"Captain Lance, should we send these materials to the arsenal?"
"Yes, send them all. Vice Admiral Hammer is waiting for them!"
Yes, you read that right, Lance got promoted!
After the hearing, Hammer was finally promoted to Vice Admiral, and everyone under his command received promotions as well.
Lance got the biggest jump, straight to Captain.
Shirley was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, still serving under Hammer.
At the arsenal, Hammer was meticulously forging items one by one using the list he and Kong had compiled.
To speed things up, he had specially transferred a large group of blacksmiths from the armory.
"Make sure to handle the joints on the steel plates properly, or they won't be movable later."
"Hey, you! You didn't even heat the billet properly and you're already swinging the hammer? I should just hammer you out of here!"
"Yeah, that's it, hammer it like that and then assemble it according to the blueprint!"
Hammer finally looked the part of a deputy director.
Suddenly, some familiar figures arrived at the entrance of the arsenal.
"Sakazuki, what brings you here too?"
"Hmph. Borsalino, you're here as well?"
Sakazuki and Borsalino exchanged a look, and in each other's eyes, they saw a glimmer of scheming.
Behind Sakazuki were his loyal followers: Doberman and Onigumo.
And behind Borsalino was the long-headed Strawberry.
"Huh? Sakazuki, Borsalino, what bring you here?"
"If you need gear, go to the logistics department, what are you doing at the armory?"
Busy as ever, Hammer sensed their presence using Observation Haki and asked without even lifting his head.
"Hammer-kun~, the logistics only hands out standard-issue stuff. For the good gear, we have you have to come to you~"
"Don't worry, I know forging isn't easy, so I brought some special products from the West Blue as a gift."
With a sly grin, Borsalino handed over an exquisitely wrapped box.
Hammer paused his work and examined the box.
"Whoa, royal-exclusive cigars from the West Blue? Where did you get these?"
"Hehehe, from a royal family somewhere. How about I trade this for two sabers?"
Hammer scoffed. "Borsalino, a single box of cigars for two of my blades? That's a deal way too sweet for you."
Borsalino just kept laughing slyly.
"Who said just one box? I've got two full crates on my ship, ten cigars per box, a hundred boxes per crate."
"Alright, deal. These are for Strawberry, right? Got it. Pick them up in three days."
Strawberry was so happy he almost knelt down. Thanks to Bogart's battlefield demonstrations, everyone had been envious of the Tang dao and Miao dao swords.
So, Strawberry had asked his admired superior, Borsalino, for help and happily scored two new weapons.
"And you, Borsalino? Don't tell me you're here to trade for swords too?"
Sakazuki's face reddened slightly, smoke curling from his nostrils.
Doberman and Onigumo looked awkward.
'Yup, they were also here to ask for weapons.'
"What do you plan to trade with? You can see I've got a lot of orders at the armory lately."
"These even involve the Marines' next three years of military budget, super busy!"
Sakazuki's eyes twitched, he felt like hurling lava at Hammer.
But then he remembered his subordinates still had no weapons.
"Doberman, go to my ship and bring that thing from my cabin."
Doberman was stunned. "But, sir, that's your war trophy!"
Hammer's interest was immediately piqued.
"Oh? A trophy? What kind of trophy?"
"It's a Devil Fruit!"
Hammer: "!!!"
Borsalino: "!!!"
"A Devil Fruit? What the heck, Sakazuki, you're crazy! You're not saving it for your subordinates but trading it for a sword?!"
Hammer stared at Sakazuki in disbelief.
"Both of them are committed to swordsmanship. They won't eat a fruit. Since it's just gathering dust, I might as well trade it."
Unlike Hammer's shock, Sakazuki was calm and composed.
Doberman and Onigumo were teary-eyed, this was the kind of leader they followed.
Hammer looked at Dog Bro with deep admiration.
"You really are something~, Sakazuki. You even got your hands on one of the Grand Line's greatest treasures."
"Not as fancy as your royal cigars." The two exchanged a sharp glance, both refusing to back down.
"Alright, what kind of weapons do you want?"
"By the way, Sakazuki, do you need one too? I've got some new ideas. Maybe I could forge you a custom weapon."
Hammer glanced at Sakazuki's clenched fists as a thought flashed in his mind.
Sakazuki's eyes lit up.
"Really? You know, I was once a swordsman too. But after eating the Magma Fruit, I gave it up. The magma itself is the best weapon."
Hammer nodded. Blades aren't necessarily inconvenient, any weapon that can kill the enemy is a good weapon.
"I can't promise anything. How about this, you leave me some magma. I'll see if I can fuse it with flameweave to forge something."
"If it works, I'll let you know."
He then pulled out a special container, made from reinforced steel and Seastone, for holding rare materials.
Sakazuki nodded, turned his right hand into magma, and poured it in, quickly filling the one-cubic-meter container.
Hammer sealed it up and stored it in his ring.
"How about you, Borsalino? Want a custom weapon?"
Borsalino flashed golden light, revealing a long golden sword.
"No need~ My Ama no Murakumo works just fine~"
Hammer nodded; he was just being polite anyway.
"What about their weapons? Miaodao? Tangdao?"
Sakazuki answered instantly, "One Tangdao, two Miaodao. Onigumo's dual-wielding, so he needs two."
Hammer nodded and looked at the black-haired Onigumo.
At this point, Onigumo hadn't yet mastered Seimei Kikan and couldn't wield eight swords.
Looking at Onigumo's smiling face, Hammer suddenly said,
"You've got great hair, much better than my short cut. Ever considered learning Seimei Kikan?"
Onigumo: ???
Seeing his puzzled expression, Sakazuki explained,
"What were you doing in class? There's a technique beyond the Six Styles, Seimei Kikan."
"Hammer has a point. If you mastered it, your hair could help in combat."
That hit Onigumo like a lightning bolt; he had just found his next goal.
As the negotiations wrapped up, another group arrived, led by Instructor Zephyr.
Behind him were Momonga, Yamakaji, and Dalmatian.
Hammer instantly had a bad feeling and blurted out,
"Teacher Zephyr! If you're here for food and drinks, sure. But weapons? No way! Not a single one!"
Zephyr: '…This kid's gotten sharp.'
Hammer: 'Is that wisdom? That's trauma from getting scammed by you old guys!'
"Ahem..."
Zephyr coughed, confusing Hammer.
Then, a flash of white light appeared beside Hammer; it was Shirley.
"Brother, they already brought gifts. Momonga gave two crates of specialty booze from East Blue. Dalmatian offered a whole Yarukiman Mangrove log stolen from a South Blue pirate crew. Yamakaji brought racing ducks from Alabasta."
Hearing that, Hammer's face lit up. He immediately put on his trademark welcoming smile.
"Aiya~ Aiya~ Were all family here! Tell me what weapons you want, and I, Hammer, will personally forge them for you."
Everyone: "....."
Thick skin indeed!!
.....
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