"Crocodile—your life ends here!!!"
"Mole Headbutt!!!"
Just as the Sand Crocodile froze in confusion, a shrill and furious cry erupted from beneath his feet!
The next instant, the sand under him loosened, and a massive mole burst out from underground—Miss Merry Christmas, now transformed by her Devil Fruit ability.
The combo of Dig and Headbutt cloaked her in a dense layer of Pokémon energy, turning her whole body into a living battering ram as she lunged straight for Crocodile's most vital point.
"Damn it!"
Cold sweat formed on Crocodile's brow as he instinctively flung his arms outward, using the brute strength of a veteran New World pirate to hurl his two former subordinates away.
A swirl of sand erupted beneath him, forming a rising storm that lifted his body into the air.
Whoosh!
Miss Merry Christmas, her frizzy hair bouncing wildly, shot out of the ground like a rocket during a festival.Her attack missed—she twisted midair, ready to dive again.
Miss Merry Christmas, user of the Zoan-type Mole-Mole Fruit, now carried a pure Ground typing as a Pokémon partner.
Since Red had only one Ground-type TM—Dig—the rest of her moves were Normal-type: Headbutt, Tri Attack, and the auxiliary move Red regarded as a divine skill—Helping Hand!
Missing her mark, she dove headfirst back into the sand, body disappearing in a blink.Gifted at tunneling by nature, her mastery of Dig made her movements underground as free and fluid as a fish in water.
But before Crocodile could even land, something bristling with spikes—like a living sea urchin—rose from the ground beneath him.
Miss Doublefinger had activated her Paramecia-type Spike-Spike Fruit, turning her hands into long, razor-like spikes that formed a new kind of artillery cannon before her chest.
"Cannon Beam!!!" she shouted.
Zzz—!
Silver light, the hue of Steel-type energy, shimmered at the tips of her ten sharpened fingers, gathering in a blinding flash.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous blast split the air.
A brilliant beam of silver light shot through the void, aimed straight at Crocodile suspended above!
Caught midair with no room to dodge, Crocodile took the full brunt of the blast. The beam struck true—his body jerked violently, face twisting as he was hurled backward.
And then—
"Hyperspace Hole!" Red commanded, his voice calm and precise.
A swirling portal of distorted space bloomed behind Crocodile—followed instantly by another beside it.
Crocodile crashed into the first hole and was spit out the second, reversing his trajectory completely.
"He's coming! He's coming!" Mr. 4 lifted his alloy baseball bat, his fat arms trembling with both fear and excitement.
His veins bulged; red, yellow, and blue energy crackled at the bat's tip—Tri Attack, the pinnacle of Normal-type technique.
BOOM!!!
Before Crocodile could react, Mr. 4's swing connected cleanly, striking him dead center. His body bent backward like a prawn, convulsing violently.
In that same moment, lightning arced down the metallic bat into Crocodile's body, sending electric shockwaves through his already soaked frame.
"Ugh—gah—!"
Blood spurted from his mouth as the electric shock and blunt force combined, hurling him like a meteor into the distance.
"What… what is this power!?" Staring at the agents who fought nothing like the subordinates he once commanded, Crocodile's mind spun.
Were these really his people?Or had he been betrayed—trapped from the very start?
But his thoughts shattered when yet another spatial rift appeared in front of him.
"No… if this continues, I'll lose all control of the battlefield!"
Raising his arms, Crocodile gathered two small-scale sandstorms into his palms.
"Sandstorm!!!"
Fwoosh—!
With a violent sweep, twin tempests roared into existence.Crocodile dove into them, letting the spiraling winds carry him out of Red's line of fire—evading the dimensional trap entirely.
"Oh? Getting clever, are we?" Red raised a brow, amused.He waved his arm again—and summoned a massive portal high above the storm, directly connected to the sea.
Rumble—!
A torrent of seawater cascaded down from the sky, soaking the storm and transforming it into a swirling whirlpool suspended midair.
Moments later, a drenched Crocodile was flung from the watery vortex and slammed into a distant rock wall.
BOOM!!!
Stone shattered, burying him in rubble.
At last, the Baroque Works agents halted their assault.
Miss Doublefinger, reverting to her sultry human form, blinked in disbelief. "To think… a Warlord of the Sea could be this pathetic?"
"Pathetic?" Mr. 1, also returned to his normal state, shot her a sharp look. His voice was calm but cutting.
"When you can fight soaked in seawater and still unleash that level of power, then you can talk."
