The banners of rebellion and royalty whipped violently in the desert wind. Alubarna trembled beneath the clash of soldiers — steel against steel, cries rising like a broken choir. The once-proud capital of Alabasta had become a war zone.
At the heart of it, on the execution platform built atop the palace steps, Crocodile stood tall.
His golden hook gleamed beneath the desert sun. His sand crackled like a living thing, wrapping around his feet, extending in every direction like a growing storm.
Beside him, Vivi was chained, arms bound behind her back, mouth gagged with cloth. Her eyes burned — not with fear, but fury. The people she loved were killing each other below. And the one orchestrating it all was ready to end her life.
Crocodile's voice rang out over the battlefield like thunder.
"Let this be the final lesson. The kingdom is a tool. Power belongs to those who dare to claim it."
Guards parted around him, unsure, breath held.
Civilians watching from rooftops gasped, helpless.
He raised his hook.
"Farewell, princess."
But then—
The sky shook.
Not thunder. Not cannonfire.
Something… deeper.
The wind stopped.
Time paused.
And in the silence, a figure appeared at the base of the palace.
Rex.
Coat fluttering.
Hair tousled from battle.
Eyes sharp, steady, glowing faintly in the golden light.
He didn't rush.
He walked.
Each step heavy, echoing on the stone.
People turned.
Rebels and soldiers alike stopped fighting to look.
Crocodile frowned.
"…You."
Rex stepped into view, voice calm.
"Let her go."
Crocodile's smirk returned. "You think you're a hero?"
"I don't need to be a hero," Rex said. "I just need to be enough to stop you."
The Battle Begins – Rex vs. Crocodile
Crocodile raised his hand.
Sand spiraled into a cyclone and launched downward like a tidal wave.
Rex didn't move.
Until—
BOOM—!!
A pulse of energy exploded from his palm — a rotating sphere of force, launched forward with perfect control.
Rasengan.
The swirling sphere collided with Crocodile's sandstorm.
And punched a hole through it.
Crocodile's eyes widened.
"What kind of ability is that?! That's not Haki!"
Rex was already moving — sliding across the sand with incredible speed, hand glowing again.
SHUNK.
Crocodile countered with a wall of sand.
Rex leapt over it and landed behind him.
But Crocodile turned into sand and reformed across the field, grinning.
"You can't touch me. I'm a Logia."
Rex exhaled.
And formed a second hand seal.
A shadow clone appeared beside him in a poof of smoke.
The clone charged.
Crocodile struck.
It dispersed.
And that moment of distraction was enough—
Rex flashed forward, hand crackling with blue lightning.
"Chidori."
He slammed the strike into Crocodile's ribs — and this time, it hit something solid.
Crocodile gasped.
Rex flipped backward, landing light on his feet.
"You can be touched," Rex said. "If I'm fast enough."
The Crowd Watches in Shock
From rooftops and windows, soldiers and rebels alike stared.
No one recognized what they were seeing.
This wasn't a Devil Fruit.
This wasn't Haki.
This was something else.
"What… what is he?" someone whispered.
"Is he one of the Seven Warlords too?"
"No," a royal guard muttered, eyes wide. "He's something older…"
Crocodile Roars
He launched sand spears in every direction, turning the battlefield into a deathtrap.
Rex sprinted through it all, cloak torn, feet light.
And then…
He stopped.
Hands apart.
He whispered the words.
"Kamehameha…"
The ground trembled as energy began to build between his palms.
A thin blue light.
Then thicker.
Glowing.
Buzzing with power.
Luffy's voice echoed from a nearby rooftop.
"WHAT IS HE DOING?!"
Usopp screamed. "THAT'S NOT REAL!! THAT'S A MYTH!!"
But Rex didn't flinch.
He raised his arms—power compressed, focused, spiraling tighter.
"...HA!!"
A beam of pure energy burst forward, tearing across the platform like a dragon made of light and fury.
Crocodile screamed as it collided — sand evaporating, armor cracking.
The platform shattered beneath his feet.
Vivi rolled free from the edge as chains snapped from the pressure.
Silence.
The smoke cleared.
Rex stood alone on the broken palace steps, eyes glowing faintly, steam rising from his gloves.
Crocodile lay beneath rubble, his sand broken, body stunned.
He tried to stand.
Rex moved one step forward.
And in a flash of black and red light, his blade appeared — forged of sheer will and force, a manifested sword unlike anything seen before.
Bankai: Tensa Form — Activated.
Even the wind paused.
"What… is this…?" Crocodile whispered, trembling.
Rex didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
He slashed.
And the battle ended.
Aftermath – The Whisper of the World
Crocodile was defeated.
Vivi was free.
The civil war stopped, not with words…
But by the presence of something older than history.
The rebels surrendered.
The soldiers laid down their weapons.
And the people whispered one word, again and again—
"Michael."