"Hmph. A mere Marine. If not for the technology you possess, you'd never have the privilege of facing me one-on-one."
"Oh? Is that so?"
The two titans clashed midair, weapons locked. Judge's arrogance radiated like heat from a forge, but Hammer remained unfazed.
No matter how arrogant you are, all you get from him is a casual "Oh?"
That really ticked Judge off.
"You insolent brat! Discharge!"
Irritated by Hammer's dismissive tone, Judge activated his weapon's electric shock capability.
"This? I can do that too! And better! Lightning!"
Hammer wasn't afraid to compare powers. His trident erupted with a thunderous boom.
*Crack!*
A powerful chain lightning burst from the trident's tip, piercing straight through the tip of Judge's spear.
"What? Impossible!"
Judge was shocked and quickly used his jet propulsion to retreat, narrowly dodging the blast.
"Your weapon can actually harness lightning?! This technology—I must have it!"
Judge's eyes blazed with greed he could no longer suppress.
He swung his lance, unleashing a barrage of strikes toward Hammer.
"You want it? Beg me!"
Hammer didn't even flinch. He blocked every attack with his trident with ease.
"Hmph! Brat, you've really pissed me off now!"
"Prepare for bombardment!"
Realizing he couldn't touch Hammer with his own strength, Judge resorted to overwhelming firepower.
On his command, the floating fortress awoke and showed off its ridiculous arsenal.
Countless cloned soldiers began appearing all over the warship.
Numerous anti-air cannons turned and aimed at Hammer in the sky.
Even Hammer shivered a little seeing all those barrels pointed his way.
It was a genuinely intimidating sight.
Judge smiled with satisfaction, seeing Hammer's change in expression.
"Germa 66's military might is not something a mere marine soldier like you can comprehend."
"Surrender your secrets, and I may spare you. Serve Germa, and—"
*Whoosh!*
Just then, a marine warship sped toward them.
It was Lance and the marine soldiers.
"Battle stations! Prepare the cannons!"
Despite facing forces that vastly outgunned them, Lance and the soldiers stood firm, battle-ready.
"Hahaha, are these your soldiers? How pitiful, like ants trying to stop an elephant."
Judge sneered in disdain.
Hammer was deeply moved.
He looked upon his soldiers, undaunted, fearless as they drew their guns against a foe stronger than them. This was the true army of justice.
"Lance, fall back. Don't come closer. I have my own way."
The loud shout stunned Lance for a second.
Seeing the confident Hammer in the sky, Lance hesitated, but still obeyed.
"Drop anchor!"
"Lieutenant Lance, but the Captain…"
"I said drop anchor!"
"Yes, sir!"
The warship that was just about to strike came to a halt. All the soldiers stood on deck, gripping their weapons.
"What's wrong? Scared now?"
"Then just hand over your tech. Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I won't destroy your crew."
Judge's arrogant tone just made Hammer laugh.
"I just don't want them caught in the crossfire. This move of mine… isn't quite polished yet."
His words sent a flicker of unease through Judge, but his pride dismissed it.
A moment later, he would regret it deeply.
"Sometimes, real people are far more reliable than clones. Let me teach you a lesson today, Judge."
"The reason humans are called humans… is because they have conviction."
"Hammering of the Soul, Maximum Output!"
Hammer grinned, flashing white teeth. His trident vanished, and he raised both hands high.
*BOOM!*
A deafening sound exploded near Judge's ears.
*BOOM!*
*BOOM!*
One strike after another, a relentless symphony of hammer blows.
"AHHH!"
Judge screamed, clutching his head. The relentless, merciless hammering seemed to shatter his very soul.
The mental shock plunged him into darkness.
The countless clone soldiers were also affected.
Without belief and will, they couldn't withstand Hammer's soul-based attack.
Every wave of the soul strike knocked out hundreds, even thousands, of clones.
*BOOM!*
With the final strike, the massive war fortress had no conscious clone left standing.
Even Judge had lost the will to fight, kneeling and clutching his head, unable to rise.
Hammer, seeing victory secured, stopped using Geppo and slowly descended in front of Judge.
"Still feeling arrogant?"
The cold voice rang in Judge's ear.
But Judge showed no fear, only an even deeper curiosity.
"What… what kind of ability is this?"
"Have you heard of the Hammer-Hammer Fruit?"
"No."
"..."
Hammer was speechless.
"You've lost. Anything else to say?"
"So what if I lost? I'm a World Government-affiliated king. You can't touch me. What do I have to fear?"
"..."
'Damn, this guy has no shame.'
Hammer was utterly speechless. He thought Judge was some kind of tyrant genius—turns out he's just this.
"You were able to make those amazing devices. Was that from your Devil Fruit too?"
"Besides the invisibility hat and trident, what else can you make?"
Judge didn't look the least bit upset about losing, he was now insanely curious about Hammer.
Hammer was dumbfounded. 'Was this guy for real?'
But the next second, something felt off.
In Judge's eyes, there was only pure passion for science, no ulterior motive at all.
"Do you remember... your name?"
"Vinsmoke Judge."
"Do you remember why you came here?"
"To learn about new scientific powers from you."
"...You're not trying to restore Germa?"
"What's that?"
'Holy shit.'
Hammer was stunned.
Under the Hammering of the Soul… Judge had lost his memory.
'What the hell do I do now?!'
"Hey, don't ignore me! Tell me, how did you make all those incredible items?"
"Can I learn it?"
Seeing Judge's admiring expression, Hammer froze.
"Uh… Judge, this is my personal ability. You can't learn it."
"But you're a great scientist too! Like your work on the Lineage Factor."
The words Lineage Factor exploded in Judge's mind like a hammer blow.
A fragment of memory resurfaced.
"Aghh!"
Judge howled in pain, clutching his head.
Now Hammer panicked even more.
'What do I do? What do I do?!'
This guy was a World Government-affiliated king! If he really got brain damage from this, Hammer was doomed
Even if the Marines spared him, the World Government wouldn't!
Does Hammering of the Soul really do this?
That's terrifying!