A Sound Beating / Torture
The quicksand had already swallowed Antolich, but he never received an answer from Crocodile. Only a pair of cold eyes watched him sink.
"All right, head back to the warship."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Atlas, whom her aide-de-camp Lulans had already called outside, naturally witnessed everything. She made no move to stop it, though. He was a pirate. If he died, he died.
Atlas slowly walked toward Crocodile, her face betraying nothing as she studied this member of the Shichibukai appointed by the World Government.
Crocodile dressed like a textbook villain. He wore a fur coat—how he could stand the heat was anyone's guess—and his thick hair was slicked back in a simple style. A horizontal scar stretched across his entire face, and a gold earring hung from his right ear. His lifeless eyes held not a trace of emotion, a large cigar sat between his lips, and a golden hook replaced his left hand. He looked exactly like the pirates Atlas remembered from her previous life.
"You've taken your little joke too far, Navy brat!" Seeing Atlas remain silent, Crocodile lifted his chin slightly and fixed his perpetually lifeless eyes on her. The cigar between his teeth bobbed as he spoke.
"Have I? Shouldn't you be giving me an explanation, Sir Crocodile of the Shichibukai?" Atlas asked with a smile, not remotely intimidated. The Shichibukai might have tacit permission to plunder, but that permission did not extend to Alabasta, one of the World Government Member States!
Of course, Atlas had no concrete evidence that the pirates from earlier had been acting on Crocodile's orders. But did that matter to her? Hah!
"Hmm? An explanation?" Crocodile's lips curved into a mocking smile. "You're too naive, Navy brat!"
"Am I? It's fine if you won't admit it. My fists will have you explaining everything soon enough."
Atlas rolled her wrists, her smile never fading. Crocodile might not yet be the weakling Luffy would defeat more than a decade later. He had not completely lost faith in himself, and perhaps he could still use a little Haki. But Atlas was not afraid in the slightest. She could certainly teach this crocodile a lesson in manners.
"Heh heh heh heh... hahahahaha..."
As though he had heard something hilarious, Crocodile began with a low chuckle before breaking into loud, unrestrained laughter.
"How tedious! What a ridiculous little brat!"
"Heh! Trash like you has no right to call me ridiculous!" Atlas shot back without yielding an inch, her face full of scorn.
Crack!
Apparently enraged by Atlas, Crocodile's expression darkened. He actually bit through his cigar, sending it dropping to the ground.
"You have three minutes. Any longer, and I won't be indulging you!" He tossed an hourglass from his hand. Judging by the flow of sand, it would run out in exactly three minutes.
Crocodile was treating her like an unreasonable child. After all, Atlas was officially nothing more than a lowly Navy captain. Naval ranks did not perfectly correspond to strength, but the gap was rarely enormous, so he did not take her particularly seriously.
"Three minutes? That's plenty!"
A Thorough Beating
"One Sword Style: Lightning Cutter!"
Atlas paid no attention to Crocodile's contempt. She drew Sandai Kitetsu from her waist, its blade flashing brightly. A piercing sharpness filled the air, and the howling sand seemed to freeze in place as an enormous blood-red slash hurtled toward him!
Still wearing his contemptuous expression, Crocodile appeared utterly unprepared. The blood-red slash passed straight through his body, neatly splitting him in two from head to toe.
But the expected spray of blood never came. Instead, the smooth cut slowly crumbled into grains of yellow sand, and his severed body miraculously reformed! Atlas had not expected a casual slash to hurt him anyway.
"A swordsman?" Crocodile's expression darkened further once he had reformed. The brat he had thought he could handle effortlessly was actually a steel-cutting swordsman.
"But you can't touch me like that. I ate the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit." Though surprised that Atlas was a swordsman, his possession of the Sand-Sand Fruit meant his opinion of her remained unchanged.
"Heh! That look on your face really pisses me off..."
Atlas sheathed Sandai Kitetsu, her fists itching.
Lightning Speed: Razor!
Her ghostlike figure darted through the air, moving so quickly that Crocodile could barely follow her. His wariness of Atlas immediately rose another notch.
"Iron Body Fist: Shatter!"
A storm of fists all but engulfed Crocodile, yet he made no attempt to dodge, as though any unnecessary movement would be an insult to his Sand-Sand Fruit.
"I told you, your attacks are useless against me..." Crocodile gloated while keeping his body transformed into sand. "Unless... Pfft!!"
Just as he was smugly enjoying Atlas's supposed anger, she secretly coated her fists in Armament Haki. Caught completely off guard, he took a solid punch before he could transform in time.
