... Aidan Quinn
Water ran down his body with a kind of honesty Crocodile's desert had never allowed. Alabasta was underwater now — not literally — but enough to bring down everything the man in front of me had built. With moisture covering him, the sand that made up Crocodile started to lose its threatening shine.
It was slower, heavier. Still dangerous, yeah, but… predictable. His control wasn't absolute anymore. It was like watching someone try to juggle with wet hands.
And there I was, standing with my fists clenched.
Cursed energy surged under my skin like lava, boiling in my veins. Infinity was still active, protecting every move I made, every inch of my body untouched.
And of course, the hands.
They were covered in Haki. A black glow coated my fists like battle paint.
Unstable, shaky at times — but it worked.
"Let's see how much of you is left without the drought to back you up", I muttered, shifting my weight forward.
And I moved.
A single burst — feet snapping against the wet ground. My legs, reinforced with cursed energy, launched me like a bullet. Crocodile tried to dissolve, like always, but the rain slowed him just enough — and my fist, wrapped in spirit and curse, landed clean.
The hit exploded against his face. His hook swung on instinct, but Infinity blocked it, and I dove in with a knee to his ribs. He staggered, pulled himself back together with sand, and countered with a spinning wall of razor-sharp particles — all crashing against my defense field, not even close to reaching me.
He was trying to kill me. Me? I was just testing limits.
The fight turned into a dance. Crocodile kept dissolving and reforming. Attacking with blades of compressed sand, explosive pillars from the ground, claws shaped by the storm. But none of it reached me. And when he missed his timing, I punished him. Kicks to the legs, punches to the ribs, elbows to the neck. Every hit landed — and with Haki, they hurt.
But there was a problem.
He wouldn't fall. Wouldn't stop. It was like trying to break a statue with your fists.
I was faster, more technical. But he was stronger — and ridiculously tough. My hits had impact, yeah — but no breakthrough. Like punching a sandbag versus punching a concrete pole. He was still there, staring me down, even after ten, fifteen, twenty solid hits. His body trembled, but didn't give.
"I'm a Shichibukai!" he shouted, spitting blood and rage. His hook spinning on his arm, now coated with hardened sand and mud. "Just 'cause you can touch me, you think you can beat me?!"
I let out a short laugh. One of those laughs you give when someone doesn't realize how pathetic they sound. Tilted my head like I was judging a badly painted picture.
"Please… You're not Mihawk. You're not even close to Doflamingo."
His eyes flared. Sand burst upward, trying to swallow me from below — but I was already gone. A spin, a short jump, kick to the chin. He fell backward and crumbled into wet sand the next second.
And even though he pulled himself back together — it was with effort.
Every move got slower, more strained. The rain was doing its job, and I was just adding the right hits.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. 1 trying to interfere — his arm spinning like a blade, pushing through the wreckage. I considered whether I should be worried.
But then the thunder hit.
A flash tore across the sky and came down straight on him. The impact shook the ground. When the smoke cleared, I saw Ororo — descending like the goddess she is. Lightning circling her body, eyes sharp, cloak billowing with raw power. She landed between Mr. 1 and the fight, lifted a hand — and a tornado began swirling around her.
Mr. 1 backed off. Smart move.
"She's got him", I murmured, shifting my focus back to the guy in front of me. "Now... where were we?"
Crocodile pulled himself together, eyes burning. The sand was still trying to hold its shape, even soaked. Still armed, still furious.
But I could see it. He was breathing faster, his body trembling just enough to notice.
"Desert Spada!"
I didn't bother dodging.
His attack came at me — and hit. But even with multiple tries, my technique outclassed his.
The attack lost momentum, slowing down until it didn't hit anything at all.
Each step Crocodile took was heavier than the last. The sand clung to his boots, turning to mud around his ankles. And despite all that desert emperor bravado, what was left now was just a man trying to keep control of a power that didn't want to obey anymore. The rain kept falling like it had a personal grudge, and the moisture made a point — to both him and me — that everything built on domination can be washed away easily… if the water knows where to touch.
