Chapter 69: Crocodile Appears, Invincible Stance.

"Hahaha, we are invincible!"

"Awesome, so awesome!"

"Kill, rob, smash—"

A group of down-and-out pirates who had been struggling to survive in the suburbs revealed their true nature, wantonly slaughtering the armed personnel who were struggling to hold on. Letting the opponent's blades and bullets fall on them, sparks flying, but they remained unscathed, appearing invincible for a moment.

This is Crocodile's lair, the so-called 'government' departments have long been under his control. And these armed personnel maintaining 'order'—are simply Baroque Works assassins.

"Damn, how did we encounter such tough guys?"

A 'squad leader' of Baroque Works had just cursed when a bloodthirsty pirate charged at him! The scimitar in his hand slashed down fiercely, a desperate attack.

With a strange cry, the squad leader leaned back sharply. But the sharp blade still slashed heavily across his chest, tearing the white jacket on his upper body, making his eyes fierce!

"Die!"

A round metal lump fell to the ground as he rolled back, followed by a 'boom', creating a large pit on the ground, black smoke rising, yellow sand and dirt flying everywhere! And the pirate was also blown away, then:

"Ah, my eyes! My eyes—"

Clearly, he was hit by an explosion at close range, but this pirate was still intact, only covering one eye and wailing, making the squad leader's eyes flash.

"Attack the enemy's eyes!"

With the squad leader's loud reminder, several team leaders, all skilled, one of them raised his musket, loaded, aimed, and fired in one smooth motion.

Bang!

In a flash of blood, a pirate who had been killing fell backward. His body twitched on the ground, but he couldn't stand up again.

Effective!

Several Baroque combat leaders looked at each other, excitement in everyone's eyes. — Once the enemy's weakness is found, dealing with these guys is not difficult. After all:

They are just a bunch of trash pirates who have fallen to robbing in the suburbs, compared to these elites...

"Move aside!"

Thud, thud, thud,

A tall figure charged over, like a human tank!

"It's the boss!"

"Boss, take them down—"

"We are invincible!"

Amid the cheers of the other pirates, this fat and strong pirate charged up with agility completely disproportionate to his body, letting bullets and blades hit him! A broad arm like a shield blocked in front, and with a swift grab, he caught a team leader, then:

Crash!

The poor team leader was swung around like a folding stool by the burly pirate, clearing a large area in an instant: the Baroque Works combat personnel in this range either rolled away in embarrassment or were already lying on the ground.

"Boss is mighty!"

"Take down the Crocodile!"

"Rainbase is ours—"

Although the Baroque Works members discovered that the 'invulnerable' pirates' weakness was their eyes, 

being able to accurately shoot bullets into their eyes in the chaos of battle required at least the skill of a squad leader, and there were only a handful of such experts on the battlefield. The pirates, on the other hand, could charge and attack recklessly, as long as they protected their eyes. Against the Baroque Works members who couldn't harm them, these pirates displayed god-like prowess.

So when two figures arrived at the battlefield, they saw a group of Baroque Works combat members' corpses and pirates howling about taking down the Sand Crocodile and seizing Rainbase!

"Oh?"

A man's voice, calm yet filled with Haki, rang out. It wasn't loud, but it instantly overshadowed the howls on the battlefield, sending a chill down the pirates' spines.

"Foolish insects," everyone instinctively turned their heads to look at the two approaching figures.

Leading the way was a tall man with slicked-back hair, a long horizontal scar on his face, an earring on his right ear, and a cigar in his mouth.

His left hand was a golden hook, and his right hand wore three luxurious gemstone rings. This outfit would normally look tacky, but on this man, it added to his domineering presence!

He wore a black fur coat over an orange plaid long-sleeve shirt. If Roman were here, he would definitely comment: This old Sand, he really has the style of an Italian mafia boss.

As for the tall, intellectual beauty beside him, wearing a white cowboy hat and a white trench coat, she was completely overshadowed by his aura.

As this man approached, the pirates seemed to see a massive sandstorm engulfing them, making them feel as small as mice... no, just insects!

"Sand Crocodile..."

"Crocodile..."

"Seven Warlords of the Sea..."

One by one, the pirates murmured his name, accompanied by boundless fear.

