One Piece: The Cryo Doctor on the Straw Hat Ship

The terrifying flames even made Luffy, who was in the corner, feel suffocated.

He quickly covered his head and face with his arms, then muttered to himself:

"V's attacks are getting more and more frightening."

This kind of battle in a confined environment is practically V's absolute territory.

Under V's control, the smoke and flames quickly dissipated.

Crocodile was revealed at the epicenter of the explosion.

By this time, his upper body clothing had turned to ashes, revealing his strong but scorched chest.

The skin on my left shoulder, from the collarbone, was cracked and oozing dark red blood.

The impact of the explosion at such close range was unavoidable, even for someone with a Logia-type personality.

not to mention……

The Sand-Sand Fruit's power is not invincible.

Crocodile slowly raised his head, his golden hook gleaming coldly in the remaining sparks of fire.

At this moment, the contempt in his eyes had faded, replaced by a chilling killing intent.

"This is definitely not the power of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit... it's more like..."

"Mr. 5's Blast Fruit!"

How did you do that?

Crocodile spoke in surprise.

Even though he was seriously injured, his first thought was still about things outside of the battle.

Why don't you guess?

V emerged from the smoke with a smile, and a pale mist once again condensed in his palm, spreading in all directions.

"If you guessed correctly, I might consider sparing your life!"

His playful words echoed in the still lingering smoke of battle.

Crocodile's eyes darkened completely.

He hadn't heard such arrogant and provocative words in years.

He stopped asking, because the answer was no longer important.

The important thing is that these two arrogant brats must pay for everything they have done today with their blood!

"Spare my life?" Crocodile chuckled, his voice hoarse like the grinding of gravel. "You fool... Desert Blade!"

He swung the golden hook on his left arm with a sudden movement, and a huge crescent-shaped slash formed from highly compressed sand shot out of the air.

However, the sand slash was not aimed at Luffy and V, but instead crashed into the ceiling above Crocodile's head.

Boom—!

With a loud bang, the casino lights cascaded down like a waterfall, showering Crocodile upon him.

At the same time, the collapsing concrete and steel bars quickly disintegrated into gravel under the sandification effect.

Crocodile mingled with it, transforming into yellow sand that swirled upwards.

"Oh no! He's trying to escape!"

Luffy reacted incredibly fast, pushing off the wall with both feet and instantly entering Gear Second mode. His arm, glowing with crimson steam, shot towards Crocodile like a cannonball.

"Rubber rubber—Jet pistol!"

However, Crocodile's figure had already turned into a cloud of quicksand the instant before the fist touched him, surging upwards through the gaping hole, leaving only a cold sneer echoing in the room:

"Naive brats... On this island, I am the sole ruler!"

After Crocodile escaped, a huge crack suddenly appeared in the middle of the basement ceiling, and the crack continued to widen.

Upon seeing this, V's eyes narrowed, and the pale smoke rapidly gathered.

"Let's get out of here first, Luffy!"

As he spoke, a pale mist formed a hand, which grabbed Luffy's body and quickly rushed out of the hole.

V's figure also transformed into a wisp of white smoke and followed closely behind.

Because of Luffy and V's previous antics, the Rain Banquet Casino was now completely empty.

The two instantly spotted Crocodile.

However, he had already broken through the window and was then propelled by the sandstorm to fly out of the Rain City.

"Looks like he wants to settle things with us on his home turf in the desert."

V grinned, but showed no sign of fear.

In two days, he devoured a large number of useless prosthetic bodies, and the level of his prosthetic bodies had already risen to level 6.

It may seem like only a one-level improvement, but between level 5 and level 6 lies a chasm that cyber technology cannot overcome.

"Take me after them, V!"

Luffy is full of fighting spirit.

If enclosed spaces are V's home turf, then this vast world is Luffy's territory.

Freedom made him powerful!

……

……

A few minutes later.

The scorching sandstorm, sharp as blades, swept across the boundless golden sea of ​​sand outside the city of Yudi.

Crocodile's figure re-formed on the sand dune a hundred meters away. The scorch marks on his bare upper body were particularly conspicuous under the blazing sun, but the ferocity and murderous intent in his eyes were even more intense than the midday sun in the desert.

"They're really audacious, daring to actually chase us all the way here."

Seeing Luffy and V chasing after him from the rain, Crocodile slowly raised his right hand, the golden hook reflecting a dazzling light under the blazing sun.

The sand beneath his feet began to flow silently, the fine sand swirling and rising like living things, forming a slowly rotating sandstorm barrier around him.

"This is my kingdom—everything in the desert will become my weapon."

Before he could finish speaking, Crocodile plunged his golden hook into the sand:

"Sandstorm - Modified!"

boom--!!!

Centered on him, the sandstorm suddenly expanded!

What was originally a slowly swirling sandstorm instantly transformed into a raging tornado tens of meters in diameter, carrying countless grains of sand and gravel as it swept towards Luffy and V.

Where the sandstorm passed, the ground was peeled away layer by layer, exposing the cracked rock layers underneath.

"Oh? Skipping the trash talk and going straight for the big move!?"

"Luffy, it's all yours now!"

V laughed loudly, and the hand formed from smoke instantly threw Luffy away.

Despite the raging sandstorm that blotted out the sky, Luffy's figure remained as steady as an anchor amidst the fierce winds.

He grinned, his eyes gleaming with fierce fighting spirit.

"Third gear—!"

Luffy took a deep breath, and his right arm expanded rapidly as if inflated, transforming in the blink of an eye into a giant fist as large as a sandstorm tornado, with a dark Armament Haki glow on the surface of his skin.

"Rubber rubber—Giant's pistol!!!"

The enormous fist slammed out with overwhelming force, crashing straight into the raging sandstorm!

Rumble—!!!

The moment the fist collided head-on with the sandstorm, the air was compressed, creating visible ripples.

The sandstorm was torn apart and scattered by the brute force, and the sandstorm tornado began to collapse from the inside, with countless grains of sand scattering like a rainstorm.

Luffy's fist continued its momentum, piercing through the collapsing sand curtain and striking Crocodile atop the sand dune!

"What!?" Crocodile's pupils shrank. He hadn't expected Luffy's power to be so terrifying, and that he had even learned Armament Haki, which was rarely seen in Paradise.

In his haste, his body turned into sand again, trying to blend into the sea of ​​sand beneath his feet to avoid it.

But in that very instant—

"Trying to escape? Did you even ask me?"

[Seanwestein Module - Start!]

V's figure had appeared high in the sky behind Crocodile at some point.

He spread his arms, and the pale smoke around him was no longer ethereal, but solidified like liquid metal, rapidly spreading and intertwining in all directions, instantly forming a giant smoke network covering half the sky.

"White Prison - Reform!"

The smoke network rapidly closed in, enveloping Crocodile like a bird-catching net.

Crocodile's inner alarm bells rang loudly.

Although he was not afraid of being bound by pure smoke, the "white prison" woven by V before him was completely different.

Although he hadn't engaged in high-intensity combat for several years and his strength had declined considerably, his eyesight remained sharp.

Having learned about Mr. 5's Devil Fruit abilities, he had already guessed that the explosive medium for V's explosion must be the smoke particles released from his body.

The explosion of the mist particles had caused him a lot of trouble before.

If this solidified, metallic-looking smoke were to explode around him now...

The consequences could be disastrous!

"A mere trick!" Crocodile shouted, suppressing his unease.

The next moment, his body transformed into elemental form again, attempting to escape through the gaps in the smoke grid.