Luffy versus Crocodile:

-x-

Lieutenant Devo approached Captain Smoker with his head hung and uniform singed. "I'm sorry sir," he apologized. "The Straw Hats managed to escape. The three Whitebeard Pirates stalled us so they could get away. I'm afraid we weren't much of a match for them."

"Listen, there's no point in pursuing them now," Smoker resolved. The main reason the Straw Hats had escaped was because he had let them. Not only because they had saved his life while they were escaping Crocodile's cell but because Princess Vivi seemed to have recruited them to help her keep Crocodile from destroying her Kingdom. "Tell the men to call off the chase."

Lieutenant Devo stared at Smoker in surprise. It was out of character of 'White Chase' Smoker to give up chasing anyone, especially someone he seemed so dedicated to catching.

"I want everyone assembled here," Smoker ordered. "And contact headquarters. Tell them to mobilize every military vessel in the vicinity and route them here. I want Alabasta surrounded."

"You're calling for reinforcements?" Devo questioned. "But sir, we already defied the superiors by chasing the Straw Hats here without orders. Our superiors might not be willing to move such a large number of ships against such a small group of pirates."

"And since when do I care what the superiors might think?" Smoker growled.

"Sorry sir, I'll get right on it," Lieutenant Devo agreed before he ran off to call off the chase as per the Captain's orders.

-x-

Meanwhile, the Straw Hats sped away on the back of a giant Moving Crab as it scuttled sideways away from Rain Base towards Alubarna.

"I can't believe you found one!" Vivi exclaimed. "Moving Crabs are always submerged under the sand so it's nearly impossible to spot one!"

"He's Eyelash's friend," Chopper explained as he sat in between the two stalks that were the crab's eyes and held two ropes like reigns. "Eyelash has a lot of friends in this area because it's his hometown. He was born and raised here. He's nice but kinda pervy."

SHHWWOOOO! A golden hook propelled by a stream of sand flew over the sand and rapidly began catching up with the Moving Crab.

"LOOK OUT!" Y/N exclaimed as he grabbed Vivi and threw her to Sanji only to be grabbed by the hook and yanked off of the crab. SHUUWUK! "I think he's mad now."

Everyone flinched in surprise as Y/N was yanked back towards three figures that were standing on the outskirts of Rain Base. The tallest of the three had a stream of sand coming from his arm and connecting to the hook.

"CHOPPER, STOP THE CRAB!" Zoro shouted at the reindeer holding the reins.

The crab skidded to a stop while Luffy jumped up onto one of its stalk-like eyes. "IT'S HIM!" Luffy growled and stretched his arms out after Y/N and the hook. SHOOM! WHAP! Luffy grabbed onto the golden hook and shot off the crab after it. WOING!

Once he reached the crab Luffy quickly grabbed Y/N and pulled him free from the hook and tossed him back towards the others.

"GAH! HE'S COMING BACK!" Usopp shrieked just as Y/N slammed into him and knocked them both over. WHAM!

"HEY LUFFY!" Zoro called after the Captain.

"THAT IDIOT!" Sanji snapped.

"LUFFY NO!" Vivi shouted as they all watched the rubber Captain get pulled towards the three figures outside Rain Base.

"YOU GUYS GO ON AHEAD!" Luffy ordered them. "DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" WHAM! Luffy was slammed upside-down into the sand but continued to call out to his Nakama. "MAKE SURE YOU DELIVER VIVI HOME SAFE AND SOUND, PROMISE ME!" Luffy finished with a smirk that caused most of the Straw Hats to flinch.

"You heard him," Y/N stated as he and Usopp sat up, "Luffy can handle those guys. We need to get to Alubarna. Let's go Chopper."

"RIGHT!" Chopper agreed, "LET'S GO CRAB!" Chopper snapped the reins and the Moving Crab scuttled off sideways across the sand leaving Luffy alone with Crocodile, Ms. All Sunday, and Mr. 3.5.

"WAIT! RICKY!" Usopp shouted. "THAT'S COLD! STOP THE CRAB! YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY GOING TO LEAVE HIM BHEHIND ARE YOU? HE JUST SAVED YOU!"

