As everyone was focused on Luffy, they heard a faint voice float from his mouth.
"Eight Gates!"
Crocodile was startled upon hearing this, and couldn't help but wonder.
"What did you say?"
As soon as his voice fell, Crocodile suddenly looked astonished, his mouth wide open, his eyes revealing infinite shock and fear.
He saw that Luffy, opposite him, suddenly erupted with unparalleled powerful energy, like a volcanic eruption.
His skin turned blood red, and a green mist seemed to gush from his body.
The mist surged upwards, sharp as thorns, enveloping his entire being.
And this surging and turbulent mist, like a ferocious beast, tore and swallowed all the surrounding sand particles and stones.
All the falling stones from above, or the flowing sand beneath his feet, turned into dust and disappeared the instant they were about to touch Luffy.
What surprised Crocodile even more was that, as Luffy was enveloped by this surging mist, a seemingly impenetrable energy shield formed around him.
This surging energy dispersed all the sand particles around Luffy, allowing him to seemingly stand in mid-air, no longer sinking with the flowing desert vortex.
"Fifth Gate of Closing, Open!"
Luffy suddenly roared.
The aura emanating from him surged once again.
The energy shield, which seemed to envelop Luffy, suddenly expanded outwards.
Enveloping Vivi, Robin, and Cobra.
Forming an incredibly massive energy shield.
In just a blink of an eye, Crocodile saw, unbelievably, that Luffy and the three others stood steadily within that massive energy shield, as if suspended in mid-air, no longer affected by any sand particles or stones.
This scene stunned Crocodile, Vivi, Robin, and the others.
Everyone looked at Luffy in disbelief, just like believers looking at a god, with no other emotions besides shock and a sense of the incredible.
And Crocodile looked at this scene in disbelief, his eyes filled with horror and incredulity.
He looked at Luffy and said with a shocked and disbelieving tone,
"Impossible!"
"This is impossible!"
"You're just a rookie!"
"How could you display power stronger than the man rumored to be the strongest in the world?!"
"Impossible!"
"This is absolutely impossible!"
"…"
Crocodile kept repeating the words "impossible."
In his understanding, Whitebeard was the strongest man in the world.
And he had once been defeated by the strongest man.
This also made him begin to doubt his own strength, wanting to use an external object like Pluton to help him dominate the world and become the Pirate King.
But now, he saw a power surpassing Whitebeard in a rookie who had just set sail not long ago.
How could he accept and believe this?
Looking at Crocodile, who was already like a madman, Luffy merely said coldly.
"You think comrades and trust are burdens, that's only because…"
"You… are too weak!"
"And I…"
"Fear nothing!!!"
For the current Luffy, he already possessed combat power comparable to an Admiral in his normal state.
Activating Eight Gates allowed him to easily defeat anyone in this world.
So there was truly nothing to fear.
Then, Luffy clenched his fist again.
Looking at Crocodile, who had merged with the sand, half-elementalized, with only half his body exposed, he slowly spoke.
"The third punch…"
As he spoke, Luffy suddenly gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with rage, and said in a deep voice.
"It's because you bullied my crew."
"Only I, their Captain, can bully them…"
"Anyone else…"
As Luffy spoke, the purple-black lightning on his hand condensed again.
As he charged and punched towards Crocodile, he roared.
"Die!!!"
Boom!
A thunderous roar like a clap of thunder sounded, followed by the ground shaking violently as if an earthquake had struck.
Even Alubarna, several kilometers away, could feel the strong tremor.
With this punch, Luffy used all his strength.
And this was with Five Gates activated.
Facing an attack that seemed unstoppable like a god, despair appeared in Crocodile's eyes.
He knew he absolutely could not withstand this punch.
But at the moment of death, Crocodile suddenly laughed.
Because of Luffy, he seemed to have rekindled his pursuit of his own strength.
At this moment, he felt no desire for Pluton at all.
But…
It was too late!
…
In the square of Alubarna.
Suddenly hearing the thunderous roar from deep underground in the distance and feeling the violent tremor, the audience in the square, including those watching the live broadcast, were all extremely panicked and frightened.
"Wh-what happened? Is it an earthquake?"
"I don't know! But judging by the direction of the sound, it seems to be coming from the Funeral Hall!"
"Could it be… caused by the battle between Straw Hat and Crocodile?"
"Probably!"
"But it's really scary! That place is at least ten kilometers from the square, right! From such a distance, you can feel such a strong tremor."
