Chapter 166: Crocodile (Conclusion)

"Mr. Crocodile, nice to meet you. I apologize for this," Daniel Davis said as he stepped out after the Mirror Dimension was fully established, giving Crocodile a slight bow.

If it were Luffy, even after defeating Crocodile, he wouldn't take his life. But Daniel Davis had different intentions; he was here to kill Crocodile.

"An impressive ability. You have the qualifications to be my subordinate," Crocodile said, noticing the peculiarities of the Mirror Dimension and immediately trying to recruit Daniel Davis.

Crocodile wasn't worried about being trapped in this strange space. He believed that as long as he defeated the ability user, the power would automatically be nullified.

"A subordinate? After being defeated by Whitebeard, losing all your fighting spirit, and hiding here while trying to acquire Pluton, you still think about recruiting people?" Daniel Davis said, mocking Crocodile's desperation and loss of ambition.

As a strong pirate once, Crocodile had confidently challenged Whitebeard, only to suffer a crushing defeat. This defeat shattered Crocodile's confidence, leading him to seek Pluton's power as a way to defeat Whitebeard.

Having pinned his hopes on external power, Crocodile had neglected his training over the years, making little progress in both physical combat and his Devil Fruit abilities.

Despite this, his Logia Devil Fruit allowed him to retain his position among the Seven Warlords, especially since Alabasta was close to the Grand Line's entrance, keeping him relatively unchallenged by strong opponents.

The strength of a Devil Fruit is determined by its user. While there are no inherently strongest or weakest Devil Fruits, the Logia type remains the fastest route to power.

Even a mediocre person with a Logia Devil Fruit could become a formidable force, blending in with the supernovas without issue. Logia Devil Fruits provide immunity to physical attacks, making their users particularly powerful.

Many pirates, like Gecko Moria, who was devastated by Kaido, retreated to play with zombies on their ship. Others, filled with confidence at the Sabaody Archipelago, would cry out for a return to the first half of the Grand Line upon facing the New World.

If the first half of the Grand Line is considered a normal difficulty, the New World is a nightmare, hellish in difficulty. The vast difference in challenge levels breaks the spirits of many pirates.

"You... how do you know about this?" Crocodile's gaze shifted to Robin, questioning how Daniel Davis knew about Pluton. In Baroque Works, only he and Robin were aware of this; the rest knew only about the Utopia Project to seize Alabasta.

Suspecting Robin was natural. As the Devil Child, Robin had been involved in many betrayals and the destruction of numerous organizations and pirate crews, with only her surviving.

"My identity doesn't matter. What's important is that I have my eyes on the Warlord position, and you're the weakest among them."

"Die! Desert Spada!" Crocodile, enraged by Daniel Davis's words, attacked. A mini sandstorm formed in his right hand and shot toward Daniel Davis.

As the sandstorm left Crocodile's palm and grew to man-size, his face changed. He realized he couldn't control the environment here.

In the Mirror Dimension, everything was a reflection, including the sand. Crocodile couldn't enhance his Suna Suna no Mi powers without access to real sand.

Boom!

Daniel Davis punched through the sandstorm, dispersing it.

"Soru."

As Crocodile attacked, Daniel Davis decided to act. Using Soru, he appeared instantly beside Crocodile and punched him, sending him flying.

"Busoshoku Haki," Crocodile said coldly, wiping blood from his mouth as he got up.

"Correct, Crocodile. Prepare to die," Daniel Davis said, using Soru again. This time, Crocodile transformed into sand, flying into the air.

"Desert Girasole!" Crocodile swung his right hand, sending a giant sand blade toward Daniel Davis.

Soru, Geppo.

Daniel Davis dodged the attack and used Geppo to reach Crocodile in the air, kicking him back down.

"It's laughable that you once challenged Whitebeard with this level of strength. How could you have qualified?" Daniel Davis said, finding it hard to believe that Crocodile had ever dared to challenge Whitebeard. Even Whitebeard's commanders seemed too strong for the current Crocodile.

"Has Crocodile weakened, or did Whitebeard accept his challenge directly without sending subordinates?" Daniel Davis wondered. He had underestimated his own strength due to constant training with Dragon and Kuma, aiming for the level of the Four Emperors and Mihawk.

