"Clang."
The heavy Seastone Handcuffs were casually tossed onto the deck, landing with a dull thud.
Ace rolled his wrists. The moment the Seastone restraints came off, his body, which had felt sluggish under their suppression, erupted in a series of fine bone-cracking pops. A surge of strength far beyond what he'd felt before quickly spread through his muscles and across his whole body.
"That's it for today's training."
Ace picked up the dark red coat draped over a barrel and threw it over his shoulders. He glanced at the crew sprawled across the deck, panting heavily. "We'll be docking soon. Get yourselves together."
Sabo took off his leg wraps, drew a deep breath, then stood and straightened his slightly rumpled tailcoat.
Carina and Leona were exhausted, sprawled on the deck without a shred of dignity. Leona, especially, had an incredible physique, but after hours of swinging a heavy Bone-Cleaving Blade under extreme weighted strain, she could barely lift a finger. Still, when she felt the growing strength and firmness of her muscles, excitement glimmered in her eyes.
"Finally, it's over. I thought I was gonna die on the deck..."
Buggy lay sprawled on the ground, breathing in great gulps of fresh air.
"The port of the Iron Kingdom is just ahead."
Carina managed to prop herself up and glanced at the Log Pose on her wrist. She pointed toward the enormous island ahead, shrouded in thick black smoke and the rumble of machinery.
From a distance, the whole island looked like a massive steel fortress. Countless towering smokestacks belched industrial fumes, while gigantic gears and mechanical cranes turned slowly along the edge of the port, giving the place a rugged, cold, heavy-industrial feel.
"Let's go ashore and unwind."
Ace gazed at the war-torn country, his voice calm. "We've been training nonstop, and our nerves are wound too tight. Let's explore the town and get a feel for the local culture. We can also buy the Black Steel we need to reinforce the ship. It took some damage when we passed through Reverse Mountain."
At the prospect of going ashore to relax, Buggy sprang back to life. He leaped to his feet with a kip-up. "Let's go drink in town! I'm ordering the most expensive booze in the fanciest tavern!"
Half an hour later, the Eclipse reached the outskirts of the Iron Kingdom. Using his Observation Haki, Ace found them a suitable hidden harbor to moor in, hemmed in by sheer cliffs. That way, they wouldn't need to leave anyone behind to guard the ship.
The five of them walked together along the bustling streets of the Iron Kingdom.
Most of the buildings were cobbled together from hard stone and rough steel. Mercenaries with Fire Pistols slung over their backs hurried through the streets, alongside tracked machines hauling heavy loads of ore. The air was thick with the smell of engine oil, coal, and faint traces of gunpowder.
"What an oppressive place." Carina looked at the hurried passersby on either side of the street and frowned slightly.
"It's a country torn by war. This kind of atmosphere is normal."
Buggy put on the airs of a seasoned veteran again, lecturing in a world-weary tone. "Back in the second half of the Grand Line, I've been to countries even more chaotic than this. In places like this, the really high-quality materials are never displayed in the shops on the main streets."
"If you know so much, then you can lead us to the Black Steel," Ace replied calmly.
"Leave it to me!"
Buggy swept out an arm proudly. "Come on. We're going to the lowest, roughest part of this place—the Scrap Street district! All the good stuff is in lawless places like that!"
Following Buggy's lead, they crossed the outer streets and gradually made their way deeper into the city.
The buildings grew lower and more dilapidated, and the smell of engine oil grew stronger. The streets were piled with scrapped machine parts, rusted cannon barrels, and metal wreckage of all kinds, much of it impossible to identify.
This was the Iron Kingdom's underground Scrap Street, a gathering place for craftsmen, black-market traders, and scavengers.
They were making their way along the oil-slicked street when a deafening explosion and the shriek of tearing metal suddenly erupted up ahead.
"BOOM!"
A steam-powered iron-plated vehicle fitted with multiple cannons flew out from around the corner like a kicked scrap can. It crashed into a heap of junk dozens of meters away, belching thick black smoke.
A few soldiers in warlord uniforms came tumbling out of an alley right after it, their faces full of terror.
"Monster! That guy's a lunatic! Hurry back and report to the admiral!"
The soldiers screamed as they fled.
Ace stopped and looked through the billowing smoke toward the depths of the alley.
Sabo and Leona also sensed something, and turned their gazes toward the same spot.
A towering man stood in front of a mechanical shop that had been smashed to pieces.
He had short, unruly silver-gray hair, and a pair of oil-stained safety goggles pushed up on his forehead. He stood half a head taller than Ace, like a walking iron tower. He wore rough heavy-duty work pants, his scarred muscles bare, and casually held a thick screw between his teeth.
Most striking of all was his outrageously large right arm.
It wasn't made of flesh and bone. It was tightly encased in a bulky Mechanical Exoskeleton, designed with all the brute-force aesthetics of heavy industry. High-pressure steam hissed from its seams, while its hydraulic pipes rumbled as the muscles beneath them flexed.
In his hand, he dragged a gigantic Hydraulic Power Hammer behind him with one arm. Judging by the hammerhead's design, it had clearly been made by crudely modifying the main gun barrel of a scrapped warship.
"That's all it takes to scare off this bunch of trash? They think they can come and requisition my shop?"
The silver-haired man spat. The screw rolled between his teeth as he spoke. He dragged the heavy Hydraulic War Hammer along, barely sparing the groaning warlord soldiers on the ground a glance. Instead, he tenderly picked up a mechanical wind-up toy that had been crushed underfoot, his brows drawing together.
"A bunch of scum who know nothing but how to destroy things. They don't understand a thing about real machinery."
He irritably scratched his silver-gray hair, then turned around, preparing to head back into his shabby repair shop.
"Interesting."
At the mouth of the alley, Ace stood still, watching the man who had fused overwhelming industrial force with a Mechanical Exoskeleton.
The hydraulic hammer made from a warship's main gun, along with the steam-belching mechanical arm, revealed a style of fighting completely unlike that of traditional pirates.
Ace stepped forward, walking over the metal wreckage on the ground, and stopped in front of the repair shop.
The silver-haired man paused at the sound of approaching footsteps.
He turned around and sized up the black-haired young man before him, who looked like trouble. His sharp eyes were hidden in the shadow of his goggles.
The auras of two powerful men collided silently above Scrap Street.
"We're here to buy Premium Black Steel."
Ace didn't beat around the bush. His gaze fell on the Hydraulic War Hammer in the man's hand, and his voice was calm but carried unmistakable weight. "Nice hammer. What's your name? What do you do?"
The silver-haired man narrowed his eyes slightly.
He could tell that the man before him was nothing like those warlord lackeys. There was a steady presence about him, one forged in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
He spat out the screw and casually wiped his cheek with the back of an oil-stained hand.
"Jeno."
The man's voice was low and hoarse, with a metallic rasp to it. He planted the heavy Hydraulic Power Hammer on the ground with a thud, making the scrap metal around them shiver.
"I'm a mechanic."
Before you continue