Crocodile's eyes narrowed. He could feel the temperature surging within those raging flames. If they touched him, even with his ability to turn into sand, he wouldn't come out unscathed. If even the sand itself was melted, he might not be able to escape unhurt.
Seeing this, Crocodile sprang upward, leaping clear of the ground and rapidly retreating backward. At the same time, he swung his arm, which transformed into a massive crescent-shaped sand blade that cleaved straight toward the flames.
"Barján."
Like a rolling sand dune, the blade swept forward. Wherever it passed, the flames were smothered and extinguished by the sand.
A smug smile appeared on Crocodile's face as he descended from the air.
"Without air, even flames can't burn. Your Mera Mera no Mi poses no threat to my Suna Suna no Mi."
"Oh!"
Yemu's eyes lit up at the sight, and he couldn't help praising him.
"You've developed the Suna Suna no Mi quite well. But I think you've misunderstood something."
Crocodile froze as he saw Yemu's hand tighten around the hilt of the Tengoku Blade.
"My flames don't need air."
Crocodile went blank for a moment, then seemed to realize something. He looked toward the spot where his sand had buried the flames. Beneath the sand-covered ground, a deep red glow suddenly spread.
Scalding lava burst upward, carrying flames with it as it erupted from below.
"What?!!! Hey, isn't this a bit too unreasonable?!!!"
Crocodile's face darkened, black lines practically forming across his forehead.
"Unreasonable?"
Yemu paused, then laughed.
"You'll understand someday. There are plenty of things in this world that make no sense at all."
After all, as one of the Shichibukai, Crocodile himself had once been defeated by Luffy, who couldn't even use Haki, relying on nothing more than a bucket of water and his own blood.
As for melting this sand, Yemu didn't even need to use the power of the Atsu Atsu no Mi.
Naturally, Crocodile had no idea what Yemu was talking about. But it didn't matter. The Suna Suna no Mi had far more potential than this.
What shocked him instead was seeing Yemu draw Tengoku, then calmly slide it back into its sheath. The flames vanished instantly.
"That's enough. It ended up a bit anticlimactic, but I don't feel like fighting anymore."
"What do you mean?!"
Crocodile frowned, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Are you looking down on me?!"
"No."
Yemu shook his head and glanced around at the Sabaody Archipelago, beautiful and dreamlike in every direction.
Their clash had been little more than a warm-up, yet it had already caused devastating damage to the island. The ground was cracked and scorched, magma flowed in places, the bubbles floating through the air had disappeared, and tree branches were burning everywhere. It looked like a battlefield after a war.
"Don't you think it's a shame to ruin such a beautiful island?"
Crocodile was momentarily taken aback, then he stared at Yemu with a deeply furrowed brow.
"Are you joking? You think I'd stop for such a stupid reason? What does this island's destruction have to do with me?"
"You might think it's stupid, but I don't. When it comes to beautiful things, unless it's absolutely necessary, I can't bring myself to destroy them."
Crocodile frowned even more deeply, his eyes now carrying a trace of disdain as he looked at Yemu.
"Are you even a pirate? Pirates live by the rule of the strong preying on the weak. It's kill or be killed, and any dirty trick is fair game. Do you really think your enemies will spare you for such a naive reason?"
To his surprise, Yemu simply laughed arrogantly and shot back a question.
"That's what a pirate is to you, Crocodile?"
"!!!"
"To me, being a pirate means freedom. Absolute, unrestrained freedom. As long as it makes me happy, excites me, or feels right to me, I'll do it. Whether it's choosing the Mera Mera no Mi, playing some foolish saint, becoming Pirate King, killing Celestial Dragons, or even overthrowing the World Government. That's why I became a pirate."
"Otherwise, I would've just joined the Marines. With my strength, do you really think I'd do badly in the Marines or the World Government?"
"So right now, I genuinely love the beauty of this island, and I don't want to destroy it. That's why I've put my blade away against you. Do you have any objections?"
Crocodile was completely stunned. At that moment, though he hated to admit it, he truly felt inferior standing before this man.
The words sounded almost childishly naive, yet they carried a power that made one unable to help but yearn for them.
"Damn it!"
He suddenly remembered that newspaper.
The successor to Roger's will.
What exactly was the will of the Pirate King?
Was it freedom?
"Freedom?!"
At that moment, Crocodile lowered his head, as if lost in thought. The sand and dust hanging in the air slowly dispersed. After a moment, he raised his head and looked at Yemu.
"This time, I'll let you go. But once we reach the New World, I'll take your head."
With that, Crocodile turned around and prepared to leave.
Just then, Yemu spoke up.
"Then how about getting a meal together? After a fight like that, you've got to be hungry."
...
In the end, Crocodile refused and left with his subordinates.
Yemu, on the other hand, brought his companions to the food street on Island 74 of the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Oh!!!"
The sheer variety of food dazzled everyone's eyes. Baby-5, who had originally been excited about the amusement park, completely shifted her attention to the street snacks instead. The group split up, sampling different foods, their faces full of satisfaction.
Flare went from stall to stall, tasting everything. With just a single bite, she could tell what ingredients, seasonings, and techniques had been used.
Even so, everyone deliberately stayed relatively close to one another, just in case.
In front of a takoyaki stall, Yemu and Flare stood waiting.
"Thank you very much!"
Yemu took two skewers of takoyaki from the owner, handing one to Flare while eating the other himself.
"Oh, this tastes really good!"
"Really? Let me try! Oh, this should be giant claw octopus from Bantoro Island in the West Blue. And this seasoning… it's from Flavor Island, isn't it?"
The stall owner's eyes immediately lit up.
"You're amazing, customer. You figured it out right away."
"I'm actually a chef myself."
"Then you've come to the right place. I've got octopus ingredients gathered from all four seas here. If you're interested, you can try them all."
"Really? Then I'll have to trouble you."
Just then, a sudden wave of noise broke out. A large number of people could be seen running in one direction, their faces filled with excitement.
"What's going on?"
The takoyaki vendor asked, looking a little awkward.
"It's over by the shopping street. The Dumbo Circus is starting its show."
"The Dumbo Circus!"
Flare's expression immediately turned excited, but she quickly sensed something was off and asked,
"If it's just a circus, then why, boss…?"
The owner's expression darkened.
"The circus is only a front. Their real business is human trafficking…"
"What?!"