Bang!
Boom!
On a stretch of coastline, two figures, one tall and one short, were locked in combat.
But the battle was completely one-sided.
The tall Moria had practically become Shirley's punching bag.
His nearly seven-meter-tall body was nothing more than a giant target.
"Damn it!"
"I'm Gecko Moria!"
"Shadow Doppelman!"
Enraged after being thoroughly beaten up by Shirley, Moria activated his shadow clone to fight alongside him.
But Shirley showed no fear at all.
Two shields instantly appeared in her hands.
"Echo Shield!"
The two shields slammed together violently.
Visible soundwaves instantly engulfed both Moria and his shadow clone.
"AH! Damn it!"
"An audio attack just like Hammer's?!"
Moria clutched his ears in pain while the shadow clone dispersed immediately.
"That's enough. Stop."
"Moria, honestly, I don't even know what to say about you."
"You clearly have an excellent physique and solid strength, yet you're this weak?"
"You lose this badly against an opponent with just a little more agility?"
Hammer's cold voice rang out, making Moria's body tremble.
"Train harder."
"Until the official appointment arrives, Shirley will be your opponent."
"I don't want the Warlord I worked so hard to recruit getting defeated someday by some nameless pirate."
"If that happens, the one losing face won't just be you, it'll be me too."
"And if something like that really happens…"
"I'll personally kill you. Understand, Moria?"
"Become stronger."
"That way you can protect me better."
"This is a direct order from me, Hammer."
Moria's trembling body instantly calmed down.
A serious expression appeared on his face as he nodded heavily.
"I understand, Vice Admiral Hammer."
"Come on!"
"Fight again!"
"Fight, my shadows!"
The second round began instantly.
Watching Moria's condition, Hammer nodded in satisfaction.
Then he stopped paying attention to Moria entirely and returned to his forging work.
The Warhammer had already been anchored off the coast of Las Gap Town for half a day.
The town itself was fairly peaceful, so Hammer hadn't allowed the soldiers into town.
Only a small group led by Lance had gone in for supplies.
Everyone else remained on standby.
Mihawk was also aboard the Warhammer.
Watching the battle between the two, he felt his hands itching for a fight.
But Hammer was busy forging, and no one else could spar with him.
As a result, he looked incredibly bored.
"Hammer, when will my sword be finished?"
"I'm already dying to find someone to duel with."
"Hurry up? Good blades require proper forging, don't you know that?"
Mihawk once again appeared outside the forge room.
Naturally, Hammer mercilessly chased him away again.
So annoying.
Why keep rushing him?
Didn't he know blacksmithing hated interruptions the most?
And just like that, another day passed.
By noon on the second day, the battle on the shore was still ongoing and had even grown fiercer.
At that moment, a Marine warship finally appeared on the horizon and slowly approached the Warhammer.
It was a Rear Admiral-class warship.
And the person leading it was also a former member of the Elite Training Camp, an old acquaintance.
At the same time, an excited shout came from inside the forge room.
"Hahahaha! Finished!"
"Mihawk, you're definitely going to love this sword!"
The moment they heard that voice, everyone stopped what they were doing.
Even Shirley and Moria halted their battle.
Meanwhile, a trace of joy appeared on Mihawk's face.
When Hammer stormed onto the deck energetically, everyone gathered around him, eager to see what kind of divine weapon he had forged.
Hammer carried a metal box in his arms, about two meters long and half a meter wide.
Mihawk looked it over and felt very satisfied.
Judging from the box's length, the blade inside should be around 1.7 meters long, perfectly suited for him.
"Oh?"
"Vice Admiral Hammer, forged another incredible weapon?"
"Let me take a look too."
A large, muscular figure suddenly appeared aboard the Warhammer.
Seeing him, Lance and the others greeted him with smiles.
"Dalmatian, so it's you."
"How've things been lately?"
That's right.
The newcomer was Dalmatian, the user of the Zoan Dog-Dog Fruit, Dalmatian Form.
"Recently? Same as always."
"Sailing around wiping out pirates."
"Admiral Sengoku ordered me to deliver the official Warlord appointment letters."
As he spoke, Dalmatian pulled out two documents stamped with the World Government's seal.
But everyone's attention was currently focused entirely on Hammer.
Dalmatian was smart enough not to hand the documents over immediately and simply held them in his hands.
Mihawk could no longer hold back.
Walking up beside Hammer, he stared expectantly at him.
"Hammer…"
"This is the sword you forged for me?"
"It's a katana, right?"
Katanas were one of the most common blade types and extremely practical.
Most swordsmen preferred them as their primary weapon.
After all, they specialized in aggressive offensive combat.
Mihawk was no exception.
Before inheriting Yoru, the sword he used had also been a katana.
Under Mihawk's eager gaze, Hammer shook his head and revealed his signature wide grin.
"A katana?"
"How could something like that compare to a weapon forged by me?"
"I'm telling you, this blade is infinitely better than a katana!"
"And it absolutely suits the current you!!"
As he spoke, Hammer slowly opened the metal box.
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on its contents.
But the next second, every single person froze.
Whether it was the soldiers aboard the Warhammer, commanders like Lance, or even Moria and Mihawk, none of them could believe what they were seeing.
Inside the two-meter-long box, was an absurdly tiny little knife.
A silver-white knife.
The guard and handle were made from the same silver metal.
The blade itself was only about thirty centimeters long, but its edge gleamed with a chilling sharpness.
In front of it lay a sheath made from the same silver metal.
Under everyone's dumbfounded gaze, Hammer picked up the knife and sheath, then set the box down.
The next second, he slid the knife into the sheath.
Everyone's expressions instantly became even stranger.
Because the moment the blade entered the sheath, it no longer looked like a knife at all.
Instead, it looked exactly like a silver cross.
And the most shocked of all was Mihawk.
The normally cold and composed man now had his eyes opened wide enough to fall out.
His jaw nearly hit the floor.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
He simply could not understand.
Why after forging for so long,
Hammer had made him a cross.