Clay Fruit (×), Figurine-Figurine Fruit (√)!

A few minutes later.

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

His reason for coming was simple and clear—he was here to collect his salary!

That was how the Marines worked.

Pirates could make money simply by doing evil, killing and plundering, and stirring up trouble across the seas.

But the Marines had to wait patiently for the World Government to pay their salaries.

The Marines operated under an "Annual Salary System."

A new Marine recruit who had just enlisted could earn—

Two million Beli a year!

That didn't include other benefits, such as allowances for uniforms and meals.

By that measure, the Marines offered pretty good benefits.

It didn't take long.

Storm collected 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 for the Logistics Equipment Department.

Wasn't the point of getting paid to spend your salary?

With the cash in hand, it was time to splurge on gear.

The Logistics Equipment Department.

The man who greeted Storm was a middle-aged Marine with bulging muscles and a scruffy beard.

He glanced at Storm's Marine uniform, then let his gaze pass over the bulging pocket.

"A recruit? That's a rare sight! What kind of weapons or equipment are you after?"

"I'd like two custom weapons: a long sword and a tonfa."

Storm had Beli in his pocket, so he spoke with confidence.

"But I have a special requirement for the tonfa's material.

"I want a custom Seastone Tonfa."

Storm hadn't awakened Haki yet.

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

A Seastone Tonfa was made for beating Devil Fruit Users.

Every strike would deal real damage, and every blow would land a critical hit.

As for the long sword—

Storm was, after all, only flesh and blood.

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

Storm knew how to throw a punch.

But he could wield a blade, too!

Storm's original plan was to buy a good sword that suited his needs from the Equipment Department.

A "Famous Sword" on the level of a Good Fast Sword would be even better.

Generally speaking,

a Good Fast Sword went for about a million Beli.

That price was still within Storm's means.

But Good Fast Swords were often hard to find, no matter how much you were willing to pay.

There were more people who used swords across the seas than there were people who played with fire.

The Marines, too, had countless swordsmen and even master swordsmen.

Truly famous swords rarely made it onto the market.

"Seastone? You know your stuff!"

The middle-aged Marine gave him a thumbs-up in praise.

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

"We've got Seastone in stock, but we don't have a ready-made 'Seastone Tonfa.'

"If you want one custom-made, you might have to wait a day or two."

"That's fine."

Storm nodded. He could wait a day or two.

"What about the long sword?"

"A sword, huh..."

The middle-aged Marine stroked his stubble a few times, then sneaked another glance at the recruit's pocket.

"As it happens, the Equipment Department recently got a shipment of Alcohol Iron Ore.

"It's an exceptionally rare mineral that can be ignited 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 by hand, but they can also catch fire through friction."

The middle-aged Marine continued to pitch the "Alcohol Iron Ore."

"These weapons are popular in the New World."

The power of these "flame weapons" might not be anything to write home about.

But they were cooler! Flashier! More stylish!

Most importantly, they cost more to make than ordinary swords!

A shrewd, merchant-like grin curled the middle-aged Marine's lips.

"That does sound pretty interesting."

Storm asked the most important question.

"How much for an Alcohol Iron Ore Katana and a Seastone Tonfa?"

"Processing a Seastone Tonfa isn't too difficult, so I'll just charge you the cost! Two hundred thousand Beli!"

The middle-aged Marine's smile immediately grew more pronounced.

"But the Alcohol Iron Ore Katana costs eight hundred thousand Beli! It's not a Famous Sword, but it's worth every Beli!

"That makes one million Beli altogether! Will you be paying cash or by check?"

"I..."

Storm was just about to reach for his money when he happened to catch sight of his Marine uniform.

He paused, then changed his tune.

"I'm a recruit!"

"?"

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in the middle-aged Marine's heart.

The kid wasn't about to say, "I'm a recruit, give it to me for free," was he?

No way! Absolutely not!

It didn't matter if he was a recruit—even if he were a recruit, he still wouldn't get it for free!

"Sir!"

Storm beamed brightly.

"I'm a recruit! How about knocking a little off the price?"

I'd like to knock your block off!

The middle-aged Marine clenched both fists in an instant.

'The officer at the Logistics Equipment Department was actually pretty nice!'

In high spirits, Storm walked out of the Equipment Department.

Just now, he'd spent a million Beli on an Alcohol Iron Ore Katana and a Seastone Tonfa.

He'd also gotten a Cross-Sea Den Den Mushi.

And a Marine Headquarters Eternal Pose.

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

Nothing worth mentioning.

Storm left the Marine Headquarters Building with a spring in his step, then headed to the main base's training ground.

The "200x Effort" cheat required tremendous dedication and sweat to activate.

You couldn't just say the words and expect the cheat to start working.

For the past year,

Storm had trained like mad at the Rookie Training Camp, learning quite a few skills along the way.

