A crisp crack of bones echoed through the air.
Crocodile coughed up blood as he was sent flying.
"Ugh..."
He tumbled along the ground, rolling for an unknown distance before finally coming to a stop.
Propping himself up with one hand, he looked toward Bullet in the distance.
"Cough... cough..."
"That Haki again..."
"Damn it..."
As if remembering something, Crocodile's already grim face twisted with even more hatred.
He took a deep breath, suppressed the intense pain, and turned into sand, merging with the surroundings.
The storm of sand and wind grew more violent.
It surged toward Bullet at the center.
...
Sabaody Archipelago, outskirts of Tree No. 27.
As the arriving soldiers lined up behind Sakazuki, the crowd that had scattered due to the Marines began to regain their courage and peeked back at the scene.
Suddenly, a wave of Conqueror's Haki burst from Sakazuki, blasting outward.
A cold voice rang out:
"Clear the area."
Clack—
A crisp sound of soldiers snapping to attention followed:
"Yes, sir!!!"
Nearly a thousand Marine soldiers shouted in unison behind Sakazuki.
They then split into two groups and ran to both sides.
They formed an encircling formation, spacing themselves widely as they surrounded the giant Tree No. 27.
Once the encirclement was complete, Sakazuki signaled for Karol to guard the perimeter.
He then led Enel into the raging sandstorm.
Karol drew the sword at his waist, Oto.
With a flash from the blade, two arcs of sword energy curved outward from his position.
They carved deep trenches into the ground, enclosing the area around the giant tree.
A few powerful onlookers were directly intimidated into inaction, too afraid to probe further.
Karol chuckled softly.
Swish—
He sheathed his sword.
...
At the heart of the sandstorm.
Crocodile summoned wave after wave of sand, each nearly a hundred meters tall, encircling Bullet.
Bullet stood grinning wickedly in place, watching the approaching sand waves without moving.
Atop the crest of one wave, Crocodile materialized:
"You're asking for it!"
With a cold, grim voice, layers upon layers of sand crashed down toward Bullet.
The surrounding waves surged forward, colliding and merging as they charged him.
A towering yellow sand tornado formed, spiraling upward.
Countless tiny grains of sand rubbed furiously against Bullet's skin at incredible speed.
Bullet finally showed a hint of reaction.
These countless grains—numbering in the billions—actually managed to chip away at his Haki slightly.
And caused a trace of damage to his skin.
Bullet's grin grew even more twisted.
This was... this was... just perfect!
Aboard the battleship, aside from Sakazuki, no one else could harm him anymore.
But Sakazuki couldn't be his sparring partner all the time.
Bullet had reached a bottleneck in his progress—only Haki refinement remained.
But now, at last, he felt pain again.
This feeling... for someone like Bullet who charged and exploded through battlefields... it was almost euphoric...
"Not enough! Not enough! It's not enough!!!"
"Come on! Hit me harder!!!"
His blood-red eyes seemed to pierce through the layers of sand as his voice, infused with Conqueror's Haki, roared at Crocodile.
Atop the sand wave, Crocodile's expression suddenly turned ugly.
Not just from the Haki's impact—but also because of Bullet's disdainful words.
"Hehehehe..."
"I'll give you what you want."
Face dark with rage, Crocodile let out a grim laugh as the endless sand surged toward Bullet.
A massive sand sphere formed where Bullet stood, spinning madly.
It continued to shrink from hundreds of meters in diameter.
Compressing toward the center—toward Bullet—attempting to grind and crush him.
At the core of the storm.
The harsh sounds of compaction and pressure rang out continuously.
The sand imbued with his power relentlessly assaulted Bullet's body.
Bullet voluntarily deactivated his Demon Mode.
His skin was instantly eroded and damaged.
Moisture was sucked from his body, causing him to shrink.
After dozens of breaths—
His entire frame had shrunk to just one-third of its original size.
Under the immense pressure and weight,
Bullet stretched his limbs, feeling the intense pain through his body.
"That's about right."
"Huuh—"
With a slow exhale, he instantly re-entered Demon Mode.
Raising his fist, blue energy surged through his arm.
Outside the sandstorm,
Crocodile, atop the sand waves, suddenly had a bad feeling.
The giant sand sphere, now shrunk to about a hundred meters in diameter, refused to compress any further.
Though he could clearly feel the moisture being drained, it wasn't much.
