83 Chapter 82: Requiem

Swoo...

Drake shivered as the smoke slowly poured out from the standing form of Smoker. It spread throughout the dried-up land and swirled; what a ghastly scene it is, Drake couldn't help but think.

"G-get back." Drake, quickly taking hold of the petrified Baby 5 and the chest containing the Op Op fruit, began running away from the scene. Crocodile sighting this with a visible annoyance, was about to interfere Drake, however,

Crack Crack—

froze on his spot as the pebbles nearby began to rapidly bounce up and down. The ground quaked lightly before parts of it broke and crumbled down.

Vrooooooom...

Crocodile finally realized in shock, of the incredible surge of Conqueror's Haki that emanated from Smoker. The air screeched, the buildings down the hill wobbled, and then, there was the strong pressure of the air that sent Crocodile skidding back.

"...Quite emotional, aren't you?" Crocodile forced a shaky grin on his face, trying to hide his surprise, "There are hundreds dead in this place, and yet, you are angered by the death of one man."

Crocodile steeled his mind, for he has overcome many arduous situations; it was no different this time around.

"Desert..."

Then, Crocodile, with his eyes locked on Smoker, raised his right hand up. And at the next moment,

"Spada." A vertical wave of sand was sent flying toward where Smoker stood, at a frightening speed. It ground the soil that lied along its path, and with the newly formed sand joining the wave, the sheer volume of sand, by the time it reached right in front of Smoker, was simply mind-blowing—

Boom.

Crocodile's wave of sand was blasted apart in an instant. The air screeched from an explosion of an unbelievable magnitude, and by the time Crocodile's eyes widened from witnessing such a view,

CLANG!!! Crocodile was found shielding his face with his two arms, coated with Armament Haki: Hardening, against Smoker's Haki-imbued fist.

BOOOOM! After the initial clash came the sudden explosion of white smoke from Smoker's fist. The pressure from the smoke slammed Crocodile right onto the ground, and Crocodile, not even having enough time to register the pain from Smoker's attack, then had to morph his body into the sand and retreat as the released white smoke of Smoker's subsequently turned into multiple snakes that threatened to bite on him.

SWOOSH! Crocodile, through the use of his Observation Haki, barely managed to dodge Smoker's abrupt appearance by his side. "Barján!!!" Crocodile immediately retaliated with a strike of his own, but Smoker simply leaned his body backward to dodge the sand man's attack with ease, before slamming his right foot onto Crocodile's chin.

"Tch...!" Crocodile, quickly regaining his bearing and hovering in the air now, glared at Smoker while holding his palm out,

Swooo... Immediately after, a miniature storm of sand was generated on Crocodile's palm. Just when Smoker vanished from his spot, Crocodile turned his body around and threw the miniature sandstorm,

"Sables!!!" The sand storm instantly expanded into a gigantic scale upon leaving Crocodile's hand. And in front of said sand storm stood 'Smoker,' which puffed away upon receiving the blow.

"White Spiral."

Crocodile flinched as Smoker's voice was heard from his back. And then,

BOOM! Shusui, having its hilt wrapped around by Smoker's long smoke-made arm, impacted upon Crocodile's Haki-coated arm.

BOOM! Crocodile attempted to evade Smoker's attack, but to no avail as Smoker's eyes, locked onto his own, were flashing in red. Crocodile, gritting his teeth while instantly bursting out heavy mass of sand from his body,

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

began parrying Smoker's unpredictable whip-like slashes with dense layers of sand. Though the sand crumbled down every time Shusui slammed against it, Crocodile quickly restored with the new supply of sand. Eventually, Smoker's Shusui lost its momentum, and Smoker, retracting his smoke-made arm back, came to hold Shusui with his bare hand.

"...Heh," Crocodile then let out a smirk at Smoker, whose left index finger was pointed at him,

"Huh...?"

'Tobu Shigan: White Gun.'

POOF! Crocodile's vision was obstructed by the suddenly released volume of white smoke in front of him.

"Aren't you underestimating me too much, White Hunter?!" Crocodile growled, "Sables..." He, finding Smoker's intent through the thick smoke with the use of his Observation Haki, generated another miniature storm of sand from his palm.

Simultaneously, the vast volume of white smoke in front of Crocodile was sucked away by Smoker, who was flying at Crocodile with Shusui re-sheathed and his right palm holding a swirling mass of black smoke. And as Crocodile gritted his teeth and threw his mini sandstorm,

"Pesado!!!" / "Black Blast."

BOOOOOM! A magnificent explosion occurred as two potent techniques clashed against one another. The sand, red in colour and extremely hot to the verge of melting, was blasted off everywhere. Smoker and Crocodile, both shielding their faces, were knocked away from the area of impact.

Tap Tap. As two men landed back on the ground, Smoker, though not speaking a single word, was found huffing with dark bags under his eyes. But nonetheless, Crocodile didn't dare to lower his guard, as he grimaced with a cold sweat on his back. Not giving Smoker any time to take breather, Crocodile then slammed his palm to the ground below,

"Ground Secco."

