Although Sir Crocodile had been suppressed by Luffy, he wasn't just taking a beating passively. In a state of high mental concentration, his long-unused Observation Haki, which had regressed, was slowly awakening.
The next second, Sir Crocodile found the rhythm of Luffy's attacks. With a 'Desert Spada,' the sandstorm accumulating in his hands blew toward Luffy.
Unable to dodge in time, Luffy was hit by the 'Desert Spada.' He was sent flying backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Sir Crocodile's years of combat experience allowed him to seize this opportunity. He touched the ground with his right hand, using 'Ground Seco.' The moisture in the earth was sucked dry, causing the entire ground to crack apart.
Seeing Luffy about to fall into the depths of the earth, Hera moved. A dark shadow emerged from the ground and caught Luffy, followed by a bullet flashing with white light hitting Luffy's body.
Healed by the 'Water Bottle Bullet,' Luffy suddenly woke up and became lively again. Looking around, he asked, "Who is it? Who helped me?"
As he spoke, Luffy thought of the bullet with special abilities. The familiar feeling made him scratch the back of his head. "Is it Sis? Is Sis nearby helping me?"
Sir Crocodile also looked around vigilantly. His newly restored Observation Haki spread outward, trying to find the enemy hidden in the shadows.
At this moment, the area where Hera was located had already been covered by her City of Devouring Time. She blew on the muzzle of 'forging sky,' which had just fired the bullet. Crocodile did not discover the hidden Hera.
Luffy resumed his stance. Realizing Hera was in the shadows, he only wanted to show off the results of his training; he couldn't let Hera see him make a fool of himself.
Sir Crocodile looked around warily and said, "You rats hiding in the dark, do you not dare to come out and fight?" In his heart, however, he thought of Hera, who had mysteriously arrived here, and secretly speculated.
"Could it be that youngest Vice Admiral?"
Luffy looked at Sir Crocodile with determined eyes. "Again! This time, I'm definitely going to send you flying."
Sir Crocodile was extremely furious. After years of lurking, he was only one step away from success. He couldn't let some brat who appeared out of nowhere disrupt his plans.
Luffy's hands extended backward—"Gum-Gum Jet Bazooka!" The massive recoil propelled him forward. His head was coated in Armament Haki as he headbutted Sir Crocodile, sending him flying.
Then, with extreme speed, he continuously threw several punches at Sir Crocodile. 'Gum-Gum Jet Gatling' bombarded Crocodile's body incessantly.
Sir Crocodile constantly used Observation Haki to elementalize the parts of his body about to be hit, but his long-unused Observation Haki was no longer at its former level. His elementalization speed couldn't keep up with Luffy's punch speed.
Punches coated in Armament Haki struck Sir Crocodile heavily. In the end, he failed to block all of Luffy's attacks and was knocked to the ground.
At this time, the battle at another location had also concluded. Sara, also known as "Miss Doublefinger," who ate the Spike-Spike Fruit, was still no match for Nojiko and her Magnet-Magnet Fruit.
Sanji, using the Clear-Clear Fruit, also defeated Mr. 2 Ivankov after sustaining some injuries.
After being defeated by Kuina, Zoro faced Mr. 1 Daz Bones, who possessed the Dice-Dice Fruit. He successfully grasped the Breath of All Things, defeated him, and stepped into the realm of a swordsman who can cut steel.
Usopp and Chopper's battlefield was quite tragic, as both sustained injuries. However, with Brook's help, they also defeated the opposing duo and their dog.
Sensing that all the battles had ended, Hera stepped out of the shadows. Her voice reached Kuina's ears nearby with the help of Observation Haki.
Then she took out 'Saikū' and slashed a rift.
Seeing that the battle was mostly over, Kuina also emerged from the shadows. The Straw Hat crew was initially very vigilant upon seeing the figures, but they relaxed when they realized they were Hera's companions.
Ain controlled the clothes of the Baroque Works members, making them float and sending them one by one through the portal. Then, she waved her hand, signaling the Straw Hat crew to follow.
Hera asked Robin, who had walked out with her, "So, how do you feel about this team?"
Robin watched the celebrating Straw Hat crew, feeling their atmosphere of mutual trust, and nodded. "It's a very good team. Why do you ask?"
Seeing that Robin had some good feelings toward the Straw Hat crew, Hera also breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Luffy. "Luffy, come here. This is the archaeologist I found for you. What do you think?"
Seeing that this beautiful lady actually wanted to join the Straw Hat crew, Sanji immediately ran over. "Beautiful lady, please, you must join us!"
Luffy looked at Hera in confusion, seemingly not understanding what she meant.
Looking at Luffy's expression, Hera felt a bit frustrated. She punched Luffy's forehead with a fist coated in Armament Haki, raising a bump.
"Luffy, you idiot! This is the only person who can read the poneglyphs. Do you still want to go to the Final Island or not?"
Luffy yelled while clutching the bump on his head, "That hurts! Sis, why are you still so violent?"
But hearing that Robin actually understood the poneglyphs, his eyes lit up. He ran in front of Robin. "Welcome to the crew! Can you lead me to the Final Island?"
Robin nodded and then shook her head, saying, "I can indeed read the poneglyphs, but to find the legendary four red Road Poneglyphs, which are said to record the location of the Final Island, Laugh Tale."
Hearing this, Luffy's eyes sparkled. Ignoring the bump on his head, he said excitedly, "Alright! Then the next goal is to sail around the Grand Line while finding all the poneglyphs!"
Robin said, "Since your goal is the poneglyphs, then of course I can join."
However, she still harbored some concerns. After Luffy left, she looked at Hera. "Since you know I am the devil child, why do you want me to join the Straw Hat crew? Isn't that putting them in danger?"
Hera smiled and patted Robin's head. "Even a devil child has a place where they belong. I don't think you've done anything wrong. You deserve to have companions you can trust."
She continued, "The Marine isn't suitable for you. I believe that one day, you will truly see the Straw Hat crew as your home."
Robin froze in place hearing Hera's sincere words. Having drifted from place to place since childhood, she could naturally tell the truth of the feelings in Hera's words and the kindness within them.
Robin looked at Hera, who was trying to stand on tiptoe to pat her head as if comforting her, and laughed. "Is that so? Then I'll wait and see."
Then, Hera looked at the people lying on the ground and said, "Alright, let's finish processing things here first."
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