a Fight

(Playing Days Gone and going to the beach really distracts me from writing)

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Crocodile's laughter echoed through the restaurant, his amusement evident. "Father?, take all my money? Ha… Ha… Ha… Ha… Ha… Ha," he mocked, his eyes glinting with malice. "I'd like to see you try."

Toshiro's smirk didn't falter. "Oh, I plan to," he said, his voice steady and confident. "And by the time I'm done, you'll be begging me to stop."

Crocodile's expression darkened, his amusement fading into a deadly seriousness. "You're either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish. Either way, it won't end well for you."

"Ha… Ha… Ha… Ha—" Toshiro tried to replicate Crocodile's laugh but ended up coughing, breaking the tension momentarily.

"..."

Crocodile raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Kai," Toshiro chanted, sending an invisible slash toward Crocodile. The attack sliced him cleanly in half, but due to Crocodile's Logia-type Devil Fruit, all physical attacks were rendered useless, no matter how powerful.

Crocodile's body split apart, but he quickly reformed, his sandy form merging back together seamlessly. He smirked, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "What a terrifying ability," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you see, your attacks are completely useless against me."

Toshiro's smirk remained, undeterred. "Is that so?" he replied, his tone calm and confident. "Guess I'll just have to find another way to beat you."

Toshiro quickly assessed the situation, already knowing that his usual attacks would be ineffective against Crocodile's Logia powers.

Without warning, Crocodile moved first. His hand transformed into a massive sand blade, shimmering with deadly intent. "Desert Spada!" he shouted, his voice carrying a harsh edge of command. With a swift and powerful motion, he slashed his arm forward, unleashing a fearsome wave of slicing sand toward Toshiro.

As the sand blade from Crocodile's "Desert Spada" advanced with lethal precision, Toshiro's mind raced through possible strategies. He quickly placed his hand on the ground, channeling his devil fruit poweer to perform a precise cut with.

"Cleave"

The stone tiles of the restaurant floor separated cleanly into a large square.

With a powerful stomp, Toshiro lifted the stone slab, positioning it as a shield to intercept the incoming wave of sand. The massive stone slab met the slicing sand wave with a resounding crash. The force of Crocodile's attack pounded against the slab, causing vibrations to ripple through the stone, but the shield held, successfully absorbing the brunt of the assault.

????

Crocodile observed the scene with a hint of surprise, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Not bad," he remarked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But do you really think a mere stone slab can protect you from me?"

Toshiro, still smirking, remained unfazed. "It's just a start," he replied.

Seizing the opportunity, Toshiro quickly grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby table. With a swift motion, he threw it at Crocodile, simultaneously using his "Dismantle" technique to send an invisible slash that caused the bottle to explode just as it neared Crocodile.

????

Water sprayed everywhere, soaking Crocodile. The liquid immediately disrupted his sand form, causing him to momentarily lose cohesion. "What?!" Crocodile exclaimed, his voice tinged with shock and anger.

Toshiro capitalized on the momentary advantage, launching himself at Crocodile with speed and precision. "You didn't see that coming, did you lil bro?" Toshiro taunted, his smirk widening.

Crocodile quickly regained his composure, his body reforming from the sand. But the water had weakened him, and he knew he had to be cautious. "You're clever," he admitted, his tone begrudging. "But it won't be enough."

Toshiro didn't let up. He used "Dismantle" repeatedly, sending invisible slashes towards Crocodile, trying to exploit the weakened state caused by the water. Crocodile dodged and countered, using his "Desert Spada" and "Sables" techniques to create distance and regain control.

The restaurant was now a battlefield, tables and chairs scattered, the air thick with tension and sand. Toshiro knew he had to keep the pressure on. He grabbed another bottle of water, ready to repeat his tactic.

But Crocodile was prepared this time. As Toshiro hurled the bottle, Crocodile used his "Desert Girasole" technique, creating a vortex of sand that sucked in the bottle and shredded it before it could explode.

"Nice try," Crocodile sneered. "But I've had enough of your tricks." He raised his hand, summoning his most lethal technique. "Desert Encierro!"

A massive wave of sand surged towards Toshiro, enveloping him in an inescapable sand prison. The sand began to drain the moisture from Toshiro's body, causing him to weaken rapidly. Toshiro, realizing the dire situation, spammed "Dismantle" repeatedly to cut through the sand and free himself.

As he broke free, Toshiro charged at Crocodile, who seemed to be expecting him. Crocodile activated his "Ground Death" ability, transforming the ground beneath Toshiro into quicksand, slowing him down significantly. This gave Crocodile the opportunity to pierce Toshiro's body with his poisoned hook.

Toshiro tried to dodge but failed, realizing too late that Crocodile was using Observation Haki. The hook stabbed into Toshiro, and he immediately jumped back to put distance between them.

"It's over. You're poisoned now," Crocodile declared with a smile. However, his smile quickly cracked as he noticed that Toshiro was not affected by the poison and was still moving without a problem.

Toshiro's face remained completely calm.