He roared — actually roared — hands up, trying to pull together everything he still had. A whirlwind of sand exploded around us, spiraling like razors.
It was beautiful, I'll admit. Worthy of one of the Seven Warlords.
His technique warped the air, shook the stones, even made the rain hesitate for a moment before slicing through the suspended grains.
But Infinity held.
It felt like watching a desperate old king slamming fists against the walls of an invisible castle.
I walked forward through the storm slowly, like I was taking a stroll. Because I could. Because nothing touched me.
A sweeping kick, followed by three quick punches — all to the gut, reinforced with cursed energy. Each hit buzzed with Haki, just enough to keep his form solid for a moment too long. And too long was all I needed to keep hitting.
He tried grabbing me — tactical mistake. I twisted his arm, used his own hook as leverage, and brought him down with a clean strike to the knee.
The ground trembled when he hit it.
His hands sank into the mud. The sand tried to react… but not like before. It surged in messy, shapeless bursts.
"Still wanna scream that you're invincible?" I asked, voice low as I leaned in close. "Because from where I'm standing, your throne just turned into a swamp."
He looked up at me, hate burning in his eyes. Not fear. Sir Crocodile didn't know fear. He only knew rage — and now, he was drowning in it.
With a guttural shout, he pushed himself up. One last attack — maybe his strongest. He poured everything into that hook. Compressed the sand into a solid spear, a pressurized spike, dripping with power and desperation. He hurled it at me with the full weight of the desert behind it.
The spear spun through the air with a high-pitched shriek. I felt the force of it — the kind of thing that would punch a hole through most people. A no-mercy kind of move.
I stopped it with two fingers.
Infinity froze the spear mid-spin, one inch from my face. The sand cracked, collapsed, and imploded — falling to the ground like a wet handful of failure.
I exhaled slowly, speaking softly: "My turn."
Cursed energy surged through my arms, pulling in the last reserves of strength still burning inside me. Red formed at my fingertips — not a small sphere like before, but a dense, pulsing charge, with veins of Haki winding through it like black lightning.
I wasn't experimenting anymore. I was applying full synergy between both energies.
I pointed straight at his chest.
"Red."
The blast landed hard. Not heat — pressure. Like an invisible wall slamming into him at the speed of sound. Crocodile flew backward like a launched missile — smashing through sand, stone, debris. A dull impact echoed, followed by thunder that didn't come from the sky. Dust erupted in a sweeping arc around the crater he left behind.
Silence.
Only the rain kept going, relentless.
I stood there, lowering my arms slowly, heart pounding in my ears. My body was finally feeling the fatigue — the cursed energy flow slowing down. I wasn't at Gojo's level yet — couldn't hold atomic-level control like him. My Haki was fading, couldn't maintain it much longer.
But enough… had already been done.
Across the crater, Crocodile was struggling to rise. His clothes soaked, skin cut up, his hook chipped. Blood ran from his mouth, but his glare still burned.
"This isn't over…" he growled, coughing up rain and blood.
I just stared at him with a tired half-smile, letting my head tilt slightly.
"You're right", I breathed in. "But you… already lost."
I wonder if he can handle what's coming next.
My trump card.
The peak of jujutsu sorcery.
"Domain Expansion—"
Unlimited Void.
...
Crocodile went down.
Not with glory, not with style. Just the heavy thud of a man collapsing in the mud. The rain made it all feel more dramatic, but deep down, that's all it was: the fall of a tired tyrant. His body sank into the soaked sand with a crack of bones and a final breath stuck between his teeth. The light in his eyes faded completely, and his breathing slowed until it became silence.
The Domain Expansion did its job — even unfinished. Unlimited Void only showed up for a few seconds. Not enough to erase someone like Crocodile for good... but enough to trap his mind in absolute emptiness, even for a moment — which was enough to take him out.
