Yellow sand swirled, blanketing every inch of Rainbase's central plaza.
The air was thick with tension as the crowd huddled in the corners, murmuring excitedly about the battle that had just concluded, and the one that was now brewing.
"My god, when those vicious pirates charged earlier, I thought I was done for!"
"Don't worry, Sir Crocodile is here! He's the guardian of Alabasta!" a man said, his eyes gleaming with trust.
"Yeah, but... why is he fighting a Marine Captain? Aren't they on the same side?"
"Who knows! But Sir Crocodile will win, right? He's insanely strong!"
"You're all being too optimistic," a more level-headed merchant interjected, scrutinizing the scene.
"Did you see what happened to those pirates? Their captain was taken down in seconds by that other Marine—the one in the back. All of them, wiped out almost instantly!"
"Look," another person whispered, their gaze fixed on Mike, who was lounging lazily in a deck chair.
"The Marine who cleared them all out is standing right behind him. The guy in the chair must be his superior, right?"
"Earlier, I heard Crocodile call the two Marine officers Mike and Smoker. The one fighting now is Smoker, so the one in the chair must be Mike!"
"He's so young and handsome for such a high-ranking officer!" a young woman sighed, earning a chorus of giggles from her friends.
"But..." someone frowned, unable to hide a hint of jealousy.
"How can he just lounge around like that while his subordinate fights?"
A girl's voice chimed in, "It's not laziness—it's cool laziness!"
"You're absolutely right!" her friends agreed, their eyes sparkling.
Meanwhile, Mike—the subject of all this chatter—was watching the battle between Smoker and Crocodile with a grave, analytical expression.
'Smokey, after all that training on the ship, has already developed the ability to use basic Armament Haki,' Mike thought.
'But sparring with Kuro isn't real combat'.
'He hasn't broken through that final invisible barrier yet.'
'This is the perfect opportunity.'
However, Crocodile was a veteran of the New World, a master of his own Haki.
In a pure physical confrontation where their Logia abilities canceled each other out, Smoker was at a clear disadvantage.
'If his reactions can't keep up...' Mike's brow furrowed.
'Getting hit by Crocodile even once would be extremely painful.'
As if on cue, Crocodile suddenly threw a punch, a swift, brutal strike that tore through the air.
"Thud—!"
The fist landed heavily on Smoker's chest, the dull impact resonating with terrifying intensity.
Smoker's body jerked violently, his face instantly paling as he coughed, cursing inwardly.
"Whoosh—!"
The sound of splitting air rang out again as Crocodile's second fist struck like lightning.
Smoker reacted, shifting his body, but still failed to dodge completely.
The punch landed squarely on his shoulder, sending a violent tremor through his entire body.
Yet, watching from afar, Mike's eyes lit up.
'He's getting there. His body predicted that strike through reflex'.
Though he hadn't fully avoided it, that reaction marked the initial awakening of his Observation Haki.
Mike took a slow drag from his cigar with a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.
He could give him a little push.
"Whoosh—!"
Another fist came whistling in.
"Smokey, to your left!" Mike's voice was calm and measured, easily cutting through the sounds of battle.
Hearing the call, Smoker reacted instantly, his body moving to the left as if by instinct, successfully evading Crocodile's attack.
His movement was smoother this time, as if he were beginning to grasp some hidden rhythm.
"Whoosh—!"
Crocodile didn't pause, viciously swinging his golden hook.
"Above!" Mike's voice came again.
Smoker decisively ducked, cleanly avoiding the lethal hook.
His reaction was quicker and more agile this time.
"Below!"
As Mike's voice sounded, Smoker was already in motion, executing a swift backflip to gracefully dodge a sweeping leg attack with crisp efficiency.
"Puff—"
Mike exhaled a leisurely smoke ring, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
'Smokey's Observation Haki has firmly awakened.'
'From now on, he just needs to keep honing it.'
He glanced at the furious Warlord.
"Not bad at all, Croco. This sparring deserves five stars!"
"Damn it!" Crocodile glared at Smoker, his eyes burning with a rage that seemed ready to devour him.
He wasn't an idiot.
He could see that every one of his attacks was only sharpening Smoker's senses, pushing him over the threshold of a new power.
He was being used as a training dummy!
Smoker slowly cracked a grin, a glint of newfound confidence flashing in his eyes.
"So this is Observation Haki?" he muttered. "Not bad at all, Crocodile. Thanks for the lesson."
"Shut your mouth!" Crocodile's expression darkened further.
He, one of the esteemed Seven Warlords, being used as a sparring partner by a couple of upstart Marine Captains? Unforgivable.
And that other one... Mike... he'd just been sitting there, giving orders from the sidelines.
'Wait,' Crocodile's mind raced.
'Smoker charged in first. In any Marine squad, the stronger officer takes the lead.'
'That means... the guy in the chair is weaker than Smoker.'
'He's just a slacker with decent Observation Haki who got his rank through connections!'
The flawed logic solidified in his mind, and his fury found a new target.
'He dares to use me as a training dummy for his friend? I'll show him the price of his arrogance!'
His eyes narrowed, and he roared at Mike, "Hey, you brat in the chair! Get up here!"
"Huh?" Mike pointed at himself, looking puzzled. "Me?"
"Haha," Smoker couldn't help but laugh, lighting a cigar smugly as he quietly stepped out of the center of the battlefield, ready to watch Crocodile get his ass kicked.
"Yeah, you!" Crocodile nodded fiercely. "I'm going to reclaim my pride from you!"
"Alright then," Mike smiled faintly, a confident smile tugging at his lips as he slowly stood up and stretched leisurely.
He took off the "Justice" cloak from his back and tossed it to Kuro.
'Sir Crocodile... the infamous "50-50 Battle God."'
'Weak enough to lose to a rookie like Luffy, but strong enough to hold his own at the Summit War,' Mike thought as a brilliant, evil idea blooming in his mind.
'I'm going to need to recruit CP9 in the future.'
'And they'll need a gold-standard sparring partner, someone who can apply external pressure and force them to keep improving.'
'I think... you're perfect for the job, Croco boy.'
'If this all works out,' he mused, 'it's going to be absolutely hilarious.'
'Just thinking about it makes me excited!'
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