here's a new chapter enjoy
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The pitter patter of footsteps echoed loudly as three cloak-wearing figures ran down the tunnel.
"How far does this thing even go?" Smoker sighed, readjusting the jitte that he hefted on his shoulder.
"By the look of this, Hina assumes it might lead towards the palace itself…" Hina muttered.
Smoker winced a little, "How in the world did this guy manage to build all this without anyone knowing?"
Hina tilted her head at him, "Sand fruit."
Smoker furrowed his brows, "As much as I hate to admit it… He planned this well… And speaking of plans, do we have one or?"
"We kick his ass!" Luffy yelled confidently, punching his hands in the air.
"I thought so…" Smoker sighed again, dropping his shoulders in defeat.
"We'll improvise," Hina stifled a laugh with her hand.
A few more minutes of running later, the sound of running water can be heard. The three Marines soon came to a stop in front of a waterway that flowed from an opening in the roof of the tunnel that seems to reach the other end of the tunnel. A small boat was moored near the edge of the path with a rope securely fastened to a wooden pole.
Another empty wooden pole stood alone at the other side.
"You think that boat can fit all three of us?" Smoker gestured with his chin.
"I can swim," Luffy shrugged.
Hina tested the boat with a foot, taking note of how it floated on the current, "won't be necessary, it will fit all of us, Hina thinks."
"Alright!" Luffy jumped in eagerly, settling himself down at the prow like a proud captain.
Hina followed behind while Smoker stepped in uneasily, still having his doubts. Both Marine Captains settled at the back of the boat, deciding it to be the safest place on the boat.
Seeing that the boat held their weight without any problems, Hina, untied the rope and let the boat float steadily down the waterway.
"This is fun!" Luffy, yelled enthusiastically, punching his hands in the air in victory.
"Only you would find something like this fun," Smoker sighed with a slow shake of his head, resecuring his jitte on his back to make sure it doesn't fall into the water.
"Well, then you guys might want to hold onto to something soon!" Luffy laughed.
Both Smoker and Hina tilted their heads at him, not understanding.
Luffy grinned mischievously and stepped aside from the prow, revealing the twisting waterways that sped up the current.
The two Marine Captains barely had time to grab on to the sides of the boat before they rocketed down the waterway, rocking back and forth against the current.
"LUUUFFFYY!" Smoker yelled, clinging to the side for dear life with Hina laughing delightedly beside him, not even considering the probability they might capsize.
Luffy himself seemed too absorbed in the amount of fun he was having as the the boat went airborne for a moment before smashing back into the water, the ensuing spray drenching them to the bone.
"This is great!" Luffy laughed, shaking the water out from his hair as the boat finally entered calmer waters, slowly floating along the tunnel again.
"I'm glad you're having fun…" Smoker remarked sarcastically, having stripped off his jacket to wring out the water.
"Hina wonders if Crocodile went through that as well," Hina smiled, trying her best to dry her long hair.
"Maybe he likes to have fun too!" Luffy grinned, tilting his head back at them.
"Unlikely," Smoker spat, laying his jacket over his thankfully dry pants. "It's probably made that way to speed up the travel."
Luffy pouted at Smoker who pointedly rolled his eyes before glancing away.
Hina grinned before pointing ahead, "it looks like we're here."
Both males turned back to see the water current ending at a small jetty with another small boat tied to it, no doubts as to who had reached here before them.
"Alright! Let's go kick his ass!" Luffy leapt off the boat without hesitation, punching both his hands in the air.
Smoker stepped off the boat gingerly, putting on his jacket as he did so while Hina secured the boat to one of the wooden poles. A metallic door sat at a rock face at the end of the tunnel where the smooth surface of the tunnel ended.
"Any guesses to where we might be?" Smoker asked, already, gripping his jitte.
"Only one way to find out," Hina grinned as she pulled at her gloves, making sure they stayed tight.
"Let's go!" Luffy laughed, kicking down the steel door off its hinges without hesitation.
The three Marines found themselves in a basement of some sort, barrels and boxes were stacked around the room and a staircase leading upwards was tucked snugly in the corner.
