Disregarding Crocodile’s shock, Alex swiftly, yet carefully advances, calmly observing his opponent for any attempt to trick or counter him.

Alex, making sure to properly control himself, speeds up and darts forward, closing the distance in the blink of an eye, maintaining perfect control over his body and enhanced stats by carefully planning out his movements, slowing down just enough that he doesn’t get overwhelmed like he was in the past.

With just seconds left before his first buff vanishes, Alex, instead of betting it all on one big strike, calmly strikes at Crocodile, choosing precision over recklessness.

Crocodile immediately transforms his body into sand, but before he can fully escape into the air, Alex already lands the first hit.

You have dealt 9 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

His large blade cuts over Crocodile’s chest, only causing minor damage, as he’s solely relying on his Aura and the frosty Aura of his conjuration to cause damage, not muscle strength. He intentionally sacrifices strength and power for speed, because physical damage can’t quite harm his opponent. More importantly, though, the hit disrupts Crocodile’s transformation, as his Aura and the frosty energy of his Conjuration seep deeply into Crocodile’s body, forcing it to revert back to a normal human appearance, removing his sand-form.

Alex slashes again and again, unleashing clean, unbothered, calm, and beautiful slashes, like performing a set of basic exercises with a stern Captain Steiner watching over him, as he did in the Castle of Alexandria. His form couldn’t be more accurate and perfect, going beyond the textbook execution he’s been taught by perfectly chaining them together, each cut flowing into the next.

You have dealt 11 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“This...”

You have dealt 8 x 3 = 24 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“How?!”

You have dealt 7 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“Haki?!”

You have dealt 14 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“No... I can’t.”

You have dealt 10 x3 = 30 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“NO!”

You have dealt 10 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“STOP!”

You have dealt 10 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“My...”

You have dealt 10 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“Perfect...”

You have dealt 10 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“Plan...”

You have dealt 12 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“Ruined...”

You have dealt 9 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

“All... over...”

Alex lands hit after hit, even landing two critical hits. Crocodile’s body is constantly invaded by hostile Aura and frozen Energy, which keeps accumulating, shocking him and stopping his Devil Fruit abilities from materializing—something he has seemingly no experience guarding or defending against.

Finally, Release Rage ends, and Alex’s AGI and STR drop by 20.

As Alex’s AURA is almost fully depleted, he changes tactics, using the mental shock and accumulated damage of his opponent to deliver a more powerful Blizzara Sword, relying on his MP pool.

The desperate Crocodile lifts his left arm with his hook in defence, which Alex manages to cut clean off above the elbow and cleave once again into his chest.

You have dealt 66 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 18 damage to Crocodile

You have crippled Crocodile (left arm)

You have caused bleeding (left arm)

As his body spasms, Crocodile roars in frustration and pain, finally managing to counter with a desperate attack.

“Desert Grande Espada!” he yells, kneeling down and creating a terrifying blade from the ground, which cuts toward Alex.

Alex calmly activates Barrier, having predicted his attack, feeling his exhausted body tire out even more. Despite the intense might of Crocodile’s attack, his Biotic barrier, almost like a magnet field, protects him from the sand with apparent ease. The sand blade shatters into nothingness against the Biotic Barrier, which turns out to be the perfect counter against his Devil Fruit. The only thing left of his ability is loose sand, which falls onto the floor.

You have received no damage (blocked by Barrier)

Already on the ground, Crocodile, with desperation, presses his right hand onto the ground, mustering the last of his strength. “Ground Death!” His deep, angry voice growls, his killing intent taking over.

With hatred-filled eyes, he yells, “You have ruined... EVERYTHING. FORGET THE PONEGLYPH! I WILL KILL YOU INSTEAD!”

Instantly, the old and dry stones of the Tomb begin to crack.

The floor under Alex’s feet is about to give way, forcing him to jump into the air and land on top of the nearby Poneglyph.

He’s even willing to give up the Poneglyph, but he doesn’t even realize that they’re almost indestructible. I’m safe for now. His mental instability is giving me the perfect opportunity to finish this. I can’t hesitate too long, though, or my increased buffs will run out, and this place will collapse, burying me beneath it. I just have a few seconds left, and I have to make every single second count.

Fueled by desperation, Crocodile’s body—disfigured and painted with blood and frost—seems to be at its limit. Yet he doesn’t stop, keeping up his ability, seemingly aiming to turn the entire tomb into dry sand, erasing the very location from existence, trying to hide his shame under the tomb’s floor.

“I WILL KILL YOU ALL! Sink into the sand and disappear!” Crocodile screams, his body twisting with sand surrounding him like a shield, desperately trying to turn his still frozen body into sand, with the accumulated frost energy stopping him from fully succeeding—temporarily at least.

