High above the skies of Yuda, two figures moved like hurricanes across the rooftops.
One figure glowed with the hue of yellow sand, surrounded by swirling gravel, and flashed with a brilliant azure aura, as if possessed by divine power.
Suicune, in hot pursuit of Crocodile, soon arrived at the desert east of Rainland City. The two had been racing for half an hour, and once they reached a desolate area where no sign of human life existed for kilometers, both sides came to a stop, landing in the middle of the desert.
The scorching sun blazed down, turning the sand beneath them into a sweltering furnace. As soon as Suicune's paws touched the sand, a steamy mist began to rise from the water vapor at its feet. Even a mythical beast as powerful as Suicune couldn't completely resist the harshness of nature.
"I didn't expect you to chase me all the way here." Crocodile sneered as his body materialized from the swirling sand.
Though wary, Crocodile's usual arrogance remained as he stared at Suicune with a complex expression. A man who dared to challenge Whitebeard had no fear of a water-spraying beast.
"Awoo~"
However, in response to Crocodile's taunt, Suicune merely let out a low growl, its expression even more haughty than Crocodile's.
As one of the legendary beasts, Suicune was born with an aura of glory, and its pride was boundless. Crocodile was beneath its notice, and even its own trainer, Cobra, was regarded with disdain. If the Pokémon world hadn't been destroyed, Suicune wouldn't have been forced into such a situation.
A flicker of anger appeared in Suicune's eyes as it stared directly at Crocodile, its gaze seemingly saying, "Enough talk. If you want to fight, then fight!"
Suddenly, a massive amount of water vapor surged from Suicune's body, rapidly atomizing under the scorching sun, creating a mystical mist that shrouded its blue form.
A wave of water!
Without any hesitation, a huge water sphere formed in front of Suicune, its surface rippling with an almost dreamlike energy.
Whoosh!
Feeling the cool breeze on his face, Crocodile's heart went cold. How could the other's water abilities be so strong, even in this scorching desert?
Without time to ponder, Crocodile quickly elementalized his body, then thrust his hand toward the ground.
"Desert Sword!!!"
Under the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, a massive blade made of gravel appeared before Crocodile, slashing at the approaching wave of water with all its might.
Boom!!!
The water sphere collided with the sand blade, and the blue liquid was quickly absorbed by the yellow sand, visibly shrinking in size. The water-soaked sand gradually lost its power, turning inert.
Seeing the water attack blocked, Crocodile's worried expression shifted into a confident smirk, his arrogance returning.
"In the desert, I am invincible!" he declared to Suicune.
As long as he had an endless supply of sand, Crocodile could continuously activate his devil fruit's power. The desert was his ally, absorbing all moisture. Unless…
Unless the enemy could flood the entire desert!
At that moment, Crocodile felt sure of his victory. But when he glanced at Suicune, he was met with those same cold, indifferent eyes.
Without a word, Suicune conjured another identical wave of water and sent it crashing toward him.
"Tch!"
Crocodile growled in frustration, his face contorted with rage as he summoned more sand power.
"It's useless! No matter how many times you attack, this barren desert will swallow every drop of your water!!!"
With a furious shout, Crocodile slammed his palm into the ground.
Boom!
A colossal wave of sand rose up like a tsunami, surging to meet the incoming water wave. As Crocodile had predicted, while the water shattered the sand wave, it was quickly absorbed, leaving the desert parched once again.
"AWOO..."
Suicune let out a low, angry growl, its eyes flashing with fury. A blue light gleamed, and another wave of water began to form. But this time…
This time, the water sphere was enormous, far larger than before! Pouring all its energy into the attack, Suicune created a water sphere nearly a hundred meters in diameter!
Sunlight filtered through the giant sphere, casting a soft, shimmering light on the ground below.
Seeing the disdain in Suicune's eyes, Crocodile's expression froze.
"AWOO!!!"
With a thunderous roar, the massive water sphere plummeted toward Crocodile's position.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Crocodile muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching.
In the next instant, his body tensed, and he quickly slammed his hands onto the ground with all his strength.
Rumble...!!!
The desert beneath them quaked like a turbulent sea.
"Dune Giant Shield!!!"
Under Crocodile's command, the flat sand rapidly formed a colossal wall, rising to meet the descending water sphere. Pouring all his strength into it, Crocodile finally halted the wall just as the water sphere was about to crash down.
Peng——!!!
The moment the water sphere met the sand wall, a deafening impact reverberated through the air. The sound morphed into a tangible force, sending shockwaves in all directions and whipping up terrifying sandstorms.
For a moment, the world seemed split in two—one side consumed by raging waves, the other by hardened yellow sand.
