"Hmph! Come on then, if you've got the spine for it!" Crocodile snarled, raising his head as sand swirled around his imposing form. His contemptuous expression remained unchanged despite the circumstances.
Even though he recognized that his skeletal opponent possessed impressive Armament Haki, the former Warlord remained confident in his ability to handle the situation. After all, he understood the current tactical picture perfectly—the Black Star Pirates' combat power was scattered across the battlefield, and the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders were being held down by various enemy forces.
This was the perfect opportunity to capture Deuce and the others, potentially breaking the entire deadlock in the Marines' favor.
If he could take Deuce and his companions hostage, victory would be within reach. Crocodile didn't mind employing hostage exchange tactics to achieve his strategic objectives—honour meant little when weighed against results.
Seeing the desert king's arrogant stance, Brook tightened his grip on his sword hilt and spoke in a low, measured voice that carried an otherworldly chill.
"Then allow me to introduce you to the cold embrace of the underworld."
An invisible aura—distinctly different from Haki—suddenly erupted from Brook's skeletal frame, whistling in all directions like a supernatural wind that seemed to carry whispers from beyond the grave.
Crocodile's eyes narrowed as he felt a sharp, penetrating chill rising within his very core. It was as if some parasitic presence had latched onto his soul, locking onto him with an intensity that defied explanation. Even when he attempted to transform into his elemental sand form and relocate, that unsettling sensation refused to release its hold.
"Desert Spada!"
Without hesitation, Crocodile raised his hand and launched an extremely fast long-range sand blade attack, the compressed desert projectile cutting through the air with lethal precision.
However, his strike encountered only the illusory afterimage that Brook had left behind—a ghostly remnant that dissolved into mist upon contact.
Witnessing this supernatural evasion, Crocodile's muscles tensed involuntarily. The chill surrounding him intensified exponentially, creating an atmosphere of dread that seemed to seep into his very bones.
Operating on pure instinct, the Warlord dispersed himself completely into the wind-blown sand particles in the air, hoping to find a suitable opportunity for a counterattack while remaining effectively invisible to conventional senses.
As Crocodile frantically scanned his surroundings—paying particular attention to Deuce and the other Black Star Pirates not far away—a faint whisper suddenly echoed directly behind him.
"My Observation Haki allows me to sense the life force and breathing patterns of living beings," Brook's voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. "But my Revive-Revive Fruit grants me something far more valuable—the ability to perceive souls directly. So you see, there is simply nowhere for you to hide."
Hearing that ghostly whisper speaking from impossibly close range, Crocodile felt every instinct screaming danger. His metaphorical hair stood on end as terror gripped his heart.
The truly horrifying part was that his body hadn't yet reformed from its elemental state—he was still maintaining his sand form, temporarily existing as dispersed particles floating through the air. Yet somehow, this skeleton could track his exact location.
"How is that possible?!" Crocodile's mind raced as the question formed unbidden in his thoughts.
But Brook had no intention of allowing his enemy time to process this revelation. The moment he finished speaking, the Soul King took advantage of his supernatural approach and thrust forward with cane sword, his movements flowing like liquid death.
"Soul Solid: Penetrating Chill!"
A cold light flashed through the air and vanished in an instant, accompanied by the sound of steel cutting through something far more substantial than mere sand.
Although Crocodile attempted to evade with desperate speed, Brook's blade found its mark with supernatural precision.
The former Warlord let out a suppressed groan of agony as his dispersed form was forcibly compressed, sand particles flying dozens of meters away before instantly coalescing back into human shape.
Blood trickled from the corner of Crocodile's mouth as his right hand clutched instinctively at his abdomen, where a shocking sword wound had appeared. A coating of unnatural frost covered the injury, spreading outward from the point of impact like crystalline infection that seemed determined to consume his entire torso.
As soon as his body stabilized, Crocodile swung the golden hook on his left hand in a fierce counterattack, desperation driving him to immediate violence.
"Desert la Spada!"
A massive blade of compressed sand and gravel extended rapidly from his hook, resembling a giant scythe as it split both the desertified ground and everything else in its path cleanly in half.
But Brook's skeletal form had already vanished from that location, now moving around the battlefield at supernatural speed. The Soul King weaved through the combat zone with fluid grace, his movements creating afterimages that confused the eye and defied conventional tracking.
Amidst the swirling sand and dust, an intensely cold aura suddenly erupted across the battlefield. It felt as if the depths of winter had descended without warning, causing the temperature within hundreds of meters to plummet dramatically. A thin layer of frost began condensing on both the ground and in the very air itself.
Feeling the bone-deep coldness penetrating his defenses, Crocodile's body stiffened involuntarily. His brow furrowed with genuine concern as warning bells rang in his mind. He immediately attempted to transform into his elemental state and escape the freezing zone.
