Deep beneath the capital city of Alubarna, the air inside the ancient royal tomb was thick with dust and the suffocating pressure of death.
Sir Crocodile stood before the massive, square stone block hidden in the shadows. The Poneglyph. The indestructible relic covered in an ancient, forgotten language.
"Read it, Miss All Sunday," Crocodile demanded, his voice echoing off the stone walls. His poisoned hook dripped with deadly, purple venom. "Tell me the exact location of the ancient weapon, Pluton. The prize I have spent years building this criminal empire to obtain."
Nico Robin stepped forward, her long purple coat brushing against the dusty floor. She placed a pale hand on the cold stone. Her dark eyes scanned the ancient text rapidly. For twenty years, she had run from the World Government, surviving betrayal after betrayal, all for this single moment. She sought the True History of the world—the Void Century.
But as she read the engraved words, the light completely died in her eyes.
The giant stone block did not hold the True History. It only contained the blueprints and location of Pluton, a weapon of mass destruction. Her lifelong dream, the only thing keeping her moving forward in this cruel world, was completely crushed in an instant.
"Well?" Crocodile growled, his patience running thin. "Where is it?"
Robin turned around. Her face was an unreadable.
"It is not here," Robin said softly. "This stone only records the history of the Alabasta royal family. Nothing more."
Crocodile's eye twitched. The jagged scar across his face contorted into a mask of pure, unadulterated . He knew instantly that she was lying.
"You think you can deceive me after all I have done?" Crocodile roared. "You have outlived your usefulness, Nico Robin!"
Crocodile lunged forward with terrifying, blinding speed. Robin didn't even try to run. She simply closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
SHLUCK!
"Ah...!" Robin gasped.
Crocodile's heavy golden hook slashed her violently across her side. The Warlord ripped the blade free, and Robin collapsed like a broken doll. She hit the dusty floor of the tomb, laying perfectly still as a dark pool of her own blood rapidly formed beneath her.
"Trash belongs in the dirt," Crocodile sneered, turning his back on his dying partner.
"Hey, Sand-Guy!"
Crocodile turned his head just in time to see a rubber fist rocketing toward his face.
BAM!
Luffy's punch caught the Warlord completely off guard, sending him skidding across the dirt floor. Luffy landed heavily in front of the bleeding Nico Robin.
"You hurt your own crewmate?!" Luffy roared, his voice shaking the crumbling stone pillars of the tomb.
"She was merely a tool," Crocodile spat, wiping a speck of blood from his lip. The Warlord's lower half dissolved into a swirling tornado of hissing sand. "And you are nothing but a nuisance. I will melt your flesh from your bones!"
Crocodile shot forward. He swung his deadly, purple-coated hook, aiming directly for Luffy's chest.
Luffy dodged to the left, but the Warlord was too fast. The venomous hook grazed Luffy's arm, slicing a deep gash into his bicep. The deadly scorpion poison entered his bloodstream instantly.
"Gah!" Luffy shouted, stumbling backward.
The pain was immediate and blinding. It felt like liquid fire was being pumped directly into his heart. His vision blurred, and his legs turned to jelly.
"The poison is already working," Crocodile laughed coldly, stepping forward and morphing his arm into a massive, jagged blade of solid sand. "Your heart will stop in less than three minutes. Desert La Spada!"
Four massive, razor-sharp blades of pressurized sand shot from Crocodile's fingers, tearing up the floor as they flew toward the rubber boy.
Luffy didn't try to run. He looked at the deep, bleeding gash on his arm. He looked at the blood dripping onto the sand. His water barrel had been destroyed. He had no water left to make Crocodile solid.
But Luffy smiled. A terrifying, fearless, bloodstained grin.
"Blood is liquid too," Luffy whispered.
He raised his right hand and wiped it completely across his bleeding arm. His hand was instantly soaked in thick, red blood.
SWOOSH!
Luffy moved. He didn't dodge the sand blades; he charged right through them. The sharp sand cut his cheeks, his chest, and his legs, but he didn't care. He launched himself directly into the air above the Warlord.
"Gum-Gum..." Luffy roared, his blood-soaked fist pulling far back.
"Fool! You have no water!" Crocodile yelled, looking up.
"PISTOL!"
Luffy's fist snapped down like a meteor. It smashed squarely into Crocodile's jaw. The heavy, wet blood on Luffy's knuckles caused the Warlord's sand to instantly clump together and solidify.
