Fighting Takes Brains

Inside the Rainbase casino.

With Crocodile's plan exposed, the Alabasta citizens who had come to enjoy themselves all filed out. Some even gathered around the casino and hurled insults at it.

Tens of thousands of vanguard troops from the Royal Guard had also arrived in Rainbase, surrounding the casino so tightly that not even water could pass through.

Crocodile and Robin left through the casino's hidden exit, bypassed the soldiers and civilians, and rode in a camel-drawn carriage straight toward Alubarna.

On the streets of Alubarna, people discussed Crocodile's crimes, with sharp, ear-piercing curses ringing out from time to time.

Crocodile clenched his fists and suppressed the fury in his heart. Once he obtained information about the ancient weapon Pluton, he would slaughter every last one of these foolish commoners!

Robin turned to look at Crocodile, wrapped in a gray robe and trembling all over, and found it rather amusing. Her expression remained calm as she lowered her voice. "Boss, the royal palace is right ahead. Are we going to kill our way in?"

"Yes! The only ones in Alabasta with any skill are their two guardian deities. Now, only Jackal Jaka remains. Pell followed that old bastard Cobra to attend the Reverie. The rest are nothing to fear."

"Understood."

When the palace guards saw two suspicious figures in gray robes approaching, their faces hidden from view, they raised their spears and quickly blocked their path. "Do not come any closer! This is the royal palace. Unauthorized personnel are forbidden from entering!"

Robin crossed her arms. In an instant, slender arms sprouted from the guards' shoulders and slapped each of them hard across the face.

It was hard to imagine that such seemingly slender arms contained such tremendous strength.

Several guards were knocked down instantly.

Soon after, guards elsewhere noticed the commotion and rushed toward Nico Robin.

Since they had already reached the palace gates.

Crocodile had no reason to keep hiding himself. He simply cast off his disguise, transformed his entire arm into sand, and thrust it forward. Massive amounts of yellow sand wrapped around the guards' bodies and absorbed the moisture within them.

In an instant, dozens of dried corpses, nothing but skin and bones, littered the ground.

"It's Crocodile! Quickly, notify Vice Captain Jaka!"

Recognizing him, the guards' faces turned deathly pale as they desperately ran into the palace.

Crocodile's sand-transformed arm merged into the ground, forming a sharp blade that raced beneath the earth like a shark before erupting upward.

It severed the head of the guard who had tried to report them.

"Let's go."

Crocodile glanced at Robin and let out a cold laugh before taking the lead toward the magnificent palace.

The two passed a flat lawn where several beast-shaped stone statues stood.

Crocodile paid them no attention. He believed Pluton's whereabouts had to be hidden somewhere within Alubarna's palace.

Just as they were about to move forward.

A loud, imposing voice rang out.

"Crocodile, you still dare come to the royal palace!"

Immediately afterward, waves of guards emerged from every direction and surrounded Crocodile and Robin.

"So it's you, Jaka."

Crocodile looked up at the man in black robes standing atop a raised platform.

It turned out that while the two had been advancing deeper into the palace, they had still been spotted by patrolling guards.

Knowing they were no match for Crocodile, they immediately reported the news to Jaka, one of Alabasta's two strongest men.

Gripping a large saber, Jaka leaped down and landed before Crocodile. "I've wanted to cut you down for a long time. Since you delivered yourself to me, prepare to die!"

"How arrogant!"

Crocodile sneered disdainfully. His arm turned to sand and formed a blade, which collided with Jaka's saber.

Clang!

A thunderous impact rang out.

Jaka felt both arms go numb and staggered back several steps. "What incredible strength!"

Crocodile's smile gradually turned savage. Raising one palm, he gathered and spun yellow sand in his hand. "Insects, let me show you what true power is!"

Sandstorm!

Crocodile flung the miniature storm from his palm with one hand.

As time passed, the storm erupted in an instant, expanding more than tenfold as yellow sand roiled and dust spiraled into the sky.

Its power was enough to sweep up even the enormous stone statues, let alone tiny humans.

Under Crocodile's control, the guards were sucked into the storm one after another.

Jaka drove his saber deep into the ground, gripping its hilt tightly just to barely keep himself standing.

