No matter the condition, that was something he could not ignore. Intense anger radiated from his body, his aura transforming into something terrifyingly different from before.
His anger grew so great that he began to show a frightening smile.
"Listen, brat. Those who know the depths of this sea do not speak such words lightly."
Crocodile broke into a run, closing in quickly to finish it this time.
"You, who cannot even beat me, will be Pirate King? Don't make me laugh!"
The knife, swung with full power, was dodged by ducking.
Though his footing was unsteady, in that instant of evasion, his movement was incredibly fast.
"I am the man... who will surpass you!"
After muttering painfully, the two launched attacks simultaneously.
The thrust punch and the knife grazed each other's cheeks.
Their gazes locked. Logic was gone; they seemed to be using all their might just to move their exhausted bodies, squeezing out the last of their strength to attack.
Now, their vision contained only the enemy facing them.
Dodging the arm Crocodile thrust out, Luffy continued to weave right and left with his swaying body. Because of this state, he chained attacks, but they didn't hit.
Conversely, when Luffy thrust his fist, Crocodile dodged with minimal movement.
In the center of the sandstorm, the two fought as if performing a choreographed dance.
Attacks missed by hair's breadths; they enacted a death match where a single blow would decide the outcome.
A battle that made onlookers hold their breath.
Vivi, standing closest, was frozen in place until Cobra, regaining his composure, rushed to her.
It was dangerous here. They had to leave immediately.
Cobra grabbed Vivi's shoulder, trying to pull her away from the duel.
"Vivi! Are you alright?!"
"Y-Yes..."
"What is he... No, never mind that. First, we must leave!"
Vivi was pulled to her feet by Cobra, but when she thought about going beyond the raging sandstorm, she stopped of her own will. Cobra was surprised as she resisted.
Her hand gently lowered Cobra's hand, and she turned her body toward Luffy again.
Having come this far, she couldn't bring herself to run now.
"What are you..."
"He is the last hope. If Luffy-san cannot win, there is no one left who can beat him... But he will absolutely win. I believe that."
Saying this, Vivi took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Luffy-san! Do your best!!"
Cobra stood dumbfounded. Then, he noticed people breaking through the sandstorm to come to their side.
They were the ones he assumed were Vivi's friends.
Arriving faster than anyone else, they took up positions around Vivi and began screaming desperately with bodies that had already surpassed their limits. They called Luffy's name with fervor.
"Luffy~! You're the only one left!"
"Hurry up and blow him away!"
"This is the end!"
"Luffy~! Go for it!"
"Get it together, Luffy! If you don't win, who will!"
"Luffy!"
Hearing their shouts, Cobra understood them, at least a little.
They had entrusted everything to Luffy. Due to the long battle, they too were at their limits, which could be inferred from how they were overwhelmed by Crocodile moments ago. Believing only Luffy could defeat him, they were shouting their support to do what they could.
True, Luffy looked to be in a critical state. But he was the only one who had dodged Crocodile's attacks and landed his own. Trusting him in that instant wasn't incomprehensible.
However, surely their history together played a large part.
Trust in Luffy was visible on their faces. It was clear to see that they had done this before, that they had always trusted him.
Cobra no longer thought of running.
Beside Vivi, together with them, he shouted Luffy's name with all his might.
It was an instant that felt long, perhaps eternal.
Luffy moved sideways to dodge the knife Crocodile thrust, and Crocodile dodged Luffy's punch to the right.
Offense and defense continued without pause for breath.
After being blown away by the sandstorm, the people terrified of Crocodile's power witnessed the spectacle.
A boy, wounded far worse than they were, was fighting while swaying on his feet.
No one knew who he was. But hearing Vivi's desperate voice, and Cobra's voice, and seeing him actually fighting, they felt they couldn't stay silent.
In a tense situation, decisions came quickly.
The onlookers began to shout, and the number of voices, small at first, grew gradually as they watched the battle.
Before long, a multitude of voices gathered around him.
Amidst exhaustion that robbed him of thought, strangely, those voices reached him. First Vivi. Then his friends. And then even those whose faces he didn't know were calling his name.
Luffy bathed in their voices.
"Straw Hat! Go for it!"
"Luffy! We're relying on you!"
"Go! Blow Crocodile away!!"
Luffy. Luffy. Luffy.
Layer upon layer of voices reached him.
He didn't have the composure to reflect on them. But for some reason, power welled up within him.
Looking annoyed and grim, Crocodile stepped forward. He swung his left arm horizontally, aiming for the torso, but Luffy dodged it by rolling.
As he stood up, his body wavered slightly.
Seeing it as an opening, Crocodile thrust the knife immediately, but Luffy's movement quickened, grazing his cheek.
Why could he move like this? It was incomprehensible. It was unsettling.
Crocodile turned his right arm to sand and sent a sand blade racing along the ground.
Luffy jumped lightly on the spot, clearing the blade in an instant to dodge.
