Arrival

The waters near Jaya Island Calm Seas, but people's hearts were in turmoil.

A dozen ships rushed desperately toward the spot where the Golden Ark had crashed, the greed in the eyes of those on board almost tangible.

A single piece of gold can drive a person mad, so such a large Golden Ship could absolutely drive them insane. Even if someone told them that Whitebeard was on board, they would still rob it without hesitation.

"Damn it, so many people have discovered this treasure. We absolutely cannot let them spread the news." A pirate captain glared at the ships all around him with a vicious look.

"Captain, such a large amount of gold is more than enough to be divided equally among all of us." Seeing the captain and other crew members with their eyes gleaming with greed, the navigator, barely able to control his own greed, cautiously tried to dissuade them.

Their pirate ship isn't very strong, and it would be unwise for them to make enemies of everyone.

Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that the moment these people saw the gold, their minds were already clouded by greed.

Bang!

The pirate captain put down his Fire Pistol and said fiercely, "What a joke! All this gold belongs to me. Anyone who dares to stop me is my enemy... Pfft!"

The pirate captain stared at the blade protruding from his chest, then turned around in disbelief to find that even his crew, who had always feared him, now had ferocious expressions. "Only by eliminating you can we obtain more gold."

It wasn't just this one pirate ship; other pirate ships, merchant ships, and escort ships were all embroiled in robbery and betrayal. Even before these ships clashed, they had already suffered heavy losses due to internal strife. The ugliness of human nature was laid bare at this moment.

"Captain, these guys have gone mad! Is the temptation of gold really that great?" Deuce couldn't understand. They were more like an adventure group chasing their dreams than a pirate ship.

"Who knows? Perhaps Roger ushered in such a chaotic era." Ace was unwilling to place the title of Pirate Kings before that name.

Looking back at the crew members with clear eyes who were unmoved by the gold, Ace was very satisfied. At least, his eye for selecting crew members was still good.

"Captain, someone has flown down." Miharu's tone was solemn. They already knew what kind of terrifying figures were on board, and they had to treat everyone who disembarked with utmost care.

"Yes, I wonder who it is. If it's Nightmare Roy, that would be great!" Ace's words left his crew feeling helpless. The monster that others would avoid at all costs was something their captain was actually looking forward to encountering.

"Stop! Someone's gotten off the Golden Ship! Damn it, does this ship already belong to someone?" Crocodile the Sand didn't try to hide his presence, and soon someone noticed him.

"What a joke! Someone beat you to it. Well, you can only blame your bad luck. Listen to me, everyone, let's take this guy down together." Although they didn't know how the person could fly, they were too lazy to even think about it in the face of gold.

As the saying goes, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," and with a typical example like the Crocodile the Sand, the hatred quickly shifted, making everyone on the sea focus on him.

"Die, you scum!" Without any communication, the group tacitly unleashed all their bullets and artillery fire on the figure in the air, and for a moment, brilliant fireworks bloomed in mid-air.

"Hmph, overestimating yourself." Seeing that the figure couldn't even dodge, the crowd, who were initially somewhat wary of his flying ability, scoffed disdainfully. They didn't believe that anyone could survive such fierce firepower.

"No way, is this the level of the people on Nightmare Roy of the Shichibukai?" Kong Hai looked at the scene with some doubt.

"Oh no, that guy is actually Crocodile, one of the former Shichibukai, Logia Sand-Sand Fruit User like the captain." Miharu, who had been racking his brains trying to remember the man's face, finally recalled it.

"What!" the Spade Pirates exclaimed. With their captain as an example, they naturally knew that ordinary firearms were useless against Logia Fruit users.

Sure enough, amidst the exploding flames, a chilling voice rang out. "Truly courting death! Turn into yellow sand and Erosion Reincarnation!"

To everyone's horror, a yellow sandstorm swept in, giving them the illusion that they were not on the sea, but in the middle of a desert.

What's even more terrifying is that those who touch the yellow sand can't even struggle to utter their last words, becoming charred, dried corpses that turn into tiny pebbles scattered on the sea surface when a gentle sea breeze blows.

Ace was also horrified. He couldn't care less about being surprised that the Crocodile the Sand was on Roy's ship. He quickly transformed into Fire Ring to envelop the ship. After all, with the strength of his crew, if they came into contact with the yellow sand, they probably wouldn't last even a second.

The sandstorm came quickly and went quickly, but in the blink of an eye, the dozen or so ships that had been hovering on the sea had been reduced to the smallest particles, leaving only the Spade Pirates surrounded by flames, as if they had only existed as a ball of fire from beginning to end.

As the flames subsided, Ace looked at the eerily calm sea around him and felt a deep sense of lingering fear. If he had been even a millisecond slower, his crew members would not have fared any better than the others.

The yellow sand reformed, and the Crocodile the Sand reappeared on the sea surface. Looking at the Spade Pirates who were unharmed, he was somewhat surprised.

"So he's Devil Fruit User? That's quite surprising." Crocodile the Sand really didn't expect that a short trip to relax would lead to an encounter with an extremely rare Logia Devil Fruit User.

However, he was not afraid. After all, Logia Fruit users are not invincible, and not everyone can be as troublesome as Enel. Moreover, even Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit was only evenly matched with him two years ago.

Looking at the freckled face, which still seemed quite young and not even as old as the captain, he felt even more relaxed. In his mind, one monster like the captain was enough; if a second one appeared, would the older generation still be able to play?

"I should be the one who's surprised. Crocodile, the former Shichibukai, how could someone like you appear on the ship of the person who defeated you?" Ace felt incredibly heavy-hearted. If it were just Roy alone, he believed he still had a chance of winning, but with Crocodile the Sand, who was also a Logia Fruit user, added to the mix, he was afraid that his chances of survival were slim.

He himself didn't care; what kind of pirate was he if he wasn't prepared to die? But his crew shouldn't have died here, and for the first time, he felt a pang of regret for his reckless actions.