As Robin followed Crocodile away, she cast one last, fleeting, regretful glance at the mummified Luffy.
It was brief, but Crocodile noticed.
"Miss All Sunday," he sneered, "thinking of saving him?"
"I merely wished to see his wretched state," Robin replied coolly.
"Pathetic, like an insect." (Her words could have been for Luffy... or for herself.)
…
Once they were gone, Ray walked over to Luffy.
He'd been monitoring his vital signs.
'True to his protagonist status, he's still kicking, even as a prune.'
"Mikita, water!"
"On it, Ray-sama!"
Mikita swayed over and tipped a large canteen into Luffy's mouth.
Slowly, the mummy plumped back up to normal.
"MEATTTTTTT!"
Ray glanced at Gem.
Gem wordlessly lugged over a giant pack of food and dumped it in front of Luffy.
...
Thirty minutes later, Luffy was 100% restored.
"CROCODILE!" he roared at the sky. "I'M GONNA PUNCH YOU!"
(Crocodile, now nine kilometers away, did not hear him.)
Ray studied him. "Figured out the problem?"
Luffy hesitated. "Not enough stamina! Not enough Haki!"
"Still want to fight?"
"Have to," Luffy said, his expression hardening. "Or Vivi's country... Vivi will suffer."
Ray sighed. "I'm not sure you'll recover next time, Luffy. Let me handle it."
"NO!" Luffy's resolve was firm. "This safe training is too slow! Our enemies keep getting stronger. I'm the captain—I have to get stronger. Ray... leave him to me!"
Sensing Luffy's determination, Ray relented.
'After Buggy, Hawkeye, Momousagi, Garp, and now this, he's finally getting it. This sea is survival of the fittest. He wants to be the one eating the meat, not the one being the meat.'
The thought warmed Ray.
But he'd still step in if Luffy's life was truly on the line.
"Then proceed, beat the shit out of him."
In those few minutes, Crocodile had gotten another kilometer away.
Ray, sensing his position, wound up and kicked Luffy in the butt again.
"Waaah—!"
Seconds later, Crocodile heard that grating voice again.
"Crocodile! I'm gonna punch you!"
WHAM!
Luffy, like a javelin, smashed into the new Desert Turtle's head, knocking it out.
Crocodile and Robin landed gracefully. Luffy dusted off his hat.
"Crocodile, prepare to die."
Fully restored, Luffy instantly went Gear Second and charged.
For the next hour and five minutes, they brawled.
(Ray, Mikita, Gem, and a hidden Robin watched.)
Crocodile actually felt his rusty close-combat skills improving.
Finally, Luffy's stamina ran out again.
The Sand Crocodile, ever the believer in "external power," desiccated him once more.
…
Meanwhile, in Alabasta's royal palace...
Mr. 2 was enduring unprecedented torture.
Waterboarding, fire, electricity... Nami was trying everything.
By dawn, he was a broken, incontinent mess, but he still hadn't talked.
Nami, masked and exhausted, leaned against the wall. "Why won't you talk?! Such loyalty... I'd almost hire you."
Chopper, moved by Bon Clay's devotion, gave him a shot of adrenaline.
"Nami, maybe we should stop? Let's just go to the meeting."
Nami stood up, gripping her Clima-Tact.
"One last try." She stepped behind Mr. 2, her voice turn cold. "You're an okama anyway—you won't miss it, right?"
"How Many Lives Do You Have?!"
Feeling Nami's intent, Mr. 2 thrashed wildly.
As a proud swan of okama-way, losing that meant losing his entire path!
"Mmgh! Mmmph!"
Nami actually admired his defiance.
"Fine," she said, raising her staff. "I'll grant your wish."
Just then, Zoro walked in, covering his nose.
"Nami, still nothing? We need to move."
Nami sighed. "He's stubborn."
Zoro respected that... until he noticed the gag.
"...Nami... could it be... he can't speak?"
Nami facepalmed. "Chopper, remove the gag..."
Freed, Mr. 2 burst into tears.
"I WANTED TO TALK! WAAAAH—!"
