A few minutes later.
Storm descended from the Admiral's office on the top floor to the Navy's Finance Department below.
His purpose was simple and clear—collecting his salary!
Such was the Navy's way.
Pirates could earn money simply by wreaking havoc, pillaging, and stirring up chaos on the high seas.
But the Navy had to dutifully wait for the World Government to issue their military pay.
The Navy operated on an "annual salary system."
A fresh recruit just enlisted could earn—
Two million Belly per year! And that didn't even include additional benefits like uniforms, meals, or bonuses.
From this perspective, the Navy's welfare package was quite decent.
Before long.
Storm received his salary from the Finance Department—
A full stack of two hundred crisp 10,000-Belly bills!
Storm casually stuffed the two million Belly into his pocket.
He turned and left the Finance Department, then headed straight for the Logistics and Equipment Division.
What was the point of getting paid if not to spend it? With his salary secured, it was time to splurge on gear.
Logistics and Equipment Division.
The one who greeted Storm was a burly, scruffy-bearded middle-aged Navy officer.
He glanced at Storm's sailor uniform, then let his eyes linger on the recruit's bulging pocket.
"New recruit? Rare sight! What kind of weapons or equipment are you looking for?"
"I want to commission two custom weapons—a longsword and a baton."
With Belly in his pocket, Storm spoke with confidence.
"But I have special requirements for the baton's material.
"I want a Sea Stone Baton."
Storm hadn't yet awakened his [Haki].
He specifically came to commission a "Sea Stone weapon" as a precaution.
A Sea Stone Baton—specialized for dealing with Devil Fruit users.
Every swing would deal true damage, every strike a critical hit.
As for the longsword.
Storm was, after all, only flesh and blood.
He didn't possess Big Mom's innate, monstrous "Iron Balloon" talent.
Storm knew how to fight with his fists.
But he also wielded a blade!
His original goal in coming to the Equipment Division was to acquire a quality sword that suited his needs.
If he could get a "Named Sword" of Grade Sword caliber, even better.
Generally speaking.
A Grade Sword's market price hovered around one million Belly.
That was a price Storm could still afford with his current funds.
But Grade Swords were often more talked about than actually available.
There were more swordsmen on the high seas than there were fire-wielders.
The Navy itself had countless swordsmen, even Sword Masters.
True Named Swords rarely made it to the open market.
"Sea Stone? Now that's foresight!"
The middle-aged Navy officer gave a thumbs-up in approval.
"Last guy who came here specifically for a Sea Stone weapon was that kid Smoker.
"The Equipment Division has Sea Stone in stock, but as for your 'Sea Stone Baton,' we don't have any ready-made.
"If you want to commission such a weapon, you might have to wait a day or two."
"That's fine."
Storm nodded. A day or two was nothing.
"What about the longsword?"
"Blades, huh…"
The officer stroked his stubble, sneaking another glance at the recruit's pocket.
"Now that you mention it, the Equipment Division just received a batch of Alcohol Iron Ore.
"It's a rare and special type of ore—flammable like alcohol.
"Weapons forged from Alcohol Iron Ore can 'burn'!"
Flaming Sword?
Blazing Sword?
Storm instinctively thought of the [Flame-Flame Fruit].
Now even swords can play with fire? "Goethite weapons can not only be manually ignited but also set ablaze through friction."
The middle-aged Marine continued promoting his so-called "Alcohol Iron Ore."
"These weapons are quite popular in the New World."
Though the power of such "flame weapons" might not be impressive.
They're cooler! More dazzling! More stylish! And most importantly—they cost way more to forge than regular swords! The middle-aged Marine's lips curled into a sly, merchant-like grin.
"That does sound interesting."
Storm asked the most crucial question.
"How much for one of these Goethite Sabres and a Sea Stone Baton together?"
"The Sea Stone Baton isn't too hard to make, so I'll just charge you the base cost—200,000 Belly!"
The Marine's smile instantly widened.
"But the Goethite Sabre will run you 800,000 Belly! It's not a Named Sword, but at this price, it's an absolute steal! That'll be one million Belly total! Will you be paying in cash or by check?"
"I…"
Storm was about to reach for his money when he caught sight of his Marine uniform.
He paused, then abruptly changed his tone.
"I'm a recruit!"
"?"
A bad premonition suddenly crept into the Marine's heart.
This brat wouldn't dare say something like "I'm a recruit, so give it to me for free," would he?
No way! Absolutely not!
It doesn't matter if you're a recruit—even if you were a recruit, that's not happening! "Sir!"
Storm beamed brightly.
"I'm a recruit! How about a discount?!"
Right now, I just want to slash you with a sword!
The Marine instantly clenched his fists.
...
'The logistics equipment officer was pretty nice, huh!'
In high spirits, Storm walked out of the equipment department.
Just moments ago, he'd spent one million Belly to buy a Goethite Sabre, a Sea Stone Baton,
a Trans-Regional Transponder Snail,
and a Navy Headquarters Eternal Pose.
The latter two were free gifts from the hospitable equipment department.
