30 Million vs. 81 Million

The chapter title page displays "Chapter 177 '30 Million vs. 81 Million'". The illustration shows an unidentified man and a large dog sitting together on a fallen log in a desert landscape. Both the man and the dog are wearing matching black hats and are panting heavily, with their tongues hanging out, seemingly exhausted from the heat.

Luffy is shown flying backwards through the air, having been launched away from the group. He yells out to his crew, "GUYS! MAKE SURE TO GET HER SAFE! GET VIVI TO THE PALACE!" Below him, the giant crab, Hasami, is scuttling rapidly across the desert sands, carrying the rest of the crew. Someone on the crab spots Luffy and shouts a warning, "LUFFY WATCH OUT! THERE'S 2 OF 'EM!" In a lower panel, Zoro, Usopp, and Nami react to Luffy's sudden departure and command. Zoro grins confidently and mutters, "That idiot..." while Usopp and Nami look completely shocked and panicked by the situation.

Nami yells back to Vivi, trying to reassure her, "DON'T WORRY ABOUT HIM, VIVI! HE'LL BE FINE!" Vivi, looking incredibly distressed and reaching out, screams, "LUFFY!" Usopp is in full panic mode, yelling, "WAIT, WHAT!? YOU'RE JUST GONNA LEAVE HIM BEHIND!?" Chopper, who is steering the giant crab, replies nervously, "G-GOT IT!" Sanji commands from the back, "CHOPPER! KEEP THIS CRAB HEADING FOR ALUBARNA!" Zoro speaks up calmly, "Listen up, Vivi. Luffy will hold down Crocodile here." Nami adds with a confident smile, "THERE HASN'T BEEN A SINGLE PERSON TO PISS OFF LUFFY AND GET AWAY WITH IT! IF ANYTHING, WE SHOULD FEEL SORRY FOR CROCODILE!" Zoro continues his explanation of the dire situation, "This country will fall once the rebels clash with the royalists! The time limit for this country's lifespan was set. When the rebels decided to march on to the capital,"

Zoro continues his stern speech to Vivi, "If you're the only hope there is of stopping all that... Then you have to survive no matter what! So no matter what happens to any of us here... YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE ON!" Vivi looks back, tears welling in her eyes as she processes his words, "But..." Zoro's words trigger a series of flashbacks for Vivi. The panels show her leaving her country and fighting alongside the Straw Hat crew. Zoro's voiceover continues over the memories, "You left your country for several years, To go up against an organization you knew almost nothing about... But... Don't think that you're fighting alone anymore... This is a fight that you set up... Vivi..." Meanwhile, in the present, Luffy lands hard on the desert sand with a heavy thud.

Vivi, crying and yelling with all her might from the back of the moving crab, shouts back to Luffy, "V-V-V-V-Vivi! Don't you... Don't you worry! D-D-D-D-D-Don't... I'll... WE'LL BE WAITING FOR YOU, AT ALUBARNA! ALRIGHT!" Luffy, sitting on the sand where he landed, holds his straw hat and hears her distant voice. "Hm?" He smiles broadly as he hears her call out his name, "LUFFY!"

Luffy sits alone in the vast, empty desert, watching the dust trail of the giant crab disappear into the distance. Crocodile and Miss All-Sunday stand nearby, observing the scene. Crocodile chuckles darkly, "Fufufu...! Seems the princess got away....The agents should be done with their tasks in Alubarna by now. Contact them..."

Crocodile glares down at Luffy, his cigar clamped firmly in his teeth. "YOUR GAMES... HAVE GONE FAR ENOUGH, STRAW-HAT LUFFY..." Luffy remains seated on the sand, looking down quietly, seemingly ignoring the threat. Crocodile continues his monologue, "She's such a weakling. And yet she's always trying to help everyone and everything around her." Luffy looks up slightly, acknowledging the words, "HM...?"

Crocodile continues his cynical speech, "And because she can't turn a blind eye to anybody, She's always tortured. Even for this rebellion, she's wishing for nobody to die. Nobody dying...!? Naive pacifists like her always think such deluded things... They don't understand the true nature of war. You agree with me, don't you?" Luffy, still sitting on the ground, looks up and simply replies, "Yeah." Crocodile turns his back to Luffy and begins to walk away towards the city in the distance. "...But she'll continue to risk her life and fight as long as you're around, So I'm gonna stop you here and now."

