-----
-----
"Finally found you two."
Luffy locked eyes with Crocodile, his grin widening.
"Crocodile, I'm gonna knock you into next week!!!"
[Armament Haki — Hardening]
[Gum-Gum… Pistol!!!]
This time, Luffy made the first move. His right fist turned black with Haki and launched forward like a spring-loaded cannon.
Splat!
But with a soft sound, Luffy's punch just went straight through Crocodile's body.
No damage. Again.
He pulled his arm back, now eyeing Crocodile differently.
He dodged it by turning into sand before the punch even landed?
"You little punk… You think just because you learned Haki, you're invincible?"
Crocodile sneered with open contempt.
He released Robin from the sand grip and summoned a blade of sand in his right hand.
"You've still got a long way to go!!!"
[Desert Spada!]
A massive sword formed from swirling sand—then slashed down hard at Luffy.
Luffy narrowed his eyes, pressed down on his hat, and leapt to the side just in time.
BOOM!!!
The sand blade sliced clean through the ancient stone floor of the tomb like it was nothing.
[Armament Haki — Hardening]
[Gum-Gum… Whip!]
Luffy hardened his right leg with Haki, stretched it way back, then swung it hard toward Crocodile's midsection.
Still useless!
Crocodile had already turned into sand again.
And of course, he counterattacked.
[Sand Binding!!!]
WHAM!
The sand beneath Luffy's feet exploded upward, tearing through the stone floor.
In the blink of an eye, it formed a huge circular sand trap, aiming to trap Luffy like a fish in a barrel.
But Luffy slammed his feet down and blasted off, barely escaping through the ground right before the trap closed.
He looked at Crocodile, eyes still sharp—but now thinking more carefully.
Okay... If a straight punch won't land, time to switch tactics.
Luffy darted around Crocodile's next attack, then—
Both arms stretched back, ready to fire.
[Armament Haki — Hardening]
[Gum-Gum… Shotgun!!!]
His fists shot forward with spring-loaded speed—and then he started rotating his shoulders wildly.
The once-straight arms began to ripple like waves.
His fists became unpredictable, weaving through the air.
"Hmph!"
Crocodile snorted and—surprisingly—chose to take it head-on?!!
Splat! Splat!
Two punches slammed through him again. No effect.
Luffy seemed to expect it this time.
He pulled his arms back, coiled the spring even tighter—and let loose:
[Armament Haki — Hardening]
[Gum-Gum… Gatling!!!]
Fist after fist after fist rained down in a blur of motion.
Faster, harder, stronger.
With no need to aim, all his energy went into pure power.
BAM BAM BAM BAM—!
That familiar sound echoed out again.
And once more, history repeated itself.
"You still don't get it, do you?"
Crocodile's voice came from behind. He dropped to one knee and slammed his palm on the ground:
[Desert Sabre!]
SPLASH!!!
A blade of sand shot out from the ground behind Luffy.
Even with his Observation Haki, Luffy didn't have time to dodge.
The sand sword slashed across his right shoulder, cutting deep.
Blood ran down his arm, and Luffy's eyes darkened with focus.
Crocodile stood tall again, the sand lifting him into the air.
He looked down at Luffy and said:
"As long as I can see your attacks—"
"I can just make them 'disappear'. After all—"
Crocodile gave a smug little laugh.
"Your Haki is still way too weak! Hahahaha!!!"
Before the laugh even faded, he attacked again.
Holding his right hand out, palm up, he began gathering sand.
It spun rapidly around a central point.
In an instant, a mini sand tornado had formed in Crocodile's hand.
[Sandstorm!]
He hurled the little twister at Luffy—
And as it flew, the sandstorm grew bigger with every second!
By the time it reached Luffy, it had become a massive whirlwind, three men tall.
A blinding sandstorm filled the room, tearing up the stone, flinging debris everywhere.
Inside the tight space of the tomb—
Luffy had nowhere to run!
[Armament Haki — Hardening!]
Luffy darted backward, trying to shield his vital areas with Haki-covered arms.
But it was no use. A natural disaster like this?
Way beyond anything he could block right now.
SSSSSSKRRRCHHHH—
Chunks of stone and sand tore across his body, slashing deep wounds again and again.
Blood sprayed in every direction.
By the time the sandstorm finally stopped—
Luffy looked like hell. Torn clothes, blood-soaked skin.
But thankfully, thanks to his freakish endurance—and that body-boosting pill he got from Bai Ye—most of the damage was only skin deep.
If Chopper showed up a little late, Luffy probably would've already healed.
He slowly raised his head, looked straight at Crocodile, and said:
"Then all I gotta do… is make sure you can't see me, right?"
Hearing that, Crocodile frowned.
Before he could even figure out what was going on, Luffy's body suddenly started to change.
He spread his legs in a wide stance, one hand resting on his knee, the other pressed against the ground.
His legs started pumping like a pair of pistons, forcing pressure through his entire body.
Then, his skin began turning bright red, and steam started pouring out from him.
"This brat…"
Crocodile muttered under his breath. Even just watching, he could feel it—
The insane power building up inside Luffy.
And for the first time, Crocodile felt a flicker of panic.
[Desert Spada!!!]
A sharp, slicing blade formed on his right hand and slashed down once again!
Bang!
But the next second, Crocodile's eyes went wide.
Because right before him—Luffy had vanished.
Not moved—vanished.
And what really freaked Crocodile out was that this time, he didn't catch any trace of movement.
That only left two possibilities.
First, the brat used something like teleportation or invisibility.
But that clearly wasn't it.
Which meant… the second option.
Crocodile realized the worst-case scenario—
This guy had gotten so fast, he was literally beyond Crocodile's vision.
On instinct, Crocodile spun around.
And there he was—a figure with glowing red skin, standing silently behind him, steam hissing from his body.
Luffy slowly raised his head and locked eyes with Crocodile.
Then he exhaled a puff of hot steam from his mouth and said:
"Gear Second."
"....."