CRACK!
Crocodile's eyes rolled back. Several teeth shattered. The Warlord was slammed brutally into the stone floor, creating a massive crater.
"You...!" Crocodile gasped, spitting blood. He looked at Luffy's red fists in absolute horror. "You're using your own blood?!"
"I told you," Luffy growled, panting heavily as the poison burned through his veins. "I'm the guy who is going to beat you!"
Crocodile roared in pure, unhinged fury. He summoned a massive, localized sandstorm inside the tomb, tearing chunks of the ceiling down. He swung his poison hook wildly, trying to tear the rubber boy to shreds.
But Luffy didn't back down an inch. Every time Crocodile cut him, Luffy just used more of his own blood to coat his fists and his feet.
The two monsters clashed in the center of the collapsing tomb. Sand and blood flew through the air. Luffy took brutal, agonizing hits, the poison slowly shutting down his organs, but his spirit simply refused to break. He kicked Crocodile in the ribs. Crocodile slashed Luffy across the chest.
Finally, Crocodile pulled his hook back for a lethal, finishing strike. "Die, you miserable rookie!"
Luffy stomped his foot into the dirt, anchoring himself. He took a deep, rattling breath, pulling his arms back as far as his rubber body would allow. He twisted his legs, his waist, and his shoulders, storing up every single ounce of his remaining kinetic energy.
"GUM-GUM... STORM!"
Luffy unleashed a blinding, devastating barrage of heavily blood-soaked rubber fists. It was an endless, unstoppable storm of pure willpower. Dozens, hundreds of brutal punches rained down on the Warlord.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Every single punch hit solid flesh. Crocodile was launched off his feet. The sheer, overwhelming kinetic force of Luffy's attack drove the Warlord upward.
Crocodile's body smashed violently through the thick stone ceiling of the underground tomb. He crashed through the first floor of the palace. He smashed through the second floor.
Luffy kept punching, roaring at the top of his lungs, driving the invincible Warlord of the Sea straight up through the very foundation of the royal palace.
With one final, earth-shattering blow, Crocodile's broken, unconscious body was blasted completely through the roof of the palace. The Warlord was launched incredibly high into the bright blue sky above Alubarna for the entire warring city to see.
Crocodile hung in the air for a second, completely knocked out, his golden hook broken and his expensive coat torn to rags. Then, he fell heavily back down toward the city plaza.
The Warlord had fallen.
....
Down in the massive city plaza, the brutal war between the Royal Guards and the Rebel Army had suddenly stopped.
Everyone was looking up at the sky. They saw the terrifying, invincible Sir Crocodile fall from the clouds and crash heavily into the center of the city. The man they thought was a great hero was completely broken and defeated.
Princess Vivi stood high up in the clock tower. Sanji stood next to her, smoking a cigarette. Down on the ground, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and an unconscious Kai were all looking up at the sky too.
Then, something incredible happened.
Plop.
A single drop of water fell from the sky and hit the dry, dusty sand.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
More drops began to fall. The dark clouds gathered quickly over the capital city. Suddenly, a massive, heavy rainstorm washed over the entire desert country of Alabasta.
"Rain..." a rebel soldier whispered, dropping his sword.
"It's raining!" a royal guard cried out, falling to his knees.
The three-year drought was finally over. The Dance Powder was gone. Crocodile's terrible spell was broken. The pure, clean water washed away the blood and the dust from the battlefield. The fighting completely stopped. Men hugged each other, crying tears of absolute joy.
High up in the tower, Vivi fell to her knees. She looked up at the gray sky, letting the heavy rain wash over her face.
"He did it," Vivi sobbed, smiling a beautiful, happy smile. "Luffy actually did it."
...........
Deep underground, far below the cheering city, things were incredibly dangerous.
Luffy had used the very last drop of his energy to defeat Crocodile. As soon as the Warlord was blasted through the ceiling, Luffy's arms snapped back to normal. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.
He fell heavily onto the dusty floor of the royal tomb. He was completely exhausted. His chest wound was bleeding again, and the deadly scorpion poison was burning like fire inside his veins. He could barely breathe.
The massive underground tomb was shaking violently. Luffy's final attack had completely destroyed the thick stone pillars holding up the ceiling. Huge chunks of heavy white rock were breaking off and crashing down into the dirt.
