OP: My Aircraft Carrier Evolves#47+48: You Want to Pick a Fight With Me??—Jin Vs. Crocodile!

It seemed no one noticed an extra eye and ear on one of the pillars.

Outside the palace, in a luxurious crocodile-drawn carriage, Robin was relaying what she had seen and heard to Crocodile.

His face was grim.

He had already considered Alabasta his. And now, someone was reaching their hand into his plate?

—————————

That night.

The palace was brightly lit. Nobles from all over the kingdom had gathered to discuss the matter.

In a hotel not far from the palace, Maya was practicing the Six Powers.

Shave, Iron Body, Paper Art, Moonwalk, Tempest Kick, Finger Pistol.

They were martial arts that pushed the human body beyond its limits.

They were also, in a sense, the basic version of Haki.

Although in the eyes of the truly strong, the Six Powers were child's play—especially Iron Body, which had gotten a lot of people killed—they were a complete martial arts system. For anyone below the level of Vice Admiral, they provided a significant boost in power.

Not everyone was a genius. The Six Powers were for the masses.

They were a good foundation to build on.

Jin sat on a nearby chair, cross-legged, meditating, feeling the flow of his "Ki."

Suddenly, he opened his eyes.

Knock, knock...

The sound was sharp and clear in the night.

Maya stopped her training.

"Go open the door," Jin said.

When she opened it, a man and a woman were standing in the doorway.

The man was over two meters tall, with his hair slicked back, a long scar running across his face, and an earring in his right ear. He wore a black fur coat over an orange plaid shirt, and his left hand was a golden hook. A cigar was clenched between his teeth. He had an air of importance about him.

The woman was young and tall, with long limbs. She wore a low-cut, dark-colored cowgirl outfit. Her features were sharp, her nose high, her eyebrows long and thin. Her eyes were a deep blue, her skin pale and smooth.

"Who are you...?" Maya asked.

They ignored her and walked straight in.

"You're King Jin?" the man asked.

"That's me," Jin said, stopping Maya from intervening. "Dropping in uninvited… what do you want, Crocodile?"

A flicker of surprise passed through Crocodile's eyes.

'He knows who I am?' But his name was famous throughout the seas. Jin had probably done his research.

Good. That makes things easier.

"I'm here to talk business," Crocodile said.

"Oh?"

Robin observed the young man. He had a faint smile on his face as he sat in his chair, watching them.

"I will buy all of your goods," Crocodile said. "On the condition that you leave Alabasta immediately. And you are not to return."

"Alabasta is a big place," Jin said, resting his chin on his hand. "Are you trying to take it all for yourself, Crocodile?"

"I am informing you, not negotiating with you," Crocodile said, his eyes cold and sharp.

"Heh." Jin said, stretching. "In that case, I'll inform you: impossible."

"So," Crocodile said, "—you're making an enemy of me?"

"So what if I am?" Jin replied. "You think you're so great? What are you going to do? Kill me?"

Robin was stunned. He was showing no respect to Crocodile at all...

The veins on Crocodile's forehead bulged. His face darkened. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and then he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Of course not. You're a king, after all. But the seas are rough. A king should be careful."

"Thank you for your concern," Jin said. "But the bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish. We'll see, won't we?"

Crocodile turned to leave.

Robin lagged a step behind.

"Miss Robin," a voice whispered in her ear, "—are you interested in a change of employer?"

Her heart skipped a beat. She whipped her head around.

The king was looking at her with a knowing smile.

"What did you say?" she said, suppressing her fear and feigning composure.

"Nothing," Jin said. "Close the door on your way out."

After they had gone, Maya looked at him, worried. "King, will there be trouble?"

"There will," Jin said. "Crocodile is a crafty one. He's planning something big here, and he doesn't want any complications. That's why he didn't make a move just now. But if he wants to drive us out, what will he do?"

Maya thought for a moment. Crocodile's words echoed in her mind. The seas are rough.

"He'll attack our ship?"

If the ships from Drum Island were sunk, one after another, even the Winter Blossom Kingdom's resources would eventually be depleted.

"If I'm not mistaken—" Jin said with a smile, "—someone will be attacking our ship in Nanohana very soon."

—————————

Outside the hotel.

Crocodile climbed into his crocodile-drawn carriage and picked up a Den Den Mushi.

"Mr. 1. Burn that ship."

"Yes, boss."

Mr. 1 looked at the ship in the port, pulled up his hood, and said, "You guys go first."

"Sir."

A dozen of Baroque Works' "Millions" agents crept through the darkness and threw their grappling hooks onto the ship.

'Too easy,' Mr. 1 thought.

It seemed he wouldn't even have to lift a finger.

