And just like that, Hammer happily reached a deal with God Gan Fall.
Oh no, more accurately, he reached a deal with the people of Skypiea.
"Oh right, Gan Fall, did those bastards from Roger's crew go to the Golden City?"
"They did."
Speaking of Roger's group, Gan Fall actually had a very good impression of them.
Just from looking at the old god's expression, Hammer immediately knew he had been conquered by Roger's overwhelming charisma.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"They went to the Golden City and saw the Golden Bell as well."
"And apparently someone among them could read the writing on that stone tablet."
"In the end, they left very satisfied. Chief Joshua and I personally watched them depart."
"Oh right, when they learned the person who rang the Golden Bell was you, Roger laughed for a very long time."
"I think he thinks very highly of you, Vice Admiral Hammer. Why would a pirate evaluate you so highly?"
"Evaluate me?"
Seeing Hammer's confused expression, Gan Fall recounted what happened that day.
....
Back several days earlier, when the Roger Pirates arrived at the Golden Bell.
"Oh? So the bell we heard really came from this Golden Bell?"
"Yes. Vice Admiral Hammer was the one who rang it."
"Hahahaha! I knew it was him!"
"Rayleigh, what did I tell you? It had to be that brat!"
After hearing Gan Fall and Joshua explain how Hammer rang the bell, Roger laughed extremely happily.
Silvers Rayleigh and the others looked rather awkward.
On the way there, everyone had made guesses about who rang the Golden Bell.
Aside from Roger, who insisted it was Hammer, everyone else believed it had to be someone else.
The Dark King Rayleigh himself admitted Hammer had strength and courage, but a blacksmith managing to explore this far?
It still felt unreal to him.
"Yes! Thanks to Vice Admiral Hammer, the flame of our Shandian people has finally been reignited!"
"He is the benefactor of our entire tribe!"
Joshua excitedly recounted Hammer's great achievements with a face full of gratitude.
"Hahaha! That brat really is interesting!"
"Rayleigh, perhaps the future of the Marines will advance because of him."
Roger held Hammer in extremely high regard.
But unlike Rayleigh's objective analysis, Roger's evaluation came entirely from instinct.
"Captain Roger, please stop mentioning him!"
"Every time you do, I remember getting struck by lightning. If possible, I never want to meet him again in my life."
The speaker was none other than little Buggy.
Every time Hammer was mentioned, Buggy would involuntarily remember the lightning descending from the heavens.
"Hahaha! Buggy, we really are connected to him."
"We've both been struck by lightning because of him."
"Maybe in the future, something even more interesting will happen between you and him."
"You better be careful, Buggy."
"That Hammer fellow is a complete and utter bastard."
Roger pulled the young Buggy over and whispered words terrifying enough to make him tremble all over.
"Alright, Roger, stop scaring him."
"We're almost there anyway."
In the end, Rayleigh rescued Buggy from Roger's torment.
Once the group arrived at the Golden City of Shandora, Roger immediately looked upward.
"The Golden Bell should be up there."
"My instincts are telling me so."
His words shocked Gan Fall and Joshua.
Neither expected this pirate captain to possess such terrifying intuition.
"Yes, it really is up there, but you-"
"Hahahaha! Everyone, let's go take a look!"
Before Gan Fall could finish speaking, Roger burst into laughter and sprinted toward the giant vine.
The Roger Pirates had long since become accustomed to Roger's behavior and quickly followed behind him.
Gan Fall and Joshua exchanged glances.
Suddenly, they both felt this man seemed... kind of airheaded.
'This guy could scare away someone as monstrously powerful as Vice Admiral Hammer?'
...
Everyone arrived before the Golden Bell
"Whoa! It's pure gold!"
"Captain Roger! Let's steal it! It's worth a fortune!"
Little Buggy instantly got excited upon seeing the massive golden bell.
Meanwhile, Oden and Roger rushed straight toward the stone engraved with text.
Everyone else simply admired the magnificent scenery around them.
After the text had been fully deciphered and Roger learned its contents, the group prepared to leave.
After listening to Gan Fall finish the entire story, Hammer nodded.
'The final year had finally begun.'
'Roger, the day you reach the Pirate King's throne is almost here.'
"Tch. The Great Pirate Era..."
Thinking about the Great Pirate Era Roger would eventually create, Hammer felt increasingly irritated.
Once that happened, pirates would flood every corner of the seas.
How was he supposed to peacefully slack off then?
No.
He needed to get promoted as quickly as possible.
As long as he became head of logistics, he could comfortably sit back and relax for life.
But... how exactly was he supposed to earn promotions?
Thinking about that made Hammer depressed.
Surely he couldn't just lead troops into the New World and start fighting people?
Just imagining those monsters in the New World made him shiver.
So what was the best way to rapidly accumulate military achievements?
'Wait, that's it.'
'The Seven Warlords!'
Hammer's eyes instantly lit up.
The Seven Warlords system was the perfect opportunity.
Right now only Crocodile occupied one position.
There were still six remaining slots to manipulate.
'If I could secure a few more candidates, wouldn't his military merit skyrocket?'
'Perfect.'
'That's the plan!'
The moment that thought appeared, Hammer instantly found a new goal.
"Gan Fall, I'll be returning to the Blue Sea in a few days."
"After all, I'm still a Marine. Being absent from duty for too long isn't exactly appropriate."
If anyone else heard that, they'd probably spit directly in his face.
"So before I leave, prepare 500 of every type of Dial for me."
"And 500 cubic meters of Iron Cloud too."
"That's possible, but it'll take time to prepare."
"Will three days be enough?"
"Yes."
"Perfect."
"Then I'll leave the rest to you."
"I'm finally going to relax around Angel Island for a bit."
"Damn Roger. Next time I see him, I'm definitely smashing him with a hammer."
"That idiot keeps throwing out Divine Departure every chance he gets. So annoying."
Ever since arriving at Angel Island, Hammer had spent all his time forging.
He hadn't properly enjoyed life at all.
So he intended to spend the next three days relaxing.
Of course, even if he wanted to relax, certain people weren't going to let him.
For example, Lance and Gion.
The moment they saw Hammer finish talking with Gan Fall, both immediately latched onto him.
"Hey Hammer, hurry up and continue my training!"
"I feel like I'm about to break through ten million volts!"
"And me too! I want training as well!"
Hammer: "???"
"No, if you want training, just train yourselves!"
"Why does a dignified Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral need to personally accompany you two?!"
Lance and Gion exchanged glances.
Then spoke in perfect sync: "Because you're Hammer."
Hammer completely fell silent.
If he wasn't Hammer, what was he supposed to be? Hammerpost?
What kind of logic even was this?
What sins had he committed to deserve this?!