"Luffy can handle himself," Y/N told him. "And he knows that the most important thing right now is that we get Vivi to Alubarna to stop the war. If we stopped to help him we'd never make it in time."

"Well... if Luffy's gone THEN YOU'D BETTER PROTECT ME, DAMN IT!" Usopp ordered.

"STOP! WE HAVE TO GO BACK!" Vivi screamed not wanting to leave Luffy alone at the hands of a Warlord and his two henchmen.

"It's alright Vivi, he'll be fine," Nami attempted to reassure her. "You have to trust me on this okay? I certainly feel sorry for the other guy. Luffy shows no mercy to his prey. And there's not a single person he's gone after that was able to walk away."

"Crocodile will fail," Zoro stated, "Luffy will win. It's that simple. The moment that the Rebel Army started running... this land's final hour was set. Once the Rebel Army and the Royal Army meet the Kingdom of Alabasta will be gone forever. You truly are the one and only hope of preventing that tragedy. You must survive... no matter what. From this point on what happens to Luffy... or ANY OF US for that matter isn't the least bit important!"

"Vivi, this is fight that you and you alone started," Sanji told her. "You're the one who bravely left this land years ago and made the decision to stand up against a corrupted and evil organization. However... don't make the mistake of thinking you're alone anymore."

"D-don't w-worry," Usopp stammered, "C-CAPTAIN USOPP WILL P-PROTECT YOU!"

"LUUUUUFFYYYYYY!" Vivi stood up and shouted across the sand at the now distant form of Luffy. "LIIIIISTEEEEEN! WE'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU! WE'LL BE IN ALUBARNA!"

"YEAAAAHHH!" Luffy cheered as he watched his Nakama race off on the crab.

Crocodile, Ms. All Sunday, and Mr. 3.5 stood beyond Luffy and watched the Moving Crab race off with the Straw Hats and Princess Vivi on board.

"Fufu, you could say we let Princess Vivi slip through our fingers," Ms. All Sunday commented.

"No matter," Crocodile replied as he stood there casually smoking one of his expensive cigars. "The agents are still scheduled to gather in Alubarna. Contact them at once and head over there immediately." Crocodile then turned his attention to Luffy and glared down at the pirate who was still lying upside down in the sand. "Straw Hat, I'd say that you've taken this nonsense a little too far."

WHUP! Luffy flipped over so he was sitting on the sand and facing Crocodile. "Nonsense?" he repeated. "Vivi doesn't see it that way. Ya see, unlike most people, she genuinely cares about others." Luffy paused and pulled off the light blue sash tying his straw hat onto his head leaving him in his red desert cloak and his usual outfit of a red vest, shorts, and sandals. "I guess deep down she's an optimist... even if it's not so realistic. Take this revolt for example, she believes no one needs to die."

"Nobody needs to die?" Crocodile repeated while Ms. All Sunday and Mr. 3.5 remained silent. "The problem with idealistic fools like Princess Vivi is they take a stand without any comprehension of what is truly involved in a real fight. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yup," Luffy replied as he finally looked up at Crocodile and slowly pushed himself up to his feet. "But that doesn't change the fact that as long as you're around Vivi's gonna fight until she either wins or dies trying. So I figure... I'LL TAKE YA DOWN RIGHT HERE!"

"Kuahahahaha," Crocodile laughed. "Such a foolish boy. Despite what the idealists cry about there's one constant truth: on the rough battle fields of life: you either kill or die. That's why I'm more than happy to shoot a bullet through every bleeding heart I meet."

"Yeah," Luffy said as he brushed off his cloak then punched one fist into the other and cracked his knuckles, "Which proves you're the bigger fool here."

Crocodile was so annoyed by Luffy's comment that ended up biting off the end of the cigar that was dangling out of his mouth.

"Fufufufu," Ms. All Sunday laughed.

"You think something's funny?" Crocodile growled her. "Perhaps you'd like to die as well... Nico Robin."