Expecting a tough fight, Daniel Davis had prepared extensively, unlike Luffy, who challenged Crocodile with just a barrel of water.

Another reason for Crocodile's weakness was the inherent vulnerability of Logia fruits to certain elements. Like how Enel, powerful enough to be a major pirate, was defeated by Luffy due to the Gomu Gomu no Mi's advantage over lightning.

If Daniel Davis used his Ope Ope no Mi, the fight would end quickly, as Crocodile lacked Busoshoku Haki.

"Damn you," Crocodile, furious, sent a massive sandstorm at Daniel Davis using his Suna Suna no Mi.

"Nico Robin, are you not going to act? Do you plan to betray me?" Crocodile yelled at Robin, who was hesitating.

"Nico Robin, why not join me instead? I know the locations of many Poneglyphs and can grant you access to Alabasta's Poneglyph without a coup or innocent bloodshed," Daniel Davis proposed.

Robin, inherently kind despite her time in the underworld, hesitated. She had never wanted to cooperate with Crocodile.

"Robin!" Crocodile's anger surged as Robin paused, sending a sand blade at her.

Boom!

Just before the sand blade hit Robin, Daniel Davis appeared beside her, shattering the sand blade with a punch. He grabbed her arm and used Shunshin no Jutsu to distance them from Crocodile.

"Now the real fight begins, Crocodile," Daniel Davis said, wielding a large water gun and drenching Crocodile, exploiting his weakness to water.

The water gun, specially crafted by Daniel Davis, held a vast amount of water thanks to a Space Expansion Charm. By targeting Crocodile's weakness, Daniel Davis could defeat him without Haki or Sea-Prism Stone.

This weakness wasn't unique to Crocodile. Devil Fruits were vulnerable to seawater and Sea-Prism Stone due to a unique component not found in other worlds.

In other worlds, Devil Fruit abilities wouldn't be invincible. For instance, Daniel Davis doubted that Thor's power in the Marvel Universe would fail to affect a Logia user, given its divine nature.

"You..." Drenched and enraged, Crocodile's resistance proved futile. Luffy had beaten him with water and basic combat skills; Daniel Davis's prowess was far greater.

"It's over, Crocodile," Daniel Davis declared, his blade coated in Haki piercing Crocodile's heart.

Pirates in this world had remarkable endurance, fighting for days. Ace and Jinbe's long battle was due to their physical resilience, not using weapons that could end fights quickly.

"You'll die with me," Crocodile, a Warlord, managed to stab Daniel Davis's shoulder with his poisoned hook as he fell.

Seeing the wound, Crocodile laughed, confident that his poison would kill Daniel Davis.

Pirate crews needed skilled doctors not just for healing but for detoxifying poisons. The sea was full of mysterious, often toxic creatures.

Luffy had once eaten a poisonous sea creature, saved only by Reiju. Brook's crew was wiped out by poison.

"I have an antidote," Robin said, rushing over with a vial. She always carried water and antidotes, ready for betrayal or emergencies.

"Nico Robin," Crocodile roared, furious at her betrayal.

"No need," Daniel Davis said, pressing his left hand on his shoulder. In moments, the blackened, infected wound healed, showing red blood instead of pus.

"Impressive. Despite a pierced heart, you held on," Daniel Davis said, revealing a basket of apples.

Killing Crocodile had multiple reasons: claiming the Warlord position, saving Alabasta, helping Robin, and most importantly, obtaining the Devil Fruit.

When a Devil Fruit user dies, a new fruit with the same power appears somewhere. Opinions vary on whether this happens nearby or anywhere in the world.

To test this, Daniel Davis prepared a basket of fruits, hoping a new Suna Suna no Mi would form.

"Impossible," Daniel Davis mused, watching an apple transform into a Devil Fruit. The Mirror Dimension's isolated nature likely influenced this outcome.

Robin, equally astonished, realized the significance of this discovery.

"We need further experiments," Daniel Davis concluded, planning to test with less powerful Devil Fruits while using the Mirror Dimension for stronger ones.

The prospect of obtaining many Devil Fruits thrilled Daniel Davis.

"First the Philosopher's Stone, now Devil Fruits. This forces me to kill. Such a kind-hearted person like me is being led astray," he thought with a mix of excitement and irony.

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