Last Time You Were Almost Beaten to Death

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

"Kill!"

"Stop for me, shoot, shoot!"

"Ah~"

As Chaos slowly strolled through the streets, he had already witnessed several waves of robberies and shootouts.

Areas 1 to 29, it could only be said that they were indeed the most chaotic.

Pirates, thugs, gangsters, and thieves were everywhere.

There were also some slaver groups, specializing in preying on those who were alone.

Just now, Chaos saw three fierce-looking men, using sacks to capture people on the street in broad daylight. Unfortunately, they encountered a ruthless person who killed all three of them in the blink of an eye.

The ugliest scenes were visible everywhere.

This was the situation during the day, let alone at night.

"Eh!"

Chaos, who had been exhaling smoke rings with a look of satisfaction, suddenly looked in one direction.

He sensed a familiar aura with his Observation Haki.

This guy hadn't left Sabaody Archipelago yet.

Changing the direction of his bubble car, Chaos darted directly into an alley. The aura was a bit far away, in the Red Tree area number 8.

"Kid, hand over your money!"

"Give me all the money you have."

As soon as he entered the alley, five thugs armed with knives and guns surrounded him, all staring at Chaos like wolves eyeing a sheep.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~

Chaos didn't even bother to look. He continued to advance as if no one was there, and all five thugs fell to the ground, their cruel smiles still frozen on their faces.

Each of them had a bloody hole in their forehead, from which white and red liquid was slowly trickling, and their bodies twitched occasionally.

It took Chaos more than ten minutes to slowly travel from Red Tree area number 5 to area number 8, encountering seven waves of various robberies along the way.

The dazzling sunlight cast down as Chaos arrived at a wide open space. Not far away, more than thirty pirates were surrounding and annihilating one person.

"Damn Logia!"

"The captain has Armament Haki, cover us with gunfire."

"Desert Treasure Blade."

"Ah~"

"My hand, save me."

The entire area was chaotic. The one being surrounded and beaten by more than thirty pirates was none other than Crocodile.

Chaos thought this guy had already left, but he didn't expect him to still be on Sabaody Archipelago.

"Hoo~"

Chaos took a puff of his cigar. Although Crocodile was still very young, his Logia-type Devil Fruit was indeed the strongest in the early stages. Now, it didn't look like thirty-odd pirates were ganging up on Crocodile, but rather Crocodile was ganging up on these thirty-odd pirates.

It was fortunate that the pirate captain had Armament Haki, otherwise Crocodile would have wiped them out long ago.

Chaos had no intention of intervening. He leaned against his bubble car, resting his feet on the steering wheel, and lazily watched the fight.

He should have brought some peanuts and melon seeds. Watching this kind of scene while snacking would have been perfect!

After about half an hour, Chaos yawned several times before Crocodile finally dealt with all the pirates.

However, his methods were rather brutal. The pirates had all turned into mummified corpses, and the soil and sand on the ground had turned into desert. It would likely take four or five years for plants to grow again.

Crocodile was quite skilled at destroying the environment.

After finishing off all the pirates, Crocodile, panting heavily, did not leave immediately. Instead, he looked towards Chaos.

Chaos had appeared brazenly from the beginning, watching the battle up close.

He had no intention of hiding at all.

"It's you!"

A pile of sand condensed about three meters away from Chaos. Crocodile observed for several minutes before recognizing Chaos.

"I'm your savior, shouldn't you be more respectful in your tone?"

Chaos rested his face on one hand, tilting his head to look at Crocodile lazily.

Crocodile could not see clearly through the sunglasses.

"Hmph, even if you hadn't intervened, I could have escaped."

Crocodile snorted coldly, acting somewhat tsundere, clearly not appreciating the help.

"Can you be more honest? Last time you were almost beaten to death."

Crocodile, still a greenhorn, was indeed a bit cute.

"I'll remember this favor, and I will definitely repay you in the future."

Crocodile's face darkened, his hands clenched, and he felt an urge to punch this guy.

There was no reason, he was just incredibly annoyed.

"No need to repay it. Just follow me from now on. You should be glad you're still young. If you're properly reformed, you can become a big shot. Otherwise, you'll end up disabled, miserably feeding experience to the protagonist."

Chaos waved his hand dismissively.

Crocodile was at most eighteen or nineteen now. He hadn't fought Douglas Bullet, descendant of a demon, nor had he challenged Whitebeard. His hand wasn't broken yet, and his life path hadn't been set in stone.

Chaos was confident that under his tutelage, Crocodile would shine even brighter than in the original story.

After all, he was a Logia type. There was no reason he should be weaker than Sakazuki, Borsalino, or Kuzan.

In the original story, even after his potential was stunted, he could still exchange a few moves with major figures. With his guidance, wouldn't he soar to the heavens and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun?

He was destined to become the most arrogant man in the world. How could he not have his own subordinates and influence?

"What are you joking about?"

Crocodile glared, his posture suggesting he was ready to fight.

This guy actually wanted to recruit him as a subordinate? It was a complete insult!

He was the strongest Logia user, destined to make a name for himself across the seas and become a ruler. How could Crocodile possibly become someone's lackey?

Crocodile panicked, and he got angry.

Young people were hot-blooded, generally arrogant and dismissive of others. They hadn't experienced setbacks yet, so they were somewhat immature.

Was the pirate world about fighting and killing?

Wrong!

It was about relationships and connections, and who had the stronger backing!

"If I were you, I'd run away immediately, or else I'd bow my head."

"This world is cruel, don't you think!"

Chaos took off his sunglasses, narrowing his eyes and smiling gently.

"Crescent Dune."

Crocodile's expression changed drastically. His reaction was swift. Without thinking, he struck first.

In this situation, the opponent clearly wouldn't let him go. Since that was the case, he might as well strike first.

His right arm turned to sand, forming a giant crescent-shaped sand blade. As long as it touched flesh, it would instantly drain the moisture, turning the victim into a dried corpse specimen. The pirate corpses in the distance were the best evidence.

One had to admire Crocodile's ruthlessness. Even though Chaos had saved him, he still launched a deadly attack.

He was merciless!

No wonder he could survive in this era of fierce competition and become one of the Shichibukai.

Whoosh!

Chaos vanished from the bubble car. The next second, Crocodile's hair stood on end.

Before he could even elementalize, his entire face contorted in pain, and he couldn't help but bend over, spitting out blood. His ruthless eyes were filled with agony.

The ground cracked, forming a crater. A piercing sound ripped through the air as Crocodile was sent flying, smashing through one red tree after another, causing a large explosion before landing amidst the dirt and rubble.

Chaos, with his golden spiky hair and earrings flying, had his hands in his pockets, looking sharp.

As he retracted his long, dark right leg, Chaos vanished from his spot.

As for the bubble car behind him, it had already been destroyed by Crocodile's Crescent Dune.

"Cough, cough, cough~"

In the ruins, Crocodile's face was flushed, his veins bulging, and he couldn't help but spit out more blood. His collar was soaked.

He struggled to his feet, feeling like his intestines were twisted together.

Clearly, that kick had been brutal.

Before he could even catch his breath, a new crisis descended.

Crocodile immediately elementalized into fine sand and escaped the crater. The next moment, a violent explosion peeled away the ground in a fan shape, eventually forming a desert that lingered for a long time.

Chaos revealed himself and watched the escaping sandstorm before kicking out. Wrapped in Armament Haki, a black, crescent-shaped Rankyaku shot forward relentlessly.