Suddenly, a brilliant flash of cold steel appeared, drawing a perfect arc through the air as it headed directly toward the desert king's position.
"Song of Scratches: Blizzard Slash!"
Multiple sword strikes wove together like an intricate net, accompanied by the raging supernatural cold that completely transformed the local battlefield into a white-washed winter wonderland. Everything within Brook's range was covered with ice and snow, as if time itself had frozen at this precise moment.
Brook's rapidly moving, blurred form suddenly came to a complete stop. He stood with perfect poise, his sword held gracefully in his right hand while the blade's edge still glowed with residual cold energy. His posture was elegant and relaxed, and his jaw moved slightly as he spoke.
"I apologize, but you cannot avoid a blade that strikes directly at the soul itself. Therefore, you must face the judgment of the underworld."
As he finished speaking, Brook slowly straightened his skeletal frame and allowed his sword to slide quietly back into its sheath with a soft, final click.
"I don't know what your definition of 'friend' might be," Brook continued, his voice light yet carrying unshakeable conviction, "but in my heart, my friends mean infinitely more than life itself. They are worth any sacrifice."
The moment his words concluded, Crocodile—who had forcibly returned to human form from his scattered sand state after being struck by the soul-cutting technique—found himself completely frozen in place. Frost covered his entire body like a statue preserved in time, his eyes wide with disbelief and shock at what had just occurred.
The former Warlord slowly toppled to the ground, his expression locked in that final moment of horrified realization.
Brook said nothing more. He simply turned around with quiet dignity and began walking toward Deuce's group, who had temporarily paused their own battles due to the spectacular duel they had just witnessed, along with the various enemy forces that had been besieging them.
"Hey! Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Did that skeleton just take down the desert crocodile..."
"Don't panic! We outnumber him by dozens to one—what can a single skeleton possibly do to all of us?"
Brook's feat of defeating Crocodile with a single decisive sword technique not only caused significant commotion among the many enemy forces present, but also left Deuce and the Whitebeard Pirates' division commanders genuinely amazed at the display of power.
Simultaneously, through Kotatsu's ongoing live broadcast, this dramatic scene was transmitted instantly around the world.
While Brook had previously been overshadowed by the overwhelming presence of Jerry and Cavendish's more flashy abilities, from this moment forward he undoubtedly entered the awareness of top-tier leaders across all major factions.
After all, Sir Crocodile was a veteran Warlord of the Sea, a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, and someone whose combat prowess had always been formidable and widely respected.
Although he carried the somewhat embarrassing history of being defeated by Straw Hat Luffy due to overconfidence, his fearsome reputation in the eyes of the world had remained largely intact.
His performance after escaping from Impel Down had continued to demonstrate his terrifying strength and strategic importance.
Therefore, Brook's decisive victory over such a renowned opponent naturally made the entire world realize that the Soul King was no ordinary combatant.
After Brook freed himself from the Crocodile engagement, Deuce and the others felt the pressure from their multi-front siege beginning to ease considerably.
However, not long after this development, Marine officers throughout the island began shouting coordinated orders. Countless Marines retreated rapidly like a receding tide, soon disappearing entirely from everyone's sight.
Without active Marine participation in the assault, the offensive pressure on the Black Star Pirates continued to diminish significantly, allowing them to regroup and coordinate their defensive efforts more effectively.
The sudden Marine withdrawal left not only the Black Star Pirates, but all the pirates present, completely confused by this unexpected tactical shift.
After all, following the devastating area-of-effect attacks launched by several Admirals that had eliminated numerous pirate crews, the Marine ground forces that had landed on the island had been maintaining steady pressure against all unlawful elements. Their targets hadn't been limited to just the Black Star Pirates, but had included every pirate and criminal organization present on Treasure Island.
Seeing Deuce touch down and return to his human form, Carina voiced the question that was on everyone's mind: "What's going on? Are the Marines planning some new tactical maneuver?"
"Carrot, take a look at the situation on the northern side of the island," Skull said urgently, seeming to remember something important as realization dawned on his face.
Carrot nodded seriously and leaped high into the air without hesitation, her enhanced mink agility allowing her to gain significant altitude. She scanned the various directions across the island methodically before finally focusing her attention northward.
Her eyes widened dramatically and her mouth fell open in shock.
When she landed back among her crewmates, looking at the expectant faces of Deuce and the others, Carrot spoke with obvious anxiety coloring her voice:
"The entire northern section of the island has been turned into molten lava!"
The implications of this revelation hit everyone simultaneously—whatever was happening in Jerry's battle against the Admirals had escalated far beyond anything they had witnessed before.
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