A hearing, as the name implies, is a formal meeting where the World Government calls in officers to assess whether they're fit for promotion to Vice Admiral.
Marine Headquarters, Conference Hall.
Two inspection officers from the World Government stood ready, while Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru supervised from the sidelines. Numerous senior officers were seated around the hall as observers, including even Zephyr, who was technically semi-retired.
Once Hammer and his two companions walked in, the hearing formally began.
Hammer looked at all the faces and instantly felt frustrated. "This isn't a hearing," he thought. "It's a public struggle session!"
Sakazuki had a cold, silent expression, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. One wrong word and it looked like he'd start throwing punches.
Borsalino was the most relaxed, his sly face calm as ever, slowly swaying as he walked like someone begging to be punched.
"Take your seats," Sengoku said blandly, his tone unreadable.
But Hammer, with his soul based ability, could sense a flicker of annoyance in Sengoku's heart.
'And honestly, it made sense. Promotions within Marine HQ requiring direct government supervision? Ridiculous. In Luffy's time, even those half-baked Vice Admirals never had to go through this kind of thing.'
Just thinking about it made Hammer smirk at the two government agents.
"Since everyone is here, let's begin."
"First, allow us to introduce ourselves. We're direct representatives from the World Government, here specifically to oversee your promotion to Vice Admiral. We hope you take this seriously."
'Starting with bureaucratic nonsense'
"Rear Admiral Sakazuki…"
Blah blah blah. Hammer was already bored and irritated.
The next second, Duang!
A faint hammering sound echoed through the room. Sengoku twitched. Instantly, a golden aura surged from his body. Zephyr, Tsuru, Sakazuki, and Borsalino all reacted too, they knew something was off.
The veterans were strong and experienced.
The younger two? They knew Hammer too well. If that hammer sound played, something was up.
Sure enough, the moment the sound rang out, nearly everyone in the room was put under hypnosis.
Blank eyes. Frozen in place.
"Hammer! You little shit! This is a hearing, how dare you use your abilities here!" Sengoku roared, rising to his feet, face dark with rage.
The few who weren't affected immediately stared at Hammer.
He just shrugged, helpless. "Come on, Admiral Sengoku. I'm saving everyone time here, us and them."
"These two have been rambling non-stop. Super annoying, right Sakazuki? Borsalino?"
Both nodded without hesitation.
This new generation was proud, bold, and strong, how could they tolerate people bossing them around?
"Admiral Sengoku~," Borsalino chimed in with a grin, "I think Hammer-kun did the right thing. Better we shut them up than let them annoy us~?"
"Exactly! I just hypnotized them and tweaked their subconscious, bam, done. Our promotions are a sure thing anyway."
As Hammer and Borsalino played off each other like a comedy duo, Sengoku was fuming. But off to the side, Tsuru and Zephyr burst out laughing.
Zephyr had always disliked government officials, and Hammer's antics delighted him, though he had to consider his old friend Sengoku's pride.
After all, Fleet Admiral Kong had entrusted this important hearing to Sengoku, clearly to groom him. Can't let it turn into a mess.
"You three punks! Sit down and behave! How did I end up raising three idiots like you?!" Sengoku barked.
Even while scolding them, it was obvious he was pleased.
Sengoku turned to Zephyr and glared. "Enough laughing, Zephyr."
Zephyr crossed his arms, face full of disdain. "Please. Since when do Government lunkies get to dictate Marine promotions? They should be grateful we even showed up."
Hammer quickly tossed Zephyr a bottle of sherry from his ring. Zephyr's eyes lit up, and he immediately took a swig.
"This is a formal procedure! Hammer, you've gone too far!"
"Hmm? What's that, Admiral Sengoku?" Hammer smirked "Just a heads up, I'm going with Fleet Admiral Kong to Mary Geoise to sell goods soon. If I'm in a bad mood, I might sell less, and then, well... your military budget…"
Sengoku's jaw dropped. 'Was I… being threatened?!'
Even Sakazuki, Borsalino, Tsuru, and Zephyr were stunned.
"Hehehe… Admiral Sengoku, wanna upgrade to a new warship?"
"New guns and cannons?"
"More retirement funds?"
Sengoku's face darkened, then paled, then turned red.
"Hammer, this hearing, fine! I'll approve it! You hypnotize those two and make sure nothing goes wrong!"
Tsuru: 'Sengoku, where is your dignity???'
Zephyr: '..I never knew greed could make him so likable.'
Sakazuki: 'You can do that?!'
Borsalino: 'New trick learned!'
"Alrighty~ Back to hammering!"
Sakazuki and Borsalino exchanged a glance and walked over to Hammer.
"Hammer bro~, I want a new warship too!"
"I want weapons, enough to slay legions!"
Hammer: 'Since when did these guys get so shameless?'
Suddenly, disaster struck.
Everyone in the room, all top-tier fighters, felt a powerful force descending from above.
The next second, the ceiling shattered. A cold gleam streaked down from the sky.
Screams erupted. Even Hammer's hypnotic sound wave was disrupted.
"What the hell? Why is that falling now?!"
Hammer stared in shock at the government official's severed arm lying next to the mighty weapon that had fallen, a majestic polearm.
Everyone was stunned. Sengoku looked up at the shattered ceiling, heart bleeding.
He gave Hammer a look to indicate: 'That repair bill… Your gonna be paying for it all!'
Hammer: 'Old man, you're ruthless!'
"Explain. That weapon's yours, isn't it?" Tsuru asked sternly, pointing at the writhing officer.
Hammer sighed and explained everything.
Upon hearing that it was Fleet Admiral Kong's doing, the room fell silent in awe.
Everyone stared at the poor, unlucky officer with a strange expression.
"Hey, it's not my fault. That thing's been missing for days, I thought it was gone. Who knew it'd drop now and hit a government agent's arm? Tsk tsk. That's karma for doing shady stuff."
Everyone nodded in agreement, but silently thought: 'You're the one who does the most shady stuff here.'
And so, the hearing ended with mass hypnosis. Even the Den Den Mushi got hypnotized.
The trio's promotion to Vice Admiral was unanimously approved.
As they exited, Sakazuki suddenly spoke.
"Hammer, what's the real deal with Dragon? You and Admiral Sengoku both failed to catch him?"
"He awakened Conqueror's Haki… caught us off guard. You know how short our arms are. And neither of us can fly. No way to catch him."
Sakazuki's face turned icy cold, his voice as frigid as winter winds.
"That traitor… next time I see him, I'll kill him."
"Sure thing. He's all yours."
Hammer looked at Sakazuki and sighed inwardly.
Just before the hypnosis, one of the officials was reciting Sakazuki's resume.
Years of service. Countless pirate kills. Anyone in his way, eliminated.
'Yep. Mad Dog was the perfect name for him.'
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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