He began calculating a new approach.
Boom—
The giant sand sphere exploded from within.
The compressed sand, blasted by overwhelming force, surged outward like tidal waves.
At the very moment of the explosion, a blue blur shot out.
Crocodile was startled:
"What the—"
Before he could react, a massive blue hand slammed into his face, smashing him to the ground.
BOOM!
A deep crater several meters wide formed instantly.
Bullet pressed Crocodile to the earth.
He grabbed his head and hoisted him up.
Looking at a nearby stone monument engraved with "Lawless Zone,"
He charged toward it with Crocodile in front of him.
With a savage grin, he rammed the stone, shattering it completely.
Shaking Crocodile in his hand and confirming he wasn't dead,
He turned and walked toward Sakazuki.
Jostled awake, Crocodile regained a sliver of consciousness.
He struggled to activate his ability.
Suddenly, two towering sand waves rose on either side and closed in on them.
Bullet drew back his left arm and swung.
Multiple afterimages flashed; the air in front of him exploded into white shockwaves.
Like air cannons, the blast of his fists struck the sand waves.
Boom boom boom boom...
The explosions shattered the condensed sand.
Bullet then glanced at the Crocodile in his grip.
He grabbed one of Crocodile's shoulders.
Crack—
The bone snapped instantly.
Then stomped down with his foot.
Crack—
Crocodile's lower leg was crushed.
Bullet's cruel voice echoed:
"Behave yourself."
The searing pain snapped Crocodile back to clarity.
But with his face pinned, he couldn't utter a sound.
His red, sweat-drenched face contorted as he struggled to stay calm.
Dragged along by Bullet for some distance,
Crocodile's right hand suddenly transformed into a blade of sand, stabbing toward Bullet's throat.
At the same time, the ground beneath had silently turned to sand.
Several sand spears lunged at Bullet from all directions.
Bullet snorted coldly and instantly reactivated Demon Mode.
His muscles swelled; the sand blade and spears clashed against his body with a sound of metal clanging—unable to pierce even a fraction of his flesh.
Crocodile suddenly shifted from blade to palm, pressing it directly onto a wound Bullet had sustained during body refining.
Channeling all his power into his right hand, he exerted an immense suction force, extracting a substantial amount of water from Bullet's body.
But it had little effect.
Bullet sneered, a blue afterimage flashing—
Crack—Crack—
Two more crisp breaks.
Crocodile's limbs were completely shattered.
Moments later,
Bullet dragged Crocodile to where Sakazuki was sitting amid the ruins.
Thud—he was tossed to the ground.
Crocodile finally had a moment to gasp for air:
"Cough... cough..."
"The Navy..."
He struggled to raise his head. Through his bloodied eyes, he barely saw the figure in front of him—wearing a Marine uniform.
Sakazuki picked up a cigar that had fallen from Crocodile's body and chuckled. A cigar, huh...
He placed it in his mouth. His fingertip turned to magma and lit it.
Huuuh—
A thick puff of white smoke billowed directly into Crocodile's face.
"Recognize me?"
The sudden cloud of smoke made Crocodile cough violently:
"Cough cough... cough cough..."
"Damn it..."
His scattered consciousness briefly recovered. He looked up and his pupils shrank:
"Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral..."
"Sakazuki!"
Sakazuki chuckled lightly:
"Since you know who I am, there's no need for further introductions."
"You've heard of my methods."
"If I didn't kill you, there's a reason."
"This time, I've come to offer you a chance—to become a dog for the Navy."
"A chance to rise again."
"If you seize it... maybe you'll get a shot at revenge against Knock someday."
Of course Crocodile knew the infamous Sakazuki, but he couldn't resist a mocking laugh:
"Hehehehe..."
"Give me a chance?"
"Be a dog for the Navy?"
"What a joke."
"Should I be thanking you too?"
With a cigar in his mouth, Sakazuki snorted.
White smoke veiled his face.
He raised his black leather boot.
Boom—
Crocodile's lifted head was stomped into the ground.
"You should thank the Government."
He raised his foot again.
Boom—
"Thank the Navy."
Again.
Boom—
"For giving you this chance."
He ground his foot in.
"And thank me most of all."
"For not killing you."
"Understand?"
As his voice fell,
Sakazuki's Conqueror's Haki, exceeding even an Admiral's, crashed down on Crocodile with killing intent.
BOOM—
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