"Hahaha, what's wrong with you, brat? Weren't you so arrogant before?" Crocodile asked as his head regenerated. He smiled mockingly and continued in a disdainful tone, "If you want to accomplish anything, you should at least bring more people to help you."
...
Rody formed a hand seal and replied with a smile, "Hahaha, since you insist, don't cry later."
Instantly, Rody's shadow expanded dramatically, and from it, Kuro Hyou emerged in his half-man, half-beast form.
Seeing this, Crocodile was surprised. "It wasn't this guy's ability to throw invisible slashes. What's with that strange creature?" he thought, not out of concern, but rather curiosity.
Crocodile thought Rody would stop when he summoned that strange creature, but the next instant, he whispered with his palms interlaced.
"Nue Totality - Agito Fused Beast"
The shadows expanded, taking the form of an extremely imposing and muscular humanoid shikigami. It had a feathered orange mane, a mask over its face, and feathered arms ending in claws. Black antlers protruded from its forehead, and its torso was feminine with black stripes. Its legs were like those of a tiger.
HISSING
From behind the creature, a snake-like head narrowed its vertical pupils and stared at Crocodile, its serpentine tongue hissing.
Rody stepped forward with Kuro Hyo and Agito flanking him. He extended his arms and smiled slightly. "Alright, now it's 3 vs. 1. Hahaha."
Crocodile looked at Rody with disdain. Despite being outnumbered, he didn't care at all. After all, his Logia-type Devil Fruit gave him immense confidence.
CLICK
Agito, Kuro, and Rody shot toward Crocodile with murderous intent, shattering the ground beneath their feet with their sheer force.
Crocodile waved his hands, and a dense wall of sand condensed before him.
Bang!
A fist as large as an adult's head slammed into the sand wall, piercing it completely. The fist retreated, and on the other side, Crocodile saw bloodshot eyes, filled with madness.
Swiiish!
Rody and Agito appeared on either side of Crocodile, their fists outstretched and brimming with cursed energy, maximizing the power of their attacks.
Seeing these blows, Crocodile smirked. "Hahaha, brat! So what if you outnumber me with these strange creatures?" "I'm a Logia user, how do you think you can touch me...?"
Before he could say anything, Crocodile clearly felt his Devil Fruit starting to malfunction. It wasn't that it had disappeared or anything like that; it was more like it was still there, but using it required more effort than usual.
Crocodile was so surprised that he couldn't even react to the two enormous fists approaching him.
Smaaash!!!
Agito's punch, being taller than Rody, slammed into Crocodile's face. Meanwhile, Rody's fist, imbued and reinforced by cursed energy, crashed into his abdomen.
At that moment, Crocodile, feeling the pain, didn't even have time to complain before being launched like a cannonball.
Bang!
Crocodile's body crashed into the casino wall, shattering it to pieces. But even after smashing through a wall, Crocodile's body didn't stop. He immediately flew toward the city.
Whoosh!
Kuro Hyou shot off on all fours and flew between Agito and Rody at top speed.
Swiish!
His body hurtled between the buildings, causing the rooftops to explode from the force of his movement. Upon reaching Crocodile, he grabbed him by the right leg and threw him back toward the casino.
"Damn it... damn it, what's going on?! Why can't I use my Devil Fruit?!" Crocodile thought as he flew backward, his mind racing, unable to comprehend why he had been touched.
"Armament Haki? Impossible, a novice couldn't use it. Is it water? Impossible, I've never seen anything like it!"
"Wait, the blood of those Rody killed earlier?!" Crocodile deduced, but immediately dismissed the idea. There was no blood on Rody's fists, and the humanoid creature Rody the Killer had summoned had barely appeared when it began attacking him.
"This is more like Sea Stone deprivation!" Crocodile thought fleetingly. "But if that's how it happens, how is it possible?"
"Ehhh, my Devil Fruit is back!" Crocodile thought jubilantly, feeling that his Devil Fruit could be used again.
But the next instant, that feeling returned, and Agito had already arrived, his fists crackling with lightning.
Zizizi!
Sparkle!
Bang!
"Damn it, that feeling again!"
Smash!
Agito's fists, intertwined, crashed fiercely against Crocodile from top to bottom, in true Dragon Ball Z style.
Swoosh!
