One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 35 My code name is 'Chenlong'!
Eluma, outside the city.

"Wow, the quality is really good."

Aiha, leading his Karu duck 'Dodoru', is digging out a fresh sand bamboo shoot in the desert.

This unique plant grows in the desert of Alabasta, relying on groundwater and rainfall for sustenance.

Its delicious flavor and difficult harvesting make it highly sought after by gourmets.

Ah's profession is that of a 'salad merchant'.

"The rain from the one who summoned the rain last time really came to our rescue."

At this moment, Aiha threw the bamboo shoot into the basket on Karu's back, sighing.

He has lost count of how many times he has sighed like this lately.

People are always captivated by miracles.

He would never forget the moment he witnessed the 'rain summoner' emerge from the desert—that rain, in a sense, saved his and his wife and children's lives.

"I just don't understand why His Majesty the King won't admit that he knows the person who summons rain. I clearly heard that the person has already entered the palace."

'rustle--'

He lit his pipe and muttered to himself.

'rustle--'

But after smacking his lips twice, he felt that something seemed off.

'rustle--'

Soon, he came to a conclusion.

"The sound of sand...that's not right."

Aihar frowned.

As someone who has spent a long time traveling in the desert, he naturally knows the desert very well.

The desert near Airuma shifts to some extent every day due to wind or groundwater, but... starting just now, it seems to be overly active.

The rustling sound of the sand moving was even somewhat jarring.

"No, that's not right. The sky and wind direction to the west are also wrong."

Soon, Aihar discovered even more anomalies.

At the edge of his vision, the sky west of Airuma seemed inexplicably gloomy.

He could even see the sand to the west moving with the naked eye, but Ahmed didn't feel much wind from the west.

“Something’s wrong”

So, Ahmed decided to go and take a look.

His house was nearby, and even for the sake of his wife and children, he had to go and check on the situation.

so.
"Dodoru!"

"Gah!"

He mounted his Karoo duck and sped off westward.

"I remember that area was in the suburbs, and I think someone opened a coffee shop there. Hmm?"

He was still pondering things on the way.

then
"Gah!"

After crossing a sand dune, his duck, Karoo, suddenly let out a cry of surprise.

Then it suddenly braked, and the huge inertia almost threw Aihar out.

"Dodoru!? What are you doing?"

Ah's complaints were cut short halfway through.

Because after crossing that sand dune, the scene that came into his view was almost horrifying.

A torrential downpour was seen falling from the sky.

But the rain falling from the sky could not reach the ground—because before it could touch the ground, a huge 'sand curtain' rising from the ground and covering the sky had already blocked it all.

This also made Aihar understand why the sky in this area looked strange.

Even the sunlight in the vicinity was completely blocked by that massive sand curtain.

“Da!” “Da!”

A series of crisp sounds came from all around.

That was the sound of sand dunes in the sky, having absorbed enough moisture, falling one by one and hitting the ground.

As these sand blocks fall, new sand continues to rise into the sky, ensuring the existence of the sand curtain.

But this magnificent scene is not the most amazing part.

"Boom!"

All that could be seen at that moment was the sand curtain that blocked the torrential rain.

The entire desert within a few hundred meters was churning—countless golden sands formed giant waves, surging continuously.

It no longer seemed like a desert, but rather a vast, surging ocean.

On that sea of ​​sand, everything has vanished without a trace.

The rock pillars, the bushes, and even the café that Aiha remembered should have been nearby—all of them had vanished without a trace.

This is also the reason for his Karoo duck brake.

If he takes one more step forward, he too will become part of this 'desert'.

As a citizen of Alabasta, Ahmad is actually quite familiar with this kind of scene.

Quicksand—the most common and also the most terrifying 'natural disaster' in Alabasta.

But the problem is
"What is that?"

At this moment, Aiha's murmurs were almost like a dream.

Because he saw it—within that churning, surging sea of ​​sand, there were actually two figures!

