Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.
"One Piece." – Speaking
'One Piece.' – Thinking
One Piece. – Flashbacks
One Piece. – Devil Fruits and Techniques
Deadly Drinking Pirate
Enter the Warlord of the Seas, Crocodile
Previously on Deadly Drunken Pirate,
"So…" Luffy then said, walking over to where Vivi had been sitting and thinking about how a child she has been about the war. He gave her his hand, "Where is Crocodile?"
Soon enough, and without any more marines to watch out for, Luffy found himself standing in front of what was known as Rain Dinners Casino in the city of Rainbase. The exterior of the building is shaped like a large pyramid. There is a golden crocodile head at the top and is patterned in blue and gold.
"Crocodile is here. I knew how to tell as soon as I contacted him on Little Garden." Luffy then said and the Straw Hats said nothing. They just waited for their captain's orders, they need to decide on how to stop Baroque Works once they find out what is going on in the Sandy Kingdom of Alabasta.
Entering the casino, the Straw hats were bombarded by a large room filled assortments of gambling, drinking and roulette machines. "It is hard to believe that a casino like this will be going strong. Vivi, you told us that your kingdom is poor because of the incoming Civil War." Luffy whispered to the princess who had to resort wearing a thicker cloak, to prevent any of the Alabastra residents from recognizing her; if they do then it is major trouble for both her and the Straw Hats.
"It must be Crocodile and the dealings he does in the underworld through the Baroque Works agents." Vivi whispered back bitterly. She was the princess of this country and now she is forced to watch as Alabastra actually benefit from a crooked Shichibuki (Warlord) doing illegal dealings on her native soil. Of course, Vivi felt a warm and firm grasp on her hand; she felt her friend consulting her in the midst of enemy territory. "So can you hone onto Crocodile?"
Luffy was focused while holding Vivi's hand, he couldn't have forgotten Crocodile's signature now. He needed to find out where the Shichibuki was, within the casino. It seemed to be coming from beneath the lobby, if only Luffy was able to find where the passenger way down. But the pirate captain didn't even have time to think when, "Mugiwara (Straw Hat)!" It was Smoker, still on a deadman purse and at a time like this!
"RUN!" Luffy shouted, not caring anymore of the attention this was giving him. Smoker had sold them out to all the customers, staff and possible agents in an instant. They then saw some of the men in uniforms showing a hallway breaking off into two opposite directions. In the middle was a sigh that pointed the left to be the 'VIP'.
"Forget it and go the other way!" Luffy shouted and he went right accordingly. But his crew just didn't listen and followed the sign anyways, with Smoker following close behind. Luffy let out a sigh of disbelief, looking down that way which stank of a trap. 'Oh, this is so not happening!'
XXXXX
Later,
"I hope you are happy Smoker." Luffy said with the muscles in his forehead twitching in frustration. "Because of your prescient and annoying chasing, we were found out way too soon. And I couldn't keep my crew from taking the wrong hallway and now I am trapped in her with you. Kidnapping, my ass."
The reason for Luffy's foul mood was that when he chased after his crew, being chased by Smoker, they all ended up in cage underneath the casino. It was a large room, big enough for conferences and maybe even rich parties; that was to be said about the décor that was complete with windows showing a large amount of water, almost like an aquarium. This was the trap that Luffy knew was there but in an act of karma, it didn't make a difference.
"Shut it Mugiwara! You know perfectly well that as a marine, my duty is to arrest pirates on the spot! Nobody told you to run!" Smoker grumbled very loudly, trying to get comfortable on the floor of the cell. "And you should be trying to think of a way out. It's bad enough that the cell bars are made of Kairōseki (Seastone)!"
"Kairōseki?" Chopper asked while trying to figure out why his instincts are telling him to avoid the cell bars as well. Luffy answered,
"Never mind the idiot Smoker, but he is right to be up a tree with Kairōseki." Chopper peered in while everyone snickered at the marine captain, trying his best not to lash out. "You remember that as an Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruit) eater, we can't swim anymore and the sea is our enemy?" Chopper nodded, "Kairōseki is a mineral that can best described as 'the sea in solid form'. Like seawater can weaken us and make it difficult for us to use our powers, Kairōseki has the same effects. The World Government love to make handcuffs out of this stuff for the dangerous Akuma no Mi users."
