In the melee between Luffy, Smoker, and Crocodile, the one at a disadvantage was definitely Luffy, the only one who wasn't a Logia.
His Rubber Gatling didn't deal any damage no matter who it hit, leaving Luffy both frustrated and angry.
By rights, Smoker should have joined forces with Crocodile to take Luffy down, but in the end Smoker followed his own judgment and focused more of his attacks on Crocodile.
Although he had no intention of teaming up with Luffy, it did produce a strange balance in the fight.
Crocodile was about to lose his mind. His original idea had been to have Baroque Works tie up Charles and create chaos, while he seized the chance to take Robin and force out the location of the Poneglyph recording Pluton's whereabouts.
He had even been prepared to abandon the Utopia plan for it.
He hadn't expected a meddling group of Marines to butt in halfway and foul up the first step of his plan.
Not only were Baroque Works held back, the leader, Smoker, openly broke the Marine–Warlord agreement and struck at him.
And because his opponent was also a Logia, the fight was much harder. Compared to that, the late-arriving Luffy was just noisy and not much else.
Charles's earlier arrival from the sky had left a deep mark on Crocodile. With Robin detained, not only was Crocodile's plan stalled, his intelligence network had gone dark.
So he had no idea the Marines had reached Rainbase, which led to the predicament he was in now.
Crocodile knew very well that his aims had completely fallen through. The best course now was to turn and leave.
But his pride wasn't gone yet. You could call last time a snap decision, but to run this time without even seeing Charles's face… how was he supposed to show his face on the seas?
Quicksand condensed into blades, forcing back the dogged Luffy, and he drove a fist into Smoker.
Perhaps this do-or-die situation let Crocodile recover a bit of his former spirit; that punch actually carried the power of Armament Haki.
Caught off guard, Smoker took it full in the face and went flying.
But before Crocodile could savor the feeling of that power's return, a wave of danger closed in on his heart.
He had just started to move when a massive shockwave sent him tumbling.
It was caused by Charles slamming down from the sky and smashing into the ground; had Crocodile been a little slower, he would have been crushed outright.
He rolled across the ground in a wretched heap before stopping, then looked up at Charles. "So it's you again! Who the hell are you? Why are you getting in my way?"
It was the same question Smoker, newly back on his feet, wanted answered, so he looked to Charles as well.
"Oh, my name's Charles," Charles replied. "As for why I'm giving you trouble…
Last time it was a private grudge, but this time it's work. Our Fairy Tail guild accepted a commission—terms are to take you down. So I won't be letting you run this time."
Crocodile frowned. "A bounty hunter? That's easy. Whatever they offered you, I'll double—"
"Don't get it twisted," Charles cut him off. "Since I've accepted a commission under the name of Fairy Tail, how could I abandon it over the pay?"
Negotiations failed, and Crocodile finally understood only one path remained: defeat Charles.
So he stopped talking and launched his attack.
In truth, Crocodile hadn't counted on negotiating from the start, so the moment Charles appeared he'd already been ready to fight.
The sand beneath Charles's feet had been under his control for some time, and it surged up to wrap around Charles.
Crocodile made a squeezing motion with his outstretched hand, and the yellow sand tightened further.
He had just meant to drain the moisture from Charles's body through the sand when the mass exploded with a boom, and Charles shot skyward wreathed in flames.
Just then Luffy rushed over shouting, "Hey, Charles, don't butt in! I haven't lost to him yet!"
"This isn't the time to talk about who was here first!"
Charles's answer only made Luffy more anxious; he turned and charged at Crocodile, trying to seize the initiative.
Being looked down on like that, Crocodile couldn't stand it. He opened his palm and hurled a tornado of sand.
"Sandstorm!"
The little sand twister expanded rapidly the instant it left his hand, raising a sky-darkening sandstorm.
In this battlefield perfectly suited to his powers, Crocodile could easily manipulate the very weather.
Luffy was caught up and flung far away.
For Charles, though, even a sandstorm at this level could only block vision; it couldn't actually hurt him.
Cursing the "damnable monster" in his heart, Crocodile turned to sand and slipped into the storm.
Charles also discovered a particular feature of Logias: after elementalizing, they merged into the environment even more completely.
When Crocodile vanished, his aura spread everywhere; for a moment Charles couldn't lock down his position.
But in that state, Crocodile clearly had no way to attack either. Charles didn't panic; all he needed to do was seize the moment Crocodile's true body reformed.
He turned his head; firelight drew two red lines through his pupils, and with a lift of his hand he caught the lunging gold hook.
He snapped a kick up—but the pressure on his hand lightened as the golden shell covering the hook at Crocodile's wrist slipped off, and Crocodile himself backed away.
At the same instant, Crocodile slashed with his other hand, turning quicksand into a scimitar that cut toward Charles.
"Desert Jewel Blade!"
Charles drew back his kicking leg and, in the same motion, chopped with a knife-hand and shattered the sand blade.
By then Crocodile had looped back around, swinging the hook to snag Charles.
With the golden shell peeled away, the hook revealed a metal structure riddled with tiny hollows.
Most frightening, a purplish-black liquid was oozing from the holes—a deadly poison by the look of it.
This was the method Crocodile thought most likely to change the battle: even a slight scratch, and even if Charles didn't die of poison, he would lose most of his fighting ability—or so Crocodile believed.
In the next instant, Charles's fist smashed his confidence along with the poisoned hook.
Metal fragments and venom sprayed away, and Crocodile had no choice but to face Charles's counterattack head-on.
Charles didn't hold back—one punch sent Crocodile flying, then he stepped forward and caught him to drive a second fist into his chest, sending him hurtling even faster.
Another step, another punch. Seven steps in a row, seven blows landed. Crocodile's blood sprayed in midair, and no one knew how far he was knocked.
A Warlord of the Sea, reduced to a punching bag in front of Charles.
Charles stood where he was and flexed his fingers.
The feel of that last punch had been odd. He sensed a peculiar repulsion at the point of impact; Crocodile hadn't taken that heaviest blow cleanly.
He'd felt that before—when fighting Kaido.
It was the power of Armament Haki. Crushed to the limit, Crocodile's survival instincts finally recalled a strength he'd once had.
Bloody at the mouth and brow, Crocodile reappeared, eyes vicious as he stared at Charles.
"Since you've pushed me this far, I'll make sure you regret it!"
Charles still wore a relaxed look. A hyena waking up won't beat a lion—much less a dragon.
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.
Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.