"He's immortal, we're doomed..." Unlike the ignorant foreign pirates, these pirates who operated in Rainbase had the misfortune of witnessing his power!

No matter how much they slashed or bombarded him,

this man would reappear unscathed from the swirling sand in the next moment.

And with a mere wave of his hand, even the strongest pirate would instantly turn into a dried-up corpse...

"Don't be afraid!"

Death was certainly terrifying, but for these pirates, a life without money, alcohol, and women was even worse than death! They risked their lives at sea to satisfy their desires, didn't they?

"We're invulnerable! And we have—"

"What do you have?"

Before the pirate trying to boost morale could react, a tall figure was already standing behind him, the black coat billowing like a death flag, and a crescent-shaped arc of sand passed through the pirate and returned to Crocodile's hand.

—Crescent Sand Dunes.

A terrifying move where the arm transforms into a crescent-shaped sand blade to slash the enemy (only touching the body without causing harm), instantly draining all the water from anyone hit by the sand blade, leaving them powerless and turning them into mummies.

"...Ah...ah?"

The slashed pirate first opened his mouth wide in a death-like moan, then suddenly realized:

"I'm...I'm...I'm fine?"

?

A slightly surprised Crocodile turned his head, for the first time 'properly' looking at these insignificant challengers.

"Haha...hahaha, I'm fine!"

The pirate laughed wildly. As Crocodile's signature move, this technique could instantly turn a several-hundred-pound man into a skin-and-bones nightmare for countless Rainbase pirates! But today:

"Die, Croc—"

Huh?

Before he could finish his battle cry, the pirate's vision suddenly soared, his excited brain not yet comprehending.

What's happening...

Thud,

A soft sound echoed in his ears, accompanied by a tremor on his cheek. His vision was fixed on the ground, and the last image in his eyes was a headless corpse standing before him.

This isn't me...

"I see,"

With a wave of his hand, Crocodile instantly defeated the arrogant pirate with a 'physical attack' and looked thoughtfully at the pirate's 'skin'.

"Is it by covering the skin with a special 'substance' to hinder my Crescent Dune's ability to absorb moisture?"

And it seems to have a bit of defensive capability.

"Not a bad little trick,"

Crocodile took a puff of his cigar and calmly looked at the surrounding pirates.

"So, you plan to challenge me with this little trick?"

--- Dead silence.

Although these pirates had just boasted about replacing Crocodile, when he actually stood there, fear, trembling, and retreat... all the pirates instinctively distanced themselves from this renowned 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' until:

Their bodies tightened!

It wasn't a metaphor or a psychological effect. It was a physical 'tightening'! The defensive armor they had relied on was silently reminding them:

Retreat and die!

"Fight!"

A pirate suddenly grabbed the water bottle at his waist, poured all the water onto his weapon, and then charged at Crocodile with a ferocious expression.

"Stop pretending, we all know your weakness—"

Splat,

With a crisp sound, the pirate who had just charged halfway was cut into 'several pieces' in mid-air! Several crescent-shaped sand blades flashed by, and Crocodile casually flicked the ash from his cigar.

"Although I don't know where you heard about my so-called weakness of 'fearing water', but:"

He slightly turned his head, his aggressive eyes sweeping across the battlefield, as if a king was casually inspecting his territory.

"Ants that just grow teeth dare to challenge the strong?"

Ridiculous!

"Let's end this boring farce."

"—Sandstorm!"

A 'mini tornado' appeared out of thin air in his palm, throwing out sand blades that instantly expanded as soon as they left Crocodile's hand!

The sand blades slashed through the air, emitting sharp sonic booms, like the howling of a storm sweeping across the dunes, wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Even the thick and hard boulders were sliced open like tofu.

"Ahhh~~~"

"I don't want to die—"

"Spare me..."

Splat, splat, splat, splat, splat!!!

If even rocks couldn't withstand it, how could the fragile human body? Even though these pirates were wearing 'armor', they couldn't stop the flying sand blades from cutting through them. In an instant, the entire battlefield turned into a meat grinder, with flesh and blood flying everywhere, and severed limbs scattered around.

"If this is what they call a 'bloody storm',"

Robin, standing aside, pressed down her white cowboy hat and looked away from the man standing motionless in the battlefield.

"You truly are a terrifying existence who can 'control the wind and rain'."

"Boss."

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