Facing the sky-filling curtain of rain, Pell, in his falcon form, carried Princess Vivi on his back, flying rapidly through the air.
Lying on that familiar and broad avian back, the feeling of surviving a disaster put Vivi's spirit into a trance, her aqua-blue ponytail dancing wildly in the howling gale.
"Pell? Why are you here..." The blue-haired maiden began to speak, but her expression suddenly changed, and she cried out anxiously, "It's terrible, Pell! Crocodile has buried a giant bomb here. It's going to explode very soon!"
"We have to tell Nami and the others right now, or everyone will be blown up!"
"Do not worry, Princess Vivi," Pell said with a solemn face. "If you are referring to the giant time bomb hidden at the top of the clock tower, then you can rest easy."
"Because that bomb has already been taken care of by Sherlock..."
Recalling how the Warlock had made a giant bomb vanish into thin air as if performing a magic trick, a strange look flashed through Pell's sharp falcon eyes.
(That guy's Devil Fruit ability is just too miraculous!) Pell secretly remarked in his heart.
"Mr. Glasses?? He's back!" Hearing this, the blue-haired maiden blinked her large, bright eyes in astonishment, followed by a look of ecstatic joy.
"Does that mean the Southern Royal Army has been stopped?!"
"Yes, Princess Vivi." Pell nodded. "I don't know exactly what Sherlock did, but the 300,000 Royal Army soldiers suddenly turned back. I estimate they will return to Alubarna in a few hours."
"That's wonderful!" After hearing Pell's answer, Vivi was instantly moved to tears. Tears of joy mixed with the raindrops on her fair cheeks, becoming indistinguishable from one another.
"No killing each other, no war breaking out—this is truly wonderful!" The thing she feared most did not happen. The heavy stone in Vivi's heart finally fell away. In her heart, as long as war did not break out and the people were not harmed, she didn't care about anything else.
(How can I ever thank you? Mr. Glasses.)
Calming her excitement, Princess Vivi silently surveyed her surroundings, only to discover with surprise that Pell was already carrying her away from Alubarna.
"Where are you taking me, Pell?"
"To the safest place!" Pell answered without lifting his head. "Although Crocodile's plan has been shattered, for your personal safety, I must hand you over to the Marines who are about to arrive."
"The safest place? The Marines??" The blue-haired maiden's expression changed, and she argued anxiously, "My partners and the soldiers of the Royal Army are fighting the enemies of Baroque Works! As the Princess of this country, how can I flee right before the battle!"
"This was also Sherlock's intention." Pell sighed somewhat helplessly. "That is what he told me at the time. You are the noble Princess of a nation; mixing with a bunch of pirates will ultimately have negative consequences. Handing you over to the Marines for protection now is the perfect solution."
"Although I also feel somewhat apologetic, as one of the guardian warriors of this country, I cannot refuse his goodwill..."
"How can this be! Even if they are pirates, they are heroes who saved our country!" Vivi's face turned pale, and she silently looked at the white bandage wrapped around her left arm.
"So cunning... Sherlock, you are truly too cunning! We agreed back then... we are partners! We are partners who bet our lives and faced death together!"
Thinking of the Straw Hat crew who were willing to risk their lives for someone they had never met, thinking of Luffy and the others currently sweating, crying, and bleeding for her, thinking of those companions who extended a helping hand when she was at the darkest point of her life, tears once again filled Vivi's eyes...
"..."
Feeling Princess Vivi sobbing silently on his back, Pell remained silent. He flapped his wings, and his flight speed increased once more. Like a white bolt of lightning streaking across the dark, cloud-covered sky, he flew rapidly toward the north.
Crocodile had once stated with extreme pride that the power of a Logia-type fruit is greatly enhanced by the surrounding natural elements. However, conversely, natural elements can also greatly restrict the abilities of a Logia user.
Just like this sudden artificial rainfall, which made Crocodile feel as terrible as if he had eaten shit.
"A dragon stranded in shallow water is teased by shrimp; a tiger fallen to the plain is bullied by dogs." If the Sand Crocodile knew this proverb from the Great Celestial Dynasty, he would definitely nod in deep agreement, because this saying fit his current situation perfectly!
"Gum-Gum—Battle Axe!"
A foot wearing a flip-flop, powered by the super elasticity of the Gum-Gum Fruit, crashed down with a boom. It barely grazed the hem of the Sand Crocodile's coat, stomping a massive crater into the water-logged ground.
"Gum-Gum—Pistol!"
Turning sideways to dodge a straight punch as fierce as a bullet, Crocodile backhanded the ridiculously long arm and sucked the moisture out of it, retreating a few steps in a slightly wretched state.
If this were the past, facing such ordinary physical attacks, Crocodile wouldn't even bother dodging. He would simply turn into elements—easy and pleasant. But now, the sky-filling rain had soaked his entire body. Not only could he not turn into sand at will, but his physical movements had also become abnormally sluggish.
If not for the aid of his Observation Haki, the Sand Crocodile—who was not proficient in Taijutsu—felt he might actually be defeated by this funny pirate who was currently screaming in panic while clutching his arm, which had withered like a tree branch.