Then, aiming to finish him the moment he landed, Crocodile targeted him with the blade, but his swung arm was kicked in mid-air, altering its trajectory to cut through empty space. And that split second of impatience changed the situation.
Stomping the ground hard, Luffy's fist finally caught Crocodile.
The moment he punched him squarely in the face, the surrounding crowd erupted in an even louder roar.
Just one blow. But with his current body, the damage was surprisingly heavy.
Taking the hit, Crocodile realized his body wasn't moving as well as he imagined; due to accumulated damage, he had apparently surpassed his physical limits without realizing it.
"Gah...! Heh, kuhahahaha..."
Dripping with a nosebleed, coughing up blood, he found it strangely funny.
Following his lead, Luffy also stopped moving temporarily.
Watching the two circle each other, gauging distance, the crowd did not stop cheering. In that environment, the two locked eyes and began a conversation that was surprisingly quiet.
"For a mere pirate, you're like a hero. What a strange situation."
"Huff, huff... As long as I can blow you away... that's all I need..."
"Hmph. You're a considerable fool too."
Crocodile charged; Luffy retreated slightly.
Trying to dodge the swung knife, this time his arm was slightly sliced.
The crowd screamed, while he gritted his teeth to suppress a cry.
"There are countless dreaming rookies like you! Anyone can talk big!"
"Cough... wheeze..."
"What can you possibly do!"
Ducking under the knife closing in on his eyes, Luffy ground his teeth.
"I can beat YOU!"
Reflexively, he thrust a fist into Crocodile's stomach.
Crocodile's body lifted slightly, and the moment his feet touched the ground, Luffy punched through his cheek. Naturally, Crocodile's footing faltered, his posture broke, and Luffy swung again.
This time, they hit simultaneously.
Crocodile scraped the arm moving to hit him with his knife, and as that arm reached him, it struck Crocodile's chest.
It was a fierce exchange.
A short time, yet it severely drained their minds and bodies, gradually pushing them to the extreme.
Though voices around them cheered and despaired at their actions, eventually even those voices faded into the distance, and they entered a world belonging only to them.
There was no longer a need to think; they simply did as their bodies moved.
With bodies that could collapse at any moment, their attacks tried to become even faster.
Crocodile created a sand blade on his right arm and swung it wildy.
Luffy dodged by diving under it, leaping into his guard.
Their attacks pierced each other's bodies, and once again, both their blood flew into the air.
"Cough...!"
"Gah...!"
Luffy swung his arm with all his might. Crocodile ducked to avoid it, but Luffy instantly unleashed a kick, piercing Crocodile's bare foot with the knife to break his stance. Using the stabbed left foot as a pivot, he forcibly lifted Crocodile's body while still impaled and slammed him onto the ground as if throwing him.
Roughly pulling his foot from the knife, he immediately aimed for Luffy's neck.
Though choking for breath, Luffy's counterattack was not delayed.
A hook, extended and unleashed, struck Crocodile's cheek with enough force to knock him out.
He fell with momentum, and in that time, Luffy stood up.
They reset again.
Neither would stay down no matter how much time passed. They should have collapsed long ago, yet no matter how many attacks were driven into them, they always stood back up immediately.
At this moment, the scorpion venom was no longer in Crocodile's mind.
He should be dead. Discarding that fact, he focused on killing him with skill.
He was definitely a rookie, but this man was in a class of his own.
Finally acknowledging his strength, he sought to crush him with everything he had.
Those who do not know the level of the Grand Line cannot cross the sea ahead. There are always those above. He knew this from experience.
To aim for the top, he could not lose here. They likely both thought the same.
Luffy, to become Pirate King. Crocodile, to fulfill his ambition. They faced each other with the feeling that losing here meant the end of everything.
Crocodile moved first.
Luffy dodged the unleashed attacks by a paper-thin margin and countered.
Begrudging even the time it took to turn to sand, Crocodile saw through everything to dodge, refusing to retreat, trying to move forward.
Eventually, when their competitive spirits manifested as a posture of advance...
Closing in rapidly, the two slammed their foreheads together in a full-force headbutt.
Foreheads pressed together, fists clenched tight, knife raised.
Swung fully, they reached each other's bodies; punching Crocodile's jaw, gouging Luffy's chest.
This time, both fell simultaneously. The surroundings, cowed by the intensity, continued to scream support while trembling, eyes wide at the ferocity of the battle.
Unable to rise immediately, they took their time, arms and legs shaking as they stood.
Their appearances grew increasingly gruesome. Yet their will to fight only increased.
The moment they stared into each other's eyes, they were smiling.
"Huff, wheeze... I won't allow half-measures after coming this far. It's a question of who dies..."
"Huff, huff... Yeah. The one winning... is me."
Bloody and laughing, they looked terribly frightening to onlookers. But the two seemed to sense something only they could understand, refusing to hold back even now, on the verge of death.
Next, they moved simultaneously, running forward as if it were natural, and collided.
The combat then was a little strange compared to before.
