A/N: Important info after chapter. Just saying.

Luffy and Crocodile were glaring at each other in the palace garden, with Robin and the pinned Cobra standing on the sidelines. Luffy cracked his knuckles while Crocodile removed his golden hook, revealing an iron one underneath with a purple haze seeping out of the many holes on it.

'This little runt knows Haki!' Crocodile thought as the first time he fought Luffy ran through his mind as he lifted his poison hook up. "I won't deny that you're strong. Stronger than any rookie I've faced at least. But, that still won't be enough to defeat a Warlord like me."

"It doesn't matter if you're a Warlord." Luffy said. "I'm still gonna kick your ass and take it back for Vivi."

"Who is that kid?" Cobra asked.

"A pirate." Robin answered. "I'm surprised you don't know of him. He's the reason you're darling Princess is alive and in Alabasta."

"So then...he's the one responsible for bringing Vivi back?" Cobra asked as he stared at Luffy.

"Take it back?" Crocodile said in slight confusion.

"Yeah! I'm gonna take back what you stole from her!" Luffy growled. Crocodile started to chuckle as Luffy kept glaring at him.

"Pray tell, what is it that I've taken from her?" he asked as he raised his hand. "Money?" asked as he raised his hook. "Fame? The people's trust?" Their lives? The rain? What have I taken that you'll take right back?"

"This country!" Luffy said.

"This country?" Crocodile asked before laughing. "You honestly expect me to give up this country when I'm shortly about to become it's king?"

"We came here to help Vivi save her country. But, it was long gone before we even got here." Luffy said. "If this country was still her's, then she wouldn't be crying about a million people fighting for nothing!" Crocodile only smirked as Robin and Cobra listened from the sidelines.

"All this, and for what?" Crocodile asked. "You're a pirate, so why would you care about someone else's country?"

"Because Vivi's our friend. And if helping her free her country from you will make her smile," Luffy grinned as he held up his fists. "Then we'll gladly lend a hand!"

"Well, isn't he a big-hearted guy?" Robin asked with a smile and a hint of humor in her voice.

"Absurd." Crocodile said as he raised his poison hook. "I've had just about enough of your babbling as I can stomach. Time to die, Straw-Hat."

"No way am I dying!" Luffy yelled as he charged at Crocodile, nailing a punch to his jaw. Crocodile's hook scratched his arm, which trickled a little blood while he was skidding away.

'He managed to hit him!' Cobra thought as he stared at the scene. 'Our finest soldiers couldn't even lay a finger on him, yet this boy is able to fight against him! And from their conversation earlier, he seems to have been able to hold his own against Crocodile!'

"I'm guessing this fight will be over soon." Robin said as she closed her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Cobra asked as he turned his head to look at her as Crocodile avoided a kick before sending a Desert Spada across the ground towards Luffy.

"That hook Crocodile's using is secreting a very potent poison." she said before opening her eyes. "And Crocodile's already gotten it into his arm."

"No!" Cobra said as Crocodile aimed his hook at Luffy again, this time going for his ribs. Luffy deflected it with his knee, knocking it upwards and scratching his face before landing a solid hit to Crocodile's stomach. He was still standing before Luffy quickly followed up by kicking Crocodile with his heel into a stone structure before landing on his feet. Nobody moved for awhile before Cobra spoke.

"That kid...he beat Crocodile!" he said in amazement.

"Now's not the time for admiration." Robin said with an emotionless expression as she made two arms appear and painfully pull out the spikes that were pinning Cobra to the wall before letting him fall to the ground. "You're going to take me to the Poneglyph."

"What good will it do you to see it?" he asked, which caused her to grow another arm to hold his arms behind his back.

"That need not concern you." she said before she looked at Luffy, who was looking back. Both stared at each other before Robin spoke. "You're luck's beginning to run out. There's not much time left." Luffy kept staring before he Crocodile move from the rubble.

