Chapter 224 - 82

Chapter 82"That makes sense. I hadn't noticed that before."Luffy smiled at Crocodile and said, "You have too many subordinates; they'll cause some trouble for my partners."Crocodile looked at Luffy's confident smile, and for some reason, an ominous premonition welled up in his heart."What can you possibly do?!"Hearing this, Luffy took a serious look around at his surroundings.Hundreds, even thousands, of Billions and Millionsheld the advantage in numbers. With several officers holding the front, Zoro and the others had to fight while distracted, worried someone might fire a cold shot from behind.Under Crocodile's command, the agents began to close in restlessly, and the shouts of slaughter rang out once more."Wanna guess?"Luffy took a deep breath, his gaze suddenly becoming incredibly sharp. A majestic aura, like that of a sovereign ruling the world, began to coalesce around him.Luffy's targets were those ants who seemed troublesome but weren't actually officers.Whether it was glaring Miss Goldenweek into a faint on Small Garden or intimidating the Dobons into unconsciousness on Drum Island, it seemed those were all potential awakenings of Conqueror's Haki.Having mastered Conqueror's Haki before arriving in Alabasta, Luffy had been wanting to test it out.This was the perfect stage.Luffy looked toward the agents of Baroque Works, whose killing shouts filled the air."Small fry, just stay down for me!"His gaze intensified.Hum!An invisible pressure, like a crashing tsunami, erupted with Luffy at the center, instantly sweeping across the entire battlefield!Conqueror's Haki!Then, visible to the naked eye, the expressions of those mid-charge froze instantly. Their eyes lost their light, rolling back into their heads as they collapsed silently in swaths, like wheat before a scythe!The pitter-patter of bodies hitting the ground was continuous. Within a few short breaths, the once boisterous battlefield fell into a dead silence.Of the thousand-plus subordinates Crocodile had just spoken of, only a few scattered individuals remained.Those were the officers Crocodile relied upon.Oh?The effect seems pretty good.At least Luffy was very satisfied with the current scene. This way, Zoro and the others could focus on dealing with the enemies in front of them.Mr. 1, who had just questioned Zoro's choice, was now pale, cold sweat dripping down as he stared at Luffy as if looking at a monster. What kind of monster was this Straw Hat kid? Was he on the same level as his boss?Even Nami and the others felt a bit dizzy.Because Luffy's control over Conqueror's Hakihadn't reached a precise level yet, even though he tried his best to avoid Nami and the others, it still caused a slight impact.The battlefield, which had been bustling with people just a moment ago, instantly became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, leaving only the whimpering sound of the desert wind blowing over the dunes.Crocodile's mouth hung open, and he didn't even notice the cigar falling from the corner of his mouth as he watched this scene in disbelief.The scene before him was filled with a sense of the absurd."Con-Conqueror's Haki? How could you possibly possess Conqueror's Haki? This is impossible!!"Crocodile pointed a trembling finger at Luffy, his voice becoming sharp and distorted from extreme shock.Luffy remained in Gear Second, his expression unchanged: "What's so impossible about it? You don't have it?"Crocodile almost spat blood: "Can't you use some other words!"The lethality of those few words was even greater than the Conqueror's Haki.However, Crocodile knew better than anyone what Conqueror's Haki signified.It was the quality of a king, possessed by only one in Millions! It was the proof of being destined to stand upon a throne!This brat was just a nameless pirate from the East Blue, yet he possessed such spirit?It didn't make sense at all!Armament Haki, Conqueror's Haki... and now that he thought about it, wasn't the way he predicted his attacks earlier because he had already learned Observation Haki?A kid who just got his first bounty had mastered all three types of Haki?If he closed his eyes, Crocodile would have thought he was fighting Bullet.Even Bullet wasn't this exaggerated.Is this guy a bit too strong?"Just who are you?" Crocodile looked at Luffyseriously for the first time."Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King... are you ready?"Luffy clenched his fist.Chapter 111: Transformation? I can do that too, Nika!Crocodile's eyes revealed a look of a collapsing worldview; Luffy saw it—it was the look of one watching an illogical monster.Common sense?Common sense is meant to be broken!"To be honest, you've really disappointed me, Crocodile."Luffy was feeling a bit uninterested. " I don't have much time left for you. Three minutes—any more and I won't be able to stand it."He returned the same words to Crocodile, but there was a genuine reason behind his statement.This damn system's plan could be changed if he scolded Nami a bit, but he finally encountered one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—can't you just let me focus on the fight?He still had to think about navigation knowledge in his head. Does it think my current strength is enough to multitask while fighting