Hearing Luffy utter such arrogant words, Crocodile was completely enraged.
At the same time, his thoughts were fully pulled back from his previous daze.
Looking at Luffy, who now seemed to wield purple-black lightning, Crocodile's eyes still held infinite shock and disbelief.
He roared in disbelief,
"How is this possible?!"
"How could you possess such power?"
"You're just a rookie who just set sail; how could you master such top-tier power?!"
Besides shock, Crocodile's eyes also held infinite rage.
So far, the only person he recognized was Whitebeard, who is now known as the strongest man in the world.
And the power Luffy is currently demonstrating is the same as Whitebeard's, the most supreme power on this vast sea.
This made Crocodile involuntarily think of Whitebeard and his failure.
Consequently, he transferred his anger towards Whitebeard onto Luffy at this moment.
Crocodile's expression suddenly turned incredibly ferocious, his eyes spewing with rage, and his arm instantly transformed into a sky full of yellow sand.
"Desert Spada!"
Crocodile roared.
His sand-transformed hand instantly condensed into four incredibly sharp, giant sand blades.
This move of his was incredibly powerful, capable of cutting through iron and stone; it was an enhanced version of Desert Spada.
While the regular Desert Spada was already sufficient to cleave a gully in the desert, the power of this enhanced version was even more incredible.
In Luffy's eyes, he watched as the four incredibly fast and sharp sand blades rapidly rushed towards him.
However, he neither dodged nor evaded, his gaze fixed directly on the four sand blades.
At a certain moment, Luffy's gaze suddenly sharpened.
His clenched fist, enveloped in endless purple-black lightning, suddenly unleashed a powerful blow.
Boom!
A violent roar suddenly exploded in the Underground Mausoleum.
This caused the entire Underground Mausoleum to fall into intense shaking and vibration, and more and more falling debris and sand fell from the ceiling above them.
The entire Underground Mausoleum seemed as if it was about to collapse.
And when Crocodile saw Luffy facing his Desert Spada, neither dodging nor evading, but instead clenching his fist to counter-attack, his pupils involuntarily trembled.
The next second, he widened his eyes in disbelief, his expression astonished, his face filled with shock.
Not only him, but everyone in the world saw it.
The moment Luffy's fist merely touched his [Desert Spada], the four sand blades shattered with a roar, turning into a sky full of yellow sand, scattering with the wind.
Luffy's fist, however, charged forward with undiminished momentum.
In Crocodile's incredibly shocked gaze, and in the stunned silence of the entire world, he sent him flying with one punch.
Bang!
Only a loud bang was heard.
Crocodile slammed hard into the wall behind him, causing the massive stone wall to deeply indent and crack.
He himself spat out a mouthful of blood, falling to the ground after hitting the wall.
"This punch is for Vivi!"
Luffy's voice drifted out faintly.
In fact, Luffy didn't use his full strength with this punch.
His current Haoshoku Haki Infusion was already at the top level in this world; if he had unleashed a full-strength punch, he could certainly have instantly killed the current Crocodile.
After all, at this time, Crocodile was still obsessed with pursuing military power and had long lost confidence in his own strength.
So much so that in the original story, he was defeated by Luffy, who had only recently set sail.
After Luffy unleashed his first punch, the entire world fell silent.
Everyone looked at the man holding his fist in the picture, their eyes filled with shock.
Everyone opened their mouths wide, unable to utter a single word.
After a moment of daze, the crowd began to boil.
"So... so strong!"
"Is that... is that real? Just one punch..."
"Is this the strength of Straw Hat?"
"No... impossible?! His opponent is a Shichibukai! A Shichibukai, one of the three great powers! Such a figure... was actually sent flying by Straw Hat with one punch?!"
"Am I really not dreaming? Can anyone tell me if what I'm seeing is real?"
"Too... too terrifying! Is this the 'Worst Generation' Straw Hat? It's truly terrifying!"
"This world is about to give birth to an incredible pirate crew!"
Ordinary people were deeply shocked and fearful.
Meanwhile, the strong individuals at this moment each had their own thoughts.
...
Dressrosa!
Doflamingo's eyes held both shock and excitement.
"Fufufufufu..."
"How surprising!"
"I didn't expect Straw Hat to be a strong individual who has mastered Haoshoku Haki Infusion."
"And his Haoshoku seems to be almost on par with those monsters among the Four Emperors!"
"Fufufufufu..."
"Interesting! It's truly too interesting."
"This world... is about to become more interesting!"
"Fufufufufu..."
Trebol interjected at this moment, saying.
"But Crocodile still seems to be able to move!"
