Location: Little Garden
"Two Diamond Trophies? That's quite unexpected."
Storm looked at the 6-Star icons floating in his vision.
"But it makes sense. Crocodile is a 'mechanical monster' reliant on his Fruit. Dorry and Brogy are 'numerical monsters'—pure physical power."
Storm waved his hand. The sixteen Clay Titans dissolved back into the earth.
He looked across the clearing. A wave of clay deposited Crocodile in front of him. The Warlord looked grim. Seeing the giants defeated so easily by Storm's Awakening was a heavy blow to his pride.
"Are they stronger than you imagined?" Storm teased.
"Hmph!" Crocodile scoffed, straightening his coat. "I could handle them easily."
Storm nodded. "He's not wrong. Without Haki, Giants are just big targets for dehydration. Crocodile beats them 9 times out of 10."
"Sure, you can handle two giants," Storm agreed. "But what about Oars Jr.? Or the man standing behind him—Edward Newgate?"
Crocodile flinched. The name Whitebeard was like a curse.
"Even if you ignore Whitebeard," Storm pressed, "what about his commanders? Marco the Phoenix. Diamond Jozu. Flower Sword Vista. They all use Haki. Who can your Sand-Sand Fruit handle then?"
"Shut up!" Crocodile snarled.
"Marco was just an apprentice when you were a rookie," Storm said ruthlessly. "Now he's a legend. And you? You're hiding in a sandbox."
"That's all I have to say, Crocodile. Think about it carefully. When exactly did you lose your Haki?"
Storm hopped onto his white dragon and flew toward the coast to retrieve the ship, leaving Crocodile standing alone in the clearing.
Crocodile raised his hand. He tried to summon the invisible armor he once possessed. He strained his will.
Nothing.
Just sand slipping through his fingers.
"When did I lose it?" Crocodile thought, staring at his trembling hand. "Was it when Whitebeard crushed me? Was it when I became a Warlord? Or was it when I started pinning my hopes on Pluton instead of myself?"
Location: Little Garden, The Feast
An hour later, the Baroque Gustave was dragged inland by the white dragon.
Storm used his powers to hunt dinosaurs. He cleaned them with his Iron Cloud Sword and started a massive bonfire.
The aroma of roasting T-Rex meat filled the air.
Dorry and Brogy woke up groggily.
"Gebababa! Meat! I smell meat!"
"Gegyagyagya! And booze! Lots of booze!"
The giants sat up, seemingly unbothered by their defeat.
"Gentlemen," Storm announced, sitting on a clay throne. "I acknowledge your strength. The wine is yours!"
He gestured to the mountain of barrels looted from Alabasta.
"Gebababa! Human! I like you! Cheers!"
"Gegyagya! You are a generous warrior!"
The giants grabbed barrels like shot glasses and chugged the wine.
"Generous?" Crocodile muttered, sitting by the fire. "That bastard... he's using my wine to treat his guests!"
Storm ignored him. He was busy eating. With his upgraded 7-Star Stamina, his appetite was endless. He devoured more dinosaur meat than the giants combined.
While eating, Storm accessed his system. He applied the two Diamond Trophies (Brogy & Dorry) to his stats.
[Attribute Updated]
[Strength: ★★★★★★★ (7-Stars)]
[Speed: ★★★★★★☆ (6.5 Stars)]
"Almost triple 7-Stars," Storm thought, flexing his hand. The power coursing through him was terrifying.
"Human!" Brogy slammed his empty barrel down. "How about a post-meal workout?"
"Digestion exercise?" Storm wiped his mouth. "You mean fighting?"
"Gebababa! That's right! Fighting and drinking is the life of a warrior!"
"Fine by me," Storm stood up, cracking his neck. "And this time, I won't use my Clay Titans."
"Gegyagya! A real man's fight!"
The giants charged, their footsteps shaking the island.
Storm grinned.
[Ability: More-More Fruit - 100x Speed]
He vanished.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two seconds later, the giants were on the ground again, knocked out cold by Storm's fists.
[System Alert: Targets Defeated]
[Platinum Trophy x2]
[Star Rating: ★★★★★ (5-Stars)]
Storm looked at his fists.
"Seven-Star Strength combined with 100x Speed... I feel invincible."
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