"No need to say more, just take him out!"
The people Crocodile had recruited were all desperadoes, each revealing their most ferocious and menacing expressions. However, they still showed sufficient respect to their new boss, and no one dared to act without orders.
"Boss, what do you think?"
"It seems like another hunter has set their sights on my bounty head. Go and deal with it," Crocodile said calmly, narrowing his eyes.
"Hahaha, understood!"
"Let's go, finally some fun!"
Upon hearing the order, the group went wild, shouting and cheering excitedly as they urged their camels to charge forward.
One of them, seemingly impatient with the camel's speed, leaped into the air from the camel's back and spun rapidly. By the time he landed, he had transformed into a tall, muscular half-beastman with a pair of horns on his head.
"Here it comes, Brother Ilan's Zoan Sheep-Sheep Fruit Antelope Form!"
As soon as the man finished speaking, the half-beastman bent his legs, his hard hooves digging into the sand. In the next moment, with a powerful burst of strength from his thick leg muscles, he leaped high into the air with a thunderous boom.
"This life is mine!"
"Take this—Demonic Sheep Trample!"
Ilan, his face covered in wool, looked down cruelly as his hooves rapidly descended toward the Man in White's forehead, his pupils glowing with a bloodthirsty red.
[Clang!!]
The iron-hard hooves, wrapped in a swirling current of air, slammed down onto a single raised white index finger, producing a deafening crash.
The immense force erupted from the point of contact, compressing the air around them into rippling waves. The sand beneath them sank several centimeters under the invisible pressure.
"H-how is this possible?! Aaaaaah!"
A heart-wrenching scream erupted, startling the others who were charging forward. They instinctively pulled back on their camels, staring in shock as Brother Ilan's body sprouted blood-soaked bone spikes. In the blink of an eye, he demonstrated the very definition of brutal extremity.
For a moment, everyone was frozen by the horrifyingly bloody scene. Only Crocodile's expression remained calm.
"A Paramecia-type ability user... huh?"
[Thud, thud, thud!]
But before he could finish speaking, another shocking development occurred. From beneath the sand, pale white swords emerged, piercing through the bellies of the camels and their riders who had already charged dozens of meters ahead.
Over a dozen people and their camels fell to the ground, dead before they could even scream. Streams of warm blood flowed from the wounds, staining the sand in circles of red.
[Whoosh——]
A gust of wind swept across the desert, swiftly passing between the Man in White and Crocodile.
"This guy..."
At this moment, Crocodile's expression grew serious as he looked at the pale white swords floating in the air, occasionally dripping blood.
Earlier, he hadn't used Observation Haki to sense the opponent's aura. His two-year journey through 'Paradise' had made him less cautious, accustomed to easily defeating anyone who crossed his path.
But just now, his subordinates had reminded him with their lives. As he clearly felt the overwhelming, suffocating aura emanating from the Man in White, he could no longer remain calm.
"Who exactly are you?"
Crocodile transformed into a swirl of sand and left the hunchback, reappearing about fifty meters away from the Man in White. His muscles tensed, ready to strike at any moment.
[Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!]
However, the Man in White gave no response. Instead, thirteen pale white swords shot through the air at an incredible speed, leaving the sound of sonic booms far behind.
Fortunately, Crocodile's Observation Haki was prepared, and combined with his Logia-type Elemental Transformation Ability, he managed to dodge the flurry of sword attacks with relative ease.
"Huh?!"
In the next instant, a blurry white shadow flickered into view. Crocodile's expression changed drastically as his right arm, already transformed into a swirl of sand, began to vibrate rapidly, emitting a buzzing sound.
"Crescent Dune!"
A massive crescent-shaped sand blade swept out in front of him, colliding with the white sword blade that was slashing toward him. However, the sand blade couldn't hold out for even a second. The sword light, swift as a white rainbow, sliced through the sand blade and struck Crocodile's chest.
Although he quickly attempted to disperse his body through Elementalization to avoid the sword strike, he was still a fraction too slow. When the cloud of yellowish sand that was his body reformed into a human shape over a hundred meters away, a long, bloody gash had indeed appeared on his chest.
"That's a fast blade..."
Crocodile clutched the wound on his chest, his face grim as he stared intently at the Man in White. Beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead. As for mistaking the sword for a blade, there was no need to dwell on that.
But in response to his words, the Man in White seemed to pause as if sizing him up, then suddenly spoke, "So weak. How can your Haki be this feeble?"
This man was none other than a CP0 agent dispatched by the Five Elders, and not just any CP0 member—he was one who bore the title of 'Holy Shield.'
To put it simply, a 'Holy Shield' was definitely a CP0 agent, but not all CP0 agents were 'Holy Shields.' The title 'Holy Shield' signified that its bearer possessed strength comparable to that of a Marine Admiral.
Originally, dealing with the 22-year-old Crocodile shouldn't have required such a high-caliber force. Normally, it would have been appropriate to send Marine Admiral candidates like Akainu, Kizaru, or Aokiji, or perhaps a few ordinary CP0 agents.
However, due to the vast scope of a certain supreme authority's operations, the entire Marine force was swamped with work, leaving no one available to dispatch. It was unthinkable to mobilize Fleet Admiral Kong for a mere 'little sand crocodile,' wasn't it?
The situation with CP0 was similar—most of their personnel had already been deployed.
Moreover, considering that Crocodile had fought Bullet to a standstill several times two years ago and even challenged 'Whitebeard'—though he was defeated—it was clear that his strength couldn't be underestimated. He could easily be compared to Bullet.
At present, Bullet, though only 21 years old, was already beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Marine Vice Admiral or CP9 agent to handle.
And since Crocodile had made his way to Alabasta, it was even more imperative not to deploy a large fleet to surround him. Therefore, it was necessary to send someone whose strength surpassed Bullet's to capture him.
This was the result of the earlier internal discussion within CP0, hence the decision to have him, one of the two Holy Shields, take action! The problem was, after the initial exchange just now, Crocodile's Armament Haki was too weak, almost like a rookie who had just mastered Haki not long ago.
To be honest, if it were just a Logia-type user who had just learned Haki and hadn't awakened it yet, sending a seasoned Marine Vice Admiral would be more than enough.
But this didn't make sense. How could Crocodile be this weak?
Although this guy isn't very old, his height of two and a half meters alone shows extraordinary potential. You can't judge him by ordinary standards; his four or five years could easily match most people's ten or more years.
The Man in White's eyes beneath the mask were filled with doubt. He looked at the guy in front of him and wondered if he had encountered a fake 'Desert King'.
On Crocodile's side, hearing this guy belittle him so much made him extremely angry, but he wasn't the type to lose his temper easily. Moreover, he had also realized that his Haki had inexplicably weakened, which made him both shocked and furious.
"Why, why is my Haki like this?"
What's wrong with my Haki? This question was also the one Crocodile, sitting cross-legged in boiling water, was desperately pondering. It was the same question that had been tormenting him ever since his defeat by CP0 and his subsequent capture.
The current him was basically no different from two years ago, back when he had just set out to sea. Over these two years, he hadn't done much training, so it wasn't strange that his strength hadn't improved. But it shouldn't have declined, and certainly not this drastically!
"Time's up, Crocodile, come out and get dressed."
At this moment, a nervous jailer outside the pot called out to him.
He didn't know why he was nervous. After all, the guy had Sea Stone Handcuffs on his hands and feet, his shadow had been cut away, and he was even wearing a pet collar around his neck. No matter how you looked at it, he couldn't resist.