Meanwhile, on the other side.
Will gazed at the colossal wave of desert sand surging toward him, a glint of excitement flashing in his eyes.
"Now that's more like it, Crocodile!"
Having already charged up his strength, the moment the sandstorm's gusts brushed against him, he slammed his legs into the ground with explosive force, instantly cratering the sand beneath his feet.
Boom!
A deafening blast echoed as the ground caved in. In that split second, Will vanished from where he stood.
Transforming into a blur too fast for the naked eye to follow, he streaked across the sand, charging head-on toward the terrifying desert wave.
At the very moment of collision—
Will, his right hand above his left, fingers taut, palms straightened, and arms tensed in front of him, suddenly thrust both arms forward with ferocious power!
"Armament Haki Release · Dragon Devourer ———!!!"
Boom!!
As his hands slammed into the turbulent air ahead, a massive, dragon-shaped air cannon blasted forward with devastating force.
BOOM!!
Carried by the unrelenting momentum of his charge, Will crashed directly into the oncoming desert wave.
With a thunderous impact that shook the earth, Will, enveloped by what seemed like a roaring air dragon, tore a massive gap through the desert wave!
Before the wave could even begin to reform, he followed the dragon-shaped air cannon, slipping through the breach at lightning speed.
He barreled straight toward Crocodile, whose face now betrayed a flicker of shock.
Feeling the fierce gusts whipping past him, Crocodile realized there was no time to dodge. Without hesitation, he recalled the sand sustaining the desert wave.
In an instant, he raised a massive, thick wall of sand in front of himself.
"Desert Barrier ———!!"
The next second—
Will, carrying the dragon-shaped air cannon, slammed into the towering sand wall with unrelenting force.
BOOM!!
The moment of impact unleashed a deafening roar. The air cannon, already brimming with intense pressure, detonated on contact, instantly obliterating the massive sand wall!
The resulting shockwave blasted everything outward with unstoppable force.
Even Will was thrown back by the sheer power, skidding across the sand and leaving a long, deep trail in his wake.
Several seconds passed.
As the distant sand and dust began to settle, Crocodile, who had been hiding behind the massive sand wall, slowly emerged.
At this moment, Crocodile was gradually reforming his human shape, having once again used his full-body elementalization to narrowly escape the devastating attack.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
His breathing grew heavier, a clear sign of his dwindling stamina.
In stark contrast, Will looked as though he'd barely broken a sweat. Standing tall, he casually brushed the sand off his body.
Not a single drop of perspiration marred his form.
Before Will could say a word—
Crocodile, knowing full well that he'd meet his end unless he fought with everything he had, steeled his expression with grim determination.
Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee, slamming both hands onto the sand.
Will's eyes lit up at the sight. Instead of interrupting, he stood back, watching with keen interest, deliberately giving Crocodile time to prepare.
Because deep down, Will was eager to see just how much of a surprise Crocodile, now pushed to the brink, could still deliver.
A spark of intense anticipation gleamed in Will's eyes.
Crocodile, seeing his opponent's attitude, had no energy left to care.
When he'd chosen to go all-in, he'd already anticipated that Will might grant him this moment to prepare.
Through their earlier clashes, Crocodile had pieced together a rough understanding of his opponent's mindset.
"You want to see the limits of my strength, huh, Madman Will?!"
"Then I'll show you ———!!"
His eyes narrowed sharply, channeling every ounce of his focus and will into his hands and the sand beneath them.
In this moment, facing a terrifyingly powerful foe and teetering on the edge of death—
Crocodile finally unleashed the latent potential buried deep within him!
The next second!
Buzz!!
A tremor rippled through the air as the sand beneath began to quake violently.
"Hm?!"
Will raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the countless grains of sand now rising into the air.
Crocodile's expression grew increasingly ferocious, sweat pouring down his forehead.
Then, he suddenly lifted his head, letting out a furious roar:
"Be buried in this desert, Madman Will ———!!"
"Erosion Reincarnation · Desert Hell ———!!!"
In an instant—
Crocodile's entire body dissolved into grains of sand, merging completely with the desert below!