"Get going Nico Robin, or you'll be dried up with this brat!" he said, anger clearly in his voice. "I'm through playing these games with you boy." She silently did as he said and took Cobra away before Crocodile placed his hand against the ground. "Let me tell you two things brat! First, the hook I've been using has Scorpion Poison emitting from it, which no doubt is now inside your body. And second, the true power of sand is to dry things out. Observe! GROUND SEKKO!" he called out before the grass and trees around them started to die while the walls and statues began to crumble to dust. "My right hand can suck the life out of anything by turning it to dust! Everything touching the ground shall die, INCLUDING YOU!" Luffy just watched as everything around him crumbled before Crocodile shouted out his attack. "GROUND DEATH!" he shouted before the area exploded, kicking up sand and dust everywhere. It soon cleared, revealing nothing but desert where the palace lawn once occupied. Crocodile reappeared out of sand back on top of the roof, overlooking the now sandy lawn with an angered and annoyed expression on his face. "It's one trick after another with this brat!" he said to himself as he saw Luffy using Moon Walk and was jumping in the air to avoid getting dried out.

"No way am I gonna let you turn me into a mummy!" Luffy said with a small smirk, which just seemed to piss Crocodile off even more before he smirked.

"Listen well Straw Hat." Crocodile said. "Even if you were to defeat me, it won't save anyone here. At 4:30 today, a bomb will be shot into the square, instantly obliterating everything and everyone with 5 kilometers, including your friends." Luffy narrowed his eyes in anger at Crocodile.

"And what about your men?" he asked. "They'll be killed as well!" Crocodile only laughed at his outburst, which told him that he didn't care at all and pushed him over the edge. "Gear: Second!" Luffy said as he thrust his arm to his side, pumping his blood and making his body turn red and to start steaming. Crocodile didn't even have a chance to try and understand what he was seeing before he was slammed into the palace faster than he knew what hit him by Luffy's fist, who immediately stopped his Gear: Second.

'What was that?!' Crocodile thought as he struggled to get up. He was back on his feet and glaring at Luffy before they charged each other again. Crocodile brought his hook down toward Luffy's head, only to miss by a hair and giving Luffy the chance to slam his hook into the ground, breaking it off and rendering it useless.

"Lost your hook!" Luffy said with a grin as he jumped away. Crocodile looked down at his broken hook before smiling.

"Maybe so, but it's already served it's purpose of poisoning you!" he said before an explosion went off.

-Earlier With The Straw Hats-

The Straw Hats had split into two groups. Most in one group to stop the rebellion the best they can. The other, consisting of three, went to stop the bomb.

Greg and Grace, along with Pell, were dashing towards the clock tower where the bomb was, dodging both armies and Baroque Works until they finally reached the entrance. All three ran inside and up the back stairs, where they came face-to-face with a very large cannon.

"It's in there!" Grace said. Pell walked to the mouth of the cannon and looked inside to see giant round bomb that was bigger than a normal person resting inside with a timer ticking away on it.

"A bomb this size would easily destroy the square, along with everyone in it." he said in a grim tone. "We only have six minutes."

"We know." Greg said. "We lead you to it. Now, how are you gonna take care of it?"

"Leave it to me." he said. "Go and help the others stop the rebellion!"

"Right!" both of them said before running for the door.

"Listen!" Pell said just before they ran out. They both turned to him to see him smiling. "If I don't make it out of this, please tell Princess Vivi that it was an honor to serve the Nefertari Royal Family."

"You can tell her yourself." Greg said with a smile, which was shared by Grace before they ran off to help the others. Pell kept his smile as he slowly opened the clock face before turning into his falcon form and grabbed the bomb from inside the cannon. He then flew off towards the desert as fast as he could fly in the hopes of keeping the bomb from destorying everyone inside the city. He kept flying for a few minutes while remembering Vivi and her friends from the Sand-Sand Clan before looking back at the distant city.

"This should be far enough." he said before looking down at the timer to see that it had thirty seconds left. Seeing no one below, he released the bomb before making a U-turn and flying back towards the city at a much faster pace, making it back just in time before the bomb went off in a blinding light.

-With Robin and Cobra-

Robin was walking with Cobra towards the location of the Poneglyph before they were stopped by Tashigi and the marines. They demanded that Cobra be released, only for Cobra to shout at them to stop the bomb that was to go off soon. Tashigi said they'd save him, then stop the bomb, only to have most of the marines choked until they passed out by Robin's powers. One of the marines recognized her from her wanted poster and informed the others, all of which annoyed Robin as she told them all to move. Tashigi ordered the rest of the marines to aid in stopping the bomb while she faced Robin alone, which resulted in Robin nearly breaking her leg before leaving her there and continuing on to the Poneglyph. While they descended the secret staircase in the palace tombs, both of them began to talk about how Robin could read the Poneglyphs, which was the main reason Crocodile couldn't kill her. They walked on until they found some doors and entered, causing Robin to gaze at the Poneglyph in wonder.

