Fighting Crocodile; Dad Will Teach You How to Behave

Dongze had to admit he was playing it safe. Now that he was in Alabasta, he had found a Logia Devil Fruit user he could actually beat. Crocodile was the perfect target.

Especially for his newly awakened Erosion Sword Intent. Dongze already had a theory: Crocodile had a move called "Erosion Cycle"!

If he used Crocodile to "slightly" exploit a bug, he might max out Erosion Sword Intent's proficiency in one go. Then even Aokiji would be calling him daddy. (Don't doubt it. Whitebeard had beaten Blackbeard into calling him daddy even when he was at death's door. That was incredible.)

As for Sword Intent, it had shown earth-shattering power the moment it awakened. Judging by the previous proficiency thresholds, once it took shape at 200,000 proficiency, its power would be beyond imagining.

Unlocking Sword Intent was too difficult, though. If he hadn't happened to gaze out over the vast desert and the setting sun above the Long River on a whim, he might never have unlocked even one. It wasn't like sword moves, which he could activate by roughly imitating their forms.

Sword Intent was also closely tied to his soul and mind. He couldn't spend that power freely; there was no easy way to measure a person's mental reserves, much less judge their limits.

Back at the Alabasta royal palace, he had grown unusually sleepy. At first, he thought it was because he had been contemplating Sword Intent. Looking back, it was probably the sword strike he had unleashed on impulse.

That strike had been far stronger than one coated in Armament Haki, and its effects were strangely hard to erase.

He had heard that the ravine he carved still showed no sign of filling in. In a desert of shifting sand, that was almost impossible.

Everyone knew a sweep of yellow sand could cover and bury anything. Yet that ravine remained. Sword Intent had to be part of the reason.

If he had to raise its proficiency one strike at a time, he was in trouble. What was the point if three moves left him spent?

He could only hope that higher proficiency would reduce the cost of using Sword Intent while his own mental strength grew.

Otherwise, awakened or not, Sword Intent would have to sit unused.

And right in front of him was an excellent target: Crocodile, the Sand-Sand Fruit user. From what he had learned about raising proficiency, the quickest methods were attacking or getting beaten up, as in his matches with Koshiro.

His Armament Haki should be strong enough now. If he focused purely on defense, Crocodile probably couldn't break through it quickly. A few beatings ought to raise his Erosion Sword Intent proficiency fast, giving him another trump card against future enemies.

But fortune and misfortune came hand in hand. Dongze's expression changed, and dark lines seemed to cover his forehead as a message appeared on his panel: "Malicious bug exploitation detected. Emergency fix applied!"

"What the hell is this?"

"I object! Isn't that normal? I'm not even allowed to get hit?"

His protest got no response from the Golden Finger. Furious, Dongze cursed it. What was wrong with wanting to take a beating?

Did that sound like something a sane person would say?

He sounded rather like a certain Strongest Creature in the pirate world: I just want to die. Why can't I even manage something that simple?

Dongze sighed. If he wanted to improve quickly, he would have to keep sailing.

There weren't many powerful people in the East Blue, and as his strength grew, they had less and less to offer him.

"Looks like I'll have to go to the New World after all."

"Mr. Dongze, are we still going to see Crocodile?"

Hearing him mutter to himself, Robin thought they might be abandoning the visit, so she asked.

"We are," Dongze replied firmly. "Of course we are."

He couldn't exploit the bug anymore, so he would have to get everything he could out of Crocodile in one encounter.

Thus Dongze and Robin's trip to Rainbase became a nightmare Crocodile would never speak of for the rest of his life.

As someone might put it: "Sorry, I can't exploit the bug anymore. So I won't let go until I've wrung you dry."

After resting in Alubarna for two days, they set off for Rainbase. Along the way, they avoided drawing the attention of both the soldiers and Baroque Works.

Three days later, they reached Rainbase, a miracle amid the desert.

"Hey! Who are you?"

"Stop! This is private property. No outsiders allowed!"

Dongze and Robin wore desert clothing, their bodies wrapped tightly beneath hooded robes. They had arrived at Rainbase's largest casino—and Crocodile's lair.

Following the route he remembered, Dongze led Robin straight toward the VIP area, where two guards blocked their path.

Dongze didn't slow. His eyes opened slightly, and a burst of Conqueror's Haki knocked both guards unconscious.

As a tool for clearing out small fry, it earned full marks in his book.

Since awakening Sword Intent, he had grown even more adept at using Conqueror's Haki.

Dongze activated Observation Haki and led Robin through a maze of corridors until they reached Crocodile's office.

The place was lavishly decorated. Crocodile clearly knew how to enjoy himself.

Seven or eight Banana Crocodiles swam freely in a huge tank to one side.

"Dongze, Crocodile doesn't seem to be here."

Robin looked around the room, saw no one, and pointed it out.

"That's fine. This is his lair. He'll come back eventually. We can wait."

Remembering what would happen here, Dongze narrowed his eyes. If Crocodile wanted to carry out that scheme, he had probably begun preparing already. Dongze was right: Crocodile hadn't put his plan into motion yet. For now, he was building his lair and cultivating his image as a hero.

Then he's probably out killing pirates, Dongze thought.

Before his true nature was exposed, Crocodile had been hailed as Alabasta's hero. He couldn't have built that reputation in a day or two.

Robin found an empty seat at the long conference table beside Dongze, and they waited quietly.

Before long, Dongze glanced toward the door. A stream of yellow sand drifted in like smoke.

In the blink of an eye, it gathered into a human figure. Who else could it be but Crocodile?

