The three Crocodile copies moved as one sand surging beneath them like living waves, hooks flashing in the sun. The original Crocodile lingered only a moment longer, cigar smoke curling from his lips as he watched Luffy stand defiant in the center of the plateau.
"Tch. The fruit is the priority," he muttered, voice low enough that only the wind carried it. "This game can wait."
He dissolved body collapsing into a swirling cascade of golden grains that spiraled upward and vanished over the dunes, leaving the two remaining copies behind. They didn't hesitate. They didn't speak. They simply attacked.
Desert Spada.
Twin crescent blades of compressed sand erupted from the ground sharper, faster, wider than before slicing toward Luffy from opposite angles, whistling through the air like scythes forged from the desert itself.
Luffy didn't move more than an inch.
His body swayed just a fraction Future Sight painting every trajectory in crimson threads across his vision. The first blade passed so close the wind of it tugged at his straw hat, sand particles stinging his cheek like tiny razors. The second missed by millimeters close enough that he felt the dry heat of it brush the front of his vest, whistling past his ears in a high, keening note that made the air vibrate.
He exhaled once. Calm. Centered.
The copies snarled in unison.
Again.
Three more Spadas this time triangulated, converging. Luffy tilted his head left, right, then ducked a hair's breadth. Blades crossed where his neck had been, sand exploding outward in harmless sprays. He stayed rooted barely shifting, feet planted like he'd grown into the dune. Every dodge was minimal. Efficient. Almost serene.
The copies' frustration mounted visibly. Their movements grew sharper, more desperate. Sand rose in thick walls, trying to box him in. Luffy's eyes glowed faint red Future Sight burning brighter. He stepped sideways once barely a shuffle and the collapsing dune missed him entirely, crashing down in a useless heap behind him.
Frustration boiled over.
One copy slammed his hook into the ground. The entire plateau buckled sand erupting in a massive wave meant to swallow Luffy whole.
Luffy laughed bright, fearless and bounced higher, flipping once in the air.
"Are you going to keep dodging, Mugiwara?!" the remaining copy roared, voice cracking with fury. "Stand still and fight!"
Luffy stopped mid-air.
His body hung suspended propulsion jets idling, steam curling lazily around him. His eyes glowed deep, burning red Future Sight blazing like twin suns.
He looked down at the copies.
And smiled.
"Not dodging," he said simply.
"Seeing."
The desert went still.
The copies froze.
Toku still hidden, still waiting felt the shift in the air. A pressure. A calm before something enormous.
The fruit pulsed once closer now.
Closer than ever.