The desert was hot enough to fry an egg on the sand. Noah wiped his brow and muttered, "I swear this place is trying to kill me with sunburn."
Emma kicked at a rock with her boot. "You complain too much. It's just a little sun."
"Just a little sun?" Noah groaned. "It feels like the sun is personally mad at me!"
Suddenly, Emma stopped and squinted. "Wait… is that… a person? Lying face down in the sand?"
She walked closer to the figure.
She grabbed a stick and poked the man carefully.
Noah walked up closer, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously? Who takes a nap in the middle of the desert?"
He noticed the tattoo on the man's arm and back. No doubt about it—he knew this guy from the anime.
With a subtle motion of his hand, Noah lifted the man's body off the sand.
"Looks like you're getting the hang of your powers," Emma said.
Emma then spotted a large rock nearby and pointed to it. "Let's take him somewhere shady before the sun fries him.
They crouched behind the rock.
The man stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He blinked at them, calm.
Emma raised her hands. "Relax. We just found you lying here in the sand."
"I was taking a nap," the man said, stretching. "By the way, my name's Ace. And you two?"
I'm Emma, and this is my captain, Noah.
"Wait… you two are pirates?"
"We sure are," Emma said.
Ace raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing in the middle of the desert instead of the sea?"
"Just following my captain on bizarre adventures," Emma said.
"We're heading to Alubarna," Noah added.
Ace laughed. "I'm going that way too. We can travel together if you want."
"We can," Noah said.
Meanwhile, in the distance, chaos was unfolding—Luffy was taking on Crocodile.
"You really think you can beat me, rubber man?" Crocodile sneered, dust swirling around his feet.
"I'll win!" Luffy shouted, launching himself forward with a powerful stretch. His fist rocketed toward Crocodile's chest, but the sand shifted, and Crocodile vanished.
Luffy skidded, hitting the sand. "Where'd he go?!"
Crocodile emerged from a nearby sand dune, striking with his hooked hand. Luffy dodged, rolling through the sand, narrowly avoiding the strike. The sand cracked and split beneath Crocodile's feet as he used his powers to manipulate the desert itself.
"Sand-Sand! Sand Sword!" Crocodile roared. A blade of hardened sand shot toward Luffy. He jumped high, twisting midair to avoid it.
Luffy landed, coughing, sand in his mouth. He clenched his fists. "I have to keep moving. I can't let him hit me!"
"You think you can stop me, Straw Hat?" Crocodile said. "This is the desert. You'll die before you can even touch me."
Luffy grinned. "I've beaten worse! Gum-Gum Pistol!" He stretched his arm back and shot it forward, striking Crocodile's chest. The impact barely made him flinch.
Crocodile raised one hand, and the sand around him seemed to move. Luffy felt the ground shift under his feet, thrown off balance. He stumbled but recovered quickly.
"Sand moves at my command," Crocodile said. "You can't land a hit here."
Luffy's teeth clenched. "I'll find a way!" He shot another punch, then another, each one dodged by Crocodile, who laughed coldly with every attack.
Suddenly, Luffy leapt, spinning through the air. Crocodile raised his hook, swinging to strike—but Luffy twisted, landing behind him and kicking up a cloud of sand. Crocodile smirked and vanished into the sand, reappearing behind Luffy.
"Damn it!" Luffy yelled. "I've got to hit him!"
Crocodile raised his hook, and the ground beneath Luffy shifted suddenly. Quick sand opened beneath him, and Luffy's feet sank. "Ugh!" he yelled, struggling, but he pushed himself free with a Gum-Gum Spring.
He launched into the air, twisting as he flew. "Gum-Gum Pistol!" His stretched fist hit Crocodile's chest—again, the attack barely moved him. Crocodile smirked, dust blowing from the impact.
Luffy leapt onto a sand hill, spinning, and slammed into Crocodile with a Gum-Gum Bazooka. Crocodile blocked with his hook, but the force shifted some of the sand around them, giving Luffy a small advantage.
Crocodile's smirk faded slightly. "Impressive… but not enough."
"You're persistent… but that won't save you," Crocodile said. With a swift motion, he slammed his hook into the sand. Luffy tried to dodge, but the hook twisted through the sand like a snake.
Before Luffy could react, the hook struck him in the chest. He cried out, flying backward and landing hard on a sand hill, coughing blood. His body was battered, his strength drained.
Crocodile loomed above him. "This desert belongs to me."
Luffy struggled to rise, but his energy gave out. Crocodile walked away, leaving him defeated in the sand.
The fight was over.