Roland's palm landed squarely on his face.
It sent him spinning seven hundred and twenty degrees in the air, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with teeth, before he landed clumsily.
"Nani! How is this possible?"
Feeling the burning swelling and pain on his face, Crocodile was stunned.
In his understanding, as long as he could elementalize, he was an absolutely invincible existence, inherently in an unbeatable position.
Earlier, he had neither been solidified by water nor locked down and suppressed by Haki of the Supreme King, but...
Suddenly.
Crocodile jolted, finally realizing.
"Crocodile, are you a rookie idiot?"
Roland looked at Crocodile with a look that said, "You're an idiot."
"Or have you been too comfortable in the first half of the Grand Line, meeting too many rookies, to the point where you've forgotten this!"
Roland said as he clenched his fist, dark aura coiling around it.
"Armament Haki!!!"
Crocodile took a deep breath.
Even if he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't change the fact that Roland had hit the nail on the head.
Yes!
The Logia's elementalization was never truly invincible.
Armament Haki was specifically created for Logia elementalization, capable of grasping their true body.
This was a truth he had understood more than twenty years ago, yet...
Ever since coming to Alabasta, all he had encountered were rookies just entering the Grand Line.
Let alone knowing Haki, these rookies didn't even know what Haki was.
Over time, Crocodile himself forgot that Haki could counter him.
"There's no reason for someone who can awaken such terrifying Haki of the Supreme King not to know Armament Haki. I was careless again just now, but not this time!"
Crocodile stood up, forcing himself to save face.
"Hmm, then I hope you won't be careless again!"
Roland said, once again using Six Powers: Shave, closing in.
It was the same formula, the same slap aimed at Crocodile.
"Hmph, are you underestimating me? The same move won't work on me..."
The word "work" was cut short before it could even leave his mouth.
Slap!
It was still the same feeling; Crocodile's face was once again met with Roland's palm, sending him spinning in the air, his teeth flying out.
"This... how is this possible..."
Crocodile sat on the ground, completely stunned, his head ringing from the blows.
He had clearly dodged; Roland's palm should not have been able to hit him.
It didn't touch him, yet it hit him. Could it be...
Crocodile's pupils constricted, guessing the answer.
"Flowing Haki! Armament Haki externalized across the air!"
"You reacted a bit faster this time!"
Roland smiled slightly.
He had possessed Armament Haki since he was in Windmill Village.
His travels over these past few months had also successfully allowed him to master the advanced usage beyond coiling: flowing externalization.
As for the further step of internal destruction, he had not yet mastered it.
However...
It was already enough to deal with a Logia like Crocodile, who had been comfortable in Paradise for too long...
"Come on, let's say you were careless again this time. Continue!"
Roland once again bent his four fingers towards Crocodile.
"You damn brat, don't think you've already won!"
Desert Diamond Sword!
Crocodile's hands elementalized into sand, transforming into four massive sand blades, launching a continuous barrage of slashes at Roland.
Tiger — Hard Climb!
Roland did not dodge or evade, and the profound meaning of Baji Fist exploded.
At the same time, he supplemented it with Armament Haki, meeting it head-on.
Clang!
Bang!
Thud!
Boom!
The clashing of metal and the dull thuds of flesh meeting flesh resounded continuously.
In just a few breaths, Crocodile's Adamantine Blade was shattered.
His body suffered multiple heavy blows, causing him to spit out several mouthfuls of blood.
However, even so, he still did not fall.
"Go to hell!"
Crocodile's expression was sinister, his left hand's golden hook stained with a deep purple scorpion venom that could kill upon contact, as he launched a sneak attack on Roland.
As a transmigrator, Roland was naturally well aware of Crocodile's petty tricks.
Coupled with the assistance of Observation Haki, it was naturally impossible for him to succeed.
Thud!
A crisp sound.
Roland lifted his foot and stomped Crocodile's left hand to the ground, and the poisonous pirate's golden hook shattered in response.
A follow-up flying knee kick struck Crocodile directly on the chin, sending him spiraling upwards, and then crashing heavily to the ground.
"Oh, oh, oh!"
"So cool~ Simply awesome!"
"Mr. Roland is truly too strong!"
"Crocodile, a Shichibukai, is almost powerless against Lord Roland!"
"Hahaha, accept your fate, Crocodile, Lord Robin is not someone a piece of trash like you can try to frame!"
Igaram, Chaka, and the rest of the Kingdom Army were all shocked and excitedly cheering non-stop.
"Cough, cough."
Crocodile, with a pig-like head, struggled to stand up.
"A strong person like you, until now... has been completely unknown, who exactly are you...?"
"The world is much vaster than you know!"
Roland said indifferently.
"Perhaps!"
Crocodile grinned, then changed the subject.
"But... even if I lose, you won't win!"
"Oh?"
Roland raised an eyebrow slightly.
"The battle plan you know about must have been given by that bitch Nico Robin!"
Crocodile said.
Roland neither confirmed nor denied.
"Guhahahaha, I've never trusted anyone, and I always like to have a backup plan, so even that woman doesn't know that there's another bomb hidden somewhere in the capital right now. Once it explodes, an area of five kilometers will be flattened. How many people will die then?"
Crocodile laughed.
The first bomb didn't explode as scheduled, but he remained calm.
It was precisely because he had a hidden trump card, a second bomb.
Although now, because of Roland, all his plans have been ruined.
Both Alabasta and Pluton are distant dreams.
But... this second bomb could at least cause some trouble for Roland.
"What did you say!"
"There's actually a second bomb!"
"Damn Crocodile, what exactly have you done?"
"Where is the bomb? Tell us quickly!"
Hearing Crocodile's self-exposure, Igaram and the others in the Kingdom Army lost their composure and completely panicked.
After all, it concerned the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, and even Princess Vivi might be caught up in it.
"Wait, Igaram, no need to rush!"
Unlike Igaram and the others, King Cobra was exceptionally calm at this moment.
Because he noticed Roland's expression, there wasn't a trace of panic.
Because Vivi trusted Roland immensely, out of love for her, Cobra now also firmly believed in Roland.
"Guhehehe, I miscalculated this time. You are not from this country, and your encounter with Alabasta can only be considered a fleeting acquaintance. No matter how many people die in this country, it has little to do with you!"
Crocodile chuckled deeply, assuming Roland's calmness at this moment was due to indifference.
"Heh."
Roland chuckled lightly, offering no explanation, but instead took out a Den Den Mushi.
"Thor, did you find it?"
"Already found it!"
The girl's proud voice came from the Den Den Mushi, also echoing on the palace battlefield.
The next second, under Crocodile's shocked and horrified gaze.
A portal opened in space, and a petite girl appeared, dragging a large bomb.
"Roland~ Roland~ This bomb seems to be on a timer, how should I deal with it?"
Thor asked.
"Hmm, find a place to throw it away!"
Roland said casually.
"Where should I throw it?"
"Wherever you like!"
"Alright, let me think!"
Thor pressed her finger to her temple, and after a moment, a flash of inspiration struck her, and she thought of a good idea.
A spatial teleportation gate formed, and Thor waved her hand.
The bomb, now counting down to explosion, entered the spatial teleportation gate.
In an instant, it traversed thousands of mountains and waters, arriving above the magnificent city at the very top of the Red Earth Continent.
Ding~
Ding ding ding~
Boom!
Rumble!
Holy Land Mary Geoise, it exploded again!!!
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