"As for the fact that the Roger Pirates' ship is equipped with a jet propulsion system, that's an important discovery."
"We'll need to account for it moving forward."
The laughter died down, and the office returned to a serious tone. Even Fleet Admiral Kong and the others hadn't paid enough attention to the matter of the Roger Pirates.
After all, Roger was a slippery bastard, and with a ship made of the legendary Adam Wood, its performance was exceptional.
Only that lunatic Garp could keep up with him on a daily basis.
"Hmph, next time I see that bastard Roger, I'll give him hell."
"Oi, gotta say, those weapons that brat Hammer made? Damn useful!"
"Roger always used that busted sword of his to annoy me, but now that I've got the Windbreaker Gauntlets, I turned the tables on him. Finally gave him a taste of his own medicine, BWAHAHAHA!"
Garp absolutely loved the Windbreaker Gauntlets; he was still wearing them, flexing them around, much to Sengoku's annoyance.
And not just Garp, Fleet Admiral Kong even had that longsword Hammer made strapped to his waist.
"Here's what we'll do, Sengoku: don't assign Hammer to any missions at sea for now. Let him focus on forging at headquarters for a while."
"What do you think, Hammer?"
Hammer, who had been zoning out in deep thought, was instantly pulled back to reality.
"Sure! I actually have a lot of new ideas I want to try. Staying at HQ works perfectly for me!"
Seeing Hammer's ever-changing expressions, the others couldn't help but wipe away cold sweat.
"Hammer, don't get too excited. You can stay at HQ, but you won't just be forging weapons."
Hammer: '…Knew it. They'd never let me off that easily.'
"Zephyr's elite training camp is short one assistant training instructor."
"The gear you've been crafting, according to Zephyr, is very helpful in learning the Six Powers. So we're assigning you to assist him."
Hammer instantly recalled that time he fought one against a hundred. His fists suddenly felt warm with anticipation.
'Oh, this'll be fun.'
Ever since that day, he finally understood why Teacher Zephyr loved "disciplining" him so much.
That righteous beatdown disguised as tough love was just so addictive.
"Alright! No problem! Just a TA, right? I'll bring all my "teaching aids" and report to Teacher Zephyr!"
Hammer's inexplicable enthusiasm shocked everyone.
"Oh? Is couch-potato Hammer finally motivated?"
"Good! Now this is what a real Marine should look like!"
Sengoku was quite pleased with Hammer's passion and energy.
Too bad he didn't realize Hammer's true motivation was messing with people, using those so-called elite recruits as test subjects for his new inventions.
"And that's all for mission updates. Let's move on."
"Hammer, how feasible is it to mass-produce those burst-fire rifles and MiaoDao you've made?"
Here comes the main topic.
This was the real reason they summoned Hammer.
"The repeating gun is like the Windbreaker Gauntlets, its abilities come from my Devil Fruit powers, so it's not easily mass-produced."
"But the miaodao is easier. As long as the steel plate I modified is forged into shape, it can be turned into those blades, or even standard longswords."
"As for forging... well, the steel plates are very tough. If it's anyone other than me doing it, it'll be quite difficult."
Hammer's words left Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, and Chief of Staff Tsuru in silence.
They had witnessed the power of the burst-fire rifle and the miaodao firsthand, it had truly shocked them.
They all thought: if these weapons could be mass-produced and distributed to the Navy, it would revolutionize the firepower of the Marines.
And it would also bring unprecedented support to stabilizing the seas.
But now they understood how high the bar was.
"Hey, don't stress too much, folks. The burst-fire gun might be tricky, but I do have a shortcut for the miaodao."
As soon as Hammer finished speaking, everyone, even Garp, locked their eyes on him like predators.
Hammer flashed a devilish grin, sending chills down their spines.
"Big Bro Hammer! You're back!"
After a full day of training, Shirley returned home and spotted Hammer cooking in the kitchen her eyes lit up with joy.
"Yup. Just got back today. I reported in and picked up some groceries. I'm cooking dinner for a certain little leopard."
The white-haired girl giggled as she skipped across the room.
Shirley was truly happy Hammer was back. To her, he was like her only family.
"Hurry and wash up. Look at you, training made you look like a little mud monkey."
"Tch. That's all, Teacher Zephyr's fault. Running, jumping, sparring… and boring classroom lectures."
"Oh? Is that so? Little Shirley, I didn't expect you to have so many complaints about me!"
Just as she was grumbling, a deep voice came from the doorway.
Shirley and Hammer both froze.
Hammer nearly dropped his ladle in shock.
"Old man! Can you not yell out of nowhere like that?! You almost ruined my braised beef!"
Hammer glared at Zephyr, who had just walked in, while quickly tending to the pot.
"Hahaha! Hammer, I heard you did well on your mission this time, though you got swindled out of 90 million berries?"
Zephyr walked in grandly, pulled out a chair, and sat at the table, grinning as he watched Hammer cook.
"Hmph! Can we not bring that up? I'll get my revenge someday!"
"Hahahaha! You really messed up, running to the black market to buy ammo. Of course, they'd rip you off."
"Anyway, Sengoku talked to you about the TA role, right?"
Hammer brought out the beef, grabbed some bowls and chopsticks, then pulled up a chair for himself.
"Yeah, he told me. I agreed. Just an assistant training instructor, right? Thinking of all the cute junior recruits, I'm actually kind of excited!"
Hammer's blatant excitement left Zephyr speechless.
"By the way, Teacher Zephyr, why are you wearing the Windbreaker Gauntlets to dinner like Vice Admiral Garp?"
Sure enough, Zephyr was still wearing the black gauntlets, now dusty from the day.
Zephyr laughed loudly.
"They're too useful! Sometimes I sneak up to Sengoku's office window and punch it. You should see the look on his face!"
Hammer: '…Yep. Bastards always flock together. The three clowns.'
"Alright, time to eat. Shirley, why are you taking so long to wash up?"
Hammer couldn't be bothered anymore and urged Shirley to come eat.
The white-haired girl slid into her seat, still slightly embarrassed.
After all, getting caught badmouthing your teacher? Super awkward.
"How's Shirley doing in training lately, Teacher Zephyr?" Hammer asked while chewing on a piece of beef.
"Pretty good. Shirley's very talented, the Mink Tribe are natural-born warriors."
"If I'm not mistaken, she's already started to grasp Soru, right?"
Shirley nodded while eating.
Mmm, Hammer's cooking was too good. Must eat more!
"Not bad. Oh, by the way, during my mission, I managed to forge some steel plates imbued with Seastone properties."
"Yeah, Sengoku mentioned it. He said you might even be able to turn them into weapons?"
Zephyr already had some idea about the miaodao. If such powerful weapons could be mass-produced, it would be a game-changer.
Hammer suddenly leaned in with a sly look, dragging Zephyr into a hushed conversation full of shady whispers.
"Hehehe... but for this to work, I'll need your approval, Teacher Zephyr…"
"So here's the plan… first we'll... then we'll... hehehe…"
Zephyr was left completely dumbfounded after hearing it all.
Only one thought echoed in his mind:
'Hammer… you really are a bastard. Rotten to the damn core!"'