Chapter 53: Alabasta – Crocodile vs. Sol & the Flooded Prison
"Imitating Sanji—hey, you're the one who stole the meat, right?!" Luffy struck Sanji's signature smoking pose and spoke in his exact tone toward Usopp.
"Pfft, hahahaha! It's spot on!" Usopp clapped his hands and laughed hysterically from the side.
Bang! Bang!
Veins bulged on Nami's forehead. She mercilessly delivered an iron fist to each of them: "What time do you think it is to still be messing around! Get serious!"
Luffy sat with fresh new lumps on his head, pouting pitifully: "We can't get out anyway… it's so boring…"
"That's exactly why it's serious! If we keep this up we'll be dead before Sol even gets here!" Nami shouted anxiously. Then she heard Zoro's snoring. "And you, moss-head!" Nami rushed over and gave him a hard knock on the head. "Stop sleeping!"
Zoro rubbed his eyes drowsily: "Hm? Morning already?" A massive lump swelled visibly on the back of his head.
"It's not even dark yet!" Nami's roar shook the entire cell.
Crocodile elegantly swirled his wine glass, commenting with interest: "What an impressive spirit that little lady has."
Nami immediately put her hands on her hips and fired back: "Hmph! Enjoy your last bit of free time while you can! When Sol gets here, he'll beat you until you're searching for your teeth on the floor!"
"Hey hey—the one who's gonna beat him up is obviously me!" Luffy raised his hand in protest.
"I know, I know!" Nami helplessly pressed her forehead. "I'm just trash-talking here…"
Crocodile took a light sip of wine and sneered: "Such touching trust… but Straw Hat, trust is the most useless thing in this world."
"You damn slick-back bastard!" Nami gritted her teeth in fury. "How dare you look down on us!"
Usopp hurriedly grabbed the rampaging Nami: "Calm down, calm down! If you provoke him now we'll die even faster!"
The door at the top of the stairs opened. Vivi appeared before everyone. "Crocodile."
"Hm?" Crocodile was about to speak when he noticed she wasn't alone—Sol and the others were behind her. "Miss All Sunday, what's this?" Seeing Robin bound and following behind, Crocodile realized things had slipped beyond his control.
"Vivi! Sol!" Nami and Usopp immediately called out excitedly.
Robin gave a helpless shrug, showing her tied hands: "As you can see, I failed."
"Die, Crocodile!" Vivi suddenly attacked. Her peacock slashers spun in a fierce arc from her fingertips: "Peacock Chain Circle!" The rotating weapons struck Crocodile's head precisely, exploding him into a cloud of yellow sand in an instant.
"Did it work?" Vivi asked, breathing hard.
"Feeling better now?" A cold voice suddenly whispered in her ear. Crocodile reformed from sand behind her. His iron-clamp-like hand seized her throat. "Who in this country doesn't know my ability? Want to become a mummy?"
"I don't know if she wants to become a mummy," Sol said, appearing ghost-like at Crocodile's side. His Armament Haki-hardened hand gripped Crocodile's wrist tightly. "But I know if you don't let go, you'll become a dead crocodile."
"Armament Haki?" Crocodile glanced at his captured arm. Though disdainful, he still flung Vivi away obediently.
But the instant Sol released him, Crocodile turned to sand and retreated. His left-hand golden hook came whistling down with breaking air.
Bang! The clash of their powers sent shockwaves sweeping through the entire room. Crocodile looked in surprise at Sol, who had caught his blow effortlessly with one hand: "You… who exactly are you? Someone from the New World?"
"Aetrias Sol Dragnir." Black-purple Armament Haki surged over Sol's fist. "Looks like your intelligence network has holes—you don't even know about me." Before the words finished, the Haki-hardened fist slammed heavily into Crocodile's abdomen.
"Guh!" Crocodile staggered back, blood trickling from his mouth. Pain he hadn't felt in years made him furious: "Crescent-Shaped Dune!" A giant crescent sand blade swept across.
Crocodile enlarged his arm into a crescent moon-shaped sand blade and slashed toward Sol: "Turn into a mummy!"
"Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Sol chose to counter directly with fire. A magic circle formed in front of him. Scorching dragon breath erupted from his mouth, forcing Crocodile to turn intangible and evade.
Crocodile's body reformed in the distance. The temperature in the room had risen sharply from Sol's attack. Realizing he couldn't fight effectively in this confined space, Crocodile decided to retreat for now—completing the Utopia operation came first.
Crocodile tossed the cell key into the floor trap below—exactly into the banana crocodile pit. "Well? Do you want to fight me first, or save your friends? I just activated the mechanism below. This place will soon be flooded with seawater."
Sol's body twitched slightly, but he ultimately stopped.
Seeing Sol had no intention of pursuing, Crocodile quickly turned to sand, swept Robin away, and before leaving fired a sand blade to force Sanji back, leaving one last line: "The Utopia operation has begun. If you want to stop me—try it."
Surging seawater poured in from all directions. The entire space instantly became a deadly water prison.
After quickly confirming Sanji was safe, Sol rushed to the bars: "Luffy, get back!"
"Sol!" Nami excitedly banged on the bars, tears welling in her eyes. "Thank goodness—you're finally here!"
Smoker, cigar still in mouth, reminded him: "Pink-haired freak—this is a Sea Prism Stone cage. Don't waste your strength! Go deal with those banana crocodiles and get the key first!"
"Yo, smoke guy," Sol said while inspecting the bars, teasing: "Haven't seen you in a few days and you're already this pathetic?" He reached out and gripped the bars. His palm suddenly glowed with intense red heat. "But if Crocodile really got a pure Sea Prism Stone cage, I'd have to give him some credit. This one though…"
With a piercing sizzle, the bars gradually melted into molten iron under the extreme heat. "As expected—just an alloy mixed with Sea Prism Stone powder."
Everyone poured out through the melted gap. The furious Luffy and others immediately vented their anger on the surrounding banana crocodiles that surged in.
"Rubber Rubber—Pistol!"
"White Fist!"
"One Sword Style—Iai!"
Under the crew's fierce assault, the ferocious crocodiles quickly lay scattered across the floor.
One crocodile Luffy sent flying crashed through a wall—and spat out a wax ball from its mouth. The wax shell cracked, revealing a mummified-looking Mr. 3.
"Water… even seawater!" Mr. 3 danced wildly in excitement. "I actually survived… it's a miracle!"
"Idiot!" Sanji's face changed dramatically when he saw the broken wall. "Now it's completely over!"
Raging seawater poured in instantly. The Devil Fruit users fainted one after another. Sol carried Smoker in one arm and dragged Usopp with the other as he broke through the water; Zoro pulled Luffy; Sanji didn't forget to grab Mr. 3. When Vivi and Nami finally surfaced, both gasped for air.
"We almost died here…" Nami wiped seawater from her face and glared at the unconscious Luffy. "This idiot captain! Can't you be a little more careful?!"
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