Struggling to stand up using Shigure for support, Tashigi looked up at the hazy yellow sky, then lowered her head to look at the Marines still unconscious from Robin's joint locks.
Her dirty face was filled with frustration.
"I... I'm just too weak!"
Whoosh...
A cloud of yellow sand drifted over from the distance. Perhaps to save time, or maybe because Crocodile simply didn't view these Marines as a threat, he roared past the blue-haired female Marine without stopping, nearly knocking Tashigi, whose joints were still aching, off her feet.
"Crocodile..."
Adjusting her slightly crooked glasses, Tashigi thought for a moment, and her expression suddenly turned extremely grim.
"Oh no! Something has happened to Captain Smoker!"
Thinking of this, the female Marine, concerned for her superior, didn't dare stay a moment longer. Disregarding her own injuries, she stumbled but ran quickly toward the Royal Palace.
In front of the Royal Palace, amidst a patch of newfound desert.
Who knows how many barrels of water had been poured into the dried-up husk of the blockhead captain, but Monkey D. Luffy had finally returned to his original form. As for Smoker, although he had also recovered his shape, he remained unconscious due to the severity of his injuries. The kind-hearted little reindeer was working hard to treat him.
"Chopper? Sherlock?"
With the help of Chopper's secret medicine, Luffy slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the two familiar companions before him with a somewhat dazed gaze. He blinked, his groggy appearance making it obvious he still hadn't realized what had just happened.
"Luffy! You're finally awake!" Chopper hurriedly put down the bandages in his hands, his eyes filling with tears of excitement. The little reindeer had nearly fainted from fright at the blockhead captain's terrifying appearance just moments ago.
"Your vitality is truly tenacious." Breathing a sigh of relief, Sherlock gently pushed up his glasses. "Since you're awake, let's hurry up and leave this country. The Marines will be here soon."
In Sherlock's plan, Crocodile was ultimately supposed to be dealt with by Marine Headquarters. Luffy was only meant to serve as a distraction, a contingency for unexpected needs.
Princess Vivi had already been taken to a safe place by Pell, and the battle in the plaza was stabilizing thanks to the great efforts of Zoro, Sanji, and the others. Everything was proceeding step-by-step, just as the Demon Warlock had planned. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for the Marines specifically assigned to subjugate Crocodile to join the fray.
Afterward, the Straw Hats could retreat unscathed amidst the chaos, hiding their merit and fame.
"Leave this country? Why??" Luffy sat up, looking at the Demon Warlock beside him, and said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "I haven't sent that Crocodile flying yet."
Hearing this, Sherlock's heart sank. He suddenly realized once again that he had made a very serious mistake.
He seemed to have slightly underestimated just how single-minded this idiot captain was.
"Luffy..." Sherlock's brow furrowed deeply as he explained patiently, "Do you not understand the current situation?"
"You are simply no match for that Warlord of the Sea! Your survival this time was purely luck. If you face Crocodile again, you will die!!!"
"Yeah, yeah, Luffy!" The little reindeer hurriedly chimed in. "Your body is extremely weak after that massive dehydration. Doing it again would be really dangerous!"
"Sherlock has already planned all of this out. There's no need for you to take risks anymore!" Chopper was so anxious he was on the verge of tears.
"Shishishi." Perhaps feeling the concern from his companions, Luffy flashed a very carefree grin.
"Sherlock, Chopper, you have to believe in me..." As he spoke, the blockhead captain slowly stood up, put on his beloved straw hat, and adjusted the brim.
"I won't die!"
Although Luffy's tone revealed an incredibly powerful confidence, Sherlock didn't feel the slightest bit reassured. He pushed up his glasses with a serious expression, his black eyes behind the lenses staring fixedly at the nonchalant blockhead captain, who stared back without showing any weakness.
The dry air suddenly seemed to solidify, as if two invisible force fields were clashing and competing!
Chopper blinked his round deer eyes, looking at Sherlock on the left, then at Luffy on the right, unsure of what to say for a moment.
A long time passed.
"Why do you want to send that Crocodile flying so badly?! Luffy!"
Sherlock let out a breath of turbid air in frustration. He felt genuinely exhausted by this idiot captain of his who wouldn't listen to reason.
"Why are you so stubborn!!!" His tone contained a rare mix of confusion and anger, a departure from his usual composure and calmness.
"It's not that I want to send him flying..."
Luffy shook his head, then slowly turned around, leaving Sherlock and Chopper with a view of his back, which wasn't particularly tall.
"...It's that I have to send him flying!!!"
"I promised Vivi. I'm going to send that bastard crocodile who's tormenting her country flying!"
Luffy walked into the distance without looking back. His steps were firm, his fighting spirit high, and he was surrounded by a powerful aura that was impossible to describe.
"If I can't even keep a promise to a companion..."
Saying this, the blockhead captain reached up to press down on the straw hat atop his head, the corners of his mouth tilting up slightly.
"...then how can I become the Pirate King?"
Luffy's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried the weight of a thousand pounds, as if plucking them out would smash a crater into the ground.
Moreover, his words held a powerful infectiousness, making one feel that he truly could send a Warlord of the Sea like Crocodile flying.
(Pirate King?)
Sherlock's breath hitched, and his eyes widened. After hearing Luffy's words, he was deeply touched. Those plainly spoken words exploded in the Demon Warlock's mind like a clap of thunder, leaving him speechless.
(Luffy, you really are scarily simple...)
At this moment, Sherlock suddenly realized that his plan had been completely useless on this single-minded idiot from the very beginning, because the blockhead captain had always been acting according to his own simple yet clear plan.
And that was: Send Crocodile flying!
(But, what is this inexplicable feeling?)
Sherlock looked at Luffy's receding back with a complex expression. That back, originally somewhat slight, actually made him faintly foresee the figure of its owner returning in triumph!
(Are you going to create a miracle again? Luffy...)
His clenched right fist opened and closed, revealing the Demon Warlock's extremely unsettled state of mind. In the end, Sherlock let out a long breath of turbid air and revealed a look of relief.
"Hey! Luffy, catch."
After speaking, Sherlock took a small bag out of the Mirror Space and threw it hard toward the blockhead captain who had already walked quite a distance.
Luffy hurriedly turned back to catch it. Opening it with a confused look, he focused his gaze, and two beams of light instantly shot from his eyes.
"MEAT!!!"
The blockhead captain let out an excited howl. He stared at the fragrant steak in his hand, his expression like he was seeing a long-lost relative.
"The Marines' food can't compare to Sanji's cooking, but just make do with it for now." Watching his captain gorging himself, Sherlock smiled faintly.
"Only when you're full will you have the strength to go send Crocodile flying."
"Oh! I got it..." Luffy responded indistinctly with his mouth full of food.
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