He struck gold! He struck gold! Hammer's hit the jackpot!
He got promoted! He got promoted! Iron Hammer's moving up in the world!
Right now, Hammer was completely immersed in the joy of his promotion.
Previously, there was the "Golden Pass" from old man Sengoku; he take whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.
No,w old man Kong made him deputy director of the armory, though this time he couldn't just take things freely. No freebies.
Right now, Hammer was completely immersed in the joy of his promotion.
Most importantly, he doesn't need to go out to sea anymore! He can just stay tucked away in the arsenal, forging weapons all day, sweet deal! The sea's dangerous anyway; let the other three go play pirate hunter!
"Hammer..."
"Hammer."
"HAMMER!!!!"
From a soft voice to a thunderous roar.
Fleet Admiral Kong was up on the podium, about to lose it.
"Hammer… I'm calling you!"
Dragon pushed Hammer from the side, snapping him out of his daydream.
Only then did Hammer realize he was being called.
At that moment, although Fleet Admiral Kong still wore a smile, veins bulged on his neck and forehead.
That smile was as terrifying as it gets.
"Present! Fleet Admiral Kong!"
"Get up here and give your speech!"
"Oh… okay."
Afraid of getting into trouble later, Hammer immediately rushed up to the podium.
But once he came to his senses, wait a minute, why him again?
"What are you standing there for? Speak!"
"There are still three more waiting after you."
Only then did Hammer relax, good, he wasn't alone in this.
Ahem...Fellow Marines, hello."
"I'm Hammer, a blacksmith. My greatest dream is to become the Head of Logistics while managing the Arsenal, so that all my fellow Navy comrades can wield fine weapons, sail great ships, woo amazing women, and raise the next fine generation of Marines!"
"That's all!"
He finished in one breath without hesitation.
Leaving behind a crowd of utterly baffled onlookers, including Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, and Chief of Staff Tsuru.
Next up was Sakazuki, who very conscientiously stepped up and took the mic.
"The seas are lawless. Only bloodshed can stop the bloodshed!"
"No mercy. No hesitation!"
"All pirates deserve one thing - DEATH!"
Also finished and walked off. The once-confused crowd was now stunned into complete silence by his killing intent.
"'Hello everyone~ Today I got promoted, I'm super happy! I'll keep working hard! Thank you~"
"Bye-bye~"
Golden light flashed as Borsalino made his entrance.
Golden light flashed again, and Borsalino exited.
"Hahaha! Pirates, wait for me!"
"Wait till I don my green robe and ride the hurricane to send you all to hell! Woohoo!"
Dragon was full of enthusiasm, but somehow… what he said just sounded so weird.
Four people. Four speeches.
The audience went from confused to stunned, then dazed, finally, brain-dead.
"Fantastic. All four of you. Just fantastic."
"Someone, please escort the reporters out first."
Hammer: 'Hmm… something feels off. If I'm going down, I'm taking them with me.'
He quickly looked at Sakazuki, Dragon, and Borsalino.
The first two had stars in their eyes, clearly thrilled.
Only Borsalino met Hammer's gaze.
In that moment, a spark of understanding passed between them, like an electric jolt.
Hammer: 'Emergency! Should we run?'
Borsalino: 'Agreed! Let's bolt! Can you?'
Hammer: 'I can! Now?'
Borsalino: 'Oui! Run!'
And just as the reporters were ushered out
"BASTARDS! All four of you brats!!"
"SENGOKU! GET THEM!"
An angry roar exploded.
A flash of gold and the clang of metal rang out instantly.
Hammer and Borsalino, who had reached a mutual understanding, made their getaway at the first sign of trouble.
"Yata-no-Kagami..."
A mirror formed from golden light reflected beams all around as Kizaru merged into it, preparing to vanish.
Hammer activated his Devil Fruit fully into his legs, using the hammer's shockwaves plus Rokushiki: Soru.
With this double boost, he literally launched into the air.
Old Man Kong and Sengoku were even more furious now.
They didn't care about the confused Sakazuki and Dragon anymore.
Each took off, one chasing the Borsalino, the other the hammer.
"You dare play with light in front of ME?!"
"Take this, Buddha's Radiance!"
Enraged, Sengoku activated his Devil Fruit ability.
Mythical Zoan: Human-Human Fruit: Daibutsu!
In a flash, a golden Oscar-statue-looking Sengoku appeared.
His entire body radiated gold, he looked expensive!
He clasped his hands, and the golden light pressed toward Kizaru.
"How scary~ Even both light, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, I won't lose~"
"Speed is everything! If I'm fast enough, no one can stop me~"
"I'm OUT!"
Kizaru, now pushing his Glint-Glint Fruit to the max, finally showed everyone just how monstrous his talent was.
Golden light flared, and he barely escaped, dancing on the very edge of Sengoku's Buddha beam.
"Bye bye~ Sengoku-san~"
Before Borsalino could celebrate
BAM!
"OOOF!!!"
A heavy punch came straight at his face.
"BWAHAHAHAHA! Where did this damn monkey come from, crashing right into my arms!"
A pitch-black fist suddenly appeared in front of Kizaru.
It was Garp, late to the party, but just in time to intercept.
Kizaru was really unlucky this time. The route he picked to flee just so happened to overlap with Garp's arrival path.
And just like that, the golden light flew right into Garp's chest, earning Kizaru a full-force punch that sent him flying.
"Nice one, Garp! Just hold him down like that, I'm coming!"
Borsalino: '...Oh no, this isn't good.'
The next second, a massive blackened Buddha palm pressed him into the earth.
At that moment, as Sengoku's massive hand descended, it felt like a mountain was falling on him...
Meanwhile, in the sky
"YOU DAMN HAMMER! YOU'RE DEAD!"
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT SPEECH?!"
A furious Kong stomped through the air with Geppo + Soru, chasing after Hammer like a ballistic missile.
"I WAS JUST SPEAKING MY MIND!!"
"I WANNA BE LOGISTICS CHIEF! HEY OLD MAN KONG, BETTER WATCH OUT OR I'LL DOCK YOUR ONE DAY PENSION!"
Kong was absolutely livid!
"YOU LITTLE BRAT! AS LONG AS I'M FLEET ADMIRAL, YOU'LL NEVER BE THE LOGISTICS CHIEF!"
"Hmph! I'm still young, I can wait!"
Kong: '...Do you hear this nonsense?!'
"Take my sword strike!"
The furious old man Kong drew his sword mercilessly!
A wave of sword energy slashed through the air.
"Hey, old man, that's too much!"
Hammer dodged with a quick sidestep.
"Come on! I was just saying a few things, no need to go that far!"
"Come closer and I'll tell you!"
"No way!"
"Soru: Modified Jet Mode!"
Kong was beyond furious now. He planted both feet, one in front and one behind, and lunged forward.
Rokushiki: Modified, instantly activated.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Hammer.
"Still running?"
Hammer was shocked and immediately dodged.
"Soru!"
"Soru again!"
After several high-speed dashes, Hammer had moved dozens of meters away.
But Kong was completely unfazed. He once again positioned his feet, one behind the other.
The next second-
Whoosh!
He was right in front of Hammer again.
"Holy crap! I thought Soru was already invincible, but there's actually an upgraded version?!"
"I, OW! Don't hit the head!"
"BANG!"
Rokushiki: Modified Tekkai, Falling Punch.
Kong raised both fists high, and in the next moment, dropped down from the sky like a collapsing mountain, slamming both fists into Hammer from mid-air.
"BOOM!"
A human-shaped crater appeared on the ground.
Hammer: 'How to survive an enraged Fleet Admiral? Asking for a friend. Urgent.'