Grand-Line Level

In a wide shot of the desert city of Rainbase, the large casino building stands prominently under the sun with a low rumble echoing, "GOOOOOO". Sand trickles steadily through an hourglass, "SARA SARA...". Out in the vast desert dunes, Crocodile stands tall, his back to the viewer, facing a distant Luffy. Crocodile declares, "Why don't we put an end to these games, Straw-Hat Luffy... I've been fighting you seriously!" A dramatic "DODON!!" sound effect emphasizes his words.

Luffy stands with his fists raised, looking frustrated as he thinks, "Dammit... I can't hit him at all... He keeps turning into sand...." Crocodile smirks confidently, sand shifting around his form with a soft "SARA..." as he tells Luffy, "You and I... Are pirates in completely different leagues...!" With a swift downward motion of his arm, Crocodile unleashes a devastating attack, shouting, "DESERT SPADA! (Desert Sword)". A massive, sharp blade of sand erupts from the ground, tearing a deep trench through the desert floor with a loud "ZAA!!" and rushing directly toward a shocked Luffy.

Luffy gasps "!? " as he watches a rock get cleanly sliced in half with a "SPLIT" by the approaching attack. He leaps desperately out of the way, yelling "AGHH!" as the massive Desert Spada attack cleaves through the space he just occupied with a deafening "ZUBAA!!", sending up clouds of dust. Crocodile smiles menacingly, remarking, "Nicely spotted... Had you been hit by that attack, you'd be saying a lot more than 'ouch'..." Luffy lands on the sand, his eyes wide and face dripping with sweat as he realizes the lethal danger of the attack.

A massive, deep canyon has been carved into the desert floor by Crocodile's attack, echoing with a loud "BAAAN!!". Luffy stands near the edge, looking down in disbelief and exclaiming, "WHAT THE...? THE DESERT SPLIT OPEN!" Crocodile looks on seriously, sand swirling around his hand as he explains, "Devil fruit powers can be extremely strong in battle, Depending on how you use it and how long you've trained with it. Unlike those fools who're satisfied merely by having a devil fruit power, I've honed my powers to perfection...!" Crocodile then crouches and touches the sand with his right hand, declaring, "I'll make you soon regret ever going up against me! DESERT GIRASOLE! (Desert Sunflower)". The ground beneath Luffy begins to crack and shift ominously.

The desert suddenly collapses inward, forming a massive, bowl-shaped sinkhole of quicksand with a loud "BOKON!!". Luffy is caught right in the center of the shifting sands. He looks around in panic, yelling, "W-WHAT'S GOING ON!?" The sand rumbles violently with a "GOGOGO..." as Luffy begins to slide down toward the center of the pit, crying out, "AGH! GAHHH!" He struggles against the pull, realizing, "THE SAND IS... SUCKING ME IN!"

Crocodile stands calmly at the edge of the massive pit, looking down at Luffy. He asks, "Have you ever heard of a quicksand? It's quite a convenient desert grave, requiring no casket." He explains further, "The sand is being sucked into the groundwater below, which I can sense with my powers...!" Below, Luffy struggles as he sinks deeper, yelling "AGH! AGH!" with a sinking "ZUBU... ZUBUBU..." sound. Crocodile smirks confidently, stating, "There's not a single person in this world who can best me in a desert battle." Refusing to give up, Luffy runs frantically up the shifting slope of the quicksand, panting "HUFF HUFF!" and shouting, "I'M NOT... GONNA BE BURIED BY SOME STUPID SAND!" His feet crunch against the sand, "SAKU SAKU SAKU!!". With a powerful leap, Luffy launches himself out of the pit, stretching his arms far back as he yells, "YOU LITTLE... GOMU GOMU-", leaving an explosion of sand in his wake.

Luffy flies through the air towards Crocodile, his arms stretched far back as he unleashes his attack, yelling "BAZOOKA!". Crocodile stands completely still as Luffy's hands pass harmlessly through his body, which turns to sand upon impact. Unfazed, Luffy grits his teeth and declares, "If I can't hit you... Then I'll catch you instead!" He quickly stretches his fingers out, weaving them together to form a large net shape. Shouting "GOMU GOMU NET!", he throws the rubbery net over Crocodile, attempting to trap him.

Crocodile effortlessly evades the net by turning his upper body into a swirling mass of sand, telling Luffy, "You never learn, do you... It's all futile." Luffy looks surprised, exclaiming "!!?". Quickly recovering, Luffy stretches his leg out for a sweeping kick, yelling "GOMU GOMU... WHIP!". The kick slices right through Crocodile's sandy torso without causing any harm. Crocodile sighs, "Again...?" and swiftly grabs Luffy's stretched leg with his bare hand. Luffy cries out, "Ahh!" as he is caught.

Holding onto Luffy's leg, Crocodile violently swings him through the air and slams him into the ground, shouting the attack name, "BARCHAN!". Luffy hits the sand hard with an "UGH!". Crocodile looks down at him coldly, muttering "NGH...". Suddenly, Luffy's expression turns to pure horror, his eyes bulging as he screams "AGH-". He grabs his right arm, which has become completely shriveled and dried out, screaming in panic, "MY... MY ARM!".

