Chapter 36: Logia Transformation? Anyone Can Do That!
The moment Dragon's words fell, Crocodile indeed saw the giant wave that appeared out of thin air.
The meltwater from the ice mountain converged and rushed down; its volume was immense, and its crest was nearly dozens of meters high.
It was as if there really was a dragon churning in those waves!
It surged and roared, charging and bellowing towards the desert where Crocodile was!
...
And in the distance, Aiha, watching this scene from afar, was almost dumbfounded.
He almost felt he was dreaming.
But a moment later, he confirmed that he wasn't dreaming.
Because, even in a dream, he couldn't possibly imagine such a scene.
Alabasta—in this desert kingdom, a tidal wave unexpectedly appeared!
And at this moment, an unprecedented sense of crisis likewise rose in Crocodile's heart.
What was happening at this moment also surpassed his understanding.
"That gigantic iceberg melted, how was that done?"
"What exactly is going on with this guy's ability?"
There were still countless doubts in his heart.
But at this moment, those were clearly no longer important.
Now there was only one most important thing: the outcome of this battle!
"I really have encountered an incredible monster."
As his words fell, Crocodile did not flee—in front of such a move, running away was meaningless.
Therefore...
"Boom!"
With his right hand, he gripped the golden hook on his left wrist, then fiercely plunged both hands into the sand sea beneath his feet.
"Erosion Cycle!"
A low roar fell.
The next moment, the ground violently trembled once more.
From within the desert, countless yellow sands surged up even more violently.
They surged, transforming into an invisible wave that began to spread with Crocodile at its center.
And everywhere it passed,
Even the desert, which already contained little moisture, began to be rapidly absorbed dry.
The boulders barely visible within the quicksand instantly turned into fine powder.
And it was also at this moment...
"Massive Sandstorm!"
Crocodile once again unleashed his ability, and the surrounding yellow sand could be seen coiling even more violently, forming a gigantic storm.
And the next moment...
The power that absorbed all moisture, as well as that massive giant sandstorm,
then collided head-on with the giant wave that swept across the desert!
"Boom!"
Yellow sand surged into the giant wave, stirring up murky water columns.
The golden-yellow sandstorm and the azure-blue giant wave—the collision scene of the two was so grand it was almost like a mythological tale.
But stories always have an end.
When at a certain moment, giant wave droplets began to penetrate the yellow sand,
the victor was already clear.
"Boom!"
The next moment, the giant wave could be seen to thunderously smash through the sandstorm.
Muddy slurry splattered everywhere, while the remaining waves rushed unimpeded onto Crocodile's body.
Feeling his body instantly stiffen, Crocodile gritted his teeth.
He knew—from this moment on, he would no longer be able to use Logia Transformation.
He knew even more that his opponent would definitely not miss this opportunity!
And indeed, it was so.
"Crack!"
An extremely cold aura suddenly came forth, and Crocodile turned his eyes.
He already saw Dragon's figure, his hand wreathed in frost, leaping towards him.
"The victor has been decided, Crocodile!"
He threw a punch towards Crocodile, smashing down with one punch!
"Indeed."
But it was precisely at this moment.
The corner of Crocodile's mouth, however, revealed a strange smile: "The victor... has been decided!"
As his voice fell...
"Bang!"
From behind Dragon, in the sandy ground that had already been swept by the giant wave,
an object suddenly pierced through the sand layer and flew out—that was a hand!
A left hand, wearing a golden hook, with yellow sand wrapped around its upper arm.
However, just then, the golden hook on that hand had already been removed—and in its place was a sharp stinger.
The next moment...
"Pfft!"
That left hand then swept in from behind, directly piercing Dragon's right abdomen.
Thus, Crocodile revealed an excited smile.
"You are a formidable fellow—that kind of giant wave, even my 'Erosion Cycle' couldn't completely absorb it dry."
"But..."
He stood up.
The wind blew his long coat, and it could clearly be seen—at some point, his left arm, from the base, had already vanished.
"Before being swept by the water, hiding a hand beneath the yellow sand—I can still manage something like that."
Crocodile knew that he had won.
Because the stinger, which had replaced his left hand's golden hook, was coated with a potent scorpion venom unique to Alabasta.
After being stabbed, unless an antidote could be found, death was certain!
But, before Crocodile could declare his victory,
he discovered something was wrong.
"Hm?!"
Because at this moment, he only just noticed—his left hand hadn't pierced "flesh."
Quite the opposite.
He felt that what he had pierced was some kind of indescribable sticky substance.
And just a moment later, Crocodile felt a searing heat and extreme agony spread through both his arms.
"Argh!"
The intense pain of bones and flesh melting together—even a formidable figure like Crocodile couldn't help but cry out at this moment.
But his willpower still made him struggle to lift his head.
Then, he saw—at this moment, something began to flow out from Dragon's body.
But what flowed out was not blood.
That sticky, scalding, burning, flame-like substance was precisely—
"Magma?!"
He gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse: "Logia Transformation?!"
He understood what had happened—Dragon, in that instant, had evaded his two sure-kill attacks by preemptively using Logia Transformation.
But—
"How is that possible? The Mag-Mag Fruit clearly should be..."
With his knowledge, he naturally knew the owner of the Mag-Mag Fruit—that top-tier Logia Devil Fruit belonged to Marine Admiral 'Akainu'.
But at this moment, Dragon clearly didn't intend to give Crocodile time to think.
Because at this time—
"Whoosh!"
The sound of rushing wind appeared again—Dragon's fist was already upon him.
In contrast, Crocodile's eyes also saw his opponent's incredible posture at this moment.
That majestic dragon-head mask at this moment seemed to be split into two parts: red and blue.
And his posture was also like this.
On his body, steam coiled around him, like clean white bandages.
One part of his body was condensed from frost.
The other part of his body was burning with magma.
"Dual Logia Transformation: Frost Fire Co-existence."
Water dripped down as the frost melted, silently answering Crocodile's doubts.
His opponent's ability was fundamentally not about controlling moisture.
"Ice and Magma, two completely different Logia Transformations... combined in one body?!"
This had already surpassed Crocodile's understanding.
He was certain that if he told others about the scene he was witnessing, it would definitely cause a worldwide uproar.
But clearly, he no longer had the chance.
"I told you earlier, didn't I?"
In his field of vision, that dragon-head mask emitted a calm voice.
And in the eyes revealed beneath that mask, there was only tranquility.
"You can't defeat me."
The fist, combining magma and Frost Fire, enlarged in Crocodile's line of sight.
Thus, he closed his eyes.
"Twelve Star General... 'Dragon'."
In his heart, he softly murmured this name he had heard for the first time today.
He knew that his opponent was destined to shake the world.
Just like his former self.
The excitement when he first set out to sea and became a pirate years ago, the sense of accomplishment from constantly growing stronger, the powerlessness of being defeated by Whitebeard, the arrogance when he became a Warlord of the Sea—countless memories surged into his mind at this moment.
He thought of his unfulfilled ambitions, his grudges and pursuits.
But, just as he had said before.
In defeat, those were all useless things to be carved onto a tombstone.
Succeed as king, fail as bandit; the victor possesses everything—this is the rule of this great sea.
"It truly is... I'm unwilling to accept this."
This low murmur became Sir Crocodile's last thought in this life.
(end of chapter)