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Chapter 126: Luffy vs. Crocodile (I)
Ganyu stopped in her tracks and turned around, her red-violet eyes gazing quietly at the group.
Her gaze swept over the faces of Nami, Usopp, and Chopper one by one, before shifting to a secluded corner on the side of the street.
There, a tall, black-haired beauty leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching them with a faint, enigmatic smile.
It was Robin, who had been quietly following them into the city.
Upon seeing Daz Bonez, Bon Clay, and the others, Robin had wisely chosen to conceal her presence. If she were discovered with the Straw Hats by Baroque Works agents at this moment, she would undoubtedly be branded a traitor. She wasn't ready to declare her stance just yet.
Ganyu gave a slight nod to Robin, then looked back at the human-reindeer trio with a teasing expression.
"If you don't come with me, you'll have to stay here with Robin."
Hearing this, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all shuddered.
The three turned their heads almost simultaneously to look at Robin in the corner. The black-haired woman offered them a gentle smile, but in their eyes, that smile was laced with unfathomable danger.
To them, Robin was still a figure wrapped in mystery and menace. The Vice-President of Baroque Works, the partner of a Warlord of the Sea—her eternal calm and composure were unsettling in themselves. No matter how they looked at it, being left alone with this woman was no different from a lamb walking into a tiger's den.
"Uh..."
Nami swallowed hard, forcing a stiff smile onto her face.
"Ganyu, I think it's better if we enter the city with you. We're crewmates, after all! How could we let you go on an adventure alone?"
"Haha, you're absolutely right!"
Usopp immediately straightened his back and slapped his chest. "I suddenly feel like my illness is cured! Breathing is smooth, heartbeat is normal! I can enter the city! No problem at all!"
Chopper looked at Nami, then at Usopp, and finally at Ganyu, nodding vigorously. "I-I'm going too! We can't leave Ganyu alone!"
Ganyu rubbed her temples, feeling a bit speechless.
These guys...
She tried to comfort them with a gentle tone. "Don't worry. With me here, there won't be any danger. We're mainly going to find Luffy and check on his condition. If it really comes down to fighting Crocodile, that's Luffy's battle. We just need to provide support from the sidelines."
These words put the Weakling Trio slightly at ease. At least the pressure of facing a Warlord head-on wouldn't be on them.
"T-then it's a promise," Nami said, holding up a finger with a serious expression. "If the situation looks bad, we retreat immediately! Absolutely no fighting a losing battle!"
"Agreed!" Usopp and Chopper shouted in unison.
Ganyu smiled and nodded. "Okay, it's a promise."
In her heart, however, she thought: When the time comes, it won't be up to you.
.....
In the center of Rainbase, on the wide plaza in front of Rain Dinners.
This place had already transformed into a battlefield.
Luffy stood in the center of the plaza, his arms creating countless afterimages in the air as he bombarded a floating figure of yellow sand with all his might.
His punches were too fast to see; only the continuous, cracking sounds of impact could be heard.
Sheets of yellow sand were shattered and scattered, turning into a splash of golden dust that filled the sky, as if a golden rain were falling upon this prosperous city.
The onlookers retreated in droves. Some raised their arms to shield themselves from the flying grit, while others stared dumbfounded at this battle that defied common sense.
"It doesn't feel right..."
Luffy's expression grew serious. He could feel his fists hitting the target, but the tactile feedback was strange.
It wasn't the solid impact of hitting a physical body, but a weird sensation... soft, as if striking a flowing sand dune.
He recalled his fight with Smoker in Loguetown.
It was the same back then. His punches clearly hit the white-haired Marine, but it felt like striking air, without any substantial feedback. The opponent's body would dissipate into smoke and then reform.
Could it be that this guy is also...
A memory fragment suddenly flashed through his mind.
Luffy's eyes widened. He remembered! Something Ganyu had told him during a casual chat before they entered Alabasta...
"Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords, is a Logia user. He ate the Sand-Sand Fruit, allowing him to turn his body into sand. Normal attacks won't work on him. To defeat him, you must find his weakness..."
At the time, Luffy had been busy fighting Usopp for meat and had barely listened, forgetting it almost immediately. Only now, amidst the crisis of battle, did the memory resurface.
"Brat," a raspy, magnetic voice echoed from the yellow sand. "You're that guy's brother, aren't you?"
Crocodile's face slowly emerged in the air as the sand aggregated. His expression was complex, his eyes holding a trace of suspicion, but mostly cold killing intent and wariness.
Just moments ago, this kid had fallen from the sky, stood in the middle of the road, and roared for him to come out.
Crocodile, who had been in his office on the top floor of the casino, saw this through the window and almost thought he was hallucinating. But when he heard the roar—"Crocodile, come out here!!!"—he immediately connected it to what Ace had told him yesterday.
"My little brother will be standing in front of you tomorrow."
So, this reckless kid wearing a straw hat, acting like a wild monkey, was "Fire Fist" Ace's brother.
Wait... wearing a straw hat?
Crocodile suddenly realized something else.
He remembered that the rookie pirate crew constantly interfering with Baroque Works' plans and protecting Princess Vivi was called... the Straw Hat Pirates.
The captain was a kid in a straw hat, with a bounty of 30 million Berries, and a rubber user...
All the clues connected in that instant.
"I see..." A cold, murderous sneer surfaced on Crocodile's lips. "So you're that 30 million Berry Straw Hat kid."
His killing intent peaked. Not just because this kid was Ace's brother, but because he was the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates—the leader of the group ruining his plans.
"That's right!"
Luffy clenched his fists, standing straight. His rubber body leaned forward slightly, eyes burning with pure fighting spirit.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!"
The voice, full of conviction, echoed across the Rainbase plaza, clearly reaching the ears of every onlooker.
Everyone who heard it froze for a moment.
Then came a wave of uncontrollable laughter.
"Oi, oi, is this kid serious? Who says stuff like that in public?"
"Become the Pirate King? Hahahaha! Does he even know what he's saying?"
"He's just a brat. Even with a 30 million bounty, in front of Lord Crocodile, he's just throwing his life away!"
"Lord Crocodile, our guardian god! Please take care of this hateful pirate brat!"
Citizens who had rushed over from the casino, shops, and streets, upon understanding the situation, began pleading with their "Guardian God" to deal with these pirates invading their city, just as he always did.
In their eyes, Crocodile was the hero protecting Rainbase and Alabasta, while these pirates were villains destroying the peace.
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