Second Wind

32

Luffy knew that fighting Crocodile in the desert would be no walk in the park. His victory last time had been due to a combination of luck and overconfidence on the logia's part. Through sheer circumstance, he had discovered Crocodile's weakness and had been able to exploit it. But it wasn't until he had seen the former warlord in action during the War of the Best that he had realized just how effective that weakness had been. Coming into contact with water didn't just prevent Crocodile from turning into sand; it weakened his body significantly. If it hadn't been for that factor, Luffy knew that for all he had gone through in Alabasta, he never would have kept the New World veteran down for long. But every time Luffy had utilized water in his assaults, he had chipped away at Crocodile's endurance and stamina until their encounter in the royal tomb, where the warlord had been fighting at a small fraction of his usual ability. Even so, he had lost twice before pulling off a victory. Sometimes, looking back, he wondered if luck was actually a matter of innate talent rather than probability. Was he just good at being lucky?

Even now he knew he had to be careful. His resistance to poison had not reverted back to his younger body as far as he knew, and he wasn't willing to find out the hard way. And then there was that whole 'dry you up with a single touch' thing. Croc's fruit is stupid, he decided.

He was broken out of his musings as the sand beneath his feet gave away. "Desert Sunflower!" Crocodile growled as Luffy jumped into the air and used geppou to escape the range of the sinkhole.

Not just haki, but rokushiki too? Who is this rookie? His body dissolved into sand again as he attempted to intercept the rubber man in midair. "Desert Crescent!" Luffy ducked under the crescent shaped blade of sand and aimed a kick at Crocodile. The sandman grunted as he blocked with his forearm before dematerializing and reforming behind Luffy.

"Sables," he said as he caught the rookie in a miniature sandstorm. Luffy was blown back into the sinkhole that Crocodile had made and landed in, but as the warlord tried to bury him, Luffy escaped with his air walking technique again. Crocodile grimaced, realizing that his home field advantage was neutralized by the rubber man's mobility. He appeared behind him again and tried to impale him through the back, but Luffy twisted around the moment he materialized and redirected the jab.

"Gomu gomu no..." Crocodile's eyes widened as Luffy's body started to steam again and his obsidian black arms took on a familiar red tinge. "Eagle Bazooka!" The sandman was launched back through the air and skidded along the desert sand, unable to right himself this time. He finally rolled to a stop and groaned as he picked himself up. He suddenly hunched over and coughed up a wad of blood. Before he could even recover, his opponent was in front of him again. "Hawk Rifle!" The punch impacted with his face and he was sent hurtling across the sand again. He struggled to get up, and for a split second, the world around him turned hazy before his vision cleared.

"No," he growled. "Unacceptable! I will not be defeated, especially not by some run of the mill rookie pirate!" Luffy smirked at the statement and spread his arms out in open invitation. Crocodile almost charged again, but controlled himself. Instead, he channeled his focus into the environment, into the surrounding desert. The sand around them began to stir, and Luffy's eyes widened imperceptibly.

Suddenly, the desert seemed to rise, as if awoken from its slumber. Waves of sand rose to incredible heights as the ground itself surrounded the two pirates before it came crashing down on them.

"Desert Tsunami!" Crocodile shouted with a dangerous grin on his face. Luffy did the one thing that would make sense in the situation, which was to use geppou to ascend straight upwards, avoiding the tidal waves of sand. But Crocodile flew into the air after him, and the colossal waves followed behind as they took the fight to the sky.