Chapter 21: Rampage

Panic swept through the kingdom of Alabasta.

The minister tasked with safeguarding Princess Vivi tried to sneak her away from the palace without drawing attention. But the moment he stepped through the palace gates, chaos greeted him.

Crocodile's forces had seized control of the surrounding territory. Soldiers in Baroque Works uniforms barked orders, peasants cried out in fear, and smoke rose in the distance. Oppression loomed over every street like a dark cloud.

Vivi's wide, tear-brimmed eyes stared ahead. She could hardly believe the devastation before her.

"I want to stay," she said suddenly.

The minister froze. His expression twisted with disbelief. "Princess Vivi, this isn't a matter to decide lightly! If you stay, it could have serious consequences!"

He sounded desperate, his voice shaking with fear. But Vivi only straightened her back, her voice steadier than ever.

"No. I can't abandon these people. I won't watch them suffer while I run away. I want to help my father fight back."

Behind her innocent eyes, a fierce determination burned. The minister recognized it—this was no longer just a sheltered princess. She had grown into a leader.

A long silence followed before the minister finally nodded.

"...I understand, Princess."

Resigned to the decision, he turned around, lifting Vivi into his arms and carrying her back into the palace. Escape was no longer an option.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Akira stood face-to-face with Crocodile, the warlord of the sea.

The Shichibukai's expression was impassive, but his disdain was clear.

"How foolish. The people of Alabasta look at you with suspicion, yet you fight for them."

Akira scoffed. "It's my choice. You don't get to judge my freedom."

Crocodile sneered and let his half-burned cigar fall to the ground. "Then die for your ideals."

His body disintegrated into swirling sand and surged toward Akira like a tidal wave.

Akira launched into the air, using a flash of Armament Haki to evade. He twisted midair and countered, slamming a haki-infused fist directly into Crocodile's face.

The blow landed cleanly, sending Crocodile skidding backward, eyes wide in shock.

"What… what kind of ability is that?"

Even Crocodile could feel it—this wasn't some no-name rookie. The 100 million berry bounty on Akira's head wasn't just for show.

Without a word, Akira activated his clone ability—a power reminiscent of Pain's technique—and in a blur, four identical copies of him surrounded the warlord.

Crocodile's smugness faltered.

"I've never fought anyone like you…"

Akira didn't respond. This wasn't the time for banter.

"There's more where that came from."

With a sharp motion, his clones lunged toward Crocodile. But the warlord had the home-field advantage—and a Logia fruit on top of that.

He dissolved into sand and swirled into the air. A moment later, the grains coalesced into a massive fist high above the battlefield.

Boom!

The sand-fist crashed down, obliterating the clones instantly. The shockwave leveled nearby ruins.

Floating in the air, Crocodile returned to human form.

"You think parlor tricks can match my power? I can turn anything I touch into sand. You're nothing but an insect beneath me."

But the lone remaining Akira stood calmly amid the rubble, staring up with a confident smirk.

"So what? That was just a decoy. Meant to draw you out."

Crocodile's face darkened. "What?"

Before he could turn, Akira was behind him—fast and silent.

"Let's see how cocky you are now."

Akira's fist rocketed forward, coated in Armament Haki.

"You fool! I can turn into—"

Crack!

The punch landed with brutal force. Crocodile's face twisted mid-sentence as he was flung backward, crashing into the sand with a heavy thud.

He lay motionless, stunned, unable to rise.

Akira wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, eyes still locked on his foe.

"Guess you've never heard of Haki."

The swirling sands lost their cohesion and collapsed. The false domain Crocodile had created fell apart.

From afar, Ace and the others watched in stunned silence.

The battlefield had gone still.

No one could believe what they had just seen.

Yes—it was true.

Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, had been defeated.

"Lord Crocodile has been defeated!!"

A cry erupted from the ranks of Baroque Works. The soldiers, once so sure of their leader's invincibility, were frozen with disbelief. Their expressions twisted with fear, confusion, and the dawning realization that their unstoppable warlord had fallen to the fists of the young man standing before them.

Princess Vivi burst onto the scene, breathless and wide-eyed. Her heart pounded, but when her gaze landed on Akira, her shock melted into awe.

"...Amazing…"

Her voice trembled, barely a whisper, as tears welled in her eyes. In front of her stood the man her father had called a dangerous outsider—an unwanted rogue. And yet… it was Akira who had stopped the destruction. Akira, who stood between Alabasta and ruin.

Akira exhaled slowly, wiping a fresh smear of blood from the corner of his mouth. The pain in his ribs throbbed, but the tension in his chest eased.

It's over, he thought. We've won.

But something felt off.

Too quiet.

Too still.

Akira's eyes snapped to the spot where Crocodile had fallen—empty.

Gone.

"...No!" he growled.

Too late.

A swirl of sand coiled in the air like a serpent—and from it emerged Crocodile, battered but still very much alive. His body reformed behind Princess Vivi in a flash of dust and rage, his golden hook gleaming under the broken sky.

Vivi didn't see him.

Akira did.

"VIVI, GET DOWN!"

... patreon Seasay