"Hey, you shouldn't get distracted during a fight. You'll die that way!"
Monkey D. Summer looked down at the archer who had just attempted a sneak attack, showing his white teeth in a grin.
"Bang!"
Following this, under the archer's terrified gaze, Summer brought his fist down, slamming him directly into the dirt and finishing him off.
On the other side, although the attackers were numerous, their skills were too poor. Before long, Tuantuan and Aigin had dealt with the majority of them.
Just as victory was within sight, a few figures emerged from a corner. The man in the lead made Summer’s eyes light up.
"Crocodile?"
Indeed, the figure was none other than one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, the "Desert King" Crocodile. At this point, Nico Robin had yet to join, and Baroque Works had not yet been formally established; it seemed this was merely its precursor.
At the moment, Crocodile was accompanied only by Mr. 1, Daz Bonez, and Mr. 3, Galdino; the others had not yet appeared.
"Hmm? You recognize me?!"
Crocodile narrowed his eyes, his expression tightening before he said with visible annoyance, "Of course. You're a Seven Warlord, aren't you? As a professional pirate, I make it my business to know the basics."
Summer stepped in front of Tuantuan and the others, casually tossing aside a pirate he had been holding. He stood face-to-face with Crocodile, the atmosphere turning heavy and oppressive.
"Well then, brat, since you know this is my territory and you still dare to injure my men—are you looking to die?"
Crocodile looked furious. It had been a long time since anyone dared to speak to him in such a way.
"Looking to die? Hahaha, Crocodile, aren't you being a bit too overconfident?"
Summer curled his lip, looking completely dismissive. While the power of a Logia Devil Fruit was terrifying, unfortunately, the strength of one's Haki was the true standard for determining who could become a powerhouse.
In that regard, Crocodile fell short.
"Hmph, kid, you're arrogant!"
The battle broke out in an instant. Summer took on Crocodile, Tuantuan faced off against the future "right-hand man" Mr. 3, and Aigin clashed with Mr. 1.
As for Carina and Bok, they set about cleaning up the remaining stragglers; after all, for the time being, those two were simply too weak.
"Desert Spada!"
Crocodile’s face darkened. A miniature sand tornado appeared in his hand, and with a wave, it instantly formed into a colossal, genuine twister that surged straight toward Summer.
"Xun Style—Storm!"
Watching the desert storm closing in, a magical Eight Trigrams array manifested beneath Summer’s feet. In response, he raised a hand, and a massive tornado erupted in front of him. The two storms collided, instantly causing the sky to change color, with yellow sand raining down like dense droplets.
"A Devil Fruit user?"
Crocodile finally showed a hint of gravity. Summer’s ability to summon storms so easily led Crocodile to instinctively assume it was the result of a Devil Fruit.
A Logia against a Logia—it was difficult to determine a winner.
Unless…
In the brief moment Crocodile was distracted, Summer’s figure flashed like lightning, appearing before him in the blink of an eye. His arm, coated in Armament Haki, slammed heavily into Crocodile's chest. With a sharp whistle of displaced air, Crocodile’s body was sent flying like a cannonball, smashing through five or six buildings along the way.
"Cough, cough..."
Dust swirled, and from the sound of coughing and falling stones, Crocodile emerged. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with confusion and ferocity.
"Haki?!"
Only Haki could touch his elemental body and cause actual damage. But this wasn't fair—the brat before him looked no older than sixteen or seventeen. How could he have mastered Haki so proficiently?
When he thought of himself, he felt as if all his years had been wasted.
"Hey, kid, what's your name?"
He knew he was in the first half of the Grand Line; those who could use Haki were few and far between, and learning it was no simple matter.
"Me? My name is Monkey D. Summer. Nice to meet you!"
Summer curled his lips into a faint smile, then darted forward, his Armament Haki-coated arm swinging down once more.
"Desert Cutlass!"
Seeing the attack coming, Crocodile turned into sand and retreated, while his arm transformed into giant desert blades that shot out. Several attacks crisscrossed, forming a dense web of steel.
*Heaven and Earth mysterious origin, ten thousand spirits the root. Broadly cultivating for eons, proving my divine power. Within and without the three realms, the Way alone is supreme. The body holds golden light, covering and shielding me.*
Facing the barrage of desert blades, Summer didn't use movement techniques to dodge. He parted his lips slightly and recited the Golden Light Incantation. A golden radiance surged from within him, instantly covering his entire body and forming a golden protective shield.
"Cling-clang!"
The desert blades struck the golden shield, emitting crisp, metallic ringing sounds.
"Guhahahaha! Arrogant brat!"
Seeing his attacks land squarely, Crocodile’s gloomy expression finally eased, and he laughed proudly.
Unfortunately, "if there's smoke, there's no damage!"
As the desert dust dispersed with a light breeze, Summer stood before Crocodile, completely unharmed. The laughter stopped abruptly.
"Ground Death!"
Seeing Summer without even a speck of dust on his clothes, Crocodile’s resolve wavered. He, too, had once challenged the peak powerhouses, only to fail. The reason was his lack of control over Haki—it was the pain of his life. He refused to accept it. Why were some people born high and mighty, gifted with peerless talent, while he, despite all his desperate efforts, still couldn't overcome them?
Extreme rage flooded his mind. The ground his right hand touched began to crack. Everything within his range of ability began to lose its moisture; even the rocks turned to sand. The surrounding buildings began to desertify and crumble, the ground turning into a desolate wasteland as if it had died.
"Kun Style—Earth Dragon!"
At the same moment, a long dragon composed of stone and sand erupted from the ground. Summer leaped lightly onto its head, dodging Crocodile’s attack.
"Well then, it's my turn now!"
"Armament Hardening!"
"Qian Style—Ten Thousand Flowers Blooming!"
"Kan Style—Water Bullet!"
Summer rushed toward Crocodile again. Using the diversion, he created multiple afterimages, attacking simultaneously from every direction.
"Boom!"
His Armament Haki-coated fist successfully struck Crocodile’s body once more. Immediately after, Summer’s palms fired off a dense barrage of water droplets. Thanks to the Haki, the high-speed water droplets acted like bullets, piercing straight through his body.
Under this double assault, Crocodile’s body was riddled with holes, blood dripping to stain the ground deep red. Both sets of damage were real.
As his swaying body threatened to collapse at any moment, Crocodile never expected to be defeated by a brat one day. Near the point of blacking out, he recalled Summer’s self-introduction: Monkey D. Summer. If nothing went wrong, this had to be the grandson of that old man.
"Well, they say killing and arson pay off. Look at that—over eighty million Beli, just like that."