Starting from One Piece: Multiverse Simulation

Crocodile couldn't turn into sand this time because his body was drenched with water beforehand. As a result, Luffy's punch sent him flying hundreds of meters away.

Ace, seeing Luffy chase after Crocodile, grew concerned for his brother and was about to follow, but someone blocked his path.

"The Demon Child, Nico Robin! So, it turns out that the one backing Crocodile is your Dark Abyss Island Weapon Company?"

Standing before Fire Fist Ace was none other than Wood's best secretary, Robin.

As Dark Abyss Island's weapon company grew larger, Robin's face had become more and more recognized across the seas. After all, she was the second-in-command of the Dark Abyss Island Weapon Company and one of the most formidable women in the world.

"Don't misunderstand. Our weapon company has no direct ties to Crocodile. At most, we have a simple business relationship.

"However, because our captain has made a bet with Crocodile, only the Straw Hat Pirates can defeat him. So as the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Fire Fist Ace, I can't let you interfere."

Robin, the user of the Flower-Flower Fruit, had the power to replicate her body parts in any location.

Her techniques mostly revolved around joint-locking moves, but this put her at a disadvantage against Logia users, especially someone like Ace, a Flame-Flame Fruit user.

Any replicated body parts still maintained a connection to Robin, much like how some Devil Fruit abilities directly affected their user's body. This meant that if Robin tried to grab Ace, and he turned into fire, her replicated limbs would be burned, and she would feel the pain.

At first glance, the Flower-Flower Fruit might seem rather weak, with such an obvious weakness.

However, the reality was the exact opposite. Because her replicated body parts were linked to her main body, the fruit held even greater potential!

Since the limbs shared the same sensory feedback, Robin could also infuse them with her own strength, including Armament Haki…

"Solar Flame!"

Worried that Luffy might not be able to defeat Crocodile, Ace no longer cared about what Robin had to say. His arm turned into flames, forming a pillar of fire that shot from his palm and engulfed Robin's figure in an instant.

"Blooming Chaos: Phantom Wings!"

As the flames shot toward her, several petals floated through the air, and countless arms sprouted from Robin's back, forming two massive wings. These wings closed around her, shielding her body.

The moment her wings closed, they were covered in Armament Haki, making them as hard as black iron.

When Ace's flames collided with the wings, they split like a river crashing against rocks, unable to penetrate her defense.

As Robin spread her wings again, the intense flames scattered, breaking apart into a shower of harmless sparks.

"Double Flower Bloom: Claw Hook!"

In that same moment, Ace transformed into a jet of flames and flew past Robin, trying to catch up with Luffy. But as he did, two arms sprouted from his back at lightning speed.

These arms were instantly coated in Armament Haki and locked onto Ace, twisting his joints with precision.

Crack!

A sharp sound of bones dislocating echoed as Ace fell from the sky, crashing into the ground and leaving a deep crater.

Since Robin's arms were infused with Armament Haki, Ace couldn't turn into fire, and the joint-lock move successfully dislocated his bones, bringing him down.

Meanwhile, Luffy and Crocodile were still fighting fiercely inside the royal tomb of Alabasta.

Now that Luffy knew water was Crocodile's weakness, the battle wasn't as one-sided as before.

During their first encounter, Crocodile's Logia powers had made Luffy helpless, but after discovering that water could prevent Crocodile from turning into sand, Luffy, though still taking a beating, was at least able to fight back this time.

And as always, Luffy's protagonist aura shone brightly. Wood could see that Crocodile had several chances to finish Luffy off during the fight, yet something always went wrong.

Even when Crocodile drained all of Luffy's moisture, a miraculous water droplet would fall from the sky, bringing Luffy back to life.

And even when Crocodile poisoned Luffy and had him defeated, instead of finishing him off, Crocodile couldn't resist giving a grand villainous speech, not realizing that villains always fall because they talk too much.

Crocodile, as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had once challenged Whitebeard himself. Even though he was now holed up in Alabasta, Wood couldn't believe Crocodile hadn't been to the New World.

It was also hard to believe that as one of the Seven Warlords, Crocodile wouldn't know how to use Haki, unlike some random goons in the New World.

But in his battle with Luffy, Crocodile relied solely on his Devil Fruit powers, displaying a strange overconfidence in them.

Crocodile was a schemer, a man who meticulously crafted plans to seize control of Alabasta. He was at least on the same level as Doflamingo in terms of intellect.

This was likely why Doflamingo kept inviting Crocodile to work with him during the war at Marineford, while he mocked Moria.

Despite being an above-average intelligence villain, Crocodile was acting like he had been affected by Luffy's plot armor, making increasingly dumb moves.

He could have used his strongest techniques, but instead, he kept going for regular attacks. He could have overwhelmed Luffy, but he wasted time explaining his ambitions.

Had his opponent been anyone other than Luffy, this series of questionable choices might still have worked, as he could have outlasted or overwhelmed a less plot-protected foe.

But Crocodile had underestimated the power of being the "son of the world." After all his posturing, Luffy's rage was about to reach its peak.

As everyone knows, in a Shounen series, the worst thing you can do is push the protagonist to the edge and then start monologuing. Either kill them quickly or don't bother at all. Dragging things out only leads to your downfall.