Luffy led the way up as Smoker and Hina followed closely behind, carefully looking around them at each of the levels they passed for ambushes.
The staircase ended in the middle of a small room with a single door that opened out into a rather spacious courtyard. In the middle of it stood two very familiar people.
"Crocodile!" Luffy yelled out immediately upon spotting the Shichibukai.
The Shichibukai and his companion turned to see the three Marines emerging from the secret entrance that they had built to reach the palace.
Crocodile furrowed his brows in rage when he saw them unharmed.
"You… How did you get out of that cage?"
"It wasn't that hard, honestly," Luffy smirked.
Crocodile gritted his teeth as he felt his rage grew. He had thought everything was going to plan when they had the three Marines locked up. The agents that were stationed in the palace had warned him about them after all and he had prepared for their arrival appropriately. But he had came to the palace expecting at least a war in progress, not the silence of a city still in sleep.
"That cage was made of Seastone, you Devil Fruit users couldn't have gotten out of there by yourselves!"
"That's what you get for underestimating us, pirate," Smoker spat.
"What. Have. You. Done?" Crocodile barely held himself back from lashing out at the three Marines.
Hina stepped forward, "Give up, your plans end here."
Crocodile looked around the courtyard once more, all his carefully laid out plans over the years seemed to come crashing down on him.
"Miss All Sunday…" Crocodile turned to glance at the woman.
The woman herself didn't seem concerned about the situation at all and returned his gaze with a look.
Crocodile pointed his hook at her, "It's because of your incompetence that this is happening! How could you have allowed any of this to happen?!"
Miss All Sunday only raised an eyebrow at his accusations.
"Blaming another because of their own failure, how typical of pirates," Smoker grinned.
Crocodile turned back to direct his ire back at the Marines.
"If you're done looking for excuses, I shall go look for what we originally came here for, seeing how we don't have the king in our hands like you planned." Miss All Sunday waved a hand dismissively before turning away.
Crocodile glared at her back, "You will pay for that, Nico Robin…"
Luffy frowned visibly while Miss All Sunday stopped in her tracks.
"I already told you to never call me by that name," Miss All Sunday turned and directed her piercing cold gaze at him.
"If you manage to find it, I can still salvage my plans and our contract shall remain intact… If you fail…" Crocodile waved his hook at her menacingly.
Miss All Sunday only sighed before turning back to leave the courtyard. Crocodile watched her leave before turning back to the Marines with disdain.
"Now for you damn meddlesome Marines, I'll make this quick."
Smoker snorted, "It's already over pirate, you don't stand a chance."
Crocodile smirked at the Marine's words, "Perhaps you might have forgotten? I still have my bomb that would destroy this country and with my power, I will survive the explosion before claiming this land as my own!"
"We won't let you," Hina said simply.
"I can kill all three of you here and now," Crocodile spread his arms wide arrogantly.
"Do try," Luffy grinned, lowering himself into his stance.
Crocodile gestured with his hand at the three Marines, "I'll make sure all of you live to see the end of this country, I'll enjoy the look on your faces when you have realized you have failed."
"Too much talking," Luffy grinned, leaping towards the Shichibukai without warning with Smoker and Hina following closely behind.
Crocodile slashed out with his hand and a blade of sand formed in front of him.
"Desert Spada!"
The sand blade plowed towards the Commodore at blinding speed, cutting through even the ground that it travelled on.
Luffy threw up both his arms to cross in front of him.
"Armament!"
With both of his arms encased in haki, he lashed out his hands at the sand blade, dispersing it back into sand.
Crocodile widened his eyes in disbelief as he watched the Marine charge through his attack without a scratch, right fist already poised to strike him.
Crocodile clucked his tongue as he started dispersing his body into sand, trying to get away from the Marine that was rapidly approaching him.
Luffy grinned as he kicked the ground ten times quickly, appearing right in front of Crocodile just as half his body was dispersing into sand.
The Shichibukai could only grit his teeth as Luffy swung his haki-infused fist down to smash against his face, flinging him away.
