__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Straw Hat Luffy versus the Warlord Crocodile.
The long-awaited rematch that had everyone on edge — finally began.
This time, with water as his weapon, the Straw Hat kid wasn't just taking punches anymore.
But still…
Breaking through Crocodile's sand powers alone wasn't enough to guarantee victory.
Crocodile — one of the veteran Seven Warlords of the Sea — had made his name long before Luffy was even born.
"The situation's looking tricky," someone muttered. "Guess we underestimated the guy.""A Warlord's basically top-tier in the pirate world.""Meanwhile, Straw Hat's just a rookie who's been at sea for a few months!""Crocodile's hook could slice through solid ground — one hit and it's over!""Honestly, lasting this long against a Warlord is impressive enough.""But if his water supply runs out…""Unless he's got another trick up his sleeve, this fight's looking grim."
Across the multiverse, powerful figures from countless worlds shook their heads.
"OHH— Tanjiro! Look!"Inosuke from the Demon Slayer world jabbed a finger at the screen."Straw Hat's about to bust out his ultimate move!"
Tanjiro blinked. "Wait—did he just drink all the water?!"
Over in the Fate world, Kotomine Kirei spoke calmly, as if explaining a lesson:
"I see… by storing the water inside his body, he avoids relying on the barrel. Clever. That's something only a rubber man like him could pull off."
Kakashi from the Naruto world nodded thoughtfully.
"Water Luffy, huh? Interesting idea… though, why's he leaking everywhere?"
Inuyasha couldn't help but snort.
"That's the hole Crocodile stabbed him through in their first fight! The idiot's still fighting with that wound open?"
In the Hunter x Hunter world, Gon's eyes widened.
"It looks ridiculous, but it's working! Look at Crocodile's face — he's totally thrown off!"
From the Dragon Raja world, Lu Mingfei grinned.
"That's not fear — that's the look of a guy who just got clowned on. Still, anger's good. Angry enemies make mistakes."
Even in the Ling Cage world, Boss Bai gave a knowing nod.And sure enough—
Crocodile's calm composure finally cracked.His eyes bulged, his face twitched in rage.
"Are you serious right now, kid?! Are you mocking me?!"
Under the weight of his fury, the ever-cool Warlord lost his focus — giving Luffy his opening.
Pft! Pft! Pft!
Like a living pea shooter, Water Luffy puffed his cheeks and spat a rapid volley of water bullets, drenching Crocodile from head to toe.
"Who's fooling around? I've been dead serious this whole time!"
With a fierce yell, Luffy launched himself forward—
"Gomu Gomu no… Rocket Punch!!!"
BOOM!
The impact thundered through the palace.
Crocodile took the hit full force, blood spraying from his mouth as he was blasted backward like a cannonball, crashing through a building in a cloud of dust.
"YEEEEAAAHHH!!"
The multiverse erupted in cheers.
"Finally! The smug sand bastard got what's coming to him!"In the Toriko world, Toriko himself grinned. "Damn satisfying!""Hahaha! Can't stay cool now, can you, Crocodile?!" roared Natsu from Fairy Tail."Nice one, Straw Hat!""Keep it up! Don't give him a chance to breathe!"
For so long, Crocodile's arrogance had been unbearable to watch.Countless warriors across worlds had been itching to jump in and knock him down a peg — but since they couldn't, watching Luffy do it for them felt so good.
"Wait… Crocodile's been down for a while," said Tatsumi from Akame ga Kill. "You think Luffy actually finished him?""Don't jinx it," Brand sighed. "Whenever someone says that, the villain always gets back up."
And sure enough—
BOOM!
From the rubble, Crocodile rose, face twisted with fury.To be beaten bloody by a rookie pirate — one he'd looked down on — burned like molten lava in his chest.
"You really think you've sealed away my power? Foolish brat!""The true strength of sand… is desiccation! My right hand can drain the very life from anything it touches!"
He grinned darkly.The power of the Sand-Sand Fruit flared to its full, terrifying extent.
Invasion. Corrosion. Cycle. Ruin.
As his hand swept through the air, the transformation began.
Grass withered to dust in an instant.Trees shriveled and shattered.The once-green courtyard split apart, the ground cracking and crumbling into a wasteland.Buildings collapsed, statues eroded into sand, and within seconds —the royal gardens had turned into a golden desert.
Hissss…
Viewers across the multiverse sucked in a collective breath.
...
In the Ultraman Tiga world—
"So that's why desertification happens," quipped Horii. "Turns out Crocodile's been ruining the planet this whole time!"
Water sprayed across the base as Daigo and Shinjo spat out their drinks.
"Just trying to lighten the mood!" Horii said, wiping his face with a sheepish grin.
Meanwhile, in Fairy Tail—
"That's the true power of sand? Turning everything to dust?" someone gawked."Man, how's he got so many tricks with just sand?"
In the Alvarez Empire, August turned to the Sand King, Ajeel.
"So, Ajeel… think you could take him?""Of course, Lord August! I'm one of the Spriggan Twelve — anything that croc can do, I can do better!"
Over in Qin's world—
"The terrain's completely changed!" Tianming swallowed hard. "What a terrifying ability…""But never mind that—what about Luffy?!""Yeah, where's Straw Hat?!"
The question spread across worlds like wildfire.Had he been caught in that devastating attack?Was he… gone?
Then—someone spotted movement.
"There! He's fine!"
Hanging from a wall, bruised but very much alive, Luffy gave a defiant grin.
A collective sigh of relief echoed through the multiverse.
But—
That relief lasted only a second.
The hearts that had just settled were once again thrown into turmoil.
Sand gathered from every direction, swirling toward the Straw Hat boy.
"You actually made me waste this much energy!"