"Straw Hat's Haoshoku should still be far from the Four Emperors, right?"
Doflamingo stopped laughing when he heard this and said.
"Didn't you hear what Straw Hat just said?"
"He said he would punch Crocodile three times!"
"So... how could he resolve Crocodile with just one punch?"
"Although I don't know why he would do that?"
"But... not choosing to resolve it quickly, but rather tormenting him little by little..."
"That really lives up to his title of 'Worst Generation'!"
"Fufufufufu..."
Upon hearing Doflamingo's explanation, the other cadres' impression of Luffy as "worst" was greatly deepened, and fear and apprehension appeared in their eyes.
...
An island in the New World!
When Shanks saw Luffy display his top-tier Haoshoku Haki Infusion ability, he was so shocked that his pupils trembled.
And at this moment, even though Luffy didn't use his full strength, it confirmed to him that what he saw in that instant was not an illusion.
Shanks' eyes held both shock and anticipation.
"You truly surprise me, Luffy!"
"I didn't expect you to grow so fast!"
"Now it seems the time for us to meet is almost here."
While Shanks was filled with longing and anticipation, Hawkeye was equally shocked and also had lingering fears.
"Straw Hat, your growth rate truly far exceeds my imagination."
At this point, Hawkeye couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
"If Straw Hat were to use that 'Eight Gates' again now, I'm afraid I wouldn't be his opponent at all!"
...
On the Moby Dick!
"Gurarararara..."
Whitebeard looked at Luffy in the picture and laughed heartily.
"Is this the brother Ace said he never won against?"
"Now it seems, that Ace kid really wasn't lying!"
"Gurarararara..."
Marco held Luffy's 60 million Berries bounty poster in his hand, his eyes filled with shock, and said.
"Ace's brother, is he really that strong?"
"That Crocodile was a pirate who challenged you, Pops, back then. His strength was already not to be underestimated, and I didn't expect such a huge gap between him and Ace's brother now!"
Whitebeard stopped laughing when he heard this and snorted coldly.
"Hmph! That sand brat's strength isn't even as good as it used to be; he has already given up on himself!"
...
Marineford!
Sengoku's expression was incredibly gloomy and solemn; he slammed the table and roared at Garp.
"Garp! Did you know about Straw Hat's strength all along? And concealed it without reporting it to us?"
At Sengoku's accusation, everyone collectively turned to look at Garp.
As a result, everyone saw...
Garp displayed an incredibly surprised look, stood up, held his hands to his head, half-crouched, his chin stretched out long, and his eyes wide as if they were about to pop out.
He shouted in disbelief.
"What?! When did that kid get so strong?"
"That guy never told me!"
"Damn it! Even hiding it from me, his grandpa!"
Saying that, Garp returned to his normal demeanor, patted his chest, and guaranteed Sengoku.
"Sengoku, don't worry, next time we meet, I'll teach him a good lesson."
"I'll make him confess all his abilities, and then I'll tell you."
Garp patted his chest, looking confident.
This scene made Sengoku even more furious.
Who couldn't see that Garp was faking it?
But right now... he had no recourse against this old scoundrel.
At this moment, Kizaru suddenly spoke.
"But it's truly terrifying!"
"Straw Hat didn't decisively defeat Crocodile, but instead toyed with him punch by punch."
"It's truly too cruel!"
"Is this the method of the 'Worst Generation'?"
Akainu snorted coldly.
"Hmph! I think we need to eliminate this hidden danger as soon as possible."
"Otherwise, if he continues to grow for a while, who knows what evil things he will do
Only Aokiji frowned, recalling what Luffy had just said.
"Straw Hat just now seemed to have said who the first punch was for, right?"
"I think Crocodile must have done something to offend that person, and that's why Straw Hat stepped up for her!"
Garp nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
"Exactly! Exactly!"
"I know that kid."
"He definitely wouldn't do something like that for no reason."
...
Holy Land Mariejois!
At this moment, inside the room where the Gorosei were, the atmosphere had become incredibly heavy, even suffocating and oppressive.
Saint Warcury spoke with a serious and earnest expression.
"We absolutely cannot let the Straw Hat Pirates continue to run wild."
"The threat displayed by this pirate crew is too great."
"The Uta Uta no Mi, which can destroy the world, Haoshoku Haki Infusion comparable to top-tier powerhouses, and every other member also possesses considerable strength, they must not be underestimated in the future."
"It won't be long before they have the ability to change the pattern of this sea."
Pitte Saint said with a gloomy, cold expression.
