What is the spirit of craftsmanship?
It's a professional mindset, constantly refining one's products, continuously improving one's craft, and enjoying the process of elevating the work through one's hands.
Even if Hammer is just a blacksmith, craftsmanship transcends fields. As long as there's a hammer in hand, he dares to try any craft.
Even if the hammer was crude, Hammer compensated with his mastery of the Six Powers. His Soru movements were executed with such fluidity that he darted across the ship like a phantom.
His superhuman observational skills allowed him to memorize every damaged part he saw. Each time he flashed about, his figure would appear right where the warship needed repair.
His superhuman observational skills allowed him to memorize every damaged part he saw. Each time he flashed about, his figure would appear right where the warship needed repair.
Under the effects of "Sage Mode," Hammer transformed into a master shipwright.
Garp's dog-head warship was being restored at an astonishing pace.
"Good grief, that's terrifying efficiency. I nearly forgot to eat my donuts!"
At some point, Garp had appeared in the dockyard, watching Hammer's frenzied work.
Seeing his old man appear, Dragon used his legs to spring up onto the platform.
"Old man, are we setting sail?"
"Mm. Once the ship's repaired, we depart."
"But I thought Hammer was a blacksmith? Since when could he fix ships?"
Dragon shook his head. He'd never seen Hammer attempt ship repairs before this was a first.
"A real prodigy indeed."
"Sigh. Why couldn't my son be a jack-of-all-trades? Then we wouldn't have to dock at a branch for repairs."
Dragon's eye twitched.
"I'm a soldier aiming to be a general, not a craftsman!"
"Sigh, but you can't repair ships. Or forge weapons."
"I'm a Logia user!"
"You can't repair ships…"
"I fought Scopper Gabban, Roger's third-in-command!"
"You can't repair ships..."
"Can we drop the ship thing?!"
"You can't forge steel..."
"GODDAMMIT-!"
Garp and Dragon's god-tier back-and-forth had the surrounding soldiers laughing hysterically.
Hammer, unfazed by all this, continued working at lightning speed.
*Duang!*
"Done!"
With a final resounding hammer strike, Hammer clapped his hands with satisfaction and stepped aside.
The once battle-damaged dog-head warship was now fully repaired.
But when everyone turned their eyes toward it, they were dumbfounded.
All the holes had been patched with layers upon layers of steel plates.
The broken parts had been welded and reinforced with even more steel plates.
The various patches made the ship look like it had been slapped together with a bunch of band-aids.
Its appearance was like an old, tattered coat- ripped, patched, ripped again, and patched again.
But Hammer looked proudly at his creation.
When he saw Vice Admiral Garp stunned atop the platform, he instantly used Soru to appear in front of him.
"Vice Admiral Garp, your warship has been fully repaired!"
*Click!*
A crisp shutter sound rang out. One of the branch soldiers couldn't hold back and pulled out a camera, snapping a photo of the "majestic" warship.
"H-Hammer.... are you sure this is my warship???"
Garp couldn't believe it. This was supposed to be his flagship! If it weren't for the familiar dog head at the bow, he wouldn't even recognize it.
Hammer ignored Garp's stunned look and continued admiring his patchwork masterpiece.
"Absolutely! Given the severe damage, I used high-tensile steel plates for reinforcement. Every broken spot has been secured and patched!"
"And don't worry about durability, rest assured, after my hammering, they're much stronger than regular plates. No issues whatsoever!"
Garp was speechless.
Was that the issue?!
"Hammer, don't you think the way you repaired it makes it… not look like a warship anymore?"
Dragon couldn't take it anymore and voiced his complaint.
As expected, Hammer furrowed his brows and looked at the ship very seriously.
Dragon thought he finally understood. But Hammer's next words shattered all hope.
"How is this not a warship? Dragon, just because it looks a little ugly doesn't mean you should ignore its performance."
"With these plates, pirates will think twice before attacking. Believe me!"
'I Believe it!
'It looks so wrecked, no one would come near it.'
'What would they rob? The steel plates?'
Dragon was completely speechless.
"Vice Admiral Garp, don't hesitate. Now that the Roger Pirates have appeared, you must understand, time waits for no one. Set sail quickly!"
Before Garp could respond, Hammer was already urging them on impatiently.
"Oh, oh, oh..alright, set sail! Dragon, hurry up and launch!"
"We have to catch Roger!"
No matter how reluctant Garp felt, he had no choice. A broken warship couldn't chase Roger, after all.
'Sigh... It's just too embarrassing to look at.'
He was so mortified, he even forgot to demand Hammer join the pursuit of Roger.
...
At Branch 177's Port
"Vice Admiral Garp! May victory be yours!"
Under Hammer's "sincere" blessings, Garp and Dragon boarded the Patchwork Ship, sailing toward Gilong Island.
But once the "Patchwork" disappeared from view
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
A loud, unrestrained laugh exploded from the port.
The soldiers were stunned, ready to find the first one to crack.
When they saw who it was, they froze.
It was none other than the "Patchwork"'s creator, Hammer.
"Hammer, did you mess up Vice Admiral Garp's flagship on purpose?"
Seeing him laugh, the ever-sharp Lance caught on immediately.
"Yep! Don't you think it's hilarious seeing the Hero of the Marines sailing a floating junkyard'
"HAHAHAHA!"
The soldiers stared in shock as Hammer laughed his heart out.
Seeing Lance about to say something, Hammer clapped his shoulder.
"Relax. It might look ugly, but it's properly repaired."
"All the damage from the last battle has been dealt with."
"Plus, some of those plates got imbued with a certain attribute. I'm not sure if it'll trigger, though."
When he mentioned the attribute, Hammer's eyes sparkled.
Even he didn't expect a regular steel plate to trigger such an effect.
'Tsk tsk tsk... truly eye-opening.'
"Well, now that Vice Admiral Garp has left, we don't need to hang around either."
"Otherwise, when he realizes what's happened, we might get dragged into a fight with the terrifying Roger Pirates."
Lance: "…You've got a point."
"Set sail!"