Chapter 399: Clash Across the Desert

Locke turned around to look at the giant man following him, Bebe, who towered over two meters tall and carried a massive baseball bat. With him was a strange creature that looked like a cross between a cannon and a dachshund—the very dog that had just spat out a shell.

“Your opponent is none other than me.”

“Finishing Move—Exploding Star!” Usopp hurriedly pulled out another one of his custom bullets and fired it straight at Bebe.

At first, Bebe didn’t pay the bullet much mind. He just lightly tapped the odd dog at his feet.

The dog’s mouth opened crazy wide as it spat out a bizarre round. Then Bebe swung his four-ton baseball bat to smack the incoming bullet.

Boom!

A massive explosion rocked the battlefield. Even Bebe was caught off guard—he hadn’t expected that bullet to actually explode. The blast was so powerful it blasted his hulking form backward.

Usopp grabbed his sniper rifle and sprinted toward Bebe as fast as he could.

“Candle Champion!” Galdino covered himself in wax, forming a suit of wax armor that made him look just like a giant robot out of an old pulp novel. He was easily five meters tall.

Chopper instantly transformed into his Human-Human Fruit’s human form. His body stretched taller, and with the help of his special Rumble Ball, he expanded to a full three and a half meters.

Using his strong legs and natural leaping power, Chopper kicked off the ground hard, swinging his hooves right at Galdino’s face.

But Galdino wasn’t just a show-off. The wax on his armor flowed like water, trying to glue Chopper’s leg down the moment it got close.

Chopper didn’t have a ton of fighting experience, but maybe it was that animal instinct for danger—suddenly, he sensed something was off. He stopped short midair and quickly dodged back.

“So sneaky!” Only after retreating did Chopper realize what this giant monster was planning—he’d wanted to stick him right onto that huge suit of wax armor.

Chopper snorted, showing off his Armament Haki, coating his arms and legs in black. With Haki protecting him, he didn’t have to worry about getting stuck to any more wax.

“Armament Haki? But you guys just arrived at the Grand Line! How could you possibly know Armament Haki?” Even Galdino was shocked—he knew Armament Haki was the only real counter to his tricks.

But how on earth did the Straw Hats get their hands on such knowledge? Where had they even trained?

After all, Armament Haki isn’t something you pick up from a book. Unless you’ve spent years of grueling practice, you can’t master it.

Word was, the Straw Hats had only recently reached the Grand Line, and yet here they were wielding techniques only veterans from the New World would know.

To call the Straw Hats a pirate crew was almost misleading—they were more like a pack of second-generation rich kids out on a field trip. Except for Nami, just about everyone on the ship had someone powerful quietly backing them from the shadows.

“That may be so, but I’m not holding back.” Crocodile saw the battlefield had split. With only Luffy as his opponent, he unleashed a storm of sand swirling around him.

Crocodile still had his pride. Even if defeat by Luffy was written in the stars, he refused to lose too easily.

“Let’s see if you reckless kids understand how big the world really is. You’re in for a reality check.”

Crocodile gathered swirling sand to form a faint armor over his body. With a flourish, his right hand gripped a sand-forged cutlass and pointed it forward. Countless desert blades took shape behind him, swarming toward Luffy. Buildings in their path were reduced to rubble.

“Gum-Gum Gatling!” Seeing the sky fill with sand blades, Luffy’s mind was razor-sharp. He instantly sensed each blade was laced with Armament Haki. Without some real skill, he’d be dead for sure.

Not to be outdone, Luffy’s fists were already covered in jet-black Armament. He pummeled away at every blade that flew at him.

He never stopped moving, feet pounding as he charged straight at Crocodile.

“Gum-Gum Rocket!”

Busting through the wall of desert blades, Luffy finally saw a weakness—a hole just big enough for a human head. If he timed it right, he could smash Crocodile with a direct hit through the opening.

Now’s the time!

Luffy pulled his right fist far back, then shot it forward like a hunting eagle, aiming a devastating punch right at Crocodile.

“Smack!” Just as expected, Crocodile caught the blow, a hint of mocking at the corner of his mouth.

With Observation Haki at his command, even when Crocodile wanted to go easy, he couldn’t make it too obvious.

“Gum-Gum Axe!”

Missing his first strike, Luffy immediately launched a second. His right leg stretched out, toes glowing with Armament Haki and his ever-durable straw sandals, as he came crashing down from the sky.

Caught off guard by the sudden switch-up, Crocodile took a solid hit and was sent skidding several meters to Luffy’s right.

Getting manhandled by a rookie like this—how could Crocodile not be angry inside?

But just as rage threatened to take over, he remembered what Jiang Yifei had told him. “Lose this fight, no matter what!”

He stuffed down his anger and pressed his hands to the ground. In the blink of an eye, the earth beneath everyone started to ripple and heave like water.

The sudden upheaval threw Luffy off balance for a moment.

“Smack!”

Just as Luffy regained his footing, a powerful attack lashed across his back, stinging with burning pain. The hit sent him flying straight into a nearby shop, smashing through the wall.

“Gum-Gum Bazooka!”

Luffy barreled out of the wreckage like a launched missile, his fists huge as boulders as he rocketed straight for Crocodile.

“Crocodile, I’m sending you flying!”

Seeing that Luffy’s body didn’t have a single scratch, Crocodile couldn’t help but wonder—just what kind of Devil Fruit did this kid eat?

He knew he hadn’t pulled his punches. So why hadn’t his attacks left even a mark? How was it possible?

He’d fought plenty of Devil Fruit users before, and with a blow like that, even the finest Mythical Zoan would be bleeding. Yet with Luffy, it was just his clothes that got shredded.

But before he could dwell on it, Luffy’s enormous fist swept right through his body.

Crocodile had already turned to sand, reappearing quietly behind Luffy, sizing him up.

“Strange… Is this why I’m holding back?”

Luffy caught some soft muttering behind him, not quite catching the words, but he could feel Crocodile at his back.

He spun on his heel, left fist swinging, channeling his whole body’s momentum in a powerful punch targeted square at Crocodile’s head.