The already dry ground began to crumble. The layer of snow was long gone before, and upon Crocodile's technique, the ground became a barren land comparable to that of the Kuen Village. Now, the portion of the hill of Minion island has become the mountain of sand at Crocodile's disposal.

The platform below Smoker shook before crumbling down into the sand. In this state, Crocodile's hand on the plain pushed through the ground,

"Desert Girasole."

Upon Crocodile's call, the barren ground sank, and a sand pit, several times more huge than the one he used against marines previously, came into existence. The sand enveloped Smoker's feet and began sucking him in.

"...Hah,"

Smoker, in this situation, took in a light breath while closing his eyes. Not dodging as his surroundings morphed into the sand and began pulling him into it, Smoker eased his exhausted and anger-filled mind. He, while his legs were engulfed by the sand, turned his head and looked at the very distant Drake and Baby 5, looking at him with worry; Drake seemed to be shouting to him, to get out of the sand pit that he was being sucked into.

'...Flevance. World Government. Op Op fruit. Crocodile. Many things happened recently, and there's no way back.'

Smoker reminded himself that Cancer sacrificed his life, so that the Op Op fruit won't fall into the hands of the criminals and hypocrites. If a knowledgeable doctor like Dr. Trafalgar eats it, the Amber Lead Syndrome will effectively be cured, and the fruit will be put to good use.

"...It's not the time for me to act mindless, is it." Smoker opened his eyes as all parts of his body, except for his head, were now engulfed in the sand. He looked up at the sky and whispered, "...Don't worry. I'm not going to waste your sacrifice."

Smoker's eyes, now just above the rapidly-sucking sand pit, blazed in a cold rage. It held a dark resolve—to rip apart the despicable pirate who unleashed yet another sharp wave of sand. Just before his entire body was engulfed, and just before the sharp wave of sand—imbued with weak Armament Haki—cut him through, Smoker whispered,

"Black Out."

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!! The incredible volume of sand erupted from an explosion of black smoke. Crocodile, not having expected such retaliation from Smoker, was knocked away from the sheer pressure as the latter walked out from the now-empty pit.

"White Hunter...!" Crocodile gritted his teeth, "So what if—if…"

Out of shock, Crocodile stopped his words. Smoker was holding out his right palm, and on top of it was a miniature smoke storm, swirling rapidly; it was the replica of Crocodile's 'Sables,' but with smoke instead.

Swoooo...

"White Storm," Smoker then released his technique impassively, "Pesado."

BOOOOM! The storm was shot at Crocodile with incredible velocity and pressure, instantly subverting Crocodile's view. Crocodile, for the first time since his arrival here, coughed blood out. Crocodile, flipping his body back and regaining his bearing in the air, glared at Smoker with bloodshot eyes,

"Desert—"

however, Smoker wasn't done. He, glaring at Crocodile down on the ground, snapped his fingers,

"Transmutation: Black."

WHOOSH! The blasted tornado of white smoke suddenly turned into that pitch black. Immediately after, the black smoke combusted into fire, and now, Crocodile was laid in the middle of the blazing firestorm, which rapidly swirled at an accelerating pace, before,

BOOOOOOM!

exploding into a huge fit.

"Huff... huff..." Within the cloud of smoke after the explosion, there lied a dome of sand, encased with the Armament Haki. The sand dome then crumbled down, revealing Crocodile who was found huffing lightly. And at the same time, Crocodile too noticed,

BOOOM!

Smoker's foot slamming onto his cheek and sent him flying.

"Cough...!" Crocodile grimaced as his vision became hazy from the pain. He couldn't help but wonder why Smoker's attack hurt when he not only condensed his body with moisturized sand, but also covered the area of impact with Hardening of Armament Haki.

SWOOSH! In the middle of Crocodile's non-intended flight, Smoker appeared on top of Crocodile in an instant with his right fist clenched tight. Crocodile, through his hazy vision, then noticed... an enigmatic, liquid-like energy wrapped around Smoker's fist—

BOOOOM! Crocodile felt as if his eyes were popping out as he was slammed on the ground by Smoker's punch on his abdomen. His jaw dropped and trembled from the impact alone, and he, panickily morphing his body into sand, escaped just in time to evade Smoker's foot stomp that blasted the impacted ground into multiple pieces.

SWOOSH! However, even before Crocodile had time to celebrate for successfully dodging Smoker's attack, Smoker was right in front of him once more with both fists, emitting wisps of black smoke, clenched tight. Crocodile's eyes gleamed in horror, and just then,

"Black Barrage."

BOOOM! The thin layer of sand armour on top of Crocodile's skin crumbled down.

BOOOM! The pitch-black Hardening of Armament Haki, on Crocodile's skin, faded away.

BOOOM! Crocodile's nose was rendered into a bloody and non-recognizable piece of flesh.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM!