Chopper had the look of a boy who was told his new 'pet rock' was made of lava or something; the little reindeer fleed away from the bars and behind Luffy's legs. "They are not radioactive or giving off flumes Chopper. As long as you don't touch them in anyway, the Kairōseki are harmless." Chopper nodded but still stayed hidden, or at least a part of his face that is. The little doctor saw that everyone noticed and moved to hide most his body.
Then a door, at the top of a flight of stairs, opened to let in two figures. The prisoners soon recognized them as soon as the figures moved into eyesight's. It was Miss Sunday from when she appeared at Whiskey Peak along with can only be her mysterious partner and overall boss of this criminal organization.
"So, we finally get to meet the man himself. The Shichibuki that is just a desert wearing a stoner's skin and stolen fancy clothing. How's that for a first impression?" Luffy couldn't help but insult the warlord on their very first meeting.
Crocodile is a tall man with a wide chest, broad shoulders, muscular arms and legs, and a thick neck. He has pale skin and nape-length black hair which is kept neatly slicked back, though strands tend to fall in front of his face during battles. Crocodile has various battle wounds, most notably a long-stitched scar at the bridge of his nose that stretches across his face and a large hook made from a tough gold alloy in place of his left hand. His eyes are deep-set and heavy-lidded, and his thin eyebrows seen upward in the middle. This gives his usual facial expression a feeling of condescension and distrust. Crocodile speaks with a deep, relaxed voice, and he is usually seen smoking a thick cigar produced by his company.
His theme of dress is meant to convey the image of an Italian mafia boss. Crocodile wore a bright orange, black-striped button up vest over a long-sleeve peach shirt, along with a blue scarf, dark brown suit pants, and polished black shoes with gold buckles. He also wore a long, thick, dark pelted fur coat over his shoulders.
"It is either that you are arrogant or just plain stupid to say such bullshit when you are just waiting to die." Crocodile said. "And I thought that you said on the Den-Den Mushi (Transponder Snail) that I will face my downfall once you arrived here in this barren wasteland of an island."
From behind him, Miss Sunday watched silently, since she also was expecting more of the super rookie from the East Blue. It was almost comical after how she was 'kind' enough to make their journey easier by avoiding Little Garden; it was a present surprise that the Straw-Hat Pirates were able to escape that jungle of an island. Then Crocodile said, "I am surprised that Mr. Three didn't kill you or that idiot didn't." This confused her, and Crocodile didn't sound like he was making this up for the sake of taunting the pirates plus Marine captain.
"But Boss, you said…" Miss Sunday was about to speak up, when she remembered on how strange Crocodile acted after Luffy hung up on him. She still wasn't sure of what happened,
"Who said you can butt in. You have nothing to say after what you did at Whisky Peak. Along with your nerve to tell us where to go." Luffy sneered at Miss Sunday, somehow causing her to swallow any words she wanted to say.
"I sure didn't ask for your option, Miss Sunday. So, shut it!" Crocodile was either aware or not that he actually agreed with Luffy rather than getting 'crocodile comfy' with his captured prey. "Now then, bring in the princess. She needs to see this."
And Vivi found herself, while out of the cage, a prisoner herself in the clutches of Crocodile. "I am warning you Crocodile, if you harm her in anyway…" Luffy growled out while the Shichibuki paid no heed to.
"Well princess? Thought that you can find out who was in charge of Baroque Works by having the nerve to become one of my agents, only to try and sell me out?" Crocodile asked sadistically. Vivi couldn't speak in front of such a powerful and influential figure. She heard tales and even saw his power, the definition of what she calls 'invincible'.
Then again, words won't free Vivi from the rope bounds keeping her in the seat staring down the table covered in rich and expensive food. Every crumble on a plate and every drop in a glass was from Crocodile benefiting off this fake civil war and countless crimes committed on her homeland. It was like all this food was laughing at her for being so foolish and childish; that no matter what Vivi does, Crocodile will get richer and soon he will get what he wants out of Alabastra.
"If you have nothing to say then you will…" Crocodile spoke in an ominous tone before appearing right in front of the cage, grabbing Luffy by the throat hard! "After your foolish captain dies!" Crocodile tugged at Luffy, slamming the rookie's head against the Kairōseki bars. Immediately, the sound of a neck snapping was heard.
