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"Crocodile, give me your life!!!"
"Dig Attack!!!"
Just as Crocodile stood bewildered, a shrill voice suddenly erupted from the ground beneath him!
In the next instant, the sand under his feet loosened, and Miss Merry Christmas, transformed into a giant mole, burst from the ground in a shower of sand.
The combination of Dig and Headbutt cloaked her body in a thick layer of Pokémon energy as she launched a fierce attack at Crocodile's lower body!
"Damn it!"
Witnessing this, sweat beaded on Crocodile's forehead as he instinctively swung his arms outward, relying on the brute strength he'd developed as a New World pirate to throw off his two former employees.
The yellow sand immediately swirled, forming an upward-floating hurricane that propelled his body quickly away from his original position.
WHOOSH!
Miss Merry Christmas, with her bristly, curly hair, soared through the air like a flying monkey during a festival celebration.
Having missed her initial attack, she twisted mid-air to reorient herself.
As a Zoan Devil Fruit user of the Mogu Mogu no Mi (Mole-Mole Fruit), Miss Merry Christmas possessed a single Ground-type attribute in Pokémon terms.
Since Red currently had only a Ground-type TM for Dig, the remaining three moves he'd given Miss Merry Christmas were all Normal-type techniques—Headbutt, Tri Attack, and the support move that Red considered almost divine: Helping Hand!
Seeing her attack fail, Miss Merry Christmas didn't waste words. She assumed a diving posture mid-air and, upon landing, immediately plunged back into the sand.
Already skilled at burrowing, her Dig move now allowed her to treat sand and soil as negligible obstacles, moving freely underground!
Before Crocodile could fully land, another figure appeared beneath him—a sea urchin-like being covered in spikes.
Miss Doublefinger, having activated her Spike-Spike Fruit abilities, transformed her fingers into sharp spikes and arranged them before her, forming what resembled a strange, multi-barreled turret.
"Flash Cannon!!!" she shouted.
ZZZZZZ~
Silver light representing the Steel-type suddenly bloomed at the tips of her ten finger-spikes, quickly condensing!
BOOM!!!
A deafening blast rang out!
A bright silver beam cut through the air, striking Crocodile directly as he remained suspended mid-air!
This time, lacking maneuverability while airborne, Crocodile had nowhere to dodge. His body was struck directly by Miss Doublefinger's Flash Cannon, his expression contorting as he was propelled backward.
At this moment, Red extended his hand again: "Hyperspace Hole!"
Instantly, a circular spatial portal materialized behind Crocodile.
Simultaneously, another Hyperspace Hole appeared nearby.
Crocodile flew backward directly into the first portal, only to emerge from the second hole, now traveling in the opposite direction.
"Here it comes! Here it comes!"
Mr. 4, somewhat slow-witted, immediately raised the alloy baseball bat in his hand, his face showing both panic and excitement.
His bloated arms suddenly bulged with blue veins.
Red, yellow, and blue energy coalesced around the baseball bat—the universal Normal-type move, Tri Attack!
BOOM!!!
Crocodile, his trajectory altered by the Hyperspace Hole, had no opportunity to react before Mr. 4's bat connected with pinpoint accuracy. His entire body instantly bent into an inverted C-shape, resembling a leaping shrimp.
Simultaneously, dazzling electricity coursed through the metal baseball bat into Crocodile's body, giving his already-soaked form an unwelcome full-body electric shock!
"Urgh... gah..."
His body numbed and struck by the full force of the blow, Crocodile spat out a stream of blood before being launched again like a meteor.
"...What manner of power is this?!"
Witnessing these agents who were completely different from how he remembered them, Crocodile couldn't help but question—were these truly his former subordinates?
Or had he been deceived from the beginning?
However, his thoughts abruptly ceased when he spotted another strange portal materializing before him.
"No! If this continues, I'll completely lose control of this battle!"
His mind racing, Crocodile quickly raised his hands, two small sandstorms condensing in his palms.
