"Good grief, this sure is an unfriendly break-in interview. And one more thing—I was standing openly by the window watching you!"
Lightning flickered around Ling Donglai, his hair standing on end as if he were ready to throw a punch.
"Heh, so it really is the power of lightning? Rookie, your ability has quite a nice nature. Want to test its quality?"
Crocodile clenched his cigar between his teeth and watched the lightning coiling around Ling Donglai with interest.
"Gladly!" Ling Donglai spun around and threw a punch, striking at this force of heaven!
Armament Haki coated his fist.
"Hah!"
Surging lightning crashed into the sandstorm. Crocodile's expression remained unchanged, though his brow rose slightly. "Armament Haki. A rookie like you is truly rare."
Their fists collided. Lightning and sand clashed, and quite a bit of the sand crystallized before falling to the ground.
Crocodile said, "Your punch has some power."
He exerted force and sent Ling Donglai flying back. At the same time, his arm turned into windblown sand and coiled around him, bypassing the fists protected by Armament Haki. It directly stripped away the skin on his arm and began draining its moisture. In an instant, Ling Donglai's right arm shriveled.
"You killed Daz Bonez. He was a subordinate I had intended to recruit, yet you killed him before he could even report in."
Crocodile blew out a ring of smoke. The exchange was over.
"Captain!!!" Only then did Nami and the others realize what had happened. It had been too fast!
Ling Donglai crashed through a wall. "What, are you planning to avenge him?"
"A useless weakling is dead when he dies. But you've made me somewhat unhappy, because Bonez was someone I personally invited. It feels as though you're mocking my poor judgment," Crocodile said calmly.