"The tomb is collapsing!" King Cobra yelled. He was still wrapped in heavy iron chains on the floor. He looked at the rubber boy panting in the dirt. "Pirate! You must run! You defeated Crocodile, but this place will be buried in sand in a few minutes!"
Luffy did not move. He was too tired to even lift his head.
Not far away, Nico Robin lay in a pool of her own blood. Crocodile's heavy golden hook had cut her deeply. She looked up at the crumbling ceiling with calm, sad eyes.
She had read the Poneglyph. The giant stone block had not told her the True History of the world. It had only talked about the ancient weapon, Pluton. Her lifelong dream was completely crushed. She had spent twenty years running from the World Government, betraying people, and living in fear. Now, she had nothing left to live for.
"Leave me," Robin whispered. Her voice was very weak. "I am tired. I want to die here."
King Cobra looked at her in shock. "What are you saying?! You will be crushed by the rocks!"
"It does not matter," Robin said softly, closing her eyes. "My dream is dead. Let the sand bury me."
A massive, heavy stone block broke loose from the ceiling. It fell incredibly fast, aiming right for Robin's body. She did not even try to move.
SWOOSH!
A rubber arm shot across the room. A blood-stained hand grabbed Robin tightly around the waist and pulled her violently out of the way.
CRASH!
The heavy stone block smashed into the floor right where Robin had been lying just one second ago.
Robin gasped, her eyes snapping open.
Luffy was standing over her. His legs were shaking violently. He was sweating, bleeding, and poisoned. He looked like he was about to die at any second. But he was holding her tight.
"What are you doing?" Robin asked, her eyes wide with shock. "I told you to leave me! I want to die!"
Luffy ignored her. He stretched his other rubber arm across the shaking tomb. He grabbed King Cobra and the heavy iron chains.
"Pirate! You cannot carry us both!" King Cobra yelled over the loud noise of the falling rocks. "You are poisoned! Save yourself!"
Luffy gritted his teeth. He pulled King Cobra over to him. Now, he was holding the wounded King in his right arm and the bleeding Nico Robin in his left arm.
"Put me down!" Robin yelled. She actually struggled to get away from him. Tears of anger and sadness filled her eyes. "Why are you doing this?! I am your enemy! I helped Crocodile! I want to die!"
Luffy looked down at her. His dark eyes were fierce and unyielding.
"Why are you saving me?!" Robin screamed.
"I don't need a reason," Luffy grunted, his voice low and serious. "I save who I want to save."
RUMBLE!
The entire ceiling began to fall down all at once. The royal tomb was completely caving in. Thousands of tons of sand and rock were crashing down toward them.
"Hold on!" Luffy roared.
He bent his shaking knees. He pushed every single ounce of his remaining strength into his legs.
BOOM!
Luffy jumped straight up. Because he was made of rubber, the jump was incredibly powerful. He launched himself, King Cobra, and Nico Robin high into the air. They flew straight up through the massive holes Luffy had punched in the ceiling earlier.
They flew through the first floor. They flew through the second floor. Huge rocks fell all around them, but Luffy twisted and turned his body in the air, using his own back to block the falling stones from hitting Robin or the King.
Finally, they burst through the broken floor of the main palace room.
Luffy landed heavily on the soft red carpet. He dropped King Cobra and Nico Robin safely on the ground.
Down below them, the royal tomb collapsed completely. A massive cloud of dust blew up through the hole, but they were safe. They were back on the surface.
Luffy stood there for a second. He looked outside the broken window. He saw the dark clouds. He heard the beautiful sound of the heavy rain falling on the city.
A massive, goofy smile spread across Luffy's face.
"Rain..." Luffy laughed weakly. "Vivi will be happy."
Then, Luffy's eyes rolled to the back of his head. The poison and the exhaustion finally beat him. He collapsed backward, falling flat on the red carpet. He started snoring instantly, sleeping deeply despite the terrible wounds on his body.
King Cobra sat up. He looked at the sleeping pirate in absolute awe. He had never met a man like Monkey D. Luffy before.
Nico Robin lay on the carpet next to Luffy. She looked at the boy who had just forced her to live. She placed her hand over her bleeding side. For the first time in twenty years, she felt something strange. She felt safe.
"You are a very strange pirate," Robin whispered softly, closing her eyes and letting herself rest.
The war was over. The Warlord was beaten. And the Straw Hat Pirates had saved Alabasta.