"Luffy!" Nami screamed the hardest out of everyone and tried to will herself to hold her boyfriend's limp body. Yet something didn't add up with this picture, and it actually made Nami feel…relieved somehow.
"Well? What do you have to say now?" Crocodile sadistically asked the princess but there was no time for an answer when the Shichibuki noticed that the boy he was torturing wasn't leaking blood from his mouth. Instead of blood, out came some kind of slime that burned at his hand!
"ARRGH! WHAT THE HELL!?" Crocodile roared like a wild animal who got his hand covered in fire and released 'Luffy', only for the figure to remain lying on the Kairōseki bars. Only for 'Luffy' to morph into some kind of melting mold of the stuff that caused the Kairōseki to sizzle and melt!
"Ēruabatā (Ale Avatar)." A voice from the shadows got everyone's attention. "Now what did my creation ever done to be locked up in a cell and slammed into its bars?" Crocodile was the only one with a jaw not on the floor, his was gritting in frustration and anger. "Oh well, Ēruabatā-kun bought me more than enough time to fiddle around with your pad and he did give your prey a way out. I think he did good, will you agree?"
"You…? HOW!?" Crocodile shouted, trying to get his breath back and Luffy answers with a just shrug.
"Well I was the one torn in the middle and no way out of a couple of terrible decisions, I had to do some 'inside digging' for a way to get the upside on you…" Luffy trailed off,
Flashback Begins!
"Storeroom, storeroom…where do they keep it around here?" Luffy asked himself, during the time he was torn between going after his crew and deliberating walking into a trap that he had hoped to avoid. The only solution to get out between this rock and this hard place is for Luffy to find where the Casino stores all the wine and sake ready for the wealthy customers feeling like getting drunk.
Then Luffy found a plain wooden door that had the unmistaken smell of a winery, "Don't mind if I do~!" Luffy hummed to himself as he opened the doors, to see barrel upon barrel of wine, liquor, sake and beverages of the highest quality alcohol. "Perfect!"
Flashback Ends!
"…You can fill in the rest. I just had to make sure you won't know until the right time. Why do you think 'I' was stupid to fall for a glaringly oblivious trap?" Luffy then glared at his crewmates who felt a little guilty and sheepish, "For your punishment, one agent for each of you, alone." Luffy finished there without arguments and instead with laughter from a certain pirate wearing a king's robe.
"You talk like I am just going to let you go. But while you can escape, the princess dies here!" Crocodile hurried to strike Vivi with his golden hook but his attack was blocked, by another 'Luffy'. Complete with a copy of the original Luffy's rapier!
"You are too predictable Crocodile." Luffy said calmly, not budging from his spot. "And you love your winery a little too much. I just helped myself to place a few more Ēruabatā." As soon as the pirate captain finished off, Crocodile found himself surrounded by Luffy's Ēruabatā.
"Sāburusu (Sables)!" Crocodile summoned a sandstorm that blew away the Ēruabatā and even cause them to revert back to bundles of wine. But then it all changed direction in mid-air, as if they were being sucked into something. It was a wine bottle that Luffy had in hand, almost like when a certain man returned a genie back to its lamp; Luffy promptly capped that bottle rather use the standard wine cork.
"Now that wasn't nice, I spent a good few minutes assembling and sculpting them to look good. It was a pain to hide most of them in the time I had to spare." The pirate captain mocked Crocodile, making the Shichibuki slightly more pissed.
"I will shut you up. Dezāto Supāda (Desert Spada)!" Crocodile angled his hand to face Luffy and it transformed into a sand blade, shooting out to strike the captain. And yet it moved rather slow to Luffy's standards, allowing him to reach for the dinner table. He took it and threw it up in the air to be a shield, blocking the Dezāto Supāda.
"Predictable, stupid and now slow? Soon everyone will call me the Shichibuki, not you." Luffy made another mockery, hopping above the table and out of reach of the Dezāto Supāda.