Nothing worth mentioning.
Storm strode briskly away from Marine Headquarters and headed straight for the training grounds.
The "200x Effort" cheat required immense dedication and sweat to activate.
It wasn't something you could just casually claim and unlock.
Over the past year,
Storm had been training relentlessly in the recruit camp, mastering numerous skills—including the [Six Styles], [Swordsmanship], [Marksmanship], and more.
But today, at the training grounds, Storm wasn't planning to hone his physical techniques.
Instead,
he was far more interested in his newly acquired [Clay-Clay Fruit].
"Hey!" "Hah!" "Hyah!" "Yah!"—
As Storm drew closer to the training grounds,
the sounds of clashing muscles, fierce shouts, and some… odd moans grew clearer.
But just as he stepped inside,
a particularly vulgar phrase drifted over with the wind.
"I wanna be Miss Kujaku's dog so bad—"
Accompanied by rhythmic slapping sounds—"smack," "smack smack."
The sound was like a whip lashing against flesh.
No—not "like," it was exactly that! Storm stopped in his tracks and looked.
On an open patch of ground not far from him.
A tall, blonde, blue-eyed young woman was mercilessly whipping a marine.
Storm's brow arched slightly.
He recognized the blonde girl wielding the whip at a glance.
The granddaughter of Headquarters' Chief of Staff Tsuru—Kujaku!
But from what Storm knew.
Kujaku's weapon of choice had never been a "whip," but rather a "longsword."
Storm observed more closely.
Only then did he realize the "whip" in Kujaku's hand wasn't a whip at all.
To be precise.
It was a softened longsword that resembled a whip!
Storm immediately understood.
'Has Kujaku already eaten the [Whip-Whip Fruit]?'
At that moment.
Kujaku seemed to sense Storm's gaze.
She stopped her whipping and turned toward Storm, her green eyes lighting up instantly.
"Storm?!"
Kujaku raised her whip, her eager expression like a predator about to seize its prey.
"Get over here now!"
Setting aside their past of counting stars and admiring the moon together.
Both Storm and Kujaku had been among the top-performing marines in last year's training camp.
They frequently sparred.
Storm knew Kujaku's depths.
Kujaku understood Storm's lengths.
Their relationship was well-worn!
Now, Kujaku was once again initiating a fight.
Storm, who had been wanting to test the effects of the [Devil Ring], naturally wouldn't refuse her enthusiastic invitation.
However.
The moment Storm took a step forward.
The impatient Kujaku dashed toward him with her long, snow-white legs.
Her speed was so fast that ordinary people couldn't react—clearly, it was—
Six Styles: Shave! "Storm!"
Kujaku swung her whip, her green eyes reflecting the man before her.
"Let me teach you a lesson!"
Kujaku's right arm lashed forward, the whip cutting through the air straight for Storm.
Whoosh—
The whip-like soft sword tore through the air with a shrill whistle that made the onlookers shudder.
Faced with this sudden attack.
Storm seemed frozen in place, unmoving.
Only, the color of his skin had somehow turned into a moist, clay-like white.
No dodging, no defense.
Kujaku's whip struck Storm squarely.
But it was like hitting soft mud.
A dull thud echoed around them.
Squelch—
"What?!"
Kujaku's pupils contracted sharply.
Being the closest, she could clearly see that Storm's left arm, where the whip had struck, was nearly severed.
Yet, bizarrely.
What gushed from the "wound" wasn't crimson blood.
But white clay! A continuous stream of white clay surged from Storm's "injury," like a gushing fountain.
The clay-like substance writhed over Storm's body, his form rapidly swelling and expanding.
In mere moments.
Storm's height surpassed six meters, as if he had transformed into a giant.
The next moment.
Storm's right hand swept across his upper lip, forming a crescent-shaped, upward-curving white beard that solidified in place.
Clay-Clay Fruit? ×! Figurine Fruit? √!
The "transformed" Storm let out a strange, deep laugh.
"Gurararara..."
Before Kujaku could react,
the surrounding "Marine Headquarters elites" watching the battle erupted into panicked screams.
"Whitebeard!"
"The world's strongest man!"
"Whitebeard has invaded Marine Headquarters!"
Goethite Ore, source: manga [Chapter 803].
The exact details of this ore remain unknown, only mentioned in dialogue as "weapons produced in Dressrosa contain Goethite Ore."
It might have been a setup.
But both the Dressrosa and Wano Country arcs have concluded.
Yet, there's been no further mention of Goethite Ore.
Probably a discarded plot point...
Many swordsmen in the pirate world can wield fire.
Fossa, the 15th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates; Hannyab
al, the Warden (now Chief) of Impel Down; the truly toughest creature Kin'emon;
There are several other examples, but no need to list them all.
These individuals, despite not having eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, can make their weapons "ignite."
After research (speculation), the reason was attributed to [Goethite Sabre].
Fossa can light his longsword with a cigar;
Hannyabal can set his weapon ablaze by spinning it;
Based on these traits, the functionality of the [Goethite Sabre] was designed.
(End of chapter)