Crocodile's eyes widened in shock. "What? How are you still standing? My poison should have incapacitated you by now!"

Toshiro smirked, patting his clothes to remove the sand. "Who knows why? Maybe you put grape juice instead of poison. Mistakes can happen, you know, lil bro."

Without missing a beat, Toshiro continued his attack.

 "Dragon Scale"

"Recoil!"

"Twin Meteors!"

"Dismantle!" Toshiro chanted, unleashing a massive, invisible slash that tore through the restaurant and three buildings behind it. The destruction was immense cuting everything in half, but Crocodile's Logia ability allowed him to reform unscathed, appearing behind Toshiro.

"Ground Secco!" Crocodile yelled, thrusting his hand forward. The ground beneath Toshiro turned to dust, causing him to lose his balance and stumble. In an instant, Crocodile's hand connected with Toshiro, draining the moisture from his body.

Toshiro gasped, feeling his strength being sapped away. His vision blurred, and his body weakened rapidly. Despite his resistance to poison, dehydration was a different beast altogether.

Crocodile's smirk returned, his confidence restored. "You should have known better than to challenge me," he taunted, watching as Toshiro struggled to stand. "Without Haki, you can't touch me."

Toshiro, on his knees, looked up at Crocodile with a defiant glare. "Haki? What's that."

Crocodile's expression darkened with disdain as he prepared to deliver the final blow. "This is where it ends."

With his last bit of strength, Toshiro muttered, "I guess... you win this round."

Crocodile's hand plunged towards Toshiro, but the battle had already been decided. Toshiro collapsed, his body unable to withstand the relentless dehydration. The fight was over, with Crocodile standing victorious amidst the wreckage of the restaurant.

Crocodile spared one last glance at Toshiro's motionless body, then turned and walked away, his silhouette vanishing into the distance. Silence fell over the ruined restaurant.

...

Moments later, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the debris. Nico Robin emerged from the shadows, a smirk playing on her lips as she looked down at the mummified form of Toshiro. "I told you, it's not something you can deal with, 'Father.'"

Just as she finished speaking, a voice responded from the supposedly lifeless body. "Is that so?"

Robin's smirk vanished, replaced by a look of utter disbelief. She took an instinctive step back, her eyes widening in horror as she saw wisps of smoke rising from Toshiro's body. His form, which moments ago had appeared shriveled and lifeless, began to stir, defying all logic and reason.

With deliberate slowness, Toshiro sat up, his movements eerily calm as his body began to regenerate before Robin's eyes. The deep wounds that had marred his flesh and the extreme dehydration that had drained his vitality seemed to reverse, as if time itself was unwinding. The color returned to his skin, his strength flooding back into his limbs as he healed himself from the brink of death, utilizing his reverse cursed technique with a casual ease that left Robin speechless.

"You... you were supposed to be dead!" Robin stammered, her voice trembling with shock as she struggled to comprehend the impossible sight before her. The man she thought she had seen perish was not only alive but revitalized.

A smirk crept back onto Toshiro's face, his eyes narrowing with a sharp, focused intensity. "Dead?" he echoed, his tone laced with mockery. "I was just taking a little nap, Robin."

Toshiro without a surprise had been holding back the entire time, deliberately restraining his true strength. He kept his cursed energy output low, never pushing himself to his full potential. Additionally, he refrained from using both his Reverse Cursed Technique and Observation Haki, ensuring that his true capabilities remained hidden. It was clear that he was merely toying with his opponent, never fully committing to the battle."

Toshiro stood up, brushing off the remaining dust and sand from his clothes with a casual air. "If I wanted to win, I could've done it easily. But where's the fun in that?" His tone was calm, almost playful, as if he had been toying with Crocodile from the start.

Robin's mind raced, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion and doubt. She couldn't wrap her head around the enormity of what Toshiro was claiming. "If you had the ability to take him down easily, why didn't you?" she demanded, suspicion dripping from every word. She didn't believe him, couldn't believe him—there had to be more to this.

Toshiro's eyes gleamed with a mischievous light as he looked at Robin, the corners of his mouth curling into a sly grin. "Why didn't I?" he repeated, as if the question amused him. "Because, Robin, I didn't have a reason to. I didn't come here to defeat Crocodile or to be a hero. I came here to gamble, to see how far I could push myself without going all out. And, more importantly, to see how my daughter is faring in all this chaos."

Even as he spoke with such bravado, Toshiro knew deep down that Crocodile had been a far more formidable opponent than he had anticipated. The fight had pushed him in ways he hadn't expected, and he was still trying to grasp how Luffy, in the original Show, had managed to defeat someone so overwhelmingly powerful. But that wasn't something he needed to share with Robin. No, for now, the game continued, and Toshiro was content to keep his cards close to his chest.

Suddenly, with a flash of movement too quick for the eye to follow, Toshiro appeared behind Robin, his smirk returning, more sinister now. "So now, my little daughter," he whispered, his voice dripping with cold menace, "are you going to stay silent about me being alive, or should I just kill you?"