The pillar of light from the Blue-Flame Flower pierced the clouds and Natsu immediately stuffed it back into his coat.
The glow vanished, but the heat remained. Pressed against his chest, it felt like a red-hot ember buried beneath fabric. He clenched his fist, flames bursting out between his fingers.
The sea ahead split as a massive ship cut through the waves at high speed.
A mechanical raven crowned its prow, wings spread nearly three meters wide. On the elevated deck stood a man cloaked in dark robes, grains of yellow sand slowly swirling around his body.
"That flower does not belong to you."
His voice was deep, carrying effortlessly through wind and surf.
Erza raised her hand. In an instant, armor covered her body, Adamantine Armor locking into place as her greatsword slid free. Gray slammed both palms to the ground, ice blades forming a protective ring around his feet. Happy took to the air, circling higher to scout.
Natsu stared at the newcomer, nostrils flaring.
The aura was strange, dry, lifeless, like a desert baked under an unforgiving sun. The flames within him reacted instinctively, restless and violent, as if facing a natural predator or an irresistible challenge.
"What's your name?" Natsu shouted.
"Crocodile," the man replied calmly. "Ruler of Alabasta."
Before the words had fully settled, Natsu was already moving.
Rock shattered beneath his feet as he launched himself like a cannonball toward the sea. Flames coiled around his right arm as he punched forward
Fire Dragon Wing Strike!
Crocodile didn't move.
He raised his left hand. Flowing sand surged up to meet the blow. Natsu's fist plunged into it and the force vanished, completely absorbed. His body began to sink as sand climbed up his arm, the exposed skin cracking and drying instantly.
"Watch out!" Gray shouted.
An ice wall erupted between them, severing the sand flow. Natsu kicked off and flipped back, landing hard. He shook his numb arm; thin cracks in his skin seeped blood, which evaporated almost immediately under his body heat.
"His ability neutralizes attacks," Gray said quickly. "And it dehydrates the body. We can't brute-force him."
Luffy struck from the side.
His rubber arm stretched out, a full-powered Rocket slamming into Crocodile's chest. This time, the man moved his right arm transforming into a raging sandstorm. Fist and sand collided, exploding into a cloud of dust.
Luffy skidded back several steps, then grinned wide.
"Now that's interesting!"
Natsu drew in a deep breath. A low roar echoed inside him as the Dimensional Flame Core activated. Residual energy from the Blue-Flame Flower in the air was drawn into his body. His flames changed crimson streaked with deep blue and the temperature spiked sharply.
"Crimson Lotus Fire Dragon King Mode!"
Flames detonated around him. The surging heat blasted the surrounding seawater away, creating a ring of dry ground in the middle of the ocean.
For the first time, Crocodile frowned.
Not at the flames but at their nature. They didn't just burn; they devoured and amplified, growing stronger the more they consumed. He brought both hands together, sandstorm condensing into a massive scythe that swept forward.
Natsu didn't dodge.
He met it head-on, his right fist smashing into the scythe's edge. Fire and sand screeched against each other. Step by step, he forced his way forward. The intense heat melted the sand, turning it into dark red, glass-like shards.
"Your sand…" Natsu growled, teeth clenched. "It's brittle."
At that moment, Luffy surged in again.
A whirling rubber kick slammed into Crocodile's waist, forcibly disrupting his sand form. His real body flickered into view for a split second.
Natsu seized the opening.
His left fist drew back, power condensing
Crimson Lotus Explosive Flame Fist!
Fire engulfed the sand, temperature spiking instantly. The grains lost all fluidity, hardening into solid masses. Erza was already moving; she flashed behind him, light blade slicing cleanly across the point where neck met body.
The sand body collapsed, scattering across the ground.
Crocodile's real body hit the earth hard, an ice spike piercing through his left shoulder. He couldn't move. Gray followed up immediately, freezing both of his hands to the ground.
"You've only opened the door a crack…" Crocodile rasped, blood at the corner of his mouth. "What lies beyond… will devour you…"
No one answered.
Gray searched him, pulling out a navigation chart and a metal badge. The map marked an island to the southeast perfectly aligned with the Blue-Flame Flower's direction. On the back of the badge was engraved: D-07.
"What is this?" Gray asked.
Natsu shook his head. "No idea. But it matters."
Happy suddenly dove down from the sky.
"Front-right! Three warships fast!"
Everyone turned.
Three black silhouettes were racing across the horizon. Their hulls were sleek, cannons gleaming with polished metal clearly not standard Marine equipment.
"Destroyers," Erza said coldly. "And they're carrying Seastone warheads."
As if on cue, the lead ship fired.
The shell streaked in with a dark trail. It didn't explode on impact; instead, it released a ring of gray-black mist. Wherever the mist spread, Gray's ice walls melted rapidly, magical fluctuations spiraling out of control.
"Suppression weapon," Gray judged instantly. "Designed specifically for magic users."
"We can't stay here," Erza ordered. "There's a rocky island to the southwest complex terrain, good cover."
Gray moved immediately. Ice surged forward, forming a broad bridge across the sea. The team crossed quickly, Happy carrying the injured ahead.
As they neared the rocky island, Carla's voice rang out from behind.
"Left side! White mist rising three seconds!"
Gray snapped his hand outward. The ice bridge curved sharply, veering away from the danger zone. A heartbeat later, the first Seastone shells slammed down on their original route. Mist exploded outward, the sea churning violently as the magical field destabilized.
Everyone made it to the island.
Erza quickly assigned hiding positions. They retreated into a cave system, banning the use of large-scale magic. Natsu leaned against the stone wall, his fists still wreathed in flame.
"We're just hiding?" he muttered.
"Fighting now is suicide," Erza replied from the cave entrance, watching the patrol ships outside. "They want us alive, not dead. When the wind changes, we move."
Gray sat in the shadows, pressing his palm to his overheated forearm. Prolonged casting had strained his body, fine cracks spread across his skin. He released cold air to cool it, preventing further damage.
"Don't rush in, fire-brat," he said to Natsu. "You can't keep fighting if you don't survive."
Luffy squatted near the cave mouth, staring at the distant fleet.
"They're annoying," he chuckled. "Next time we meet, I'm flipping their ships."
Natsu didn't respond.
He slipped a hand into his coat, touching the flower. The heat was stronger than before, nearly burning. The glow seeped faintly through the fabric, darker, more focused.
"The direction hasn't changed," he said. "Still southeast."
Erza nodded. "When the Marines loosen their net, we leave."
Outside, the warships continued their patrols, firing detection rounds every few minutes. Mist drifted across the sea, sealing off all escape routes.
Happy quietly flew out of the cave, climbing high to scout. Romeo clung to his back, holding a rune-etched stone tablet that glowed faintly, recording the fleet's movement patterns.
"They change formation every twelve minutes," Romeo whispered. "There's a thirty-second gap."
Erza listened, then turned to the others. "Memorize the timing. We move on the next cycle."
Natsu leaned against the rock, flames finally dying out in his palm. He closed his eyes, listening to the waves. The flower against his chest still burned, as if urging him onward.
Gray stood, rolling his wrist. Frost slid from his fingertips, shattering into powder on the ground.
Luffy licked his lips, eyes gleaming.
Deep beneath the rocky island, the imprisoned Crocodile slowly opened his eyes.
His fingers twitched. Grains of sand clinging to his nails slipped free, seeping silently into the cracks of the stone.
Natsu's eyes snapped open.
The flower against his chest trembled once its heat spiking violently. Far out over the southeastern sea, something ancient seemed to stir.
Something was waking up.