After stomping the ground hard, they didn't move from that spot, as if their feet were fixed. They glared at each other in a momentary stillness, then began to attack.
It seemed they had discarded evasion and defense.
Luffy's fist punched Crocodile. Crocodile's knife sliced Luffy's skin.
Violent attacks were all driven into the opponent's body, and the gruesomeness only increased.
Not only they, but those around them felt it might last forever.
Their bodies were in a state where being alive was an anomaly.
Around that time, a change in the situation finally appeared.
It was when Luffy stumbled unexpectedly.
Seeing an opening, Crocodile thrust his knife for the finishing blow.
"You know nothing, you brat... Who do you think I am?!!"
"I don't care who you are!"
Luffy lowered his head, dodging the massive swing.
"I will surpass you!!"
Then, with an instinctive kick, he kicked Crocodile's stomach upward, sending him flying high into the sky.
This is the end. Both decided it simultaneously.
In mid-air, Crocodile created a sandstorm in his right hand, while Luffy inhaled deeply until his belly swelled.
"Just die already...! Sables—!"
As people looked overhead, Crocodile's attack covered a wide range.
"Pesado!"
Again, a violent storm. It was an impact like being crushed by the weight of the wind.
The spectators were blown away effortlessly, and screams filled the air. Amidst it all, only Luffy braced himself on the spot, enduring until the end.
When the storm vanished, the sandstorm had been blown away, and the view cleared instantly.
By then, Luffy had twisted his inflated body and exhaled forcefully toward the ground.
Propelled by his own breath, he flew high.
Because he had twisted his body, he spun rapidly in the air.
Crocodile falling, and Luffy aiming for the sky—they closed in rapidly in mid-air.
Finally, this was the last.
Luffy extended both arms for a punch, and Crocodile created a massive blade of sand on his right arm.
"Gomu Gomu no...!"
"Desert—"
The final blow extended toward the opponent's body with terrifying force.
"Storm!!"
"La Spada!!"
As the people looked up, the match was decided in an instant.
When Luffy's fists touched the sand blade. Whether it was because they were wet with blood, or some other force was at work... the sand blade scattered effortlessly.
Countless fists assaulted Crocodile's entire body.
A raging torrent of attacks from which there was no escape once caught. Those fists were the strongest yet.
"Uooooooohhhhh—!"
Punch, punch, and punch again.
Without giving a moment's breath, he pummeled the entire body, blowing it away.
Crocodile's body rose higher and higher, and Luffy's arms stretched to match.
"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!"
The final hit thrust his body high, blowing him even further into the heavens.
Everyone in the plaza craned their necks, looking up at the sky to confirm.
After reaching the apex, the two bodies fell headlong.
At that moment, there was a distinct change.
Unconscious, his eyes naturally closed, Crocodile fell. His trajectory oddly mirrored that of the man who had fallen from the sky a short while ago.
Onto the face of the man falling spread-eagled, a single drop of water fell from the sky.
The two falling bodies crashed into the ground.
Taking no ukemi, they stopped with a violent sound.
Everyone was silent. A heavy, oppressive silence spread over the plaza.
Staring at the two fallen figures, no one could move. It was partly because the battle they had waged was unimaginably fierce, but there was another major reason.
Rain had begun to fall, drop by drop.
From the thick clouds that had covered the sky unnoticed, rain—a blessing for the desert nation—fell.
"Rain..."
"It's rain..."
They confirmed it in words. The shock was that great.
Watching the rain, which fell quietly as if absorbing sound and gradually gained strength, Vivi was stunned. But she snapped out of it, thinking she had to save Luffy.
He couldn't move now. And he was dying.
Just as she was about to rush out in a panic, Luffy spoke.
His breathing was still ragged, his consciousness fading.
Still, there was something he wanted to say.
At least just one thing. He muttered in a small voice.
"Huff... huff... I won..."
He felt the attention of the massive crowd shift.
Luffy took a deep breath, and using every ounce of strength remaining, he shouted.
"I WOOOOOOON!!!"
In that instant, the loudest cheer yet erupted.
Hearing it, Luffy closed his eyes with a smile, letting go of consciousness for good this time. As he fell into sleep with a peaceful face, his friends rushed to him all at once. Among them was Vivi, shedding tears with a happy smile.
She had waited so long for this moment, holding back her tears. But endurance was no longer necessary.
Vivi rejoiced from the bottom of her heart at the victory, crying as her emotions dictated.
The people of the Alabasta Kingdom in the plaza held various emotions and pains, but in this moment alone, they expressed immense joy with their whole bodies. Roaring, hugging, some crying.
The long battle had finally ended, and as if to herald that moment, the rain began to fall.
I'm glad I believed in this moment and fought hard. That was what everyone said.
Cobra watched the scene.
They had overcome a national crisis. From here on, this country would change again.
Looking up at the sky quietly dropping rain, he smiled.
For now, the end of the fighting was a joyous thing.
Looking around, Cobra felt relief at the smiles of his people, and above all, at Vivi's joy.
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