"Well, well. Rare guests! And here I thought I'd never see the famous East Blue Pirate Hunter, East Thief, in my office."

"What are you doing here?"

The moment he finished speaking, a crescent-shaped blade of sand swept toward Dongze and Robin.

Leave it to a pirate to greet someone like that. He had opened with a killing blow.

Robin's strength had improved by leaps and bounds under Dongze's guidance. With a light push off her right foot, she shot backward and evaded the attack.

Dongze activated Observation Haki and dodged it with ease.

A strange look flashed through Crocodile's eyes when his attack missed. Officially, he was a pirate with an 81-million-Beli bounty, but his true strength was no less than that of pirates worth two or three hundred million. Here in the desert, he was stronger still.

The fact that both visitors had dodged so easily told him they were no ordinary small fry.

Thinking of his plans, Crocodile let out his peculiar laugh and looked at them. "You two. Join me, and I might spare your lives!"

Fighting Crocodile: Daddy Teaches You Some Manners

"You really are a frog in a well. Did Whitebeard beat you so hard he gave you brain damage?"

Dongze had gone straight for the sore spot.

Crocodile reacted at once. Veins bulged on his forehead, and he made no effort to hide the killing intent in his eyes.

"What did you say, brat?" he asked in an icy voice.

Dongze's expression didn't change. "Did becoming a Shichibukai leave you able to see no farther than the first half of the Grand Line?"

"Or can you no longer tell how badly outmatched you are, Crocodile?"

Crocodile gave him a vicious grin.

"An East Blue Pirate Hunter kills a few pirates worth twenty million Beli and thinks he's untouchable. Looks like I need to teach you what cruelty really is!"

A small tornado of sand formed instantly in Crocodile's hand: his signature move.

"Sandstorm!"

He was ruthless enough not to care that this was his own lair. His blood was up, and he was ready to unleash a major attack right there.

"Xiao Yi, make your own way over in a bit."

Dongze shook his head. Fighting here didn't suit his purpose, so he turned to Robin as he spoke.

Then his figure blurred.

"Shave!"

"Armament Haki Reinforcement!"

Dongze vanished from sight. Crocodile froze, and the Sandstorm in his hand lost its target.

A shadow fell over his eyes. He felt a powerful hand seize his head.

"Impossible! I'm a Logia Sand-Sand Fruit user!"

Before he could finish being shocked, he heard air whistling past his ears. Wind rushed by, along with the voices of townspeople, and a horrifying realization struck him.

That brat was dragging him out of town by force.

A name flashed through his mind: Armament Haki!

Crocodile had guessed correctly. Dongze had him by the head and was carrying him out of Rainbase at astonishing speed. Neither the casino nor the townspeople noticed them.

To ordinary people, a Shave honed to its limit looked like teleportation. Without Observation Haki, they couldn't even catch a glimpse of him.

Moments later, the two reached the desert outside Rainbase.

Crash!

Dongze slammed Crocodile into the sand. The impact threw up a ring of dust and left a huge circular crater beneath him.

"Bastard!"

Sprawled in the crater, Crocodile coughed up blood.

Powerful Armament Haki, monstrous strength, and the Six Powers—what Dongze had shown so far was already enough to alarm him.

Damn it! Where did this monster come from?

Fortunately, he had managed to turn into sand at the last moment. Otherwise, that slam alone would have injured him badly.

He dispersed into sand. When the swirling grains settled, he stood a short distance from Dongze, glaring at him.

"Brat! Don't think learning Haki means you can do whatever you want! I was fighting in the New World while you were still learning to walk!"

"Desert Spada!"

At his shout, a blade of sand erupted from the ground and shot straight toward Dongze at tremendous speed.

Crocodile was holding nothing back.

The open desert was entirely his domain. No one was better suited to fighting here, just as Fish-Men were unmatched beneath the sea.

Dongze had already activated Observation Haki. As though he had expected the attack, he pressed lightly against the ground with one foot.

He was about to dodge to the side.

A sharp gleam entered Crocodile's eyes when he saw Dongze move. "I'm not done yet!"

"Sandstorm!"

Violent winds whipped up the sand and swept toward Dongze like a natural disaster. The attack covered a vast area, and in the desert, its power was terrifying.

Crocodile didn't dare let up against Dongze. He fought at full strength, unlike the fight with Luffy in the original story, when he had held back far too much.

Dongze watched the approaching Sandstorm, a peculiar look in his eyes.

"Armament Haki Reinforcement!"

The Sandstorm engulfed him in an instant. His figure vanished behind a wall of swirling dust.

"Desert Grande Spada!"

As the wielder of the Sand-Sand Fruit, Crocodile could sense that Dongze was still unharmed. For now, he was merely trapped inside the storm.

Following that sensation, Crocodile launched another attack: an advanced version of Desert Spada. Unleashed at full strength, its power was frightening.

A massive golden blade formed from sand rose slowly out of the desert, then cleaved toward the swirling storm.

It tore through the air with a shriek. The strike had reached the level of an ordinary Great Swordsman.

A deep trench split the ground, stretching all the way to the center of the Sandstorm.

Clang!

The sudden, piercing sound made Crocodile freeze. It was the sound of metal striking metal.

"Damn it!"

An ominous thought rose in his mind. Having challenged Whitebeard in the New World, Crocodile knew how formidable Haki could be. He simply hadn't expected this brat's Haki to have reached such a level.

When the sand cleared, Dongze stood there with Armament Haki coating his entire body. Crocodile's expression grew graver still.