Chiyu, unleashing his full power, instantly saw through all of Crocodile's weaknesses.
With Armament Haki‑coated twin blades in hand, he brought them crashing down in a flash!
Crocodile roared. The feeling of being looked down on filled him with unprecedented fury!
"Desert Spada!"
—In an instant!—
Crocodile turned his arm into a huge sand blade and slashed down from above, its unstoppable momentum seeming able to cleave anything apart as it hacked viciously toward Chiyu's head!
Chiyu's black blades let out a low hum.
The Haki‑wrapped edges met the sand blade head‑on, blocking the strike and, in the same breath, counter‑slashing and shattering the Desert Spada into fragments!
Yet…
Even the scattered shockwaves gouged enormous, bottomless craters into the floor, walls, and ceiling of the underground royal ruins, the destruction spreading madly!
—For a moment the ruins shook; sand and rock rained down!—
Everyone couldn't help but tremble with fear!
Just then, Chiyu's follow‑up strike arrived!
His black blades—razor‑sharp—came sweeping in!
Crocodile hurled up his left arm: a gigantic golden scorpion hook. It smashed against Chiyu's blade!
In that split second—
Chiyu's slash snapped the golden scorpion stinger in two!
At the same time…
Crocodile showed a grim, cruel smile.
From the broken stinger burst a cloud of purple poison gas, rolling toward Chiyu!
"Chiyu‑sama, look out!"
Hina and Nami cried together.
But such a petty trick could never harm Chiyu—
especially when his Observation Haki had already foreseen the move.
Shup!
Rokushiki—Soru—activated!
Chiyu flashed behind Crocodile in an eye‑blink, avoiding every wisp of poison and immediately striking back!
The black twin blades came down again!
Crocodile, desperate, whirled around and blocked once more with the scorpion stinger.
But—
Bang!
With a thunderous crack, the stinger was cleanly severed by Chiyu's Haki‑coated blades—
—wrenched right off Crocodile's arm and clattering to the ground!
Crocodile himself was blasted backward, clutching his throbbing left arm, hair disheveled, teeth gnashing, a picture of rage and shock!
"Uchiha Chiyu!"
Roaring, Crocodile thrust out both hands, which turned into massive sand blades.
"Desert la Spada!"
His arms split into four sand swords, power pushed to the limit—their reach, size, number, hardness, and sharpness all far beyond the ordinary Desert Spada!
The strike could cleave mountains and rivers!
But Chiyu met change with changelessness.
Twin black flashes flickered—
Boom!
Crash!!!
The Desert la Spada cracked and collapsed, crumbling into yellow sand that scattered on the wind.
Crocodile had known this attack would fail.
As Chiyu parried, he slammed both palms to the ground.
"Ground Secco!"
Suddenly…
Centered on Crocodile's hands, the earth rapidly desertified, splitting and disintegrating!
His raging Devil Fruit power sucked every drop of moisture from the underground palace floor, turning it to sand. The entire ruin began to fall apart, collapse imminent!
"Not good!"
Koza glanced at the crumbling ceiling and shouted for everyone to escape.
He hoisted the fainted Igaram onto his back.
King Cobra, however, was still bound by Crocodile's sand, and Princess Vivi would never abandon her father.
With a furious cry, Pell again took his falcon Zoan form; his great wings burst wide, ripping free of the sand. A sweeping claw shattered the sand binding the king.
Wounded, he slung King Cobra onto his own back.
"Princess Vivi, the ruins are collapsing—we must leave!"
"But… Chiyu‑sama…"
Pell looked once at Chiyu.
"Don't worry. A fighter like him won't fall."
Only then did Vivi relax and dash out with Koza and Pell.
Hina tugged Nami's sleeve. "Let's go too."
"But—"
"No need to fret over the Rear Admiral."
Nami knew this level couldn't kill Chiyu, yet worry still gnawed at her…
Until Colonel Hina pulled her along, and she reluctantly fled.
Nico Robin remained, studying the Poneglyph. Even with the ruins coming down, she showed no intent to leave.
Chiyu glanced at her, secretly admiring such resolve—someone willing to die for a stone tablet; "Devil Child" Nico Robin was fierce indeed.
The ruins teetered ever more.
Sand and stone rained; cracks spread across floors, walls, columns, statues—even the ceiling—heralding doom.
Crocodile laughed madly.
"Uchiha Chiyu! Planning to die here with me in these ruins?!"
Chiyu replied coolly, "You don't seem qualified."
Crocodile barked a laugh. "Arrogant brat! Then try this!"
He pushed his Devil Fruit power to its peak, raking his right hand forward:
"Desert Grande Espada!"
A finisher above even the la Spada—
His entire arm became a colossal sand greatsword, controlled at range, tunneling under‑ ground to burst up and cut any foe in two!
