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"I just don't know if he has Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki)... the kind that can actually pose a threat to Logia Devil Fruit users."
Standing up, Rojen walked outside.
"Let's test it on Crocodile."
After a month of intense cultivation, the changes in Crocodile and the others were immediately apparent.
The moment Rojen stepped out, he saw three figures, each with massive tree trunks across their shoulders, doing continuous frog jumps. Every time they leapt, clouds of dust billowed across the yard.
"One, two, three!"
Jason was shouting loudly, with Trens and Crocodile gritting their teeth as they followed his lead.
The physical transformation in all three was obvious compared to a month ago. Trens, who was once skinny and weak, now had a fuller, more muscular build. As for Crocodile, he looked like he had been inflated; his physique appeared robust and powerful.
Rojen hadn't held back with them. He had passed on both the Dragon-Elephant Prajña Merit and the Changing Muscles Classic, which was why their progress had been so rapid in such a short time.
Now, Crocodile could easily lift tree trunks without using his Devil Fruit powers. Trens, too, had transformed; gone was the naïve little boy, replaced by someone with a determined gaze and solid, defined muscles.
"Crocodile, come here a sec."
Nodding with satisfaction, Rojen called out to him.
Hearing Rojen's voice, Crocodile released the massive log, about a meter thick and ten meters long, letting it crash to the ground.
Then he picked up a leather jacket from the ground and draped it over his shoulders.
"Captain, what's up?"
He strode forward with powerful steps, and as he moved, streams of sand gathered on his shoulder, forming a fierce-looking crocodile statue. The creature exuded a commanding presence, crouched on his shoulder and glaring at Rojen with predatory intensity.
Seeing this sand-formed crocodile, Rojen chuckled.
So in the end, Crocodile had ignored his suggestion to carry a giant gourd on his back…
Instead, he had come up with this crocodile statue.
The sand crocodile wasn't very large, about two feet long. Its head rested on Crocodile's shoulder, and its tail draped down his back. Despite its modest size, it was incredibly solid, formed from countless sand grains compressed over a long period of time into a high-density mass. It resembled Gaara's gourd in both form and function.
In just one month, this Sand Crocodile had deepened his understanding of his Logia Devil Fruit powers far beyond what it had been before.
This solid, form-based crocodile was the perfect proof of that.
But what about the other aspect, characteristic? I wonder how much progress he's made there…
"I want you to help me with an experiment," Rojen said bluntly.
"Experiment? What kind?" Crocodile asked, puzzled.
"I want to see if my new power can affect your elementalized body," Rojen replied.
"Oh? Captain's unlocked something new?" Crocodile's eyes gleamed as he smiled.
This version of Crocodile had become noticeably more upbeat, his expression brighter and far less gloomy than before.
"Yeah. Try elementalizing your body. Let's see what happens."
Rojen extended his hand. As True Energy circulated through him, a faint, transparent membrane formed around his hand, like a glove of condensed energy.
"I'm ready. Hit me with everything you've got."
Crocodile nodded.
Without hesitation, Rojen stepped forward and threw a punch straight at Crocodile's abdomen.
"Boom!"
Crocodile didn't dodge. He took the punch head-on.
But that punch... went right through his abdomen.
"So it didn't work?" Rojen pulled back his fist, frowning as he saw Crocodile's sandy abdomen slowly re-form.
"No, Captain," Crocodile said solemnly, "I could feel a sharp, piercing force just now… It was interfering with my Elementalization. And now, it's actively disrupting my regeneration."
His voice was serious.
Unlike the feeling of being weakened by seawater or Seastone, this force seemed to delay his Elementalization, even hinder the reformation of his physical body. It was strange… and powerful.
"Oh? Is that so?" Rojen fell into thought.
Strictly speaking, Logia Devil Fruits control natural elements, in other words, forms of energy. And his own True Energy was also a manifestation of energy control. At their core, they were the same.
So, in theory, True Energy could interact with, or even affect, Logia Elementalization.
"Let's test again. Try Elementalizing your arm."
Three breaths later, Rojen spoke again.
Without hesitation, Crocodile's shoulder trembled slightly, and his right arm transformed into flowing sand.
Almost instantly, that sandy hand lunged at Rojen.
Meanwhile, Jason and Trens had both dropped their logs and were now standing, watching the two intently.
Rojen's eyes narrowed. The 300 apertures in his body all began to radiate a brilliant light. In an instant, his right arm was coated with a layer of transparent astral qi, like an invisible gauntlet of energy.
He reached out and grabbed at Crocodile's extended sand-arm with force.
CRACK!
Something happened that made Crocodile's pupils shrink, and Jason and Trens gasp in disbelief.
"Just as I suspected!" Rojen exclaimed.
Crocodile's Elementalized sand-arm… was firmly caught in Rojen's grasp!
Energy versus energy, it worked!
Crocodile's eyes were filled with shock. His other arm shook and also turned to flowing sand, attacking Rojen again.
But an instant later, Rojen's other hand also clamped down, grabbing the sandified arm just as easily, unaffected by its elemental form.
What truly shocked Crocodile was that his Elementalized arms couldn't break free. In that moment, it felt as though his Elementalization had completely failed.
"This is incredible!" Jason shouted in amazement.
"So that's how it works…" Rojen smiled in realization.
True Energy does affect Elementalization, but not by neutralizing it the way Armament Haki does. Instead, it mainly slows down the transformation speed, and in some cases, prevents further elemental spreading or recovery.
In this way, it's different from Haki, especially since Busoshoku Haki can outright counter Logia users.
But for Rojen, this was already more than enough!
Realizing that his Elementalization was no longer a threat to Rojen, Crocodile gave a slight tremor and his entire body transformed into sand, rushing toward Rojen.
But in that moment, Rojen's eyes suddenly turned blood red. Two tomoe symbols rotated in his irises.
In just a blink, Rojen gained full perception of Crocodile's elemental sand form.
He cloaked his fist in astral qi, then struck out.
BANG!
Crocodile, still in his human-shaped sand form, was hit directly in the abdomen, and was sent staggering backward, five full steps.
"I can attack an elemental body now!"
Rojen's eyes were alight, and his face broke into a broad smile.
With this new discovery, he was no longer completely powerless against Logia users.
(End Of This Chapter)
PS-"For every 200 power stones, I'll release one bonus chapter (Current-0)!"