Chapter 133 - Final Fight
[Scene Change]
While the rest of us were wrapping up our fights, Vivi moved like a blur through the ranks of Baroque Works members. She darted among them with deadly precision, her weapon flashing as she took down one enemy after another.
She was targeting the weaker enemy. So she was killing a large number of them.
Baroque Works grunts fell left and right. No one could stop her. Anyone foolish enough to raise a weapon against her met a swift end.
"Where are the agents? Why aren't they stopping her?" one of the Millions members shouted in frustration. Before he could say more, Vivi flicked a small knife that buried itself in his throat.
"Bitch, let me kill you!" A stout, middle-aged woman with bright red hair stepped forward. She wore a necktie shaped like a Christmas tree and had a wild look in her eyes.
"Miss Merry Christmas!" the Millions cheered. They were relieved that real backup had finally arrived.
Without wasting a second, Miss Merry Christmas lunged at Vivi. Her long, knife-like nails extended as she activated a partial transformation from her Devil Fruit, turning her hands into razor-sharp claws.
"You're done!" she snarled while slashing wildly. She clearly wanted to kill Vivi as soon as possible.
Vivi dodged again and again, staying just out of reach. Then she countered, swinging her own weapon with brutal force. The chain on Miss Merry Christmas's claw snapped under the impact.
Vivi rolled toward one of the nearby minions, punched him square in the face, and snatched the gun from his belt. She scanned for her target, ready to shoot, but Miss Merry Christmas had vanished.
In the next instant, Vivi appeared right in the middle of a cluster of agents. Before they could even react, she opened fire, dropping them one after another with calm, precise shots.
'Vivi is really a nice gun woman. She really knew how to handle the gun. I wonder if she can handle my meat bazooka~'
Miss Merry Christmas used her Mole-Mole Fruit to burrow underground. She erupted from a hole behind Vivi in a surprise ambush.
Vivi twisted away by a hair's breadth.
Now too close for comfort, Vivi spun around, pressed the gun to Miss Merry Christmas's face, and pulled the trigger at point-blank range.
Bang!!
The shot rang out, and Miss Merry Christmas dropped instantly. She was killed with the headshot.
Vivi had also defeated her opponent.
....
….
[Scene Change] [MC POV]
"Candle Lock!"
Mr. 3 shouted while thrusting both hands forward. A thick wave of wax surged toward me and wrapped around my feet. It hardened in seconds, encasing my legs in a solid prison.
"I caught you," he said with an arrogant grin. "Once solidified, my Candle Lock is as hard as steel!"
I flexed my leg muscles and applied a bit of strength. The supposedly unbreakable wax crumbled like dry paper.
With a casual swing of my sword, I sent a flying slash hurtling toward him. Mr. 3's eyes widened in panic at the size of the crescent arc. He rolled desperately across the sand to avoid it.
I followed up with another slash. He rolled again—this time ending up right next to Miss Golden Week.
The girl had a childish look: big eyes, round blush marks on her cheeks, short stature, and dark red hair tied in twin braids. Even in the middle of a battlefield, she was sitting completely relaxed. She was even enjoying a picnic with rice crackers and tea.
"Miss Golden Week, let's team up and defeat him!" Mr. 3 pleaded.
I was about to press the attack, but I noticed the others had already finished their fighting. Nami, Kuina, and Vivi stood victorious over their opponents. Mr. 4 and the remaining minions were either down or being handled by the girls. There was no real need for me to keep dragging this out.
'Besides, toying with Mr. 3 is becoming boring, and I have no interest in punching the cute little artist across from me. So, let's stop this meaningless fight.'
I released a burst of Conqueror's Haki.
Ommmmm...! Buzzzz...!
Thud!!
Thud!!
One after another, every Baroque Works member except my crew collapsed unconscious to the sand.
In the distance, only Lily and Crocodile remained standing. They were locked in their own battle.
....
…
[POV Change]
Lily and Crocodile were staring at each other. They both had deadly serious looks on their faces.
Ommmmm...! Buzzzz...!
