"Wh-what?!" Usopp was struck by lightning, his long nose stiff with fear. "Holy crap! When did I get exposed?!"
He looked around frantically, only to find that his companions all had an expression of "we already knew."
Luffy stepped forward, his right arm instantly covered in dark Armament Haki: "Crocodile! I'm going to send you flying!"
"Interesting..." A cruel glint flashed in Crocodile's eyes. "Then I'll take care of you, brat, followed by Fire Fist Ace, and then the rest of you trash."
His golden hook pointed at Ron, "Let your brother taste the feeling of his siblings dying one by one!"
Ron, however, shrugged calmly: "Whatever, go ahead."
Smoker, with a cigar in his mouth, white smoke swirling around him: "This idiot..." He chuckled softly, "Does he still think these people are ordinary rookie pirates?"
Then his gaze swept over the ready-to-fight Luffy, Ace, and Zoro, "There's going to be a good show to watch soon."
Crocodile completely ignored everyone's reactions. He grinned ferociously and raised his golden hook: "Sandstorm!"
A huge sand blade tore through the air, but Luffy remained motionless, his dark fist punching towards the sand blade.
"Gum-Gum... Armament: Rocket!"
"Boom!"
The sand blade was no match for Armament Haki and instantly disintegrated.
Crocodile's pupils constricted: "Armament Haki?!"
"Hehe..." Luffy grinned, "There's even stronger stuff!"
Crocodile's expression finally changed. He has Armament Haki?
How can I fight this? My version hasn't been updated yet!
Crocodile's face was terrifyingly grim, veins bulging on his forehead. He stared intently at the group in front of him, especially the straw-hatted brat—who could use Armament Haki so skillfully!
"Hmph, mere rookies..." He gritted his teeth, his golden hook glinting coldly in the sunlight, "Don't think that just because you know a bit of Armament Haki, you can be arrogant in front of me!"
Though shocked, his pride as a Shichibukai would not allow him to retreat. Crocodile suddenly waved his hand, and a violent sandstorm instantly condensed into a massive sandstorm: "Desert Spada!"
Overwhelming sand blades howled towards him, but Luffy showed no fear, his dark fist meeting them: "Gum-Gum... Armament: Gatling!"
"Bang bang bang!"
Countless fist shadows imbued with Armament Haki collided with the sand blades, erupting in deafening roars. As the dust cleared, Luffy's arm had several bloodstains, but his eyes were even more determined.
"You've got some skill..." Crocodile sneered, then suddenly his body flickered, elementalizing to appear behind Luffy, "But you're too green!" His golden hook stabbed directly at Luffy's back.
"Luffy, look out!" Usopp exclaimed.
In the nick of time, Luffy's body twisted strangely, narrowly dodging the fatal blow. He countered with an Armament Haki-covered spinning kick: "Gum-Gum... Armament: Whip!"
"Bang!"
Crocodile was kicked back heavily, sliding dozens of meters across the sand before regaining his balance. He wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "This brat... his combat intuition is that strong?"
The battle grew more intense!
Crocodile constantly changed tactics: sometimes elementalizing into a sandstorm for long-range attacks, sometimes engaging in close-quarters combat. His rich combat experience made Luffy suffer a lot, and he was quickly covered in wounds.
"It's useless!" Crocodile grinned ferociously, a strange purple layer suddenly covering his golden hook, "Poison Hook!"
Luffy narrowly dodged, but his clothes were still torn, immediately turning an abnormal purple, followed by a sizzling sound as they vaporized!
"Luffy!" Chopper shouted anxiously from a distance.
"I'm fine!" Luffy gritted his teeth and tore off his sleeve, revealing his skin, which had already returned to normal, "Poison resistance is also part of the special training!"
Crocodile's pupils constricted: "What?!"
Taking advantage of his distraction, Luffy suddenly took a deep breath, his body swelling like a balloon: "Gum-Gum... Armament: Giant Stamp!"
A massive black foot descended from the sky. Crocodile hastily elementalized to dodge but was still grazed on the shoulder, immediately bleeding profusely.
"Damn brat!" He roared, unleashing his strongest killing move, "Sandstorm: Grand Mortar!"
The entire desert seemed to boil, a sky-obscuring sandstorm enveloping the two. Those outside could only hear the continuous clashes and Crocodile's enraged roars from within:
"Die!"
"Why won't he go down?!"
"You monster!"
Finally, the sandstorm gradually subsided. When the view cleared, everyone saw a shocking scene—
Luffy was covered in blood but still stood tall, his fist deeply embedded in Crocodile's abdomen. The latter's eyes rolled back, blood constantly overflowing from the corners of his mouth as he slowly knelt to the ground.
"I told you..." Luffy gasped, a victorious smile on his face, "I'd send you flying!"
The last things Crocodile heard were the crisp sound of his golden hook hitting the ground and the gasps of the Marines in the distance. Before falling into darkness, he had only one thought:
Is this... really a rookie pirate?!
As Crocodile was defeated, Smoker immediately strode forward, cigar smoke swirling around his mouth:
"Heh, weren't you quite arrogant just now?" Then the soldiers handcuffed the unconscious Crocodile with Sea Stone handcuffs. "Now you've fallen into my hands."
On the other side,
Chopper and Usopp were confronting Mr.4 Beb and Miss. Christmas.
Chopper's small hooves tightly gripped two bottles of medicine: "Judo Potion and Strength Potion... Although other potions haven't been developed yet due to insufficient materials..." He took a deep breath, "But these two bottles should be enough!"
Just then,
"Chopper, step back." Usopp suddenly reached out and stopped him, his long nose casting an exaggerated shadow in the sunlight, "This small matter, just leave it to me, Great Usopp!"
"Wh-what?!" Chopper's blue nose twitched, his big eyes filled with shock, "There are two people opposite! You, can you do it?!"
Usopp's mouth curved into a smile. He slowly raised his Kuro Kabuto sniper rifle, faint Observation Haki swirling around the gun body: "Sure-kill: Enhanced Stardust!"
Miss. Christmas was still drilling around in the sand, shrilly laughing: "Long-nosed boy, you think this toy can hit—",
Before she finished speaking, Usopp's bullet had already drawn a strange arc, accurately piercing through the sand created by Miss. Christmas and directly hitting Mr.4 Beb's forehead!
"Bang!"
Mr.4's massive body crashed to the ground, his four-ton club clanging as it hit the sand.
"Wh-what?!" Miss. Christmas poked her head out of the sand, her rat-like face filled with disbelief, "Beb?!"
Chopper's jaw almost dropped to the ground: "U-Usopp... when did you get so strong?!"
Usopp spun his rifle with a flourish, his long nose held high: "This is the power of 'Sniper King'!" He deliberately lowered his voice, "Observation Haki locked on, there's no escaping!"
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