"If you wanna try... go right ahead," Ms. All Sunday a.k.a. Nico Robin prompted as she turned and walked off towards the city. "And didn't you promise not to call my by that name?"

"Where are you going?" Crocodile demanded.

"I have some business to take care of," Ms. All Sunday answered. "And then I'm heading to Alubarna. I'll see you there."

"I'll never figure her out," Crocodile muttered before he turned to Mr. 3.5 who was standing obediently beside him. "Call ahead to the other Officer Agents and tell them to keep a look out for the Straw Hat Pirates. Give them a description of One Eye and Mr. Prince. And give them orders to make sure that Princess Vivi and the Rebel Leader Koza don't meet. Then go to my personal stable and take one of the Accelagators and immediately head for Alubarna. Once there, find One Eye and eliminate him. He's proven to be too much of a problem to let live. You know him better than the others do and I will not have him mucking up my plans again."

"Yes sir," Mr. 3.5 agreed. "Be careful. Straw Hat is surprisingly resilient."

"So am I," Crocodile stated, "Now go." Mr. 3.5 nodded and headed back towards Rain Base following the footprints left by Ms. All Sunday.

This left Luffy and Crocodile alone. It was finally time 'Straw Hat' Monkey D. Luffy, Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Most Wanted Man in the East Blue worth 30,000,000 berries was going to face Sir Crocodile, President of Baroque Works, Warlord of the Sea with a former bounty of 81,000,000 berries.

Crocodile pulled something out of his coat and tossed it down into the sand near Luffy. Luffy glanced down and saw that it was an hour glass with purple sand slowly dripping from the top part down to the bottom.

"I've got three minutes to spare," Crocodile stated. "After that... I'm certain your time will have run out as well."

-x-

"Usopp, I need you to help me with something," Y/N requested as he and the other Straw Hats raced away on the Moving Crab. The First Mate pulled off his boots – leaving him barefoot – then produced the two bars of Sea Stone he'd managed to break off of Crocodile's holding cell. "Before we get to Alubarna I need you to meld these bars into the steel on my boots. Most of the remaining Officer Agents have Devil Fruit Powers so if my boots are laced with Sea Stone I'll be able to take them down easier."

"I'll see what I can do," Usopp agreed as he fished into his artillery pouch and pulled out a hammer and a handful of orange marbles. The marksman pulled down his goggles and held one of Y/N's boots upside down then placed one of the Sea Stone bars in the middle of the boot's steel treads. Usopp nodded then took one of the orange marbles and smashed it down on the steel sole of the boot. "FIRE STAR!" FWOOSH! The marble combusted and the resulting flames heated up the steel and the Sea Stone on the boot's bottom. Usopp quickly tossed another marble down on the other half of the boot's sole. FWOOSH! With the steel bottom now blazing hot from the Fire Stars Usopp took his hammer and began smashing it down on the hot metal. KLANK! KLANG! Usopp slowly began to rework the Sea Stone bar so it started to meld with the steel on Y/N's boot.

"Very good," Y/N commented. "Just remember Usopp... the more effective my boots are against the Devil Fruit Powered Officer Agents... the less you have to do against them."

"Hey wait a minute!" Sanji protested. "If you take 'em all down what'll be left for—" Sanji was cut off by the rapid pounding of Usopp's hammer.

KONK! KLANG! KLANG! KLANK! PING! KONK! Usopp increased speed and began rapidly pounding the hot metal desperate to get Y/N's boot upgrade done quickly. The way he saw it, if Y/N took down a bunch of Officer Agents then he wouldn't have to fight them but as a helpful side-benefit he could still say he helped when the battle was over.

"Oi, seriously, you'd better not take 'em all down," Zoro warned Y/N. "Cause I've got a new technique I still wanna try out."

"Yeah," Sanji agreed, "Don't be greedy! Your escape plan only let me run away from Crocodile. I still haven't had a chance to face any Officer Agents yet!"

-x-

Thirty Million versus Eighty-One Million:

-x-

A strong wind blew by as Luffy and Crocodile stared down. Luffy's desert cloak and Crocodile's fur coat waved in the breeze but the two paid it no mind.