He waited for a moment, then frowned. Strange. Where was the fire? The ship was completely silent.

He sensed that something was wrong. He and the rest of his men boarded the ship. The moment his feet touched the deck, he fell through.

What?? Where's the deck?

A trap?

All of them fell.

The deck closed above them.

—————————

"They're dealt with? Good work," Jin said, setting down a map of Sandy Island. He laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles.

"It's rude not to reciprocate."

Jin wanted Alabasta's resources, but Crocodile was too greedy. He didn't want to cooperate; he wanted it all for himself.

And he was trying to cut off Jin's source of income, to drive him out?

He was bullying an honest man.

"How could he do that?" Jin sighed. "Can't we all just make money together? You started this, Crocodile. Don't blame me for what comes next."

Crocodile had declared war.

And it wasn't Jin's style to back down.

—————————

In a remote area of the royal capital, inside a brightly lit carriage, Crocodile was resting with his eyes closed, waiting for the good news from Mr. 1.

Robin was reading a newspaper, but her mind was elsewhere.

That king... he knew who she was.

But... why didn't Crocodile react? Did he not hear?

A sense of unease settled in her heart.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Crocodile and Robin both jumped.

The carriage was being pulled by a Banana Gator—a beast that hunted Sea Kings for breakfast.

Without a second thought, they both leaped from the carriage, Crocodile from the back door and Robin from the window, their movements swift and silent.

They landed and looked warily ahead.

On the back of the Banana Gator, a figure stood, silhouetted against the moonlight, casting a long shadow.

He was handsome, exceptionally so, with a slender build and a refined air.

"King Jin." Crocodile said, his voice calm, but filled with a simmering rage and a heavy threat.

How did he get here??

He had been annoyed by Jin's refusal, and now, he was being provoked, right to his face.

And the way he was standing there, looking down at them... it was as if he were a god, looking down on mortals.

A flame of rage ignited in Crocodile's heart.

But he wasn't an ordinary man. He could suppress his anger.

"You've come to me," he said, his voice a low growl. "Have you had a change of heart?"

<><><><><><><><>

The climate of Alabasta was harsh. Most of the country was a vast desert, with only a few oasis towns supporting a population of over ten million people.

After a fleeting moment of shock and anger, Crocodile's expression turned calm. He looked at Jin, his voice cold.

"You've received word that your ships were attacked, haven't you? A real shame. The seas are full of pirates. But... if you're willing to cooperate with me and leave Alabasta, I'll be so gracious as to purchase your cargo. And, in my capacity as a Warlord of the Sea, I will guarantee the safety of your fleet. How does that sound?"

He laid out his terms.

He assumed that Jin, in his anger and agitation over the news, had rushed here to confront him.

This was exactly what Crocodile had wanted.

His ultimate goal was the Ancient Weapon Pluton, hidden somewhere in Alabasta. He didn't want to make a scene, to attract the attention of the World Government and have his plans ruined. But Jin's presence was an unpredictable variable. And more importantly, this mountain wasn't big enough for two tigers. Crocodile did not appreciate someone trying to eat off his plate.

So he had burned the ships to threaten Jin, to make him leave on his own accord.

"Attacked?"

Under the moonlight, a gentle, sandy wind blew. Jin stood on the back of the bananawani, a serene smile on his face, an almost otherworldly air about him.

"You mean Mr. 1 of Baroque Works? And those other little darlings with the torches, the ones who couldn't find their way?"

Crocodile's expression froze. His pupils contracted. His face turned grim.

Mr. 1 was in trouble...

According to his intelligence, Jin had no reliable subordinates. He was a one-man show.

How the hell did Mr. 1 fail?

Crocodile wasn't a fool. When the news of Hanafuda's defeat had reached him, he had investigated Jin. That's why he had chosen to threaten him directly.

He hadn't expected this. He had been careless.

His face was grim, his mind racing.

Robin stood quietly, even taking a few subtle steps back into the shadows. Don't see me, don't see me...

'A fight would be perfect,' she thought.

Just then, Jin glanced at her.

Robin froze, then forced a relaxed expression.

"Crocodile," Jin said, "The choice is yours. Join us, or... die!"

Alabasta was his.

Anyone who stood in his way would die.

"KUAHAHAHAHA...!"

Crocodile burst out laughing, his fur coat billowing in the sandy wind, his laughter as wild and untamed as the desert itself.

"It’s been a long time since anyone talked to me like that, boy." His laughter died down. A chilling coldness entered his dark eyes, a coldness that held the fury of a thousand storms and a complete disregard for life.

"You may have defeated that big lizard Hanafuda, but he and I are not on the same level."

He charged forward, his demeanor imperious, a hint of arrogance and disdain in his eyes. He was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Nobody had ever tried to go against him—or question him.