a Warlord?Thinking about it that way, it seemed to make sense.Regardless, the ultimate goal of the plan was to make him the Pirate King and give him everything a Pirate King needs.Looking at it for now...Defeating Crocodile wasn't even as useful as navigation knowledge, could it be understood that way?Crocodile bit his cigar in half with one snap.But he was an ambitious man who knew when to yield; he kept the bitten-off half in his mouth.Crocodile didn't trust anyone; he was incredibly self-centered. Previously, another Warlord, Doflamingo, had repeatedly proposed a partnership, but he had refused every time.But this time..."I acknowledge your strength."Crocodile let out a breath. "Let's talk terms. What do you want?"In his eyes, Luffy was a pirate, and what were pirates? They were all the same—madmen who went to sea for various goals: wealth, status, fame? Or that so-called great treasure, the One Piece.Aside from the One Piece, Crocodile had everything: fame, status, wealth... if Luffy wanted, he could even hand over the title of Warlord.The strength Luffy had just displayed made him fear to underestimate him; this was definitely no small-time pirate.But he only wanted that one thing; he didn't care about the rest."I have everything.""I'm not interested in what you're offering. I promised Vivi I'd send you flying. If there's something I want, it's that.""So there's nothing to talk about?""What do you think?"In the next second, Luffy's fists, coated in Armament Haki, slammed heavily into the sand shield Crocodile had hastily condensed.The sand shield shattered on impact, yellow sand splattering everywhere. The powerful force sent Crocodile sliding back over ten meters, plowing two deep furrows into the dry ground.So fast."But, let me show you!"Crocodile's figure suddenly changed, the flow of sand visibly speeding up as more and more sand and dust began to gather on him.The desert was his home turf; everything here could be used by him. Crocodile hadn't used this form in a long time, but he rose to the challenge, and the veins on his forehead looked like they were about to burst from the provocation of this youngster."If you still have a chance to live, years from now when you are wasting away in some old tavern, you should look back and think about whether the condition I just proposed was the only chance of your life."Crocodile became increasingly confident. "Three minutes, just three minutes!""You think you're the only one who can transform?"Sizzle!A cloud of white steam erupted from Luffy's nose, followed by white flame-like clouds beginning to wrap around his body, appearing and disappearing. His hair also flickered between black and white. "Though I haven't reached the full state, it's enough to deal with you.""What is this?!"Crocodile was slightly startled, clearly not expecting Luffy to have a transformation as well.And these white flame clouds looked very familiar!But there was no time for him to think now."Desert Girasol!"Dust filled the sky, blotting out the sun like waves crashing one after another, their power visibly increasing.But Luffy..."Rubber Giant!"Luffy grew visibly larger. He pressed his hands down, coating them in Haki, and then churned through the sand like he was catching loaches, pulling Crocodile out."Caught you."Luffy looked at the grimacing Crocodile in his hand, a battle-crazed, excited smile appearing on his face.Now that I've caught you, don't even think about escaping....On the other side, as the battle between Luffy and Crocodile entered a new phase, the curtains were being drawn on the battles in other corners of the battlefield one by one.Many Baroque Works agents who had been knocked unconscious by the Conqueror's Hakiwere stumblingly getting up, only to be knocked out by a blunt strike the moment they stood."These guys are really persistent."Nami was playing whack-a-mole with her clima-tact.In her arms was Nika, who was a bit dizzy from being caught in Luffy's Haki wave.Nika: "Ni not dizzy.""If I say you're dizzy, you're dizzy."Nami didn't care what he thought, only what she thought.In this situation, only holding Nika gave her a slight sense of security.Although that clear-out just now was shocking, those who remained were all tough nuts to crack.Her gaze soon locked onto a figure walking toward her—a woman with thick, deep blue hair.Her body swayed as she walked, a long, slender pipe held in her hand. She walked with a mincing gait, like she was on a catwalk, carrying an air of deliberate charm."My, little sister, are you also a pirate of the Straw Hat crew?"Miss Doublefinger blew out a smoke ring, her voice carrying a hint of lazy raspiness, but her gaze swept over Nami like a knife:"How does it feel to knock people out from behind?"Nami's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately put on a harmless smile, waving her hands repeatedly:"You've got the wrong person.""Although I'm part of the Straw Hat crew, I'm not a combatant. If you want to fight, go find that green-haired swordsman over there, or that curly-browed cook. I'm just an ordinary Navigator!""An ordinary Navigator? That'll have to do, then."Miss Doublefinger lightly tapped her pipe against the open battlefield. "It seems you're the only opponent left to pick from around here."