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Crocodile glared at Logan with pure venom in his eyes.
His once-grand cloak was now nothing but shredded rags, and his body was covered in a web of bloody whip marks.
Logan's water whip moved like it had a lock-on system—no matter how Crocodile dodged, every strike landed with pinpoint precision.
Wait… Observation Haki?!
The realization hit Crocodile late, sending a chill down his spine. He'd nearly lost it from rage.
Damn it! This is still the first half of the Grand Line—how the hell does someone here already know Haki?!
Especially some guy from the East Blue. It made no sense.
"So what if you can use Observation Haki, Logan?! Don't get cocky!"
"Sables Crescent!"
Crocodile vanished in a swirl of sand, reappearing behind Logan in an instant.
A blade made of compressed sand sliced toward Logan's neck.
"Crocodile, you're too slow."
Teleport!
Their positions flipped in a blink.
Logan appeared behind Crocodile and slammed his fist into his face.
Boom!
Crocodile's features twisted grotesquely—his nose broke with a sick crack, and several bloody teeth flew from his mouth.
His body arced through the air before crashing hard into the ground.
His already mangled face met the dirt again, up close and personal.
"I was gonna make it quick for you, but you just had to run your mouth and threaten Robin."
"You—"
Before he could finish, Logan teleported again.
Another kick smashed into Crocodile's face.
More teeth went flying, blood spraying from his mouth as his body shot dozens of meters away, smashing through several stone pillars before slamming into a wall and sliding down.
Robin watched in shock as Crocodile's body flew past her.
"Wha—" Her hands flew to her mouth, face frozen in disbelief.
Was that really one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea just now?!
Why did he look like a helpless chick in front of Logan?!
He couldn't even fight back—the entire thing was one-sided!
And Logan… did he just say he was doing this for her?
Why did something so bloody suddenly feel… kinda moving?
"Don't worry. I'll finish him off now," Logan's calm voice brushed past her ear as he walked forward.
Robin instinctively nodded.
In the corner of the hall, Crocodile lay sprawled on the floor like a dying dog, vision blurring, groaning in pain.
Logan's punch and kick had almost sent him straight to hell.
That bastard…
Not even when he'd challenged Whitebeard had he ever been this humiliated.
"Observation Haki, Armament Haki—you can use both? Who the hell are you?!"
Crocodile gritted his teeth, propping himself up with a cracked pillar, glaring at the man walking slowly toward him.
He remembered when he, too, had once mastered both types of Haki.
Back then, he'd fought Douglas Bullet from Roger's crew to a draw.
Later, drunk on pride, he'd challenged Whitebeard himself—only to be brought to his knees with a single slash.
That defeat had driven him out of the New World. He'd come to Alabasta to chase his next dream: seizing the ancient weapon, Pluton.
Here, his Sand-Sand Fruit had made him nearly unstoppable.
And so, over the years, he'd let his Haki training rot away.
Now, he could barely recognize the techniques he once knew, let alone use them.
Twenty peaceful years later, fate decided to mock him—by sending Logan his way.
"What? You gonna go berserk now?" Logan smirked. "You think you've got some main character power-up waiting to save you?"
"Damn you!" Crocodile roared, veins bulging.
This bastard clearly had the power to kill him outright, yet he kept toying with him—mocking him, humiliating him.
Was it really just because of one stupid threat about Robin?!
It's just a woman. With their status, women were nothing but passing toys.
"Oh, right—one more thing…" Logan drawled, eyes glinting.
"When you went to see Ivankov, was it really because—"
BOOM!
Logan didn't even finish before Crocodile exploded—rage and shame fusing into pure killing intent.
A violent aura burst out of him, sharper than anything he'd shown even in his prime.
The murderous pressure filled the hall, and Robin's face went pale. She quickly ducked behind a corner.
Why did he react so violently… just from hearing that name?
It was like Logan had just stepped on a cat's tail.
Her curiosity spiked. Even with his grand plan in ruins, Crocodile had never lost control like this.
Ivankov?! That okama?!
Her imagination immediately filled with scandalous possibilities.
No way… could it really be true?!
