Chapter 35: My codename is 'Dragon'!
Alabasta, outside the city.
"The harvest looks good."
Aiha was leading his Karoo duck, 'Duodulu,' as he dug up a fresh sand reed in the desert.
This unique plant grows in the deserts of Alabasta, sustained by underground water and rainfall.
Its flavor is exquisite, but it's difficult to harvest, making it highly sought after by gourmands.
Aiha's profession was that of a 'sand reed merchant.'
"The rain from the Rainmaker last time really saved us in the nick of time."
At this moment, Aiha tossed the sand reed into the basket on his Karoo duck's back, sighing with emotion.
Lately, he had lost count of how many times he had sighed like this.
People always remember miracles.
He would never forget the scene he witnessed when the 'Rainmaker' emerged from the desert – that rain, in a certain sense, saved his and his wife's lives.
"It's just, why won't His Majesty acknowledge knowing that Rainmaker? I clearly heard that person had already visited the palace."
*Swish—*
He lit his cigarette, muttering softly.
*Swish—*
But after only two puffs, he felt that something was amiss.
*Swish—*
Soon, he reached a conclusion.
"...The sound of the sand isn't quite right."
Aiha furrowed his brow.
As someone who had walked the desert for a long time, he was naturally very familiar with it.
The desert near Alubarna would shift to a certain extent every day due to the wind or underground water, but... ever since a moment ago, it seemed overly active.
The "swish" sound produced by the moving sand was even a bit ear-piercing.
"No, that's not right... The sky to the west and the wind direction are also off."
Soon, Aiha discovered even more abnormalities.
At the edge of his vision, the sky to the west of Alubarna seemed inexplicably gloomy.
He could even see the sand to the west moving visibly, but Aiha didn't feel any significant wind from that direction.
"Something's wrong."
So, Aiha decided to go check it out.
His house was nearby; even if only for his wife, he had to confirm the situation.
Therefore...
"Duodulu!"
"Quack!"
He rode his Karoo duck, speeding towards the west.
"I remember that was the suburban area, and someone seemed to have opened a coffee shop there... Huh?"
He was still pondering on the way.
Then...
"Quack!"
After crossing a sand dune, his Karoo duck suddenly let out a startled cry.
Then it suddenly braked, the huge inertia almost throwing Aiha off directly.
"Duodulu!? What are you doing—"
Aiha's complaint was cut short halfway.
Because after crossing that sand dune, the scene that entered his eyes was almost unheard of.
Above the sky, a torrential downpour was falling.
But the rain falling from the sky could not reach the ground—because before it landed, the enormous 'sand curtain' rising from the ground, obscuring the sky and sun, had already blocked it all.
This also made Aiha understand why the sky in this area looked off.
Because even the nearby sunlight was completely blocked by the enormous sand curtain.
"Crack!" "Crack!"
Crisp sounds continually came from all directions.
Those were the 'sand blocks' from the 'sand curtain' above the sky, which, after absorbing enough water, fell from the sky and crashed to the ground.
And as these sand blocks fell, new sand continually rose into the sky, ensuring the sand curtain's existence.
But this magnificent scene was not the most astonishing part.
"Rumble!"
At this moment, besides the sand curtain blocking the downpour, Aiha saw that within several hundred meters around, the entire desert was actually churning—innumerable golden sand grains formed a huge tide, constantly surging.
It no longer seemed like a desert, but a 'sea' of surging waves.
And above that sand sea, all objects had vanished.
Whether it was rock pillars, shrubs, or the coffee shop that Aiha remembered should have been nearby, all traces had disappeared.
This was also the reason why his Karoo duck had braked.
One more step forward, and he too would have become part of this 'desert'.
And as a commoner of Alabasta, Aiha was actually quite familiar with this kind of scene.
Quicksand—Alabasta's most common and most terrifying 'natural disaster'.
But the problem was...
"What... is that..."
At this moment, Aiha's muttering was almost like a dream.
Because he saw—within the churning sand sea, there were actually two figures!
"Bang!"
He saw one of the figures, its lower half completely merged into the vast yellow sand.
His left hand was a golden hook, and each swing would stir up sand waves that blocked the sky and sun, condensing into gigantic 'curved blades'.
And wherever the curved blades passed, the entire desert would be cleaved open with huge ravines.
In fact, if one looked closely, they would find that at this moment, the center of the flow for all the quicksand in the entire desert... was precisely this man!
And the figure fighting him, Aiha was very familiar with.
That majestic dragon head mask, that was precisely the 'Rainmaker'!
And at this moment, this mysterious person also displayed inconceivable power.
He walked through the turbulent quicksand.
Beneath his feet, a thin layer of ice constantly spread with his every step.
No matter how turbulent the quicksand was, it would instantly freeze and solidify into firm footholds the moment it approached him.
And when Crocodile swung his 'Desert Spada' each time, giant ice shields would emerge beside him to block them.
And this unbelievable scene made Aiha begin to doubt his previous judgment.
Because everything in front of him unmistakably told him a fact.
