"Sink them!"
"Where's the rocket launcher? Bring it here, I want to give it a shot!"
Under the warship's overwhelming firepower, the small pirate vessel stood no chance.
Their captain had already been sniped by Lance.
Without their leader, the pirates were nothing more than lambs to the slaughter.
"Lieutenant Lance, shouldn't we take prisoners?"
"No need. If I'm not mistaken, this is the Bloodhook Pirates; their captain, Bloodhook Kasha, massacred an entire village recently. Scum like this don't deserve mercy."
Lance, usually calm, now radiated cold fury.
Hearing this, the Marines stopped holding back.
Submachine guns, heavy machine guns, all opened fire without regard for ammunition, ruthlessly raking the pirate ship.
And so, the Bloodhook Pirates vanished from the North Blue.
...
"Lance, where are we now?"
"Almost within the jurisdiction of Branch 177."
"Full speed ahead. I need to ask that bastard Sakazuki what the hell he wants!"
Hammer was fuming, angry that he hadn't been allowed to return to Marineford as planned.
And the root of it all? His colleague, Sakazuki.
"Damn you, Sakazuki! What's so important that you dragged me here right after my mission?!"
Hammer stormed straight into Sakazuki's office at Branch 177 without knocking.
He didn't notice the massive warship docked at the port, its prow marked by a dog's head biting a bone.
"You damn... huh?"
"Vice Admiral Garp?! Dragon?!"
Hammer's jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw the two men casually eating large chunks of meat.
"Yo, Hammer! Sashi buri da ne!" (Long time no see!)
Dragon swallowed his meat and waved cheerfully at Haammer.
"Dragon, why are you and Vice Admiral Garp here?"
"And where's Sakazuki?"
Garp laughed heartily while eating.
"Ah, it's you, Hammer! Guess Sengoku got Sakazuki's message."
"As for Sakazuki, he's not even here. He went out to sea to hunt pirates."
"Tch, that brat said he 'couldn't stand my methods' and refused to work with me. Kids these days..."
'So that's why Sakazuki requested backup? To avoid Garp's chaos?'
"Vice Admiral Garp, why are you in the North Blue?"
Garp picked his nose grumpily.
"Damn Roger's fault, always disappearing. He was still on the Grand Line with me chasing him, and next thing I know, he pops up here in the North Blue. So here I am, chasing him again."
"But we had a fight earlier, and my warship took some damage, so we're here doing repairs before we head out again."
Hammer was speechless. Of course. For Garp, nothing is more important than Roger. If anything is, it's catching Roger.
"Vice Admiral Garp, do you need my help with anything?"
Garp looked at Hammer and suddenly smiled suspiciously.
"That old bastard! Making me repair his ship?!"
Hammer's hammer strikes grew fiercer as he worked on the hull.
He's a blacksmith, not a shipwright!
And yet he was being made to help with repairs.
"Well, Hammer, my old man's always been like this. Suck it up. I'm his actual son, and even I've ended up a part-time shipwright."
Dragon laughed nonchalantly as he swung a hammer alongside him.
After all, no one understood Garp better than his own son.
"Still. Hey Dragon, what's with those injuries?"
Hammer noticed the bandages on Dragon's chest and couldn't help but ask.
Dragon glanced at the wound and shrugged.
"This? Courtesy of that bastard Scopper Gabban. If not for my wind powers, I'd be dead."
A miniature cyclone swirled in Dragon's palm.
Hammer watched, realizing fate's gears were turning.
Just as Borsalino ate the Glint-Glint Fruit and Sakazuki the Magma-Magma Fruit, Dragon had claimed his destined power, a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Storm-Storm Fruit.
"All three of you got Logias...ridiculous."
It would be a lie to say he wasn't jealous. Logia-type Fruits were the pinnacle of Devil Fruits.
"Hahaha! Hammer, your abilities are pretty strong too, alright?"
Dragon said this while adjusting the green cloak on his back.
"If it weren't for this cloak you gave me, I wouldn't have survived Gabban's attack. I only got slashed across the chest, his axe was aiming for my head."
Hammer couldn't help but grin and tease:
"Then take good care of it. If you break it, don't come begging me to fix it."
Amid the laughter, the group quickly worked on repairing Garp's warship.
"By the way, Hammer, I noticed your squad's weapons are pretty advanced. Where'd you get them?"
Dragon glanced at the smaller warship nearby, Hammer's ship.
"Oh, those guns? Took them from Germa. I ran into them before I came here."
"Gotta say, Germa 66's military tech is top-notch."
"Their rifles make are leagues ahead of our flintlocks."
Of course, Hammer couldn't reveal his connection with Judge, no one would believe that a king from a technologically advanced kingdom and leader of the infamous 'evil army' was on friendly terms with a mere marine captain.
"Tsk tsk... impressive craftsmanship. Makes me a little envious."
Hammer shot him a cold glare.
"You want some? Dream on. Go ask that old man Sengoku."
"As if he'd ever approve it," Dragon muttered.
Just then, a communications officer came running.
"Rear Admiral Dragon! Roger's crew has been spotted!"
"Where?!"
"Near Gilong Island!"
"Inform Vice Admiral Garp. Everyone else, hurry up with the repairs! The target has appeared!"
News of the Roger Pirates' appearance quickly spread across Branch 177.
Repair work sped up urgently.
Hammer suddenly put down his hammer and began pounding with his right fist instead.
*Duang!*
Each strike echoed louder than any other sound.
Everyone instinctively turned to look, Dragon included.
"Time to show you the spirit of a true craftsman!"
"Sage Mode"
Realizing the urgency, Hammer entered a state of intense focus.
He used both hands simultaneously, hammering the damaged ship rapidly, aiding in its restoration.