Logan grimaced.What kind of freak has that kind of taste?
"LOGAN!!!"
Crocodile lost it completely. His deepest secret was out.
He didn't care about plans or ancient weapons anymore.
There was only one thought left in his head—kill Logan.
"Die!!! Erosion Cycle!!!"
He roared and unleashed his ultimate move.
Sand power exploded outward from him in a roaring wave, swallowing everything in sight.
The floor, the walls, the pillars—all dissolved into sand, turning the entire hall into his desert domain.
Ivankov—that name was taboo.
No one was allowed to speak it in front of him.
His plans could fail, but that secret had to die with anyone who knew it.
"Desert Jewel Cutter!!!"
Crocodile swung his golden hook. The ground surged to life, sand flowing like a living creature.
A massive sand blade erupted toward Logan, slicing through the air.
The attack could not only cut through steel but drain the moisture from its victim, leaving nothing but a dry husk.
Logan blocked it easily, laughing. "What, embarrassed already? Guess the rumors were true."
He couldn't even look at Crocodile the same way now. The mental image alone gave him chills.
Wasn't the default setup good enough? Why go looking for that kind of trouble?
"Shut up, Logan!"
"Desert Great Sword!!!"
Crocodile plunged his arm into the sand, merging with it.
Logan's Observation Haki screamed a warning.
Teleport!
A colossal sand sword tore through the space where he'd just been.
It missed, crumbling back into dust.
"Crocodile, looks like your years in Alabasta made you soft. If that's all you've got—then it's time to die."
Logan raised his blade slowly, energy crackling around him.
Crocodile's gut twisted. She didn't even need Haki to feel it—death was coming.
Run.
Without hesitation, his body burst apart, merging completely with the sand.
"Trying to escape?!"
Logan's eyes locked on his presence. He swung his sword in one smooth motion.
"Conqueror's Strike!!!"
BOOM!
A massive wave of energy ripped through the air like a cannon blast, tearing straight toward Crocodile's essence.
"No—!"
His terrified scream echoed from the sandstorm a moment before the slash, coated in Armament Haki, cut his true body clean in half.
The desert dissolved. Crocodile's body reappeared, broken and human once more.
His mouth twitched, trying to form words—but he never got the chance.
Within a heartbeat, he was dead.
The palace fell silent.
"He's… dead?" Robin stared at Crocodile's body lying in a pool of blood, unable to process it.
Crocodile—one of the Seven Warlords, a man second only to Admirals Aokiji and Akainu in her experience—was really dead.
After a long pause, she finally accepted it.
Crocodile was gone.
"Well done, Captain," she said softly. Her voice had lost its usual calm mask—there was real warmth now.
"Hey, he bullied our sweet Princess Vivi and threatened you. I couldn't just let that slide," Logan said with a grin, slipping an arm possessively around Robin's waist.
Robin flushed slightly but quickly regained her composure.
"Captain, you're way too dangerous. I'm honestly worried about my future." She sighed, though her tone was teasing.
After all those years of hiding and protecting herself… she could already tell what was coming next.
"Relax," Logan said, ignoring her look and smiling as he led her toward the depths of the palace. "First, let's go read those Poneglyphs."
Elsewhere on the battlefield—
Clang!Clang!
The clash of steel rang out through the night.
Tashigi's figure flickered in and out of the shadows, her sword flashing repeatedly.
"Shadow Moon Slash Combo!"
Her expression stayed cold as she sheathed Wado Ichimonji with a sharp click.
A heartbeat later—
Slice. Slice.
Deep cuts split open across Daz Bones's body, blood gushing from a dozen wounds, soaking the ground beneath him.
"You."
Daz Bones slowly lowered his head, staring in disbelief at the gaping wound across his chest.
He couldn't understand it—how could that girl's blade cut through skin as hard as steel?
But his fading consciousness didn't give him time to think. With a dull thud, his body collapsed into a pool of blood.
"Whew…"
Seeing Daz Bones fall unconscious and lose all will to fight, Tashigi finally let out a long sigh of relief.
That had been the first real, named opponent she'd ever faced.
And beating him… honestly felt damn good.
