Chapter 122 Kizaru’s meritorious service!

The furniture in the room shattered, and even the walls began to crumble into sand.

Robin immediately realized that fighting him here was a foolish choice, so she quickly exerted force on her feet and ran towards the door, moving so swiftly that it seemed like she was teleporting. In the blink of an eye, she blow through the door.

Crocodile cursed angrily and turned into sand, pursuing her closely.

The fight inside the room quickly affected the outside.

Crocodile's base was the largest casino in Rainbase. Due to the recent live broadcast, most of the people in the casino had gone outside to watch.

When they returned to continue gambling after the broadcast, they found the entire casino on the verge of collapse, and it soon crumbled with a loud crash.

Two figures emerged one after another from the casino—one running as fast as lightning, the other flying with sand trailing behind.

Upon seeing their familiar faces, the people instantly recognized them. It was none other than Crocodile, the mastermind behind Alabasta's drought, fighting against the one who had betrayed him, Nico Robin.

Although the people of Alabasta held a deep grudge against Crocodile, they kept their distance from this extraordinary battle. As the sand spread from Crocodile, the surrounding buildings and land quickly turned into a desert, devoid of any vegetation.

But at this moment, Crocodile had only one person in his eyes—Nico Robin. He wanted to kill her to appease his anger.

Crocodile's sand-formed body immediately closed in, and a massive desert blade swung toward Nico Robin.

"Desert Spada!"

Facing the enormous attack, Nico Robin could only dodge. She hadn't yet fully mastered her newfound powers.

However, as the battle progressed, Crocodile's attacks became clearer to her, and evading them became easier.

Coupled with the sudden surge in her physical abilities, she no longer faced the problem of her body not keeping up with her mind.

The situation gradually turned into a deadlock, with Crocodile launching attacks and Nico Robin evading them, neither side inflicting any damage.

The scene resembled the battle between Luffy and Arlong.

This made Crocodile feel increasingly uneasy. Could the Constitution and Spiritual potion be so powerful that they could elevate Nico Robin's strength to such a degree, someone he had previously completely disregarded?

However, what made Crocodile even more uneasy was that as Nico Robin adapted to his attacks, she began to counterattack. In an instant, numerous arms sprouted from Crocodile's body, and she utilized her signature joint techniques.

But as soon as her attacks made contact with Crocodile, they got engulfed in sand.

This was the elementalization ability of a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, as well as the key to his tremendous leap in power after consuming the fruit.

Seeing that Robin's attacks couldn't harm him, Crocodile felt confident of victory. No matter how much Nico Robin's physical abilities were enhanced, he was invincible in his domain.

Crocodile instantly transformed into a mass of sand, disappearing from his original location. In the next second, he appeared behind Robin, his golden hook directly aimed at her back.

However, Robin seemed to have eyes on the back of her head. She twisted her body and narrowly avoided the attack.

The failure of the attack disappointed Robin a little. During this time, she had been trying to infuse her hands with that so-called 'Haki' She knew that to strike a Logia-type user in their physical form, she needed to use Armament Haki.

The previous battle had already made her realize that the Spiritual potion was taking effect. Her heightened danger perception should be Observation Haki. However, she still didn't know how to use Armament Haki. If what Luke said was true, she should have awakened Armament Haki.

At this moment, a flash of memory crossed her mind. It was when Luffy fought against Doflamingo, and both of their hands seemed to be enveloped in something—that should be Armament Haki.

Envelop?

Robin suddenly looked down at her hands, guiding her Haki to envelop them. Immediately, it felt like a layer of armor had appeared on her hands.

Behind her, Crocodile, having missed his attack, formed another Desert Spada with a single thought, intending to cut Robin in half at the waist.

Robin sensed something and quickly crouched down to avoid it. Then, she swiftly rose and delivered a punch to Crocodile's face.

His hook was poisoned. Once it pierced her, without an antidote, Nico Robin would undoubtedly die. Unless she had the healing potion from Crocodile, but unfortunately, she chose the Constitution and Spiritual potions.

Crocodile's mouth curled into a slight smile as he prepared to finish Robin off.

However, something unexpected happened. Before Crocodile's hook could strike Robin, her fist had already landed on his face. The anticipated sinking into sand didn't occur, and instead, Crocodile was sent flying by the tremendous impact.

He was hit?

Crocodile, lying on the ground, looked at Robin in disbelief, blood trickling from his mouth.

How many years had it been since he had been injured?

"So, you have mastered Armament Haki" Crocodile said with a stern face.

"It seems like I've learned a little bit," Robin replied, looking at her hands and then at Crocodile. "Crocodile, you seem to be a little weaker than I imagined. No wonder you were defeated by Luffy."

Robin's words darkened Crocodile's expression even further. "You dare boast after just landing one hit? Talk after you win!"

After saying that, Crocodile kept his distance from Robin. From their brief encounter, he realized that Nico Robin's physical abilities, after consuming the Constitution potion, were stronger than his own. It was embarrassing to admit, but it seemed like he couldn't match her in terms of hand-to-hand combat.