Smoker wasted no time in stabbing his jitte forward and catching Crocodile in his abdomen, bringing him fully out of his sand form with its Sea Stone tip.
"Sea Stone…" Crocodile cursed under his breath.
Hina moved forward swiftly and kicked towards Crocodile's torso, caging the upper part of his body in a manacle.
Luffy dashed towards the Shichibukai, brandishing a pair of Sea Stone cuffs from under his cloak.
Crocodile glared hard at Smoker as he flicked his right arm upwards, deflecting the jitte away with his hook. Smoker gritted his teeth in frustration as he watched Crocodile disperse his body into sand before Luffy could reach him and reformed on the roof, free of Hina's bindings.
Crocodile glared down at the three Marines, "I see I might have underestimated you three a bit… A Commodore and two Captains from Headquarters.. I guess I should take this a bit more seriously…"
"We almost had him…" Smoker cursed under his breath.
"We'll get him on the next one," Luffy grinned, spinning the Sea Stone cuffs around his finger casually.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes at Luffy, "How can you handle Sea Stone without it draining your strength? aren't you a Devil Fruit user?"
Luffy stuck his tongue out at the Shichibukai, "That's where you're wrong, I'm not an ability user."
Crocodile gritted his teeth in frustration, "Nico Robin… You planned for this didn't you…"
Luffy stuck the cuffs under his cloak before leaping upwards to the roof, his body encased entirely in haki.
"Too slow," Crocodile mocked the Marine as he dispersed his body into sand, letting Luffy's punch through him.
Luffy turned just in time to see Crocodile reform behind him with a solid wall of sand formed in between them.
The wall flew straight towards Luffy, smashing against the Commodore and plowing through the roof of the building Crocodile was standing on moments before.
Crocodile dispersed once more just as Smoker stabbed his jitte towards the Shichibukai, aiming for his exposed back.
"How naive, you think I'll be that easy?" Crocodile grinned sadistically, reforming himself above the Captain.
"Damn pirate!" Smoker yelled, swinging his jitte in an arc, aiming to smack him across the face.
Crocodile brought up his hook to catch the swing with a cruel smile plastered on his face. He reached his right hand towards Smoker as sand gathered near his palm.
"Sables."
A miniature sandstorm manifested itself on Crocodile's palm, blowing Smoker back and smashing him into the ground.
Hina leapt up and kicked at the Shichibukai, catching him across his torso only to have her leg pass through thin air when he changed his upper body into sand.
Crocodile grinned down at Hina, reforming his right hand in front of her, "Such a pity, you can't touch me without haki."
He grabbed her outstretched leg and pulled her up, dangling her upside down in front of him.
Hina furrowed her brows and kicked at his head with her other leg, gritting her teeth in frustration as Crocodile reformed his head when the kick reached him.
Crocodile let a sadistic smile cross his face, "Did you know, my right hand can absorb moisture from anything it touches, even from another human? Shall we find out what happens when all the water from your body is gone?"
Before he could carry out his threat, Luffy appeared once more at his side with his fist raised and encased in haki.
Crocodile clucked his tongue in annoyance as he released his grip on Hina, dispersing his body once more to avoid Luffy's punch.
Hina flipped herself in midair and landed on both her feet, watching as Crocodile reformed himself on the ground a few feet away from her.
Crocodile gritted his teeth in frustration, "You meddlesome Marines…"
Luffy landed beside Hina just as Smoker reformed himself from his smoke form, standing beside the crater he was smashed into.
Luffy lowered himself again, encasing his whole body in haki, "Smoker! Hina, surround him!"
The Commodore launched himself forward without waiting for a reply, delivering a flurry of blows towards the Shichibukai.
Crocodile furrowed his brows as he did his best to deflect and block each of Luffy's strikes, the sudden aggression from the Marine coming as a surprise.
"Smoke Trap!"
Smoker reached out his arms, changing them into smoke and spreading them out to encircle the area around Luffy and Crocodile.
"Awase Baori"
Hina spreaded her arms in the same fashion as well, encircling the same area with with a fence-like cage of bars from her arms.