"Armament Haki?!"
Crocodile swiftly transformed into a mass of yellow sand and scattered into the desert before reappearing more than twenty meters away, the words escaping through clenched teeth.
"Heh, surprised? Didn't see that coming, did you?" Atlas's Observation Haki naturally tracked his movements, but she did not press her advantage. That little bit of damage would not significantly affect the battle.
"Why is someone like you just a Navy captain?!" Crocodile practically ground out each word, his eyes locked on Atlas. The arrogance finally vanished from his expression, and he became fully alert. Their brief exchange had told him that if he continued underestimating her, he might die here today!
"Well, who knows?" Atlas clearly had no intention of having a long conversation with him. She shrugged and brushed his question aside.
Desert Sunflower!
Crocodile repeated his earlier trick, controlling the flow of underground water to create quicksand capable of swallowing people whole.
Geppo!
"That trick won't work on me, Mr. Crocodile!" Atlas mocked him from above, imitating his earlier tone.
Desert Grande Spada!
Although Crocodile's expression darkened further, he ignored Atlas's taunts. His hands transformed into four enormous sand blades, their keen edges visibly menacing.
Observation Haki activated! Lightning Speed: Razor!
A red gleam flashed through Atlas's eyes. She darted through the air, dodging the sand blades while steadily closing the distance between herself and Crocodile!
Iron Body Fist: Martial God Arm: Armament: Warhammer!
Atlas's arm abruptly swelled, and a coating of Armament Haki swiftly covered it. Her enormous fist drove straight toward Crocodile's head!
I'll smash your damn skull!
Bang!
Tremendous force crashed into his head. Crocodile's entire body dissolved into a cloud of yellow sand before reappearing nearby.
Crocodile looked at Atlas with lingering fear. That punch had nearly convinced him he was about to die on the spot. Fortunately, he had transformed in time to save his life. He had originally intended to transform only his head, but Atlas's strength was so immense that he had been forced to transform his entire body.
"You won't be so lucky next time, Crocodile!"
Atlas kept up her taunts, trying to get inside Crocodile's head.
Suddenly, Atlas leaned to the right. An enormous sand blade erupted from the spot where she had just been standing. A moment's delay, and she might have taken that slash.
"How underhanded!" Atlas licked her slightly dry lips, but she was unconcerned by the sneak attack. An attack of that caliber posed little threat to her.
"Heh heh heh... you're still so naive, Navy brat!"
"Heh, am I?"
Atlas scoffed. Dense Armament Haki rapidly covered her entire body, making her look as though she wore a suit of black-and-red armor. Then she charged straight at Crocodile!
Full-body Armament!
"What a foolish move!" Rather than alarmed, Crocodile was delighted by the sight. Disdainful of Atlas's choice, he activated his Devil Fruit ability and transformed his hands into four enormous sand blades.
Desert Grande Spada!
But Atlas did not slow down. She crashed straight into Crocodile's sand blades!
Clang! Bang!
Atlas struggled against the blades for a single second before the tremendous force of her charge smashed them into loose sand!
In the blink of an eye, she closed in on Crocodile. Before he could react, her Armament-coated hand seized his throat!
"Got you, little crocodile!" Atlas grinned. To the stunned Crocodile, her resolute face looked utterly monstrous.
Atlas paid no attention to his fear. Gripping him by the neck, she planted her feet firmly on the ground, lowered her center of gravity, and assumed a textbook shoulder-throw stance. Her waist and abdomen powered the motion together!
Bang!
"That's for showing off!"
Bang!
"That's for denying it!"
Bang!
"That's for mocking me!"
Bang! Bang! Bang, bang, bang!
Crocodile dangled from Atlas's hand like a ragged sack, her tremendous strength slamming him into intimate contact with the desert again and again!
Although he could transform each time to avoid serious injury, Atlas's Armament-coated hand had an iron grip on his neck. He could not break free!
Ready for Cuffs
Damn it!
As Crocodile was repeatedly slammed into the ground, he finally lost his composure and cursed inwardly. His Logia transformation had spared him serious injury, but while the damage was minor, the humiliation was unbearable!
Being tossed around like a rag left Crocodile feeling helpless. How was this Navy brat's Armament Haki defense so strong? She had actually taken his Desert Grande Spada head-on!
Suddenly, a jet-black coating of Armament Haki covered Crocodile's neck. Atlas paused briefly, feeling the flesh in her hand harden.
