Clay Fruit, Figurine Fruit!

Chapter 5: Clay Fruit (×), Figurine-Figurine Fruit (√)!

A few minutes later.

Storm descended from the Admiral's Office on the top floor to the Naval Finance Department below.

His purpose was simple and clear—to collect his salary!

That was how the Navy worked.

If pirates wanted money, they only needed to commit crimes, plunder and kill, and stir up trouble on the seas.

But the Navy had to honestly wait for the World Government to issue their pay.

The Navy operated on an "Annual Salary System."

A fresh recruit who had just enlisted could earn—

Two million Beli a year!

This didn't include other aspects, such as subsidies and bonuses for uniforms and meals.

From this perspective, the Navy's benefits were fairly decent.

Before long.

Storm received his salary from the Finance Department—

A full two hundred brand-new ten-thousand Beli bills!

Storm casually stuffed the two million Beli into his pocket.

He turned and left the Finance Department, then headed to the Logistics Equipment Department.

What was the point of getting paid if not to spend it?

Salary in hand, gear was the plan.

Logistics Equipment Department.

The middle-aged Navy soldier responsible for receiving Storm had bulging muscles and a stubbly beard.

He glanced at Storm's sailor uniform, then his gaze swept over the latter's bulging pocket.

"A new recruit? Rare! What weapons and equipment do you want?"

"I want to custom-order two weapons: a longsword and a tonfa."

With Beli in his pocket, Storm spoke with confidence.

"But I have an extra requirement for the tonfa's material.

"I want to custom-order a Seastone Tonfa."

Storm hadn't awakened [Haki] yet.

He had come specifically to order a "Seastone weapon" as a precaution.

A Seastone Tonfa—specialized for fighting Devil Fruit Users.

Every strike would deal true damage, every swing would land a critical hit.

As for the longsword.

Storm was still just a mortal after all.

He didn't have Big Mom's innate, monstrous "Steel Balloon" talent.

Storm could fight with fists.

But he also used a blade!

Storm's original goal at the Equipment Department was to buy a good sword that met his needs.

If he could get a "Famous Sword" on the level of a Good Fast Sword, even better.

Generally speaking.

A Good Fast Sword's market price was around one million Beli.

At that price, Storm's finances could still handle it.

But Good Fast Swords were often unavailable on the market.

There were more people on the seas who used blades than those who played with fire.

Within the Navy itself, there were countless swordsmen and even sword masters.

True Famous Swords rarely made it to market.

"Seastone? You've got good taste!"

The middle-aged Navy soldier gave a thumbs-up in praise.

"As I recall, the last person who came to the Equipment Department to custom-order a Seastone weapon was that kid Smoker.

"The Equipment Department has Seastone in stock, but as for the 'Seastone Tonfa' you mentioned, we don't have one ready-made.

"If you want to custom-order such a weapon, you might need to wait a day or two."

"Agreed."

Storm nodded. He could afford to wait a day or two.

"What about the long blade?"

"Swords, huh..."

The middle-aged Marine rubbed his stubble and stole another glance at the recruit's pocket.

"Come to think of it, the Equipment Department just received a batch of Alcohol Iron Ore recently.

"It's a very rare and special mineral—it can be ignited just like alcohol.

"Weapons forged from Alcohol Iron Ore can 'burn'!"

A Burning Sword?

A Flame Sword?

Storm instinctively thought of the [Flame-Flame Fruit].

Now even swords could play with fire?

"Alcohol Iron Ore weapons can be lit manually, or ignited by friction."

The middle-aged Marine continued pitching his so-called "Alcohol Iron Ore."

"These weapons are very popular in the New World."

Though the power of such "Flame Weapons" was nothing to write home about.

But they were cooler! Flashier! More stylish!

The key point was that they cost more to forge than ordinary swords!

A sly, merchant-like smirk crept across the middle-aged Marine's face.

"That does sound interesting."

Storm asked the most critical question.

"So, for one of those Alcohol Iron Ore katanas and a Seastone tonfa, how much total?"

"The Seastone tonfa isn't hard to process, so I'll just charge you cost—two hundred thousand Beli!"

The smile on the middle-aged Marine's face grew noticeably wider.

"But the Alcohol Iron Ore katana costs eight hundred thousand Beli! It's not a Famous Sword, but that price is an absolute steal!

"Total is one million Beli! Cash or check, customer?"

"I..."

Storm was about to reach for his money when he caught a glimpse of his own Marine uniform.

He paused, then changed tack.

"I'm a recruit!"

"?"

A bad feeling suddenly welled up in the middle-aged Marine's heart.

This kid wasn't about to hit him with "I'm a recruit, give it to me for free," was he?

No way! Absolutely not!

Even if you were a recruit, it wouldn't matter—not even a recruit could get that!

"Officer!"

Storm beamed with a sunny smile.

"I'm a recruit! How about a discount?"

All I want right now is to take a swing at you!

The middle-aged Marine clenched his fists instantly.

'The Officer from the Logistics Equipment Department is actually pretty nice!'

Storm walked out of the Equipment Department in high spirits.

Just now, he had spent one million Beli there, buying an Alcohol Iron Ore katana, a Seastone tonfa.

And a Cross-Sea Den Den Mushi.

Plus a Marine Headquarters Eternal Pose.

The last two were free little gifts from the hospitable Equipment Department.