"Besides, we only landed those hits because Lord Red's ability made it possible. "He clenched his fists, recalling how easily Crocodile had blocked his and Mr. 2's combined strike earlier.
Ace's words echoed in his mind—
Too weak!
Compared to the true monsters of this world, their power was still insignificant.The bitter truth gnawed at him, stirring a burning resolve.
Once this battle ended, he would beg his new master Red—for strength. No matter the price.
"I know, I know~" Miss Doublefinger pouted, rolling her eyes.
Then—A strange vibration rippled from the rubble burying Crocodile.
The rocks disintegrated into dust, eroded into sand in seconds.A hand burst out from below, followed by Crocodile's battered figure clawing his way up.
"Why… why have you all become so strong!?"
Sand swirled as he staggered to the ground, coughing up blood.Rage twisted his face; his aura grew heavier, sharper, more domineering.
"Red!!!"
His eyes locked onto the floating trainer above.At last, the arrogance of the Grand Line's veteran pirate gave way to genuine fury—and recognition.
Only now did he truly see Red as a worthy enemy.
"So it was all you…" Crocodile snarled."You're the reason my subordinates turned on me!"
But then his rage turned into mad laughter.
"I'll admit—your power is unlike anything I've seen before!""But if you think that alone lets you stand above me…""You're dead wrong!!!"
"I am… Crocodile!!!"
"AHHHHH!!!"
His roar split the sky.The ground trembled beneath his feet.
Sandstorms exploded outward, forming a colossal desert maelstrom behind him—raging like a god of the sands.
"Whoa—seriously!?" Miss Doublefinger paled, her earlier pride evaporating.The other agents looked equally terrified.
Only Red and Nico Robin remained composed amid the chaos.
Red watched the incoming sandstorm and let out a low whistle."As expected of an old-era powerhouse. Even drenched in seawater, you can still muster this much might…"
"Not even Luffy could pull that off right now."
Despite the compliment, Red merely smiled and spread his arms wide, mimicking Crocodile's stance.
Then—dozens of dimensional holes opened at once, surrounding him in the air.
In an instant, torrents of seawater poured out like waterfalls from the heavens.
Crashhh—!!!
Endless water cascaded down.
"Surf!!!" Red shouted.
BOOM!!!
Under his command, the deluge converged before him, transforming into a towering wave.
Unlike the Pokémon move of the same name, this Surf was composed of genuine seawater—all within Red's control through Hyperspace Hole.
Even on land, Red could turn any battle into a naval war.
A massive tidal wave rose over the desert, rolling toward Crocodile.
The attack itself wasn't as potent as a pure energy-based Surf…but it had one tremendous advantage—
It would never stop.
As long as Red's Pokémon energy held out, he could sustain the onslaught forever.
He uncorked a bottle of Ether and downed it in one gulp. After clearing the Saffron Gym, his daily playtime had expanded to five and a half hours—a power-up almost like pulling an all-nighter.
With that, his resource extraction efficiency had skyrocketed. Cheap medicine? Practically free now.
By raw strength, he still couldn't match Crocodile head-on.
But with boosts and items?
That was another story.
And besides—his goal wasn't to out-damage Crocodile anyway.
"What… what is this!?" Crocodile's eyes widened, disbelief twisting his face.
Then it happened—The sandstorm collided with the tsunami in a divine clash of titans.
At first, the storm's ferocity dominated, shredding the waves apart. But water's persistence soon prevailed—the sea reclaimed what the sand had taken.
The soaked sand fell as rain, pelting Crocodile's body and forming a layer of mud across his frame.
The moisture drained his strength further. He stood motionless, a statue of sand and defeat, staring at the oncoming wave.
The last time he'd seen a sight like this…
He was still young.
With an eighty-million bounty, he had once challenged Whitebeard himself. That day too—a battle between storm and sea.And that day too—the waves had won.
BOOM!!!
The giant wave crashed down upon him.
The desert drank deeply of the sea. Water pooled in the pits and craters, forming glimmering oases under the sun.
Crocodile's body was flung to the far edge of the oasis.
Yet, as before, seawater alone couldn't kill him. The real blow was to his pride—and the memories it dredged up.
Red downed another Ether, then raised his hand again, summoning a new portal.
"Don't just stand there!" he called to the stunned Baroque agents. "He's not down yet!"
"Ah? Oh—oh!!!"
They might not have understood every word, but they caught the meaning instantly. With a shout, the agents dove into the swirling portal and vanished toward the battlefield's end.
(End of Chapter)