
Their goals were technically the same,
Both intended to make a move against Hammer.
The only question was: In this game of chess…
Who was the chess piece?
And who was the player?
....
Meanwhile, aboard the Warhammer.
Hammer was carrying a huge pile of gauntlets as he walked toward the training Dugong squad.
"Hey, Tiger Head."
"Try these."
"The weapons I forged for you guys."
"Gauntlets!"
"As the favorite weapon of martial arts masters, these gauntlets are my gift to you."
"Hurry up and put them on."
Hammer placed pairs of entirely black gauntlets before the Dugong squad.
The moment Tiger Head saw the black gauntlets, his eyes sparkled brightly.
The dugong immediately rushed forward, grabbed a pair, and slipped them onto his fists.
"Awuu! (So cool! I must be the most handsome Kung Fu Dugong on the seas!)"
"Hahaha!"
"Tiger Head, don't underestimate those gauntlets."
"I added a certain amount of Seastone to the outer layer."
"It massively increases hardness and lethality."
"They're absolutely perfect for you guys!"
Hammer had spent enormous effort integrating Seastone into the gauntlets.
He'd literally used tweezers, carefully working bit by bit.
In the end, he successfully completed fifty pairs of gauntlets for the Dugong squad.