"You can shut up now," Rodin interrupted her, "It's fine."
If word got out, that he can summon female images of everyone, he'll become the enemy of everyone. He couldn't have that until he was strong enough to defend himself. And as long as he didn't reveal the truth, no one would ever guess about his absurd summoning system.
"It's fine?" Hawkeye repeated the words. As "Hawkeye," he could see the essence of things, but even he was baffled by this situation. Yet, he had to admit, this female version of Crocodile was more pleasant to look at than the male version in Alabasta.
He had a feeling that this quiet sea was about to get much more interesting.
"That girl has an unyielding spirit," Hawkeye said, his voice apathetic. "I'm looking forward to seeing how far she'll go." He nodded to Rodin, then leaped back to his coffin boat in a single, fluid motion.
He sat down and, after a moment's hesitation, pulled out a private phone snail hidden under his seat.
"Hawkeye? I'm surprised a man like you would call me." The voice on the other end was familiar.
Mihawk paused. "Sand Crocodile," he began, "do you have a younger sister with the same Devil Fruit ability as you?"
There was a long silence on the other end.
"What are you talking about?" the voice finally responded.
"I just fought another version of you, but she's a woman," Mihawk said bluntly. The words felt strange coming out of his mouth. He was about to say more, but the voice cut him off.
"I know you can't joke, but are you kidding me? Sorry, not in the mood."
The call ended. Hawkeye stared at the snail, his face unreadable.
On the warship, Rodin patiently cleaned and bandaged the wound on Crocodile's abdomen. If she had been a man, he wouldn't have bothered, but now he was curious to study a Haki-induced injury.
Crocodile said nothing, her fists clenched. She was a woman who had planned to challenge Whitebeard, and she had just lost to a swordsman she had never considered a threat. And for him to say he looked forward to her getting stronger? It was an insult.
"Am I… weak?" she finally asked.
"You're only twenty," Rodin said. "What are you so afraid of?" It wasn't that she was weak; Hawkeye was just that strong. The experience made Rodin even more determined to summon a powerful combat force to help him. Crocodile was a growth-type character, powerful, but not strong enough yet.
"And don't even think about the Ancient Weapons," he warned.
Her eyes twitched; she had been thinking exactly that. She wondered if Rodin could read her mind.
After bandaging her wound, Rodin began his daily intense workout. He needed to be strong himself. Crocodile, affected by her defeat, also began to train harder. However, the small space on the warship made it a bit difficult for them to exercise together.
"What's wrong with me taking off my clothes?" Crocodile, smoking a cigar, looked annoyed. Her sweat-soaked workout clothes clung to her, highlighting her figure. A Marines nearby stared until Rodin shot them a cold glare, making them quickly look away.
"It's normal in your world, but not in mine," Rodin said, doing a one-fingered handstand, his muscles completely exposed.
"The attitude towards women here are really a pain," Crocodile grumbled, her eyes flicking over his toned body. She licked her red lips, her face slightly flushed. It was a completely different world where a woman could openly admire a man's body without being called a hooligan.
"Just don't take them off outside the cabin," Rodin coughed.
They were the only two on the ship now. The other Marines had been a pain—always trying to escape or call for help—so Rodin had taken care of them.
"Loguetown is coming, Captain!" the lone Marine at the helm yelled, his voice echoing across the deck.
Rodin rose from his workout, his muscles coiling under his skin. "You hear that, Crocodile? We're here." The warship, now their personal vessel, sliced through the waves toward the famous port.
Crocodile, still fuming over her defeat at the hands of Hawkeye, tossed her cigar butt into the ocean with a hiss. Her face was set in a grim expression. "I heard." She had spent the last six days pushing her body to its limits, but the memory of her loss was a constant ache. The feeling of that black blade slicing through her sand body still lingered. She had a long way to go, and she knew it.
Rodin looked at her, a hint of a smirk on his face. "This is where the Pirate King was executed. I bet the rewards for signing in here will be massive." He stretched, feeling the familiar burn of his muscles. "We'll need to be careful, though. This place is crawling with Marines, and there's bound to be a lot of strong people from here."
Crocodile simply nodded, her gaze fixed on the approaching town. Her pride was still bruised, but her resolve was stronger than ever. The defeat had awakened a new fire within her. She was determined to become strong enough to challenge anyone, to never again be humiliated by a man with a sword.
The warship sailed into the bustling harbor. Loguetown was a sight to behold, a vibrant port with towering buildings and a massive execution platform in the center of the town square. It was a place where pirates met their end, and where a new era had begun with the Pirate King's final words.