His body was still here. His mind... wasn't.
Mr. 1 wasn't doing much better. Farther off, the ground around him looked like it had been cleaned by gods. Rocks split in half, sand melted, and a crater filled with the scent of ozone and defeated pride. He was face down, half-buried, arms trembling, body covered in electrical burns.
Ororo floated above him, silent, calm gaze as always. Thunder still cracked in the distance, but the rain was softening now. It came down lighter, steady — like it just wanted to remind everyone it was still there. That it had arrived and wasn't planning to leave anytime soon.
I took a deep breath. The air felt lighter. Warm, damp, but finally breathable.
I stepped toward Crocodile's unconscious body. His hook still gleamed in the dim light breaking through the clouds. His hand was open, fingers slack.
I placed my palm flat against his chest and let All For One do its thing.
It felt like sticking my hand into a locked vault.
No reaction or flow. None of that familiar tugging sensation. It was like trying to breathe through glass: way too much effort, zero return.
Nothing came.
I tried again, pressing harder.
Still nothing.
My expression stayed neutral, but inside, I already knew.
Akumas no Mi weren't biological.
They weren't something you were born with, or tied to a physical core that could be stolen with enough strength. They came from outside — some weird pact with the sea, with the rules of this world. And even if they lived in the flesh, they didn't belong to it.
All For One stole genetic traits, quirks, inner anomalies. Things that were part of who you were.
Akumas no Mi? They were things you had.
Linked to the user's body — and soul.
Maybe that's why Haki could fight back against them. Because it was a clash of spirits.
"Shame", I muttered, pulling my hand back and standing.
One of the goals for this trip had just evaporated.
No Akumas no Mi, no Logia.
But maybe it was still worth it.
I heard light footsteps behind me and tilted my head slightly.
Robin was approaching slowly, her body still wet, hair stuck to her temples. She didn't look tired or surprised. It was like this had already played out a hundred times in her head. She still carried herself with grace, even with mud up to her ankles. That gaze of hers — calm, sharp, ancient — hadn't changed at all.
"You done?" she asked, unbothered.
"Almost", I said. "Didn't get the souvenir I wanted."
She stopped beside me, eyes on Crocodile's body. There was something there… maybe sadness, or maybe just calculation.
Robin was hard to read.
"This place is going to fall apart without him", she said. "But maybe… that's what Alabasta needs."
"Sometimes the sand has to crumble for people to remember there's ground underneath."
She let out a soft breath. Could've been a quiet laugh.
"What are you going to do now?"
I looked toward the horizon, where the city was breathing for the first time.
Smoke still rose from the ruins, but the rain was slowly washing it away.
"Well, there's one more thing I want to check out."
She raised an eyebrow.
"One more?"
I turned to her, arms crossed.
"I know there's a Poneglyph hidden around here. I won't pretend I care. I'm not after history, ancient weapons, or forgotten kingdoms— but that stuff does have a certain charm."
Robin looked at me for a few seconds. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was just another layer of testing.
"You want to read it?" she asked at last.
"I can help you find it", I corrected. "You know what you're looking for. I've just got the right keys to unlock the doors… and honestly, I love seeing what's behind them."
She stared at me a moment longer — then smiled.
"Then maybe I'll take you up on that."
Before we could say more, the sound of trumpets and marching footsteps cut through the air.
I turned my head.
At the top of the dunes, wrapped in colorful cloaks, the Royal Guard of Alabasta appeared. Shields raised, swords at their sides, and in the center — a man in blue armor leading them forward, eyes sharp.
"Impressive timing", I said. "Too bad they only made it for the epilogue."
Robin glanced over her shoulder, her smile fading with that old-school grace.
"They always show up when the blood's already cold."
… Nefertari Vivi
Rainbase felt… different.
It wasn't just the weird humidity in the air or the smell of wet sand. It was the way people walked through the streets. Like the desert had finally stopped choking the life out of everyone — even if just for a few hours.
