After capturing its prey, the cat usually plays with it, treating it like a toy.
Crocodile was extremely angry. He knew he was now being treated like a toy.
This kid had the power to defeat him with a single move.
With advanced Armament Haki, a technique that caused internal damage would be enough to crush his organs.
"Don't be so arrogant!"
Crocodile staggered and stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with a dark expression on his face.
Not only was Luffy not angry, he even felt like laughing.
The only place this guy could show off was with his mouth.
"Did you know, Crocodile, there's a very interesting concept in psychology?" Luffy remained calm and slowly approached him. "The words spoken unconsciously when one's defenses are down are often the ones that hurt the most."
"The person who insults others naively believes that the words that hurt them most will hurt others the same way."
In the old online insult wars, whenever someone's defenses were broken, this kind of spectacle was often seen.
"It's you who's arrogant, Crocodile. Deep down, you believe you're a lowly pirate—no, you're afraid of being called one by others."
With that analysis, Luffy suddenly discovered a blind spot and asked with great interest:
"Who insulted you before? Who hurt you?"
Lies don't hurt. The truth does.
Crocodile's temples throbbed.
The physical pain from being hit was nothing compared to the sharp sting of those words that pierced his heart like a blade.
"It seems you really want to die!"
His voice was cold. He pressed his right hand against the ground and launched his finishing move without hesitation.
Having established an underground tomb for at least eight hundred years, the power of the sandstorm began to spread from the ground his palm touched.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The earth shook and the mountains trembled.
The power to turn heavy walls and pillars into sand, to even pulverize rocks, transformed everything around into a world of sand.
Sand—this was his domain!
In the next moment, Crocodile swung his right arm forcefully.
The desert ground suddenly began to flow, as if something lay beneath the sand. In an instant, it shot up and transformed into a massive sand blade, charging at Luffy.
Not only could it cut through steel, it could instantly turn anything it touched into sand.
Nothing is invincible!
However, Luffy simply extended his hand and easily blocked the sand blade.
"An attack like that can be suppressed with just one hand. Got anything new?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Luffy's five fingers suddenly closed.
With a bang, he crushed the sand blade in his hand.
Crocodile's body suddenly disintegrated into sand, merging with the surrounding terrain.
Immediately, the sand beneath Luffy's feet tightly bound his ankles like a black hole.
At the same time, the sand around him transformed into four sharp blades, converging from the front, back, left, and right to attack him at the center.
The move that once cut Akainu in half?
The attack speed was very fast—but that was all.
With a slight movement, Luffy easily freed himself from the bind. The four great desert swords converged, but the target was already gone.
Above the Underground Tomb.
The ground turned into sand once more, rapidly condensing into the shape of Crocodile.
The cigar in his mouth was already knocked away by Luffy, his face now bloodied as he clutched his wounds and attempted to escape.
"Holy shit… You're too tough! That move probably won't work—it might stall him for a few seconds at most!"
Fight? He couldn't win.
The moment Luffy displayed his advanced Armament Haki, Crocodile understood.
With his current strength, he stood no chance.
Unless he could return to twenty years ago, back when he was still a lively rookie—perhaps then, he could have had a proper showdown.
But over the years, his neglect of Haki had caused his strength to wane.
Bullying those without Busoshoku Haki was one thing—but facing Straw Hat Luffy, who had mastered advanced Busoshoku Haki, he wouldn't stand a chance, not even in a hundred fights.
Alabasta was no longer a place he could stay.
"Pluton… Could it really be in Wano Country?"
That's Kaido's territory. Looks like infiltration is necessary.
Contemplating his next move, Crocodile took a deep breath and fled the tomb quickly.
However, just as the exit came into view, a figure appeared before him—Straw Hat Luffy.
"Do you really think you can escape?"
Luffy's mouth curved into a mocking smile.
Playing cat and mouse? It would be a joke if the mouse got away.
Crocodile froze, his expression turning grim.
At that moment, a voice came from not far away.
"Even if I have to bet my Marine uniform, I won't let you escape, Fire Fist Ace!"
It was a female voice.
Luffy glanced sideways.
Ace came running up, shouting as he ran:
"Luffy, there you are! I found you!"
Then he saw Crocodile and grinned.
