Crocodile's half-day-long offensive vanished in an instant, erased by a single strike from Usopp.
The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, they cause anything whose "death line" is severed, or whose "death point" is touched, to perish in the way the wielder understands as death.
That meant the raging sandstorm Crocodile had summoned, so vast it blanketed the sky, was erased the moment Usopp's attack touched it.
It simply ceased to exist, as if it had never been there at all.
Up in the air, Crocodile stiffened, his instincts screaming. He darted his gaze around and shouted:
"Who's there!!?"
His power, nullified, effortlessly and inexplicably.
A bead of cold sweat slid down his forehead.
Tracing the direction from which that strange little sphere had come, his eyes locked onto Luffy and his crew.
Their gazes met.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Luffy, calm and unbothered, kept striding forward with that same lazy swagger.
On the other side, Smoker dispersed his smoke barrier, his expression complicated as he muttered under his breath:
"Starry Sky Pirates…"
The attack he himself couldn't withstand, wiped away by one of their subordinates as if it were nothing.
Just how terrifying is this difference in power…?
Crocodile descended slowly from the sky, a wave of sand spreading outward beneath his boots.
The golden grains slithered across the ground, circling around Luffy's crew, forming a tightening ring.
Crocodile stared at Luffy with a grave expression, studying his face as though searching for a memory.
After a pause, a glint of recognition flashed in his eyes. His tension melted into a grin as he spread his hands, pretending at ease.
"Well, if it isn't Captain Monkey D. Luffy! What a surprise, meeting a fellow colleague here of all places.
Are you all here on… vacation?"
His light, playful tone made it hard to believe this was the same man who had just been preparing to destroy an entire city.
Luffy stopped walking as soon as Crocodile spoke. He lifted his head slightly, baring a grin full of teeth.
"Ah, what a coincidence, Crocodile.
You see, I was wandering around the Grand Line when I ran into this really sad little girl. She was crying every day, saying someone had broken into her home and tried to steal it.
Now, as an honorable government-backed bandit organization, we can't just let low-class thieves run around doing as they please, can we?
So I figured I'd come take a look, see what that shameless bastard actually looks like.
By the way, old sandbag, what've you been up to lately?"
Luffy's grin widened as he strolled closer, his tone casual and mocking, as if the two of them were long-time drinking buddies.
Heh. Acting, huh? Who doesn't know how to act?
Shing…
For some reason, as Crocodile watched Luffy approach, he suddenly felt as if a prehistoric beast had opened its jaws toward him. His legs instinctively took a step back.
To think,
Even when facing Whitebeard, he had never felt this kind of dread.
No way… he can't be stronger than Whitebeard!
He shook his head, dismissing the thought as absurd.
But the unease in his gut refused to fade.
Trying to stop Luffy's advance, Crocodile barked out,
"You… what do you want?"
From Luffy's earlier words, and from seeing that unmistakable figure of the Starry Sky Pirates, it wasn't hard to guess.
So the Arabasta princess made a deal with them… to protect her family's throne.
That, in his mind, wasn't an impossible arrangement.
After all…
He hadn't come to this country for trivial reasons.
The rebel army, they were merely pawns.
And if sacrificing a few pawns could buy him the cooperation of another Warlord of the Sea… well, that was a fair trade indeed.
Luffy tilted his head thoughtfully at the question, pretending to ponder.
After a few seconds, he smirked.
"I guess… I just want to make this ocean a little more interesting."
"Oh? Then it seems we'll have plenty to talk about."
Crocodile's grin returned as he stepped forward, the look of a seasoned warlord playing the game.
But then,
Luffy wagged a finger, smiling.
"No, no, no, no…
I think the sea would be a lot more interesting… if there were fewer self-righteous weaklings like you. Heehee."
"..."
The air went dead silent.
Only the whispering sands moved, everything else froze.
Crocodile's cheerful grin vanished, his face darkening.
The smoke from his cigar curled upward as his jaw clenched.
"It seems… I've been too kind," he growled.
"You little brat!!!"
BOOM!!!
The sands around him surged together, forming a massive spear in his hands.
Furious, Crocodile roared and thrust the weapon toward Luffy's head!
Even a clay man has a limit to his patience!
He hadn't wanted unnecessary trouble, but that didn't mean he was afraid!
He was a pirate who once roamed the New World, who had even challenged Whitebeard himself!
How could he fear another Warlord of the Sea?
The spear, sharp as death itself, cut through the air with tidal force.
Even a fortress wall would be skewered in an instant!
But Luffy didn't flinch. He only smiled, eyes unblinking as the spear came closer.
That smile made Crocodile's heart pound painfully, as if it were about to burst.
The arrow was already drawn, it could not be stopped!
CLANG!
SHHHK!
A flash of cold light. Then, blood sprayed skyward.
The sand spear shattered into dust, scattering uselessly across the ground.
Blood streamed down Crocodile's shoulder, soaking his dark fur coat crimson.
Zoro straightened, sheathing his blade with a smirk.
"Don't move.
Next time, I might not miss it."
"Damn you—!"
Humiliated, Crocodile swung up his golden hook, aiming to crush Zoro's head.
BOOM!!!
His strike never landed.
A leg intercepted it mid-swing, tall, elegant, and unyielding.
Sanji stood sideways, one leg raised high, a grin on his face. He pinched the end of his cigarette and blew out a thin stream of smoke.
"I did say not to move, didn't I?"
Whoosh!
Caught between Zoro and Sanji, Crocodile's eyes widened. In panic, his body dissolved into sand, scattering backward.
FWOOOSH!
A violent sandstorm erupted as he retreated into the air,
Only for,
BOOM!!!
An enormous wave of pressure slammed into him from above, forcing him straight down into the ground.
Nami floated down from the sky, looking down at him with clear disdain.
"Hey.
If you like playing with sand so much, then stick to sand.
Don't keep borrowing power from the sky. Otherwise…"
She smiled coldly. "I might not be able to stop myself from hitting you."
"You damn brats!!!"
Crocodile roared in defiance, muscles straining as cracks split the ground beneath him.
With sheer willpower, he rose once more, blood pouring freely from his shoulder, his lips stained with dark, internal blood.
But before he could steady himself,
Petals, soft and pink, bloomed in the air around him.
Then came purple flames licking across his skin.
Robin smiled faintly, murmuring:
"Treinta Fleurs: Strangle"
Dozens of pale hands burst from Crocodile's body, each coated in a layer of dark, hardened aura.
Crocodile's eyes widened in horror.
Armament Haki!
He knew that color of strength all too well.
BOOM!
He was slammed to the ground again, unable to move.
A black arm clamped around his throat, cold, suffocating.
He lay there, staring blankly at the blazing sun overhead.
He couldn't believe it.
That he, a man who once defied Whitebeard, had been crushed so utterly, in mere seconds.
Nearby, Smoker, Tashigi, and the watching marines stood frozen in shock.
Crocodile, the terror who had nearly destroyed them all, was defeated effortlessly.
In Smoker's heart, the Starry Sky Pirates grew ever more unfathomable.
Luffy stepped forward, his shadow falling over Crocodile's face.
His black X-Glove gleamed, gathering energy that pulsed with blinding light, power so dense it made the air hum.
Looking down, Luffy met Crocodile's dazed eyes and spoke softly:
"Submit… or die."
=======
Notes: Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, from Type-Moon that allows one to perceive the "death" of all things, including inanimate matter.