"I will make you drown those words in my sands!" Crocodile growled at this embarrassment. Just how hard is it to kill this rookie!? "Sāburusu!" Crocodile caused his sands to form into another miniature sandstorm and shot it at Luffy. The super rookie just took out his rapier,
"Sake Ga Suppai (Sake Turned Sour)!" Luffy amazed his audience by striking the Sāburusu with a supersonic stab that had high air pressure increasing its power. Not only was the Sāburusu destroyed but also the entire dinner table, freeing Vivi from his binds in the process.
And before Crocodile or Miss Sunday could respond to this development, the princess had vanished from the ruined dinner table. "Okay guys…" Luffy's voice brought attention to the top of the cage. That was where Luffy was standing, with Vivi secure and safe in his arms. "You can get a lighter punishment if you get Vivi got out of here and to her next destination. I may even take out a couple of agents if there isn't a single bruise on her. Sounds good?"
It was amusing sight to say the least, with the Straw-Hat pirates acting more like naughty little children receiving an ultimatum regarding their punishments. And like little children, they just nod and responded with 'Yes, Captain'. "Then get going." Vivi was dropped down to the level of the cage gently, and into Chopper's arms as part of his human-form. All while Luffy's eyes didn't stir away from his two enemies. "You too might want to scram, Miss Sunday. I hate for you to drown in this stuffy room like we are."
Luffy's words almost set Crocodile off, like turning a switch back to 'on'. "What hell are you doing Miss Sunday!? Make sure that the princess doesn't make it back to Alubarna!" The mysterious woman with the fedora just couldn't make out how this 'rookie' was able to change the circumstances into his favor and practically treat all this like a game.
'Just what kind of man are you, Mugiwara?' With that and more thoughts in mind, Miss Sunday took her time while the Straw-Hat pirates flee with the princess, until they were out of sight. Now there was only Luffy and Crocodile left in the underground room.
"Why send your crew away? Are you afraid that they will see your demise if otherwise?" Crocodile tried to mock his enemy until a sickening cracking sound was to be heard, followed by the sound of rushing water. The Shichibuki turned to the glass of his large aquarium, filled with his pet reptiles that share his namesake. Speaking of which, there was a shard from the cage bars embedded in the glass, starting a chain reaction of cracking with a few leaks.
But before Crocodile could respond, the glass immediately shattered and enough water to follow a town soon filled the room! The Shichibuki finally cemented the fact that he ate an Akuma no Mi when he acted like the water was acid to him; and Luffy was perfectly safe while on top the cage.
"What the hell Mugiwara!? It was bad enough you robbed me of the princess, ruining expense baring for the cage and now you are trying to drown yourself or something!?" Crocodile couldn't get his own rafting for the rapidly rising water. He was forced to use his powers to somehow levitate with his powers over sand. "Fine then. Eat him, my pets!" Crocodile shouted off for his Bananawani, large reptiles that have bananas growing from the top of their heads.
Yet, the water within the room suddenly turned red with blood. Followed after were the bodies of the creatures that could only be Crocodile's Bananawani. Crocodile couldn't believe that they were slain in the beat of an eye. And to add insult to injury, salt to the wounds, Luffy jumped off the top of the cage and casually hopped on the corpses like in hopscotch.
"Let's just say…" Luffy spoke in a whisper, landing another one of the floating Bananawani corpses. Then the air had gotten heavy and Crocodile felt a shiver up his spine as Luffy went on, "When I get pissed off and hot under the collar…" The Shichibuki noticed that Luffy turned pink and steam was rising from various spots on his body. "I become a real Devil."
At the very presence of this new Luffy was enough to make Crocodile sweat through his thick clothing. He just didn't know it was from the heat of the room or…fear. 'D-damn you Mugiwara!' Crocodile cursed at his body refusing to move and his voice not leaving his mouth.
End of Chapter 23.
*Hey guys! What do you think? I am definitely reinventing the wheel with this story. Luffy will still find himself battling Crocodile within the Alabasta desert, somewhat like the canon. I have omitted the scenes with Mr. Three; in this story, he never arrived to inform Crocodile about his failure in Little Garden.
I also have Miss Sunday, Robin if you still prefer, once again question the behavior of Crocodile. Luffy is definitely the one that is doing this little trick with the Shichibuki's mind. It is a little feature about Haki that I came up with, hope you don't mind (no pun intended). I will have Luffy explain it to Robin in a future chapter, but I can't be sure since I haven't decided when yet. Stayed toned, please! *