And just like that, they got all of Baroque Works' plans.
Leaving the room, Zoro eyed Nami warily.
"...You did that on purpose, didn't you? For Vivi?"
Nami just coughed. "Of course! Vivi's my sister! This monster targeted her father! How else could I repay her fear?"
Chopper: ψヾ( T ﾟ T)ﾉ"ψ (So cruel!)
Zoro: ￣ω￣= (Scary woman.)
An hour later, "King Cobra" (Mr. 2) and his "royal guards" (Zoro, Nami, Sanji, Usopp, etc.) marched off to the rendezvous, easily picking up the real Baroque Works agents (Mr. 1, Miss Doublefinger, etc.) along the way.
At the same time, the first 20,000 captured rebels were being freed by the Marines and royal forces.
…
Elsewhere...
Luffy lay desiccated in the sand, a poisoned gash in his chest.
Crocodile had learned his lesson; this time, he'd used his poison hook.
Still an "external power."
As he left, Crocodile reassured himself.
'He's dead for sure this time. No way he's coming back.'
(A full night of Luffy's revivals had seriously frayed his logic.)
"Miss All Sunday, how far to Alubarna?"
"2.5 kilometers to an inland sea, then 100 kilometers straight."
"No turtle. Your plan?"
"We'll see at the shore."
Ray, sensing the urgency, used his own powers to extract the poison from Luffy.
While Mikita rehydrated him, Ray channeled purified demonic energy into him.
Ten minutes later, Luffy stood up, healed and energized, again.
"Send me one more time. I can still fight."
Each revival seemed to be honing Luffy's Haki.
In the last fight, Crocodile had even used sand clones and sandstorms, but Luffy, with his newly awakening Observation Haki, had dodged them all and countered them.
If Crocodile had only relied on his Devil Fruit, Luffy would have won already.
…
A short while later...
Crocodile and Robin reached the inland sea, where they were met by a group of small, upright sea cows.
"Oh?" Crocodile smirked. "Miss All Sunday, it seems we've found our ride."
These were Kung Fu Dugongs.
They challenge any human who passes.
If you win, they become your loyal disciple.
Crocodile was just about to beat one up... when Luffy arrived again, charging like a javelin.
"CROCODILE! I'M GOING TO PUNCH YOU FLYING!"
Hearing that familiar line, Crocodile's elegant demeanor finally shattered.
"WHAT THE HELL!" he shrieked. "IS THE KING OF THE UNDERWORLD YOUR RELATIVE?!"
He looked at Luffy, who was dusting off his hat again.
"Am I still asleep?! This must be a dream!" He actually slapped himself in the face.
"Ouch! Damn it, Straw Hat Kid, just HOW MANY LIVES DO YOU HAVE?!"
Luffy didn't get it.
"I just want to punch you flying!"
"Why?! How many times have I killed you already?!" Crocodile roared, completely losing his cool.
Luffy just snorted and got into a fighting stance.
And they started fighting.
Again.
The Kung Fu Dugongs, witnessing this epic brawl, started clapping enthusiastically, trying to decide which of these two monsters to apprentice under.
Ray, Mikita, and Gem arrived nearby to watch.
This battle lasted two hours.
With his Observation Haki awakening, Luffy's dodging was way better, and he could sense Crocodile's attack rhythm getting sloppy.
Though the Logia powers were still a pain, Luffy wasn't getting owned anymore.
After two hours, Crocodile was exhausted, bleeding, and struggling to stand.
Luffy was in similar shape, covered in cuts from Crocodile's sand blades.
The sand for a kilometer around them was totally devastated.
Ray had watched the whole thing.
Crocodile, tangled up with Luffy for over ten hours now, was fading.
Luffy, through repeated "sit-ups" (getting beaten, eating, repeat), was getting stronger.
The two were at a stalemate, but Ray knew who'd win.
Luffy's will was resolute; Crocodile's was wavering.
Just then, Ray got a mental message from Chouchou, who was back at the palace.
'All hostages rescued. Negotiations are about to begin.'
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Since theres lot of ppl reading this book, i'll be releasing 3 chapters/day next week!