"Hey! Look up!"
Suddenly, someone in the crowd exclaimed.
Immediately, everyone looked up.
They saw a figure flying rapidly from the direction of the Funeral Hall like a launched cannonball.
Bang!
Only a loud bang was heard.
A cloud of rolling smoke and dust rose in the middle of the square.
And such a scene immediately attracted the attention of everyone, including those watching the live broadcast worldwide.
Everyone watched with wide, unblinking eyes.
They saw that as the smoke and dust dispersed, a disheveled, bloody figure entered everyone's sight.
With just one glance, everyone in the square, including everyone worldwide, trembled, and their pupils dilated.
Then, there was infinite shock.
"Th-that figure is… is Crocodile!!!"
"How could he be beaten so badly?! So terrifying!"
"Straw Hat is too strong, he actually beat Crocodile so badly!"
"Hey! Look quickly! Crocodile… is he dead?!"
Someone suddenly said this.
Immediately, everyone carefully observed Crocodile's body.
3 seconds!
5 seconds!
10 seconds!
There was no rise and fall of breath at all!
Whoosh!
In an instant, the world completely boiled over.
"No way?! Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, was actually… killed by the rookie pirate Straw Hat!"
"Straw Hat is too strong! He punched Crocodile away during the live broadcast. Now he actually killed Crocodile! He is truly too strong."
"Terrifying! Terrifying! Too terrifying! A formidable new monster is about to appear in this sea!"
"One of the Shichibukai died, and the balance of the three great powers was broken. This world is about to change!"
"Straw Hat will now… become famous worldwide!!!"
…
Dressrosa!
Doflamingo looked at Crocodile's corpse on the screen, an astonished expression appearing on his face for the first time.
After a long while, he recovered and sighed.
"I didn't expect that Straw Hat would be so ruthless!"
"Even a guy like Crocodile was annihilated!"
"As expected of the Worst Generation!"
"Fufufufufu…"
Trebol looked at Crocodile's corpse, his eyes filled with fear, and said worriedly.
"Doffy, are you really going to Mock Town to find Straw Hat?"
"These guys don't seem that easy to deal with!"
Doflamingo stopped laughing when he heard this and said.
"Before Straw Hat showed that astonishing combat power, I had thought about snatching that long-nosed guy and the songstress from their pirate crew."
"But now, snatching people is out of the question."
"However, I can talk to Straw Hat about cooperation."
"Buy that long-nosed guy's super bomb formula."
"A villain like Straw Hat, who killed a Shichibukai in front of the world, certainly wouldn't refuse a lot of money, right!"
"I know countless villains who kill without batting an eye, and all they pursue is money and women."
"I believe Straw Hat will definitely not refuse my proposal."
"Fufufufufu…"
Trebol was still a bit worried and said.
"What if Straw Hat doesn't agree?"
"His displayed combat power is not low!"
"What if he attacks you, Doffy…"
Trebol didn't finish, but his meaning was clear.
Doflamingo frowned upon hearing this, his tone sounding a bit angry.
"Trebol, are you underestimating me too much?!"
"Even among the Shichibukai, there's no small difference in strength."
"Don't forget, I am a Devil Fruit Awakener."
"You should know how big the difference is between an Awakened and unawakened ability user, right!"
Trebol nodded repeatedly when he heard this, realizing he had angered Doflamingo, and immediately apologized.
"I'm sorry!"
"I was overthinking, Doffy!"
The anger on Doflamingo's face dissipated then, but he also knew that Trebol was worried about him, so he spoke again.
"Trebol, your worries are unnecessary."
"I have Kaido, one of the Four Emperors, behind me. In this world, no one dares to easily attack me."
"Kaido wants to buy SMILE Fruits from me. If the fruit supply runs out…"
"Then he will face the wrath of a Four Emperors."
"Straw Hat is just a rookie pirate. Does he dare to challenge the authority of a Four Emperors?"
Hearing Doflamingo say this, Trebol finally completely relaxed, and his inner worries vanished into thin air.
Indeed!
In this world, besides the other Four Emperors, who would dare to provoke Kaido?
…
The news of Crocodile being killed by Straw Hat spread throughout the world with the live broadcast.
And Luffy also left an impression of a "great villain" in the eyes of Doflamingo, Sengoku, the Gorosei, and various other powers.
Killing a Seven Warlords of the Sea, recognized by the World Government, in front of the world—what else could that be but a villain?
