After speaking, both stopped their attacks and sized each other up.
“Navy, as expected of Garp’s grandson,” Crocodile said seriously. His abilities relied heavily on the Sand-Sand Fruit, while his opponent not only had Haki but also advanced techniques like Haki emission and infusion, making him a perfect counter. Nevertheless, Crocodile believed in his strength and was confident he wouldn’t be defeated, even if the battle was tricky.
“You’re not bad yourself,” Rokujin replied with a smile. The Sand-Sand Fruit was indeed troublesome, especially in the desert, where Crocodile’s fighting style could be very versatile. Rokujin needed to stay fully alert.
“Unfortunately, you can’t win against me!” The Crocodile suddenly launched an attack. His arm turned into sand and then enlarged, forming a crescent-shaped sand blade that slashed towards Rokujin.
“Rokushiki: Soru!” Rokujin raised an eyebrow and quickly used Soru to dodge Crocodile’s attack. The move wasn’t particularly powerful but would drain all moisture from anyone it touched, so even Rokujin had to avoid it.
Just as he landed, Crocodile, now completely transformed into sand, appeared behind him, aiming his golden poison hook at Rokujin. As the hook was about to hit, a red long sword blocked Crocodile’s attack with a crisp sound.
“Ding!”
Rokujin exerted force, deflecting Crocodile’s poison hook before quickly using Soru to widen the distance between them. He adjusted his breathing, and a terrifying black flame began to form on his sword, Zantian. The flame grew into a massive black sword several meters long.
“Demon Flame Slash!”
With a swift motion, the giant black blade descended rapidly towards Crocodile. Feeling the immense pressure and Haki, Crocodile swiftly turned into sand and scattered to the side, trying to avoid the attack. But the giant blade was faster than his escape.
“Boom!”
The giant blade struck the ground, causing the entire area to tremble. A sandstorm rose, creating a cascade of falling sand like a sandy waterfall.
“Where did he go?” Rokujin muttered, scanning the falling sand but not seeing the Crocodile. The crocodile had likely dispersed into the sand, blending with it—a particularly tricky ability.
During the sandstorm, a small part of the sand coalesced behind Rokujin, forming a golden poison hook that aimed for his feet.
“Desert Poison Hook!”
Caught off guard, Rokujin was momentarily unable to react, and the poison hook pierced his right foot. Crocodile’s body reformed, and he appeared behind Rokujin, smiling smugly.
“I told you, you can’t win. My golden hook is poisonous. You’re as good as dead!” Crocodile declared.
“Oh? Is that so?” Rokujin said, smiling. His right foot, which should have been injured, was made of flashing lightning. Though it was pierced, the poison had no effect.
“Discharge!”
Rokujin released a massive amount of electricity, which traveled through the golden hook to Crocodile, electrocuting him until his body turned black and his bones showed.
“Ahhh!” Crocodile screamed, falling to the ground in surprise. “A Devil Fruit user? You’re also a fruit user!”
From what he knew, Rokujin wasn’t a Devil Fruit user. He was shocked to discover that Rokujin had the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
“Heh,” Rokujin chuckled coldly and swung his sword, imbued with sword energy and Haki.
“Desert Gold Blades!” Crocodile’s expression changed, and he formed four large sandblades with his hands to block the attack.
“Boom!”
As the sword energy and sand blades collided, the Crocodile turned into sand again and fled, trying to increase their distance.
“Think you can run? No chance!” Rokujin had already anticipated Crocodile’s movements. He leaped into the air and repeatedly swung his swords, targeting the sand that concealed Crocodile. Each strike created large pits in the ground.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the sand and crashed to the ground—it was a Crocodile, covered in wounds and with blood dripping from his mouth.
“I didn’t expect someone so young to be so powerful. No wonder you’re called a Navy supernova. I reckon you’re the strongest of your generation,” Crocodile admitted, acknowledging Rokujin’s ruthlessness.
“Thanks for the compliment, but I won’t let you go,” Rokujin said faintly.
“Heh,” the Crocodile laughed strangely and turned into sand, along with the ground, creating a massive sandstorm that absorbed everything around it. The sandstorm grew over ten meters high, seemingly swallowing everything in its path.
“Weight-Enhanced Sandstorm!” Crocodile’s voice echoed from the sandstorm as it charged towards Rokujin.
“Good, I was waiting for this!” Rokujin smirked and swung his sword into the air instead of at the sandstorm. Crocodile, puzzled, noticed dark clouds forming overhead. Rokujin’s earlier move had accelerated the clouds, turning them into rain and drenching the battlefield.
This was all part of Rokujin’s plan. He had taken the Dance Powder left by Crocodile to frame Cobra from the palace.
“30 Million Volts: Thunderbird!”
With a smile, Rokujin raised his right hand, gathering dazzling lightning. His body crackled with electricity, and a massive thunderbird formed in his hand. With a wave, the thunderbird flew at high speed towards the sandstorm. The lightning was fast, striking the sandstorm instantly.
“Boom!”
“Crackle!”
The thunderbird disintegrated into countless lightning bolts, merging with the sandstorm. The wet sand conducted the electricity, shocking the Crocodile hidden within.
Become a Patron read up to 40 chapter ahead public release ^_^
Please join Discord Server so we can talk ^_^
