Yule Town, Bash Kingdom.
"Old man, it's time to pay the protection fee. Otherwise, your village's goods might just disappear along the way."
"Please, sir, just a few more days. I'll have the money soon."
"Tch. How many times have you said that now?"
In front of a small house, two menacing figures in suits and sunglasses loomed over an elderly man.
The old man clearly couldn't pay.
"Hmph. Don't say I didn't warn you. In the Bash Kingdom, no one dares cross the Florence Family!"
The Florence Family, one of the five major mafia families of West Blue, with their claws stretched across the region.
This left the old man even more panicked.
"You jerks! Don't bully our village chief!"
Suddenly, two black iron bars appeared beside the gangsters.
It quickly snapped shut into a prison-like cage, trapping the two inside.
"Damn it! A sneak attack?!"
"What the hell is this?!"
The two mafioso were furious and tried to break free, but no matter what they did, they couldn't escape the black iron bars.
A pink-haired little girl.
"You mafia goons are the worst!"
"If Brother Lance were still here, he'd have arrested all of you!"
At the mention of "Lance", a flash of panic appeared on the gangsters' faces, but it quickly turned into viciousness.
"Hmph. I thought you looked familiar. You're that bastard Lance's little sister, aren't you? Hina, right?"
"Well guess what, Lance is gone! No one is left to protect this town!"
"The Florence Family will take over this place soon enough!"
Hina's face twisted with anger. She wanted to attack again, but the village chief held her back.
"Let them go, Hina. Be a good girl."
"But Village Chief, they-!"
"It's alright, Hina. Let them go."
Reluctantly, Hina released the cage. Yes, Hina was a Devil Fruit user, a Paramecia-type user of the Cage-Cage Fruit.
She could generate iron-like fences from her body to imprison enemies. These bars were even harder than steel.
"Hmph! You're lucky! But the Florence Family will-"
A lazy-sounding voice suddenly interrupted.
A massive, 3-meter-tall, black-faced, muscular man had appeared behind them.
The sheer pressure radiating from the man was suffocating, like standing before a tidal wave about to crush them. The two mafioso stood frozen in terror, unable to finish a single sentence.
"This is mafia material? Pathetic."
It was Hammer who casually grabbed the two gangsters by the collar and tossed them away like garbage. They flew in arcs through the sky, leaving behind sparkling star trails.
"Lance… Your hometown's not as peaceful as you made it sound."
Both the village chief and Hina's eyes lit up.
Two figures walked out from behind Hammer; it was Lance and Shirley.
None of them wore marine uniforms. Hammer and Lance were in casual shorts and shirts, while Shirley wore a short-sleeved shirt and skirt.
"WAH! A PINK-HAIRED LOLI!"
Ever since Shirley met Lady Crocodile, she'd grown quite fond of cute girls herself. The moment she saw Hina, she exploded with excitement.
With a dash, she scooped Hina into her arms.
"Let me go! Who are you?! Brother Lance, save me!"
'And she's pink-haired?' Hammer glanced at the scattered black iron bars nearby.
'Could this be… the future Black Cage Hina?'
Hammer squinted at Lance, giving him a look that made Lance blush awkwardly.
"Hina, it's okay. This is Vice Admiral Hammer, and that's Lieutenant Commander Shirley."
Hina's eyes widened at Hammer's name.
"The legendary Marine monster rookie, Vice Admiral Ornn Hammer?! Whoa! So that's what you look like!"
"…But why are you so black?"
"Hey now, little girl, what's wrong with being black? This isn't my natural skin color, it's from years of hard work, forging!"
"That's it. I'm visiting Vice Admiral Tsuru when we get back."
Shirley and Lance looked confused.
"She's the Wash-Wash Fruit user. I'm going to ask her to wash my face clean! I swear I'll scrub all this soot off."
'It makes sense… but why does it sound so weird?'
Meanwhile, the village chief rushed over with excitement the moment he saw Lance.
"Lance, you're back."
"My boy, you've grown so strong, very good!"
Lance looked just as emotional.
Under the chief's guidance, the group entered Yule Town, the place that raised Lance.
"So ever since I left for headquarters, these bastards started squeezing the village dry?"
Lance's muscles bulged with fury after hearing the chief's explanation of the past few years.
He trembled with rage.
Hina was equally furious. At only ten years old, she was a Devil Fruit user, but still too weak to protect the village.
But when she looked at the upright Hammer, her eyes sparkled with hope.
"But now that He's here, even the Florence family boss won't stand a chance! Right, Master Ornn?!"
Hammer: '...Did I just gain a fan out of nowhere?'
"Uh, am I really that impressive? I'm just a little ol' vice admiral. Not that big a deal."
That made both Lance and Shirley twitch at the corners of their mouths.
'"Little" Vice Admiral? That's the core strength of the Marines!'
"Forget it. Since we're here, might as well clean this up. Lance, Sherry, we're heading to the capital to 'chat' with the Florence family boss."
Bash Kingdom, Bash Royal Capital.
"Gotta admit, this country's pretty prosperous."
Hammer looked around in awe at the bustling capital streets.
"Of course! Bash Kingdom is one of the richest in the West Blue!"
"Even the Kano Country can't compare in some aspects."
Lance was proud of his homeland.
But Hammer immediately crushed that pride.
"Yeah, all that prosperity belongs to the mafia."
Hina and Shirley couldn't help but laugh at Lance's expression.
"Hey, Lance, how are we supposed to find this Florence family guy? This could take forever."
"Uh… I've never seen their boss either. No idea what he looks like."
Hammer massaged his forehead helplessly.
"My dear first officer, you've truly let me down."
"Wait… Lance, aren't those the same two thugs from Yule Town?"
Lance squinted. "Yeah, it's them."
An evil chuckle rang out.
A second later, Hammer and Lance each grabbed one of the mafioso.
"Hey, kid. Remember me?"
The mafioso's soul nearly left his body. One moment he was walking down the street, and the next he was dragged into a corner by a terrifying wind.
Then he looked up and saw the 3-meter-tall iron tower.
" I'm sorry… please don't hit me…"
Hammer gave what he thought was a kind smile.
"Relax. I just want to ask you something."
But to the mafioso, that smile was straight from the depths of hell, especially with Hammer's fierce face.
The poor guy passed out from fear.
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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