"Your three minutes are counting down," Crocodile stated. "I don't have any more time to waste on the likes of you."

"..." Luffy remained silent. The only sound to be heard was the billowing wind.

"It's your move kid," Crocodile prompted.

"With pleasure," Luffy replied as he clenched one hand and cracked his knuckles. He drew his arm back and sent his rubber fish flying at Crocodile, "GUUUUM... GUUUUUMMM... PIIIISTOOOOOL!" SWOOSHH! Crocodile didn't even bother letting the punch pass harmlessly through him, he tilted to the side and avoided then his body became and cloud of sand and blew away in the wind.

BANG! Usopp fired his revolver and a red bullet shot through the bars of the cell and sank into Crocodile's chest before it came out his back and exploded on the floor, KA-BOOOM!

"Was there a point to that?" Crocodile asked as the hole Usopp's bullet had made through his chest filled with sand and reformed his body. Crocodile was left standing there completely unharmed.

"It's just as I suspected," Ace remarked. "He's a Logia. What're the odds of having three of us in one room?"

"That's right," Crocodile replied with a smirk, "I ate the Sand Sand Fruit and now I can not only control but also become the sands themselves. I'm the King of the Desert."

SHHOOO! Crocodile reformed right in front of Luffy and lashed his golden hook out at the rubber pirate. SWOOSH! Luffy flipped backwards to avoid the hook and landed on his hands.

"And GUMMM... GUUUUMMMM... STAAAAMMMP!" SKUSSSHH! While still upside downLuffy's rubber leg shot out and burst straight through Crocodile's head, reducing the Warlord to a cloud of sand. WOING! Luffy's leg came back and he flipped over in midair and landed on his back in the sand somehow losing his cloak in the process.

"By now it should be quite obvious," Crocodile called out as his sandy body reformed. "But I'll warn you. You cannot defeat me. This is an exercise in futility."

"DAMN IT RICKY!" Nami yelled. "THAT'S CLEARLY NOT WORKING!"

"Yes it is," Y/N replied. SLISH! The Warlord was once again reduced to a pile of sand. "He can't attack me..." SLASH! "...if he's not..." SWISH! "...solid."

Luffy stood back up now clad in only his hat, vest, shorts, and sandals. "GUUUUUMMMM... GUUUUUUUMMMMM... GAAAATLIIIINNNG!" SHWUK-SHWUK-SHWUK-SHWUK-SHWUK! Luffy shot his rubber arms out in a rapid-fire barrage of punches, they passed through Crocodile's body and left wide gaping holes in their wake.

Crocodile reformed again and spoke with his eyes closed looking utterly bored. "Listen to my warning and take heed," Crocodile called out. "If you continue this senseless attack you will have accomplished nothing and wasted what little time you have left. Both you and One Eye should've both realized that you're no match for me."

"Were you really a Whitebeard Pirate?" Crocodile asked as he held Y/N by the throat and coked him. "I was expecting better."

PTOOII! Y/N spat in Crocodile's face and the Warlord flinched back in surprise. Y/N pulled free from Crocodile's grasp and spun around before he jumped up and drove his foot back into the Warlord's wet face. "Machete...BACK KICK!" THWAK! The kick connected and Y/N had positioned Crocodile perfectly that he went flying backwards and slammed back-first into the Sea Stone bars of the cell.

Crocodile's eyes were still closed so he never saw Luffy spit on his fists. So he made no move to dodge as Luffy charged him with his arms stretched out behind his back. "GUUUUUMMM... GUUUUUUMMMMM... BAAAAAZOOOOOKAAAAAAA!" WHAAAAM! Luffy's wet fists slammed into Crocodile's body. A look of utter shock was on the Warlord's face as he was sent flying backwards across the sea of sand.

SKUSSHH! Crocodile's body hit the ground and collapsed into a pile of sand. WOOOSH! The sand swirled around and Crocodile's body reformed with him standing up and holding his stomach were Luffy had hit him.