Crocodile looked at their new formation with disdain, "What manner of tricks are you up to now?"
"Capturing a criminal, of course," Luffy grinned, never taking his eyes off his prey.
"Ha! Do you little meddlers think you can actually sto-"
Crocodile's words were cut off abruptly as he felt something impact on his back, tossing him straight towards the waiting Commodore.
Luffy grinned openly at him as he punched straight at Crocodile's face, smashing him onto the ground.
The Shichibukai bit back a curse as he reformed himself away from another of Luffy's strikes, trying to get away from him.
He looked around at the smoke ring that Smoker had formed, glaring straight at the look of contempt on Smoker's face.
"Damn White Hunter…" Crocodile spat towards him.
Crocodile turned back towards Luffy again, hatred evident on his face, "I should have expected you Marines would use such underhanded tricks… Using one man to distract me while the other two tries to disable me."
Luffy's grin grew wider as he lunged towards Crocodile once more, aiming a punch towards his face.
Crocodile side stepped the lunge before ducking to avoid a stab from Smoker's jitte that appeared from the ring of smoke.
The Shichibukai wanted to disable Smoker first but Luffy made sure to always be in his way, slowly pushing him towards the edge of the ring and closing the trap on him.
Crocodile shifted away to avoid another of Luffy's kicks before deflecting another stab from Smoker with his hook, constantly shifting his eyes around to watch his front and back.
"Such irritating flies…" Crocodile gritted his teeth in frustration, ducking under another one of Luffy's attacks.
Crocodile lowered himself and placed his right hand on the ground.
"Ground Secco."
The ground below his hand cracked and crumbled, spreading its cracks towards the entire courtyard. The three Marines could only watch as the Shichibukai turned the once majestic stone floor into nothing but piles of sand.
"Now with this change of battlefield, I believe the tables have turned," Crocodile smirked devilishly.
Smoker materialised his jitte from within his smoke behind Crocodile, attempting another stab at him to disable his Devil Fruit abilities. Hina moved her arms in at the same time in order to restrict him while Luffy leaped out of the way.
Crocodile only laughed at their attack as he melted himself into the ground, disappearing into the sand.
"Damnit! Where did he go?!" Smoker cursed as he returned his arms to their original state.
"He wouldn't have just ran off, would he?" Hina watched the ground carefully, fully expecting the Shichibukai to reappear despite her own words.
Luffy shook his head quickly, still in his combat stance, "No, he's still here…"
All three Marines stared at the sand beneath their feet.
Crocodile laughed as he reformed himself behind Hina, his left hand poised in the air with his hook ready to strike.
Hina wasted no time in crouching down low and kicking her leg upwards to deflect his hook away, rolling aside to avoid the sand blade he slashed with his other hand.
Crocodile only sniffed at his failed attack before shifting back into the sand again, disappearing once more into the ground.
"That blasted pirate…" Hina scoffed, wiping sand away from her sleeve.
"He's coming again, Smoker!" Luffy warned, putting his Observation haki to full alert.
Smoker wheeled around just in time for Crocodile to reform beneath his feet, his right hand reaching out to grab at his ankles.
Smoker stabbed his jitte downwards at the pirate, trying to pin his hand with the Sea Stone before he could escape again. Crocodile had anticipated that move, however.
He flicked his hand aside to avoid the stab before grabbing onto the jitte, using his ability to disintegrate the jitte into sand.
Crocodile reformed fearlessly in front of Smoker, laughing as he did so, "Only one of you has means of damaging me now, you two are nothing but liabilities."
"That's what you would think, pirate," Smoker growled, snatching a pair of Sea Stone cuffs from under his jacket.
Crocodile shifted away in record speed the moment he saw the cuffs lash out at him, disappearing into the sand again.
"Hina!" Luffy shouted out a warning, watching Crocodile form behind her with his right hand stretched to grab her.
Hina immediately twisted around to kick upwards at him, aiming to drive him back towards the other two Marines but Crocodile managed to catch her leg with his hand.
"Sand Bara."