Whoosh...
A light breeze blew past. In the instant Atlas hesitated, Crocodile vanished from her grasp, leaving only a few grains of yellow sand trickling between her fingers.
"Hey! Navy brat! Are you trying to sever the Navy's ties with the Shichibukai?"
Crocodile reformed a short distance away from Atlas. His normally drooping eyelids lifted slightly as he angrily demanded an answer. As far as he was concerned, there was no evidence linking him to the trouble in Alabasta, and Atlas had no grounds to arrest him.
Originally, Crocodile had planned to leave Atlas and all the other Marines buried in this desert forever. She was merely a Navy captain, after all. Even if the World Government found out, it probably would not bother him over it. Who could have guessed he would run into such a formidable opponent? Now he had no choice but to invoke the World Government to pressure her. He still had not obtained Pluton, so he could not afford to lose his Shichibukai status.
"You really disappoint me, Crocodile. It looks like Whitebeard beat all the fight out of you. Even your Haki is pathetically weak!"
Atlas shook her head as she looked at Crocodile, who seemed like nothing more than a clown. Although he was considerably stronger than he would be more than a decade later, Whitebeard had already shattered his faith in his own strength, driving him to seek the legendary Ancient Weapon Pluton. Even his Armament Haki was feeble. No wonder he would eventually become unable to use Haki at all—a rather forced attempt to patch things up for Oda. He had practically let his hand-to-hand combat skills rot away, too.
"Stop looking down on me, brat! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Atlas's words seemed to strike a sore spot. Crocodile's face twisted with a rare display of rage, but he did not lose his reason. He secretly planned an escape route while quietly activating his Devil Fruit ability.
"How pitiful!"
Unmoved by Crocodile's anger, Atlas continued mercilessly picking at his wounds. Naturally, her Observation Haki caught his little maneuvers.
But Atlas did not stop him. She intended to crush him completely with overwhelming strength!
Heavy Sables!
A small sandstorm rapidly formed in Crocodile's hand, and he hurled it at Atlas. As the whirlwind spun, the surrounding sand rushed to join it.
In moments, the sandstorm swelled until it nearly blotted out Atlas's view! Its tremendous twisting force carved deep trenches into the ground!
Meanwhile, Crocodile seemed intent on seizing the opportunity to escape. There was no denying that Alabasta was practically a battlefield made for the wielder of the Sand-Sand Fruit. The environment gave his strength a substantial, if invisible, boost.
"I'm done playing with you, Crocodile!"
Atlas would not stand by and watch him slip away. Her body abruptly shrank, compressing her towering 2.8-meter frame down to two meters. Her black-and-red Armament Haki deepened, its density nearly making it spill from her body. It resembled a fitted suit of armor, clearly outlining her perfect inverted-triangle physique. Her sleek, powerful muscles looked like a work of divine craftsmanship. Mysterious patterns traced her body, and two black lines extended from the corners of her eyes down to her neck.
Life Return: Kami-e Mushin: Armament Form!
Crocodile stared at Atlas's new form in horror. Even from a considerable distance, he could feel the overwhelming pressure. The sheer power she radiated assaulted his senses!
"Hey! Shave!"
Atlas's leg muscles abruptly swelled, and an unfathomably deep crater opened in the already soft desert floor. In this form, even her most ordinary Shave reached terrifying speeds.
Relying on her tremendous strength and defense, Atlas tore through the still-growing sandstorm with unstoppable force.
Before Crocodile could react, fists rained down on him. His half-baked Observation Haki could not even track Atlas's movements, let alone allow him to transform and dodge.
He could only endure every last attack! As for his feeble Armament Haki, Atlas shattered it almost instantly!
Whew...
A short while later, Atlas exhaled deeply as she looked down at Crocodile, who lay on the ground barely recognizable as human. She shook out her aching arms, crouched beside him, and wiped the blood from her knuckles on his body. His eyes had rolled back, and he was unconscious.
"What a pain!"
Reluctantly, Atlas grabbed one of Crocodile's legs and dragged him straight toward the moored warship. She could not be bothered to put much effort into it. She had only just finished fighting, after all.
"Captain! Is that..."
Luslan looked hesitantly at the unconscious Crocodile. They had watched the entire battle clearly from afar, and the clash, which had resembled a natural disaster, had truly frightened them. In fact, Crocodile had not even unleashed the sweeping area attacks unique to Logia users, knowing they would have little effect on Atlas.
"Yeah... our esteemed Mr. Shichibukai..."