Bang!
Crocodile's body, like a comet, crashed into the ground, creating a large crater that kicked up sand, dust, and debris.
In the streets, citizens stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing the enormous crater forming in the center of Arabasta's most prosperous city. Startled, they exclaimed, and one of them even approached to investigate.
"What was that...?"
"An earthquake?"
At that moment, the citizen who had approached to see what was happening, upon spotting the figure within the crater, squinted to get a better look. The next moment, his pupils shrank in horror.
"Cro...Croc...Crocodile-sama!"
"Huh? What are you talking about? Crocodile-sama is at his casino. What would he be doing here?" asked another citizen, confused and not understanding his compatriot.
"It's... Crocodile-sama! He's the one who made this crater!" exclaimed the citizen, still staring at Crocodile, not understanding what was happening.
"Hahaha, what a joke! Does anyone dare challenge Crocodile-sama? Besides, if he's challenged, it's impossible for him to lose. You must be delusional."
Boom!
At that moment, Agito fell from the air and landed on a building, completely destroying it and drawing everyone's attention.
At the same time, Crocodile's figure moved and slowly began to stand up.
"EVERYONE RUN! ESCAPE AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN!" At that moment, a voice echoed through the silent street. Looking to the other side, they glimpsed the figure of a blue-haired girl waving her arms, trying to get their attention.
This person was, of course, Vivi, who, seeing Rody and Crocodile taking the battle to the center of Rainbase, ran there with her two guards to evacuate the people.
"What's going on?"
"What is that? Is it a monster?"
Some civilians murmured as they saw Agito's figure emerging from the rubble.
The civilians were completely confused, not knowing what was happening. At that moment, Crocodile, disheveled, stood up, his eyes bloodshot, blood dripping from his mouth and nose.
The civilian nearby, seeing this, was filled with concern. "Cro... Crocodile-sama, it's good... it's good that you're alright," the man stammered.
At that moment, Crocodile, his eyes red with pain and fury, grabbed the man's face, glaring at Agito with murderous intent.
Seeing this, Vivi roared in despair: "STOP, CROCODILE!!!"
Crocodile ignored the creature's scream, and the next instant, before everyone's horrified eyes, the man's body began to transform into a mummy at a terrifying speed.
"Vivi-chan, wait!!" Nami shouted, joining the others behind Vivi when they saw her rigid body staring straight ahead. She too looked up and witnessed the scene.
MAXIMUM CRASH!
At that moment, an indifferent voice echoed through the hitherto silent Rainbase.
Bang!
A colossal figure appeared from the air and crushed the area where Crocodile and several civilians stood.
At that instant, the sound of an elephant's bellow resonated throughout Rainbase. Simultaneously, the colossal body of the Maximo elephant shattered the ground, sending a torrent of sand, debris, and blood flying through the air.
Upon witnessing the scene, Vivi collapsed to the ground in horror, having seen several human remains flying through the air. The civilians who saw this quickly regained their composure and fled in terror, scattering like rats throughout the area in a panic.
At that moment, Crocodile, who had regained the power of his Devil Fruit, dodged the elephant's crushing blow by turning into sand and reappearing on a distant rooftop.
Just then, Crocodile, disheveled, was about to say something when Kuro Hyo, his eyes bloodshot, appeared behind him and repeatedly stabbed him with the Six Marine Styles Finger Gun.
Each finger violently pierced Crocodile's body, but no matter how hard he tried, it didn't do any damage.
Seeing that it was only that panther attacking him and sensing that the power of his Devil Fruit hadn't faded, Crocodile transformed into sand, appeared behind Kuro, and swung his hand violently.
Desert Sword.
Swooosh!
The Desert Sword struck Kuro Hyou head-on, who only managed to dodge slightly, taking the attack in the middle of his body. Despite using Iron Body, he was sent flying toward Rody, crashing through several buildings with a deep, bleeding wound on his back.
"One down!" Crocodile thought, but he didn't notice that Agito had disappeared, his whereabouts unknown.
RUMBLE!
RUMBLE!
At that moment, behind Crocodile, the magnificent elephant, with Rody on its back, charged at full speed toward him.
"Hahaha, you bastard!" "You think that behemoth can do anything to me?" Crocodile roared as a massive whirlwind began to spin in his hand.