Watching from the shadows, Wood smirked as Crocodile, believing himself the victor, continued to mock the poisoned Luffy. Wood knew it was over. Crocodile was doomed.

Luffy had already activated his protagonist cheats. His health bar was locked, and his anger gauge was maxed out. All that was left was the inevitable comeback.

And sure enough, although Crocodile had bragged about his deadly poison, it seemed to lose all its potency against Luffy. In the end, Crocodile was defeated, just as expected.

The only difference from the original story was that this time, Luffy's final burst of strength wasn't enough to knock Crocodile completely unconscious.

Defeated but unwilling to accept it, Crocodile used the last of his strength to summon a massive sandstorm with his Sand-Sand Fruit.

Alabasta, being a desert kingdom, was the perfect environment for Crocodile's powers.

Several massive sand tornadoes rose outside the city of Alubarna, and as they approached the capital, their sheer scale made them look like an unstoppable natural disaster.

Only those who lived in Alabasta knew the true terror of these sandstorms. Watching the towering cyclones approach, both the royal army and the rebels stopped their fighting.

It didn't matter anymore. If those sandstorms hit Alubarna, they would all be buried in sand within moments.

At that point, it wouldn't just be the end of the royal army and the rebels—Alabasta itself would be erased from existence.

Seeing the approaching tornadoes, Ace and Robin, who had been fighting, also paused.

Ace, feeling the harsh winds sting his face, glared at Robin and shouted, "Is this the outcome you wanted? To bury all of Alabasta in sand?"

Facing the approaching disaster, Ace felt utterly powerless. The situation had spiraled far beyond his ability to handle.

Even though Ace's Flame-Flame Fruit was just as powerful as Crocodile's Sand-Sand Fruit, these massive sandstorms weren't just a result of Crocodile's powers—they were a force of nature.

If this had been a different environment, Crocodile wouldn't have been able to create such devastation. But here, in the desert, his fruit's power was amplified to an unimaginable level.

Ace could turn into fire and escape, but what about the others?

What would happen to his brother Luffy, the Straw Hat Pirates, and the people of Alabasta?

"You're not a Logia-type user. Even if you know Armament Haki, you can't survive a natural disaster like this!" Ace shouted, staring angrily at Robin, desperate to find Luffy and protect him.

But as the sandstorm approached, Ace realized something strange. Robin didn't seem worried at all.

"It seems Crocodile has failed. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have destroyed the kingdom he had worked so hard to take over.

"As for the people here, with that man around, I believe he'll stop this," Robin said, before spreading her wings and flying away, leaving Ace behind.

Meanwhile, on the palace balcony, Crocodile, who had just been punched out of the royal tomb by Luffy, lay exhausted on the ground. He looked at Alubarna, now covered in sand, and began to laugh maniacally.

"So what if I lost to that brat? In the end, I'm still the victor.

"Even if I didn't get Alabasta or the Pluton, the Straw Hat Pirates and this entire kingdom will be buried in the sand.

"As for me, as the user of the Sand-Sand Fruit, do you really think I'd be buried by sand?"

"Guhahaha! Straw Hat Luffy, Princess Vivi, and all of Alabasta, you'll all be buried…"

"Alright, alright. If you're going to be a villain, at least do it with some dignity. Can't win, so you decide to destroy everything?

"Alabasta may be poor, but I heard desert regions are rich in oil. Wouldn't it be a shame to let all that go to waste?"

Crocodile's insane laughter was interrupted by Wood, who appeared beside him out of nowhere, cutting off his delusional rant.

"You're still in this kingdom? Though I lost our bet, it seems I won't have to pay the price.

"Guhahaha! So what if you're a big shot in the underworld? Against a natural disaster like this, you'll be buried just the same!"

Crocodile had some understanding of Wood's strength. He knew that the former Marine turned underworld big shot was a powerful swordsman who hadn't eaten a Devil Fruit.

But no matter how strong a swordsman was, what could they do against a natural disaster?

Even the strongest swordsman couldn't slice through a sandstorm, and without the powers of a Logia user, surviving this catastrophe was near impossible.

"You're right. I could cut through these sand tornadoes with my sword, but it would take a lot of effort and cause massive damage to the city, which wouldn't be ideal.

"But I have another way to deal with this."

Wood's calm voice cut through the chaos, drawing the attention of both Cobra, who was helping Luffy to his feet, and the Straw Hat Pirates, who had just arrived after defeating the Baroque Works officers.

Even though Wood was no longer wearing his coat, Vivi recognized him immediately. This was the man who had saved them earlier.

"What are you planning to do to our kingdom?" Cobra and Luffy asked, standing ready to defend Alabasta.

"There's no time for explanations now," Wood replied calmly. "If we keep chatting, your kingdom will be buried in sand.

"Or do you not care about that?"

Luffy and Zoro were ready to charge, but Vivi raised her hand to stop them.

She didn't know why, but something inside her told her that this man could be trusted. And besides, at this point, they had no other choice.

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Next Bonus 200 for 2 chapter

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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at [email protected]/Betek (@->a)