My codename is 'Chen Dragon'!

Elma, outside the city.

"Phew, the quality is really good."

Aha, leading his Karoo Duck 'Dodol', dug out a fresh sand shoot in the desert.

This unique plant grows in the deserts of Alabasta, relying on groundwater and rainfall to grow.

Its taste is delicious, and it is difficult to pick, making it highly sought after by gourmets.

Aha's profession is a 'Sand Shoot Merchant'.

"The Rain Summoner's last rain really saved us in a pinch."

At this moment, Aha threw the sand shoot into the basket on the Karoo Duck's back, sighing.

He had lost count of how many times he had sighed like this recently.

People always remember miracles.

He would never forget the moment he witnessed the 'Rain Summoner' emerge from the desert with his own eyes—that rain, in a sense, had saved his life and the lives of his wife and children.

"I just don't know why His Majesty the King doesn't admit to knowing the Rain Summoner, even though I heard the other party has already entered the royal palace."

"Rustle—"

He lit his pipe and muttered in a low voice.

"Rustle—"

But after just two puffs, he felt something was wrong.

"Rustle—"

Soon, he reached a conclusion.

"The sound of the sand isn't right."

Aha frowned.

As someone who had spent a long time in the desert, he understood it very well.

The desert near Elma shifted to some extent every day due to wind or groundwater, but... since a moment ago, it seemed too active.

The 'rustling' sound of the moving sand was even a bit jarring.

"No, that's not right. The sky to the west and the wind direction are also wrong."

And soon, Aha discovered more abnormalities.

At the edge of his vision, the sky to the west of Elma seemed inexplicably gloomy.

He could even see the sand in the west moving with the naked eye, yet Aha didn't feel much wind from the west.

"Something's wrong."

So, Aha decided to go take a look.

His house was nearby, and for the sake of his wife and children, he had to confirm the situation.

Therefore.

"Dodol!"

"Quack!"

He mounted his Karoo Duck and sped towards the west.

"I remember that area being the outskirts, and someone even opened a cafe there. Hmm?"

He was still pondering on the way.

Then.

"Quack!"

After cresting a sand dune, the Karoo Duck beneath him let out a startled cry.

It suddenly braked, and the immense inertia almost threw Aha off.

"Dodol!? What are you doing?"

But Aha's complaint was cut short halfway.

Because after cresting that dune, the scene that met his eyes was almost horrifying.

Above the sky, a torrential downpour was falling.

But the rain falling from the sky couldn't reach the ground—because before it could, the massive 'Sand Curtain' rising from the ground and obscuring the sky had blocked it all.

This also made Aha understand why the sky in this area looked wrong.

Because even the nearby sunlight was completely blocked by that enormous sand curtain.

"Thud!" "Thud!"

Crisp sounds echoed all around.

These were the sounds of the 'Sand Curtain' in the sky, having absorbed enough Moisture, falling piece by piece from the sky and hitting the ground.

As these sand blocks fell, new sand continuously rose into the sky, ensuring the existence of the sand curtain.

But this magnificent scene was not the most astonishing part.

"Boom!"

At this moment, besides the sand curtain blocking the torrential rain.

The entire desert within hundreds of meters was actually churning—countless golden sands formed giant waves, constantly surging.

It was as if it were no longer a desert, but a 'sea' swept by waves.

And above that sea of sand, everything had vanished.

Whether it were rock pillars, shrubs, or the cafe that should have been nearby in Aha's memory, all traces were gone.

This was also the reason his Karoo Duck braked.

One step further, and he too would have become part of this 'desert'.

And as a citizen of Alabasta, Aha was actually very familiar with this sight.

Quicksand—Alabasta's most common and most terrifying 'natural disaster'.

But the problem was—

"What is that..."

Aha's murmur at this moment was almost a sleep-talk.

Because he saw—within the churning, surging sea of sand, there were actually two figures!

"Boom!"

One of them had his lower body completely submerged in the yellow sand filling the sky.

