Compared to Jason, that brute-force, terrifying, yet brainless guy, this young man, who didn't even look very old, made Crocodile feel far more uneasy. In fact, he even felt a bit more wary of him than he did of Doflamingo, whom he had clashed with before.
That strange movement technique, as if teleporting… the giant palm that could blot out the sun… and his expert close-range swordsmanship, all of it made him a particularly troublesome opponent.
But most importantly, the Marines had placed a 150 million bounty on his head. That massive reward alone spoke volumes about the hidden danger behind that smiling face.
"Crocodile, we meet again."
From the camel-drawn cart, Rojen spoke with a faint smile.
His voice wasn't loud, but it rang clearly in Crocodile's ears.
Crocodile's expression tensed slightly, then relaxed.
"Rojen… I didn't expect to see you here too."
Crocodile narrowed his eyes, hesitation flickering in his heart.
Jason… plus Rojen… against these two, he wasn't confident. Even though this was his territory, those two were among the world's most notorious bounty hunters.
1 vs 2, could he really win?
"If you want to make a move, then do it. I'm curious to see how powerful your strength really is… in this desert."
Rojen's voice floated over again.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you."
That last sentence made Crocodile's face twitch, both ashamed and annoyed.
He admitted that he was wary of these two. But he definitely wasn't afraid. Not yet.
"Then let me show you… The might of Crocodile!"
With a roar, Crocodile suddenly bent down and thrust both hands into the sand before him.
"Dry and Split, Weathering!"
BOOM!
As the four words rang out, the desert ground trembled violently across a thousand meters. Everything within a meter under the surface was instantly disintegrated into dust.
"Great Sandstorm!" Crocodile roared again, flinging his arms forward.
"Weng weng weng, !"
The earth trembled. Gale-force winds started to rise.
"Let me show you the terrifying power of the Logia Fruit. Here, in this desert, I am God!"
His low voice rumbled with fury , Crocodile was truly enraged now.
Massive amounts of sand floated into the air, drifting upward. As the grains swept through the void, they made a sààà sound, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of meters ahead had already turned into a blinding yellow sandscape.
But that wasn't the end. Farther out, over an even wider range, the sand seemed to be drawn by some invisible force, flying up into the skies. It was like a swarm of locusts , sand that had been scattered across the desert now quickly converged toward a single point.
Three heartbeats later, an immense tornado-shaped sandstorm formed , growing larger and more menacing by the second.
"That guy…!"
Jason stood in the distance. The wild winds and whipping sand instantly made his expression change. He quickly wrapped himself up tightly.
Goggles, on. Face, wrapped in coarse cloth. Moving fast, he knew he couldn't let Crocodile go on like this. If this entire desert fell under his control, they'd be completely swallowed up by this force of nature.
And then… they'd face an unknowable disaster.
To be honest, he hadn't expected that this crocodile-looking guy would be capable of such a feat. The sandstorm from last night, on the ship , while terrifying , hadn't come close to covering hundreds of meters like this.
And judging by the current trend… if given enough time, Crocodile could probably expand this sandstorm even further.
On the camel cart, everyone had their mouths wide open as they stared in disbelief at the sandstorm unfolding before them , clearly caused by a human.
"This is really… really caused by a person? It's just too unbelievable!"
The middle-aged uncle's eyes were filled with both fear and shock.
"He... he can actually control the desert!"
Trens was terrified too. A headshot hadn't killed him , that was already insane , and now, he was manipulating the entire desert?
How could someone like that even exist in this world?
"Ha! Crocodile , prepare to die!!"
Just then, a roar like thunder exploded through the air. As everyone's gaze shifted, they saw a towering, broad-shouldered figure suddenly leap up from the desert.
BOOM!
Like a bomb going off, the sand beneath his feet caved into a huge crater as his massive body launched into the air, soaring a hundred meters high as if he were flying.
Two seconds later, he began to fall. With a deafening crash, he landed just ten meters in front of Crocodile.
The impact scattered sand everywhere.
"That's Jason!"
Trens was dumbfounded, eyes wide with shock.
He simply couldn't believe it, the big, goofy-looking guy standing beside him could leap a hundred meters into the air and land unharmed?! He was like a humanoid Ominous Beast; it completely shattered his worldview.
"That kid... he's that strong?!"
The uncle's pipe slipped from his mouth and landed on his pants with a snap, burning a big hole, yet he didn't even notice.
"Jason!"
Seeing Jason suddenly appear before him, Crocodile's right hand trembled as he grabbed hold of a golden hook.
Jason let out a furious roar, and as his legs bent slightly, the ground beneath him cracked open once more.
In the next instant, he was just three inches in front of Crocodile. The sheer force of his charge created a violent gust that sent Crocodile's heart racing. The golden hook in his hand swung out instantly.
"Power Amplification, 30x!!"
With a tremor in his arm, Jason clenched his fist, his face twisted into a savage grin, then he struck with a brutal punch.
BANG!
A muffled impact rang out. The next second, under Crocodile's wildly twitching gaze, he saw his golden hook shatter inch by inch. Right after, his entire right arm cracked like fragile porcelain and exploded into countless grains of sand.
"I'll show you… What real power looks like!"
Jason strode forward, fist swinging with terrifying might.
Veins bulged on his arms, and as his fist tightened, a creak echoed, like a tightly-wound machine ready to unleash destruction.
After three steps, he smashed Crocodile's head with a single punch, scattering it into drifting sand.
With every step, Jason's entire body radiated overwhelming ferocity and dominance.
This one strike shattered Crocodile's intimidating momentum, instantly making Trens, watching from afar, tremble with excitement.
"Amazing! Jason-bro, you're so damn badass!!"
"So awesome!"
What man didn't dream of this kind of straightforward, brutal power to crush their enemies? Trens was no exception. Jason's strike had his blood boiling, fists clenched in pure thrill.
Suddenly, the drifting sand began to gather, and Crocodile's head reformed from the grains. His expression was incredibly grim, his eyes radiating a frigid, murderous light.
"You seem to have forgotten something. Without water, you can't hurt me at all! And in this place, every grain of sand beneath your feet is my weapon!"
His body was still composed of flowing sand; only his head had solidified, yet his words made hearts clench tight.
"Sandbind!"
(End Of The Chapter)
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