Crocodile Doubts Life

"Huh!"

Chaos, who had been drinking coffee and looking at the street, suddenly turned his head towards the rooftops in the distance.

When the sand condensed into a body, Chaos was slightly surprised.

Although still very young, that iconic slicked-back hair and the aura of a big shot smoking a cigar, wasn't that the future Crocodile, worth 81 million Belly, who could spar with anyone?

That's right, at this time Crocodile was still a young man of eighteen or nineteen, but he had already made a name for himself on the Grand Line.

It's just that his bounty was a bit hard to look at, was it twenty million or thirty million?

What does this guy want?

Chaos's gaze swept back and forth between Crocodile and Dragon Horn Jax.

At this time, Crocodile, like most young pirates, feared nothing and was in a state of hot-blooded, overly confident delusion that he was the only one in the world.

Good heavens, with a bounty of only twenty to thirty million Belly, he's already targeting pirates in the 300 million Belly class.

You could call him audacious or full of confidence, but there's no denying that Crocodile had guts.

This is what it means to be young.

Who hasn't been reckless in their youth?

Chaos had originally wanted to make a name for himself by confronting Dragon Horn Jax, but now he decided to wait.

Just as Chaos had guessed, the young and impetuous Crocodile was indeed targeting Dragon Horn Jax's head.

"Whoosh!"

Sand exploded, and Crocodile's Logia form disappeared from the rooftop. When he reappeared, he had already blocked the path of Dragon Horn Jax and his crew.

"Dragon Horn Jax, I'm taking your head!"

Crocodile looked dismissively, a cigar in his mouth, at Dragon Horn Jax and his crew, who had stopped in their tracks.

The entire street fell silent.

Not only Jax's crew but all the other pirates stared at Crocodile in astonishment.

"W-what did you say?"

A subordinate next to Jax took a long time to snap out of it, fiddling with his ear, thinking he had misheard.

"Desert Treasure Blade!"

Facing the increasingly mocking smiles of the pirates, Crocodile was ruthless and brief. His right arm turned into a sand blade, and with a swing, the hard ground was instantly cut open, charging mightily towards Dragon Horn Jax and his crew.

"You're asking for death."

A pirate roared in anger, drew the twin swords at his waist, and darted out, crossing them in front of him.

As his feet dug into the ground, leaving two trails, he forcefully shattered Crocodile's Slash attack.

"Who gave you the courage to dare to want my head!"

Jax stopped his restless subordinates, his eyes filled with cruelty as he looked at Crocodile.

"Hmph!"

"Desert Greatsword."

Crocodile's expression was cold and arrogant. He disdained to answer Jax's question, keeping his right hand in the sand blade form and thrusting it into the ground. The earth shook violently, and the next moment, a greatsword of sand shot out from under Jax's feet, aiming for his waist, intending to cut him in half.

During the Summit War, this move had cut Sakazuki in half, though it hadn't been very effective.

Clang~

There was no bloody separation as expected. Jax's waist was coated in a layer of black substance. The sand greatsword merely sparked upon impact, leaving no trace.

To be the captain of the 20th fleet under the Flying Pirates, with a bounty of 330 million, it was impossible for him not to have Haki.

In the New World, Haki is the most basic requirement; without it, one could never become a fleet captain.

Moreover, judging by this, Jax's Armament Haki level was quite high. An attack like Crocodile's, which could easily cut through the ground and even steel, left no mark on his waist.

Crocodile frowned, clearly not expecting his attack to be useless.

"Kid, I don't know who gave you the courage to dare provoke me."

"I've killed countless foolish guys like you!"

His imposing figure strode forward, like a shadow, towards Crocodile. Jax's fierce face was full of cruelty; he loved tearing these conceited guys to shreds.

"Desert Diamond Treasure Blade."

Crocodile didn't retreat but advanced, not taking Jax seriously at all. He rushed forward first, forming four giant sand blades with his hands, which charged towards Jax with a whistling sound.

Jax clenched his fist, coated it with Armament Haki, and without dodging, threw a punch. The massive explosion formed a shockwave that swept away the sand blades and slammed into Crocodile.

Crack!

Crocodile exploded violently, turning into a pile of sand that splashed everywhere. But a second later, he reformed about five meters away.

"Logia user!"

Jax was somewhat surprised, as were all the pirates on the street.

It's important to remember that Logia are the strongest of all Devil Fruits.

"No wonder he's so arrogant, turns out he's a Logia user."

After his initial surprise, Jax scoffed. He could tell at a glance that this guy was only so brazen because of his Logia ability, and didn't even use Haki.

He could only show off in the first half of the Grand Line and the Four Seas. If he went to the New World and ran into some strong individuals, he might be taught a lesson in how to behave.

"330 million, nothing more than this!"

Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, was as arrogant as ever.

Ever since he ate this Devil Fruit, no one had been able to harm him. Even if he was hit, it was useless.

He was invincible.

On a distant open-air rooftop, Chaos sat with his legs crossed, watching the endlessly arrogant Crocodile. He couldn't help but shake his head, a hint of pity appearing.

He's still too young.

Arrogance needs to be backed by strength.

Facing ordinary pirates, Crocodile certainly had the right to be arrogant.

After all, the elementalization of a Logia could completely immunize against physical attacks.

Crocodile clearly didn't know Haki, or even know it existed.

He might have heard of it, but didn't take it seriously.

And the Dragon Horn Jax he was facing now, Jax could feel the dominance of Armament Haki from a distance. It was possible Crocodile would fall here today.

But Crocodile wasn't an ordinary person either. Even when facing pirates worth hundreds of millions or billions, he could still hold his own for a few exchanges!

This could also be considered a display of talent and strength.

"Guahahaha~"

Crocodile's dismissiveness made Jax laugh in anger.

This guy clearly thought Logia was invincible.

BANG!

The ground beneath his feet exploded, and Jax vanished from his spot. Crocodile, who had been smirking, suddenly changed his expression.

"Pfft!"

He doubled over, unable to stop spitting blood. His arrogant and wild face gradually contorted, his bloodshot eyes filled with disbelief.

RUMBLE!

A string of houses collapsed, and billowing smoke obscured the street. In the ruins fifty meters away, Crocodile lay at the end of a gully, his face deathly pale, blood gushing from his nose and mouth.

He felt like his internal organs were all twisted together. His slicked-back hair was no longer neat, and his cigar had somehow flown away.

"How is this possible!"

Crocodile began to doubt his own existence. He had actually been hit.

Watching Jax approach with a sinister grin, Crocodile pushed himself up against the broken wall, bent over, and spat out another mouthful of blood.

"Sandstorm."

Gritting his teeth, he extended his right hand. A small whirlwind of sand spun in his palm. Crocodile, his face fierce, threw it at Jax. It eventually grew into a fifty-meter-high sandstorm against the wind, sweeping through the surrounding ruins with destructive force.