"He really cried!"
"Lance brat, you're amazing! You actually guessed it right!"
Garp stared in shock at Kaido flying away while crying.
Although he had seen Kaido bawl his eyes out several times before, he had never seen someone beat him into tears.
Hammer was incredible.
He actually bullied Kaido until he cried.
"No way, I have to ask Hammer how he pulled that off. This old man's really curious!"
At that moment, Hammer, clad in Cloud Armor, returned to the shore and slowly landed.
"Yo, old man Garp. Looks like your help wasn't needed after all. Kaido ran away."
"Hmph, you damned old bastard!"
"You actually refused to help in a situation like that!"
"Fine! Just wait! Starting next year, I'm cutting your salary in half!"
The moment Hammer saw Garp, he became furious again.
'This geezer really hadn't lifted a finger!'
'That was Kaido!'
'One of the future Four Emperors!'
'And he actually made me personally handle him!'
'Infuriating!'
"What did you say?!"
"You're docking this old man's pay?!"
"So your skin's itching for a beating, huh?!"
"Looks like Kaido didn't rough you up enough!"
"Come, come, let this old man treat you to the Fist of Love!"
The instant he heard his salary was being cut, Garp exploded.
He relied on that paycheck to buy delicious food!
If it got reduced, how could that possibly work?!
Hammer clearly needed some discipline.
As he spoke, Garp rolled up his sleeves and walked toward Hammer.
Hammer instantly backed away in panic.
"Holy crap, old bastard, you're serious?!"
"I'm warning you! If that punch lands, I guarantee I'll dock three months of your pay! Believe it or not!"
"Hey! Stop! Don't come closer! Crap!"
"Vice Admiral Garp! Grandpa Garp!"
"Ow!!"
In the end, Hammer still couldn't escape Garp's Fist of Love.
The punch landed, instantly reducing Hammer into a crouching little goblin clutching the enormous lump on his head.
"So?"
"You still docking this old man's salary?"
"Hm?"
Garp cracked his knuckles loudly while interrogating Hammer.
Hammer didn't even have the strength to answer anymore.
His entire head hurt so badly he felt dizzy.
'Seriously, why the hell did this old bastard's punches hurt so much?!'
'I'd taken punches from Teacher Zephyr and Sengoku before, but none of them hurt this badly!'
'Could the Fist of Love really strike directly at the soul?!'
'This hurt way too much!!!'
"No answer?"
"Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson!"
"Then eat another one of this old man's Love Hammer!"
As he spoke, Garp's fist started descending again.
Hammer didn't dare experience "love" a second time.
With a sudden kip-up, he instantly fled, causing Garp's punch to miss perfectly.
"I'm telling you! You GEEZER GARP!"
"Your military funding is gone!"
"Even the King of Heaven himself couldn't save it! I said so!"
Hammer was just that tough!
How dare he hit him!
"Huh? Hey hey hey??? What are you doing?!"
"Don't come over here again!!"
"I was wrong, alright?!"
The previously fearless Hammer instantly panicked as he watched Garp steadily approach.
"Fine! I won't dock it! I won't dock it!"
"Not a single cent of your salary will be missing!"
Under terrifying martial pressure, Hammer surrendered.
"Bahahaha! That's more like it!"
"Why dock this old man's salary?"
"I'm telling you, Hammer, from now on you're not allowed to reduce my pay by even a single berry!"
"If even one berry goes missing, I'll punch you once!"
Hammer: 'I really didn't want to surrender'
'…but that old man's fists truly weren't meant for human beings to endure.
'It hurt too much!'
"Hmph! Old bastard, you're ruthless!"
"I'll admit defeat, alright?!"
To avoid further disaster, Hammer conceded.
"Alright, old bastard, leave the building materials here and get going."
"Go chase your Roger already. Stop hanging around here."
Hammer found Garp annoying just by looking at him now.
That guy completely countered him.
He never followed any normal logic.
And the worst part?
Hammer couldn't even afford to offend him.
Without question, Garp was currently one of the strongest people on the seas.
Hammer still hadn't figured out why Garp's punches hurt that much.
"Hahahahaha, Hammer brat."
"Are you wondering why this old man's punches hurt so badly?"
"Hahaha!"
"How about becoming my disciple? I'll teach you."
Hammer's eyes lit up for a moment,
but after seeing the malicious grin on Garp's face, he shook his head again.
"Forget it."
"My teacher is Zephyr."
"There's no way I'm switching masters."
"I'm afraid he would beat me to death."
'Hmph.'
'When I got back, I'll snitch on this bastard.'
'There was no way a man called Black Arm Zephyr didn't know Garp's secret technique.'
'Once I learned it, hmph.'
'Garp, just wait.'
'What you take from me today, you'll repay someday!'
Filled with resentment, Hammer returned to the forge.
However, he didn't continue forging Sengoku's exclusive weapon.
After all, the three months' worth of accumulated Imbuement had just been used on Kaido's Hassaikai.
That meant he'd need to wait another three months before using it again.
What a hassle.
Thinking about it, Hammer decided it was better to give old man Sengoku an explanation.
Otherwise, if that glowing old geezer got anxious and came over personally to beat him up, things would become troublesome.
Forget it.
He might as well go back personally.
Lance could handle things here.
After all, with Cloud Armor, he could fly back directly.
And Dressrosa wasn't particularly far from the G-1 base anyway.
Yep.
That settled it.
"Lance, I'm heading back to Headquarters for a bit."
"You supervise the branch construction. I'll return in a few days."
Lance: "???"
'You're leaving again?'
'Have you gotten used to being a hands-off boss or something???'
"Lance, what's with that look?"
"Or would you rather return to Headquarters and explain Kaido's situation to old man Sengoku?"
The moment he heard the words "Admiral Sengoku," Lance immediately shook his head like a rattling drum.
No need to think about it.
If he went to see Sengoku, he'd definitely end up taking the blame for Hammer.
No thanks.
"Then it's settled."
"You supervise construction. I'm heading back to Headquarters to report."
As he spoke, Hammer walked directly toward the shore.
Lance sighed helplessly.
Coincidentally, Garp was also preparing to set sail.
Seeing Hammer approaching the sea, Garp thought the kid had finally figured things out and wanted to become his disciple.
"Hahaha! Hammer!"
"I knew you were smart!"
"Become my disciple! I'll teach you my ultimate techniques!"
"At that point, you'll definitely become the strongest Marine!"
Hammer silently rolled his eyes at him.
Then he donned Cloud Armor, activated the cloud patterns, and massive wings instantly appeared.
"Vice Admiral Garp, you should wake up already."
"I'm never becoming your disciple."
"Give it up!"
"Sayonara!"
The wings flapped.
Hammer shot into the sky and flew toward G-1.
"…Uh, Bogard."
"Did this old man just get rejected?"
Bogard nodded, unable to suppress the slight upward curve of his lips.
"Hmph! That damned Hammer!"
"He has absolutely no eye for talent!"
"So many people would kill to learn this old man's techniques and still never get the chance!"
"He's infuriating!"
"Next time I see him, I'm definitely beating him senseless!"
Hammer: 'Wow, thanks so much.'
'Why don't you save those fists for Dragon instead?'
'…Actually no.'
'You should probably save them for Luffy instead!'