And Vivi, who knew every curve of those streets, every shade of dust in the air, felt it deeper than anyone.
"Wait… is it raining?" Usopp asked, adjusting the makeshift hood he'd made from a piece of tarp. "Why didn't anyone tell me we were walking into a freakin' flood?"
"YOU'RE IN A DESERT, USOPP!" Nami yelled from beside him, dodging another puddle in high heels. "Water is supposed to be a blessing, not a problem!"
"But my socks are soaked…" he muttered, defeated.
Chopper was perched on Zoro's shoulder, legs lifted to avoid the water, while Zoro trudged forward with his usual grumpy — and low-patience — face.
"Complain one more time and I'm leaving you as a gift to the first caravan of giant snakes", Zoro growled, eyes narrowing. He was soaked but didn't seem to care.
"This rain's weird…" he murmured, stopping for a second to glance up at the gray sky. "It's not natural. Shouldn't even be here."
"Oh really", Sanji said, kicking a loose plank of wood. "Never thought rain in one of the driest places on the planet would be considered weird."
Vivi was ahead of them, running with a wide smile on her face, her cape trailing behind like a wet blue flag. Her face… was glowing. Like her heart was finally breathing.
"Look! Look at them!" she shouted, eyes shining. "They're smiling… they're dancing! Those are my people… and they haven't smiled like that in months!"
The Straw Hats paused, watching the plaza where townsfolk were purposely getting soaked, laughing, hugging in the rain. Kids were rolling in the mud. Vendors were splashing each other with makeshift buckets. It was a dirty, wild, desperate carnival.
"So this is your happy Alabasta?" Luffy asked, holding his straw hat down on his head.
"Yeah…" Vivi replied, barely a whisper. "And I… I thought I'd never see it again."
"We're still gonna save this whole place!" Luffy shouted, punching the air with fire. "Rain, no rain, bad guys, giant bugs— bring it on!"
"Please… no giant bugs", Nami muttered with a dead look in her eyes.
But as they moved deeper into the city… the mood shifted.
Not the weather — the streets.
Voices got more tense. The ground was more torn up. Chunks of broken wall, scattered tiles… and slowly, a metallic smell in the air.
Zoro was the first to stop.
"Something happened here", he said seriously, eyes scanning the road like a predator, his hand already resting on the hilt of one of his swords.
"More than just something", Sanji pointed. "Look at that…"
Ahead of them, what was left of the Rain Dinners.
Or rather… what used to be there.
The casino was wrecked. Not damaged — destroyed. Collapsed walls, torn-out pillars, massive craters in the ground. It looked like a hurricane had blown through and taken half the place with it.
"What the hell happened here?!" Nami asked, pulling out her staff.
Usopp ran to a chunk of debris and inspected it.
"This damage… it's not brand new. It rained a lot after it, but not too much. Must've happened just a few hours ago."
Vivi stared at the ruins, frozen.
If there was one place Crocodile ruled without question… it was here. And now, it looked like a forgotten tomb.
"Did the war start before we got here?" Usopp asked.
"No", Vivi said. "If it had… no one would be smiling in the streets."
That's when they overheard two royal guards talking near the wrecked entrance. The rain was now just a thin curtain, and their voices mixed with the droplets.
"… did you hear? They say Crocodile was defeated… by some unknown guy…"
"The royal guard took him. He was unconscious, being dragged off like some common criminal."
The world froze.
Vivi's eyes went wide.
She turned, hair plastered to her forehead, body shaking — not from cold, but from pure disbelief.
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!"
Her scream echoed through Rainbase — probably across half of Alabasta.
"Crocodile… got arrested?!"
"By WHO?!" Nami shouted, already rushing toward the soldiers.
Luffy just grinned wide, fists clenching in excitement.
"Heeey, that guy must be strong!"
Vivi, still stunned, just blinked.
"But… how?! When?! Why?! I WANTED TO BE HERE TO SEE THAT!"