Chapter 40: Cooperation
"I wonder what Crocodile is doing here. The Baroque Works organization shouldn't have been founded yet."
A sharp gleam flashed in Jiang Qize's eyes as he stared at Crocodile, who was drawing nearer.
A minute later.
Crocodile looked up at the bronze giant standing ahead of him, then at the people on the ship behind it.
He didn't take them seriously, but there was still a flicker of interest in his gaze.
"You're pirates?" Crocodile asked arrogantly, his hawk-like eyes fixed on them.
"Aren't you one too?" Jiang Qize's lips curved slightly.
"You know me?"
"Crocodile—the Sand-Sand Fruit user. What's the great Desert King doing in a small town like this? Got some kind of plan?"
Crocodile's eyes narrowed.
"Recruiting, perhaps?" Jiang Qize said with a lazy smile.
At the same time, an idea stirred in his mind.
Crocodile's heart gave a faint jolt, and a glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes. That someone had seen through his thoughts annoyed him.
"Crocodile, I know what you're after and what you want. How about we work together?"
"Hah. Just you?" Crocodile sneered coldly.
Even though he'd once been defeated by Whitebeard, he still had his pride. After all, he was a Logia-type user of the Sand-Sand Fruit.
"Still as arrogant as ever. Fine then… you can fight one of my crew. If you lose, we'll cooperate. If I lose, I'll tell you a secret."
Jiang Qize smiled faintly.
Crocodile stared back icily. "Deal. But if you lose… you'll serve under me."
"Fine!" Jiang Qize replied confidently.
This Crocodile wasn't the one from ten years in the future, and this wasn't his territory. With Ryuryu's strength, Jiang Qize was certain of victory.
"Good."
Crocodile agreed. His pride wouldn't let him turn down a challenge.
"Ryuryu, he's yours," Jiang Qize ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
A fierce gleam flashed in the bronze giant's slit pupils.
He bent his knees slightly—then leapt.
Boom!
The deck cracked apart as Ryuryu's enormous body soared into the air, then came crashing down onto the shore.
Thud…
The ten-ton impact made the ground quake, blasting a huge crater into the earth.
Jiang Qize smiled at Crocodile and made a courteous after you gesture.
"Hmph."
Crocodile snorted coldly, his body turning into swirling sand as he swept toward Ryuryu's position.
People began emerging from nearby houses, peering nervously toward the street.
The 2.5-meter-tall Crocodile looked like a child before the 15-meter bronze giant.
"Desert Spada!"
With a sharp shout, Crocodile's arm transformed into a massive sand blade that slashed toward Ryuryu.
Rumble…!
The ground split open, purple lightning crackling along the fissures.
Clang!!
Ryuryu's arms morphed into twin steel blades that met the sand slash head-on.
Boom!!
Clang, clang…
Sparks erupted. Grains of sand mixed with droplets of blood flew through the air.
The huge sand blade shattered, and a violent wave of sand swept outward in all directions.
Ryuryu's body was marked with a few shallow cuts—but they healed in the blink of an eye.
"Die!" Crocodile's figure suddenly flashed to Ryuryu's right side, his golden hook—tipped with scorpion venom—lunging toward the giant's heart.
But Ryuryu's reflexes were faster. His steel blade sliced through the air with a roar.
Clang!
Pfft!
The enormous steel sword, larger than Crocodile himself, knocked aside the poisonous hook—and then drove straight into Crocodile's body.
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