"boom!"

One of them had his lower body completely absorbed into the swirling yellow sand.

His left hand was a golden hook, and with each swing it would stir up a sandstorm that blotted out the sky, condensing into huge 'curved blades'.

Wherever the scimitar passes, it cleaves open huge, deep trenches in the entire desert.

If you look closely, you'll even discover that the very center of the shifting sands in the desert is this man!

The figure fighting opposite him was someone Aiha recognized very well.

That majestic dragon-head mask belonged to the 'rain summoner'.

At this moment, this mysterious guest is also displaying incredible power.

He walked through the raging quicksand.

A thin layer of ice spread out beneath his feet with each step he took.

No matter how turbulent the quicksand is, it will freeze and solidify the moment it gets close to him, turning into a solid foothold.

Every time Crocodile swings his 'Desert Blade', massive ice shields appear around him to block it.

This incredible scene made Aihar begin to doubt his own judgment.

Because everything before him undeniably told him one fact.

That is—what he was seeing at that moment was not a 'natural disaster,' but the work of these two people.

Their battle directly altered the surrounding landscape.

Are they really human?

Therefore, Ahmed couldn't help but have this question in his mind.

But then, he couldn't help but worry.

Even if he were someone who couldn't fight at all, he could still tell.

On the battlefield at this moment, the guy who manipulates quicksand has a clear advantage.

The one who summoned rain seemed to be suppressed.

But for Aihar—he didn't know why the two were fighting, but at least he knew...
"That man who summoned the rain is the hope of the nation now."

He murmured anxiously.

And at this moment.
On the battlefield.

"Kid, I told you, you'll never have another chance to touch me with water."

Crocodile's voice came through the swirling yellow sand, carrying a distinct arrogance.

"Swoosh!" As he spoke, the sharp 'Desert Treasure Blade' roared out once again.

And the other side.

"clang!"

Chenlong waved his hand again, and a sudden ice shield blocked the 'Desert Treasure Blade'.

Before the sharp sand blade could cleave through the ice shield, Chenlong leaped backward, dodging the attack.

"When you say there's no chance, do you mean you won't contact me?"

At this moment, Chenlong shook his head: "I thought that the schemes of a dignified Shichibukai would at least be more domineering."

He directly pointed out what Crocodile was doing at that moment.

Since it was determined that Chenlong knew his weakness and that his ability seemed to be 'manipulating water'.

Crocodile's choice was to create distance, which triggered this 'quicksand'.

Using this vast sea of ​​sand, he attacked Chenlong from a distance with the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit, never engaging in close combat.

"As long as a strategy is effective enough to achieve victory, that's enough."

Crocodile, however, spoke calmly.

"As for face or honor—those things only appear on epitaphs."

As he spoke, he made another sweeping motion with his right hand, and another giant hand made of yellow sand rose from the sea of ​​sand, reaching out to grab Chenlong.

"Buzz!"

Chenlong leaped into the air and dodged the attack.

Crocodile didn't care at all that his attack failed.

He is a Logia-type Devil Fruit user with the 'Sand-Sand Fruit'.

Logia-type ability users represent 'nature'.

Therefore, their power is equivalent to 'natural disaster'.

Users of Paramecia and Zoan types of abilities often need to expend a lot of physical energy to cause large-scale damage over long distances when using their abilities.

But Logia-type Devil Fruit users are different.

They can create elements out of thin air, making large-scale attacks very easy for them.

Especially within their own 'natural environment,' the physical energy they expend to manipulate the elements within that environment is negligible.

This is precisely why Logia-type Devil Fruits are considered the strongest type!

For example, Crocodile at this moment.

He manipulates the yellow sand to attack Chenlong from a great distance, as if it were an instinct—the sand is an extension of his body, and it consumes almost no energy.

"Your abilities do pose a threat to me, but there is a gap in the level of our abilities."

