Back before Laina first set out to sea, he thought his body was strong enough to meet the requirements, so he tried practicing one of the Rokushiki techniques—Soru.
It was supposed to be simple: stomp the ground dozens of times in an instant. If your body were strong enough, even a dog could do it.
And then he failed.
It wasn't very comfortable. But then he made Luffy give it a try.
Sure enough—Luffy failed too.
But then Laina remembered: Luffy had only managed to perform Soru after unlocking Gear Second. So he shared with Luffy some ideas about further developing the Gomu Gomu no Mi.
And Luffy actually mastered it!
After unlocking Gear Second, Luffy's enhanced physiology allowed him to use Soru successfully.
At the time, it struck Laina hard. The gap between a martial arts prodigy and a martial arts failure… was that wide.
Thump—thump!
On the battlefield, Luffy's calves suddenly bulged like compressed springs. His legs swelled, then contracted, pumping up and down.
After a few repetitions, his skin flushed red. White steam began to pour out from his body.
"What is that?!"
Everyone's eyes were drawn to him. From behind the rocks, Nami and the others stared in awe as the vapor billowed off Luffy like a steam engine.
Gear Second worked by turning the body into a pump, forcing blood to circulate faster, temporarily boosting strength and speed. An ordinary human could never do it—attempting it would cause their blood vessels to burst and kill them instantly.
But Luffy's rubber body made it possible. That's why a Devil like Chainsaw couldn't use Gear Second or its extensions.
(Pumping yourself up? Does yelling 'Go! Go!' count?)
"Gear… Second!!"
Luffy glared straight at Crocodile and shouted. His figure blurred and vanished in a rush of steam.
"So fast!"
Crocodile's heart lurched. He had seen high-speed techniques before, but never this fast. Even he could barely track the boy's movements.
The next instant, Luffy appeared at his side. One hand clenched, the other open for balance. He roared—
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol!!"
Faster than movement itself, the punch appeared right in Crocodile's face, smashing deep into his flesh.
BAM!!
Caught off guard, Crocodile was blasted away, scraping across the sand and gouging a deep trench.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Stamp!!"
Before he could rise, Luffy appeared on the opposite side, steam billowing as his leg came crashing down.
BOOM!!
His heel slammed into Crocodile's stomach, bending him backward, blood spraying from his mouth as his eyes rolled white.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Bazooka!!"
Just as Luffy's palms were about to crash down, Crocodile gritted his teeth, forcing his battered body up. One hand slammed to the ground, summoning a crescent-shaped sand blade.
"Desert Crescent!!"
The clash of powers sent Crocodile flying again. He slammed into the Poneglyph wall with a thunderous crash.
Half-kneeling, blood at his lips, Crocodile stared at Luffy in shock.
Elementalization didn't work!?
He had instinctively gone sand-form the first time Luffy struck—yet the hit had landed anyway!
Water…!
Why did they know?
Feeling dampness on his body, Crocodile's gaze darted to Nico Robin. The thought struck him like lightning. That woman… had this planned all along?
He couldn't dwell on it. The Blue Oni and Red Oni—who he had just cleaved in half—were already charging again, their wounds miraculously gone.
"Luffy, are you okay!?"
Laina rushed to him. Luffy's body had shriveled, drained dry.
Crocodile's Desert Crescent—it had stolen the water from his body.
Laina unhooked the small water flask at his waist and forced it into Luffy's mouth.
Gulp, gulp—
In moments, Luffy's body swelled back up like an inflated balloon.
"Back in business! Thanks, Laina!"
Luffy sprang to his feet, wiping his mouth, his expression grim.
"This guy's tough. Even with Gear Second, I can't finish him."
Right now, Luffy couldn't use Haki. Even with the boost from Gear Second, his power only rivaled that of the Blue and Red Oni—roughly on par with a stronger Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral.
(And definitely not on Garp's level of Vice Admiral.)
Crocodile was proving to be slightly beyond even that. And he hadn't even shown Haki yet. Still, with Gear Second Luffy joining forces with the Oni, the three of them could press Crocodile hard.
Luffy drenched himself with another barrel of water, steam hissing as it touched his heated skin. Then he vanished again with a whoosh!
Laina focused, pouring his will into the Oni. With their full power unleashed, plus Gear Second Luffy, they finally drove Crocodile into retreat.
"Sand Python Banquet!!"
Crocodile lashed out, arms morphing into blades of sand, giant serpents crashing down from above.
But Luffy slipped through with blinding speed, striking whenever an opening appeared. The Oni hammered him with brute force, Haki coating their strikes.
Laina had to admit it—even now, Crocodile's mastery of his fruit was impressive.
Then Red Oni's blade, coated in Armament, came slashing down. Crocodile caught it with his golden hook, straining. With a twist, he revealed the hook's hidden core—
From inside, rows of holes spewed a violet mist—deadly poison!
The hook stabbed into Red Oni's body. But to Crocodile's shock, the Oni didn't flinch.
In that instant, Blue Oni's shield smashed into him, coughing blood from his mouth.
"Gomu Gomu no Jet Whip!!"
Luffy blurred in, leg snapping like a whip across Crocodile's stomach, hurling him through stone pillars that shattered in his wake.
"Kh—! Cough!!"
Crocodile spat blood, his once-slick hair disheveled, now hanging wildly. He looked utterly bedraggled.
Ahead, the Oni braced, spears ready to hurl.
Crocodile's eyes burned with fury—but also unease. The Straw Hat kid was exhausting himself with some kind of life-shortening power-up, but those two giants…
What were they? Endless spears of bone, wounds closing as if by magic, impervious even to his poison…
And the killing intent. None of it came from the Oni. It radiated from the blonde man lurking in the shadows—Laina.
Crocodile's sharp mind raced. His suspicions grew.
He still had some strength left. He would test his theory.
He staggered upright.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Twin spears screamed through the air, tearing the wind into vacuum trails.
Crocodile dissolved into sand, opening gaps in his body to avoid the spears.
But just then—
BANG!!
A gunshot rang out!