Just by being near him, Alex feels his skin dry up and even take damage, as if he’s about to be forcefully relieved of all his blood and water in his body.

You have received 5 damage.

Alex’s Thorian’s Domination, which is still active and thus boosting his SPR, allows him to remain perfectly calm, surveying the situation and calculating the most effective and logical solution.

You have received 5 damage.

I remember what Benezia suggested as a safe option. How about this?

You have received 5 damage.

He calmly opens his inventory and takes out a barrel of water, similar to the one he gave Luffy, kicking it down from the Poneglyph towards Crocodile and slashing it apart with his blade right in front of his face.

You have received 5 damage.

“Hah! That won’t work!” Crocodile roars, simply lifting his cut-off arm and immediately sucking up the moisture. “You are doomed... DIE MR. 6!”

You have received 5 damage.

Do not panic....

Crocodile is kneeling down... his body is partially transformed, so another physical attack might not work, and I could get dragged into the ground if I try and fail. Release Spores won’t affect someone of his caliber, and not in his current state. Since he is not moving, the answer couldn’t be simpler. I have no Aura or BP left, but what I have left is MP. If simple water doesn’t work, I need something more potent. Time to use it all.

Alex focuses on his [Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2], displaying a confident smile, which instantly shocks Crocodile, who can’t comprehend his opponent’s thoughts.

You have received 5 damage.

“You have gone mad! This is over... just a few more seconds and I’ll turn you into a mummy and bury you alive!” Crocodile yells, looking fully crazed by now, his body twitching, his veins now looking like they’re ready to pop.

You have received 5 damage.

Fucking Junkie... and that after one dose.

I don’t have enough MP left for Crystal Flood, but that’s not needed, and since pure Water should work better anyway... then the next best thing!

He activates his orbment, beginning to cast Hydro Cannon, his second strongest art.

You have received 5 damage.

You have received 5 damage.

“Useless!” Crocodile jeers, the chamber with the Poneglyph now cracking as the stone begins to crumble, the walls, pillars, and even the ceiling shaking, loose stones falling down all over the place. The ground below Crocodile fully transformed into sand, extending its reach every second.

You have received 5 damage.

As the tomb is about to collapse, Alex’s art finishes charging up, finally exploding with bright Orbal Energy.

You have received 5 damage.

Before him, a violent burst of water appears. Crocodile raises his stump towards Alex’s ability, trying to suck up the water like earlier. “USELESS! I TOLD YOU IT’S USELESS!” he roars, confident in his ability.

You have received 5 damage.

However, as Alex’s Hydro Cannon fires forward, Crocodile’s defensive ability—trying to absorb the moisture—is utterly unable to even affect it. Alex’s art ignores Crocodile’s futile attempt completely and crashes into his body, not just dousing him with water, but pushing him with such force against the ground that he is shoved away, dragged across the floor like a heavy weight. His face hugs the ground tightly, leaving behind a gruesome trail of blood, teeth, and flesh as his face gets literally scraped off his skull.

You have dealt 156 x 2 = 312 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 21 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 11 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 6 damage to Crocodile

You have dealt 3 damage to Crocodile

You have crippled Crocodile (Face)

You have caused bleeding (Face)

Alex calmly jumps off the Poneglyph, making sure to land a good distance away from the earlier location, which now resembles quicksand. With every step, he feels his dry skin itching and his exhausted body hurting from Crocodile’s desperate attack.

He walks up to Crocodile, who seems unable to even move his face—the only thing coming from him is a sickening breathing sound. Being merciful and feeling a hint of disgust seeing the gruesome sight before him, Alex forgets the hatred and bloodlust he felt earlier, exchanged for another feeling entirely—pity.

He pierces his sword into his opponent’s neck, killing him instantly without dragging the moment out.

You have dealt 103 x 3 = 309 damage to Crocodile

You have killed Crocodile

At the same moment, the pillars near the Poneglyph come crashing down, causing the ceiling over the Poneglyph to collapse as well, burying it in a thick layer of stone and sand, revealing the sun above them. Light shines down on Crocodile’s body, revealing a glimmering golden chest on top of him, which Alex instantly picks up.

You have received Chest (Gold)

Alex turns around, noticing that the rest of the tomb looks somewhat stable, as Crocodile only managed to collapse the pillars and the ground near the Poneglyph, which is now buried in rubble, not even a trace of it visible.

I wanted to look at it myself... I feel like I have missed something. Perhaps a clue... a secret quest. Well, I am not perfect, and I’m just glad it’s over.

Deciding not to sulk or regret his action, he looks towards the others and notices King Cobra, who is now awake, along with Robin, who is carrying an exhausted but conscious Luffy, standing near the entrance.

They all stare at him in shock.