"Did you really think I came completely unprepared?"
Ace kept harassing Crocodile with flames from time to time, while Luffy stuck to him like a stubborn plaster, impossible to shake off no matter what he did. Crocodile's patience was nearly worn away.
He quickly opened up some distance from the two of them, reached out, grabbed the front end of his golden hook, and pulled hard, revealing its true form hidden inside.
Unlike in the original story, the inside of this golden hook was not a venom-coated poison hook. Instead, it was a dark blue-black hook that looked utterly unremarkable.
"What use could something like that possibly have? Divine Fire: Shiranui!"
Two masses of flame appeared in Ace's hands, and he hurled them forcefully at Crocodile.
However, Crocodile's figure suddenly vanished, turning into a cloud of yellow sand. In a desert kingdom like this, he possessed a natural geographical advantage. His body shifted and darted rapidly, moving like a ghost as he appeared behind Ace.
Luffy had only just opened his mouth to warn him when Ace dodged at once, but he was still one step too late.
Crocodile's hook pierced through his body.
Unlike the many times before, this time, when the hook passed through him, it brought out a trace of blood.
An unprecedented sense of weakness enveloped Ace's entire body. His body went limp, and Crocodile took the opportunity to seize him by the neck. The smile on his face was dark and cruel.
"This feeling… It's Seastone!"
Ace's pupils shrank sharply.
He had never expected that hidden beneath Crocodile's golden hook was actually a weapon forged from Seastone.
With gold used as the medium, such a thing would not affect Crocodile himself. Meanwhile, Seastone's hardness and unique properties made it an exceptionally fine weapon. The way Ace felt now was no different from having his entire body submerged in the sea.
As for Seastone, he had only seen it a few times. The only time he had ever touched it directly, it had made him feel extremely uncomfortable. But even that was far from what he was experiencing now.
Had he been more knowledgeable, he would have recognized that the Seastone on Crocodile's golden hook was of the highest purity found on these seas.
Its place of origin was Wano Country, and at the same weight, its value exceeded gold by more than three times.
"Too weak! Is this all the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates amounts to?"
Crocodile was about to deliver the killing blow.
However, Luffy, who was nearby, charged forward as though he had no regard for his own life.
He threw a punch.
Crocodile paid it no mind, because there was no way a rookie who had only just set out to sea could possess Armament Haki.
Yet that fist struck him squarely in the face.
With a muffled bang, Crocodile was sent flying backward. Ace was flung away as well.
Crocodile half-knelt on the ground, touching his faintly reddened face. For a moment, even he was stunned.
"Hahahaha! That idiot Crocodile got careless, didn't he? Serves him right!"
Underground, Sheen laughed so hard he nearly fell over, slapping Tiger's thigh with all his strength.
"Bastard! Slap your own thigh! Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"
The steady Tiger would only reveal his most primitive nature in front of Sheen. The two of them immediately started wrestling after a minor disagreement, though it was mostly just playful fooling around.
Roldy sat on the sofa, the corner of his mouth slightly raised.
"Did he use blood? Indeed, sand will solidify when it comes into contact with liquid. Was that pure luck, or does he have some hidden wit?"
Water was the best way for someone without Haki to counter Crocodile's Devil Fruit.
However, judging from Luffy's appearance, he must have just touched the wound on his own chest and gotten a little blood on his hand. It was probably a lucky accident.
Still, that young man's luck really was good enough.
Robin stood quietly at the side.
She did not possess Observation Haki and could not see what was happening outside, but from the reactions of Roldy and the others, she could still read a little into the situation.
Had Crocodile suffered a loss?
Straw Hat Luffy?
Someone like that was actually qualified to wound Crocodile?
No one understood Crocodile's terror better than she did. During the years she had spent with him, every day had felt like surviving on the edge of a blade. The aura emitted by that overbearing man had always made her shudder.
Robin silently memorized Luffy's name.
On the surface.
Crocodile was stunned at first. Then, rage burned through him.
Veins bulged on his forehead. To him, that punch was simply an extraordinary humiliation!
A top executive under an Emperor-level force, a figure in the Sabaody Archipelago who had once seemed as untouchable as the heavens, had actually been injured in Paradise by some unknown little pirate?
Although this wound would recover completely within a few breaths, he was still furious.
"Brat, you've got guts! I originally didn't intend to get serious with you people. But since you insist on seeking death, then… pay the price!"
The aura around Crocodile changed instantly.
Ace and Luffy had not even had time to feel excited over their discovery. The two of them had just smeared their hands with blood, thinking they now had the strength to fight.
But their thoughts were far too naive.
The devilish training of the giants was not something ordinary people could endure.
But if one withstood it, the returns were incomparable!
Without using his Devil Fruit ability, Crocodile's figure vanished in an instant. His speed was even faster than Soru (Shave) from Marine Headquarters.
In Luffy's eyes, it was no different from teleportation.
Crocodile's tall body appeared in front of him. His hook pierced through one of Luffy's arms. His expression was ferocious as he forcefully flung Luffy into the distance.
With the enhancement of Seastone, Luffy's current body was no different from an ordinary person's. Given Crocodile's monstrous strength, this throw alone was enough to tear off one of Luffy's arms.
Although he could not kill him, crippling him would not be a problem.
"Cross Fire!"
Ace crossed two fingers, and flames shot out explosively, striking Crocodile's golden hook with perfect accuracy and interrupting his next move.
"I'm still your opponent too!"
Ace charged forward and fought Crocodile head-on.
However, even with one hand occupied, Crocodile still held the upper hand!
Luffy struggled desperately, but under the influence of Seastone, his strength had been greatly reduced. Still, without Haki, Crocodile's attacks had difficulty causing any truly effective damage to Ace.
After weighing the pros and cons, Crocodile flung Luffy away. His now-free golden hook stabbed toward Ace's stomach.
At the critical moment, Ace seemed to awaken some mysterious power.
It was as if he had gained a god's-eye view. At an extremely tricky angle, he dodged the blow.
Crocodile frowned.
Observation Haki?
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