Sand poured out from his hand and travelled down Hina's leg, covering her entire body with sand. Within a few seconds, the Marine Captain was covered in a layer of hardened sand, trapping her in her kicking posture like a statue.
"That's one down," Crocodile said proudly as though he had chiselled the statue himself.
"Bastard!" Smoker yelled, charging towards Crocodile with Luffy alongside him.
Luffy kicked at the right side of Crocodile's head while Smoker went for Crocodile's legs from the left, the Sea Stone cuffs ready in his hands.
Crocodile leaned back to avoid Luffy's kick while manipulating the sand beneath him to blast Smoker away.
Crocodile laughed as he shifted away from the Marines, forming himself at the roof of a building nearby, "Weren't you three going to finish me up fast? Time is ticking you know, my bomb could go off anytime soon!"
"Tch, this guy's more trouble than he's worth…" Smoker frowned.
Luffy placed his hand carefully on Hina, closing his eyes and concentrating on the sand that was surrounding her. When he was satisfied, he lightly punched at her, shattering the sand that had encased her, much to Crocodile's disappointment.
"Thanks Luffy," Hina gasped, glad to be free from her confinements.
"Smokey, Hina, go take care of the bomb," Luffy said offhandedly, keeping his eyes on Crocodile.
The two Captains looked at each other.
"But what about him?" Smoker pointed a finger at the smirking Shichibukai.
Luffy clenched his fists, "I'll take care of him, but the bomb comes first."
Hina glared at the pirate who seemed extremely confident that his plans were going as they should have.
She turned and placed a hand on Luffy's shoulder, "Don't take too long, Luffy."
Smoker raised an eyebrow at her as she walked past, "You're going let him do it alone?"
"It's not like we'll be much help anyway," Hina waved her hand at him.
Smoker frowned, taking one last look at Crocodile before turning his back on him as well.
"No you don't," Crocodile laughed, shifting himself towards the two departing Marines. "Can't have you guys ruining my plans any further!"
Luffy jumped up to meet him, kicking at the Shichibukai and sending him crashing back towards the courtyard.
"Your opponent is me," Luffy cracked his knuckles slowly as he landed opposite Crocodile.
"Hmph, they let a brat like you become a Commodore? The standards of the Marines must be dropping." Crocodile sneered.
Luffy smirked, "Indeed, they let someone like you become a Shichibukai too."
"Desert Spada!"
"Rankyaku!"
Crocodile lashed out the sand blade with blinding speed, while Luffy kicked out his compressed blade of air.
Both projectiles deflected each other off course, cutting past both fighters inches away from them.
Crocodile furrowed his brows as he raised his right hand in the air, concentrating on gathering all the sand he could in his palm before launching it at the Marine.
"Sables!"
"Soru!"
Luffy disappeared from where he stood, reappearing behind the pirate with both his fists clenched raised in the air.
Crocodile cursed and turned himself to meet him, facing him just as Luffy launched his barrage of punches at the pirate.
"Desert Scudo!"
A huge wall of sand materialised in front of Crocodile, blocking a few of Luffy's punches before collapsing from his barrage, giving Crocodile time to shift himself away from the Marine.
Crocodile placed his hand on the ground, watching as Luffy advanced on him again.
"Desert Grande Espada!"
Luffy barely jumped aside in time as a large blade of sand erupted from the ground underneath him, cutting across his side and drawing a small trickle of blood.
Crocodile sneered, "You're fast, I'll give you that, but you're still too weak to beat me."
"Shishishi, it's true I still have a long way to go to become strong, I'm still not at where I want to be yet."
Crocodile spat at his answer with disdain, "Ha! Not only you, everything in this country screams of weakness! The king won't do anything against his own people to save himself! The people are no better either to believe such lies and turn against their king so easily!"
Luffy frowned as Crocodile said those words but held himself back.
"Even you Marines too, for not even suspecting anything while this was going on! That little princess of yours will perish alongside all of you!"
Luffy broke out in a grin suddenly, "That will not happen."
"Why not?"
"Because I will beat you here."
