After several days of travel, the Warhammer finally entered the West Blue.
"Hey, Lance, did you spread the message I told you to?"
"Why haven't we seen that bastard Mihawk even after reaching the West Blue?"
Along the way, the Warhammer had encountered quite a few pirate crews, but there was still no sign of Mihawk.
As for those small-time pirates, Shirley and Lance had already led teams to wipe them out completely.
"I did spread it!"
"To speed up the rumors, I even flew to several islands myself."
Lance was also helpless.
He really had done exactly as Hammer instructed.
Who knew why that bastard Mihawk still hadn't appeared?
As for Mihawk, Lance had wanted to fight him for a long time already.
How dare he hunt Marines?
Who gave him that courage?
"Tch, forget Mihawk for now. We'll wait for him slowly."
"Lance, contact the West Blue branches and see if there's any information on Moria."
Since Mihawk hadn't shown up, they would deal with Moria first.
As for how to make him accept the Seven Warlords invitation after finding him?
Beat him up once.
If he refused, beat him up again.
Heh heh.
Just keep beating him until he agrees.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a cannonball exploded on the right side of the Warhammer, splashing seawater all over Hammer's face.
"WHO DID THAT?!"
"How dare they attack Marines?! Are they tired of living?!"
Hammer instantly exploded in rage.
He had only just arrived in the West Blue and someone already attacked him?
"Enemy attack!"
"Target at the two o'clock direction!"
"A black pirate ship!"
Before Hammer could completely erupt, Shirley's voice had already echoed across the Warhammer.
Everyone instantly entered combat mode.
Hammer also glared viciously at the black ship in the distance.
But soon, he realized something.
That pirate flag looked oddly familiar.
It resembled a bat shape wrapped in flame-like patterns.
"Damn it!"
"That's Gecko Moria's pirate crew!"
"I haven't even gone looking for him yet, and this bastard came to me first!"
"Lance, move the ship closer!"
"I'm going to hammer him into a metal pancake!"
At this point, Hammer was too furious to care whether Moria was a candidate for the Seven Warlords anymore.
Right now, he only wanted to smash him flat.
"Kishishi!"
"It really is Hammer's Warhammer!"
"Boys!"
"Attack!"
"Sink his ship! I want his shadow!"
Moria, standing nearly seven meters tall, wore a savage grin across his face.
A massive blade stood beside him while his shadow writhed unnaturally behind him.
The Paramecia Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
His subordinates also excitedly unleashed cannon fire toward the Warhammer.
...
Meanwhile, on Hammer's side, Hammer himself remained standing at the bow of the ship, coldly staring at the black pirate vessel in the distance.
Lance was organizing the counterattack.
Large-caliber artillery and heavy weaponry were already prepared and moved into firing position at the front of the ship.
"FIRE!"
As Lance roared, countless streams of muzzle flashes erupted instantly.
Heavy machine guns opened fire.
BOOM!
The cannons fired as well.
Terrifying firepower immediately rained toward Moria's pirate ship.
"Damn it!"
"This firepower…"
"Fragment Bats!"
Seeing the Warhammer's terrifying barrage, Moria immediately activated his Devil Fruit ability to reduce casualties on his side.
Countless black bats soared into the sky, flying directly into the incoming bombardment.
He intended to use them to neutralize the Warhammer's attacks.
But he had underestimated things.
The Warhammer's weapon systems were absolutely among the finest in the entire Marine force.
How could his Devil Fruit ability completely stop them?
Although the Fragment Bats blocked a portion of the bullets and cannon shells,
A huge amount of firepower still slammed directly into his ship.
BOOM!
"AAAHHH!"
The pirate ship shook violently.
The hull suffered heavy damage while many of the low-ranking pirates were caught in the blast, screaming miserably.
"Damn it!"
"Turn the ship!"
"Head for the nearest island!"
"We can't fight them at sea!"
"The difference in firepower is too huge!"
Moria immediately ordered a retreat.
Hammer naturally saw through his intentions and also ordered the bombardment halted.
"Lance, cease fire."
"If he wants to run, let him run. We'll follow."
"He wants to fight on land? Fine by me!"
"Hmph!"
"A little punk like Moria dares challenge me, Hammer?"
"Watch me pound him into scrap metal!"
Pure dominance.
Absolute confidence.
This was the West Blue.
In this sea, Hammer felt he could walk sideways, upside-down, however he wanted.
That was how confident he was.
Thus, one pirate ship and one Marine warship sailed one after another toward a nearby island.
Very quickly, Moria's pirate ship docked on a lonely island.
After disembarking, Moria glared viciously toward the Warhammer.
"Hmph!"
"They really followed us."
"Boys, prepare for battle!"
A group of pirates instantly raised sabers and flintlocks, waiting in formation.
Once the Warhammer steadily anchored at the opposite side of the island,
Moria immediately led his men charging forward.
"Hmph."
"I'll personally test his strength."
Hammer shot off the deck like a rocket.
"Absolute Space!"
At the same time, he activated Absolute Space, covering the surrounding area with an invisible hammer-force domain.
"Hammer!"
"DIE!"
"Shadow Horn Blade!"
"Die!"
Watching Hammer rush toward him at high speed, Moria launched a powerful attack of his own.
His pitch-black shadow instantly transformed into a spear-like blade that looked incredibly sharp.
Facing the shadow attack, Hammer didn't even bother dodging.
His Absolute Space smashed directly through Moria's Shadow Horn Blade as he charged forward.
An astonishing scene instantly unfolded.
The moment Moria's Shadow Horn Blade touched Hammer's Absolute Space,
It shattered completely into nothingness.
Meanwhile, Hammer continued charging straight at Moria without slowing down at all.
"Impossible!"
"Shadow Doppelman!"
Seeing Hammer blast away several pirates and rapidly approach him, Moria hurriedly activated another Devil Fruit ability.
A massive black shadow clone instantly appeared.
"Shadow Warrior!"
This technique allowed his shadow to swap positions with his real body, making it extremely useful for evading attacks.
The Shadow Doppelman immediately intercepted Hammer's Absolute Space in Moria's place.
The next second, the Shadow Doppelman was blasted away by Absolute Space and dissolved into nothingness midair.
"Moria."
"That performance won't do."
"Try a little harder."
"Otherwise, be careful I don't hammer you into a metal pancake."
Hammer landed steadily on the ground, looking disdainfully at the distant Moria.
"Bastard!"
"You dare look down on me?!"
"Brick Bat!"
Countless black bats appeared again, rapidly surrounding Hammer.
Seeing this, Hammer sighed helplessly.
"What's the point of these childish tricks?"
"Chest Smash Boulder!"
With a slight exertion of force, a circular hammer-strike shockwave erupted outward from Hammer.
In an instant, all the shadow bats were crushed completely.
Moria's expression became unbelievably ugly.