Crocodile laughs mockingly, "Kuhahaha! How absurd... You're just as hopeless too. Who'd die for the sake of friendship...! I've tossed aside countless of fools like you," Luffy cracks his knuckles, a determined and serious look on his face. "Well... I guess that'd make you the stupid one!" Crocodile glances back over his shoulder, a vein popping on his forehead, clearly annoyed by Luffy's defiance. "Fufu... Is there something you find humorous!?"

Crocodile addresses Miss All-Sunday with a threatening tone, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO DIE AS WELL, NICO ROBIN?" She replies calmly, unbothered by the threat, "Feel free to do, As you wish." She turns and begins to walk away towards Alubarna. "In any case, didn't you promise me not to call me by that name? I'm going on ahead to Alubarna." Crocodile asks, "Where are you going?" Luffy watches her leave, "Hm?" Crocodile mutters to himself, "I'll never understand that woman..."

Crocodile pulls out a small hourglass and holds it up. "3 minutes. That's all I'll give you. I can't play around with you any longer than that." Luffy stares at him silently, ready for the fight. Crocodile drops the hourglass onto the sand, where it lands upright, the sand beginning to fall. "Nope. Any complaints?" Luffy replies confidently, "Fine by me."

Luffy immediately launches his first attack. "GOMU GOMU..." He stretches his arm far back, building up momentum, and then throws a powerful punch straight at Crocodile's face. "...PISTOL!" The punch connects directly with Crocodile's head with a loud impact.

To Luffy's shock, his punch goes right through Crocodile's head, which instantly turns into sand upon impact. "WHOA!" Luffy exclaims in surprise. Crocodile immediately retaliates by swinging his large golden hook. "SWIPE!" Luffy barely manages to dodge the deadly hook, grunting, "NGH!" Luffy pulls his stretched arm back, preparing for another strike. "GOMU GOMU-" Crocodile watches him, completely unbothered by the assault. "Hmm..."

Luffy attacks again, this time with a powerful downward kick. "STAMP!" His foot goes straight through Crocodile's sandy torso, causing no damage. Crocodile's body dissolves entirely into sand and flows past Luffy, reforming behind him. Luffy looks around, confused by the movement. "!!" Crocodile solidifies and grabs Luffy's arm tightly with his free hand. "UGH!" Luffy struggles against the strong grip. "NGH!"

Crocodile speaks calmly while holding Luffy's arm, "Let me tell you just one thing, Straw-Hat Luffy... No matter how much you struggle, you won't-" Luffy interrupts him by unleashing a furious barrage of rapid-fire punches. "GOMU GOMU GATLING!" The countless punches tear through Crocodile's body, but they only hit sand, scattering it in all directions.

Crocodile's upper body is completely scattered into sand by the Gatling attack, but his voice still echoes from the swirling dust. "Listen up, Straw-Hat Luffy...! No matter how long you keep up with these annoying attacks like an insignificant mosquito, you'll never-" Luffy, frustrated by the lack of effect, yells, "DAMN HIM AND HIS SAND...! BAZOOKA!" He stretches both arms far back, preparing for a massive, two-handed strike.

Luffy launches his Bazooka attack, but Crocodile simply turns into a sandstorm and flies upwards, easily evading the blow. Luffy quickly follows up with another attack. "AXE!" He stretches his leg high into the air and brings it crashing down, smashing the ground with immense force, creating a large crater, but Crocodile is nowhere to be seen. "NGHH-" Luffy grunts in exertion.

Luffy stands panting heavily in the desert. Crocodile reforms a short distance away, looking completely unharmed. "I told you it was futile..." Luffy, enraged, charges at him again. "TAKE THIS! AND THAT! HAD ENOUGH YET!? YOU DUMB CROC OF SANDSHIT!" He throws punch after punch, but they all pass harmlessly through Crocodile's sandy form. Crocodile states coldly, "No matter how hard you struggle, A rubber human like you will never, ever," Luffy grits his teeth in frustration, "DAMMIT..."

Crocodile continues his sentence, "...Defp-" Suddenly, Luffy punches him squarely in the face again, interrupting him mid-word. "HAHH!" Luffy yells. Luffy looks confused and asks, "Defp!? What the hell have you been tryin' to say!?" Crocodile's face is shown in a close-up, veins bulging prominently on his forehead, his eyes wide with intense, barely contained anger.

No description for this page.