"Indeed! And this Straw Hat is exceptionally cruel in his methods."
"Look closely at his deeds since he set sail."
"First, he executed a Navy Captain in front of Marineford, then challenged Marineford."
"Now, he is publicly and cruelly humiliating a Shichibukai, who belongs to our World Government, in front of the entire world."
"This Straw Hat… will become the new generation's most evil pirate!"
Saint Nasujuro frowned and said.
"The outcome of this battle is already decided, there's no need to watch further."
"I think we should quickly discuss how to maintain the balance of the world's three great powers."
"And how to deal with this crew of the most evil rookie pirates!"
Saint Mars nodded and said.
"Crocodile is definitely going to be stripped of his title this time, and we must quickly find a replacement for him."
"The handling of the Straw Hat is also urgent; we cannot allow them to grow like this."
Just as several people were frowning in thought, Satan Saint suddenly spoke.
"What do you say… what if we let Straw Hat fill the vacant spot among the Shichibukai?"
At these words, the other four immediately looked at him, with a thoughtful expression in their eyes.
Besides this, Big Mom and Kaido, the two Four Emperors, were also shocked by the strength Luffy displayed, but as kings who have dominated this sea for many years,
They still had absolute confidence and simply watched it as entertainment.
...
Funeral Hall!
While the entire world was shaken by Luffy, he had no idea about these things.
He also didn't expect this live broadcast to be aired to the entire world.
At this moment, he was merely concentrating his anger, focused on Crocodile in front of him.
Although Crocodile was severely injured after being sent flying by a punch, he hadn't lost his combat ability.
At this moment, he slowly climbed up from the ground.
His body trembled, and he panted heavily, his gaze fixed on Luffy.
Suddenly, Crocodile laughed.
He curled the corners of his mouth, looked at Luffy, and said,
"Straw Hat, you are truly too foolish."
"Companions, trust, these useless things will only become burdens that drag you down."
"You originally had the ability to finish me with one punch."
"But because of these burdens, you gave me a chance."
As he spoke, a cruel sneer appeared at the corner of Crocodile's mouth.
He suddenly pressed his right hand on the ground, then looked at Luffy and said, word by word, fiercely,
"I will make you watch with your own eyes… as they are buried by me in this Underground Mausoleum."
"I'll make you personally experience the feeling of those you care about dying before your eyes, while you are powerless."
"Guhahahahaha…"
Crocodile suddenly burst into laughter.
Then, he suddenly roared.
"Sables!"
With a roar, the ground where Crocodile's palm touched instantly became cracked.
Cracks, like an earthquake, quickly spread throughout the entire mausoleum.
In the blink of an eye, the entire mausoleum began to collapse and sink.
And the ground where Luffy and the others stood was instantly drained of moisture by Crocodile's ability, turning into fine powdery dust.
Everything within the entire mausoleum immediately seemed to fall into a desert vortex, beginning to sink downwards.
Watching this scene, Crocodile's laughter grew louder.
"Guhahaha…"
"Straw Hat, look!"
"Those people you're protecting are about to be buried by this mausoleum."
"What can you do now… Ugh…"
As Crocodile was speaking, he suddenly felt as if his face had been hit by a cannonball, like an ordinary person.
It directly deformed his face, making him spit out a mouthful of teeth and blood, and sent him flying.
"The second punch is for Robin!"
Luffy's voice gently floated out again.
Hearing this, Robin, who was behind him, was deeply moved.
However, at this moment, she, Vivi, and Cobra, who was injured and unable to move, had already begun to sink into the ground that had turned into dust.
And at this moment, the den den mushi that had been broadcasting Luffy's battle also fell to the ground due to the collapse of the mausoleum, swept away and swallowed by the sand.
The images seen by the world ended here.
Everyone's hearts were filled with tension and anticipation.
They wanted to know what happened next.
They could only focus their attention on the other five screens, hoping to see what followed.
...
And at this moment, within the collapsing and sinking Underground Mausoleum.
Crocodile once again climbed up from the ground, looking at Luffy, Vivi, Robin, and Cobra, who were already half-buried by the sand, and couldn't help but sneer.
"Heh! Straw Hat! With your abilities, you can still escape from here right now."
"As long as you abandon those three burdens, you can survive."
"What are you still hesitating for?"
"Abandon your so-called trust, and companions, these burdens that drag you down."
"Hurry and escape by yourself!"
Vivi and Robin looked at Luffy, both thinking the same thing at this moment.
Let Luffy abandon them and escape by himself.
However, just then, everyone heard a voice suddenly float from Luffy's mouth.
"Eight Gates!"