Flashback
Luffy fiddled with his red colored tie as he sat on one of the many plush chairs inside the room. The room itself was huge compared to the furniture that adorned it, to the point that the place seemed rather empty despite its plentiful decorations.
The grand double doors opened slightly to reveal Jabra walking in with his usual wolfish grin. He strutted up to the still seated Luffy, who had acknowledged his presence with a slight nod.
"So, Luffy my boy," Jabra grinned, taking a seat in the chair opposite him. "What can I do for you?"
Luffy looked up at the wolf man who was leaning comfortably in his seat, both of his feet placed on the coffee table in between them.
Luffy took a deep breath before meeting Jabra's eyes, "Jabra, please teach me how to fight."
Jabra lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side in confusion, watching the one whom he had initially dismissed as a kid riding on his Grandfather's coat tails to an extremely terrifying existence.
"You already know how to fight, Luffy… What are you talking about?"
Luffy thought over his words carefully, "I've been thinking about what you said… And… I'm still nowhere as strong as I want to be…"
"You're plenty strong enough…" Jabra rolled his eyes and muttered to himself.
"So I'm asking if you can teach me the way you fight?"
"As I said Luffy, what are you talking about? You already know how to fight!"
The straw hat wearing agent shook his head quickly, "What I know is just to punch and kick at things, there's no technique in them. In the past, I've met someone strong who told me I lacked experience… I believe part of it also attributes to the fact that I don't really have a fighting form of my own…"
Jabra frowned, having no fighting form could be both considered a strength and a weakness. Fighters well versed in martial arts would find him difficult to predict due to the flexibility of his movements but most of his attacks would be weaker.
Besides, Luffy as a martial artist? That was something no one could easily come to terms with knowing the way Luffy is.
"Impossible, impossible," Jabra waved his hands dismissively while shaking his head.
"What? Why?" Luffy frowned.
Jabra leaned further back on the chair, sighing, "you don't have the aptitude for it, it's better for you to stay how you are now."
"Then… Is there another way for me to get stronger?"
"Tch… Why are you so insistent on getting stronger? If you ask me, you're already stronger than you have any right to be!"
Luffy hesitated, it was true that he was strong, he had been training himself to be the strongest from the start after all. But he knew with all that strength he was still far from his goal of becoming an Admiral. Others might already see him as strong, but that goal of his still seemed so far away to him.
"I still have things I can't protect with my current level of power…" Luffy said finally. "At my current state, it's still not enough…"
Jabra snorted, "Hmph, even if you say so, there's nothing much that I can teach you, it's better if you find someone else."
"I… I see…"
Luffy hung his head low, staring blankly at his hands.
"No way to get stronger… No way to get stronger… No way to get stronger…" Luffy repeated while sighing to himself.
Jabra sighed at the overwhelming melancholic feeling he was giving out. He scratched his head lightly, considering his next few words carefully.
"Luffy… Damn it… I'm not the only one who can teach you, you know? You don't have to be so depressed over it?"
"But… Ever since I came here, you've been the one teaching me everything… If it wasn't for you, I might have not been able to stay here…"
'Well, yeah… I was hoping you could take over my job and make my life easier…' Jabra thought to himself, glancing to the side uncomfortably.
"Alright, fine!" Jabra slammed the table with finality. "I know you're after my Tekkai Kempo you little brat, you've been pestering me about it since the first time you've seen it!"
Luffy nodded with a huge grin on his face.
Jabra pointed a finger at him, "I'll work you to the bone you hear? Don't come crying to me if it turns out too much for you!"
"Understood!"
Jabra came to regret his decision later.
"Beat me here? You think just because you know a few moves you can stand against me?" Crocodile laughed, spreading out his arms in an exaggerated fashion. "Foolish boy, I'll make you understand the difference between us."
"Shishishi, I look forward to it!" Luffy grinned,raising up both his fists.
Crocodile furrowed his brows as he shifted into sand again, reforming himself directly in front of Luffy and thrusting his right palm towards Luffy's chest.
"Sand Bara!"
