At this moment, Polka Street in the royal capital lay empty, yet eerie shrieks and furious curses echoed continuously through the deserted streets.
"Take this—Okama Kenpo: Explosive Swan Dance!"
"Why can a swan head be attached to your foot?! You damn pervert!"
Bang!
Bang!
"Well? A kick with power comparable to a rifle bullet—this is the charm of an okama."
Bon Clay wore a round blue-striped skirt around his lower body and a pink cape over his shoulders. The teasing expression on his heavily made-up face looked all the more exaggerated.
He had removed the swan decoration from his back and fitted it onto the soles of his feet. Combined with the swan's flexible neck and steel-like sharp beak, it concentrated all its destructive power into a single point.
Though Sanji felt the man was spouting nonsense, he could not help being secretly alarmed as he looked at the smooth round hole punched through the wall, a wisp of smoke still rising from it.
"You've got some skill, huh."
They had already been fighting for quite a while, and his opponent was far more troublesome than he had imagined.
Sanji's expression turned serious. His black leather shoe ground the cigarette butt beneath it, extinguishing it, before he charged straight at Bon Clay.
"But if you think that's enough to take my life, you're a hundred years too early!"
Sanji stepped in with a whipping kick. When Bon Clay blocked it with the same move, Sanji twisted his body with the recoil and immediately followed up with a spinning flying kick.
Bon Clay crossed his arms and barely blocked it, only for Sanji to hook his foot around them and use his arms as leverage to prop himself up. He raised his other leg, and a black leather shoe flashed before Bon Clay's eyes.
"Neck Meat Kick!"
Bang!
Bang!
Sanji's sole slammed into Bon Clay's face, squeezing the flesh of his cheek to one side. The next instant, Bon Clay flew sideways and crashed heavily into the wall before sliding down like putty.
"Cough, cough!"
Bon Clay crouched down and wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth. His eyes stayed locked on Sanji as he rapidly rose to his feet, stepping through a ballet move before leaping into the air.
The swan heads on his feet curled up to gather strength. The next moment, he rapidly lashed out with both legs at Sanji.
The sharp swan beaks poured down like bullets in a raging storm.
"Explosive Swan Serenade!"
"Spinning Full Goose Feast!"
Sanji planted both hands on the ground and continuously spun his body, his two black-clad legs kicking out at the swan heads again and again before retracting and kicking once more.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dull, rapid impacts rang out as both men's legs blurred into afterimages, colliding fiercely in midair without pause.
Soon, with an explosive crack, a fissure appeared on the swan head attached to Bon Clay's foot. It immediately shattered under the strain.
The curved swan neck exploded into countless fragments that scattered everywhere. As Bon Clay stared in shock, a black leather shoe filled his vision.
"Spicy Braised Goose Head!"
With Sanji's furious roar, a savage whipping kick smashed into Bon Clay's face, sending him crashing to the ground before Sanji sprang back up.
Sanji then soared into the air, both legs throwing out endless afterimages as they struck every part of Bon Clay's body. His feet buried themselves brutally into Bon Clay's flesh, like two wooden mallets pounding minced meat.
"Five-Spice Goose Wings!"
"Braised Goose Body in Sauce!"
"Poached Goose Leg Meat!"
The storm-like barrage left Bon Clay completely unable to defend himself. As he was blasted backward again and again, his arms, torso, and thighs quickly swelled with blood, mottled with bruises.
"And finally—Stir-fried Goose Butt!"
With his final roar, Sanji twisted his body in midair, planted both hands on the ground headfirst, and bent his two black-clad legs. He exploded with all his strength and kicked violently toward the sky, striking Bon Clay squarely in the backside.
"Wait, wait, not there!"
Bon Clay panicked as he watched the black legs hurtling toward his butt. The exaggerated makeup on his face twisted into a contorted mess.
"My butt!"
Leaving behind a piercing wail, Bon Clay shot away like an arrow released from a bow, turning into a gleaming cross-shaped star in the sky in the blink of an eye.
Click!
A flame sprang from the lighter and danced before Sanji's black suit, slowly lighting the cigarette between his lips.
"Damn pervert. How could an okama possibly compare to a real woman?"
He turned his gaze toward the magnificent building in the distance, brushed the dust from his clothes, and ran toward the royal palace.