Crocodile reached out his massive hand and gripped Luffy's throat.
Under the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, Luffy's body began to dry up at a terrifying speed — his skin shriveling, life fading away before everyone's eyes.
In seconds, he was nothing but a desiccated mummy.
"You lost again, Straw Hat Luffy!"
Crocodile sneered, his grin as sharp as broken glass.
"In six minutes, this courtyard will explode. So stay here and celebrate for me — celebrate the birth of the new King of the Desert Kingdom!"
With a hiss, his body broke apart into grains of sand and scattered with the wind.
Across the multiverse:
"???"
"What the—?!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
"Straw Hat... died AGAIN?!"
"Sigh… I guess it can't be helped. I didn't have much hope to begin with."
"Crocodile's an old veteran who's ruled the seas for years. How could some rookie who's only been out for a few months possibly beat him?"
"Still, to have pushed him this far, to make him use his ultimate move… Luffy's done more than enough."
"All he's missing is time. If he had a few more years of experience on the sea, maybe things would be different."
Disappointed murmurs rippled across the countless worlds.
"No, it might not be over yet. If it were me, I'd definitely be dead — but Luffy's not like that."
From the world of Re:Zero, Subaru Natsuki stared at the big screen, refusing to blink.
"All the moisture's been drained out of his body," muttered Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, shaking her head. "Even I couldn't bring someone back from that."
"But last time, even when he was stabbed and buried alive, Luffy still came back! The people of that world don't follow normal logic," Armin argued in the world of Attack on Titan.
"Theoretically, if he can just rehydrate in time, he could recover. But… where's he gonna get water?" said Toriko, frowning deeply.
And then—
"Wha—! Water! It's falling from the sky!"
Inosuke, Komatsu, Tatsumi, Kazuma, and others all shouted at once as they watched the screen.
On the projection, just moments after Crocodile's body blew away, droplets began to fall. The water bullets Luffy had fired earlier — the ones Crocodile dodged — were now falling back under gravity.
By sheer luck, one of them splashed directly onto Luffy's dried-out body.
In an instant, moisture surged back through him — and Straw Hat Luffy sprang back to life, full health restored.
The audience across the multiverse was stunned silent.
Especially those like Tang San and the others, who had just been mocking him moments earlier.
"WHAT?!"
"There's no way! That actually worked?!"
"I've never seen anything like this!"
"Straw Hat... lived AGAIN?!"
"If that drop had landed even a few centimeters off, he'd still be dead!"
"If Crocodile had stuck around just one more second, Luffy wouldn't have made it!"
"Hahaha! Talk about an unexpected twist!"
"This guy just keeps dancing on the line between life and death!"
"King Yama must be wondering who's out there throwing a rave at his front gate!"
The multiverse erupted into chaos — cheers, laughter, and endless banter.
...
In the One Piece world—
"Bwahahaha! That's my grandson for you!" roared Marine hero Garp, laughing so hard the walls shook.
"Hahaha! That's so like Luffy!" Shanks wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Fufufufu… Crocodile really had it coming. If he'd just waited one more second, none of this would've happened. But that guy's always been like this — serves him right!" Doflamingo chuckled darkly.
In the Douluo Continent—
"So what if he's alive again?" scoffed Ma Hongjun. "He's already lost twice. I bet he doesn't even have the guts to challenge Crocodile again, right, San?"
But before his words even faded—
Smack.
Luffy was already back on his feet, charging straight after Crocodile like nothing happened.
"This kid never learns," muttered Herzog from the Dragon Raja world with a sinister grin. "If you can't win, you can't win. Luck doesn't last forever."
The scene shifted — the crumbling underground palace came into view.
Luffy and Crocodile faced off for the third time.
"Why are you still alive?! How many times do I have to kill you before you stay down?! Tell me, Straw Hat! How many deaths will it take for you to quit?!"
Crocodile's voice cracked in frustration — the calm, calculating warlord finally losing his cool.
"Because you still haven't given back what you stole," Luffy said quietly.
"What I stole? Money? Power? Trust? You'll have to be more specific — I've taken plenty."
"Her country!" Luffy's eyes blazed. "You took her country! If this place really belongs to her, then she should be able to smile again!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa — can I take that as a love confession?" said Sakuta from the Bunny Girl Senpai world, his eyes lighting up.
"A boy who gives everything — body, soul, and life — not for some grand 'justice,' but just so one girl can smile… that's true romance," swooned Kasumigaoka Utaha from the Saekano world, fingers laced under her chin and cheeks flushed.
"An aspiring Pirate King and a princess from an ancient kingdom — star-crossed lovers divided by fate… ah, the drama writes itself," murmured writers and mangaka across the romance worlds, already spinning their next stories.
...
In the One Piece world again—
"Eh? That idiot finally figured it out? Guess I'd better start preparing for great-grandkids! And this time, I'm raising one to be a proper Marine! Bwahahaha!" Garp cackled.
Alabasta, Kingdom of Sand
"...Oh."
Princess Vivi covered her mouth, eyes shimmering with tears. Hearing Luffy fight for her smile — for her happiness — made her heart tighten painfully.
A warmth she'd never felt before spread through her chest.
"Ahh, my daughter's growing up so fast," sighed King Cobra softly. "I didn't expect her to fall for someone so soon… but if it's Luffy, I suppose I wouldn't mind."
"F-Father! It's not like that! I—Luffy and I are just friends! Just crewmates!" Vivi's face turned scarlet.
"Right, right, just crewmates," said Igaram and Pell, exchanging knowing looks.
Meanwhile, far away in Elegia—
"How could this happen?! I met Luffy first!" pouted Uta, her two-toned hair fluttering as she puffed her cheeks in jealousy.
"..."
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________