"There it is!" she said as she slowly began to read it.

-Luffy-

Both Luffy and Crocodile were staring off in the distance at the massive explosion. One had a grin of his face while the other wore a scowl.

"That explosion." Crocodile said as a muscle appeared on his forehead before he glared at Luffy. 'This insolent little brat!' he thought before he heard the roar of the rebellion as both sides were still at each other's throats. He smirked before laughing, as if truly enjoying the sight and sounds of both armies still fighting to save their country from the other despite his bomb not being able to destroy both sides. Luffy looked on as well, but was deaf to the sound of clashing metal, gunshots, sounds of anger and pain. All he could hear was one single voice throughout the whole madness. A voice full of pain and sorrow that was shouting out to everyone to stop fighting. Vivi's voice.

-With Vivi-

Vivi, along with the other Straw Hats throughout the battlefield, stared in utter shock at the explosion that rocked the area outside the city. The light from the explosion could be seen above the city walls as the whole area was shaken so badly that nearly everyone lost their footing. Vivi stared at the light with the horrifying thought that Pell had been in that blast. Those thoughts left her as Pell landed close by and she called out his name in joy. Pell smile at her, along with the Straw Hats before they all noticed both armies getting back to their feet. With a massive war cry, both armies were at it again, each side more determined to kill the other army.

"No way...why won't they stop?" Nami asked in disbelief.

"Stop." Vivi said in a soft voice. Tears were pricking her eyes as she stared at it all in horror. "Stop fighting...Stop fighting! STOP FIGHTING!" she cried out, now sounding lost in despair at the sight of her people still killing each other.

"Vivi." Nami said before glaring at her friends. "What are you all waiting for?! Get out there and stop the fig-" she shouted before she and everyone else froze in place. The Straw Hats didn't move at all as they watched a mass majority of both armies fall to ground, unconscious and foaming at the mouth while the rest fell to their knees. They were all shivering and looking around in shock before a loud rumble came from the palace.

-With Luffy-

Wishing to help stop the fighting, Luffy had released a massive wave of haki to stop them. The fighting stopped as the only sound that could be heard was the sandstorm all around them.

"You brat!" Crocodile roared as a knife was now where his hook had been. "You're nothing but an insignificant rookie that came from nowhere! I will not let you ruin my plans anymore!" He then lunged at Luffy, aiming the knife at his chest. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" he bellowed right as Luffy ducked to avoid the blade.

"You're the jerk that took Vivi's home!" Luffy growled as Crocodile realized he was wide open. "AND I'M THE GUY WHO'S GONNA TAKE IT BACK!" he roared as he kicked Crocodile high into the air before jumping from the palace wall. Crocodile stopped himself in mid-air while Luffy stretched his arms out, grabbed hold of the top of the palace wall, and rocketed himself up at Crocodile while biting his thumbs. "Gear: Third!" he said as he turned his arms giant before infusing his fists with haki. "Gum-Guuuuum!"

"DESERT!" Crocodile said as his hand turned into sand.

"GRIZZLY MAGNUM!"

"LA SPADA!" Crocodile cried out as four fan blades made of sand came at Luffy, only to be broken back into sand by Luffy's attack, which kept on going before smashing against Crocodile and sending him flying high into the sky.

-With Vivi and the Straw Hats-

Everyone, along with those amongst the two armies who were still standing, watched as two giant black hands sent Crocodile flying into the sky, a trail of sand right behind him.

"Crocodile?!" all of them shouted.

"What...was that?" Pell asked.

"I'll tell you what it was!" Usopp shouted out as the crew had smiles upon their faces. "I didn't doubt it for a second! Luffy!"

"HE WON!" shouted the whole crew.

'Luffy.' Vivi thought as she remember Luffy saying he would defeat Crocodile for her. 'Thank you!'

A/N: I apologize for taking longer than usual. One thing or another kept getting in the way. Also, a few of you have asked that I give Zoro a girl. That will be a poll that will end on the 30th of November. Hope you all enjoyed it.