"So he can learn..." Crocodile growled in irritation. "The little fool packs a lot of power in his punch but he's nothing compared to me." SHWOO! Crocodile's right arm became a loose blade of sand before the lashed out and sand it down into the sand at his feet. "DESERT SPARDA!" SHOOOSH! The blade rushed through the sand like a torpedo causing it to split and become a deep ravine as it rushed towards Luffy.

"WHOA!" Luffy gasped as he jumped to the side to avoid Crocodile's attack. He glanced down at the ravine that was left by the rushing sand and couldn't see a bottom. "That was close."

WOOOSH! Sand swirled and Crocodile reappeared behind Luffy. "You're wasting your time boy," Crocodile said. "No matter how hard you fight against the truth... there's no way a rubber freak like you could even hope to rival me. You..."

Ptoi! POW! Luffy spat on his fist and socked Crocodile in the face. The Warlord was knocked off his feet and landed on his ass in the sand. A bruise formed on his right cheek where Luffy had hit him.

"I'M SORRY! MY FIST INTERRUPTED YOU!" Luffy taunted. "NOW WHAT WAS THAT?"

Crocodile glared at Luffy and let out a low growl as he got to his feet. "I've had my fill of you," Crocodile snarled. "Let's end this now."

"Sounds good ta me!" Luffy retorted. SKISH! The rubber pirate leapt up into the air overhead Crocodile looked up at him but Luffy's silhouette was hidden by the bright desert sun. PTOOI! A wad of spit came flying down at Crocodile but the Warlord was ready this time and weaved to the side and avoided it. "GUUUUUMMM... GUUUUUUMMMM... BATTLE AAAXEEE!" Luffy came down with his leg stretched up overhead he snapped it down and cleaved Crocodile in half before his heel slammed down into the sand and created a small crater. THWUMP!

Crocodile's two halves floated backwards and then joined together and reformed the Warlord's body to reveal him completely unharmed.

"Damn, he avoided it," Luffy realized, "Spitting on him isn't gonna work anymore. Now what am I gonna do?"

"We may both be pirates but you fall grossly short on skill," Crocodile commented. "DESERT SPARDA!" SHOOOSH! Again Crocodile formed a blade of sand on his right arm and sank it down into the sand. The blade raced towards Luffy and split everything in its path. SHWOOM! This time with Crocodile so close and the attack moving so fast Luffy had a harder time dodging but he managed to dive out of the way and avoid being split in half along with the sand.

"Hmph, nice reflexes boy," Crocodile commended Luffy. "A full-on hit from that attack would've killed you."

"Whoa! That one looks even deeper!" Luffy exclaimed as he stared down the new ravine. This one had been shorter and more concentrated resulting in it being even deeper than the previous nearly bottomless ravine.

"You may have Devil Fruit Powers but you lack discipline and training," Crocodile said as he changed his commending to criticism. "With that your skills could be as formidable as any. But you're not there yet. Like so many fools you waste so much time obsessing over your abilities. Gimmicks get you only so far in a fight without the skill set to back them up. I've worked hard to develop my Devil Fruit Powers. I can use them to make any weapon I want. Unlike some fools who are satisfied with their powers as they are I continually condition myself and improve my skills." Luffy stood up and Crocodile's entire right arm once again became a blade of sand. "DESERT GIRASOLE!" Crocodile sank his blade arm down into the sand. SHWUMP!

Luffy clenched his fists and got ready to avoid the next attack but suddenly found that Crocodile had positioned him so he was trapped in between the two deep ravines. SHOOOOOM! The sand all around Luffy started sinking into the ground in a large round sunflower-like shape.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?" Luffy exclaimed as the sinking sand started to pull him down along with it. The sand rushed down into a bowl-like shape and Luffy desperately ran towards the side to avoid being pulled down along with it. "WHAT IS THIS? THAT SAND'S SINKING! IT'S LIKE QUICKSAND!"

"It is quicksand," Crocodile informed the frantic rubber pirate as he calmly stood at the edge of the bowl. "It makes for a convenient desert burial when you need to get rid of someone in a hurry. The sand is drawn down into underground waterways. And I have the good fortune of being able to detect exactly where they are. That advantage alone is what makes me invincible in a desert battle."