That is—everything he was seeing at this moment was not a 'natural disaster', but the masterpiece of these two people.
Their battle directly changed the surrounding terrain.
"Are they... really human?"
Thus, Aiha couldn't help but wonder.
But then, his heart couldn't help but feel worried.
Because even if he was someone who couldn't fight at all, he could still tell.
On the battlefield at this moment, the fellow manipulating the quicksand held a clear advantage.
And the 'Rainmaker' seemed to be suppressed.
But for Aiha—he didn't know why the two were fighting, but at least he knew.
"That Rainmaker is the country's hope right now."
He muttered worriedly.
And at this moment...
On the battlefield.
"Kid, I told you... you won't have another chance to touch me with water."
Crocodile's voice came through the flying yellow sand, carrying clear self-assurance.
"Hmph!"
As he spoke, the sharp 'Desert Spada' roared out once more.
And on the other side.
"Clang!"
Dragon swung his hand again, and the suddenly appearing ice shield blocked the 'Desert Spada'.
Before the sharp sand blade could cut through the ice shield, Dragon leaped backward, dodging the attack.
"Your 'no chance' means not coming into contact with me?"
At this moment, Dragon shook his head: "I thought a dignitary of the Seven Warlords of the Sea would have a more impressive scheme, at least."
He directly pointed out what Crocodile was doing at the moment.
Ever since Crocodile determined that Dragon knew his weakness, and that his ability seemed to be 'water manipulation'.
Crocodile's choice was to open up distance, triggering this 'quicksand'.
Using this enormous sand sea, he continuously attacked Dragon from a distance with his Sand-Sand Devil Fruit abilities, never engaging in close-quarters combat.
"Schemes, as long as they're effective enough, and can lead to victory, that's enough."
Crocodile said calmly.
"As for 'face' or 'honor'... those things only appear on gravestones."
As he spoke, he slashed again with his right hand, and another giant hand made of yellow sand rose from the sand sea, grabbing towards Dragon.
"Hmph!"
Dragon leaped, dodging the attack.
And if one attack failed, Crocodile didn't care in the slightest.
He was a Logia Type Ability User of the 'Sand-Sand Devil Fruit'.
And Logia Type Ability Users represented 'nature'.
Therefore, their power was equivalent to a 'natural disaster'.
Paramecia and Zoan Type Ability Users often need to expend large amounts of stamina when using their abilities to cause large-scale damage from a distance.
But Logia Type Ability Users are different.
They can create elements out of thin air, and for them, large-scale attacks are very easy to achieve.
Especially in their 'natural environment', the stamina they consume to control the elements within that environment is almost negligible.
This is also why Logia Types are called the strongest Devil Fruit types!
For example, Crocodile at this moment.
Continuously manipulating yellow sand from a great distance to attack Dragon, for him, was like an instinct—the sand was an extension of his body, barely consuming any stamina.
"Your ability does indeed pose a threat to me, but there's a difference in rank between our abilities."
As his words fell, he swung his hand again.
Several sand blades suddenly flew out, forcing Dragon to dodge again.
"Victory... it's too early to speak of that."
Dragon chuckled softly.
And beneath the mask, Loy's expression even held a smile.
Because in fact, Crocodile's choice also played right into his hands.
Crocodile was unwilling to engage in close-quarters combat with him, and Loy was even more unwilling—his current slice-body clone 'Dragon', due to insufficient Devil Fruit slots, had not been augmented with any body-strengthening Devil Fruits.
Therefore, his use of the Six Powers could only be described as barely adequate.
If Crocodile were to fight him in close combat, he would be more apprehensive.
But since Crocodile chose to compete with him in abilities, then he naturally couldn't ask for more.
And at this moment...
"Time's up."
He muttered softly in his heart.
And on the light screen before his eyes.
[Logia Type • Sand-Sand Devil Fruit, Analysis complete: 100%.]
The content of the light screen indicated that he no longer needed to conserve stamina.
Therefore...
"Other things aside, but you saying there's a difference in rank between our Devil Fruit abilities, I simply cannot pretend not to hear it!"
As his words fell, Dragon's figure landed.
He slowly raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Then Crocodile suddenly saw a colossal object rise from beneath Dragon's feet... with a mighty roar!
"Rumble!"
The earth was trembling, and the ley lines were roaring.
And accompanying that deep, heavy sound, was a chill like biting winter.
That chill even made Aiha, watching from a distance, shiver all over.
And then, he saw the Rainmaker slowly rising into the sky—or, to be precise, he was lifted up by the thing beneath his feet.
That was a crystal-clear, colossal object.
It carried a piercing chill, breaking through the sand sea, rising from the ground, appearing in what was originally the realm of sand.
That was a... an ice mountain!
[Ice-Ice • Frost Mountain]
"How is this possible?!"
And that object, which was impossible to appear in the desert, instantly stiffened Crocodile's expression at this moment.
Undoubtedly, what was happening at this moment surpassed even the understanding of this Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"This is a desert, a desert with almost no water