Sand poured out from Crocodile's hand and spread itself on Luffy's chest, rapidly covering his entire body and hardening.
Crocodile smirked as he watched the sand engulf the Marine, entombing him in the sand coffin.
"As I thought, you're all talk." Crocodile took a step back, looking down at the statue.
Before he could turn his back to Luffy, cracks appeared all over the hardened sand and shattered, revealing the empty space inside.
"Freestyle Armament"
Luffy grinned behind the still confused Shichibukai, his whole body turning a glossy black colour.
Crocodile barely had time to gasp as he was blasted forward from two impacts on his back, crashing into a nearby wall before he could dematerialize himself.
"What…" Crocodile shoved the debris out of the way, trying to push himself back on his feet only to see Luffy standing over him with his right fist poised in the air.
Crocodile could only watch as the fist descended upon his face, punching him through the wall to end up at another of the palace's courtyards.
He desperately dematerialized himself as he felt Luffy approaching him again at high speed, dispersing himself into the sand beneath the ground.
Luffy grinned as he spun himself mid air and smashed his fist down into the ground, creating a shockwave that blasted most of the sand into the air.
Closing his eyes calmly, he activated his Observation haki as piles of sand surrounded him in the air. In an instant, he locked on to his target and leapt upwards, kicking at a pile of sand from underneath and sending the rematerialized Crocodile higher up into the air.
The airborne Shichibukai did his best to gather as much sand as he could on to his palm, aiming it at the Marine that was rushing towards him in that instant.
"Sables!"
"Freestyle Armament: Rankyaku!"
The sand tornado and air blade smashed against each other, sending out a small shockwave that blasted both Marine and pirate away from each other.
"You impudent Marine!" Crocodile yelled, rematerializing himself behind Luffy with his hook poised in the air.
Luffy ducked underneath the slash before twisting his body around on a foot and delivering a satisfying roundhouse kick into Crocodile's face, sending him crashing into another wall.
Once again, Crocodile pushed himself up from the ground, breathing heavily as he glared hard at the Marine standing across him.
"You're just a damn Commodore, why do you possess such strength?!"
Luffy grinned at the pirate's frustration, "It is not that I am strong, it's just that you can only destroy and not protect anything, that is why you are weaker than me."
"Bullshit! Only the strong will have the power to destroy! Being able to destroy anything is proof of one's strength!"
"You're wrong," Luffy shook his head slowly. "The strong are those who can protect what they treasure, and you have no such thing. That is why you are weaker than me."
"You dare!"
Crocodile lunged at him, punching his right fist at Luffy.
Luffy somersaulted above Crocodile, kicking both his feet downwards and sending Crocodile crashing into the sand below, blasting out a huge shockwave and creating a crater of sand.
Crocodile flicked his hands towards the still airborne Commodore, sending spires of sand crashing into him and blasting Luffy into a nearby wall.
"Desert Spada!"
Luffy barely had time to raise up both his arms and deflect the sand blade away from him.
"Sables!"
Crocodile throws up another sandstorm, concentrating it around himself and increasing its size and velocity gradually until it enveloped the whole courtyard.
Luffy stood his ground as pieces of sand blasted against him, his haki protecting him from serious injury.
"Why?! Why do you try so hard to protect something that isn't even yours?!" Crocodile yelled, increasing the intensity of the sandstorm.
Small cuts started appearing on Luffy as he continued bracing himself against the storm.
Crocodile gritted his teeth in frustration as he saw Luffy not wavering an inch, "This country is filled with worthless people! With a simple trick, they turned against the very king they had placed their absolute trust in! Not even caring that they would destroy their country with their own hands!"
Luffy said nothing as he concentrated on strengthening his haki.
"And the king is just as pathetic as the rest! He cared too much about the people and neglected the country! Everyone in this country is weak!"
"You're wrong!" Luffy finally yelled back. "Everyone in this country is fighting to protect what they treasure the most! They are willing to put their lives on the line and attempt the impossible just so that they can protect the things important to them!"
"And what has that achieved? This country is on the verge of collapse and its people can barely save it!"