At this moment, beneath the Burial Temple west of the royal palace, within the underground chamber.
Several rays of sunlight shone through the punched-through ceiling and fell across the ancient, mysterious murals, lighting up the dim underground chamber.
Luffy gritted his teeth and stared at the crocodile-shaped sand constantly surging toward him. He dodged and weaved without pause, his fists swinging so fast they smoked.
Meanwhile, the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre slashed, swept, hacked, and stabbed with their longswords. Their massive swords and round shields seemed weightless in their hands, and every casual strike shattered the lunging crocodiles with ease.
But Crocodile's attacks came one after another. The moment one move was neutralized, another followed immediately.
Reiner had initially kept them from unleashing their full power because he intended to use the Zoan enhancement and wear down Sand Crocodile in a battle of attrition.
That would have been safer, but judging by the current situation, there was no sign that the opponent's stamina was running low. Reiner could not help frowning.
If this continued, his stamina might not outlast Crocodile's. The Blue Ogre and Red Ogre consumed his physical strength rapidly whenever they used Haki, and he still needed to save some power for Hakoku.
Having made up his mind, Reiner willed it into action. The Blue Ogre and Red Ogre bent their legs into a crouch, then kicked off with explosive force. The ground cracked with a bang, fractures spreading like a spiderweb as the two of them shot forward.
They hurled their round shields, blasting the incoming attacks into loose sand. Charging forward from the left and right, the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre activated Armament Haki, a gleaming black coating spreading across the greatswords in their hands.
"So fast!"
Crocodile was immediately startled. The Sand Wall he had just summoned had not even fully risen before his opponents leaped over it and reached him in a flash.
As the two greatswords swept down and up toward him, Crocodile immediately transformed his body into elements. Blowing sand scattered in all directions, opening holes where the blades were about to strike.
At the same time, he raised both hands and sent small whirlwinds toward the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre.
"Small Sandstorm!"
Since they could use Armament Haki, he could not simply take their attacks with Element Transformation. But that did not mean he could not evade them.
However, the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre could do far more than use Armament Haki. Their Observation Haki had already anticipated Sand Crocodile's movements.
Ignoring his attack entirely, they allowed the incoming small sandstorms to strike and cut across their bodies. With a twist of their wrists, they redirected their greatswords and viciously slashed Crocodile's elementalized body.
Splat! Splat!
Bang! Crocodile flew backward, crashed heavily onto the ground, and rolled several times. Two deep gashes had appeared across his body.
"Cough, cough!"
Sand Crocodile gritted his teeth, rose into a crouch, and spat out a mouthful of blood. He glared viciously ahead, then, taking advantage of the sandstorm slowing his opponents, swept out a hand.
"Desert Sword!" A massive blade of sand burst from the sandy ground beneath the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre, slashing toward their waists.
It actually cut deep gashes into them!
Wasn't this the slash that cut Akainu at Marineford? Are we really going to lose here?
Reiner watched in alarm, then immediately activated his ability to repair the wounds carved across the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre's waists.
"I'm using that move, Reiner!"
A sudden shout rang out from the battlefield. Reiner snapped his head around and saw Luffy standing with his legs spread in a half-crouch, one hand on his knee and the other clenched into a fist against the ground.
"Wait, Luffy! Gear Second is too risky—"
"Don't say it, Reiner!"
Luffy shouted, cutting Reiner off. He maintained the stance to activate Gear Second, staring tightly at Crocodile ahead with determination in his eyes.
"This Crocodile is strong! Even you aren't confident you can beat him, right?
"If we lose, then we'll have nothing left!"
Gear Second currently had side effects. After using it, Luffy would be exhausted and unable to fight back, and frequent use could even shorten his lifespan.
"I understand."
Reiner stopped trying to dissuade him. He truly was not confident; even the two strongest undead under his command had suffered at Crocodile's hands.
Crocodile's strength far exceeded Reiner's expectations. In the original story, Luffy had only barely defeated him after losing twice first. This time, they would not have that many chances.
The power system in Pirate King was difficult to describe. The gap between the early and later stages was simply too great.
In this story, Crocodile's strength was set at his level from two years ago, slightly stronger than a top vice admiral. Otherwise, the title of Shichibukai would be far too hollow.
But there was no way he would be given the 1.9 billion version. Otherwise, there would be no way to fight him at all.