Battles between Logia users, unless there is a clear hierarchical relationship between their fruits or a vast disparity in individual strength, are absolutely drawn-out wars of attrition.
Of course, in terms of spectacle, they are also superb.
Frenzied sand tore clouds of smoke to shreds, while the scattered smoke gathered indomitably time and again, once more entangling the sky-filling sand.
The vast expanse of white smoke and brilliant yellow sand interwove wantonly in mid-air, forming a giant yellow-and-white vortex, whipping up whistling gales. Smoke billowed, and sand overflowed.
From a distance, it looked just like a cappuccino being stirred vigorously.
In truth, fundamentally speaking, smoke is no match for sand. However, the properties of smoke meant that the sand could only disperse it, not completely annihilate it.
Moreover, Smoker had a secret weapon: —A jitte tipped with Seastone.
Clang! The crisp sound of metal impacting metal was extremely pleasing to the ear.
Blocking a sneak attack from the White Hunter with the golden hook on his left hand, a cruel smile curved onto Crocodile's face, which was currently formed from yellow sand.
"You don't truly believe you can defeat me like this, do you, Smoker?"
"Hmph..." Smoker, with only half his body visible, looked solemn: "It's enough if I can just stall you. Headquarters' reinforcements will be here any moment. You can't escape, Sand Crocodile!"
"Accept the judgment of justice!"
"Is that so? Well, that's truly unfortunate..." Crocodile's slightly narrowed eyes gleamed with a bone-chilling cold light, like a bloodthirsty crocodile provoked by its prey.
"I've played with you long enough; it seems it's about time."
"Next, I will show you the gap between us, even as fellow Logia users!
—Desert Tyrant!
With the activation of Sand Crocodile's ability, the entire space began to tremble slightly. Princess Vivi, collapsed on the grass, was shocked to find the sand binding her was gradually leaving her, joining the fine sand in the nearby soil and gathering rapidly in mid-air, driven by the unique dry airflow of the desert, just like massive swarms of bees returning to their hive.
In mere moments, a sea of sand formed in mid-air, blotting out the sky and sun.
"The strongest point of a Logia is being able to utilize nature itself. How can mortals withstand the world-shaking might of great nature?!"
"And in the desert, my Sand-Sand Fruit is invincible!"
No sooner had Crocodile's voice faded than the sand sea in mid-air, composed of yellow sand, swept towards that somewhat insignificant cloud of smoke with exaggerated momentum.
Endless sand tore the White Hunter's smoke into fragments once again. And very quickly, Smoker horrifiedly discovered that the speed at which his smoke gathered could no longer keep up with the speed of the sand's destruction.
At this moment, the White Hunter was like a small boat navigating a violent storm—isolated and helpless, left to be wantonly ravaged by those ruthless sandstorms.
Although minimal, Logia elementalization still consumes stamina...
Slowly, the scattered smoke became scarcer. In the end, Smoker, having absolutely no energy left to elementalize, finally exposed his true body to Sand Crocodile's field of vision. The latter's icy eyes immediately revealed the excited gaze peculiar to a hunter finding its prey.
———Desert La Spada! A giant sand blade capable of shattering gold and jade shot forth fiercely.
The exhausted White Hunter couldn't avoid it and had to take the blow solidly with his flesh and blood body.
Puchi! Blood splattered.
Gazing at the white-haired Marine fallen in a pool of blood, Vivi sat kneeling on the ground, her face deathly pale with disbelief.
The strength of a Warlord of the Sea was truly too powerful.
"Weakness is also a sin, hahahaha..." Sand Crocodile threw his head back and laughed wildly towards the sky. However, just as he intended to add another blade to finish off the White Hunter, Crocodile's expression suddenly changed for no reason, and he hurriedly turned his head to look into the distance.
The Alubarna Palace was situated very high up, so one could see very far from here.