As the storm dissipated.

A great number of guards fell from the sky, piling atop one another to form a small mountain of bodies.

Throughout the entire palace, only Jaka still had the strength to barely remain on his feet.

Crocodile threw back his head and laughed. "Hahahaha! Is this all the Alabasta Royal Guard amounts to? How laughable."

"How dare you!"

Jaka's eyes were bloodshot. He yanked out his saber, unleashed his Zoan ability, and transformed into a black jackal. His swordsmanship was fierce and precise, and in an instant, he cut off Crocodile's head.

"What a fool."

As yellow sand swept through the air and scattered.

Crocodile reformed behind Jaka, reached out to seize his neck, and forcibly lifted him off the ground.

"Guardian deity of Alabasta, tell me. Where is the palace's secret hidden?"

"I won't tell you, you bastard!"

Jaka struggled with all his strength, but Crocodile's power was far beyond anything he had imagined.

"Is that so?"

A sharp gleam flashed through Crocodile's eyes. "Then please die."

"Ahhh!!"

Jaka's muscular body shriveled at a visible rate. The light faded from his eyes, and his entire body became skin and bones.

"Useless trash."

Crocodile casually flung him aside, tossing him together with the other guards.

"Miss All Sunday, it seems we'll have to put in some effort and search for it ourselves."

Robin looked at the fallen guards and nodded thoughtfully.

Just as Crocodile was one step away from entering the palace, another voice came from behind him.

"Hold it!"

Veins bulged across Crocodile's forehead in anger. "These insects just never end!"

He looked over and discovered that the newcomer was not a palace guard. The man had a heroic bearing and a strong physique, and an almost imperceptible killing intent radiated from him, giving Crocodile a faint sense of danger.

"And who are you?"

Crocodile frowned and asked in a low voice.

The man stood with his hands behind his back and spoke calmly. "I am the mastermind behind your loss of the Warlord position."

Crocodile's eyes filled with fury. "Was it you who turned Mr. 2 against me and made him betray me?"

Mr. 2?

Noki immediately realized that Crocodile had mistaken him for someone using the Clone-Clone Fruit's power.

He could not be bothered to explain, so he simply went along with Crocodile's line of thought. "That's right. But Mr. 2 alone would not have been enough to bring you down."

Crocodile understood what he meant and roared, "Are you saying there are spies you planted within my Baroque Works?"

Noki feigned confusion and asked in return, "You really know how to flatter yourself. Since when did Baroque Works become your force?"

Crocodile was so furious that he laughed. "I founded Baroque Works with my own hands. If it isn't mine, could it possibly be yours?"

Following the basic principle of killing a man by attacking his heart, Noki nodded with a smile. "You're right. Baroque Works is indeed my force."

For a moment, Crocodile failed to understand the implication behind his words. "What do you mean? How did my force become yours?"

Noki shifted his gaze to Nico Robin behind Crocodile. "All this time, in order to conceal your identity, you had your subordinates issue missions on your behalf. Because of that, the members of Baroque Works only knew your secretary and had no idea who their boss really was.

"In other words, before your identity was exposed, Baroque Works could not really be considered your force. It was more like an organization led by your secretary, Nico Robin. Whoever controls Nico Robin is the undisputed master of Baroque Works."

By this point, how could Crocodile possibly fail to understand? He turned and glared furiously at the woman who was smiling at him. "You actually dared betray me!?"

Robin smiled. "Boss—oh, no, former boss. We only gathered together for profit in the first place. My current boss pays more. Are employees not allowed to change jobs?"

"You're courting death!"

Crocodile's arm turned to sand as he launched a sudden attack at Robin.

How could Noki let him have his way? His figure flashed, and he appeared in front of Robin. Raising his fist, he gathered the full force of his strength and threw a punch.

Bang!

Caught off guard, Crocodile took the blow head-on and flew several meters backward. After steadying himself, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Not bad, kid. Your Haki is quite impressive. But thinking you can kill me with that little strength is nothing but wishful thinking. Today, both of you will die here!"

Noki smiled faintly and crooked a finger at him in deliberate provocation. "Killing you would be as easy as slaughtering a chicken."

