Can Yue sensed a sudden new presence atop the sand pile.
With a brief check, he knew Robin had activated her ability.
But he gave no response.
He merely watched Luffy's battle intently.
At this moment, Luffy was fighting at full strength.
Without giving Crocodile, who had been launched into the air, a chance to react, Luffy swiftly leaped above the Desert Crocodile.
"Gomu Gomu, JET-Gatling."
The merciless, steam-powered Black Gatling rained down entirely upon Crocodile.
At first, the attacks were highly effective, and Crocodile's injuries steadily worsened.
But as time went on, Luffy sensed that something was wrong.
Many attacks that should have landed instead passed through thin air.
The feeling he had when fighting Buggy and Smoker suddenly returned. Luffy knew that this guy before him was different.
So he stopped attacking and deliberately widened the distance between himself and Crocodile.
He needed to observe first and find out what exactly had happened.
After Crocodile was struck by Luffy's first Haki-infused blow, his mind went completely blank.
He could not understand it. This was only the first half of the Grand Line, and Luffy was merely a rookie pirate who had just set sail.
Why did he possess the power to hit him?
As Luffy continued his assault, certain scenes flashed through Crocodile's mind.
Back when he had roamed the New World, he had learned Haki too.
Relying on his physical skills, he had defeated one powerful enemy after another.
That included a pirate with a Logia-type Devil Fruit ability.
Even though that battle had been difficult, he had still won.
From then on, his reputation in the New World had grown greater and greater.
Then one day, he ate the Sand-Sand Fruit.
From that moment onward, he experienced what a Logia-type ability was, what true power