"If you... think I'm gonna let myself... be buried alive in this sand trap..." Luffy panted as he sprinted up the wall of the bowl while the sand rushed in the opposite direction. "YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING! YOU BASTARD!" SHOOM! Luffy stretched his arms up over his head, "GUUMM... GUUUMM... BAZOOOKAAA!" BOOOM! Luffy drove his rubber fists down into the sand at his feet and sent himself flying up into the air.

"I can't hit him if he's not wet," Luffy thought to himself as he flew overhead. "But now he's dodging my spit... SO I'LL BRING MY SPIT TO HIM!" "GUUUMMM... GUUUUMMMM..." Luffy's rubber head swelled up and he stretched his mouth opened, "MUNCH MUNCH!" CHOOMP! Luffy came flying down and bit down on the top half of Crocodile's body. Crocodile's legs were left standing as Luffy hit the ground and rolled away from him.

"EEEENOOOOUUUGH!" Crocodile roared as his upperbody erupted out of Luffy's mouth. His sandy body was now damp and brown from Luffy's saliva. "DAAAAMN YOOOUUU STRAAAW HAAAT! THIIS EENDS NOOOWWW!"

"You're right!" Luffy agreed as he shot to his feet, "GUUUMM... GUUUMMM... WHIIIP!" THWAK! Luffy stretched his leg out and swung it around into Crocodile's wet sandy body and sent the Warlord flying. "I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!" Luffy chased after his opponent while leaving his arm behind allowing it to stretch out behind his body. "GUUUMM... GUUUUMMMMM.... BUUUULLEEEEETTT!" POW! Luffy drove his fist into Crocodile's face and sent the Warlord flying and then tumbling away across the sand.

Crocodile slowly rose to his feet and glared at Luffy. Blood was dripping out of the corner of the Warlord's mouth

"RAAAAHHH!" Luffy roared as he raced at Crocodile and pulled back his arm to punch him again. "GUUUUUMMM... GUUUMMMMM... PIIII—"

"CRESCENT CUTLASS!" WHAK! Crocodile cut Luffy off as he slashed his right arm through the arm that Luffy was swinging at him. WHAM! Luffy went off balance and tumbled passed him and landed on his back.

"AAAAAHHHH! MY AAARRRMM!" Luffy screamed. He chanced a glance over at his right arm and his eyes went wide in shock. "WAAAAAHHHHHH!" Luffy's long thin arm was now even thinner. Only this time it was gray shriveled and wrinkled. It looked like the arm of a zombie or a mummy. "WHAT DID YOU DO? IT'S ALL SHRIVELED UP! LIKE A MUMMY! YOU TURNED MY ARM INTO A MUMMY!"

"Stop whining!" Crocodile snapped. "This is the price you pay for angering me. The sand has absorbed all the moisture from your arm. You're lucky all I decided to attack was your arm. I could've gotten your whole body and turned you into a pile of dust."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Luffy groaned as he sat up and held his mummy arm with his good arm. Then he spotted his water barrel lying on top of this abandoned desert cloak. "THAT'S IT WATER!" Luffy ran frantically over to this discarded cloak and grabbed the small barrel of water that Toto had given him when he was leaving Yuba. SLUUUURRRP! Luffy put the straw in his mouth and sucked down a mouthful of precious Yuba water. WOING! The moisture from the water went straight to Luffy's mummy arm which bulked up and muscled like a classic Popeye cartoon.

"All in vain," Crocodile stated as he glared at the pirate that was now really annoying him.

"YOU'RE WRONG SANDY!" Luffy yelled. "Y'see that old guy in Yuba gave me this barrel of water. He spent all night digging it up just for me. He's not scared and neither am I!"

"The dream of Yuba can't be ruined by a bunch of lousy sand," Toto said as Luffy watched him dig for water in the dried up oasis.

