Pirates: Seeing My Proficiency, I Became a Legend

"Frog in a well! Did Whitebeard knock you so hard you lost your mind?"

The words struck like a thunderclap.

Crocodile's face darkened instantly, veins bulging at his temple. His eyes, sharp and deadly, locked onto Dongze with murderous intent.

"What did you just say, brat?" His voice was cold enough to freeze the desert night.

Dongze remained unfazed. "Don't tell me becoming a Warlord of the Sea has shrunk your vision to the first half of the Grand Line?" His lips curled into a smirk. "Or maybe you can't even see the difference in power between us anymore? What's wrong, Sand Crocodile?"

Crocodile's cruel smile returned. He had faced countless upstarts before, and this one would be no different.

"A pirate hunter from the East Blue, cocky just because he took down a few 20-million bounty rookies? You don't know the first thing about cruelty."

As the words left his mouth, a miniature sandstorm formed in his hand—the signature technique of the man who once fought Whitebeard himself.

"Sandstorm!"

The room trembled under the sheer force of the attack. Crocodile didn't care that this was his own territory. If this brat wanted to die, he'd grant his wish.

Dongze sighed, shaking his head. A battle here was not in his interest. He turned to Robin.

"Robin, go on ahead. I'll handle this."

Then, in the blink of an eye, he vanished.

"Shave!"

"Armament Haki—Enhance!"

Crocodile's pupils shrank. He disappeared?

Before he could react, an iron grip closed around his skull.

"Impossible! I'm a Logia user—"

The words were cut short as a hurricane-force wind howled in his ears. The desert town of Rainbase blurred past, the buildings vanishing from sight as he was hurled through the air at terrifying speed.

This brat was carrying him out of the city!

His mind raced. He's using Armament Haki!

A violent impact slammed him into the sand, sending up a thick cloud of dust. A massive crater formed beneath him.

"Gah—!" Crocodile spat out blood. He gritted his teeth. What kind of monster is this kid?!

Had he not instinctively turned to sand at the last second, that blow would have shattered his ribs.

He reformed a short distance away, golden sand swirling around him. His sharp gaze bore into Dongze.

"Brat, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you know Haki. When I was tearing through the New World, you were still learning how to walk!"

With a flick of his hook, he unleashed a devastating counterattack.

"Desert Spada!"

A massive sand blade erupted from the ground, slicing toward Dongze with deadly speed.

Dongze's Observation Haki flared. He anticipated the strike and sidestepped.

But Crocodile grinned.

"Not so fast."

"Sandstorm!!"

A massive cyclone roared to life, a raging force of nature swallowing Dongze whole. Unlike his fight against Luffy, Crocodile wasn't holding back this time. He wasn't testing his opponent. He was going for the kill.

Sand filled the air, reducing visibility to nothing. The howling winds drowned out all sound.

Yet through the chaos, a voice rang clear.

"Armament Haki—Enhance!"

A faint silhouette appeared within the swirling storm.

"Tch." Crocodile clicked his tongue. His instincts screamed at him—this wasn't over.

"Desert Vajra Blade!"

A massive golden scimitar formed in the air, crackling with Crocodile's full power. He swung it downward, cleaving through the storm with the force of a warlord.

The blade met resistance.

A sharp, metallic clang echoed across the desert.

Crocodile's breath hitched.

"No way…"

The sound of steel meeting steel—the undeniable proof that his opponent's Haki was on another level.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. He had challenged Whitebeard before. He knew the terror of overwhelming Haki. But to face it here, against some unknown warrior?

As the dust settled, Dongze emerged—his entire body encased in blackened Armament Haki.

Crocodile's expression turned grim.

"Full-body Armament?!"

Dongze remained calm, but inside, he was exhilarated. His Eroding Sword Intent had surged in proficiency during this battle. Every strike, every clash against Crocodile's desert mastery, refined his skill further.

His opponent was the perfect training dummy.

But if Crocodile realized that, he might flee. Dongze needed to keep him fighting.

Subtly, he bit the tip of his tongue. A drop of crimson slid down his lip.

Crocodile's eyes gleamed with malice.

"Hah! You're bleeding, brat! You're not invincible after all!"

The warlord's confidence surged. This was his battlefield. The desert was his domain.

"You realize it now, don't you? The difference between us? Kneel and call me your father, and maybe I'll let you live!"

Dongze chuckled darkly.

"Even with a wound, I can still teach you how to be a man."

Crocodile's face twisted with rage.

"You little—!"

But before he could act, Dongze moved first.

Theatrics were over. It was time to strike.

His sword flicked from its sheath.

"Armament—Full Cover!"

Black and white energy twisted through the sky.

A spectral azure dragon coiled above him, its form flickering between reality and illusion.

The heavens shifted.

The earth trembled.

The very air bristled with killing intent.

The technique that once ruled the battlefield resurfaced.

"Hundred-Step Flying Sword!"

A razor-sharp pressure locked onto Crocodile.

His limbs froze.

His breath caught in his throat.

Move, dammit! His mind screamed. Move!

His instincts howled for him to dodge, to do anything. But his body—his body refused to obey.

For the first time in a long, long time, Crocodile felt something unfamiliar.

Fear.

The sword shot forward like a comet.

"Damn it!!"

Desperation forced his body into elementalization. His physical form dissolved into sand an instant before the blade struck.

Dongze's attack sliced through empty space.

He narrowed his eyes. As expected. A Logia's ultimate defense is their intangibility.

Crocodile reformed nearby, his face twisted with frustration.

"You've pissed me off now, brat!"

Golden sand spiraled around him in a towering vortex.

His ultimate move was coming.

"Erosion Reincarnation!"

The battle had only just begun.