“Go, go, go!”
“It’s the middle of the day, kid.
Are you here to mess with me?”
The old blacksmith darkened his face and waved Ren away.
Ren was initially stunned.
Then he recalled his own answer from moments ago—
“I want to buy a hammer.”
He immediately understood.
So this old blacksmith was actually pretty up-to-date.
He even knew what “buy a hammer” meant in modern slang.
“No, Boss, I’m seriously here to buy a hammer!”
Ren hurriedly explained.
A short while later, after realizing it had all been a misunderstanding, the old blacksmith hurriedly welcomed Ren back into the shop.
“So, what kind of hammer would you like, customer?”
The old blacksmith poured Ren a cup of tea as an apology.
Ren took out the blueprint for his Thunder God Meow-Meow Hammer that he had prepared long ago.
“Just build it according to this blueprint.”
“I don’t have any other requirements, but the quality absolutely has to be up to standard.”
“It also needs to withstand extremely high temperatures.”
“And finally, carve a few words onto the hammer.”
“Mjö…
lnir…”
The old blacksmith carefully listened to Ren’s requirements before finally nodding.
Clang!
Ren casually pulled a palm-sized gold ingot from his pocket and placed it on the counter.
“This is the payment.”
“If it’s not enough, just let me know.”
The old blacksmith’s face immediately lit up.
He hurriedly picked up the gold ingot and bit into it.
After examining the tooth mark left behind, he nodded repeatedly.
“Enough, enough!”
“I guarantee I’ll forge the most perfect hammer for you!”
Ren left the blacksmith shop.
After wandering around the streets for a while, he found the Twin Bear Brothers riding Water 7’s locally famous mode of transportation—the Bullrat.
“What about the captain?”
Ren asked where Rocks had gone.
“Don’t know.”
The two brothers shook their heads while eating Water 7’s local specialty, Water Water Meat.
“Forget it.”
“Just remember to head back early.”
“And bring some food for Newgate too.”
Ren instructed.
“Sure thing!”
“Got it!”
The Twin Bear Brothers agreed.
…
Late that night.
Galley-La Headquarters, Archives Room
A tall black shadow silently slipped inside.
Looking at the room filled with records and documents, the intruder couldn’t help feeling somewhat dumbfounded.
“Galley-La…”
“The Great Hammer Battle Regiment…”
Rocks used the faint light to examine the shelves one by one.
“In this era, I’m afraid no one knows the origin of the name Galley-La anymore.”
“Much less the Great Hammer Battle Regiment.”
“Only these ancient records contain scattered fragments of information.”
“I’ll just have to search slowly.”
As Rocks spoke, he pulled a file from one of the shelves and began flipping through it.
…
A month quietly passed in the blink of an eye.
Ren spent the month wandering around the entirety of Water 7 as a tourist, experiencing the local customs and culture.
As for Big Bear and Little Bear, the two idiots ate their way through the entire city.
The brothers unanimously concluded that the most ordinary egg fried rice was the best food of all.
Newgate spent most of his time aboard the ship, sleeping and standing guard.
Only on a few occasions did Ren drag him into the city to enjoy himself.
As for Rocks, he had spent the entire month appearing and disappearing like a phantom.
Fortunately, there hadn’t been any trouble in the city, so Ren simply let him do as he pleased.
On this day, Ren once again arrived at Tom’s workshop beneath the bridge.
“Mr.
Ren, we’ve basically gathered all the materials needed to build the ship.”
“For the most important part—the keel—I plan to use Adam Wood.”
Tom spoke.
“Mm, no problem.”
Ren nodded.
In fact, if Adam Wood weren’t so scarce, Ren would have wanted to use it for the entire hull.
“If all the materials are ready, then let’s pick a date and start construction.”
“About that…”
Tom hesitated.
“We’ll probably have to wait a few more days before we can begin.”
“What’s wrong?”
Ren raised an eyebrow.
“Aqua Laguna is coming!”
Tom spoke solemnly.
Ren was initially stunned.
Then he immediately understood.
No wonder every household had been busy reinforcing their homes these past few days.
So the annual Aqua Laguna was about to arrive.
Trying to build a ship in the middle of typhoon winds and a tsunami was obviously the stupidest thing imaginable.
“Mr.
Ren, your current ship is still docked at the Scrap Island.”
“It’s going to be very dangerous.”
“You should move the ship as soon as possible.”
“And it would be best if everyone went to the upper levels to take shelter.”
Tom reminded him.
“I understand.”
Ren nodded.
…
The weather of the Grand Line could change in an instant.
One second, the sky was clear.
The next, dark clouds covered the heavens.
The wind howled.
The ocean churned violently.
“Newgate!”
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky.
Ren returned to the ship.
“The tsunami is coming.”
“Take this thing down and bring it with us.”
“Then let’s go take shelter.”
Ren pointed toward the main mast wrapped in black cloth.
Beneath the black cloth was none other than the golden pillar.
Because it was simply too conspicuous and would inevitably attract crowds, they had kept it covered with canvas throughout their stay in Water 7.
“Wahahaha!”
Just then, a familiar burst of laughter rang out.
Rocks had returned.
“Ren, Newgate, perfect timing!”
“That saves me the trouble of going to look for you.”
“Get ready.”
“We’re leaving.”
“Leaving?”
“Where are we going?”
“Don’t you know Aqua Laguna is coming?”
Ren glanced sideways at Rocks.
“It’s just a little tsunami.”
“Show some spirit!”
Rocks waved his hand dismissively.
“Then at least tell us where we’re going and what we’re doing.”
Ren frowned.
Not going out to sea during a typhoon was practically hardwired into the instincts of people living in coastal cities.
Ren was no exception.
Unless there was a special reason, he had no desire to go crazy alongside Rocks.
“What are we doing?”
“Naturally, we’re going to make a big score!”
Rocks rubbed his fists together, his eyes shining with excitement.
“I’ve received reliable intelligence.”
“The World Government’s Heavenly Tribute transport ship is about to arrive at Enies Lobby.”
“If we leave now, we should have a chance to intercept it.”
Heavenly Tribute?!
Ren suddenly remembered.
The reason he had originally traveled with Rocks the previous year was precisely because he wanted to make money.
Rocks had originally planned to target the Heavenly Tribute that year as well, using it to accumulate his initial funds.
It was Ren’s arrival that had changed the course of his life.
Who would have thought that after going around in circles, things would eventually return to the original timeline?
Was this the so-called correction of the timeline by the invisible hand of fate?
Ren looked up at the sky.
“Stop wasting time!”
“If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss the hot shit!”
Rocks urged him.
“Can you be a little more civilized, Captain?”
The corner of Ren’s mouth twitched.
Anyone who heard that without knowing the context might really think they were going out to rob a pile of shit.
Watching Ren and Rocks bicker, the young Whitebeard suddenly smiled.
This crew didn’t seem to be as bad as he had imagined.
Splash~
The moment the anchor was raised, the pirate ship was swept forward by the wind and waves.
Wave after wave crashed against the vessel, making the entire ship lurch violently from side to side as though it could capsize at any moment.
Time passed into the latter half of the night.
Ahead, a white line suddenly appeared against the pitch-black night.
Rumble, rumble!
The white line rapidly expanded.
It transformed into a monstrous wave dozens, even hundreds of meters high.
Under such a terrifying tsunami, any ship struck directly by the wave would be torn apart and overturned.
But neither Rocks, Newgate, nor Ren had any intention of simply sitting there and waiting for death.
“Boys, one, two…”
Abyssal Curse!!!
Sky-Splitting Strike!!!
Railgun!!!
BOOM!
RUMBLE!!!
The Trinity Combination Attack— detonated!