Even Cobra, far away in Rainland comforting civilians, could feel the earth tremble beneath his feet. When he looked up, he was stunned to see the massive curtain of sand in the distance, blotting out the sun.
"Cough! Cough, cough!!!"
After a while, a soft cough echoed from behind the dunes. Crocodile's figure slowly emerged from the damp sand, half-kneeling as he gasped for breath.
"Aw..."
On the other side, Suicune also landed slowly, visibly exhausted. Even for a level 62 legendary beast, such an attack had taken its toll.
"Haha...hehe..."
A dry chuckle escaped Crocodile's throat. He suddenly stood up, waving his hand to conjure a swirling mass of gravel around him. Pointing at Suicune, he burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahahahaha..."
"Hahahahahahahaha..."
"It's useless! It's all useless!!! In this desert, all your attacks will be devoured by my sands!!!"
"You! You cannot defeat me!!!"
Crocodile's laughter grew louder.
After enduring Suicune's full-force attack, something inside him stirred—a long-forgotten thrill of battle. How many years had it been since he felt this way? How long since the defeat by Whitebeard had dulled his once-great spirit?
But now, for the first time in years, his blood raced with excitement once more.
"Now that your attack is over, it's my turn!!!"
Crocodile's face twisted with determination as he conjured a small tornado of sand and stone in his hands, hurling it forward with a fierce cry.
"Heavy Sandstorm!!!"
The sandstorm expanded rapidly as it raced toward Suicune, growing to a towering ten meters in height, carrying devastating power.
But just as Crocodile expected to see the sandstorm wreak havoc, his expression suddenly faltered.
The tornado, which he had envisioned growing even larger and tearing through the ground, seemed to lose momentum after merely scraping the surface.
Crocodile quickly looked down, only to discover that the sand beneath him had become wet, clumping together from the absorbed water.
"What!?"
A sense of dread washed over him.
On the other side, Suicune stood calmly, its eyes closed as it faced the approaching sandstorm. The legendary beast remained perfectly composed, embodying the saying, "Calm even as Mount Fuji collapses before you."
In an instant, a water-blue light enveloped Suicune's body, clearly visible even through the layers of sand.
Move - Calm Mind!
An auxiliary ability that allows one to quickly recover energy and enhance the power of elemental moves by clearing the mind!
Within just a few seconds, Suicune, who had just unleashed the massive wave, had replenished much of its energy reserves.
A slight smirk appeared on its face.
The fatigue and anger from earlier had been mere ruses to lull Crocodile into a false sense of security.
The true purpose was to prevent Crocodile's arrogance from noticing the changes beneath the sand.
Indeed, Crocodile's ability to draw infinite power from the desert was formidable.
Suicune knew that if the battle continued this way, it would be the one to exhaust its strength first.
But...
It doesn't just have the Water Pulse skill!
*Sheer Cold!*
Suddenly, Suicune leaped high into the sky, shedding its usual graceful demeanor, and opened its jaws wide, baring its fangs.
*Huff!*
A cloud of white mist, sparkling with starlight, burst from Suicune's mouth and spread at an alarming speed.
The air thickened instantly.
Wherever the white mist passed, even the scorching desert became ice-cold!
And the temperature plummeted!
"What the...!?"
Feeling the bone-chilling cold engulfing him, Crocodile's expression turned to panic.
But Suicune, who was well-prepared, gave him no chance to escape. The freezing mist poured into the sand at Crocodile's feet.
By this time, the moisture in the sand had spread throughout the area, perfectly balancing range and humidity.
When the freezing air arrived, the sand beneath Crocodile's feet, stretching for kilometers, froze solid in an instant.
"Awoo~ (Now you've got no sand left to use!)"
Suicune grinned, closing its eyes again to meditate and restore its energy.
The next step was simple—defeat Crocodile before the ice melted!
——
'This isn't good!'
Crocodile finally sensed that something was amiss.
Seeing the water-blue glow around Suicune's body, he didn't know what it was, but his years of experience told him...
He was in grave danger.
With a desperate glint in his eyes, Crocodile gritted his teeth and attempted to transform into sand to escape the frozen ground.
However...
The frigid air slowed his elementalization process.
And even though it was just a split-second delay, it was enough for Suicune to catch him!
*Psychic!*
Suicune, emerging from its meditation, opened its eyes, which glowed with an intense flash.
All at once!
A mysterious psychic force descended upon Crocodile, slamming him heavily into the ice-cold ground.
Though unharmed due to his elemental state, his escape was foiled by Suicune's speed!
'What speed!'
In a blink, the light blue blur that was Suicune, which had been dozens of meters away, now stood before Crocodile.
