Let me show you the gap in our abilities! (Bang!)

In Alabasta, when people spoke of nature or natural disasters, what came to mind?

The answer was beyond doubt.

In Alabasta, where more than seventy percent of the nation's land was "desert,"

whether it was nature or a natural disaster, they often referred to the same thing—the Yellow Sand that blanketed the entire country.

For instance, at this very moment, the former location of Spider Cafe was undoubtedly displaying the power of "sand."

"Rumble!"

The Yellow Sand-covered earth began devouring everything on its surface like a living creature.

The Yellow Sand was its mouth, its teeth, and its claws.

And now, the entire site of Spider Cafe had already been dragged beneath the ground.

All that remained on the surface was a circular sandpit resembling a sunflower, spanning dozens of meters—and within it, the quicksand continued to swallow everything it could consume.

Above the ground, Crocodile's figure swept through the desert on the gusting wind.

"Desert: Sunflower."

His lower body had completely transformed into a mass of constantly swirling Yellow Sand.

This was the power he relied upon, the ability that had allowed him to reach the pinnacle of these seas—the Logia-type Devil Fruit, the Sand-Sand Fruit.

"Crack!"

He silently took out another cigar, peeled off the wrapper, and lit it.

"Phew."

Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he looked down below.

"Dragon of the Zodiac is probably connected to that Rooster. Members of the same organization, or perhaps the same pirate crew?"

That was his guess.

"And Nico Robin..."

His expression darkened slightly.

Aside from usurping Alabasta, the most important purpose of his Utopia Plan was to obtain information about Pluton within Alabasta.

Nico Robin had originally been an indispensable part of it.

But now, he had no choice but to kill her. Naturally, that irritated him greatly.

Of course, Crocodile would not regret it because of that—tolerating betrayal was a fool's choice, and he knew that better than anyone.

"Forget it."

In the end, he merely thought calmly, First, take Alabasta. I can think of another way to deal with deciphering the Poneglyphs later.

The priority now is to confirm whether the others are alive or dead.

I can't lose my status as a Shichibukai for the time being. I need new agents—if they're all dead, then the plan will have to be suspended for a while. Once I find enough Strong Persons to restore the company's strength, I can restart it.

While calmly considering his options, Crocodile turned to leave.

But—

"Hm?"

He had only taken one step when he seemed to sense something, causing him to frown.

Then he stopped and turned back around.

His gaze fell upon the enormous pit in the desert before him.

At that moment—

"Crack!" "Crack!"

Crisp sounds rang out from within the quicksand—the sound of sand freezing.

"Hm?"

Crocodile raised an eyebrow.

The next moment—

"Boom!"

The sand within the entire pit came to a complete stop, and then—

Shattered!

Then Crocodile saw Dragon of the Zodiac and Nico Robin once more.

At that moment, the latter's face was clearly filled with lingering fear and shock.

Meanwhile, the former slowly stepped out of the deep pit.

"What's wrong, Crocodile?"

"I heard you fought Whitebeard when you were young. Even though you got utterly crushed, you've still seen the world—don't tell me you thought an attack like that could take me out?"

He looked at Crocodile, and a teasing voice came from beneath the mask.

"."

After hearing those words, Crocodile's expression darkened further.

His crushing defeat at Whitebeard's hands back then was one of the things he least wanted anyone to bring up.

"Yeah—after all, someone who hides their face like you looks pretty weak."

But clearly, as a formidable figure of the seas, Crocodile was no slouch when it came to trading barbs.

"What a coincidence."

Dragon of the Zodiac smiled at that. "That's exactly what I wanted to say to you—Crocodile, you can't beat me."

The moment his words fell.

"Heh."

With a scoff, Crocodile's body instantly dissolved into a cloud of Yellow Sand.

Only moments later, his form gathered again beside Dragon of the Zodiac.

The Golden Hook on his left hand gleamed coldly as it slashed toward Dragon of the Zodiac's head with a piercing whistle.

But immediately after.

"Clang!"

An ice wall suddenly appeared in the air. Crocodile's Golden Hook slammed into it, its tip instantly embedding itself in the ice.

"Ice. Was this how you escaped from 'Sunflower' earlier?"

Crocodile's pupils abruptly contracted.

But before he could pull out his Golden Hook, Dragon of the Zodiac had already moved.

"There's a lady here. Let's find somewhere else to fight."

He said it with a soft laugh, his fist already clenched.

"Iron Body: Steel Strength Fist!"

Then—

"Boom!"

Crocodile saw the other man's fist swing toward his abdomen.

"One of the Rokushiki, Iron Body!"

Crocodile recognized the move instantly, though he wasn't surprised—after all, while the Rokushiki had been created by the Navy and the World Government, they had spread widely across the seas.

What truly concerned him was—

"No Haki coating!?"

At that moment, his Observation Haki sensed that the other man's fist was not coated in Haki.

And everyone knew—for a Logia Ability User, an attack without Haki might as well not exist.

"Idiot."

That was Crocodile's conclusion.

He did not dodge—just as he had done countless times over the years when facing those rookie Pirates in Paradise.

"Let me show you the gap between our abilities. Ugh!"

But before Crocodile's smile could even spread, he let out a muffled groan the next instant.

The confidence on his face froze instantly.

Because he had already realized—the sensation was wrong.

The other man's fist had not passed through his body of sand.

On the contrary!

"Bang!"

As though he had been struck head-on by a charging beast, Crocodile's body suddenly caved in!

Scalding blood sprayed uncontrollably from his mouth, and his body flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

"Boom!"

Like a cannonball, he smashed through the rocks in his path before crashing heavily into the desert, kicking up a skyful of murky sand and dust.

Dragon of the Zodiac slowly withdrew his fist.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"What was it you said you wanted me to see?"