Conqueror's Haki surged and clashed in midair.
A vast, overwhelming pressure enveloped the entire royal capital of Alabasta. The civilians inside the capital instantly felt as if a massive boulder had been pressed down upon their hearts.
Fortunately, because of Crocodile's Ground Secco, many of the civilians in the royal capital had already fled elsewhere. Otherwise, the clash between these two powerful figures alone would have been enough to cause devastating casualties among these defenseless people.
"So this is what the strongest at the very top of the sea are like…"
Inside Alabasta's royal palace, Vivi's father, the current king of Alabasta, Nefertari Cobra, leaned against the balcony railing and stared blankly at the cross-shaped sun in the distant sky.
The kingdom's rebellion was not his fault. It was Crocodile's conspiracy.
But they had still been powerless.
Crocodile's strength was not something Alabasta could deal with. Against such a powerful Logia-type Devil Fruit user, the number of soldiers meant nothing.
And now, with Garp's appearance, Cobra understood even more clearly the difference between military force and a true top-tier powerhouse.
A bitter, sorrowful taste spread through his mouth.
Garp's arrival stirred up a tremendous storm.
Covered in blood and nearly collapsed in a pool of his own blood, Zoro forced himself to stand. Behind him lay Mr. 1, who had already lost consciousness.
Sanji leaned against a wall, smoking a cigarette.
Mr. 2 had been defeated. In the end, Sanji had still been the stronger of the two. However, Sanji had not been ruthless. He had only kicked his opponent unconscious.
Nami and the others had also dealt with their respective enemies.
Chopper, Usopp, and Ann were piled together. Among them, the three had suffered the lightest injuries. However, Usopp had still been struck in the face by that fat man in green with an iron club. His bones had shattered, but thanks to Chopper's medical skills, he had recovered through the supreme treatment of heavy bandaging.
"What a terrifying aura!"
At this moment, Usopp was trembling all over as he hid behind Ann.
Chopper was still hiding the wrong way around, leaving most of his body exposed.
In the battle just now, Ann had almost single-handedly defeated all of their enemies. Her powerful strength had earned the admiration of both of them. But Usopp, hiding behind Ann, could clearly sense that Ann herself was actually trembling right now.
Gulp!
Ann swallowed hard.
Why?
Why had Grandpa Garp come to a place like Alabasta?!
The moment she recalled her childhood experiences under that monstrous old man, instinctive fear surged through her.
But immediately after that, beneath the cross-shaped sun, a figure wrapped in yellow sand rose against the wind.
Black-red lightning spread through the air. Though it was inferior to Garp's, there was no mistake.
That, too, was Conqueror's Haki!
Crocodile, who had barely grasped Conqueror's Haki Infusion, swung her golden hook and clashed head-on with Garp without the slightest fear.
"Old man! This is my territory!"
Crocodile, whose mood had clearly worsened to the extreme, made a rather irrational decision.
Perhaps the special training in Elbaf had raised her spirit to an indescribable height. She felt that a powerhouse on Garp's level was not so extraordinary after all, and that the gap between herself and people like him was not that great.
But in the next instant—
Fist and golden hook collided.
Between them was an uncrossable space.
Black-red lightning surged violently.
But Crocodile soon discovered that her opponent's strength was simply astonishing.
The most direct proof was that cracks had actually appeared in the golden hook on her right hand.
Even the extremely tough Seastone hidden within it was affected.
Looking at the white-haired old man before her, Crocodile still gritted her teeth and held on with everything she had.
A trace of surprise flashed through Garp's eyes.
When had Crocodile become this strong?
This level of strength was far beyond what she had possessed in the past.
Back then, a large part of Crocodile's bounty of over one billion Berries had come from Roldy 's reputation. But now?
Her current strength was already fully worthy of the level of an Emperor's right-hand officer.
That two-billion-berry bounty of hers could probably be justified by her own power alone.
What an astonishing young one.
Garp thought to himself.
However—
"Stop boasting, brat. You're still far too green!"
Garp added even more power to his fist.
Crocodile could no longer hold on.
The golden hook in her hand shattered inch by inch.
Garp's heavy fist slipped past her arm and slammed fiercely into her face.
The devastating blow instantly sent Crocodile's body breaking through the sound barrier. Her body smashed heavily into the yellow sand, bounced up from the impact, and in the next moment, an even more exaggerated crater appeared in the ground.
The pit was frighteningly deep, nearly a hundred meters down.
"Cough!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Crocodile's mouth.
Her eyes rolled white, and she nearly lost consciousness from Garp's punch.
Leaving aside the gap in their strength, Garp's punch had accumulated a great deal of momentum. It had also come from above, crashing downward, while Crocodile had been forced to respond in haste.
Such an outcome was only natural.
"Grandpa!"
"Old man!"
When Luffy and Ace saw who had arrived, both shouted at the same time.
The stern expression on Garp's face faded. At first, he strode toward the two of them with a loud laugh.
But the moment he drew close, that smile vanished instantly.
His iron fists, with their clearly defined knuckles, slammed down on their heads, raising two enormous bumps.
"You bastards! Are you two trying to make this old man die of anger?! You both actually became pirates! Ace, you bastard, your bounty has already risen to five hundred million! And you, Luffy! You've got a thirty-million-berry bounty now! The two of you were clearly supposed to become Marines!"
Garp was so furious that two streams of white smoke puffed from his nostrils.
Luffy and Ace clutched the huge bumps on their heads, grimacing in pain.
"Why are you two even in Alabasta? Forget it, that doesn't matter. Once we get back, just see how I deal with the two of you!"
Garp grabbed both of them by the ears and stormed forward angrily.
But Crocodile had already climbed out of the massive crater.
Covered in blood, she stood in Garp's path.
"Move aside. You're no match for this old man! If you want to stop me, then call Roldy over!"
Because of Roldy , Garp did not want to make things difficult for Crocodile.
Crocodile looked at Garp in silence for a moment.
Then she suddenly grinned.
"Sure."'
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