"Hmph! Die, Marine! Desert Spada!"
Unable to gauge Hammer's strength, Crocodile decided to strike first.
His right hand slashed through the air, sending razor-sharp sand blades toward Hammer that left deep gashes in the ground.
"Tsk tsk tsk, such a hot-tempered fellow."
"Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit user, Crocodile."
"Mountain-Piercing Hammer!"
Hammer naturally wouldn't just stand there and take it. With a single hammer swing, he sent all the attacking sand flying.
"Not bad for a Marine."
Having missed his first strike, Crocodile immediately switched tactics.
He slammed one hand into the ground, making use of the terrain.
Hammer knew exactly what Crocodile was planning and immediately ordered Lance to retreat with the troops.
Suddenly, the sand beneath Hammer began to sink, quickly turning into a pit of quicksand.
This was Crocodile's power, manipulating underground water veins to control sand dunes and create deadly quicksand that could bury enemies alive, a desert grave needing no tombstone.
"Not a bad ability, but Crocodile...aren't you underestimating the Marines a bit too much? We can literally step on air, you know?"
With that, Hammer launched into the air using Geppo.
Crocodile remained crouched with his hand on the ground, his face darkening. At that moment, he felt like Hammer was toying with him.
"Hahaha! No, you're just an idiot. Alright, enough playing around, time to wrap this up."
Hammer had no patience for drawn-out fights. He coated both hands in Armament Haki.
Crocodile's instincts screamed danger, and he immediately surrounded himself with swirling sand.
A massive sandstorm tornado rose from the ground.
"Chest-Shattering Hammer."
Hammer knew better than to drag out a fight with a Logia-type. After all, they were natural elements, trying to outlast them was foolish.
One Haki-coated hammer strike pierced through the sandstorm and shot straight at Crocodile.
But Crocodile wasn't some pushover; he'd clashed with the likes of Bullet. Instantly, his body dissolved into sand.
"Hmph! Even if you've got Haki, I can still turn into sand first! Don't underestimate me, Marine!"
To block Hammer's attacks, Crocodile unleashed his sandstorm at full force.
But that's just the thing with Hammer, he was always sneaky. The Chest-Shattering Hammer was a feint, just like how he used to handle other monsters.
The real attack was the Hammering of the Soul.
"Hammering of the Soul, now behave yourself."
A heavy blow echoed in Crocodile's mind.
The strike hit hard. Crocodile couldn't resist; his control over the sandstorm vanished, and he started wobbling, dazed.
But the hammering didn't stop.
Another strike, Crocodile, and every last one of his lackeys behind him fell to their knees.
"Heh, I'm not done yet."
"To make sure you behave... Lance, cuff him!"
Lance, who'd worked with Hammer for a long time, knew exactly what to do.
Lance had been with Hammer long enough to know exactly what to do. The moment Hammer gave the order, he rushed forward with seastone handcuffs.
Instantly draining Crocodile's strength.
"Damn Marines...always resorting to cheap tricks!"
Hammer looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Dude. You're a pirate. I'm a Marine. And you're complaining about tricks?"
"You've really underestimated me. What comes next... that's the cheap trick."
His eerie laugh sent a chill down Crocodile's spine.
But as a hardened pirate, Crocodile refused to bow down to the Marines.
"Hmph! What are you planning, Marine?!"
"What am I planning? You'll find out real soon."
As he replied, Hammer rummaged through his ring.
Eventually, he pulled out a dagger that glowed with a strange purple light.
The purple hue shimmered ominously; clearly, it was no ordinary weapon.
Hammer carefully held the dagger and gestured toward Crocodile with it.
"Crocodile, I've gotta admit, you're a pretty handsome guy. Back home, you'd totally be the cold-blooded assassin type."
"Too bad... you've ended up in my hands. So I'll ask you one last time, do you want to join the Shichibukai system and become the first Warlord of the Sea?"
"You should know, the Shichibukai are officially recognized by the World Government. Aside from being summoned and paying a small tax, they can act freely, completely outside the government's control."
Crocodile, proud as ever, refused to yield, even though he was bound. His pride wouldn't let him give in.
"Welp. Guess we're doing this the hard way."
Hammer shrugged. Then, under everyone's stunned gaze, he plunged the glowing dagger into Crocodile's chest.
But there was no pain, Crocodile only felt a strange energy flowing through his body.
As he puzzled over it, a devilish voice whispered in his ear.
"Relax. This dagger won't kill you... But it will trigger something very special. It's called: Mutation."
"As for what kind of mutation... I have no idea. Heheheh..."
Mutation Dagger: When stabbed, it causes a biological mutation.
Mutation type: unknown. Uses remaining: 1.
It was a unique weapon Hammer had forged in the past. No one knew what it would do, and he'd never had the right test subject until now.
Crocodile, as luck would have it, became the first and only experiment.
"B-Bastard! What did you do to me?!"
The strange energy rampaging through his body and the odd physical reactions made Crocodile panic.
Even his voice was starting to tremble... and sound more feminine.
Hammer, Lance, and the others stared at him in shock.
"Holy crap, Hammer, what the hell did you do to him... her...???"
"Don't ask me! I didn't know this would happen! Crap. Oh crap."
"You're asking me?! I should be asking you! But... I think there's someone who might be able to reverse it?"
As the two talked, Crocodile's body continued to change.
His once-muscled frame became slender. His face softened into an oval shape. His figure became... curvaceous.
"DAMN YOU BASTARD!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
A shrill, high-pitched female voice exploded in Hammer's ears.
It made his whole body panic...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu