When people in Alabasta mention nature or natural disasters, what comes to mind?
The answer is obvious.
In a country where more than seven-tenths of the land is desert, references to "nature" or "natural disasters" usually refer to the same thing: 'the yellow sands that blanket the entire nation.'
For example, the location of the former "Spider Café" is undoubtedly displaying the power of "sand" at this very moment.
"Hōng lóng!"
The sand-covered earth seemed to come alive, beginning to devour everything on its surface. The sand was its mouth, its teeth, and its claws.
At that moment, the entire Spider Café site had already been dragged beneath the ground.
Above ground, only a massive, circular sand pit remained, like a giant sunflower tens of meters across. Within that pit, the flowing sand continued to swallow anything in its path.
Above ground, Crocodile glided through the air with the desert gusts.
"Desert: Sunflower."
At that moment, his lower body had completely transformed into a constantly shifting mass of yellow sand. This was the power he relied on, the ability that allowed him to stand at the pinnacle of this sea region:
The Logia-type Sand-Sand Fruit.
"Chhk!"
He calmly took out another cigar, tore off the wrapper, and lit it.
"Phew."
Exhaling a puff of smoke, he looked down.
"Shinryu...he should be connected to that Youji (Rooster). They're members of the same organization, or perhaps the same pirate crew?"
He guessed in silence.
"And Nico Robin..."
His expression darkened.
Aside from seizing control of Alabasta, his "Utopia Plan" had one most important goal: to obtain information about Pluton hidden within Alabasta.
Nico Robin had originally been an indispensable part of that plan. Now, however, he had no choice but to kill her, which naturally irritated him.
Of course, Crocodile felt no regret over this. Tolerating betrayal was the choice of fools, and he knew that better than anyone.
"Forget it."
Ultimately, he thought calmly, "Once I've taken Alabasta, I can find other ways to decipher the Poneglyphs. The priority now is to determine whether the others are alive or dead."
"I can't lose my Shichibukai status just yet. I need new agents. If they're all dead, then I'll have to suspend the plan until I can gather enough powerful individuals to rebuild the organization."
As he thought this, Crocodile turned around, preparing to leave.
But...
"Hm?"
After taking just one step, he frowned, as if sensing something.
He stopped and turned back. His gaze fell upon the enormous pit in the desert.
At that moment...
Crack! Crack!
Crisp sounds echoed from within the flowing sand; it was the sound of sand freezing solid.
"Hm?" Crocodile raised an eyebrow.
The next instant...
Bang!
All the sand and gravel in the massive pit stopped moving completely, and then... it shattered!
Crocodile once again saw the figures of Shinryu and Nico Robin.
At that moment, fear and shock were clearly visible on her face.
The former slowly stepped out of the deep pit.
"What's wrong, Crocodile?"
"I heard you fought Whitebeard when you were younger. Even if you got crushed, you've seen the world. Surely you didn't think that attack could take me out?"
He looked at Crocodile with a mocking tone coming from beneath his mask.
"..."
Hearing those words, Crocodile's expression grew darker.
The crushing defeat he suffered at Whitebeard's hands was one of the things he least wanted anyone to bring up.
"Yeah... after all, a guy like you who hides his head and shows his tail looks pretty weak."
But as a pirate, Crocodile was clearly not one to lose in a battle of words.
"What a coincidence." Hearing that, Shinryu laughed. "That's exactly what I wanted to say to you as well, Crocodile. You can't beat me."
The moment his words fell…
"Heh." With a cold chuckle, Crocodile's figure instantly dispersed into a cloud of yellow sand.
In the very next moment, his body reassembled beside Shinryu. The golden hook on his left hand flashed with a cold gleam and sliced through the air with a sharp screech as it swung straight toward Shinryu's head.
But immediately after...
"Clang!"
An ice wall abruptly materialized in midair. Crocodile's hook slammed into the wall, its tip embedding itself deeply into the frozen surface.
"Freezing... So that's how you escaped the 'Sunflower' just now?" Crocodile's pupils shrank sharply upon seeing this.
But before he could pull his hook free, he saw that Shinryu had already moved.
"There's still a lady nearby. Let's change locations before we fight." He chuckled softly as he spoke while clenching his fist tight.
"Tekkai: Iron Strength Fist!"
Then...
Bang!
Crocodile saw Shinryu's fist swinging toward his abdomen.
"One of the Rokushiki... Tekkai!"
Crocodile recognized the technique instantly. He didn't find this strange, though, because although the Marines and the World Government created Rokushiki, it had spread widely across the entire sea.
What truly caught his attention was...
"There's no Haki on it?!"
His Kenbunshoku Haki had clearly sensed that there was no Haki coating Shinryu's punch. As everyone knew, for a Logia-type user, an attack without Haki was effectively nonexistent.
"Idiot."
That was Crocodile's conclusion.
Just like countless times in the past when facing rookie pirates in Paradise, he didn't dodge.
"Let me show you the difference in our abilities... ugh?!"
But before Crocodile's smile could fully form, a muffled grunt escaped his throat.
The confidence on his face froze instantly.
Because at this moment, he had already realized that... something was wrong.
Shinryu's fist did not pass through his sand-like body.
On the contrary!
Boom!
As if struck head-on by a charging beast, Crocodile's body caved inwards violently.
Scalding blood burst uncontrollably from his mouth, and his body was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut.
Bang!
Like a cannonball, he smashed through rocks along the way before slamming heavily into the desert, kicking up a sky full of murky sand and dust.
Meanwhile, Shinryu slowly withdrew his fist.
"Sorry, I didn't quite hear that. What was it you said you wanted to show me again?"
(End of Chapter)
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