Black Box - Open, Black Flash

Crocodile's intact arm turned into fine sand. With a one-handed swing at Rody, he sent a man-tall blade of sand slashing toward him at high speed.

Bang!

Rody also waved one hand, and an invisible slash shattered the sand blade. The invisible slash continued onward without losing any momentum, striking Crocodile and severing his head from his neck. The falling head turned into fine sand and drifted away.

"Oh? Do you have anything better than that?"

Watching fine sand gradually gather at Crocodile's headless neck and reform into a new head, Rody asked with a light chuckle.

"Tch! Not bad Fruit powers."

"Then try this and see if you can take it!"

As he spoke, a rapidly spinning miniature sand tornado rose in Crocodile's hand. A vortex of yellow sand spread outward from his palm, spinning larger and larger. In the blink of an eye, it had grown taller than a person, and the winds of the sand tornado became increasingly powerful. Even the structure atop the casino began to shake from its immense force.

Crocodile violently hurled the sand tornado at Rody and shouted, "Heavyweight Sandstorm!"

The instant it struck the ground, the sand tornado expanded at high speed. Its powerful winds easily tore the casino apart, wrapping the shattered buildings within its violent gale and adding even more might to it.

The raging sand tornado was right before him, its fierce winds making Rody's coat flap wildly. "So this is the destructive power a strong Logia user can produce? It's completely incomparable to that Smoke guy Smoker's abilities."

Crocodile was the user of the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit. He could transform himself into sand through elementalization, rendering all physical attacks ineffective except those soaked in water. He could also drain the moisture from rocks or soil and turn them into grains of sand, or drain the water from a human body and turn someone into a mummy. More than that, he could freely control and create sandstorms.

And yet Crocodile, someone like that, had been defeated by Luffy, who had only just entered Alabasta and still could not even beat Smoker. Even if Crocodile's elementalization had the weakness of being vulnerable once wet, the Sand-Sand Fruit was countless times more powerful than the Smoke-Smoke Fruit. Yet he had still been defeated by Luffy.

"Haha... Now this is more like it."

With that, Rody gathered a ball of flowing flame in his hand. He clasped it between both hands in the posture of drawing a bow, and the flames transformed into the shape of a flowing bow and arrow. The arrowhead, like a soaring firebird, aimed at the sandstorm. Even the fine sand swirling through the air was turned glass-like by the scorching flames as Rody called softly.

"Loose."

The flaming arrow shot from Rody's hands, transforming into an enormous firebird as it flew. When the firebird met the sandstorm, it was like floodwaters smashing through a dam, burning and destroying the sandstorm, the casino, and all the city buildings behind it.

The people hiding behind Rody only saw him gather a ball of fire, causing the surrounding temperature to rise rapidly. Then he fired the flames like a bow and arrow, and after that, they could see nothing at all. Now, looking at what had once been a bustling area reduced to scorched earth, Vivi lost her composure. "H-How did it become like this...?"

"Vivi, don't be sad. Look on the bright side. At least that Warlord called Crocodile is dead now. From now on, if you govern properly, something like what happened to Yuba will never happen again." Seeing Vivi's despondent expression, Nami gently comforted her.

"That's right, Princess. You must pull yourself together. The people of Alabasta still need you," Igaram and Pell urged as well.

"Rody, is Crocodile dead?" Nami asked.

"He's definitely dead. There isn't a single person in sight now—he must've been burned to ashes. The captain's attack was so powerful. Forget one Warlord; even if seven Warlords came together, they'd still be dead for sure," Windfire Wheel declared with certainty.

Just as Windfire Wheel finished speaking, several wisps of drifting yellow sand formed Crocodile's upper body behind Rody. Waving the hook on his hand, he viciously attacked the back of Rody's head. "Kid, I don't know what kind of Fruit user you are or why you can use fire, but I'm the user of the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit. Your attacks are useless against me."

"Die!"

"Captain, watch out!"

"Lord Rody, watch out for Crocodile! He hasn't been defeated yet!" Seeing Crocodile suddenly appear behind Rody and swing his golden hook at Rody's head, everyone cried out in alarm.

Bang!

Just as Crocodile's golden hook was about to reach Rody, Rody turned and kicked it with a leg coated in Armament Haki. Yet the force transmitted through the hook surprised Rody—not because it was strong, but because it was weak. Far too weak. Rody had merely thrown out a casual kick without using much strength, yet it still sent Crocodile and his hook flying together.

"Hey, what are you doing? Are you joking with me with an attack like that?" Rody frowned in displeasure.

"Haki..."

"What's with you? How could a rookie from the Four Seas possibly know Haki? And Haki this strong... Could it be that you've already been to the New World?" Crocodile rose awkwardly from the ground, staring at Rody with a gloomy gaze. "Who exactly are you, and what exactly do you want?"

Rody rubbed his brow in annoyance. "I mean, why do you have so many questions in the middle of a fight? If you beat me, won't you know everything?"

"Or is it because this rookie in your eyes suddenly showed Haki, and that made you afraid?" Rody suddenly looked at Crocodile with a faint smile.

"Kid, looks like you really haven't been to the New World. You think Haki counters Logia users? There are as many Haki users in the New World as hairs on a cow, but even so, Logias are still the strongest of the three types."

"Because Haki merely gives you the right to fight Logia users!" As he spoke, Crocodile's arm turned into sand again and slashed toward Rody along the scorched ground at high speed.

"Desert Greatsword!"

Bang!

With a casual slash, Rody shattered the sand blade that suddenly surged from the ground. He then flashed forward to Crocodile, driving a fist wrapped in Haki and cursed energy toward his abdomen as he spoke. "Looks like you really don't have any interesting moves left. Then try one of mine!"

"Don't die."

"Crocodile!"

"Haki: Black Flash!"

A fist covered in Haki and cursed energy struck Crocodile squarely in the abdomen, directly smashing his body in two at the waist. Countless thick, black lightning-like arcs of energy burst forth from the point where Rody struck.