"Closing the net?"
Crocodile raised an eyebrow slightly, a cold smirk playing on his lips.
Sweeping his gaze over the six figures in front of him, each with different appearances, he let out a cold laugh.
"Closing the net sounds good, but it's not you who are doing it!"
As soon as the words fell, numerous figures appeared rapidly within the courtyard, surrounding all six of them completely.
"I am the one closing the net!"
Placing the cigar in his mouth, Crocodile struck up a flame with his right hand, igniting it. Amid the swirling smoke, his face took on a somewhat sinister expression.
"Just these people? You think you can stop us?"
"Shichibukai, Crocodile!"
Among the six, an elderly man with a cold, stern gaze suddenly halted his cane mid-air.
Crack, crack, crack!
In an instant, cracks spread across the ground beneath them, stretching out in all directions, spanning over ten meters.
This terrifying display of power caused Crocodile's expression to darken slightly. Even the Baroque Works members encircling the six showed signs of alarm.
"As one of the few remaining Parliamentary Procedure Members in the Kingdom, our strength is not something someone like you can comprehend!"
"Since you want to test it, then we'll show you the true power of a Parliamentary Procedure Member!"
The old man's voice, though aged, carried with it an iron-blooded authority and solemn weight, each word ringing out like clashing steel.
"Kingdom?"
Crocodile narrowed his eyes, then chuckled.
"So your identities are highly suspicious. I'm truly curious about your origins."
"Your subordinates were able to clash head-on with mine, even making them suffer losses, and you followed the trail all the way to my base of operations. Impressive."
His smile vanished, replaced by a grim expression.
"But that's exactly what I wanted, to let you find this place."
"And the reason… is to completely destroy you fools who dared cause trouble on my turf!"
With a sudden motion, Crocodile stood up as grains of sand began to swirl around his body. The ground beneath his feet started to crumble, turning into sand.
"Who do you think I am?"
"I am, Shichibukai, Crocodile!"
With a cold shout, the Baroque Works members in front of him charged out, launching attacks at the six intruders.
Standing his ground, Crocodile was surrounded by swirling sand, his gaze sharp as he looked up at the sky.
There, dark clouds loomed, and a torrential rain began to fall, casting a shadow over his face.
"I hate rainy days."
"They're so uncomfortable!"
Baroque Works was a complex organization, and beneath it were numerous powerful Devil Fruit Ability Users, each boasting considerable strength. With a single command from Crocodile, although he hadn't made a move himself, the battle had already erupted in an instant.
The five Parliamentary Procedure Members and Rear Admiral Du Hong also rushed out simultaneously, heading straight for Crocodile.
"Monster Strength Fist!"
The elderly Wang Ye, despite his age, wielded the most ferocious attack style. With a single punch, the person in front of him was sent flying over ten meters, crashing through a series of buildings.
Li Qingya's eyes flashed as she faced Miss Doublefinger, with her exploding blue hair standing in her way. With a flicker of her right hand, a short dagger appeared.
She stepped forward and slashed down fiercely.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out from the clash of blades. Li Qingya's gaze sharpened, she saw thorn-like growths erupting from Miss Doublefinger's body, blocking her attack.
"So this is a Devil Fruit Ability User from this world? Truly marvelous."
"They can even change the very essence of their body!"
At that moment, her opponent stepped forward, her entire body swelling into a spiked ball and shooting toward Li Qingya. She quickly dodged aside, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Very agile moves, you've surprised me."
Paula smiled, her lips curling into a cruel grin.
"Fūton (Wind Release): Great Breakthrough Technique!"
On the other side, Rear Admiral Du Hong formed hand seals and suddenly blew out a gust of wind toward the cold-faced man.
"Slash!"
The cold-faced man suddenly sprouted twin blades from his arms. With a forceful swing, he cleaved the Wind Release Ninjutsu cleanly in two.
Du Hong's eyes widened in surprise, but the enemy had already rushed forward. His arms danced rapidly, and his blade attacks struck like lightning.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
A rapid exchange of blows ensued. Du Hong was forced to retreat again and again, completely suppressed by the ferocity of the attacks.
"His body can produce blades, that's the one in the records, Mr. 1, the Dice-Dice Fruit Ability User, Daz Bonez!"
"So this is a Devil Fruit Ability User? What a pain to deal with!"
With a cautious gleam in his eyes, he brandished his kunai, parrying the incoming strikes.
"Katon (Fire Release): Grand Fire Dragon Technique!"
"Booger Bomb!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The full-scale battle had erupted quickly, and thunderous explosions rang out one after another.
"I overestimated their strength."
"If this is all they've got… how disappointing."
Crocodile watched the battle unfold, shaking his head with disdain on his face.
Most of his subordinates were Devil Fruit users, each strong enough to act independently. Did these pitiful weaklings really think they could defeat them?
That said, the variety of powers the invaders displayed, especially their manipulation of elemental forces, was mildly impressive. But even so, their lack of battle experience was obvious. Among the five, only the man in the military uniform seemed remotely competent.
In the courtyard, the fighting escalated rapidly. Around twenty of the top members of Baroque Works had surrounded the six attackers.
Under such conditions, each of them was forced to face off against three to four powerful enemies.
"It's my first time witnessing experts from this world. I must say, they're quite unique!"
"This kind of civilization… is worth conquering!"
Wang Ye smashed another foe flying with a punch, murmuring with some emotion.
As an old man, he had long thought his life would end quietly. He never imagined he'd witness the merging of civilizations or get the chance to see the brilliance and splendor of other worlds.
He had learned Chakra, trained in Ninjutsu, and quickly risen to become an expert.
Gifted with a unique talent and high intelligence, Wang Ye wasn't like most people from the Qin's Nation. Among 2.3 billion citizens, he was one of the rare geniuses.
"Enough playing. It's time to show our true power."
He sighed and looked up at the torrential rain pouring from the sky.
"His Majesty… must be watching us!"
These words caused the pupils of the other five fighters mid-battle to narrow in focus.
In the very next moment, all five Parliamentary Procedure Members withdrew from combat, distancing themselves from their enemies.
They performed hand seals, and massive Chakra energy fluctuations surged into the air.
Under the storm, amidst the raging wind, and under Crocodile's suddenly contracted pupils, a violent torrent of energy began to rise.
"Suiton (Water Release): Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Katon (Fire Release): Grand Fire Annihilation!"
"Doton (Earth Release): Earth Flowing River!"
"Fūton (Wind Release): Rasenshuriken!"
"Raiton (Lightning Release): Thunder Ground Surge!"
With five powerful roars, the five elemental forces erupted all at once, roaring toward the Baroque Works forces and Crocodile's location.
Then, five colossal torrents of elemental Ninjutsu, each hundreds of meters wide, crashed down upon them.
(End of Chapter)
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