Nothing worth mentioning.

Storm strode briskly out of the Marine Headquarters Building, then headed straight for the Headquarters Training Grounds.

The "200x Effort" buff required immense dedication and sweat to activate.

It's not something you can just say casually and instantly unlock a cheat.

Over the past year, Storm had been training relentlessly in the Rookie Training Camp, picking up quite a few skills along the way.

These included [Rokushiki], [Swordsmanship], [Marksmanship], and more.

But now that he'd arrived at the headquarters training ground, Storm had no intention of continuing to hone his physical techniques.

In comparison, Storm was far more interested in the [Clay Fruit] he'd just acquired.

"Hey!", "Hah!", "Huh!", "Yah!"—

As Storm drew closer to the training ground, the sounds of muscles colliding, fierce shouts, mixed with a few strange groans, grew clearer and clearer in his ears.

But just as Storm stepped into the training ground, a rather unsightly remark drifted over on the wind.

"I want to be Miss Peacock's dog—"

Accompanying it was a rhythmic "smack," "smack, smack" sound.

It sounded exactly like a leather whip striking flesh.

No!

Not "like"—it was the truth!

Storm stopped and looked over.

Not far from him, on an open patch of ground, a tall, golden-haired, blue-eyed young woman was mercilessly lashing a Marine.

Storm raised an eyebrow slightly.

He recognized the golden-haired girl holding the leather whip and delivering the blows at a glance.

The granddaughter of Headquarters Chief Strategist Tsuru—Peacock!

But from what Storm knew, Peacock's previous weapon hadn't been a "long whip" but a "longsword."

Storm watched a little longer, and only then realized that the "leather whip" in Peacock's hand wasn't really a "whip" at all.

To be precise, it was a softened longsword that moved like a whip!

Storm immediately understood.

Has Peacock already eaten that [Whip-Whip Fruit]?

Just then, Peacock seemed to sense Storm's gaze as well.

She stopped her lashing, turned her head toward Storm, and her green eyes lit up instantly.

"Storm?!"

Peacock raised the leather whip in her hand, her eager expression like a female beast about to pounce on its prey.

"Get over here, now!"

Setting aside their history of counting stars and admiring the moon together, Storm and Peacock had both been among the top-performing recruits in last year's Rookie Training Camp.

The two often sparred with each other.

Storm knew Peacock's depth.

Peacock understood Storm's reach.

They were well-acquainted!

Now Peacock was issuing another battle invitation.

Storm, who already wanted to test the specific effects of the [Demon Ring], naturally had no reason to refuse her enthusiastic offer.

However, the moment Storm took a step forward, the impatient Peacock sprinted straight toward him on her long, snow-white legs.

Her speed was enough to catch an ordinary person off guard—it was unmistakably—

Rokushiki: Shave!

"Storm!"

Peacock raised the leather whip in her hand, the figure of the man ahead clearly reflected in her green eyes.

"Let me properly discipline you!"

Peacock's right arm swung forward with force, the whip tearing through the air straight at Storm.

Wooo—

The whip-like soft sword howled as it ripped through the air, emitting a shrill screech that made the surrounding onlookers' hearts pound.

Faced with this sudden attack.

Storm seemed frozen in place, standing motionless.

Only the color of his skin had, at some unknown point, turned into a moist white like clay.

No dodging, no defense.

Peacock's long whip struck Storm's body with pinpoint accuracy.

But it was like hitting a patch of soft mud.

A dull sound echoed around them.

Pfft—

"What?!"

Peacock's pupils contracted sharply.

Being the closest, she could clearly see that Storm's struck left arm was nearly severed by the whip.

Yet, strangely enough.

From the "wound" where the whip had landed, what gushed out was not crimson blood.

But white clay!

Endless white clay spurted from Storm's "wound," like a gushing fountain.

This spring-like white clay surged over Storm's body, and his form wildly grew and expanded.

In a few breaths.

Storm's height exceeded six meters, as if he had transformed into a giant.

The next moment.

Storm's right hand swept across his upper lip, and a crescent-shaped, upward-curving white mustache appeared and set.

Clay Fruit? ✗!

Figurine-Figurine Fruit? ✓!

After his "transformation," Storm let out a peculiar, low laugh.

"Gurarara..."

Before Peacock could react.

The "Headquarters elites" watching nearby erupted into a cacophony of howls.

"Whitebeard!"

"The World's Strongest Man!"

"Whitebeard has invaded Marine Headquarters!"

Alcohol Iron Ore, originating from the manga [Chapter 803].

The specifics of this ore are unknown, only mentioned in dialogue that "weapons produced from Dressrosa contain Alcohol Iron Ore."

It might have been a setup.

But both the Dressrosa and Wano arcs have ended.

No follow-up on Alcohol Iron Ore has appeared.

Probably a discarded plot point...

Many swordsmen in One Piece can wield fire.

Fossa, the 15th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates;

Hannyabal, the Warden (now Warden) of Impel Down;

Kin'emon, the truly most durable creature;

And several other examples, not worth listing further.

These people, despite not having eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, can still set their weapons "on fire."

After research (and speculation), the reason was attributed to [Alcohol Iron Ore].

Fossa can ignite his longsword with a cigar;

Hannyabal can set his weapon ablaze by spinning it;

Based on these two points, the function of the [Alcohol Iron Ore Katana] was designed.