Her Observation Haki allowed her to sense his sand-based body, which had always been his invincible form, making any surprise attacks futile.

Furthermore, Nico Robin seemed to have grasped the usage of Armament Haki, making his elementalization ineffective against her.

Since close combat was not an option, he would fully utilize the power of his Sand-Sand Fruit and show her the terrifying aspect of nature.

"Desert Sunflower!"

Suddenly, the ground around Robin began to sink, and the solid land turned into quicksand in an instant.

Fortunately, Nico Robin had sensed something amiss beneath her feet and jumped away just in time to avoid being engulfed.

However, the sinking sand expanded gradually, and at the same time, a sandstorm was unleashed from Crocodile, forming a massive tornado in the desert. Everywhere it went, it sucked away every drop of moisture.

Several tornadoes trapped Robin in the center and closed in on her.

As long as Nico Robin remained trapped in such an environment, she would eventually be drained dry.

However, Crocodile forgot one thing—Nico Robin was not a close-quarters combatant.

Robin crossed her hands, and in an instant, numerous hands appeared on Crocodile's body, while two hands emerged from the ground, gripping Crocodile's legs. Armament Haki wrapped around them as countless hands bombarded Crocodile with a storm of punches.

Before Crocodile could even utilize his elementalization, he was caught, and a torrent of fists rained down upon him.

After the merciless beating, Crocodile was left battered and covered in wounds, his face drenched in blood. Finally, he seized the opportunity to melt into the sand.

However, this round of brutal pummeling made Crocodile realize that he was no longer a match for Nico Robin.

His physical combat skills were inferior to hers, and she had also mastered Armament and Observation Haki. Moreover, her Devil Fruit ability, which excelled at assassination, left him defenseless. There was no need for her to get close to him anymore. His Sand-Sand Fruit no longer held any advantage against Robin.

Continuing the fight would only result in his defeat, especially considering the considerable amount of stamina he had already expended in the previous battles, coupled with his injuries...

Crocodile, melding into the sand, could only resentfully glare at Robin before disappearing. Fortunately for him, the desert was his domain, and no one could stop him from escaping.

Meanwhile, Robin sensed Crocodile's departure through her Observation Haki and breathed a sigh of relief.

She had never fought an opponent of the Shichibukai's level before, and her usage of Haki was a temporary train during the battle. To achieve this much exceeded her expectations.

But fortunately, she won. Robin let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous effects of those two potions.

She looked at the once bustling center of Yehudi, now turned into a desolate wasteland. With such a commotion, it was bound to attract attention. This place was not suitable for lingering, so Robin quickly left.

When the people who had sought refuge returned and found that the battle had subsided, they realized that both Crocodile and Nico Robin had vanished without a trace.

Little did they know that after the battle, Nico Robin's figure appeared inside the Alubarna Palace.

Cobra was startled by Nico Robin's sudden appearance. He didn't expect her to come here at this moment.

After the live broadcast, the Marines and various factions would come to Alabasta. With Pluton now in Luke's possession, their only remaining targets were Crocodile and Nico Robin.

As for the true contents of the poneglyph, which the Nefertari royal family had preserved, it had lost all value after Luke took Pluton from Alabasta.

"I won't harm you. I just want to know what is written in the poneglyph. Please take me there," Robin said to Cobra.

Cobra stared at Robin for a moment, then nodded without refusing.

From the live broadcast, he had already gained some understanding of what kind of person Robin was. Moreover, it was thanks to her participation in the QnA broadcast that Crocodile's conspiracy was exposed and shattered.

Furthermore, Crocodile was the true culprit behind everything. Nico Robin, at most, was just a pawn manipulated by Crocodile. And in the end, she didn't reveal the whereabouts of Pluton to Crocodile. From this alone, it was clear that she had her bottom line.

Moreover, the poneglyph had no value to them anymore. Cobra willingly took Robin to the royal tomb, where she saw the poneglyph.

After reading the inscriptions on the stone tablet, Robin hastily left.

She only wanted to understand the history, and now that she had finished understanding, it was time to leave. If she stayed any longer, it might be impossible to escape.

After Robin left, Cobra did not announce to the outside world that she had been there. Furthermore, Robin informed him that Crocodile was injured and planning to leave Alabasta. If they wanted to seek revenge, they had to seize the opportunity, or else it would be too late.

As a result, a manhunt for Crocodile began in various ports of Alabasta. The Marine Captain who had come nearby under the orders of the Marine HQ also joined the operation. In exchange, Robin used the pass given by Cobra to board a ship and leave Alabasta.

...

Some time later, Admiral Kizaru and CP9's Spandam arrived one after another, launching a manhunt for Crocodile in Alabasta.

In the end, due to his injuries and being intercepted by the early-arriving Marine Captains, Crocodile was unable to leave in time.

Finally, under the pursuit of the Cipher Pol and the Marines, he was arrested by Admiral Kizaru.

Thus, Admiral Kizaru achieved another feat.