"I can't stand those hypocrites who pretend to be kind. That's why I wanted to bring down your father. What do you think? Is that reason enough?"
"Hahaha..."
"You bastard!" Vivi clenched her teeth.
Luffy then stepped forward.
"Crocodile, right? I'm gonna blow you away!"
With that, Luffy charged straight at Crocodile.
"Wait, Luffy!" Zoro shouted urgently, but it was too late. He muttered curses under his breath.
"This idiot!"
Luffy used his Shave technique to close the distance, but Crocodile still wore that cold, indifferent smile.
"Rubber Pistol!"
Luffy's punch landed directly on Crocodile's face, but it had no effect and passed right through him.
Crocodile's hand appeared in front of Luffy and grabbed his neck.
"Straw Hat Boy, I've wiped out countless fools like you!"
Crocodile activated his Devil Fruit power, causing Luffy's body to rapidly shrivel and dry up. Soon, Luffy was left as a mere husk.
Crocodile then threw Luffy back.
"Luffy!"
Sanji leapt to catch the falling Luffy, but Luffy's eyes were glazed over, his body light and weak.
"Give Luffy some water!" Vivi yelled urgently.
Everyone quickly poured the water they had on Luffy's body.
Crocodile watched without a hint of concern. To him, they were just ants—crushing them was effortless.
After a while, the water started restoring Luffy's body to its original form.
Next moment~
"Huh~"
Luffy did a sit-up, sitting up and gasping for air.
"That was close! I almost thought I was done for!"
"Did it take just one move to take down Luffy?" Zoro asked solemnly.
"Of course! Hahaha..." Crocodile laughed again.
"That's because you and I aren't on the same level of piracy!"
"If that Demon King Kai was with you, I might be a little worried. But just you? A bunch of clueless pirates who don't even know their weapon colors are trying to defeat me?"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"Kai will be here soon, don't get too cocky! When he arrives, he'll beat you to the ground!" Usopp shouted, though his confidence wavered.
Unexpectedly, Crocodile laughed even harder.
"Hahaha..."
"Didn't you know? Your ally Kai has been defeated by Aokiji and has been gone for days. Soon, you might even hear that he's been imprisoned in Impel Down!"
"Oh, you'll never see that day because you're all going to die here today!"
"What!!!"
The crew's faces were filled with disbelief.
"Kai... How is that possible?" Nami stuttered, struggling to accept the news.
"Kai is so strong! There's no way he could be defeated! You must be lying!" Luffy, now recovering, shouted.
"Why would I lie to you?" Crocodile spread his arms.
"You clueless fools don't understand the level of power a Marine Admiral wields!"
"Not just anyone can handle that!"
Everyone fell silent, their faces growing grim. They had suspected something when they hadn't heard from Kai, but they didn't want to believe it.
Even now, accepting the truth was hard.
Kai... so strong, how could he lose?
After a long silence, Luffy slowly raised his head and stared fiercely at Crocodile.
"Then we'll defeat you first, and then go rescue Kai!"
"Hahaha..."
"You really are naive. You don't even know where Impel Down is!"
"You think you can rescue someone from there? Stop dreaming!" Crocodile mocked.
"I don't care, I'm going to save him! And I'll definitely beat you too!" Luffy's eyes were resolute as he glared at Crocodile.
With that, Luffy charged at Crocodile again and threw another punch.
Crocodile, seeing Luffy's stubbornness, sneered. "Kid, don't you get it? You can't…"
"Pfft!"
Before Crocodile could finish, Luffy landed a heavy blow to his stomach, sending him crashing into the wall behind him.
Crocodile quickly stood up, glaring at Luffy's water-coated hand.
"So, you figured out that water affects me!"
"Ah, so that's why you've been trying to take away everyone's water. To keep us from hurting you!" Vivi realized, surprised.
"Everyone, pour water on yourselves!" Nami shouted to the crew.
Instantly, they splashed the remaining water on themselves, their confidence renewed as they faced Crocodile.
Crocodile's face darkened as he watched them, but Luffy's next words made him look like a fool.
"Really? So water can restrain you? I thought it was my punch that did the trick!"
Luffy raised his arm, revealing the dark, shiny Haki coating it.
Crocodile's face looked as if he'd bitten into something unpleasant, especially when he saw the crew's mocking expressions.
"Oh, I didn't realize Master Shichibukai was so generous. He must be worried we can't defeat him, so he's telling us his weaknesses!"
Usopp said with a sly grin.
"Indeed, he's such a nice guy!" the others echoed, their tone dripping with sarcasm. They then turned to Luffy.
Zoro eyed Luffy's Haki-coated arm enviously. "I didn't expect you to master Haki first!"
"Damn it! I'm just a little closer!" Zoro grumbled.
"Hahaha, it's only natural for the captain to be stronger!" Luffy said cheerfully, patting Zoro on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you might master it naturally someday! I only broke through the last hurdle after being nearly drained by him!"
"When we fight him later, maybe you'll master it just by slicing him up a few times."
"Huh? That makes sense!" Zoro's eyes lit up as he drew his sword, focusing on Crocodile.
At the same time, the rest of the crew stared at him with anticipation, ready to face the seasoned villain.
Crocodile, feeling insulted, roared, "A bunch of brats daring to challenge me!"
"You're really asking for it!"
"Desert Sword!"
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.