He saw a thin plume of dark green smoke rising straight into the sky from the distant urban area. Accompanied by this strange smoke, the originally clear sky gradually began to fill with dark clouds.
"Th-this couldn't be..." Sand Crocodile's eyes went wide, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. For the first time in his heart, the feeling of having shot himself in the foot arose.
This wasn't the end of it.
"Hey! Bastard Crocodile!!!" A full-throated roar suddenly came from the sky, startling both Crocodile and Princess Vivi into hurriedly looking up towards the source of the sound.
Both of their expressions instantly became extremely colorful.
They saw a young man wearing a straw hat and carrying a water barrel on his back, sitting atop an extraordinarily large falcon, flying rapidly towards the Alubarna Palace. The sun, not yet completely obscured by the dark clouds, rimmed their somewhat thin figures with gold, like divine soldiers descending from heaven.
"I'm here to send you flying!!!" Luffy roared at the top of his lungs.
(That Straw Hat, is he Straw Hat Luffy? What a shameless brat!)
Crocodile's face darkened as he muttered, "Why are there so many reckless fools today..."
"Luffy! Pell!" Vivi gazed at the approaching man and bird, covering her mouth with both hands in excitement as rolling hot tears burst from her beautiful large eyes.
Meanwhile, on the road leading to the Tomb of the Kings.
"That is the smoke from burning Dance Powder!" Cobra gazed at the distant smoke in some astonishment, then asked Nico Robin, who was walking behind him: "This is the powder that brings misfortune! Why are you doing this!"
Although he had never ordered the use of Dance Powder, as a king, Cobra still had this bit of knowledge. Furthermore, he subconsciously assumed this was another one of Sand Crocodile's evil plans.
"No, this is not part of our plan..." Robin shook her head, denying it with an indifferent expression. Then she composed herself and recalled slightly in her heart.
(It seems that back then, in order to frame the King more perfectly, Baroque Works personnel did indeed hide a lot of Dance Powder in Alubarna. Now it seems that what is burning is exactly that.)
Thinking of this, the figure of a handsome young man wearing glasses inexplicably flashed through this charming woman's mind. Combining this with the weakness of Crocodile's Devil Fruit ability, clever as she was, she naturally deduced the cause and effect instantly.
(Sherlock, you guy really are... Forget it, I probably won't have the chance to meet a terrifying guy like you again in the future.) Robin sighed in her heart, then smiled somewhat relievedly and said:
"Besides, there is one thing you said incorrectly, Mr. Cobra." The corner of Nico Robin's mouth hooked into an alluring arc: "Looking at it now, this isn't powder that brings misfortune, but powder that brings [luck]."
"Luck?"
Cobra naturally didn't understand the meaning behind this mysterious woman's words. Concerned about his country, just as he wanted to voice a question, he was interrupted by a flurry of hurried footsteps ahead.
A group of fully armed Marines blocked their path. A young female Marine wearing glasses stepped forward, the treasured sword in her hand unsheathed.
"Release the King immediately! Nico Robin!" Tashigi aimed the Shigure in her hand at this Devil Child who had been rescued by Sand Crocodile, while the Marines behind her raised their muskets in unison.
Even facing so many Marines, this charming woman's expression remained unchanged.
"You, you are that survivor of Ohara, Nico Robin?" Cobra gasped. At this moment, he finally understood why Sand Crocodile was so obsessed with the Poneglyph that no one could read.
Nico Robin remained silent. She lowered her head slightly, and slowly crossed her two arms in front of her chest.
Clatter clatter... The sound of rolling rubble.
"You guy..."
A blood-covered Mr. 2 staggered out from the ruins, gazing at the blonde cook in the distance, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Are you a devil??!! Why do you hate this person so much??!! He's your companion, a companion!!!" As this okama spoke, he actually started crying. He didn't know how many bones in his body were broken. Mr. 2 even believed that if his body hadn't become incredibly resilient from practicing Okama Kenpo, that kick just now would have cost him his old life.