"Looks like I'm not late. Step aside, Luffy—I'll take care of this guy! Consider it a gift for my sister-in-law!"
Sister-in-law?
Luffy was momentarily stunned. Was he talking about Vivi?
"Fire Fist!"
Ace leapt into the air and threw a powerful punch with his right fist, creating a giant flaming fist that descended upon Crocodile.
Boom!!
In an instant, the descending flames engulfed the area.
"Ace, this is someone's grave. Are you going to disturb Vivi's family's resting place?" Luffy said helplessly.
Landing lightly in front of him, Ace adjusted his hat and smiled. "Let's switch opponents. I'll leave that Marine to you! Don't worry—I'll leave you alive!"
Even at his peak, Crocodile probably wouldn't be a match for Ace—much less now, injured. After all, Ace had Conqueror's Haki.
Of course, like Crocodile, Ace also had the flaw of relying too much on his Devil Fruit powers, and not enough on Haki.
Shaking his head, Luffy turned to face the Marines.
The two brothers stood back to back, each facing their own opponents.
"Straw Hat Luffy!"
Hina rushed over, her expression sour upon seeing him.
As Vice Admiral Garp's grandson, she was only allowed to capture him.
She didn't want to get involved—she just wanted to arrest Ace.
"Soru!"
Her figure flashed forward, accelerating to rush past Luffy.
But Luffy was faster.
Mid-move, he intercepted her using the same technique.
"Don't get in the way, Marine."
Luffy swept his leg.
Hina's expression changed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, but felt an immense force and was instantly kicked backward.
Still in mid-air, not yet landed—
Whoosh
Luffy was already upon her. He grabbed her wrist tightly and suddenly twisted it, flipping her from face-down to face-up.
The next moment—
Boom!
They landed. Luffy had her wrist held, sitting on her back.
"Hina?"
Luffy recognized this captain—Smoker's contemporary, a top student.
"Sengoku sent you?"
Hina's hands were bound, her body immobilized—she couldn't move.
"What's your goal with Fire Fist Ace?"
"Sending just a captain? You're underestimating Crocodile."
Hina was too weak to respond.
Even for an investigation, they should have at least sent a Vice Admiral.
He didn't even consider Crocodile a real threat—he could defeat him easily.
A mere captain like her would be eliminated by Crocodile instantly.
Compared to true sea monsters, Crocodile, while not impressive among the Shichibukai, was still overwhelming for ordinary Marine captains.
Sensing Hina's urge to resist, he twisted her wrist again, making her scream in pain.
"Don't move. I know your ability—you can turn any part of your body into iron bars."
Luffy spoke casually.
As he did, he stood and pulled her up.
That hurt!
Hina gritted her teeth.
"You have seastone handcuffs, right?"
Saying that, Luffy searched her body—but found nothing.
Makes sense.
As a Devil Fruit user, she likely wouldn't carry seastone with her.
"What do you want to do?" Hina asked, humiliated.
"Take me to them."
Ignoring Ace and Crocodile's battle, Luffy led Hina out of the palace.
As a Marine captain, of course, she wouldn't be alone.
At a temporary Marine base outside the palace, Luffy successfully obtained two pairs of seastone handcuffs from Hina's subordinates.
These items are specifically used against Devil Fruit users and are controlled by the World Government—not easily acquired outside the Marines.
This kind of seastone is produced only in the waters near Wano Country.
Most of the Marines' seastone is supplied by the World Government, who in turn negotiates with Kaido.
Crazy, right?
One of the Four Emperors negotiating with the World Government.
Even if they're enemies, this world is still real.
Having gotten what he wanted, Luffy released Hina, uninterested in getting more involved, and returned to the palace.
"Captain Hina!" Her subordinates rushed to her.
Hina rubbed her aching wrists and glared at Luffy as he walked away.
"Should we act, Captain?" one of her men asked angrily.
"Are you stupid?"
Hina shot him a glare and lit a cigarette.
She began thinking rationally.
That guy took the seastone handcuffs—probably to deal with Crocodile.
If those two pirates deal with Crocodile, what happens to our mission?
Their job was to investigate evidence against him—ideally from Princess Vivi.
If Crocodile is dealt with, our actions become meaningless.