He'd once used this move against Admiral Akainu in the Marineford war, even slicing the admiral's body apart—though Akainu reformed, its might was clear!
—In a flash—
The Grande Sword erupted from the ground behind Chiyu!
Vast, heavy, razor‑edged, unstoppable!
But…
No matter how strong a move is, if it misses, it's worthless.
Chiyu's Observation Haki had long foreseen it.
He dodged lightly, then fused Soru and Geppo into a technique called—
"Razor!"
Boom—
A devastating kick, wrapped in Armament Haki, carrying the power to wound a Logia user!
Crocodile paled but barely managed to sandify his head and torso; though the blow exploded his head, he re‑formed.
Armament Haki can "grab" Logia types, but it isn't absolute—if they react in time, they can still evade.
Crocodile had once possessed Haki himself and knew the counters—if he was fast enough.
Yet all his attacks had failed, while Chiyu's pressure only mounted; defeat was certain.
Crocodile gasped, arms bleeding, hair wild, clothes in rags—a wreck, the planner's dignity gone.
He looked at Nico Robin and the Poneglyph.
"Nico Robin… you betrayed me."
Robin ignored him, still examining the glyph.
Crocodile sneered: "If I can't have it, no one will! Everything will be buried here!"
Robin's face went pale. "The Poneglyph is indestructible!"
"What are you doing, Crocodile?!"
"The stone can't be destroyed," Crocodile said, "but it can be buried forever, never to see daylight. And right now, you're the last person alive who can read its script…
"That's why the Navy and World Government want you dead. If you die here, the truth dies forever…"
Resolved, he slammed both hands to the ground—his final trump card:
"Ground Death!!!"
—Instantly—
The entire underground palace began to rot and cave in, a raging force draining the life from the earth itself!
Stones toppled, cracks spread, tremors shook like an earthquake!
Remember, this palace lay tens of meters below the surface—be buried, and it truly would be eternal night!
Crocodile laughed wildly.
"Nico Robin! Uchiha Chiyu! Let's all be buried here forever!"
"Ahahahahaha!"
Chiyu said nothing.
Beyond the pitch‑black Armament coating his blades, brilliant lightning now crackled—
Lightning Release False Darkness merging perfectly with Haki.
In a breath—
Black thunder exploded!
Chiyu engaged body like lightning, twin black blades like thunderbolts, rending the void and slashing down!
Crocodile had no time to react: one blade pierced his heart, the other his throat!
Black lightning detonated.
Rumble—
Rumble!!
Crocodile's chest and throat blew apart, leaving gaping holes; his head rolled free, blood gushing!
One of the fabled Seven Warlords of the Sea, Alabasta's "hero," Sand Crocodile Crocodile… died on the spot.
Nico Robin watched, full of complicated feelings.
She'd never truly served Crocodile, only used him to reach the Poneglyph.
Now her wish was granted, but she'd never intended to give him its secrets.
The final betrayal had been planned from the start.
Now Crocodile was dead, yet she too had lost the will to live.
Since Ohara's destruction, since her mother died, Robin had lived on the edge of death.
She wanted to live—yet life felt too exhausting…
In the collapsing ruin, she showed one last smile—stubborn, languid, weary, yet somehow relieved.
"Kill me," she said. "I don't want to run anymore."
She glanced at the Poneglyph with rare tenderness.
"Being buried with the Poneglyph… may be the best end for me."
Chiyu did not strike.
He knew Robin, in her flight, had followed many villains and committed many crimes; Crocodile and Baroque Works were merely one chapter.
Her tragic past was no excuse for evil.
Yet, seeing a face that wished only to die, he simply turned away without hesitation.
Robin frowned.
"You won't kill me? The Navy's 'God of Slaughter,' believer in absolute justice, who spares no evil—yet you spare the Devil Child?"
Without looking back, Chiyu said, "You are already dead."
Robin understood. Her fate was sealed; more importantly, her heart was dead.
She smiled softly. "True enough… Thank you."
The ruins collapsed completely.
Huge stones, earth, and sand buried the Poneglyph, Crocodile's corpse, and Robin—still smiling, caressing the stone.
Dust fell like a curtain, blurring everything.
Chiyu never looked back, striding away.
…
By the time he emerged, the entire palace had caved in, burying all deep underground.
Hina and Nami rushed up.
"Rear Admiral!"
"Chiyu‑sama, are you hurt?!"
Chiyu nodded calmly. "It's over."
King Cobra, Pell, Princess Vivi, Koza, and the others exchanged looks, then—
knelt in unison before Chiyu.
"Chiyu‑sama, you are the kingdom's true hero. You have saved tens of millions of Alabasta!"
"Please accept our endless gratitude, feelings beyond words!"
Chiyu merely looked up at the sky.
A sudden thunderclap—and from the overcast heavens, torrential rain poured down, drenching the land of Alabasta…
~~~
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