His words were somewhat exaggerated.

But Crocodile truly was inferior to him in every aspect.

Judging from his performance in the original story, Crocodile's physical skills could only be called average. Setting aside the plot-driven defeat by gearless Luffy, his combat ability was at best around the level of a somewhat weaker vice admiral.

The reason Crocodile could trade blows evenly with so many opponents during the Summit War, and even play a crucial role later in defeating Douglas Bullet, the Roger Pirates' right-hand man, was entirely due to his development of the Sand-Sand Fruit.

As a Dark-Dark Fruit user who possessed Dark Water, Noki feared opponents overly reliant on their abilities the least.

Borsalino was the exception, of course.

Though everyone claimed he relied on his ability, Noki knew that his physical skills and Haki were not lacking in the slightest. In fact, they were even superior to Noki's.

At the very least, a year ago, even without considering the gap in ability development, Noki would not have been a match for Kizaru in either physical skills or Haki.

As for now...

Noki estimated that the gap between them had narrowed considerably.

"Good, kid. Let's see how you slaughter this chicken!"

Crocodile was completely enraged and immediately brought out his signature technique.

With a sweep of his hand, one arm transformed into four enormous, incomparably sharp sand blades. They radiated chilling cold, capable of slicing through even steel.

Desert Spada.

This was exactly what Noki had been waiting for: Crocodile's all-out attack using his Fruit ability.

Noki's usual tactic was to end a battle as quickly as possible whenever he could.

Delays invited complications.

Everyone knew that when ability users faced a life-or-death crisis, there was a certain chance their Fruits would awaken.

Though Noki was stronger than Crocodile, the difference was not so overwhelming that he could instantly kill him in just a few moves.

Therefore, if Noki wanted to end the fight quickly and ensure nothing went wrong, he needed to use a few tricks.

He had deliberately provoked Crocodile because he knew that after being verbally provoked, Crocodile's attack would surely be his strongest, rage-filled strike—and his strongest strike using his Fruit ability!

Dark Water!

A black vortex surged from Noki's palm. No matter how powerful a Fruit ability was—not even Kizaru's light-speed kick or Akainu's Magma Hound could resist Dark Water—let alone Crocodile's Desert Spada.

Anyone would be shaken to see their strongest attack effortlessly neutralized.

Crocodile wore exactly that expression now. He watched helplessly as his supposedly fatal attack was casually crushed by Noki, and he was completely stunned.

What was going on?

Could this kid be some peerless master?

The last person who had achieved something like this was that old man Whitebeard!

Noki had been waiting for precisely this brief moment of distraction. He kicked off the ground, used Soru to reach Crocodile, and seized Crocodile's neck with his Dark Water-covered right hand.

Crocodile was still a battle-hardened powerhouse. He reacted immediately and tried to use his ability to escape Noki's grip, only to find that his power had completely vanished, as if it had never existed at all!

When experts of similar strength fought, even the slightest mistake in a single exchange could determine the final victor.

In only a few moves, Crocodile had made two consecutive mistakes. He had not lost to Noki's strength, but to the intelligence Noki possessed.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.

Crocodile never could have imagined that he knew nothing about Noki, while Noki knew him inside and out.

Noki would not give Crocodile any chance to turn the tables. With his left hand, he drew Golden Scale from his waist, coated it in Haki, and slashed across his enemy's throat.

Perhaps worried that Crocodile might still have some way to "revive," Noki deliberately stabbed him several more times.

Crocodile stared with narrow, vicious eyes as he died without ever understanding what had happened.

Even at death, he could not figure out how he had lost so quickly...

Clap! Clap!

Having witnessed the wonderful battle, Robin applauded Noki from behind and flattered him. "Boss, you're truly amazing. With strength like this, even admirals probably aren't your match, are they?"

"Heh, that wasn't a very clever bit of flattery."

Noki released darkness across the ground and absorbed Crocodile's corpse into the endless dark space.

In truth, he felt somewhat proud.

Even if all three admirals had come, they could not have dealt with Crocodile this quickly. Yet he had done it.

It showed that fighting could not rely on brute force alone. It also took brains.