Luffy gritted his teeth, "You did not see how they struggled… Everyone struggled to save this country but they were all led astray by you!"
"Ha! All I had to do was to give a little push and they started destroying themselves! I barely played a part in any of this!"
"No, you used the fact that everyone loved this country to instigate this civil war… People like Vivi had to suffer because of it."
Crocodile snorted in disdain, "That little princess? True, it surprised me a little when I found out who she was... But in the end she still failed to do anything!"
"She managed to get to us, and I promised her I will beat you!"
"Meddlesome Marines and your twisted sense of Justice…"
Luffy pointed a finger at Crocodile, "I ask you one last time, Shichibukai Crocodile, surrender!"
"Never," Crocodile lunged towards the Marine, directing piles of sand towards the stationary Marine while still keeping his sandstorm up.
"Freestyle Armament: Tekkai"
Luffy braced against sand barrage without flinching and immediately countered with an uppercut when Crocodile tried to slash him with his hook.
Crocodile spat out the blood in his mouth as he glared daggers at Luffy, "You've done it now…"
He slowly pulled the tip of his hook until it revealed the nasty looking greenish tip underneath.
"This one's coated in a deadly poison and just one slash of it is enough to kill a man, much less an impudent Marine like you!"
"Freestyle Armament: Shigan Rankyaku"
Luffy shot the air bullet that cleanly cut through the end of the hook, watching with mild interest as the blade landed on the floor with a resounding clang.
Crocodile stared slack jawed at his hook.
"Shishishi, as I said Crocy, you're weaker than me," Luffy grinned.
"AAARRGGHHH!"
Crocodile, blinded with rage, tried to punch Luffy with his broken hook.
Luffy ducked underneath the blow and punched upwards towards Crocodile's abdomen, sending him flying into the air.
"Soru!"
Luffy launched himself into the air, just above the airborne Crocodile.
"Freestyle Armament: Tekkai Sai!"
Luffy smashed himself into Crocodile, sending him flying back down into the courtyard and smashing into the ground, throwing up a huge cloud of sand with a satisfying boom.
Luffy landed beside the crater, staring down at the unconscious Shichibukai who now lay facedown in the sand.
"Crocodile, with my authority as Commodore of the Marines, you are hereby stripped of your place as Shichibukai and will be brought into custody."
With that, Luffy sat down heavily beside the crater with a long sigh.
"Urgh, Freestyle Armament really puts a lot of strain on the body... It lets me use other skills on top of haki but it still tires me out too quickly…"
"Still that was rather well done, Mr. Commodore," a voice commented from behind.
"Shishishi, thanks. Eh? You were still here?"
Luffy turned around to see Nico Robin standing behind him with a slight smile on her face.
"I had to know if I could be free from his control after all. And if you could actually keep your promise."
Luffy grinned proudly, "Of course! I always keep my promises!"
"Then may I ask for your pardon? I was forced to work against my will under him, after all." Robin tilted her head slightly, trying to get him to agree with her.
She had honestly thought this young Commodore as nothing but a simple minded Marine officer whom she could manipulate to get herself out.
"Before that, your name is Nico Robin, right?" The smile disappeared from Luffy's face.
Robin noticed the sudden change in the young man's demeanor, and a trickle of sweat rolled down her neck. She stared hard at the Marine, eyes darting between his hands and face. She was starting to think that perhaps she wasn't the one manipulating him after all, she might have been the one to be manipulated instead.
"Why… Why do you want to know?"
Luffy stood up slowly from the crater, turning his back on the defeated Crocodile to face her, "When I was still training to be a Marine… I was put under Aokiji as an apprentice…"
Robin shivered as though the Admiral himself stood in front of her, she could almost swear the temperature dropped a few degrees around her.
Luffy took a step forward and before she could stop herself, Robin found herself taking a step back as well.
"I was told by my teacher to eliminate you as soon as I found you…"
Robin was already halfway in turning around to run as Luffy lunged towards her.
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And cut. so that is it for this chapter hope you guys enjoyed and see you in the next chapter
chapter 22:Among the Ashes