Crocodile froze completely.
The cigar slipped from his lips and fell to the ground.
That once cold and confident gaze—
Was now filled with utter disbelief… and confusion.
"Armament… Haki…"
His voice turned sharp and shrill from sheer shock.
"Not just Observation… you can use Armament too?!"
"Who the hell… are you?!"
His entire understanding of the world—
Was collapsing.
A rookie from the weakest sea…
Who had only been sailing for a few months—
How could he possibly wield both forms of Haki?!
This defied all logic.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Did you come back from the New World… or did I?!"
It felt like a max-level boss returning to a beginner zone to crush weaklings—
Only to find that some random "noob" not only outleveled him—
But had better gear…
And even abilities that directly countered him!
"This kind of thing… shouldn't exist here!!!"
Luffy slowly lowered his fist.
The black Haki still flowed across his arm—
Radiating a suffocating pressure.
He looked at Crocodile—
Who was now questioning his entire existence—
And spoke calmly:
"Ronan was right."
"There's nothing in this world that's absolute."
"If this is all a 'Warlord of the Sea' can do…"
"Then the pain you brought to Alabasta—"
"I'll pay it all back with this fist."
Crocodile's pale face twisted with rage.
He was a man who had once challenged the strongest in the world.
He would never accept being humiliated by some East Blue rookie.
"Don't get cocky, you brat!!!"
He roared like thunder.
The sand around him exploded into chaos—
Forming a massive vortex spanning over a hundred meters.
His arms crossed before his chest—
As his body merged with the storm of sand.
"Desert King Kong Blade!!!"
Four colossal sand blades—
Each dozens of meters long—
Formed instantly in the air.
But these were no ordinary sand constructs.
Under extreme compression—
They had turned dark brown—
Almost like obsidian.
This was Crocodile's ultimate killing move.
Sharp enough to slice through meters-thick steel like butter.
And worse—
Its range made it impossible to dodge—
Even if you could predict it.
"DIE!!!"
The four blades screamed through the air—
Slashing from four blind angles—
Toward Luffy.
Luffy didn't move.
Not even a step.
He simply inhaled—
As the Vajra-like internal force surged through his body.
A faint golden glow shimmered beneath his skin.
CLANG————!!!!
A deafening impact erupted—
Like two mountains colliding midair.
Shockwaves exploded outward—
Tearing up the entire ground.
Crocodile's pupils shrank violently.
His grin froze.
In the storm of shattered sand—
Luffy stood there.
Unmoving.
The four blades—
Capable of cleaving fortresses—
Had struck his neck, chest, and shoulders—
Yet all they produced—
Were brittle, metallic snapping sounds.
His skin—
Didn't even have a scratch.
"…Done?"
Luffy slowly raised his head.
His gaze beneath the brim—
Cold as death.
The fury he had been suppressing—
Finally burst free.
"Now… it's my turn."
Luffy stomped—
The ground shattered beneath him.
His body didn't stretch like before—
Instead—
Every ounce of power was compressed into his fists.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
"Jet Bazooka!!!"
Both fists—
Coated in dense Armament Haki—
Blasted forward with explosive force—
And slammed directly into Crocodile's abdomen.
"PUAAAGH—!!"
Crocodile's body bent instantly—
Like a shrimp.
His logia body—
Completely suppressed by Haki—
Couldn't disperse the force at all.
The impact tore through his organs—
His eyes bulged—
Blood mixed with fragments—
Exploded from his mouth.
He hadn't even been sent flying yet—
Before Luffy was already moving again.
"IT'S NOT OVER!!"
"APOLOGIZE TO THIS COUNTRY!!!"
Luffy shot into the sky—
Reaching hundreds of meters in an instant.
His right leg arced downward—
Dark red energy surging with gravity.
"Gomu Gomu no—"
"AXE!!!"
He descended—
Like a world-ending meteor.
His Haki-coated foot—
Crushed down onto Crocodile's back.
BOOOOOOOOOOM————!!!!
The earth shattered.
The entire plaza trembled violently—
Like a magnitude-12 earthquake.
The explosion echoed across the capital.
A mushroom cloud of dust rose into the sky.
When the dust settled—
Everyone saw it.
A massive crater—
Over fifty meters wide—
Several meters deep—
Had formed in front of the palace.
At the center—
Crocodile lay there.
Broken.
Like a pile of mud.
His luxurious coat—
Shredded.
His golden hook—
Snapped.
His once cold, domineering eyes—
Rolled back—
Lost in unconsciousness.
Crocodile.
One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea—
Had been utterly defeated.
To Read60+ AHEAD advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146