Bang!
A raging sandstorm swept across the sky, turning the entire world into a desert ocean. Suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared, and endless rays of light burst forth from the gaps in the sand, splitting the sea of sand in two. The remaining force continued to divide the entire Rain Banquet Casino in two.
"Pah, ptooey! The captain and his crew really do act without warning, without any warning at all." Jin brushed the dust off his clothes and spat out the sand in his mouth in frustration.
"Is this the power of Logia Devil Fruit User? It's terrifyingly strong." Reiju was terrified to see the entire desert under Crocodile's control, the world changing in the blink of an eye. However, she wasn't too worried because she knew that her captain was also known as a monster by the world.
Robin struggled to crawl out of the rubble. After all, she was not a professional combatant and was far inferior to Roy's men. In the face of the sudden disaster, she could only protect herself from injury at most.
Looking at the other person's relaxed and carefree expression, and then comparing it to myself, I felt utterly pathetic, weak, and helpless.
Although she was used to being alone, she still felt a strange sense of envy when she looked at the other person. However, she quickly suppressed this inappropriate thought. For someone like her, friends were simply a luxury.
Crocodile wasn't surprised to see Roy easily break through the desert prison he had created. If Roy couldn't even do that, then Crocodile would have to doubt Doflamingo's abilities.
"In that case, try this move, Crescent-Shaped Sand Dune." Crocodile's arm instantly transformed into a huge crescent-shaped sand blade, sweeping towards Roy.
Logia Devil Fruit User are adept at using area-of-effect (AoE) attacks with extremely wide ranges. This move is no exception; it resembles the weapon of the desert god, appearing as if even the sky itself is about to be torn apart.
However, this seemingly terrifying sand blade was shattered by a single blow, turning into a sky full of yellow sand. The shattered sand fragments, like invisible flowing water, instantly transformed into a giant hand, trying to grasp Roy entirely in its grasp.
Crocodile's attack is not particularly powerful, but its strength lies in its versatility; the killing intent is completely hidden beneath its immense power.
Once entangled, the body's moisture will be sucked dry in an instant, turning into a charred corpse. Countless powerful individuals have fallen victim to this move due to carelessness, turning into mummies in despair and regret.
Therefore, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames.
Crocodile is as calm and cunning as a crocodile, with all his killing moves lurking beneath the surface. Once he reveals his fangs, he will launch a fatal attack.
However, Roy already knew Crocodile's trump card and what he needed to be wary of in his fight, so he naturally wouldn't fall for it.
The intelligence gathering on both sides was completely unequal. Roy knew Crocodile the Sand's killer moves inside and out, while Crocodile's understanding of Roy was still based on hearsay. It could be said that this was not a fair fight to begin with, Crocodile the Sand had already lost half the battle from the very beginning.
However, Crocodile the Sand didn't think so. He thought that Roy, like the other strong people before him, was also "deceived" by the terrifying appearance of this style.
"What Phantom Sword Roy? He's just a greenhorn with little combat experience. Let him sleep forever in the desert, guhahaha."
Crocodile the Sand wouldn't care if he only defeated an unknown nobody; he's already taken down far too many pirates.
But Roy was different. Someone who could defeat Shichibukai before even entering the Grand Line was no ordinary person. He had long regarded Roy as an equal. The fact that he could send such a person to hell made his long-calm heart boil with excitement.
Bang!
The giant hand closed instantly, and endless quicksand slipped through its fingers.
"Damn it, we've fallen into a trap." Crocodile the Sand's expression changed drastically upon realizing something was wrong. A murderous intent surged from behind him, and a sharp Sword Intent locked onto him. Crocodile didn't even have time to think before he instantly transformed into his Elementalization and scattered to escape.
The sword, enveloped in Armament Haki, resembled black jade, gleaming with a metallic sheen, and fell like a rainbow piercing the sun.
The sand that filled the sky was less than paper before this sword, and was torn apart in an instant.
"Damn it, it's Armament Haki! And how did you do that? I locked onto your figure from the very beginning, and even at the last moment I could still sense that you were still in the quicksand." The body that the sand had reassembled looked rather disheveled, especially the near-severed abdominal wound, which was enough to prove that Crocodile the Sand was not in a good position.
It has to be said that Crocodile the Sand became too complacent after returning to the first half of the Grand Line, and his hope of becoming the Pirate Kings was pinned on the Ancient Weapon, which was originally a sign of his lack of confidence in his own strength.
With his mental strength waning, his own power inevitably declined as well. In addition, having dominated the first half of the Grand Line for so many years with the unique nature of his Logia-type Fruit abilities, he had rarely encountered a strong person who had Armament Haki. When faced with Roy's sharp sword, he was even unable to defend himself properly for a moment.
After all, Armament Haki is not a panacea; it merely provides ordinary people with a way to access Logia Fruit users and turn their attacks into effective ones. Otherwise, how could the Three Admirals be the highest fighting force of the Marine Headquarters?
Therefore, Crocodile was severely injured by Armament Haki from the very beginning because he was too confident in his own abilities and overestimated himself, thinking that he was always in peak condition.
In fact, besides these reasons, there was also the fact that Roy's bait was too real, or rather, Crocodile did not misperceive, because the one who perished in the hands of the quicksand could also be said to be a smaller version of Roy.
As the ruler of dreams, Nightmare can not only transform into fantastical creatures and descend upon this world, but also become a miniature clone of Roy. Its essence is Roy's Dream Origin, and even using Observation Haki, there is no difference. Not only was Crocodile unable to distinguish it, but even Roy's many subordinates who spent every day with him were perfectly fooled.
The moment the Sand Prison broke open, Nightmare appeared in mid-air. Roy, meanwhile, lay in wait, waiting until the Crocodile the Sand had crushed Nightmare and was at its most vulnerable before making his move.
As for the Nightmare's death, it will not have any effect on itself. It exists based on Roy's dream, and as long as Roy is alive, it will not perish.
This is the Dream Release: Dream Clone Technique. Roy, who blatantly plagiarized the idea from a certain comic next door, has no shame at all. Just kidding, has he not plagiarized any other moves from that comic?