He waved again as he finished speaking.

Several sand blades suddenly flew out, but Chenlong dodged them again.

"Victory? That's a bit too early to say."

Chenlong chuckled softly.

Beneath the mask, Roy's expression even carried a smile.

In fact, Crocodile's choice was exactly what he wanted.

Crocodile was unwilling to engage in close combat with him, and Roy was even less willing—his fragmented clone 'Chenlong' did not have any Devil Fruits that could enhance the body due to insufficient fruit slots.

Therefore, his use of the Six Arts can only be described as barely passable.

If Crocodile were to engage him in close combat, he would be even more wary.

But since Crocodile chose to compete with him in terms of ability, he was naturally more than happy to accept it.

And at this moment.
"Time is up."

He murmured to himself.

And on the light screen in front of him.

[Nature Type - Sandy Fruit, Analysis Complete 100%]

The message on the screen indicated that he no longer needed to conserve his energy.

so.
"I can let other things go, but I can't pretend I didn't hear you say there's a difference in our Devil Fruit abilities!"

As he finished speaking, Chenlong landed on the ground.

He slowly raised his hand and snapped his fingers!
Then Crocodile was shocked to see a colossal creature rise up from beneath the feet of the dragon!

"Boom!"

The earth trembled, and the veins of the earth roared.

Along with that dull, heavy sound came a chill as deep as winter.

The chill even made Aiha, who was watching from afar, shiver.

Then he saw the rain-summoning man slowly rise into the air—or to be more precise, he was lifted up by what was beneath his feet.

It was a colossal, crystal-clear object.

It carried a biting chill, broke through the sea of ​​sand, rose abruptly from the ground, and appeared in the land that originally belonged only to the sand.

That's an iceberg!

【Frozen Mountains】

"how is this possible?"

The sight of something that shouldn't exist in the desert caused Crocodile's expression to suddenly freeze.

Undoubtedly, what was happening at this moment was beyond the comprehension of even this Shichibukai.

"This is a desert, a desert with almost no water."

"Even Aokiji couldn't create such a massive iceberg here in a short time—even a Logia-type Devil Fruit user who can generate elements to alter their surroundings would need time..."

As he pondered this, his body froze instantly.

He then turned his head almost instantly and looked around.

Amidst the swirling yellow sand, there were some things he hadn't previously paid attention to.

Those were things that fell from the sky almost constantly during the battle—sand blocks that had originally served as his shelter from the rain, but which had absorbed enough rainwater to fall from the sky.

Crocodile finally realized the danger.

"From the very beginning, he..."

In an instant, his mind, known for its strategic thinking, realized the terrible truth.

From the very beginning, their real purpose was this.

No wonder even though he had cast a sand curtain to block out the rain, the torrential rain was still falling.

The purpose of the rain was not to soak him, but to change the moisture concentration on the battlefield.

"Crocodile…"

At that moment, Chenlong's voice came from the huge iceberg.

His voice was somewhat rough—clearly, even this level of exertion was quite strenuous for him.

but…

"My organization is called the 'Twelve Constellations'."

"And my code name in the organization is 'Chenlong'!"

The words fell.

Crocodile then saw that the massive, towering ice peak beneath the opponent's feet was beginning to change once again!
White smoke appeared on the surface of the iceberg, almost completely obscuring the entire iceberg.

Even with the interior obscured, Crocodile could still hear the sounds.

then
"trickle!"

Crocodile then heard the sound of surging water.

【Molten Fire & Giant Wave】

No.
"trickle!"

"boom!"

“BOOM Boom Boom Boom!!!”

The surging, changing sound indicated that what was coming was not a trickle—but rather…
A giant wave!
"It's just a desert. If it can't bring wind, rain, and waves here, how can it be qualified to use this code name?"

　This battle scene was so difficult to write, it took me almost four hours to finish.
　　This chapter has 4000 words; the battle will end in the next chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)