But now, neither of them was willing to back down.

So, a fight it was!

—————————

Crocodile leaped into the air, his golden hook swinging in a wide, powerful arc.

CLANG!

Jin raised his leg and blocked the blow. He stood there, perfectly calm, unmoving.

"You know," he said, "even if you hadn't come for me, I would have come for you... Mr. 0."

Crocodile was stunned. He couldn't believe it. "How did you know? Mr. 1? Did he betray me?"

In his youth, Crocodile had been just like Luffy, a rising star who had taken the world by storm. At the age of twenty, he had fought Douglas Bullet to a standstill. Shortly after witnessing Roger's death, he had challenged Whitebeard and been utterly crushed.

He'd then started hunting for the Ancient Weapon Pluton. That's when he accepted the invitation to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

For twenty years, he had kept a low profile.

To speed up his search, he had founded Baroque Works, an organization with a vast network of intelligence gathering and assassination that spanned the Four Blues and the first half of the Grand Line.

The only people who knew his true identity were Mr. 1 and Miss All Sunday.

Jin pushed him back with his leg, then crouched and launched himself from the bananawani's back.

He closed the distance to Crocodile and threw a punch.

FAST!!!

Crocodile, still in mid-air, saw the fist growing larger and larger. It was moving too fast. He couldn't dodge.

His body turned to sand.

The Logia Sand-Sand Fruit.

But from the very beginning, he had underestimated Jin. In the instant he turned to sand, the fist had already landed, square on his chest.

WHAM!

The moment the punch connected, Crocodile's face contorted in agony.

Pain shot through him.

His chest caved in with a sickening crunch as his sternum shattered. Blood erupted from his mouth as he went flying backward, smashing straight through a sand dune.

"HUH?" Robin was stunned. Her eyes were wide as she stared at them, in utter disbelief.

Crocodile's fruit allowed him to turn to sand. No matter how powerful the attack, it should have just passed right through him. Her former pirate crew had been defeated in just that way.

Including her.

Swords, guns... nothing worked against him.

But he had just been sent flying. What had happened?

Crocodile burst from the sand, looking disheveled, his face a mask of rage.

"Haki?" he snarled.

'Haki?' Robin thought, confused. What's that? Can it counter a Logia's elemental form?

"You think that just because you've awakened Haki, you can beat me? KUHAHAHA...!"

Crocodile raised his hand.

"Desert Spada!"

The ground in front of him split open, a clean, sharp cut that raced toward Jin.

Jin, who had just landed, didn't dodge.

"Tempest Kick!"

He lashed out with his leg, and a blade of wind shot out, colliding with Crocodile's attack in a massive explosion.

A small sand tornado formed in Crocodile's palm. He released it, and a sandstorm erupted around them.

"Sables!"

Sand and rock were swept up into the tornado, enveloping Jin, blinding him, deafening him.

Crocodile dissolved into the sand and vanished.

The wind howled, and sand whipped through the air.

This was Jin's first time fighting a Logia user. He didn't rush to attack. He stood calmly, observing.

"Crocodile—" he said, his voice carrying over the roar of the storm, "—you know about Haki. So you should know... you've already lost. Surrender, and I'll make it quick."

Silently, Crocodile's upper body materialized behind him, his lower half a swirling mass of sand. He brought his arm down in a chopping motion.

"Desert Girasole!"

A crescent-shaped blade of sand shot out. Anyone hit by it would have all the moisture sucked from their body, leaving them a dried-out husk.

"I told you," Jin said, "it's useless..."

He spun, lashing out with a kick.

His leg, coated in Armament Haki, was a powerful, unstoppable force.

The wind from the kick tore through the sandstorm, and the rocks on the ground began to levitate, then crack, then disintegrate.

The sight was absurd.

Crocodile's heart pounded. For a moment, he was reminded of that old man, Whitebeard, of his terrifying power...

The kick radiated a crushing pressure that made his heart tremble.

He immediately turned to sand.

But Jin was faster. His foot slammed into him.

The kick connected with the half of Crocodile's face that hadn't yet fully transformed.

A massive shockwave erupted, knocking him out of his elemental state.

He crashed to the ground, leaving a large crater.

"Gah...!"

Blood streamed from Crocodile's head. His vision swam.

The pain was excruciating.

But even more painful than the physical agony was the fact that his elemental form had failed, that he had been so grievously wounded.

His power, his confidence, had been crushed by a young rookie.

"Dammit! I'll kill you!"

Crocodile staggered to his feet, his face a bloody mess. He glared at the approaching Jin and slammed his hand on the ground.

He unleashed the full power of his Sand-Sand Fruit.