For a time, fear of Straw Hat spread throughout the world.
On the square of Alubarna.
The moment Crocodile died, the rescue operation for the country of Alabasta was completely over.
The rest was left for their country to handle themselves.
Thus, the Straw Hat's live broadcast was also completely shut down at this moment.
The squares of Alubarna and Nanohana were both bustling and lively scenes.
People cheered and celebrated, Alabasta had finally been saved.
"Great, Crocodile, the culprit who plagued Alabasta, has finally been defeated!"
"Alabasta can finally return to peace!"
"This time, we really owe it to the Straw Hat; they saved our Alabasta."
"That's right! Hey! Straw Hat, thank you!"
"Straw Hat, thank you!"
People in both squares were thanking the Straw Hat members.
Uta and Nojiko politely responded from both locations.
Plop!
Just then, countless people felt a drop of moisture fall on them.
Before they could wonder.
Immediately after, everyone felt increasingly dense drops of rain.
In the blink of an eye, it was pouring rain in Alabasta!
At this moment, Alabasta completely erupted.
"It's raining! It's raining in Alabasta!!!"
"After three long years, it's finally raining in Alabasta!"
"This is great! Alabasta... is saved!"
...
Funeral Hall!
At this moment, the Funeral Hall had already turned into ruins.
Luffy and the others were walking back to Alubarna.
Plop!
A drop of moisture fell on Vivi's arm.
Vivi was stunned for a second.
Then, she saw drops of rain continuously falling on the sand particles on the ground.
Looking up, countless dense raindrops poured down, hitting Vivi's face.
The cold, wet feeling made Vivi experience a long-lost sensation.
The next second.
Her lips unconsciously curved upwards, but tears welled up in her eyes, streaming down her face.
At this moment, Luffy's voice sounded from beside her.
"It's raining!"
"Vivi, your country has finally found peace!"
Vivi was still looking up at the pouring rain falling from the sky.
When she heard Luffy's voice, she could no longer hold back and suddenly rushed over, hugging Luffy tightly.
"Thank you, Luffy!"
"Thank you!"
"Really... thank you!!!"
Luffy felt the trembling body in his arms, listened to her excited, trembling voice, and a slight smile appeared on his lips as he gently patted her back to comfort her, saying softly.
"You're welcome!"
...
Three days later!
Alubarna, inside the Royal Palace!
"Hey! Luffy, I saw that piece of meat first."
"I got it first, so I won't be polite! Chomp chomp chomp..."
"Usopp, Usopp! Stop fighting Luffy for the meat, look, let's do this one! I've got the chopsticks ready. Here you go..."
"Chopper! Why are you learning that from Usopp again, it's so ugly!"
"Hey! Hey! Nami, don't accuse me wrongly! This time Chopper came to me first."
"Nami! Don't mind them. Come sing with me! Robin and Nojiko, you two come too!"
"Singing? I only study history, I can't sing!"
"Hehe, Robin! Don't be shy, Uta will teach you. I was like you at first, Nami and Uta dragged me to learn."
"I didn't expect your alcohol tolerance to be so good! The strongest warrior of Alabasta! Come, cheers!"
"No! Compared to you guys, I'm really far behind!"
"Oh! The taste of your palace cuisine is very unique! Can you tell me the cooking method?"
"Of course! You are the benefactors of Alabasta! This small matter is nothing to mention."
Inside the hall, Luffy and his crew were holding a lively banquet at a huge table.
Beside the table, Vivi and Cobra, as well as Igaram who had returned to the country, stood together.
Igaram looked at the boisterous scene at the table and couldn't help but sigh.
"They are truly a group of people who can't stop! They've been banqueting for three days straight, and they're still so energetic!"
Vivi smiled upon hearing this and said.
"Luffy and them are always this lively!"
"When I was on their ship, I often joined them for banquets."
"But today should be the last day."
"Their Log Pose should be full after today."
"They should be departing tomorrow morning!"
As Vivi said this, her voice grew softer and softer, and her tone sounded a bit low.
Cobra suddenly spoke at this moment.
"Vivi, do you want to go with them?"
"If you want to, I won't stop you!"
Vivi was startled when she heard this and looked at Cobra.
"Father..."
Cobra smiled and said.
"They are a good group of people, and their strength is also formidable."
"If you are with them, I will also feel at ease."
"I can tell, Vivi!"
"You really want to go out to sea with them, don't you?!"