At the same time, in the New World.
"Captain, are we buying up all these weapons to expand our forces?"
In the Flying Pirates, Golden Lion's orders were absolute decrees.
But even so, some crewmembers still couldn't help asking questions.
To gather weapons in bulk, they'd even fought a huge battle with Wang Zhi and Silver Axe on Hachinosu.
Though they'd seized half the island's stockpile of swords, guns, and cannons, they'd paid a price in casualties.
After all, Hachinosu was a paradise for pirates, and once the base of the Rocks Pirates.
Even though the Rocks Pirates were long gone, Hachinosu's reputation remained, now ruled by the notorious pirates Wang Zhi and Silver Axe.
"Hmph. Expand? Who told you I'm gathering weapons to expand?"
At the helm of the massive pirate ship, Golden Lion Shiki clacked across the deck in his wooden sandals, emerging slowly with a stormy look on his face.
His words only confused his crew further; no one could figure out what their boss was up to.
"Doesn't matter. Just keep gathering swords, guns, don't miss a single cannon, either."
"Once we have enough, you'll understand!"
Leaving them with that command, the Golden Lion turned away.
Hidden from view, a twisted grin crept over his face.
'That damn brat, he dared jam a rudder into my head! Just wait! I'll make him pay for what he did to me!'
Shiki's golden hair spilled all the way down to the deck like a lion's mane. His sideburns and beard were also golden and wild. Jammed into his head was a massive ship's steering wheel, embedded so deeply that removing it would kill him. Whenever he looked in the mirror, Shiki thought he looked like a rooster.
And the one who had done this to him was that damned Marine Bastard!
He could tolerate getting injured in battle, but betrayal? Never!
And sabotaged mid-fight by some sneak? Absolutely not!
So, there was no doubt about it, Golden Lion Shiki was planning revenge on Hammer.
"Damn that Golden Lion! He snatched half my stockpile. That Fruit ability of his is so damn annoying!"
Wang Zhi spat viciously as he looked over his half-empty armory.
Both Wang Zhi and Silver Axe were once members of the Rocks Pirates. After the Rocks fell at God Valley, the two survived and rose to fame on their own. Together, they'd occupied Beehive Island, the old Rocks stronghold.
They'd been living quite comfortably, with their strength, the island's terrain, and stockpiles, nobody dared mess with them.
But Golden Lion was a different breed.
He'd been Rocks' crewmate too, so he knew Hachinosu's layout inside out.
Using his Float-Float Fruit, he swooped in from the sky for a surprise raid, leaving Wang Zhi and Silver Axe helpless.
They could only watch their reserves get stolen by half, unable to do a thing to the airborne Golden Lion.
"By the way, what's with that steering wheel jammed in his head?"
Silver Axe was annoyed about getting robbed, but hey, pirates rob each other all the time. He'd just go plunder someone else. What really piqued his curiosity was Shiki's weird look.
"Hmph. He got into a scrap with Roger at Edd sea, then the Marines jumped him."
"That rudder's from back then."
"I heard it's got something to do with that upstart Marine's world-class craftsman."
Hearing that, Wang Zhi suddenly paused in thought.
Shiki wasn't stealing gold or treasure; he was stealing weapons. Coupled with his vengeful nature, Wang Zhi suddenly understood what Shiki was planning.
Hmph, but what did that have to do with him? Better to focus on refilling his empty armory than getting tangled in Shiki's grudge.
With the Golden Lion's reappearance, the calm seas began to stir with waves again.
But none of that had anything to do with Hammer, who was fully immersed in his forging.
Ten days had passed since he'd cleared everyone out.
By now, Armory Zone One had basically turned into an ice cellar.
The Jewel Ice Sheet's natural freezing temperature, combined with Kuzan's Ice-Ice Fruit, had turned it even colder.
As Hammer's forging continued, the freezing aura spread further and further from his forge.
It even reached the other zones, severely dropping work efficiency.
This made Sengoku, who was eagerly waiting for his exclusive weapon, realize something wasn't right.
But the Golden Lion incident had his hands tied; he couldn't spare the focus to check on Hammer.
"It's freezing! When is Vice Admiral Hammer gonna be done? My whole shift's down with colds, only I'm left! Old John and the rest are all sick…"
The few remaining workers huddled together and grumbled.
In just a few days, the cold had grown so fierce that most workers had fallen ill. The few who stayed could hardly get anything done.
As they complained, the chill suddenly spread again, colder, harsher than before.
"Hahahaha! It's done!"
A booming voice rang out.
The shivering workers froze, then burst with relief.
They knew this meant their freezing nightmare was finally over!
The source of the chill was right there in Hammer's hands.
It was a Ruyi Scepter.
Its shape was like a long-handled hook, the head flat like a leaf, smooth to the touch like silk, crystal clear and gleaming.
But unlike ordinary ruyi, the tip of this scepter was icy blue, while the handle was pitch black, giving it an oddly striking appearance.
"HAHA! ruyi ruyi, MANIFEST!"
Hammer swung it with a flourish.
Frozen air burst out, engulfing him.
A dazzling blue glow shone from within the frost.
Then, from within the light, a clear, ringing voice roared out!
"Chicken Bro, transform!"
The blue glow flared even brighter at his shout.
In the next moment, the chill and glow receded.
Hammer stepped back into view, utterly transformed.
In its place was a blue-black bicycle.
It looked like a classic "28" big-wheel bike, simple at first glance, but if you looked closer, you'd see intricate patterns etched along the frame.
Hammer himself was completely different too, now wearing black overalls, holding an ice sphere in one hand.
'Yup, totally Chicken Bro's style!'
"Hoh, so cold! Hahahaha!"
"Chicken Bro, now that you've got this thing, you won't even need your warship!"
"Get ready to ride a bicycle everywhere!"
Name: Frostbloom Ruyi
Material: Jewel Ice Sheet, Cryolite, Mithril, Black Rod
Activation Attributes: Frost amplification and creation can generate ice-crafted objects using special chants, based on the user's will. Fully functional and practical.
The chant has three lines, each summons a different item with a different ability:
Ruyi, Ruyi: Summons the bicycle, incredibly fast, self-repairing, can activate a frost jet mode (with some energy cost).
By My Will: Summons the black overalls, Chicken Bro's exclusive outfit, doubles the wearer's current mood intensity, grants super defense and auto-defense. Incoming attacks trigger sonic counterstrikes.
Manifest Now: Summons an ice sphere, the main attack form, massively boosts ice power to a level of absolute zero! Probably only Kuzan could wield it safely.