Practice and Progress

Today, Crocodile had misjudged two things.

First, what Caesar had secretly salvaged wasn't the remaining records from Ohara, but a Stone Tablet carved with a sculpture.

And that sculpture had come to life, turning into a Primitive Man!

Second was the personality of this Primitive Man called "Aiven Lindsey."

Lindsey's first "steps" had led Crocodile to believe he was just a simple child.

But in reality, that long stretch of time had already transformed Lindsey's "simplicity" into "purity."

It was the most troublesome kind of personality in these seas!

Crocodile couldn't control him, so he'd decided to deal with him first, to prevent anything worse from happening.

So right now, Crocodile was really pissed!

And so, right now, Aiven Lindsey was over the moon!

Throughout those fifteen hundred years or more, Lindsey had nearly lost his ability to perceive the outside world.

He'd constantly imagined what his Devil Fruit Ability could do and developed countless theories, all in the hope of finding an outlet.

Now that he was experiencing the world again with his five senses, everything seemed so precious.

The fragrance of soil and grass;

The sunshine, sea breeze, beach, and rough deck;

And even things that others couldn't understand—

The flames scorching his body, bringing stinging pain;

The impact and vibrations of a head-on collision with a dragon;

Of course, getting hurt was no good, and pain was unpleasant.

But Lindsey was still happy.

The feedback from his five senses, even the ups and downs within his heart, made him feel alive.

That was what "freedom" was supposed to be!

So when Lindsey clenched his fist and smashed Crocodile's Grit Saber with his forearm, the first thing he felt wasn't pain. It was joy.

That felt great!

The Punk Dragon was a little too weak, only good for whetting his appetite before a meal.

By comparison, the [Sand Crocodile] Crocodile standing before him was more than worthy of being called the main course!

Rattle, rattle, rattle...

The Grit Saber shattered, scattering into countless fragments.

But the sand that should have fallen to the deck instead hung eerily suspended in midair, frozen in place.

In fact, this wasn't "sand" in the usual sense. It was part of Crocodile's body!

As a Sand-Sand Fruit user of the Logia Type, Crocodile could turn his entire body into elemental sand, giving rise to all sorts of different techniques.

But he didn't let that make him overconfident.

Back in the Laboratory on Punk Hazard, Crocodile had already gotten a glimpse of Lindsey's Devil Fruit Ability.

Zoan Mythical Beast Type: Devil!

The so-called "devil" was a creature from fantasy, its abilities unknown.

And the ability Lindsey had displayed—the so-called "Earth Demon"—seemed to be connected to the "earth."

Cracking the ground open, quickly digging underground tunnels, and compacting soil into hard weapons.

All of these had to do with earth and soil!

So Crocodile waited until the two of them were aboard the ship and far from the island before testing Lindsey.

Without any soil, even if you were a Mythical Zoan, you'd probably be left with nothing but brute strength.

Their abilities might be similar, but as a Logia Type user, Crocodile could control every inch of his body with ease!

Crocodile let out a low growl.

He opened his right hand and lightly pressed it downward, making the sand hovering around them fall to the deck. Then he abruptly clenched his fist.

Clang!

A razor-sharp Grit Greatsword sprang up from the deck and thrust toward Lindsey's flank.

This move wasn't just about sharpness. The key was its speed!

Lindsey didn't even have time to transform into his Earth Demon Form, but the battle theories he'd spent years imagining again and again came in handy.

He pushed off hard with both legs, leaping high along the angle of the Grit Greatsword's thrust as he twisted his body, dissipating most of the force behind the blade.

The sharp grains of sand only managed to cut Lindsey's skin in a few places, drawing a few drops of blood.

But Crocodile's attack wasn't over.

"Let me teach you one more thing, Primitive Man."

Crocodile spread his right hand. A tornado-shaped sandstorm gathered in his palm, growing fiercer by the second.

He took aim at Lindsey in midair and sneered.

"Without the ability to fly, you're a sitting duck up there!"

Whoosh!

Crocodile swung out a sandstorm with all his might.

Sandstorm!

If he'd used this move in a desert, the Sandstorm would have stretched on endlessly, eventually becoming a colossal storm capable of destroying everything.

Here on the ship, its power was greatly diminished, but it was still strong enough to scatter an ordinary person's bones!

And a Zoan?