Luffy holds up his shriveled, desiccated arm, screaming in agony, "AGHHHHH! MY ARM!". He continues to panic, yelling, "IT'S LIKE A MUMMY! MY ARM'S BEEN MUMMIFIED!". Crocodile smirks at his suffering, explaining, "As sand, I sucked up all the moisture in your arm. That'll give you a true taste of the desert..." Luffy glares back at him, sweating nervously as he thinks, "DAMMIT! THIS ISN'T GOOD...". Suddenly, a realization hits Luffy, and he exclaims, "THAT'S IT!". He quickly reaches into his shirt, prompting a confused "!" from Crocodile.

Luffy pulls out the small wooden barrel of water he was carrying and takes several large gulps, "GULP! GULP!". Miraculously, his shriveled arm instantly rehydrates and returns to normal, flexing with a strong "NGHH!". A brief flashback shows Toto handing Luffy the barrel, saying, "Take this with you, Luffy." Back in the present, Luffy declares, "This is the water that the dried-up gramps in Yuba spent all night digging up! And he told me," Crocodile scoffs, calling it "Pathetic." Luffy angrily retorts, "IT'S NOT PATHETIC!". He stretches his arms back for another attack, shouting, "THAT YUBA WOULD NEVER BE DEFEATED BY MERE SAND! GOMU GOMU...". Crocodile looks annoyed, muttering, "Still not giving u-".

Luffy launches himself at Crocodile, but instead of punching, he opens his mouth wide and bites down hard on Crocodile's sandy shoulder with a loud "CHOMP CHOMP!". Crocodile yells in frustration, "ENOUGH WITH YOUR IDIOTIC GAMES!". He violently swings his golden hook, striking Luffy and sending him flying through the air with a "PFFT!". Luffy tumbles across the sand, coughing and groaning, "NGH- UGH! COUGH!". Crocodile glares at him, stating, "It's time... I FINISH YOU OFF FOR GOOD. DIE...! ALONG WITH THAT STUBBORN LAND OF YUBA!".

Crocodile raises his hand, generating a small, swirling sandstorm in his palm. He announces the technique, "SABLES (Sandstorm)," and adds, "I told you before that I had no time to play with you any longer than that...". Luffy sits up, coughing, and realizes, "Huh? 3 minutes have passed." Crocodile unleashes the sandstorm, which rapidly expands into a massive twister as it tears across the desert floor. Luffy watches in awe, exclaiming "WHOA!". Crocodile observes the growing storm with satisfaction, noting, "Ahh, the sand's perfectly dry...". Luffy struggles to shield himself from the intense winds, grunting, "UGH...!".

In the city of Rainbase, panic erupts among the citizens as they spot the massive sandstorm on the horizon. Someone shouts, "LOOK! THERE'S A SANDSTORM TO THE EAST! EVERYBODY EVACUATE NOW!". Another citizen points out, "WAIT! THE WIND'S BLOWING SOUTH SO IT SHOULD MISS US!". Nearby, Smoker and Tashigi observe the phenomenon. Tashigi asks, "Capt. Smoker! Is that...", but Smoker remains silent, watching intently. Elsewhere in the desert, Vivi, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper (riding the giant crab Hasami) are making their way across the dunes. Nami notices the distant weather, saying, "A sandstorm just sprung up near Rainbase...!". Sanji notices Vivi's shocked expression and asks, "Vivi, what's wrong!?".

A close-up shows Vivi looking absolutely terrified as she realizes the implications of the storm, thinking to herself, "It must be him...!". The rest of the crew—Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Zoro—look back toward the towering sandstorm with deep concern. Nami whispers worriedly, "Luffy...". Back at the battlefield, the sandstorm has grown into a colossal tornado. Crocodile explains his sinister plan to Luffy: "Listen well, Straw-Hat Luffy. The prevailing winds here usually blow North to South. So if a little sandstorm were to start here and head South while growing larger and larger from the prevailing winds, Where do you think it'll hit when it's grown into a monstrous sandstorm?". Luffy looks up at the storm, confused by the question.

Crocodile smirks cruelly and answers his own question, "Yuba, of course." Luffy is completely shocked, yelling, "!!! It travels South...!? WHY!". Crocodile turns his back to Luffy, pointing out, "Look, it's already begun to travel South...!". Furious, Luffy screams, "STOP! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!? THE DRIED-UP GRAMPS HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR FIGHT!". Driven by rage, Luffy sprints toward Crocodile, screaming at the top of his lungs, "YOU BASTARD! STOP THIS AT ONCE! I SAID STOP! STOP IT!".

Luffy gets right in Crocodile's face, desperately yelling, "I SAID- RIGHT NOW! STOP THE STORM!". Crocodile looks down at him coldly and replies, "Quit your bullcrap! Once this sandstorm grows, it'll become so strong that not even I'll be able to stop it. Kuhaha... Your efforts are futile. This'll be the end for Yuba." Luffy looks devastated by the realization. The massive sandstorm is shown moving steadily away into the distance, heading south. Suddenly, drops of blood fall onto the sand with a "Plop plop". A close-up reveals Crocodile's golden hook, now dripping with fresh blood.

A tight close-up on Crocodile's cold, menacing eyes as he asks, "Just who, do you think I am...?". The scene pulls back to show a horrifying silhouette: Crocodile has impaled Luffy straight through the torso with his golden hook, lifting him effortlessly off the ground. Blood drips steadily from Luffy's limp body onto the sand below. Crocodile continues his speech, "There're countless rookies like you, who only know how to run their mouths," The final panel shows Luffy's iconic straw hat lying abandoned on the desert sand, as Crocodile finishes his chilling thought, "Out here in the Grand Line...".

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