This time, when the Warhammer set sail, Hammer deliberately didn't choose the Calm Belt route, since he had bodyguards with him, he headed straight for the Grand Line instead. His plan was to wander around the first half for a bit, then go to Punk Hazard.
In Hammer's words: Why waste free bodyguards?
Sure enough, if any enemies showed up, he'd just toss them all to Momonga and Yamakaji.
"Tch, feels like there are even more pirates lately."
"We've only been out a few days, how many is this now?"
Momonga coldly wiped down the Tang Dao in his hand.
Yamakaji, meanwhile, still wore his usual gentle smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes as he watched another pirate ship sink beneath the waves.
They'd run into plenty of pirates so far, and every single pirate ship was sunk, with no exceptions. If they could capture any, they did; if not, they were sent to the deep.
"Hey, good work, Momonga, Yamakaji!"
The two killing machines immediately showed a hint of helplessness at the cheerful voice.
They turned to see Hammer standing at the prow of the Warhammer.
"Hey, Hammer, you could've gone to Punk Hazard through the Calm Belt, you know. Why'd you have to pick the Grand Line? Something wrong with your head?"
Momonga's complaints bounced right off Hammer.
"The Calm Belt's boring! I didn't want you two getting restless, much better to cruise the Grand Line and enjoy the scenery, right?"
"Here, those old swords of yours must be worn out. Try these."
He tossed them each a blade.
Momonga and Yamakaji's eyes lit up immediately, and they leapt up and caught them midair.
They felt the weight, heavy and perfectly balanced.
Using Geppo, they landed on the Warhammer's deck, and Momonga impatiently drew his new sword.
The polished steel gleamed under the sun, and a flicker of genuine excitement crossed Momonga's cold face.
But a second later, he carefully slid it back into its sheath and turned to look at Yamakaji instead.
"Huh? Momonga, why are you looking at me instead of your sword?"
"Mm… I think… moments , you should go first, Yamakaji."
Hammer burst out laughing. he knew exactly what Momonga was worried about. After all, Hammer's weapons were never cheap, if it wasn't a hundred million Berries, it was two hundred million. Momonga didn't want any extra debts!
Yamakaji shot him a look, then drew his blade anyway.
Even this ever-smiling gentleman couldn't hide his excitement when he saw it up close.
"It's a Yanling Dao, a cold weapon, a traditional blade from my hometown. The blade's straight, the tip curves slightly, there's a false edge, looks like a wild goose feather, hence the name."
"I made these recently, forged from high-purity wrought iron."
Hammer thought to himself: 'Should've grabbed more from Dressrosa when I had the chance.'
Yes, this high-purity wrought iron came straight from Dressrosa. He'd only managed to grab a bit last time, so he forged just two Yanling Dao.
The Yanling Dao was a single-handed blade, perfectly inheriting the properties of the source metal. Hardness increased by 50%, and sharpness increased by 50%.
"Hammer, this one's for me?"
Yamakaji tested the balance happily.
"Of course! I'm not like some glowing Buddha statue, I'm generous to my own people!"
Sengoku: 'There it is again, dragging me into it!'
Momonga, seeing that Yamakaji's blade didn't explode or demand payment, finally dared to draw his own.
Sure enough, the polished blade with a blood groove looked exquisite.
It was heavier than his tang dao, but perfectly balanced in the hand.
Hammer had customized the size for Marines, lengthened the original 1.2m blade to 1.5m overall. Blade length 1.2m, width 5cm, thickest point about 3cm, refined yet deadly.
"Don't go spreading the word! I only had enough wrought iron for these two blades. If people start lining up for more, I'll smash you both myself!"
Hammer was very wary of the HQ crowd; they all wanted to squeeze some perks out of him.
"Relax! I, Momonga, keep my mouth sealed. Worst case, I won't even come back to HQ for a while! And if I do, I won't bring the sword!"
Momonga was already entranced, spinning the Yanling Dao in the air.
Yamakaji was the same, nodding earnestly, promising not to blab.
Hammer finally nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright then, full speed ahead. Once we reach Punk Hazard, I'll need you two to run an errand for me."
Momonga and Yamakaji exchanged looks and nodded.
Both warships accelerated, heading straight for Punk Hazard.
Marineford was unusually quiet that day. Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, and Vice Admiral Tsuru were already waiting at the port.
The reason was simple: the Celestial Dragons were visiting HQ.
Kong had no choice but to be cautious; these people were the ultimate troublemakers.
Sengoku watched the approaching World Government ship, face stiff with tension.
Once the ship docked, the first to disembark were three masked CP0 agents in white suits.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, the Celestial Dragons have arrived."
After speaking, they stepped aside to await their masters.
"My god, have we ever had this many Celestial Dragons at HQ???"
What happened next nearly shattered Sengoku's worldview.
One by one, nine Celestial Dragons disembarked.
Their distinctive clothes and glass bubble helmets made Sengoku's heart leap into his throat.
"Honored Guest, welcome to Marineford."
Kong forced a deep breath and stepped forward to greet them.
The leading Celestial Dragon waved him off dismissively.
"Where's Master Ornn? He hasn't come to Mary Geoise in quite some time."
"I do miss him, you know."
Kong felt his stomach twist into a knot.
This man was none other than Saint Ethanbaron V. Ori, and his expression looked very unpleasant.
Behind him were the same people obsessed with Hammer's creations, Saint Roswald, Saint Charloss… they were all here.
Even rarer, there were two female Celestial Dragons in the group.
"Saint Ori, please forgive us, shall we move to the conference room first?"
Ori didn't make things too difficult; the group walked straight into Marine HQ.
Along the way, the Celestial Dragons started complaining aloud:
"Honestly, a mere Navy dares to boss Master Ornn around? We should just take him back to Mary Geoise, where he belongs!"
"Saint Pulminger is right! I support that!"
They didn't care one bit if the high-ranking Marines liked what they heard; they just said whatever they pleased.
Each word made Kong, Sengoku, and Tsuru's faces darker and darker.
Ethanbaron V. Ori watched it all, saying nothing, but the mockery in his eyes grew ever more obvious.