"Desert Girasole!!!"
WHOOSH~!
As Crocodile swung his arms forward, two violent sandstorms erupted across the battlefield.
Caught in his own sandstorm, Crocodile was swept off his original trajectory, successfully avoiding the Hyperspace Hole that Red had just created.
"Oh? Learning quickly, I see~" Red raised an eyebrow. Noting that his previous strategy was no longer effective, he waved his arms again, summoning a Hyperspace Hole connected to the sea directly above the sandstorm.
SPLASH--
Seawater surged down from the sky, instantly drenching the sandstorm and forming a suspended vortex that rotated with Crocodile inside.
After several seconds, Crocodile—once again soaked with seawater—was ejected from the vortex and slammed violently against distant rocks.
CRASH!!!
The rock wall collapsed, instantly burying Crocodile beneath the rubble.
At this point, the Baroque Works agents ceased their assault.
Miss Doublefinger, having returned to her usual alluring form, stared blankly at her fingers, muttering:
"I never imagined the Shichibukai would be so weak?!"
"Weak?!"
Mr. 1, also having reverted to normal, questioned her assessment. His eyes flashed as he watched the rubble begin to shake violently.
"Wait until you can activate a Devil Fruit of that caliber while completely soaked in seawater before making such judgments!"
"Besides, we were only able to land hits so easily thanks to Vice Captain Red's abilities!"
Recalling how effortlessly Crocodile had blocked his and Mr. 2's attacks earlier, Mr. 1 felt his heart tighten!
Ace's evaluation of them from the previous day echoed in his mind unbidden...
Too weak!!!
Compared to the true masters of this world, their strength was truly insignificant!
This bloody reality confronted him directly, filling Mr. 1—once the West Blue's premier assassin—with profound frustration!
He resolved that after this battle, he would approach their new leader, Red...
Whether through loyalty or physical training, he needed to find a path to greater strength!
"Of course I know that~"
Hearing her longtime partner's words, Miss Doublefinger pouted her lips unhappily.
At that moment, the rocks pinning Crocodile suddenly behaved strangely.
The hard surface of the stone abruptly crumbled, as if experiencing millennia of erosion in an instant, turning to dust and gravel.
As a breeze blew, all the rocks disintegrated.
A hand emerged from the sand, followed by Crocodile's battered figure.
"Why have you... suddenly become so powerful?!"
Staring at the Baroque Works agents who had mastered various Pokémon moves, Crocodile's confusion was evident.
WHOOSH~!
A gust of sand and dust swept by.
Crocodile slowly descended to the ground under the force of his sandstorm, his chest heaving as he coughed up bright red blood.
"Damn bastard!!!"
His voice hoarse, emotions turning violent, angry, and irrational—yet the aura surrounding him grew more imposing, sharp, and weighty with each passing moment!
"RED!!!"
Crocodile raised his head, fixing Red with bloodshot eyes.
In this moment, he finally discarded the arrogance and contempt he'd developed during his years in Paradise, and regarded Red as a true equal opponent!
Earlier, he couldn't understand why his subordinates would betray him.
But after witnessing the strange powers displayed by Mr. 1 and the others, everything seemed to fall into place!
"You orchestrated all of this, didn't you?!" he shouted at Red.
Yet in the next instant, his expression turned ferocious as he laughed wildly:
"I must admit, your ability is truly unlike anything I've encountered before!"
"But if you believe you can stand arrogantly before me with just this level of power..."
"Then you are hopelessly naive!!!"
"I am... Sir Crocodile!!!"
"HAAAAA--!!!!"
Crocodile released a guttural roar from deep in his throat.
BOOM!
The earth itself seemed to tremble.
Yellow sand suddenly rose behind Crocodile, rapidly condensing into a vast desert storm, like a wrathful desert deity surging toward Red and the others.
"Hey, hey~ You can't be serious?!"
Miss Doublefinger, who had been gloating over defeating Crocodile moments before, now turned deathly pale.