The next moment—
The entire desert within a several-hundred-meter radius began to tremble wildly!
Masses of sand surged upward, swirling and intertwining, rapidly coalescing into an even more massive sandstorm.
In mere seconds—
Will felt as though he'd been plunged into a catastrophic sandstorm, the kind that might only occur once in a century.
Yellow sand rose from all directions, forming a blinding, sky-swallowing tempest!
Nearby, several terrifying sand vortices roared, ravaging everything in their path.
Will couldn't help but look up at the endless expanse of sand blotting out the sky, a flicker of uncontainable excitement in his eyes.
"You haven't disappointed me, Crocodile!"
"To show my respect, I'll end this fight with that move!"
As soon as the words left his mouth—
His expression turned deadly serious, the muscles on his back tensing with explosive force.
"Demon Back ———!!"
The technique activated instantly.
Will's back muscles contorted, forming a visage akin to a demonic face.
After quickly adapting to the surging power coursing through his body—
He braced against the tearing force of the surrounding sandstorm and the abrasive winds scraping at him, bending his knees deeply.
"Moonstep · Ascending Dragon ———!!"
Boom…!
With a sudden burst of force from his legs, the sand beneath him collapsed, and Will shot upward like a cannonball, climbing at breakneck speed!
Even at a height of over a hundred meters, the air was still thick with swirling yellow sand, as if he'd entered some forbidden realm of death.
But Will paid the sandstorm no mind.
He tilted his head slightly, eyes locked on the ground below, while his feet continued to tread the air, propelling him higher.
Once he deemed the height sufficient—
He stopped, swiftly controlling his muscles to unleash even more power.
His already chiseled physique swelled dramatically, his muscles bulging like armor!
It was a fearsome sight!
As he began to plummet, he suddenly twisted his body mid-air.
Then—
Boom!
Will's legs slammed into the air behind him, a sonic boom erupting as he rocketed downward like a meteor!
During his descent, he drew back his right arm, charging it with power and coating it in a dense layer of Armament Haki.
At the same time, he relentlessly used Moonstep, stomping the air to accelerate even further.
When he was less than fifty meters from the ground—
Two crimson flashes gleamed in Will's eyes. His blackened right arm, now crackling with black-and-red lightning, surged with power.
"Conqueror's Haki Infusion · Meteor Crash ———!!!"
Whoosh!
With a piercing whistle through the air, Will dove from the sky at blinding speed, his fist glowing with an eerie, fiery light!
In the split second before impact, he unleashed his tightly clenched right fist, slamming it into the flat desert below.
The next moment!
BOOM ———!!!
A cataclysmic explosion shook the earth!
The entire desert collapsed inward, the shockwave rapidly spreading outward.
Black-and-red lightning erupted from the massive crater, crackling wildly!
The powerful airwaves generated by the impact surged in all directions, instantly dispersing the surrounding sandstorms.
The sheer force of the collision ignited the air itself.
Then—
BOOM!!
Fueled by the rushing air, a massive fireball erupted from the crater, shooting skyward!
It rose like a yellow-and-red mushroom cloud, swelling upward.
In mere seconds—
The ferocious airwaves and towering flames obliterated the city-sized sandstorm in an instant.
From a distance—
The collapsing ground, flashing lightning, surging airwaves, blazing fire, and dissipating sandstorm combined into a breathtaking apocalyptic scene!
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
A middle-aged man dressed in a light purple kimono, eyes closed, wooden clogs on his feet, and a blind cane in hand, navigated the desolate desert alone, guided by some extraordinary sense.
Suddenly—
He seemed to detect something, halting abruptly. He raised his head, "looking" toward the distant sandstorm rising far on the horizon.
From where he stood, the sandstorm appeared small and faint.
Then—
Boom!
A distant explosion echoed.
Moments later—
A powerful gust swept in from afar, kicking up clouds of yellow sand that brushed across the man's body, sending the hem of his kimono fluttering backward.
Yet he paid no mind to the blowing sand, standing firm, "gazing" toward the distant storm. His expression grew pensive, as if lost in thought.
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