"Hmph, what a sorry sight, Akainu. You really can't handle a bunch of rookie brats?"
Crocodile sneered, clearly enjoying the spectacle. Ever since he lost to Luffy, he had developed a taste for watching others embarrass themselves.
Unfortunately, Marco was here. Even someone as proud as Crocodile had to admit—Marco was no weaker than him.
If Marco weren't involved, he could've mocked Akainu without restraint.
"Hmph, so it's you, the ex-Warlord Crocodile. You once dared to challenge Whitebeard, and now you've fallen so low that you're wagging your tail at Whitebeard's brats just to escape Impel Down?"
After his initial rage, Akainu quickly calmed down and began trying to sow discord between Crocodile and the Whitebeard Pirates.
His primary target was Fire Fist Ace, followed by Marco, and lastly, Straw Hat Luffy.
Since Ace and Marco were both Whitebeard Pirates, as long as he could push Crocodile away from them, he still had a chance to eliminate Ace and Marco.
He had already manipulated Squard into betraying Whitebeard—deception was one of his strong suits. A few words were all it took to nearly succeed again.
"Crocodile, don't forget—Ivankov knows your secret!"
At that moment, Luffy suddenly had a stroke of genius and shouted up at Crocodile, whose expression was dark with anger, seemingly caught in Akainu's trap.
"That bastard! That damn Ivankov! That cursed freak! He told you?!"
Crocodile nearly dropped out of the sky.
For a moment, he genuinely considered silencing Luffy for good, but he and Mr. 1 owed the Straw Hat kid a massive debt—one that was practically worth their lives.
Back in the Baroque Works days, he wouldn't have hesitated for a second.
But now? Killing Luffy wasn't so simple.
Unless he could pay back what he owed, he really had no way to deal with this little brat.
"Nah~ Ivankov didn't tell me anything~"
Luffy whistled nonchalantly, grinning like a punk, practically daring Crocodile to guess whether he knew the truth or not.
"…Go to hell, Akainu! Desert Gilded Sword!"
Crocodile fell silent. Then, after a brief pause, he suddenly attacked—his target was none other than Akainu, who was still facing off against the trio.
"Crocodile!"
Akainu released a surge of magma that swallowed the sand. At that moment, Sakazuki was truly enraged—not because Crocodile dared to challenge him, but because he had just lost his last chance to kill Ace and Marco.
"Haha! I'll help you!"
Luffy couldn't help but cheer. The moment Crocodile made his move, anyone with half a brain could see just how furious Akainu was.
"No need! Get out of here, now! Akainu is mine! I'm taking his damn head!"
Crocodile sent a massive wave of sand surging toward Akainu, looking down at Ace and Marco with an arrogant expression, as if making it clear that he still despised the Whitebeard Pirates. He was only fighting because of Luffy—it had nothing to do with Ace or Marco.
"Eh? But—"
Luffy didn't even get to finish before Marco, smiling as always, covered his mouth.
"As expected of a great pirate who once rivaled Pops. Alright, Akainu's all yours."
Marco didn't know what kind of secret Luffy had on Crocodile, but he had been ready to go all out against Akainu to give Ace and Luffy a chance to escape.
Now that someone else had stepped in to take the fall, Marco certainly wasn't going to complain.
"Hmph! Just get lost! Don't get in my way!"
Crocodile's mouth twitched. He was already regretting his words.
But at this point, backing down and asking Marco to stay and help would be embarrassing.
As Marco transformed into a phoenix and flew off with Luffy and Ace, Crocodile was both frustrated and relieved.
Blocking an opponent like Akainu was more than enough to repay the debt of being freed from Impel Down.
"Hellhound!"
The enraged Akainu extended his magma-infused arm, throwing a powerful punch straight at Crocodile's head.
If he couldn't take down the Phoenix and Fire Fist, then Crocodile's head would have to do.
"I'd like to see just how strong a navy admiral really is! Desert Blade!"
Crocodile, equally fired up, swung his arm and unleashed a massive sand blade, aiming to cut through Akainu's incoming fist.
However, he had underestimated the sheer power behind Akainu's punch. The magma-coated fist shattered the sand blade and, with incredible speed, blasted straight through Crocodile's head.
Fortunately, Crocodile was also a Logia-type Devil Fruit user. While the Sand-Sand Fruit wasn't as destructive as the Magma-Magma Fruit, both granted the ability to transform into their respective elements.
"Ground Secco!"
Now furious, Crocodile was ready to go all out. Under the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, the ground around the execution platform rapidly dried, cracked, and crumbled into sand.
For Logia users, the more favorable their environment, the stronger they could become.