"Time to find Logan!" she said brightly, jogging off with a spring in her step.
Halfway there, she suddenly stopped, frowned, and hurried back.
She'd forgotten to finish him off.
Never show mercy to an enemy—never!
Meanwhile, in the palace garden—
Boom!
The pavilion exploded into splinters, and Miss Doublefinger was buried under a pile of rubble.
"Miss Doublefinger, you're not my match anymore! Why keep struggling?!"
"Someone like Crocodile isn't worth dying for!"
Miss Valentine strolled up casually, brushing off bits of dust as she grabbed Miss Doublefinger by the arm and yanked her out of the debris.
"Cough, cough—damn it, could you be a little gentler?!" Miss Doublefinger spat toward her, furious.
The spikes on her body were practically bent out of shape.
"When did you get this strong?!"
Beaten and bruised, Miss Doublefinger finally gave up, retracting her spikes with a weary sigh.
Miss Valentine tilted her chin up proudly. "All thanks to the captain. Come on—I'll take you to him."
"The captain wants to invite you to join the Logan Pirates. Think it over."
Elsewhere, things weren't going so smoothly for Nami—
"Hey! You two—no, you three! Get up and fight me again, will you?!"
No answer.
Mr. 4, Miss Merry Christmas, and that ridiculous dachshund all lay sprawled out on the ground, smoke curling off their bodies. They'd been completely fried.
With her Weather-Weather Fruit powers and all three types of Haki, fighting them had been pure one-sided domination.
"What a bore," Nami muttered, pouting as she turned to leave.
Inside the palace—
Logan led Robin into a secret chamber deep within the building.
As she followed him, Robin couldn't help but wonder how he even knew about this place… yet curiosity and excitement flickered in her eyes.
As the last survivor of Ohara, carrying the will of countless scholars—and her mother—she'd spent her whole life chasing one dream: to uncover the true history, the mystery of the "Blank Century."
Logan held her hand gently, and he could feel how fast her heart was beating.
"Go on," he said softly, giving her an encouraging look before letting go.
Logan already knew she'd be disappointed.
Because the Poneglyph here didn't hold what Robin sought.
It really did record the location of the Ancient Weapon, Pluton—but not in Alabasta. It was hidden in Wano.
Robin stepped closer, her fingertips tracing the ancient script carved so long ago.
In that moment, she felt an echo—like she was standing alongside the people of the past. The words seemed to come alive, waiting for her to read them.
Logan stood quietly by her side, waiting.
When Robin finally finished, a flicker of sadness crossed her face.
He hadn't lied. The stone truly held the coordinates Crocodile had spent years searching for…
But to her, it meant nothing.
"Don't worry," Logan said, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "I know where to find more Poneglyphs. I'll take you there someday."
That warmth… it melted right through her disappointment.
"Captain, how do you always know the perfect thing to say to a girl?" Robin teased softly. "That line just now—it actually moved me, you know?"
Her voice was playful, but her cheeks glowed like a ripe peach.
Logan pulled her close, meeting her gaze squarely. "Robin, I told you before. Out on this sea, no one ever has to be alone."
"Your dream… is our dream too."
That line—again!
Robin froze, her mind going blank for a moment.
Then, with a trembling smile, she whispered, "Captain, stop saying things like that. I really might cry."
She took his hand and led him out of the chamber.
As they stepped into the open, the first light of dawn poured over them, warm and golden.
Feeling his steady presence beside her, Robin leaned on Logan's shoulder without thinking, quietly burning this moment into her heart.
"Logan! My opponent was way too weak!"
"Logan, I beat Mr. 1!"
"Captain! Miss Doublefinger agreed to join the Logan Pirates!"
From different directions, Nami, Tashigi, and Valentine came running toward him, all with triumphant grins—plus a very sullen Doublefinger being dragged along by Valentine.
"See that, Robin?" Logan said with a chuckle, nodding toward the three girls. "Someday, you'll be just like them."
Robin looked at the laughing, sunlit faces rushing toward them—
And for the first time in over twenty years, she smiled brightly, without a shadow of sorrow.
"....."