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"Gear Second!"
Whoosh!
As soon as Luffy spoke, he vanished again—right out of Crocodile's sight.
[Armament Haki—Hardening]
[Gomu Gomu no… Jet Pistol!!!]
Luffy leapt, suddenly appearing behind Crocodile mid-air.
His right fist, covered in Armament Haki, was locked and loaded.
This time, he didn't even need to stretch his arm.
His blood was boiling, roaring through his body like a wild beast.
With eyes blazing, Luffy threw a clean, straight punch.
Just a regular punch—but it exploded through the air like a sonic boom.
BOOM!!!
And this time, it connected—clean.
The sheer power and surprise of the attack slammed Crocodile straight into the ground.
He didn't even have time to turn into sand.
His face hit the floor—hard.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The impact sent Crocodile bouncing across the ground like a ragdoll before he finally came to a stop.
He knelt on one knee and wiped the blood dripping from his nose.
This was the first time Luffy had ever really hurt him.
And deep down, Crocodile was shaken.
Using high-speed blood flow to power up the body? That was Luffy's trick?
Just from that one punch, Crocodile had already figured it out.
And as shocked as he was, he had to admit—a tiny bit of respect crept in.
Because he knew, a move like that… had to come at a cost.
Probably something brutal, like trading away his lifespan.
Crocodile stood up and looked at Luffy.
By now, even the wounds that had already healed on his body had reopened, blood running freely again.
He looked downright tragic.
But in reality, Luffy wasn't nearly as wrecked as Crocodile imagined.
In the original story, post-time skip, Luffy could use Gear Second with way less energy drain.
He didn't even lose lifespan anymore.
Which meant—as long as your body's strong enough, Gear Second doesn't cost you your life.
And after taking the Body-Cleansing Pill, Luffy's body was already at that level.
This new, upgraded Gear Second still put strain on him—but nowhere near fatal levels.
And he wouldn't instantly collapse after ending it like he used to.
Though, credit doesn't go to the Body-Cleansing Pill alone.
Luffy did eat a Mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruit, after all.
He already had crazy recovery and stamina.
Even if it hadn't fully awakened yet, the pill clearly brought out some of that potential.
Of course, neither Luffy nor Crocodile knew any of this.
All Luffy knew was—he could finally hit this guy.
Whoosh!
Luffy vanished again.
Crocodile spun around on reflex, slashing with Desert Spada at his rear.
But Luffy's battle instincts were terrifying.
This time—he came from above.
[Armament Haki—Hardening]
[Gomu Gomu no… Jet Whip!!!]
With all his power, Luffy's leg came crashing down from the sky—aimed right at Crocodile's skull.
SLAM!!!
Direct hit.
Crocodile dropped like a rock, crumpling to his knees.
Luffy's strike was so strong, it even shattered a few of Crocodile's teeth.
"Peh!"
Crocodile spat out a mix of blood and broken teeth.
He pressed his hands to the floor, about to dissolve into sand—
Whoosh!
Too late. Luffy reappeared right in front of him.
[Armament Haki—Hardening]
[Gomu Gomu no… Jet Bazooka!!!]
Both fists smashed forward, focused on one spot—slamming right into Crocodile's chest.
The hit launched him like a cannonball—smashing clean through the wall of the tomb.
He coughed up a massive mouthful of blood mid-flight.
Luffy's three-hit combo in Gear Second had absolutely wrecked him.
"YOU BASTARD!!!"
Suddenly, Crocodile's voice roared again.
He dissolved into sand and rose into the air, forming a massive humanoid figure made of swirling grains.
The air inside the tomb shook with his booming voice:
"What the hell do you want?!"
Crocodile was losing it.
For the first time ever, he screamed at Luffy:
"Why the hell do you keep getting in my way?! Why did you chase me all the way here?!"
"What's it gonna take to make you stop?!"
His rage was so intense that the sand-formed figure in the air began to crack apart.
And when he saw Luffy standing there, expressionless—he snapped even harder.
"Money? Power? Fame?!"
"Tell me what you want, and I'll give it to you!"
"Just say it—what the hell do you want, Straw Hat?!!"
The massive sand form shifted again—leaving only a huge, furious face in the air.
And finally, it let out a deafening scream—hurling a tidal wave of sand at Luffy.
But Luffy just held onto his straw hat, calm as ever.
He stared Crocodile down, and said slowly:
"I want—"
"You to give this country back!"
His voice rang out like thunder—so clear and firm that Crocodile froze in shock.
"What kind of joke is that?!"
The sand figure twisted violently, like it had just heard the most insulting thing ever.
"I haven't even gotten the damn country yet!!!"
Crocodile felt like he'd just been slapped in the face. His dream of a perfect utopia had fallen apart before it even started.
And now this damn brat was yelling at him to "give it back"?!
Too much… you've gone way too far!!!
[Desert Funeral!!!]
With a furious roar from Crocodile, waves of sand erupted from the ground.
They surged toward the figure in the sky.
Boom!
The figure instantly shattered.
Crocodile had completely dissolved into sand and was now sweeping toward Luffy like a storm.
Faced with the raging sandstorm, Luffy didn't dodge.
Instead, he walked straight into it—step by step.
Letting the flying sand and debris cut into his skin.
He slowly spoke up:
"When you stepped on this island and started your plan…"
"This country was already gone!"
Luffy's eyes snapped wide open, locked dead-on to the swirling sand in front of him.
Images flashed through his mind.
Vivi kneeling, crying and begging them for help.
The old restaurant owner, tears running down his face, pleading with him to defeat Crocodile.
…
Luffy clenched both fists and shouted:
"If this is still their country…"
"Then they should be able to smile with all their hearts!!!"
[Armament—Hardening]
[Gum-Gum—Jet Gatling!!!]
Luffy's fists, now coated in Armament Haki, pummeled the sandstorm in front of him.
Bam bam bam!!!
Finally, Crocodile couldn't hold out any longer and was forced to reveal himself again.
Spurt!!!
Crocodile, covered in bruises and fist marks, coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying.
"....."