New World.
"The Navy… actually slaughtered our family! Unforgivable!"
"Peropero~"
On a ship shaped like a custard tart, a long-tongued pirate bared his teeth, Charlotte Perospero, eldest son of the Big Mom Pirates. Behind him lood two more figures: Charlotte Daifuku and Charlotte Oven.
Ahead of their tart ship lood a Marine battleship.
Sakazuki, his right arm glowing red, gripped Divine Axe Rhitta. As he stared at the Big Mom pirates before him, a flicker of bloodlust and excitent crossed his eyes.
"Pirates deserve only death."
"Those five weaklings weren't even worth sharpening my axe on."
The sheer disdain in his voice ignited the Charlotte siblings' fury.
"You're dead!"
"Kill him!"
The battle erupted instantly.
.....
anwhile, at Marine Headquarters
"Old man Kong, tell where Morgans is! I'm going to pluck that damn bird and turn him into soup!"
This wasn't the first ti the News Coo had screwed Hamr over. He was the one who scamd others, not the other way around!
"Calm down, Hamr," Sengoku quickly soothed him. "Morgans is a slippery bastard. Nobody knows his whereabouts."
"Damn that featherbrained hack! How many tis now? Does he think I'm so pushover?!" Hamr slamd his fist on the table.
anwhile, Kong and Tsuru simply smiled at his outburst.
Hamr's eye twitched. "What's with those grins?!"
"Hamr, this is the fa you deserve! Why are you so upset?"
"It also serves as good publicity for the Marines." Kong chuckled. "I'd love if that bird reported more stories like this."
The casual remark made Hamr's veins bulge.
"Of course you're not worried, you're all insanely strong!"
"But ? I'm just a humble blacksmith! My Haki's crap, my Devil Fruit's half-baked, and my combat skills are so-so, all I do is hit tal!"
"If so New World psycho kidnaps , you'll be crying over your lost 'treasure'!"
Kong: '...This brat makes cowardice sound heroic.'
Sengoku: 'Good thing Zephyr's not here. He'd be livid.'
Tsuru: 'Why does every high-ranking officer in the Navy have a screw loose?'
But thinking it through… they realized Hamr wasn't wrong.
He was a blacksmith, not just any, but a legendary one. A living treasure. He needed protection.
At that mont, a Marine rushed in with a report.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, Vice Admiral Garp reports he's ready to hunt Chinjao. He asks if Vice Admiral Hamr wants to join him.
"Garp's making his move? Where is he?" Hamr's eyes lit up with vengeful glee. 'Finally. payback ti!'
"En route to Marineford. Should arrive in about half a day."
Hamr turned to leave, only to be stopped by Kong.
"Hold it, Hamr!"
Kong smiled slyly, and Hamr instantly got suspicious.
He knew this old man was about to pull a fast one.
Hamr's face went serious.
"Hamr, since Garp is handling Chinjao, any 'reclaid' treasure from Jewel Ice Sheet belongs to HQ, right?"
Sengoku and Tsuru nodded in unison.
Of course. Kong had fully embraced his inner Scrooge, and the others were enabling him.
But unfortunately for them, their opponent was none other than the Navy's richest, greediest officer, and fellow money-grubber, Hamr.
"Sure, no problem," Hamr smirked. "As long as Garp can break the Jewel Ice Mountain without using my gear, I'll hand it all over to HQ without complaint."
'That ice isn't so easy to crack.'
Garp's fists were legendary, but breaking that glacier required piercing force, sothing only a cone-headed impact or Hamr's custom gear could achieve.
Kong grew suspicious. Hamr was being way too cooperative.
He quickly replayed everything Hamr had ever said about the Jewel Ice Sheet
"You're that confident Garp can't break it?"Kong asked.
Hamr simply gave him a mocking smirk.
That smile alone made Kong deeply uneasy.
After exchanging glances with Sengoku and Tsuru, Kong fell silent, then sighed.
"…Alright. HQ gets 70%."
Negotiations had begun. Hamr jumped right in.
"50%. Kong, without my tools, Garp doesn't stand a chance."
"65%! Giving you all that money is wasteful. HQ needs more resources!"
"55%! I'll use that money to buy rare tals and forge more divine weapons. You guys want better gear, right?"
"60%! That's final!"
"Deal!"
Kong was fuming, face red, breath ragged. Sengoku's eye was twitching.
Sengoku looked at Hamr and quietly despaired. 'One day I'll be the Fleet Admiral too… and I'll have to deal with this greedy goblin all the ti…'
'And this is Hamr before he becos the Head of Logistics… What then? What kind of nightmare awaits ?!'
"Alright, gentlen, I'll leave you to it," Hamr said, standing up. "I'm off to watch Garp smash that drill-headed Chinjao!"
"Gahahaha! It's gonna be a good show!"
With a sinister laugh, he stord out, leaving the three old-tirs speechless.
Kong exhaled hard and muttered, "Sengoku… you'd better be careful from now on. I've got a feeling that brat's gonna dock your retirent pay one day."
"I don't care much, I'll be off to Mary Geoise in a few years anyway. But you? You'll be stuck here a long ti…"
"Oh, and by the way, a letter ca from Mary Geoise… about the auction. You know what that ans."
Sengoku: 'Damn it my future looks bleak.'
Tsuru, ever the strategist, nodded at Kong's words. "Sengoku, if things get bad, maybe… buy him a gift?"
"Y'know, to soften his impression of you a little."
"After all, he's already marked you with three stars…"
Sengoku broke into a cold sweat, subconsciously adjusting his glasses, already calculating what gift to buy.
No choice.
If he wanted future financial freedom, he'd have to suck up to that damned Hamr.
Even if it ant emptying his wallet!
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu
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