"Ahhh! My arm!! It's been sucked dry!!!" Luffy looked at his right arm and screamed in shock. Then, struck by a sudden idea, he unslung the water barrel from his back, threw his head back, and chugged wildly. Immediately, his withered right arm was restored to its original state at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Sure enough, Sherlock was right! Sand's weakness is water!" Luffy set the water barrel aside, then pressed down on the straw hat atop his head. Rainwater gathered along the brim of the hat, forming two streams that flowed slowly down.
"That's exactly why you stole this country's rain, you bastard Crocodile!!"
"Sherlo? Sherlock? Is it that Warlock again..." Slicking back his somewhat messy hair, the Sand Crocodile's mood hit rock bottom.
Crocodile suddenly realized that whenever he heard Sherlock's name, nothing good ever happened. It was like a fated clash, as if he were cursed.
And the most infuriating thing was that, aside from a photo with an exaggerated expression (provided by Mr. 2), the Sand Crocodile still hadn't seen the Warlock's true self, leaving him with a belly full of evil fire and nowhere to vent it.
Devising strategies within a command tent to win a victory a thousand miles away—this phrase perfectly described Sherlock at this moment.
"I promised Vivi I would send you flying, so I will definitely send you flying!!" The simpleton captain roared at the sky, throwing his entire body forward once again.
"Gum-Gum—Gatling!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless fist shadows, carrying howling wind pressure, assaulted the Sand Crocodile like a violent storm. Yet, facing that overwhelming offensive, Crocodile smiled with extreme contempt, his cold eyes filled with mockery.
Turning his head, turning sideways, jumping back, sliding laterally... Although they looked like extremely casual movements, Luffy was shocked to discover that this crocodile bastard with the big scar on his face seemed to predict his attack positions in advance, perfectly dodging the massive barrage of punches.
(Damn it, he has such a tall body, so why are his movements so agile?)
(This is just like Ace back then; no matter how I attack, I can't hit him!)
With a forceful swing of the golden hook on his left hand, Crocodile parried Luffy's fist to the side. He wiped the rainwater from his face and mocked the panting Straw Hat boy: "You didn't think you could bridge the gap between us just with this rain, did you?"
Even if he couldn't turn into elements at will and his movement speed had become extremely slow, the Sand Crocodile, relying on his superb Observation Haki, could still dodge attacks like Luffy's with ease.
"I am a Shichibukai! How could a rookie pirate like you possibly defeat me!?" As he spoke, Crocodile once again slicked back his soaking wet hair. (Ps: As a major villain with a slicked-back hairstyle, the hair must never get messy!)
"Shichibukai? So what..." The simpleton captain blew two jets of white steam from his nose in anger. Clenching his fists, he shouted loudly:
"If you are a Seven Warlord, then I am—an Eight Warlord!!!!"
Hearing the simpleton captain's declaration, which sounded like a childish tantrum, Crocodile's right hand, which was fixing his hair, instantly froze on his head. His originally cool and cruel face now wore an astonished expression that said, "Are you meowing kidding me?" It looked somewhat comical.
(I was actually fighting back and forth with this kind of funny pirate just now?? Have I really fallen to this level?)
The proud and arrogant Sand Crocodile felt a strong sense of shame. He felt that engaging with such a second-rate pirate, who was 'Low' enough to reach the New World, was simply beneath his dignity.
Perhaps not realizing his speech was powerful enough to make the Sand Crocodile question his life choices, Luffy took advantage of the latter's dazed state and charged forward again, his two arms stretching back exaggeratedly.
"Gum-Gum..."
(Hmph! Such a straightforward attack is useless!) The Sand Crocodile, snapping back to reality, sneered internally. He was just about to make a dodging motion when his body suddenly felt the specific weakness characteristic of Devil Fruit users.
"This feeling is... Seastone!" Crocodile's expression changed drastically. He looked down with difficulty and discovered a cloud of white smoke, moving like a living creature, wrapped around his feet. A familiar Jitte was pressing firmly against his leg with its tip.
"Smo..."
"...Bazooka!"
BOOM!
Before Crocodile could finish his sentence, two palms carrying astonishing force imprinted themselves solidly onto his stomach. A muffled sound like a thunderclap instantly erupted from the point of impact. A severe pain, both familiar and unfamiliar, instantly seized the Sand Crocodile's entire consciousness. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his tall body spun as it flew rapidly backward, smashing a distant stone house into ruins.
Smack!
Retracting his hands, Luffy looked at the Sand Crocodile buried in the rubble and revealed a smile full of confidence.
"Don't let your guard down, Straw Hat!" Wiping the blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, Smoker sat up with extreme difficulty. "Crocodile isn't that easy to defeat..."
The simpleton captain turned toward the voice and looked earnestly at the white-haired man, whose face was covered in dust and grime.
A long pause...
"Who are you?" Luffy asked with a face full of confusion.
"..." The White Hunter was so angry he nearly spat blood, the smoke on his body churning violently.
Seeing that familiar white smoke, Luffy's face instantly showed a look of panic.
"Ah! I remember now, you're that Smoke Guy!"
"When did you get here? I didn't notice you at all just now!"
"Also, what's with the injuries on your body?"
(I've been meowing lying here for ages! Are you blind?! How are you just as naturally airheaded as Tashigi!!!)
Smoker rolled his eyes, feeling as if ten thousand Sea Kings were stampeding through his heart.
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