53 I Got You

Chapter 53: I Got You

Crocodile is in a miserable state now, his whole body wet, swimming quickly in the water. He doesn't know why the water didn't weaken him, but he can't dwell on that now.

The Banana Gators that he used to raise are now eyeing him hungrily.

Banana Gators: Stare—

"Hey, isn't this the boss?" Rodney said.

Crocodile: "..."

What the heck? Can you explain what's going on here?

When you're in a desperate situation, these cold-blooded creatures won't even recognize who fed them. Right now, all they see is food. They can't talk in water, but how can Crocodile survive this?

If he had known, he would have fed them to their fill.

A Banana Gator lunged to bite him, but Crocodile evaded it, hooked the crocodile's mouth with his left hand, and threw it out of the water in pain.

Panting and standing on the ground, the sun shone on him, evaporating the water on his body. Just then, a voice sounded, "Water Release: Surging Sea!" 

Crocodile: "..."

Monstrous waves rushed in, covering the sky and the earth, flooding the desert!!

Feeling drowned in the desert is no laughing matter; Crocodile realizes that now.

His body disintegrated, floating in the air. "How is this possible? What kind of devil fruit does this person have?" 

He had never heard of a devil fruit that can control both water and flames. It's incredibly powerful.

"But his water doesn't seem to affect my devil fruit ability." Crocodile thought, even though the rainland was flooded, the people there seemed ecstatic. But they didn't know the water would eventually disappear. Chakra couldn't stay in the air for too long; it would be consumed.

"No, this battle is not suitable for me. There's too much water." 

Crocodile thought that no one could defeat him in the desert country of Alabasta, but now it seems that there is still an enemy—a life and death enemy. If he doesn't kill him, he won't sleep well.

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

High-pressure water jets rushed at Crocodile, who was floating in the air.

"Trouble! Sables!" 

Crocodile formed a swirling sand whirlwind in his palm and rolled up the water droplets. The sand in it was contaminated by water, making it heavy, and then it fell into the water below. All that remained was a breeze.

Two figures rushed out of the water. Upon closer inspection, it was Rodney, who had been hiding in the water. Crocodile's eyes widened. On his right palm, the sand agitated like boiling water, and he formed a crescent moon shape with his hand.

Barján!

He hit one of the Rodneys, turning him into water that was absorbed by the sand.

"Water? Can water form another self? What about the other one?" He turned his head to look for the other one and found him rushing towards him.

"Is this the real body? Desert la Spada!" The four fingers on his hand turned into four sand blades and flew out, heading towards Rodney.

"Water Release: Water Whip!" 

Rodney pulled his palm, and a long water whip appeared in his hand, striking the flying Desert Spada.

The Desert Spada easily cut through Rodney's body, turning him into a puddle of water.

"What a troublesome ability." 

Crocodile decided not to stay any longer. He quickly flew towards the city outside the rainland, looking down at the residents of the rainland watching him. He thought about killing them to silence them, but Rodney didn't give him the time to think.

"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"

A shark made entirely of water rushed out of the water, flying towards him.

"Shark? Can it fly? Or is it made of water?"

Without overthinking, Crocodile used the arc-shaped sand dunes to absorb the water shark bullets. He moved quickly, already outside the rainfield, standing on the sand dunes, which gave him a little sense of security.

'That method... I must find a way to defeat him!'

"Are you here? How are you going to fight me without water?" He saw a figure moving towards him at great speed. "Rokushiki?" Do you know Rokushiki as well?"

In the New World, pirates know a few moves. After all, it's common for pirates in the Marines to jump ship, so knowing a few moves is acceptable. But for pirates who have just set out to sea, knowing six moves is a bit suspicious.

"Crocodile!"

"Damn it! Desert Spada!" Rodney's arm turned into sand and flowed into the ground, and a sand blade rushed out on Rodney's path, cutting Rodney in half.

Boom!

The body turned into a cloud of white mist and disappeared.

Crocodile's face darkened; how many tricks does this person have?

His survival abilities in ninjutsu are top-notch. People who haven't been exposed to ninjutsu can't tell the real body from the clone. It's so annoying.

There are also body-substitution techniques, body-transformation techniques...

A skilled ninja can deal with many opponents. The term "ninja" here doesn't refer to the ninja of Konoha but rather to the ninja of other villages.

"Earth Escape: Earth Flow River!"

The sand under Crocodile's feet turned extremely soft. His body slid backward—700 Earth Flow Rivers, plus 750 Earth Dragon Bullets!

At the starting point of the Earth Flow River, an Earth Dragon opened its mouth wide and spewed mud bombs.

Rodney crawled out of the sand, opening his mouth with flames.

Combined Tecnique - Earth Dragon Flame Flow!

The flame ignited the mud bomb, dealing double damage to the enemy.

The Earth Dragon Flame crashed into Crocodile, smashing his body into sand. 

"How could this kind of attack... affect my nature-based powers?" 

The sand in the air covered half of Crocodile's face, as he said disdainfully.

"Of course, I'm just trying out my new skills, Crocodile. I'm curious about what will happen to your flying body when it encounters water?" Rodney smiled, and water droplets condensed around him.

Crocodile's eyes widened. They were in the desert; where did Rodney get the water?

The two palms merged, "Hahhhh!"

Together, they merged, and the water quickly sank into the sand, leaving only damp sand behind.

"Water Release: Water Whip!"

The water whip hit Crocodile in the air, causing him pain. Whenever he touched water, his body materialized, and his arrogance as a Logia user waned.

Moreover, this guy relies too much on his fruit power; he doesn't practice physical skills or Haki. He dominates Alabasta, which is relatively easy in the Grand Line. The opponents he faces are mostly weak, so his strength hasn't improved much.

In other words, he was like a second-rate middle school god, deceived and cheated.

Rodney held the water whip in his hand and curled it around Crocodile's body. "Lightning Release: Shockwave Technique!"

"Ahhh!" 

Crocodile was paralyzed by the attack, finding it difficult to move.

The water whip shattered, and Rodney swung his fist, delivering a powerful punch to Crocodile's face. Though Crocodile vomited blood, he held on stubbornly and roared, "This place is mine! Desert Encierro!"

The sand twirled in Rodney's palm. The endless yellow sand surged like sea waves, creating an extremely destructive desert tornado that flew towards Rodney.

Rodney pulled out Kashu, gripping the handle tightly with both hands. "Hakoku!"

The sword energy erupted loudly, disrupting the destructive tornado and breaking it apart.

Shave!

Crossing the sand dunes, Crocodile intended to kill him. Crocodile's golden hook reflected a dazzling light under the sunlight. He swung his arm, and the golden hook flew out with the sand, heading towards Rodney.

"Ground Secco!"

Crocodile could turn anyone touched by it into a mummy by absorbing the water in their body. Rodney never wanted to come into contact with it.

Boom!

A piece of wood appeared, and after touching the arc-shaped sand dunes, it instantly turned rotten and was shattered by the wind.

"Where is he?"

The yellow sand rolled up, wrapping around a person behind Rodney. When he looked back, it was Crocodile.

"I got you!"