Among them were Rokushiki, Swordsmanship, and Marksmanship.

But today, now that he was at the main base's training ground, Storm had no plans to keep honing his hand-to-hand combat skills.

By comparison,

Storm was more interested in the Clay Fruit he'd just obtained.

"Hey!" "Hah!" "Ha!" "Yah!"—

As Storm drew closer to the training ground,

the sounds of colliding muscles and powerful shouts mingled with a few strange groans.

He could hear them more and more clearly.

But just as Storm stepped onto the training ground,

a very indecent remark drifted over on the breeze.

"I really want to be Miss Peacock's dog—"

A rhythmic "Whap!" and "Whap, whap!" came drifting over with it.

The sound was just like a whip cracking against someone's body.

No!

It wasn't "just like"—that was exactly what was happening!

Storm stopped to look.

On a patch of open ground not far away,

a tall, young woman with blond hair and green eyes was mercilessly whipping a Marine.

Storm's brow lifted slightly.

He recognized the blond woman wielding the whip at a glance.

Chief Strategist Tsuru's granddaughter—Peacock!

But as far as Storm knew,

Peacock hadn't used a "long whip" before. She'd used a "long sword."

Storm watched more closely for a moment.

Only then did he realize that the "whip" in Peacock's hand wasn't a whip at all.

More precisely,

it was a long sword that had been softened until it looked like a whip!

Storm immediately understood.

'Had Peacock already eaten the Whip-Whip Fruit?'

Just then,

Peacock seemed to sense Storm's gaze, too.

She stopped whipping the man and turned toward Storm. Her green eyes lit up instantly.

"Storm?!"

Peacock raised the whip in her hand. Her eager expression made her look like a female beast about to catch its prey.

"What are you waiting for? Get over here!"

Leaving aside the fact that the two of them had once counted stars and admired the moon together,

Storm and Peacock had both been among the most outstanding Marines at last year's Rookie Training Camp.

They often sparred.

Storm knew Peacock's depths.

Peacock knew Storm's lengths.

They were close as could be!

Now Peacock had once again taken the initiative and challenged him to a fight.

Storm was already eager to test the Demon Ring's effects, so of course he wouldn't turn down her enthusiastic invitation.

However,

Storm had only just taken a step forward

when the impatient Peacock strode toward him on her long, straight, snow-white legs.

She moved so fast that an ordinary person would have struggled to react. She was unmistakably—

Rokushiki: Shave!

"Storm!"

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

"Let me train you properly!"

Peacock swung her right arm forward with force, sending the whip straight at Storm.

Whoosh—

The soft sword, shaped like a long whip, tore through the air with a howl that made the onlookers' hearts pound.

Facing this sudden attack,

Storm looked as though he had been frightened. He stood where he was, completely motionless.

Only his skin had somehow turned a smooth white, like clay.

He did not dodge or defend himself.

Peacock's long whip struck Storm with pinpoint accuracy.

But it was like striking a pool of soft mud.

A dull thud echoed around them.

Pfft—

"What?!"

Peacock's pupils instantly contracted.

As the person closest to him, she could clearly see that Storm's left arm had nearly been severed by the whip.

Yet strangely enough,

what gushed from the "wound" struck by the whip was not crimson blood.

It was white clay!

An endless stream of white clay poured from Storm's "wound," like a bubbling fountain.

The springlike white clay surged constantly across Storm's body, while his form rapidly grew taller and larger.

After only a few breaths,

Storm had surpassed six meters in height, seeming to transform into a giant.

The next moment,

Storm's right hand swept across his chin, and a crescent-shaped white mustache, curling upward, took form.

Clay Fruit? ×!

Figurine-Figurine Fruit? √!

The "transformed" Storm let out a strange, deep laugh.

"Gurararara..."

Before Peacock could react,

the "elite forces of Marine Headquarters" watching from around them erupted into a chorus of shrieks.

"Whitebeard!"

"World's Strongest Man!"

"Whitebeard has attacked Marine Headquarters!"

Alcohol Iron Ore, from Chapter 803 of the manga.

Its exact details were unknown. It was only mentioned in dialogue that "the weapons produced in Dressrosa contain Alcohol Iron Ore."

It might have been foreshadowing.

But both the Dressrosa arc and the Wano Country arc had ended.

Alcohol Iron Ore still had not appeared again.

It was probably abandoned foreshadowing...

Many swordsmen in One Piece could play with fire.

Fossa, commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' Fifteenth Division;

Hannyabal, the warden of Impel Down (now the chief warden);

Kin'emon, the truly toughest creature;

As well as several other examples I won't mention here.

These people had never eaten the Flame-Flame Fruit, yet their weapons could still "catch fire."

After researching (guessing), I attributed the reason to [Alcohol Iron Ore].

Fossa could use a cigar to ignite his long blade;

Hannyabal could set his weapon alight by spinning it;

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