The other agents shared her reaction.
Among those present, only Red and Robin, who had witnessed great battles before, maintained their composure.
Observing the approaching desert storm, Red couldn't help but remark:
"As expected of a veteran top-tier pirate. Though his strength has seriously declined, he can still unleash such power even while soaked with seawater..."
"Even Luffy couldn't manage this right now!"
Despite his words, facing the impending disaster, Red calmly spread his arms, mirroring Crocodile's posture, and suddenly summoned a row of Hyperspace Holes on both sides of his body!!!
In an instant...
Endless seawater cascaded vertically toward the ground below, as if the sky itself had opened.
The waterfall plunged downward like a three thousand-foot cataract!
Before the seawater could fully reach the ground and be absorbed by the endless yellow sand, Red raised his arms again:
"Surf!!!"
BOOM!!!
Under Red's control, the pouring seawater instantly gathered before him.
Unlike Surf created purely from Pokémon energy...
This real seawater from the ocean fell entirely within the control range of Red's Surf move!
With the miraculous power of Hyperspace Hole, he could transform any battle into a naval engagement, even on land!
Thus, a massive wave that blotted out the sun appeared bizarrely in this arid desert, surging rapidly forward.
Although a Surf attack composed of actual seawater lacked the aggressive power of one condensed from pure Pokémon energy, it possessed one significant advantage:
As long as Red's Pokémon energy wasn't exhausted, the seawater supply was endless and would never cease!
A bottle of PP Up appeared in Red's hand, which he drank with practiced ease.
After clearing Saffron Gym, his overall strength had further improved, and his daily game time had suddenly increased to 5.5 hours!
It was almost equivalent to staying up all night!
The abundance of PP also meant Red had no concerns about using some seemingly trivial items.
In terms of raw combat power, he might not yet match Crocodile.
But with these enhancements, the outcome remained uncertain.
Moreover, Red's purpose in creating these waves wasn't simply to compete with Crocodile's destructive potential!
"No... Impossible?!"
Seeing the suddenly manifested tidal wave, Crocodile's expression turned ugly, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.
The next moment...
The boundless sandstorm and the surging waves collided with spectacular force, as if two gods wrestled upon this very land!
Initially, the howling sand and dust gained the upper hand, piercing and breaking through the waves.
However, the water's inherent flexibility soon allowed it to recover its form!
The sand that had collided with it became saturated with seawater, no longer responsive to Devil Fruit powers, and fell as heavy, gravelly rain.
The mud-like gravel struck Crocodile's body, gradually burying him like a small mud man.
The seawater hidden within this mud and sand continuously sapped his strength.
Yet at this moment, he seemed transformed into a statue, staring motionlessly at the tsunami-like waves before him.
The last time he had witnessed such a scene...
It was in his youth...
When, with a bounty of 80 million Berries, he had led his pirate crew to challenge the then-rising sea power, Whitebeard.
That day had featured the same contest between sandstorm and waves.
And the outcome had been identical...
The waves defeated the sandstorm!
CRASH!!!
The surging waves crashed into Crocodile.
Under this deluge, the formerly parched desert instantly became moistened, with puddles accumulating in sand depressions like scattered oases.
Crocodile was thrown violently to the edge of this newly-formed wetland.
As mentioned before, without Surf moves enhanced by concentrated Pokémon energy, the damage was limited.
Beyond reminding Crocodile of unpleasant memories and weakening him with seawater, it wasn't enough to inflict fatal damage!
After consuming another PP Up, Red immediately extended his hand to summon a Hyperspace Hole, addressing the dumbfounded agents around him:
"Don't just stand there!"
"He hasn't been completely defeated yet!"
"Go finish what we started!!!"
"Huh?...Right, right!!!"
Though some didn't fully comprehend Red's instructions, these clever agents quickly grasped his intent, immediately diving into the Hyperspace Hole to reach the distant battlefield.