"Damn it!!!"
Crocodile roared in fury, summoning another Desert Sword to strike at Suicune.
However...
*Ice Fang!*
Suicune's glowing blue fangs chomped down on the Desert Sword.
A layer of white ice crystals instantly froze the blade, spreading rapidly toward Crocodile's arm.
"Dammit it!"
Crocodile, impatient, severed his elemental arm and quickly retreated, avoiding the rapidly spreading, deadly ice.
"Awo?"
Suicune let out a chuckle, seemingly mocking Crocodile's timidity.
But by now, Crocodile had no patience for Suicune's taunts!
His eyes darted around, searching for an escape route.
But it was too late...
Suicune had no intention of giving him any more chances.
Familiar water waves gathered before it once more.
In the blink of an eye, a massive, rippling water orb formed, aimed directly at Crocodile!
As Crocodile saw defeat looming, he fell silent.
Watching the water orb approaching, even the thought of escape grew weak.
'Am I really going to lose?'
Crocodile asked himself, his mind replaying his life's events like a reel of film.
Defeated in the New World, he lost his comrades, joined the Shichibukai, stumbled upon information about Pluton, and devised grand schemes for power...
Decades of experiences flashed through his mind.
Suddenly!
He burst into wild laughter:
"AAHHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Crocodile raised his head to the sky and roared through the advancing water orb:
"Cobra!!! I haven't lost yet!!!"
"I haven't lost to you!!! I haven't lost to anyone!!!"
"I've only..."
"LOST TO FATE!!"
BOOM!!!
The massive water orb crashed down with a deafening roar!
Terrifying waves surged across the desert.
The frozen ground began to crumble, creating a massive crater.
Countless chasm-like cracks radiated outward.
The entire scene resembled the end of the world, a sight of pure terror!
But soon, the cracks were submerged by the waves, forming beautiful, delicate ice flowers.
The final wave struck Crocodile directly.
With his weakness to water, he couldn't escape this overwhelming blow and was struck down hard.
Whether he lived or died was uncertain.
——
The disturbance lasted for over a minute.
When Suicune finally landed again, everything had settled.
The scorching sun once again shone upon the desert.
The frozen ground quickly melted, releasing streams of life-giving water, only to be swiftly absorbed by the surrounding dry desert.
"Awo? (Where is he?)"
Suicune carefully inspected the deep crater but couldn't find any trace of Crocodile.
"Awoo?, (How strange... Could he have escaped such an attack?)"
Lacking any detection abilities, Suicune, after searching fruitlessly, shook its head and gave up.
After all, it had very little energy left.
To be safe, it decided to head back.
However...
Suicune couldn't help but feel a headache at the thought of returning to that grumpy old man, Cobra.
"AWooo!!!! (I wish I had a beautiful, pure girl as my trainer!!!)"
With a playful wail, Suicune felt a gentle breeze at its feet and sprinted toward the rain-soaked land.
——
Half an hour later, under the influence of the wind and sand, the battlefield returned to its original state.
At that moment, a massive crocodile strolled across the desert as if on level ground, arriving at the area where the battle had taken place.
But atop the crocodile's back sat a woman with a curvaceous figure and long, slender legs.
Robin tilted the corner of her parasol, taking out a nearly burnt piece of paper and studying its direction.
Pointing with her delicate finger at a spot several hundred meters away from where the last wave had struck, she said,
"Banana Crocodile, dig here!"
"We're here to bring the boss home~"
A mysterious smile graced her lips.
It must be said—Crocodile's reputation wasn't unearned.
Even in the dire situation he faced, he had managed to manipulate the broken, but not soaked, gravel beneath the sand layer to transport his body underground before losing consciousness, thus escaping Suicune's final attack.
This was the last testament to his stubborn will as a pirate that once roamed the New World!
Soon, under Banana Crocodile's diligent digging, Crocodile, buried more than ten meters deep, was rescued by Robin.
"cough..."
Covered in blood, Crocodile spat out a mouthful of sand, glancing at Robin before looking up at the sky with a bitter smile.
"I never imagined that in the end, I'd have to rely on you, the Devil's Child who betrayed countless people, to save me."
"Did you say something, boss?" Robin asks with a hint of displeasure.
"Sorry..."
The weakened Crocodile chuckled faintly:
"Old habits die hard. It's just my way of showing I missed you."
"No," Robin shook her head, smiling:
"Who said I was here...to save you?"
Click!
A pair of cold seastone handcuffs snapped around Crocodile's weakened wrists.
Under the glaring sunlight, Crocodile's astonished expression...met Robin's beautiful, blooming smile.
(End of this chapter)