At such close range, he'd be lucky to survive without serious injuries!

Whoosh!

The Sandstorm swept out, hitting Lindsey squarely.

He was sent flying backward, crashing hard into the cargo hold at the stern. He disappeared inside amid a spray of broken planks.

Dust billowed everywhere!

Crocodile narrowed his eyes and peered through the swirling dust, only to see something he couldn't understand.

Aiven Lindsey had successfully activated his Devil Fruit Ability.

Horns had sprouted from his head, his body had grown larger, and a strange red light shone in his pupils.

That much made sense. At most, it meant Lindsey could activate his ability quickly.

But the real problem was that, apart from a thin gash at his waist, Lindsey didn't have a single scratch on him. It was as if the Sandstorm had never hit him at all!

Why?

Crocodile's face was full of confusion. He also heard the words Lindsey had repeated several times already—

"Okay, I've got it!"

What had he figured out this time?

Lindsey exclaimed excitedly, "So sand is part of the soil, too!"

Before he'd even finished speaking, beads of cold sweat had already appeared on Crocodile's forehead.

What did Lindsey mean by that?

The Sandstorm gathered in Crocodile's palm once more. He said coldly, "Don't tell me you can control sand too..."

Whoosh!

The Sandstorm swept out again, even more powerful this time, determined to destroy Lindsey completely.

But two red-skinned hands met the Sandstorm.

Lindsey raised both hands, bracing himself against the wreckage of the cabin. He grabbed the tornado-shaped Sandstorm directly, stopping it dead in its tracks!

"Control?"

"No, no, that's not right!"

Theories he'd imagined countless times over the years began to surface. Lindsey quickly spotted the flaw in Crocodile's statement.

"The Sand-Sand Fruit's ability is to command and control sand."

"But that's not what the Earth Demon does!"

Lindsey's mind raced. Through this real fight, even more of his earlier theories began to take shape.

In other words, Aiven Lindsey was putting his theories into "practice" and "progressing" at an astonishing rate!

"The Earth Demon Form's ability is essentially to destroy and demolish the element of 'earth'!"

Tear the ground apart, then dig through it to make tunnels;

Compress soil, then forge it into weapons!

"Okay, I've got it!"

Lindsey suddenly tightened his fingers, actually squeezing several cracks into the Sandstorm!

In the blink of an eye, the Sandstorm was about to be torn apart.

Seeing that things were going badly, Crocodile immediately swung out two more sandstorms, using their wind and sand to repair the parts Lindsey had destroyed.

It was a battle of endurance!

Lindsey was trying to "destroy" Crocodile's sand, while Crocodile kept "adding more force."

Question: Who would be the first to give out?

Answer: The ship.

Crack!

A sharp snapping sound drew Crocodile and Lindsey's attention at the same time.

They both stopped and looked toward the middle of the sailboat.

The commotion from their fight had torn the ship's keel. It was about to sink.

Crocodile: "..."

Lindsey: "..."

This was bad.

Night fell.

Crocodile and Aiven Lindsey were crammed into a tiny Lifeboat.

By moonlight, they watched their sailboat sink beneath the waves.

They lay at opposite ends of the boat, the mood a little tense.

After a while, Lindsey gazed up at the night sky and suddenly burst out laughing. "That was fun! Let's fight again sometime!"

"Forget it..."

Crocodile felt exhausted. He covered his eyes with a hand and let out a long sigh.

He really couldn't handle Lindsey's personality.

They'd meant to settle things while they were both still fired up, but the sailboat's keel had suddenly snapped, bringing their fight to an abrupt end.

If they kept going, both Devil Fruit users would drown!

Crocodile had wanted to subdue Lindsey and make him obey, but it seemed neither of them could do anything to the other.

What was more, they were both Devil Fruit users in the same boat. If it capsized, they'd both die!

With no other choice, Crocodile suggested, "How about we head to the next island first and figure things out from there?"

"Sure."

Lindsey nodded, rested his head against the side of the boat, and went back to watching the stars.

Crocodile, meanwhile, studied the Log Pose and Sea Chart, trying to work out where they were.

As he looked, he suddenly heard Lindsey mumble, "What a shame. I was just about to figure out how to deal with the Sand-Sand Fruit Ability..."

"..."

The night breeze was cold.

For no apparent reason, Crocodile shivered.