Crocodile's entire body screamed in pain as Smoker's explosion-containing fists didn't know when to end. He was propelled back and forth as Smoker continuously pummeled him against the direction that he was flown at, and he,

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

unable to bear the pain any longer, finally let out a horrified scream out of instinct. His mind told him to give up, to resign and beg for a painless death.

And then, a voice was heard in his ear,

<…Captain. Live on, and find One Piece for us. That dream of ours, ya know… cough…>

Crocodile's eyes widened. He, even while having his body bloodied and broken, gritted his teeth,

BOOOOOM!

before the huge volume of sand suddenly exploded from Crocodile's body. Smoker, caught off by the sudden attack, was flown to the huge pit that was previously generated.

"Die... DIE DIE DIE!!!!!" Crocodile, breathing with difficulty due to his broken nose, screamed with craziness. He relentlessly poured all the available sand to where Smoker was crushed at. It was a monstrous scene to witness, for the sand wave was so enormous that it shadowed half of the pit.

Smoker, landing at the bottom of the pit, spat out the blood to the side. He, looking up, too saw the wave of sand that began to descend like rain.

"..."

Smoker crouched his legs down in silence. While doing so, the wisps of smoke exited from his mouth. Then, he vanished,

SWOOSH! A trail of smoke was left in the slightest gaps generated between the sand rain. Smoker repeatedly vanished and reappeared, moving upward to the exit of the huge pit without having himself hit by the sand rain.

SWOOSH! Smoker landed on a side wall, before propelling himself once more.

SWOOSH! Smoker was in midair, morphing his body into the smoke to dodge the sharp waves of sand that cut through the trail of smoke that he left behind.

SWOOSH! Smoker was right standing right before Crocodile, who expressed nothing but malice and madness.

"SABLES—" Crocodile blasted the incredibly concentrated storm of sand, "—GRANDE PESADO!!!"

BOOOOM!

Smoker, tilting his body at the last moment, managed to evade Crocodile's technique from blasting him back into the pit where the sand has been restored. And instead, the pressure from Crocodile's technique sent him flying high up into the sky.

…

By the time the momentum died, Smoker was above the thick layer of clouds where the brilliant stars of night greeted him.

Muttered Cancer,

"...Indeed." Smoker let out a hollow chuckle as he stared at the starry sky, "An adventure to space... sounds like a ton of fun."

The immense volume of cloud below Smoker began to swirl. Smoker raised his right hand up, and on its palm, all the cloud, along with the Emission of the Armament Haki—they began to gather and condense into a miniature galaxy, swirling in a mesmerizing colour of the rainbow.

"Or perhaps, you too have begun yet another journey in another world. Who knows?"

A smile died down from Smoker's face, and he clenched his fist. Asronishingly, the entire miniature galaxy above his palm was sucked into his fist. Then, cocking said fist back, he began to descend at an accelerating pace. He headed his eyes downward to where Crocodile stood within the incredible mass of sand.

Crocodile, watching as Smoker began dropping toward him with the huge, swirling mass of cloud, whispered,

"...Desert,"

Crocodile instinctively felt that this was going to be the final clash. Raising his shaky right hand up and straightening his bloody nose with a brutal grip, Crocodile clenched his left fist tight.

"Grande—"

However, Crocodile miscalculated. Even before he readied his technique, Smoker, at the sky, at a far distance away from Crocodile still, abruptly punched his right fist forth,

"White Galaxy."

Crocodile's eyes widened, and his left arm dropped to his side out of despair.

'I've returned from the dead!! In the dark stomach of that despicable Sea King, I survived for months!!! And yet—'

BOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!!

and at the next moment, Drake and Baby 5 at far far distance away came to witness, a gigantic explosion of energy that engulfed Crocodile and the entirety of the sand pit. However, in contrast to its destructiveness, the scenery, for some reason, seemed beautiful in their eyes, sparkling in a variety of colours as it reflected the dim lights of the stars above.

Tap.

Smoker landed on the ground, and the pirate named Crocodile was no more. Instead, there were only the broken skeletal remains of the sandman, which gave a hollow grin at him. Smoker frowned, and,

Crack.

mercilessly raised his foot up and crushed the skull into the powder.

"..."

Smoker, then raising his head up to view the now-clear sky, sighed.

"…"

He reached his shaky hand into his pocket and took out a cigarette that he previously retrieved from Cancer.

"…Hah."

<Thus... it calls us towards... the way we must take... Thus... it leads us towards... a proper world...>

Smoker chuckled with his eyes shadowed. He slowly brought the cigarette to his mouth, and bit on it.

<Enveloping... pain and suffering... greatly and kindly wrapping them up...>

Smoker flicked his finger, and the tip of the cigarette was lit up. He, for the first time in his life, took a puff out of the cigarette,

"...Hu..."

and just as he expected, the taste was bitter.

'…Goodbye.'

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