Luffy stood up with the water barrel now hanging from his neck. "I'm not about to give into the sand," Luffy declared, "NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT! RRAAAAHHH!" Luffy charged Crocodile and pulled back his fist.

"Predictable," Crocodile growled, "I'm growing bored. CRESCENT CUTLASS!" SWISH! Luffy dropped down and Crocodile missed him. The Warlord looked down to see Luffy standing on his hands while the bottoms of his sandals were pressed together.

"SPEEAAAR!" Luffy's legs shot up straight into Crocodile's still damp stomach, THWHAM! Crocodile went flying up into the air but Luffy flipped over and stretched one of his legs up over his and Crocodile's heads, "AAAND BAATTLEE AAAXEEEEE!" THWHOMP! Luffy's leg snapped down and the heel slammed into Crocodile's damp back and sent him flying back down to the ground. WHAM! Crocodile's body hit the sand and then dispersed as a dark sand cloud before reforming to reveal the battered Warlord panting and doubled over. TMP! Luffy landed across from him and grinned, "SHISHISHI! That old guy in Yuba won't give in to your lousy sand... neither will Alabasta... AND NEITHER WILL III!"

"VERMIN!" Crocodile snarled. "I'LL DESTROY YOU AND THE CURSED LAND OF YUBA!" Crocodile looked over at the empty hourglass. "Your three minutes are up. Like I said at the start... I don't have time to fool around with you here. You may think that you've accomplished something but all you've succeeded in doing is waste my time AND SEVERELY ANGER ME! SABLES!" SHWWOOO! Crocodile held out his hand and a small tornado of sand swirled into existence on the Warlord's palm. WOOOOOSSHHHH! The sand tornado grew in size until it was towering overhead.

"WAAAAHH!" Luffy screamed as he stared up at the sandstorm that Crocodile had created.

"Ahh, that sand's so soothing and dry," Crocodile commented.

-x-

At Rain Base the civilians and Marines alike spotted the swirling sand off in a distance. "LOOK OUT! SANDSTORM!" someone shouted. "HEAD FOR SHELTER!"

"Wait a minute!" someone else protested, "It's not coming this way! It's headed south!"

"CAPTAIN SMOKER LOOK!" Tashigi exclaimed as she stood with Captain Smoker and Lieutenant Devo and stared out at the sandstorm that had just appeared out of nowhere.

"You don't know much about sand storms do you, 'Straw Hat' Luffy?" Crocodile questioned. "Ever wonder how one can hit a city perfectly every time?"

SHHHWWOOOOO... Seconds later Crocodile formed a small tornado of sand on his hand effectively demonstrating that he could use his Sand Sand Fruit Powers to create a sandstorm at will. "Kuahahahahahaha..."

"That's Crocodile's doing..." Smoker thought to himself.

-x-

"Miss. Vivi what's going on?" Sanji asked in alarm.

"There's a giant sandstorm heading south from Rain Base!" Vivi observed as she stared at the sandstorm that had appeared on the spot outside Rain Base where they'd left Luffy. "It's Crocodile..."

The Princess and the pirates all stared at the sandstorm that marked where Luffy was fighting Crocodile.

"..." Zoro and Sanji were both silent.

Usopp frowned then went right back to Y/N's boot upgrade.

"Luffy no..." Nami gasped.

Chopper looked over at Y/N wanting his big brother's take on the grim-looking situation.

"Luffy's gonna be fine," Y/N stated. "This isn't the first time he's gone up against a sandstorm. He can handle this one too. Take this as a good sign... if Crocodile resorted to using his powers to create a sandstorm that means Luffy really has him backed into a corner."

-x-

"Can you hear it move?" Crocodile asked. "In this land the prevailing winds always blow from north to south. If this infantile sandstorm of mine were to say... catch one of these winds... it would grow exponentially until it became a monster! And following its trajectory south... WHERE DO YOU THINK IT WOULD STRIKE? YUBA!"

"I WON'T LET IT GET THAT FAR!" Luffy insisted. "WON'T LET YOU HURT THAT OLD GUY! OR YUBA! I'LL STOP YOUR STUPID SANDSTORM RIGHT HERE!"