"DIE, YOU BASTARD!"
HEAVY SABER!
The next instant, Crocodile unleashed his concentrated palm attack against Rody. Using Observation Haki, Rody watched as Crocodile's attack expanded and advanced, obliterating everything in its path: buildings, civilians, animals; everything, without exception, was reduced to a mass of blood and crushed rubble.
Seeing this, Bee swiftly transformed into a massive armored castle, enveloping everyone inside for protection.
As the enormous attack approached, Rody smiled, thinking with interest, "Is this the power a strong Logia user can unleash? It's completely different from Smoker's smoke ability."
"Crocodile is incredibly strong; his large-scale attacks can completely reshape a location. It's surprising that someone like that lost to Luffy.
If I remember correctly, Crocodile defeated Luffy at least twice before his final defeat. In fact, if it weren't for Luffy's good luck and the help he received from several people, he would have died in all three battles: he was impaled (and then rescued by Nico Robin), dehydrated (and then revived with his Water Gun), and poisoned (and then saved thanks to Robin's antidote).
Furthermore, if Luffy's blood hadn't been enough to nullify Crocodile's Logia-type defense, and if Robin hadn't provided him with the antidote to the poison on his hook, Crocodile would have won the third battle as well."
"It's really interesting; it seems like this kid, Luffy, has endless opportunities against every final boss, no matter how badly he recovers time and time again until he defeats his enemy." "Hahaha... How disgusting and boring," Rody thought.
Maximus the Elephant, seeing the attack drawing ever closer, suddenly swelled up, unleashed a terrifying amount of Rody's cursed energy, and from his trunk, launched a powerful jet of water that expanded upon impact with Crocodile's attack.
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion engulfed the center of Rainbase. A massive tornado of water and wind erupted in the center, and the sky, which until then had shone with sunlight, darkened and became covered in dense black clouds.
At the moment of impact, the enormous whirlwind expanded even further, destroying everything in its path. Taking advantage of the situation, Crocodile unleashed his Devil Fruit powers to the fullest. At that moment, his body, floating in the air, was soaked, which greatly hampered his elementalization and put him at risk of being hit.
"Damn it!" What the hell is that? How can he shoot water? Does a Devil Fruit like that even exist? Isn't this the nemesis of all Devil Fruits? Crocodile thought incredulously, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.
From below, Kuro Hyou, healed by Agito using the Reverse Curse technique, grabbed Agito's arms, spun him around several times, and threw him toward Crocodile.
Swoosh
Crocodile sensed danger behind him. The next instant, he turned and waved his hand.
He gritted his teeth and, disregarding the physical strain his soaked body caused him, roared:
"UNLEASH THE SWORD!"
Swoosh!
Three sand swords were launched at Agito. Rody, below, seeing this, dispersed the Maximum Elephant, clasped his palms together, and formed a gun.
"Piercing Water!"
A jet of pressurized water shot from his fingers, striking and deflecting two of Crocodile's swords. Even so, one continued its trajectory and severed Agito's arm.
Seeing this, Crocodile, though he hadn't managed to kill the beast, smiled at having incapacitated it. But the next instant, his pupils contracted, what remained of Agito's severed arm writhed, and then, in an instant, the limb regenerated.
...
Crocodile was stunned and confused, but he didn't have time to think anymore. Agito hugged him tightly with his hands and feet, and the next instant, his entire body crackled with electricity.
CRACKING!
Kuaaaagggggggg!
Crocodile let out a muffled scream as he felt the electrical energy amplified by the water. His body was rigid, and although he wanted to move, he couldn't. But that wasn't all. Using Lunar Steps, Kuro Hyou reached Agito and Crocodile. He clenched his fist tightly and slammed it into Crocodile's cheek.
Smash!
Bang!
Click!
The blow, amplified by cursed energy, created a sonic boom that, upon impact, fractured part of Crocodile's skull.
Agito immediately released Crocodile, who went flying to the ground.
Rody gave Crocodile no respite. He leaped into the air and, with his leg, reinforced by cursed energy and Armament Haki, delivered a brutal kick to Crocodile's spine.
Click
This time, the sound of bones breaking was louder. Crocodile felt his spine shatter from Rody's blow.
Crocodile spat out a stream of blood, and his mind began to blur.