Chapter 36: It's Just Elementalization, Anyone Can Do It!
As Ryuji's words fell, Crocodile saw the tidal wave emerge from nowhere.
The meltwater from the iceberg gathered and surged, forming a wave dozens of meters high.
It was as if a real dragon was thrashing within the water!
With a roar, it charged toward the patch of desert where Crocodile stood.
"..."
In the distance, Eha stared, dumbfounded.
He thought he was dreaming.
But a moment later, he knew he wasn't. Even in a dream, he couldn't have imagined such a scene.
In Alabasta—the kingdom of deserts—a tsunami had appeared!
At that moment, Crocodile felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.
This was beyond his understanding too.
"How did he melt that massive iceberg instantly?"
"What exactly is this guy's ability?"
He had countless questions.
But right now, none of them mattered.
Only one thing mattered: the outcome of this battle!
"I've really run into one hell of a monster."
Crocodile didn't retreat. Against an attack like this, running was pointless.
So...
BOOM!
He grabbed his left wrist with his right hand and slammed both hands into the sand beneath his feet.
"Ground Death!" (Erosion Samsara)
As he roared, the earth shook violently.
The desert sand surged even more violently than before.
It turned into an invisible wave, spreading out from Crocodile.
Everything in its path...
Even the minuscule moisture that remained in the desert was instantly sucked dry. Rocks hidden in the sand turned to dust in an instant.
And then...
"Sables: Pesado!" (Heavy Sandstorm)
Crocodile unleashed another technique. The sand swirled into a massive, super-dense sandstorm.
The next moment...
The power that withered everything and the colossal sandstorm... collided with the tsunami sweeping across the desert!
CRASH!
Sand met water, churning into muddy columns.
Golden sandstorm against azure wave—the collision was grand enough to be a scene from a myth.
But... all stories have an ending.
The moment the first droplets of the tsunami pierced through the sandstorm...
The victor was decided.
SPLASH!
The tsunami smashed through the sandstorm.
Mud sprayed everywhere, and the remaining wave washed over Crocodile without resistance.
Feeling his body instantly stiffen, Crocodile gritted his teeth.
He knew—from this moment on, he could no longer elementalize.
And he knew his opponent wouldn't miss this chance!
Sure enough.
CRACK!
Intense cold radiated toward him. Crocodile looked up.
He saw Ryuji leaping toward him, frost coating his fist.
"It's over, Crocodile!"
Ryuji punched down!
"Yes."
But at that moment...
A strange smile appeared on Crocodile's face. "It is over!"
As he spoke...
BANG!
From the sand behind Ryuji, which had just been washed by the wave...
Something burst through the surface. It was a hand!
A left hand with a golden hook, the severed stump wrapped in sand.
But now, the hook was gone—replaced by a sharp, poisoned needle.
SHUNK!
The hand flew through the air and stabbed directly into Ryuji's right side.
Crocodile grinned in triumph.
"You're strong. A wave that size... even my Ground Death couldn't absorb it all."
"But..."
He stood up.
The wind blew his cloak, revealing that his left arm was indeed missing from the shoulder down.
"Before the water hit me, hiding one hand under the sand... that much I can do."
Crocodile knew he had won.
The hook and the needle inside it were coated in deadly scorpion venom from the Alabasta desert.
Without an antidote, death was certain!
But before Crocodile could declare victory...
He realized something was wrong.
"Hm!?"
His left hand didn't feel like it had pierced flesh.
Instead... it felt like it had stabbed into something thick and viscous.
A split second later, Crocodile felt a searing heat and excruciating pain from his severed arm.
"GAAH!"
The pain of bone and flesh melting made even the tough Warlord scream.
But his willpower forced him to look up.
He saw something flowing from Ryuji's body.
But it wasn't blood.
That thick, scorching, burning substance was...
"Magma!?"
He gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse. "Elementalization!?"
He understood what had happened. Ryuji had elementalized at the last second to dodge the fatal blow.
But...
"Impossible... the Magma-Magma Fruit belongs to Akainu!"
With his experience, he knew exactly who owned that top-tier Logia fruit.
But Ryuji clearly didn't intend to give Crocodile time to think.
SWISH!
The sound of rushing air returned—Ryuji's fist was already there.
And in that instant, Crocodile saw his opponent's impossible form.
The majestic Dragon Head Mask seemed to split into two colors: red and blue.
And his body followed suit.
Steam wreathed him like a white sash.
Half of his body was made of frozen ice.
The other half was burning magma.
"Dual Elementalization: Frostfire Avatar."
Water dripped from the melting ice, silently answering Crocodile's question.
His ability was never 'manipulating moisture.'
"Ice and Magma... two completely opposite elements... in one body?"
This defied Crocodile's understanding of the world.
He was certain that if he told anyone what he saw, it would shake the world to its core.
But clearly... he wouldn't get the chance.
"I told you, didn't I?"
The voice from the mask was calm. The eyes beneath it held only stillness.
"You can't beat me."
The fist of magma and ice grew larger in Crocodile's vision.
He closed his eyes.
"'The Zodiac'... 'Ryuji'."
He whispered the name he had heard for the first time today.
He knew this man was destined to shake the seas.
Just like... he once did.
The excitement of first setting out as a pirate, the thrill of growing stronger, the helplessness of defeat against Whitebeard, the pride of becoming a Warlord—countless memories flooded his mind.
He thought of his unfulfilled ambitions, his grudges, his pursuits.
But, as he had said...
In defeat, those were just useless words carved on a tombstone.
Winner takes all. Loser eats dust. That was the rule of the sea.
"I really am... unwilling to accept this."
That whisper was Sir Crocodile's final thought.
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