Luffy burst out of the temple's lower corridors like a cannonball made of rubber and stubbornness. Sand sprayed in every direction as he skidded to a halt on a wide, sun-blasted plateau the island's heart, reshaped and swollen by Crocodile's will. Golden dunes rose like arena walls around him, the air thick with heat and the faint smell of cigar smoke.
He blinked once, twice.
Then grinned so wide it split his face.
"Crocodile!"
Three identical figures rose from the sand directly ahead black coats billowing, hooks gleaming, cigars clamped between sharp teeth. The original Crocodile stood in the center, flanked by two perfect copies. All three exhaled smoke at the same moment, the sound a low, synchronized hiss.
"It's been a while... Mugiwara."
The words came from all three mouths in perfect unison, deep and mocking.
"Have you learned your place in this world yet?"
Luffy planted his feet wide, fists clenched at his sides. The grin never wavered, but something harder flickered behind his eyes something that hadn't been there the last time they met.
"I'm not the same kid you know," he said simply. "You'll find out soon."
Crocodile the original let out a short, dry laugh. The copies mirrored it exactly, a chilling echo rolling across the dunes.
"Emperor, huh?" the center Crocodile sneered, hook glinting as he gestured lazily at Luffy. "Look at you. Still running around like a child chasing meat. You think a high bounty and a fancy title make you anything more than the rubber brat who got buried in Alabasta?"
The left copy tilted his head, smirking. "Three billion berries. Cute. But numbers don't change facts. You're still soft. Still reckless. Still the same idiot who needed saving from his own brother's execution."
The right copy flicked ash into the wind. "And now you're here. On my island. Chasing a fruit that could make you untouchable… while I already am."
Luffy cracked his knuckles. Steam began to rise from his skin Gear Second warming up without a word.
"I don't care about titles," he said. "I care about my friends. About freedom. About meat. And right now? I care about getting past you."
All three Crocodiles laughed again low, amused, dangerous.
The original stepped forward. "Then come. Let's see how much that 'Emperor' title is worth against the desert itself."
Without another word, the three copies moved in perfect sync.
Desert Spada.
Three crescent blades of compressed sand erupted from the ground each one razor-sharp, each one aimed straight for Luffy's heart. They sliced through the air in unison, golden edges whistling with killing intent.
Luffy's grin sharpened.
"Gomu Gomu no… Jet Gatling!"
Rubber fists blurred into a storm of black-coated punches Haki surging, steam exploding, each impact shattering the incoming Spadas into harmless grains.
But the copies were already moving again sand surging beneath them, dunes rising to swallow him whole.
The real fight had begun.
And somewhere deeper in the temple, Toku still hidden in shadow felt the tremor of their clash ripple through the stone.
He smiled around his cigarette.
Perfect.
More chaos. More distractions.
The fruit was close.
And soon, no one would see him coming.