"So... uh... how do we fight a sandstorm?" Luffy asked as he, Y/N, Zoro, and Sanji stood in front of the sandstorm that was baring down on them and threatening to destroy them along with the village of Edo. SSSHHHHWWWWOOOO...

"A sandstorm is basically wind blowing the sand," Y/N reasoned, "so we should be able to stop it if we counter with an even stronger wind. Luffy, make your biggest Gum Gum Balloon and then spin around and blow out all the air at the sandstorm. Zoro, stand beside him and swing two of your swords around as fast as you can. DO NOT let the sandstorm move any further."

"RIGHT!" Luffy and Zoro agreed.

"GUUUM... GUUUUM..." SHOOOM! Luffy inflated until he was five-times his normal size while Zoro drew two of his swords.

Y/N looked over at Sanji, "The sandstorm is spinning counter-clockwise. While those two keep it at bay, the two of us will jump inside and spin clockwise. If we do it fast enough we should be able to cancel it out."

Luffy took a deep breath, "GUUUUMMM... GUUUUUMMMMM... BAAAALLOOOON!" FWOOSH! Luffy's rubber body inflated with air then he jumped towards the sandstorm. As he flew through the air Luffy noted which was the sandstorm was spinning and spun the top half of his round rubber body the other way until he looked like a strange balloon animal. SHWOOO! The strong wind from the sandstorm sucked the inflated pirate right in and threw him around inside of it. Luffy let out all the air he'd been holding in and let his rubber body snap back the other way. FWWWOOOOOOOOO! Luffy spun around and flew through the sandstorm while blowing out a torrent of counter-wind.

Crocodile's expression was one of utter shock as he watched the sandstorm he'd just created lose power until the sand dropped unmoving down to the ground.

Luffy was left standing tall in the sandstorm's place. "YOUR STUPID SANDSTORMS ARE NO MATCH FOR ME AND MY CREW!" Luffy shouted, "We already stopped two of 'em! One outside of some Epo place and the other in Yuba! That one was weak enough that I could stop it all by myself!"

Crocodile's shocked expression turned angry as he tried to glare a hole straight through Luffy.

-x-

"IT STOPPED!" someone in Rain Base exclaimed. "THE SANDSTORM STOPPED!"

"Straw Hat..." Smoker muttered to himself. He was actually doing it. He was actually facing Crocodile. And he was actually stopping him.

-x-

"YEEAAAH LUUUFFYYY!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all cheered.

Vivi, Zoro, and Sanji smiled and looked relieved.

Y/N remained seated and had his signature sly grin in place, "Told ya," he stated. "Crocodile may have skill and experience being a pirate. But he doesn't have what it takes to beat someone as strong-willed as Luffy."

Chopper looked over at Y/N and attempted to copy his big brother's cool confident grin.

-x-

"I beat your sandstorm, sandy!" Luffy boasted, "NOW I'M GONNA BEAT YOU!" Luffy charged at Crocodile and stretched his arms out behind him, "GUUUUUUMMMMMM... GUUUUUUUMMMMMM... BAAAAAZOOOOO—" SHUNK!

Luffy's stretched arms fell limply to the ground and retracted, his body was slumped, his head hung, and his eyes partially glazed over. Blood dripped down into the sand. Luffy had left himself wide opened when he charged Crocodile with his arms stretched out behind him... and Crocodile had lunged forward and impaled him with his hook.

"Did you really think you were my equal?" Crocodile asked as he held Luffy's limp body aloft on his hook. "There have been many other rookies like you who have challenged me and you've all shared a common trait: fatal ineptitude."

The Warlord looked battered there was a bruise on his cheek, he was bleeding from the mouth, and his slicked back dark purple hair was now a mess. But it was Luffy who was the worse for wear. His eyes were blank and his body was limp as Crocodile's golden hook went through his stomach and came out his back causing the rubber man's blood to leak out onto the sand.

"You may have come closer to beating me that any of them..." Crocodile admitted, "but in the end... you, like them, are only qualified for one thing... death."

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!