His left hand was a golden hook, and every swing would stir up sand waves that blotted out the sky, condensing into massive 'sabers'.

And wherever the sabers passed, the entire desert was split open by huge deep trenches.

In fact, if one looked closely, they would discover that the center of the swirling quicksand in the entire desert right now was this man!

And opposite him, the figure fighting him, Aha was very familiar with.

That majestic Dragon Head Mask, it was precisely that 'Rain Summoner'.

And at this moment, this mysterious guest was also displaying incredible power.

He walked within that violent quicksand.

A thin layer of ice spread beneath his feet with every step he took.

No matter how turbulent the quicksand, it would freeze and solidify the moment it approached him, turning into a solid foothold.

And every time Crocodile swung his 'Desert Treasure Sword', massive ice shields would appear beside him, blocking the attack.

This incredible scene made Aha begin to doubt his previous judgment.

Because everything before him undoubtedly told him one fact.

That was—everything he was seeing at this moment was not a 'Natural Disaster', but the masterpiece of these two people.

Their battle had directly altered the surrounding terrain.

"Are they... really human?"

Aha couldn't help but have such a question in his heart.

But then, he couldn't help but worry.

Because even though he was someone who couldn't fight at all, he could still see it.

On the battlefield at this moment, the one controlling the quicksand held a clear advantage.

And the 'Rain Summoner' seemed to be suppressed.

But for Aha—he didn't know why the two were fighting, but at least he knew...

"That Rain Summoner is the hope of the country right now."

He murmured worriedly.

And at this moment...

On the battlefield...

"Kid, I told you. You won't have another chance to touch me with water."

Crocodile's voice came through the flying yellow sand, filled with clear arrogance.

"Chii!"

As he spoke, the sharp 'Desert Treasure Sword' roared out again.

And on the other side...

"Clang!"

Dragon of the Star waved his hand again, and the suddenly appearing ice shield blocked the 'Desert Treasure Sword'.

Before the sharp sand blade could cut through the ice shields, Chen Long leaped backward, dodging the attack.

"The 'no chance' you mentioned means not engaging with me?"

At this moment, Chen Long shook his head. "I thought a dignified Shichibukai's scheme would at least be a bit more imposing."

He directly pointed out what Crocodile was doing.

Ever since he confirmed that Chen Long knew his weakness and that his ability seemed to be 'controlling water'.

Crocodile's choice was to create distance and trigger this 'quicksand'.

Using this vast Sea of Sand, he had been attacking Chen Long from a distance with the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, never engaging in close combat.

"As for schemes, as long as they are effective enough to achieve victory, that's all that matters," Crocodile said calmly.

"As for face or honor—those things only appear on epitaphs."

As he spoke, he slashed his right hand again, and a Giant Hand made of Yellow Sand rose from the Sea of Sand, reaching out to grab Chen Long.

"Buzz!"

Chen Long leaped, dodging the attack.

Even though the attack failed, Crocodile didn't seem to care at all.

He was a Logia-type Ability User of the 'Sand-Sand Fruit'.

And Logia-type Ability Users represented 'Nature'.

Therefore, their power was equivalent to a 'Natural Disaster'.

Paramecia and Zoan-type Ability Users often consumed a lot of stamina when causing large-scale, long-range damage with their abilities.

But Logia-type Ability Users were different.

They could create elements out of thin air, making large-scale attacks very easy for them.

Especially in their own 'Natural Environment', the stamina consumed to control the elements within that environment was minimal.

This was precisely why Logia-types were called the strongest Devil Fruit category!

Take Crocodile at this moment, for example.

Continuously controlling Yellow Sand to attack Chen Long from a great distance was like instinct to him—the sand was an extension of his body, consuming almost no stamina.

"Your ability is indeed a threat to me, but there is a gap in the hierarchy between our abilities."

With his words falling, he waved his hand again.

Several sand blades suddenly flew out, and Dragon of the Star dodged them again.

