Grand Line, Alabasta Kingdom:
"Damn that Kobra! If he doesn't reveal the whereabouts of the Ancient Weapon next time, I'll pry his mouth open, even if it means giving up the Shichibukai title!"
The Shichibukai, Crocodile, took a deep drag on his cigarette to calm his inner rage.
He had been lurking in Alabasta for the Ancient Weapon for so many years, forming forces and secretly searching. All these years of searching had gradually worn down his patience.
After being defeated by Kaido, the only thing that could help him regain the dignity he lost back then was the Ancient Weapon.
Because he knew clearly that it was impossible to defeat a monster like Kaido with his own strength; the gap was too large.
To bridge this gap, he could only rely on super-standard weapons like the Ancient Weapon.
That's why he was willing to lurk in this Desert Kingdom for so many years.
"Boss, we've detected a suspicious person entering Alabasta. It's the Limitless Pirates' new Executive Officer, Fire Fist Ace."
"However, after he entered Alabasta, we lost track of him."
Mr. 1 relayed the message to Crocodile via den den mushi.
"What is an Executive Officer of the Limitless Pirates doing here? Are they also looking for the Ancient Weapon?"
Hearing his subordinate's report, Crocodile immediately thought of this possibility.
The Limitless Pirates possess powerful technological capabilities, and their weapons are the strongest in this World. It's highly likely they've detected the existence of the Ancient Weapon.
However, before Crocodile could make a move, a man of fire, whose legs had turned into flames propelling him through the air, had already flown before him.
"Yo, you must be Desert Crocodile, Crocodile!"
Ace looked down at Crocodile before him. To confirm his identity, he even took out a bounty poster to compare repeatedly.
"Fire Fist Ace, what is your purpose for coming here?"
Crocodile asked, suppressing the urge to bury the person before him.
"Well, nothing much. I just want you to give up the Shichibukai title. After all, you know that our Limitless Pirates are planning a big move."
"You Shichibukai belong to the World Government. Naturally, we need to weaken the World Government's power, so we plan to start with you Shichibukai!"
"As long as you give up the Shichibukai title in front of me and stop working for the World Government, I can spare you today."
Ace said seriously.
The current Ace had received excellent education from Rouge. He was a good child from a young age and grew up into a polite, well-behaved young man. Therefore, his actions were less like a Pirate; he preferred to use courtesy before force.
"How dare a brat like you come and threaten me!"
Hearing Ace's words, Crocodile was instantly enraged, and his limbs turned into sand.
He had been lurking here for the Ancient Weapon for over a decade. If he were to give it up just because of a single sentence from the Limitless Pirates, wouldn't all his efforts over the years be in vain?
No one could stop his plan, not even the Limitless Pirates!
Moreover, it was this brat under twenty years old who dared to threaten him face-to-face!
"Desert La Spada!"
Crocodile slashed fiercely with his right hand. Instantly, the forty-meter-long desert greatsword directly slashed towards Ace.
"Sigh, I really didn't expect we'd have to fight in the end!"
Ace sighed at this. Why couldn't they just negotiate peacefully? Why did it have to be violent?
The moment the desert greatsword fell, Ace's feet emitted even more intense flames, easily dodging Crocodile's attack.
"Fire Fist!"
While dodging the attack, Ace's right hand turned into flames. Instantly, endless flames erupted, forming a giant fist with a diameter of a hundred meters that smashed forward.
"Rumble!!!"
All the sand in the path of the Fire Fist was completely incinerated by the flames, turning into dust that scattered in the air.
Facing flames of such terrifying temperature, Crocodile didn't dare to hesitate in the slightest and immediately rushed out of the flame's range at the fastest speed.
"Sables Pesado!"
After witnessing Ace's terrifying flames, Crocodile no longer dared to show any contempt. He immediately turned himself into sand and merged into the desert.
Then, under Crocodile's control, all the sand within a thousand meters was mobilized. The endless sand spun and flowed, forming a desert sunflower.
The sunflower instantly erupted from the desert ground, forming a desert cage that continuously approached Ace, trying to bury Ace in the air alive!
After Ace's Kenbunshoku Haki locked onto Crocodile's position in the desert, he didn't fly away from the desert that was trying to bury him. Instead, he directly transformed into flames and plunged into the underground desert.
"Higan!"
Flames erupted from underground, forming a fiery lotus. The entire desert instantly turned into magma.
"No!!!"
Crocodile, who was originally hiding underground, thought he was completely safe, but he didn't expect to be engulfed by flames in the blink of an eye. The extremely high-temperature flames surrounded him completely, and no amount of sand could extinguish them!
The original desert sunflower was destroyed in an instant, and Crocodile was forced to crawl out from underground.
However, he was now covered in burns and could barely move.
"With just this much strength, you dare to resist the Limitless Pirates? I really don't know what gave you such courage!"
Ace looked at Crocodile, who was burned into a state resembling a dead dog, and said with a sneer.
He had originally thought of giving Crocodile a chance, but now it seemed there was no need for a chance. It was more appropriate to just capture him and take him back.
"How could this be..."
At this moment, Crocodile's eyes were filled with unwillingness, but he couldn't move or use his power. His heart was filled with indignation, unable to understand why he was defeated so easily.
And defeated by a newly emerged brat! Even if the opponent was an Executive Officer of the Limitless Pirates, he shouldn't have been defeated so easily!
Why is this? Why!!
"Crack!!!"
Ace didn't care about Crocodile's unwillingness at the moment. He went to the nearby desert, skillfully picked up the bag he had thrown there, put on gloves, and then took out a pair of Sea Stone handcuffs to put on Crocodile.
Immediately after, his feet turned into flame jets, dragging Crocodile into the sky and disappearing into the desert.
"Boss, Boss was defeated so easily and even captured!"
"How is this possible? How is this possible!"
"What should we do now?"
In the distance, Crocodile's subordinate, holding binoculars and watching Crocodile being taken away, fell into deep self-doubt. He felt like he might be dreaming; his Boss, who was as powerful as a god, was defeated so easily!