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As Crocodile was sent flying by Shinryu's punch, sand and dust filled the air, and the battlefield fell into a deathly silence.
Nico Robin stood in the massive sandpit behind Shinryu, covering her mouth in shock.
"That Crocodile... actually got..."
To be honest, the reason she had chosen to betray Crocodile and cooperate with the other side this time was, to a large extent, because Shinryu knew her identity; she believed she had no other choice.
But deep down, she had never been optimistic about this betrayal. After all, as his partner, she knew better than anyone how powerful Crocodile was.
He was one of the "Seven Warlords of the Sea," selected by the World Government to balance the three great powers of the sea.
Crocodile was undoubtedly extremely dangerous.
In particular, he was extremely strong. In Robin's memory, she had never once seen Crocodile injured. Anyone standing before him was as insignificant as a person facing the desert itself.
This was also why, even though Robin knew about Crocodile's plans in Alabasta and felt deep down that she should oppose him, she had never dared to do so openly.
Yet now, this Shichibukai, whom she had always regarded as nearly insurmountable, had been sent flying right in front of her.
"This man..."
Unconsciously, Nico Robin's gaze shifted toward that figure.
He was from an organization called the Twelve Zodiac and had the codename Shinryu.
"A person rarely gets the chance to pursue their true value, yet misses it for some reason. In the end, they have no choice but to hide in a pitch-black corner again. Is that what you seek?"
She suddenly recalled the words he had spoken not long ago.
"My...true desire." She murmured in her heart.
But at that very moment...
"Hey, Robin San, if you have time to space out, you'd better hurry and get away from the battlefield."
Shinryu's voice cut off her thoughts.
The voice beneath the mask was calm, yet what he said made Nico Robin freeze for a moment.
Then she immediately understood what he meant.
The fight wasn't over yet!
"Buzz..."
As if to prove his point, a gigantic sand blade burst forth, accompanied by a piercing slicing sound. It cleaved through the swirling dust instantly.
It swept past a weathered rocky hill, splitting it cleanly in two with ease.
"Desert Spada --- Treasured Blade of the Desert!"
Facing this incoming strike, Shinryu merely raised his hand. Three massive ice shields materialized once more, blocking the path of the gigantic sand blade.
Bang! Bang!
This time, however, the powerful sand blade shattered two of the ice shields outright and finally lost its momentum when it struck the third.
Shinryu's gaze then turned toward the figure emerging from the dust: Crocodile.
The left side of his abdomen was completely torn, revealing well-defined muscles and a clear, bruised imprint of a fist. Around that fist mark were unmistakable traces of frostbite.
A thin line of blood lingered at the corner of his mouth, making him look disheveled.
The arrogance and indifference that had once filled his face were now completely gone, replaced by the ferocity of a beast pushed to its limit.
"There really was no Haki on that attack… and you actually knew?"
His eyes were locked tightly on Shinryu.
Both he and Shinryu understood the meaning behind his words perfectly.
"Of course there was no Haki." So Shinryu smiled.
He wasn't about to say, "Bro, I haven't even learned Haki yet."
He simply raised his hand.
At that moment, tiny droplets of water continuously condensed in his palm.
"This thing is much more useful than Haki for dealing with you."
Yes.
Water was Crocodile's weakness, or rather, the weakness of the Sand-Sand Fruit.
Sand solidifies when it comes into contact with water. Therefore, if Crocodile is struck by water, the affected area cannot undergo elemental transformation.
When it comes to countering Crocodile, water is even more effective than Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki).
It was precisely by coating his hand with water that Shinryu was able to send Crocodile flying with a single punch.
Pa-da! Pa-da! Pa-da!
Just as he finished speaking, rain began to pour down from the sky.
"I already told you, you can't beat me." He calmly repeated what he had said earlier.
This time, however, Crocodile showed no trace of disdain.
He merely clenched the cigar between his teeth and stared at the torrential rain while feeling the intense pain surging from his abdomen.
He was willing to admit one fact: He had underestimated Shinryu.
Having things go smoothly in Alabasta for so long had made him careless. He had always known that Shinryu was the "Rain Summoner," someone who could bring about rainfall.
But he had never been particularly wary of it.
He believed that no one knew his weakness and certainly hadn't expected Shinryu to use water against him right from the start.
If he hadn't sensed something was wrong in time and used Busoshoku Haki: Hardening to block most of the frost damage, that punch could have rendered him unable to fight.
Shinryu's abilities truly countered him.
And because of that, he felt a long-forgotten sense of danger coming from Shinryu.
Still, there was no panic in his heart. Instead, he felt excitement.
'How many years had it been?'
How long had it been since his crushing defeat at the hands of Whitebeard in the New World? How long had it been since he last felt like this?
He didn't like being schemed against.
He didn't like being at a disadvantage.
He didn't like being passive.
But…
He enjoyed danger.
"I am Crocodile! If you think that just because you know 'water' is my weakness you can defeat me, then you're mistaken."
At this moment, he bared his teeth in a ferocious grin.
"Yellow Sand Curtain!"
As his words fell, the yellow sand on the ground that had not yet been soaked by rain began to rise. It writhed upward into the sky, and in the end formed a massive curtain that blocked not only all the falling rain, but even the light from above.
As mentioned before, Alabasta was a desert nation.
In this nation...
He was the sole "king."
Not even rain could fall without his permission.
"Impressive." Seeing the magnificent sight of yellow sand stretching across the sky and sealing off the rain, Even Shinryu couldn't help but praise him sincerely: "Worthy of a Shichibukai."
He truly meant it.
Despite knowing the plot and Crocodile's abilities and weaknesses, he hadn't expected Crocodile to have a move like this up his sleeve.
Crocodile had never used this move in the original story.
"Just as expected of a pirate who made it all the way to the final stage. If you're not Big Brother Nika, blessed with protagonist plot armor, then underestimating him is basically courting death."
He sighed inwardly.
Of course, at this moment, Crocodile had no idea what Shinryu was thinking.
The Shichibukai simply looked at Shinryu and said,
"Kid, I already understand your abilities: rainfall, freezing, and the water droplets on your skin. I don't know what Devil Fruit you have, but you can manipulate the moisture in the air, right?"
He raised the golden hook on his left hand and pointed it at Shinryu once more.
"But you've already missed your only chance to kill me. From here on out, you won't have another opportunity to touch me with water."
But after hearing this, Shinryu laughed.
"Really?" He said calmly. "I don't believe you."
(End of Chapter)