For example, in the deserts of Alabasta, Crocodile had completely dominated Luffy. But when the battle moved to the Nefertari family's tomb, Crocodile inexplicably lost to him.
While Luffy had figured out a way to counter him, part of the reason for his defeat was his own arrogance—and the fact that the environment no longer favored him.
But here, with the battlefield turning into sand, Crocodile felt confident enough to challenge an admiral.
Whether he could win or not was another story, but at least he was willing to try.
"Foolish! Magma Surge!"
Akainu sneered. He immediately saw through Crocodile's intent, but relying on such a minor environmental advantage to fight him was nothing short of suicidal.
With his strength, he could turn all of Marineford into a sea of hellfire if he wanted—he didn't need to slowly erode the battlefield like Crocodile.
Still, he wouldn't let Crocodile continue expanding his control. Even if giving him an entire desert wouldn't make him a real threat, this was Marineford—the Navy's headquarters. If Crocodile kept destroying it, how would the Navy maintain its reputation?
A blazing torrent of magma surged toward Crocodile like a tsunami. He barely had time to turn some of the ground into sand before he was forced to meet the attack head-on with a massive sand wave.
But the sheer difference in power was overwhelming. The sand wave lasted only a few seconds before being completely devoured by the seemingly endless magma surge.
Then, the magma transformed into enormous hands that reached toward Crocodile, whose expression had darkened.
Feeling the searing heat from the magma hands, Crocodile had no choice but to release even more sand to keep them at bay.
"Great Eruption!"
Akainu wanted to finish Crocodile quickly—if he could, he might still have time to kill Fire Fist Ace before Marco and Ace escaped Marineford.
In Sakazuki's eyes, even if Marco managed to flee, it didn't matter. But the son of Roger, carrying the blood of the Pirate King, had to die at all costs.
If the Navy mobilized such an overwhelming force, yet still failed to execute Ace, it would be a devastating blow to their authority.
"Desert Gilded Sword!"
Even though he was struggling to fend off the magma hands, Crocodile had no intention of finding out what it was like to take Akainu's full power head-on.
He unleashed a sand blade four times stronger than his usual Desert Blade, slicing toward the massive magma fist.
But what he failed to notice was the cold, disdainful smirk on Akainu's face.
Boom!
Once again, Crocodile's sand blade was devoured by magma. What shocked him the most was how powerless his prized Devil Fruit ability seemed in front of Akainu.
"Armament Haki!"
Crocodile growled in frustration. At that moment, he finally realized that he had been relying too much on his Devil Fruit powers.
Logia-type Devil Fruits were undoubtedly strong, but when facing another Logia user—especially one stronger than him—the deciding factor often came from abilities beyond the fruit itself.
The irony wasn't lost on him. Just minutes ago, he had descended like a god to save Straw Hat, and now, he was about to be pushed into a desperate situation just like Luffy had been back then.
In truth, if Crocodile had only focused on evasion, even Akainu would have struggled to take him down.
But the prideful sand crocodile wanted to see how much of a gap existed between him and a top-tier powerhouse—and now he was paying the price.
"Storm Dragon Claw Fist: Dragon King's Breath!"
Just as Crocodile prepared for a desperate final clash, determined to leave a mark on Akainu, a violent gust of wind tore through the battlefield.
A man in a tattered suit suddenly appeared between Crocodile and Akainu—Dragon.
The sheer force of the wind repelled Akainu's magma fist, forcing it back. Despite the brutal beating he had taken from his own father, Dragon seemed completely at ease against Akainu.
"Dragon!"
Bracing against the raging wind, Akainu roared in fury. This battle had been beyond frustrating—every time he locked onto a target, someone interfered.
First, he had tried to take out Dragon to seize the Pure Gold, only for Delocas to stop him. Then, he aimed for Fire Fist Ace and Phoenix Marco, but Crocodile got in the way. And now, just as he was about to finish Crocodile, Dragon appeared to block him again.
Akainu was already infamous for his short temper, but even Kizaru or Aokiji—who were far more composed—would have been livid at this point.
Dragon, however, had no intention of truly fighting Akainu. He had simply been looking for an excuse to escape from battling his father and had decided to help Crocodile in passing.
After all, if not for Crocodile, Luffy would have been in serious danger.
"Hmm… Looks like this battle is decided."
Standing at the front of Marine Headquarters, Kizaru suddenly spoke.
For once, it wasn't because he wanted to slack off—the Five Elders had explicitly forbidden him from interfering any further. Even if Kizaru had volunteered to hand over the Pure Gold, they wouldn't allow it.