"Victory. You're speaking too soon."

Dragon of the Star chuckled softly.

And beneath the mask, Luo Yi's expression even held a smile.

Because in fact, Crocodile's choice was exactly what he wanted.

Crocodile was unwilling to engage in close-quarters combat with him, and Luo Yi was even more unwilling—his slice clone, 'Dragon of the Star', due to insufficient Devil Fruit slots, had not been augmented with any body-strengthening Devil Fruits.

Therefore, his use of Rokushiki could only be considered barely passable.

If Crocodile were to fight him up close, he would be even more wary.

But since Crocodile chose to battle him with abilities, he naturally couldn't be happier.

And at this moment.

"Time is up."

He murmured inwardly.

And on the light screen before his eyes.

[Logia Type · Sand-Sand Fruit, Analysis Completion: 100%]

The content on the light screen indicated that he no longer needed to conserve his strength.

So.

"I can let other things slide, but I can't just ignore your words about a gap in our Devil Fruit Abilities!"

As his words fell, Dragon of the Star landed.

He slowly raised his hand and snapped his fingers!

Then Crocodile was shocked to see a colossus erupt from beneath Dragon of the Star's feet!

"Rumble!"

The earth trembled, and the earth veins cried out.

And along with the dull, heavy sound, a cold air like that of a harsh winter accompanied it.

That cold air even made Aha, who was watching from afar, tremble all over.

And then, he saw the Rain Summoner slowly fly into the air—or to be more precise, he was lifted by the thing beneath his feet.

It was a colossal, crystal-clear giant.

It carried a bone-chilling cold, broke through the Sea of Sand, and rose from the ground, appearing in a land that belonged only to sand.

It was an... iceberg!

[Freeze · Frost Mountain]

"How is this possible?"

The presence of something that shouldn't exist in the desert caused Crocodile's expression to stiffen instantly.

Undoubtedly, what was happening at this moment was beyond even the understanding of this Shichibukai.

"This is a desert, a desert with almost no moisture."

"Even 'Aokiji' couldn't create such a massive iceberg here in such a short time—even an Ability User of the Logia type, who can alter their surroundings by generating their own element, would need time..."

As he pondered this, his body froze.

Then, he almost instantly turned his head and looked around.

Amidst the swirling Yellow Sand, there were things he hadn't paid attention to before.

These were the things that had been falling from the sky almost constantly during this battle—the 'Sand Curtain' that had served as his cover from the rain, now falling as sand blocks after absorbing so much rainwater.

Thus, Crocodile finally realized the danger.

"From the very beginning, he..."

His mind, renowned for its strategy, instantly grasped the terrifying truth.

The opponent's true objective from the start had been right here.

No wonder the downpour continued even after he had deployed the Sand Curtain to block the rain.

The purpose of the rain wasn't to drench him, but to alter the moisture concentration of this battlefield.

"Crocodile..."

At this moment, Dragon of the Star's voice came from atop the massive iceberg.

His voice carried a slight heaviness—it was clear that using his ability at this intensity was taxing for him.

But...

"My organization is called the 'Twelve Zodiacs'."

"And my codename in the organization is 'Dragon of the Star'!"

As the words fell, Crocodile saw that the massive, towering ice peak beneath the other party's feet had actually begun to change again!

White smoke appeared on the surface of the ice mountain, almost completely obscuring the entire peak.

But even though the interior was hidden, Crocodile could still hear sounds.

Then...

"Gurgle!"

Crocodile heard the sound of surging water.

[Molten Fire · Giant Wave]

No.

"Gurgle!"

"Boom!"

"Rumble--!!!"

The surging, changing sound indicated that what was coming was not a trickle—but a giant wave!

"It's just a desert. If I can't summon wind, rain, and sea waves here, how can I be worthy of using this codename?"

This battle has really stumped me. It took me nearly 4 hours to finish writing it.

This chapter is 4000 words. The battle will end in the next chapter.