"Hmmm?? Conqueror's Haki?? It seems your pirate crew is not simple. I quickly need to kill you and defeat your crew members quickly. Otherwise I may really get into trouble."
Crocodile raised his right hand. Sand swirled up, coating his entire arm up to the wrist.
"Crocodile, I'm going to kick your ass," Lily declared.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
She launched a powerful punch, but her fist passed right through him. She was just scattering Crocodile's sand harmlessly.
"You bitch!" Crocodile growled in frustration.
"Take this!" He raised his right hand again, shaping it into a sharp spearhead of sand.
"Desert Spada!"
He stabbed downward while sending the sand spear racing along the ground toward her.
Lily dodged easily.
"You don't even know Armament Haki," Crocodile sneered, his smug smile returning. "You can't touch me. With my Sand-Sand Fruit, I'm unbeatable in the desert!"
"Gomu Gomu no Catapult!"
Lily stretched her legs, launched herself out of a patch of quicksand, and rocketed toward him at incredible speed. She appeared at his right side and fired a rapid punch.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
The rubber-powered strike was too fast for him to dodge. It slammed into his face, sending him tumbling across a sand dune.
"Bitch!! How dare you hit me? I'll kill you!" Crocodile roared as he struggled back to his feet, shivering with rage. Blood leaked from his nose and the corner of his mouth.
He noticed the blood on Lily's fist and frowned deeply. 'Damn... does she know my weakness?'
Crocodile's greatest vulnerability was water—and blood contained enough moisture to cancel his intangibility. Just like Luffy had done in the original story, Lily was exploiting it now.
He knew he couldn't afford to drag this out. "It's time for you to die."
He extended his right hand.
"Sand Sables!"
A small sand tornado formed in his palm, then rapidly expanded into a massive, roaring sandstorm that barreled toward Lily.
She grinned wide. "Shishishi, a tornado like that is useless if it doesn't touch me."
In a blink, she vanished from her spot, reappearing far off to the side, then disappeared again—materializing right behind him.
"Gomu Gomu no Bullet!"
At such close range, her punch carried devastating force. Crocodile raised his hook to block, but the impact was overwhelming. It hurled him dozens of feet backward.
"Desert Spada!"
He reformed his right hand into a loose, fast-moving sand blade and stabbed it into the ground. The blade extended like a torpedo, tearing through the sand in a straight line toward her.
Lily leaped aside and closed the distance again.
"Gomu Gomu no Cannon!"
Her punch cracked through the air with a sonic boom. Crocodile spat blood. He was staggering due to the force.
'This little girl is insanely strong. Every hit feels like my bones are about to shatter.'
Lily's power far exceeded anything he had anticipated. Worse, she kept coating her fists in her own blood, nullifying his ability to turn intangible.
Her speed made it impossible for his attacks to land, while every one of her strikes connected with pinpoint accuracy.
Crocodile dropped to one knee, breathing hard. Blood dripped from his mouth, pain etched across his face.
'Has she awakened her Observation Haki? How is she dodging all my attacks?'
"I thought you were supposed to be strong as a Shichibukai," Lily taunted. "But you're so weak. I don't even need Armament Haki—just a little blood, and I'm beating you."
"Don't underestimate me!" Crocodile snarled. There was fury in his face. He leaped into the air.
"Desert La Spada!"
He formed multiple solid sand blades with fan-shaped edges and swung them down toward her in a wide arc.
This time, Lily didn't dodge.
Spit!!
She stood her ground, spat into her palm to mix with the blood already there, and bent forward.
"Gomu Gomu no Spit Gatling!"
Her arms blurred upward at impossible speed, fists vanishing into a storm of rapid punches. Air bursts exploded around her like the barrels of a real Gatling gun.
Her barrage slammed into the sand blades. After only a few hits, the constructs shattered. The remaining punches continued straight through and hammered Crocodile relentlessly—dozens of powerful blows landing in mere seconds.
When the onslaught finally stopped, Crocodile collapsed face-first into the sand, unable to rise again.
Lily had also defeated her opponent.