After all, at this moment, nowhere in Marineford was safer than Kizaru's side. And few people were more qualified to protect the Pure Gold than him.
Just as his words faded, the massive ice storm covering a section of Marineford's plaza suddenly dissipated.
Stepping through the dying blizzard was Esdeath, her pristine white military boots clicking against the frozen ground. In one hand, she effortlessly dragged Delocas by his mane, despite the fact that he was nearly twice her size.
["Damn! The Ice Queen actually won!"]
["Orochimaru: Hmm… fascinating. I can't wait to begin my research."]
["Tony Stark: What a spectacular war. Too bad their weaponry is so outdated."]
["Tony Stark: If they fully equipped themselves with Stark Industries' advanced weaponry, they could wipe out all the pirates with ease!"]
["Fubuki: This world is terrifying. Even a Dragon-level disaster wouldn't mean much here…"]
["Haibara Ai: Once this war ends, I'll finally have a chance to go there and return to my adult form."]
["Kobayashi: Honestly, being a kid isn't so bad. Sometimes, I wish I could be as carefree as Kanna…"]
["Fubuki: That sounds fun! When you're back to normal, we should go shopping together!"]
["Random Guy: Sigh… I wish I could get stronger and visit other members' worlds too!"]
["Orochimaru: @Random If you're willing to undergo some… modifications, I can make you stronger in no time."]
["Tony Stark: Hey, buddy, maybe consider an Iron Man suit? I'll give you a special discount—how about just 5,000 dimensional credits for the advanced model?"]
["Haibara Ai: That cheap? Are you even covering your costs?"]
["Tony Stark: Of course! Never underestimate Stark Industries' cost efficiency!"]
["Random: @Orochimaru No thanks! I'm happy with my body as it is—I'll pass on the modifications."]
["Random: @Tony Stark I'm broke. Can't afford it!"]
["Tony Stark: You can pay in installments! I'll even offer you the lowest bank interest rate."]
["Random: No way! I was already drowning in a mortgage before I transmigrated. Now you want me to take on armor debt? No thanks!"]
"Dear, I'm taking this guy with me. Anything else you need my help with?"
Esdeath cast a curious glance at Nami and Baby-5 standing beside Borsalino. But after a brief look, she quickly lost interest.
In her eyes, only the truly strong were worth her attention. Nami and Baby-5? At best, they were just Borsalino's pets.
"Borsalino-san, who is this woman?!"
Nami could feel the dismissiveness and disdain in Esdeath's gaze. This damn white-eyebrowed woman didn't even consider her or Baby-5 worthy of notice!
Whenever it involved other women around Borsalino, Nami's courage would inexplicably increase tenfold.
Even though she knew full well that Esdeath could crush her with a single finger, she still glared back defiantly.
"Ahem. Esdeath is a general from an empire. I invited her here to help wipe out the pirates."
Borsalino cleared his throat, subtly signaling Nami to back down. If she kept pushing, and Esdeath decided to deal with her, things would get awkward.
Besides, Nami had Gion backing her. If Gion found out Esdeath bullied Nami, it might spark a conflict between two of the strongest women in his… "circle." And honestly, Borsalino wasn't sure he could handle that kind of drama.
"A general?"
Nami eyed Esdeath suspiciously but had to admit that the tall, blue-haired woman carried herself like a true soldier.
More importantly, her strength was terrifying. She had taken down and captured Delocas one-on-one—a feat on par with a Marine Admiral.
Nami might be a little headstrong at times, but she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't cause trouble for Borsalino over something petty.
Even if she still found Esdeath annoying, she wouldn't pick a direct fight.
"Dear, since we have time now, why don't we continue what we started earlier?"
Esdeath casually handed Delocas over to Orochimaru through the chat room, then turned her attention back to Borsalino, looking rather eager.
After their last encounter, she had gathered a ton of romance novels and literature.
Now, she was ready for a proper love story.
Of course, if Borsalino wanted to "skip the story and jump straight to the ending," she had no objections. She was quite curious about those aspects of male-female relationships as well.
"Ahem. There are too many people around. Let's wait until after the war…"
Even someone as shameless as Borsalino found Esdeath's straightforwardness a bit overwhelming.
More importantly, he still wanted to maintain a certain image in the chat group. If he let his true nature slip too soon, it might ruin his "wise and aloof powerhouse" persona.
At the end of the day, Borsalino had a bit of an ego. Keeping up his "legendary figure" status for as long as possible was worth it.
"Borsalino-sama～"
Just then, Boa Hancock, who had been dominating her section of the battlefield, finally noticed Borsalino's presence.
°°°
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