"..." Sanji turned his head away awkwardly, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.
Here, let's mention in passing why Sanji was so agitated just now.
Actually, as companions on the same ship, Sherlock's impression in Sanji's heart was very good, second only to the two ladies on board. Moreover, that elegance ingrained in Sherlock's bones suited Sanji the gentleman's tastes extremely well.
It could be said that, apart from having a slightly large appetite, the magician already scored a perfect ten in the curly-browed cook's heart. Therefore, Sanji's attitude towards Sherlock was usually extremely intimate and friendly, just like the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates' attitude towards Sherlock.
But there was one point that made this lovesick cook really want to find an opportunity to kick Sherlock.
That was, this guy wearing glasses seemed to attract girls way too much. Not only did Princess Vivi secretly give her heart to him in an extremely short time, but Nami also occasionally gave "benefits" to Sherlock, this "local tycoon," in a big way. Although it was mostly teasing in nature, this still made Sanji extremely envious, jealous, and hateful towards the magician.
And what was even more infuriating was that every time this guy with glasses faced these situations, he always had a lukewarm attitude. That calm and composed manner drove the lovesick cook absolutely crazy. (For example, Chapter 38...)
It's like when you are starving to death, and someone else has a fragrant, large chicken leg in their hand. If they ate it, fine, just eat it properly. But as a result, this guy not only doesn't eat it but puts it aside with an indifferent look.
How could this not make Sanji jealous, not make him angry?
Similar to Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper, Sanji was actually a person who was more emotional than rational. This could be seen from the lovesick expressions he frequently showed.
In his heart, he very much wanted an opportunity to put his thoughts into practice.
Actually, if the target he wanted to kick were the other males of the Straw Hat Pirates, Sanji probably would have kicked them long ago. But alas, this person was Sherlock!
Influenced by the magician's unique charismatic personality, whenever Sanji was with Sherlock, the curly-browed cook couldn't raise the slightest thought of lifting his leg. Furthermore, it was estimated that even if Sherlock deliberately leaned his face close for Sanji to kick, Sanji absolutely wouldn't move his foot.
After all, he was Sherlock!
All in all, out of jealousy towards a "winner in life," Sanji had actually endured Sherlock in his heart for a long, long time. And this time, Mr. 2 turning into Sherlock just happened to give Sanji an opportunity to indulge, and it was the kind with absolutely no psychological burden or worries.
"Hmph! Did you think your ridiculous disguise could deceive me?"
Sanji patted his chest with extreme righteousness and spoke loudly to the near-half-dead okama in the distance:
"For a person, the most important thing is the [Heart]!!!"
"Heart?? Pfft..." Hearing these words, Mr. 2's mind was greatly shaken. Then he spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body falling powerlessly backward, never to get up again.
Because he turned into the one person he shouldn't have, Mr. 2 bit the dust right there...
(Phew~ finally got it done. I hope Sherlock doesn't find out about this matter...)
Although he hadn't seen Sherlock get angry, Sanji's intuition told him that being targeted by the magician, this guy who looked very gentle, was absolutely an extremely terrifying thing.
Thinking of this, the curly-browed cook hurriedly pulled out his cigarette pack, intending to smoke a cigarette to calm his nerves.
Pat~
A tiny raindrop fell onto Sanji's finger, splashing a small spray of water.
"Raindrop? It's raining!" The curly-browed cook's breath hitched. Then he hurriedly raised his head, stunned to discover that at some point the sky had become covered with dark clouds, and a pattering light rain had started falling. Furthermore, it was getting heavier and heavier, turning into a downpour in the blink of an eye.
Reaching out to wipe the rainwater off his face, Sanji blinked somewhat blankly.
"Never mind this, it's more important to find Nami-san!" Shaking his head, Sanji threw away the already soaked cigarette butt, then quickly ran towards the distance.
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