By the time Hammer and the others arrived at the trading city of Yuba.
A black-clad figure had already been waiting outside the city for quite some time.
The moment he saw Hammer, a burst of icy air instantly exploded outward.
Wrapped in freezing mist, the man appeared before Hammer in an instant, spreading his arms wide for a bear hug.
"Long time no see, Hammer-san!"
"I've really missed you!"
"I heard you caused a huge scene in Marineford. Impressive!"
"As expected of the man I had high hopes for!"
This person was none other than Hammer's target for this trip,
Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Logia-type Ice-Ice Fruit user, Kuzan.
Hammer had absolutely no intention of letting Kuzan hug him.
Without making any obvious movement, Absolute Space activated instantly, forming a defensive layer around his body.
Kuzan's hands were directly pushed away by the invisible barrier.
"Ara ara… so this is the power you gained after awakening your fruit?"
"How exaggerated."
"I can't even touch you anymore."
Though he said that.
The very next second, a blue ice spear condensed in midair and shot straight toward Hammer's face.
Crack!
Unfortunately, the spear's quality clearly wasn't good enough.
The instant it touched Absolute Space, it shattered into pieces, turning into scattered ice chunks on the ground.
"Hey, Kuzan."
"Are you bored or something?"
"I still remember that complaint Alabasta filed last time."
"I'm on pretty good terms with Cobra, you know."
"How about I ask him to add a few more charges to your record?"
Hammer glared at Kuzan irritably.
Kuzan's expression changed instantly.
"Hahaha, relax, relax, Hammer-san."
"My hands were just itchy, that's all."
"Oh right, my exclusive weapon."
"I should look at my exclusive weapon instead."
Seeing Hammer's face darken, Kuzan immediately backed down.
He had no choice.
The exclusive weapon was too important.
"You want your exclusive weapon?"
"Fine. No problem."
"But I have one condition."
The moment Hammer said that, Lance, standing behind him, instantly felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
"Well, Lance here ate the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
"But his development of it… how should I put this…"
"It's kinda bad."
"You're one of the three great Logia monsters of the Marines."
"Help me train him a little, would you?"
"After that, I'll give you your exclusive weapon."
Sure enough.
Hammer directly arranged a Lightning vs Ice battle for Lance.
"Oh?"
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
"That's quite a rare opponent."
"Senior Lance, let's have a proper spar!"
"Let's see whether my ice is stronger, or your lightning!"
At this stage, Kuzan was still a hot-blooded young man filled with fighting spirit.
Now that another Logia user like himself had appeared, there was no way he'd let the opportunity pass.
Cold air immediately began radiating from his body as he entered combat mode.
"Hey, Kuzan."
"I'm still standing right here."
"You two go fight over there."
"Hammer Time! Air Hammer, Long-Distance Bull Smash!"
Hammer definitely wasn't going to let their battle erupt right in front of him.
Otherwise he'd be the one suffering.
His hands slammed together.
Two hammer strikes collided instantly, generating a violent shockwave that directly blasted both Kuzan and Lance away.
Both were experienced fighters.
The instant they were sent flying, they activated elemental transformation.
One became wrapped in ice.
The other crackled with lightning.
"Since it's come to this, bring it on, Kuzan!"
"10 Million Volts! Lightning Spear!"
"Ohhh! How passionate, Senior Lance!"
"Ice Block: Ice Ball!"
Honestly, the two of them were surprisingly comparable when it came to Devil Fruit shaping and development.
One condensed a gigantic spherical mass of ice.
The other condensed lightning into a spear.
Their clash officially began.
Hammer silently observed their first exchange.
Ice and lightning were both excellent powers.
Attribute-wise, Lance held a slight advantage.
But after all, he'd only eaten the fruit recently, so his level of development was far behind Kuzan's.
Without mixing in Armament Haki, it would be difficult for the two to determine a winner.
But Hammer's goal wasn't for Lance to defeat Kuzan.
It was to improve Lance's mastery over his fruit through battle against Kuzan.
"Senior Lance!"
"You're using your powers way too awkwardly!"
"This is how a Logia should fight!"
"Ice Block: Two Thorn Spears!"
Ice spears appeared again, but this time, they materialized all around Lance.
Kuzan had already spread cold air throughout the battlefield beforehand, making it easier for him to create lethal weapons using his ability.
"Tch. Discharge!"
Faced with the sudden attack, Lance naturally wasn't going to sit there waiting to die.
His entire body transformed into lightning as he unleashed a full-area electric blast.
Blue bolts instantly shattered every spear around him.
"An opening!"
"Ice Block: Ice Time Capsule!"
Kuzan seized the opportunity.
His right hand thrust forward, unleashing a violent wave of freezing energy straight toward Lance.
With Observation Haki warning him, Lance instantly sensed danger.
"I dodge!"
Just how fast was lightning?
Hard to say exactly.
But definitely much faster than ice.
Kuzan's attack failed to hit Lance and instead struck the distant desert.
Instantly, a massive area of sand became covered in frost.
Seeing that scene made Lance shudder.
"Good grief…"
"If that had hit me, I would've been frozen solid?"
"Scary stuff."
"But Kuzan…"
"You just gave me an idea!"
Lance's eyes suddenly lit up.
His hands moved together before him.
Massive amounts of lightning gathered between his palms.
Hammer and Kuzan both silently watched him charge up.
Soon, the lightning condensed into a sphere.
"Hehe. Try this."
"Eye of Lightning!"
As the lightning sphere floated into the air, countless bolts of lightning instantly formed and rained down toward Kuzan's position.
"Ara ara…"
"Homing lightning?"
"That move's pretty impressive."
Facing the incoming lightning barrage, Kuzan failed to dodge in time and was engulfed by electricity.
Even though he elementalized instantly, he was still electrocuted enough to go numb for a moment.
Seeing that scene, Hammer clicked his tongue in amazement.
"Damn…"
"Lance's move instantly reminds me of the Sorceress's Thunderstorm from Diablo."
"Not bad."
"Looks like real combat really is the best way to develop Devil Fruits."
Watching Lance grow stronger, Hammer revealed a proud father-like smile.
Thankfully, Lance didn't see it.
Otherwise he definitely would've spat at him.
Their battle continued.
Logia battles were hard to resolve unless there was a massive difference in strength.
Both Lance and Kuzan were sparring with no intent to kill.
Who knew how long they'd end up fighting?
Eventually, Hammer got too lazy to keep watching.
He directly led his men toward Yuba instead.
The trading city of Yuba, who knew?
Maybe he'd find some rare metals or ores there.
Hammer was definitely interested in that.
As for Lance and Kuzan?
They'd stop fighting once they got tired.
No need for him to interfere.