"Bring me the Den Den Mushi."
With that, she dialed Marine Headquarters.
The battle in the palace didn't last long.
Crocodile, seriously injured, was no match for Ace and was easily defeated.
Luffy used the seastone handcuffs to restrain the unconscious Crocodile.
They also captured Mr. 2 Bentham.
Baroque Works spies hiding in the palace were expelled as well.
Meanwhile...
Robin, who survived, gave up on dying.
Together with Vivi, she rescued Cobra from the underground tomb.
After drinking the water Robin gave him, Cobra began to recover from his mummified state—though his injuries would take time to heal.
By then, it was just past 3 p.m.
In the palace banquet hall...
Cobra prepared a grand feast to thank Luffy and his allies.
Luffy, who hadn't eaten all day, naturally couldn't hold back.
"Captain Luffy, here is your hat." Robin, also at the table, returned the straw hat.
She still found it hard to believe: she was once the mastermind behind the country's downfall—now honored by the king.
Meanwhile, Crocodile—the so-called genius—was now locked up with Mr. 2.
"Monkey D. Luffy, Portgas D. Ace..."
Cobra solemnly bowed. "Thank you. Without you, I don't know what would have happened to this kingdom."
He paused, then added, "And thank you for protecting my daughter, Mr. Luffy."
He had already heard everything from Vivi.
"Words are cheap. Vivi ate two of my Devil Fruits—make sure she pays for them."
"Hahaha, of course." Cobra nodded with a smile. "I'll prepare proper compensation and gratitude."
"One billion for each Devil Fruit. For saving the kingdom—let's say ten billion. Total: twelve billion, due today."
Cobra's smile froze.
Twelve billion!?
Once, that wouldn't have been much.
But now—thanks to Crocodile—the people were suffering, rebellions breaking out.
He hadn't even paid his army in half a year.
"Hahahaha."
Ace burst out laughing.
So like Luffy—asking his father-in-law for money without hesitation.
"What are you laughing at, Ace?"
"N-Nothing."
Ace smiled. Then he remembered something and handed Luffy a folded paper:
"Here. This is for you."
"A Vivre Card?"
"You know about it—makes things easier. Luffy, this will help us meet again."
After eating his fill, Ace stood up. "Now that things are settled here, I'm going after a traitor. Someone who killed our crewmates—I'll bring him back."
Luffy's chewing slowed slightly.
With Ace's strength, even if he couldn't beat Blackbeard, he could at least escape.
But in the original story, Ace confronted Blackbeard to protect Luffy.
Now, with Blackbeard having a 71 million bounty—for capturing him alive—he might be after Ace.
The result could be the same. "Don't go. You can't beat him," Luffy said casually.
"Hm?"
Ace raised an eyebrow. "What did you say, Luffy?"
"The guy you're after—Blackbeard, right? I heard about him from Shanks. He ate a Devil Fruit. He's strong."
"Luffy, you have your adventures—I have mine. But no matter what, I have to take him down. Don't stop me."
Ace's tone was unusually serious.
Since he said that, Luffy couldn't stop him.
Should he break his legs or something?
The banquet hall fell silent.
Cobra, Vivi, Robin—none dared speak.
Would they really fight?
Vivi watched, nervous...
(End of chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉
Author's Note:
I want to apologize for not posting anything yesterday—something unexpected came up, and I had to drop everything to deal with it. I won't go into detail, but to put it simply, last week my company opened some job positions, and I was the supervisor in charge of the interviews.
Anyone who's ever gone through a job interview knows how many questions the examiner asks. Anyway, I conducted six interviews that day. As expected, two people got the job. However, yesterday morning, something bizarre happened.
Someone showed up asking why they hadn't received a call confirming they got the job (during the interview, we said we'd call the selected candidates within two days—and six had already passed).
I calmly explained it was because they weren't selected...
My God… you have no idea the chaos that followed.
The person left—and returned minutes later with four other people.
For some reason, they claimed that I, as the interviewer, and the company were homophobic and racist—throwing wild accusations at us for not hiring that person. Long story short, they and their companions are now facing a lawsuit for defamation and false accusations.
My God, it's like I attract this kind of nonsense. This is the fourth time something like this has happened since last year…
Sigh.