After Crocodile was sent flying by a single punch from Dragon of the Chen.
The battlefield fell utterly silent as sand and dust billowed everywhere.
Nico Robin stood in the enormous sand crater behind Dragon of the Chen, covering her mouth in shock.
"That Crocodile... He was actually..."
To be honest, the main reason she had chosen to betray Crocodile and cooperate with the other party was that Dragon of the Chen had learned her identity—she believed she had no other choice.
But deep down, she had not held out much hope for this betrayal.
As Crocodile's partner and associate, she knew all too well how powerful he was.
He was a member of the Shichibukai, one of the three great powers specially selected by the World Government to balance the seas.
Crocodile was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous existence.
Especially when it came to his strength—in Robin's impression, she had never even seen Crocodile get injured.
Anyone before him was as insignificant as a human facing a desert.
That was also why Robin, despite knowing Crocodile's plan for Alabasta and being unwilling to accept it deep down, had not dared to openly resist him.
But now, the Shichibukai who had seemed almost invincible in her eyes had been sent flying right before her.
"This person..."
Thus, Nico Robin's gaze involuntarily turned toward that figure.
The existence from an organization called the Twelve Zodiacs, codenamed Dragon of the Chen.
"It's rare for someone to have a chance to pursue their true value, yet miss it for some reason and eventually have no choice but to hide once more in a pitch-black corner. Is that what you seek?"
She suddenly remembered what he had said not long ago.
"What I... seek..."
She unconsciously murmured the words in her heart.
But at that very moment—
"Hey, Miss Robin—rather than dawdling, you'd better get away from the battlefield."
Dragon of the Chen's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
His voice beneath the mask was calm, but his words left Nico Robin stunned.
Then she immediately realized what Dragon of the Chen meant.
The battle was still going on!
"Buzz!"
And as if to prove his words,
accompanied by the ear-piercing sound of slashing, an enormous Sand Blade instantly cleaved through the swirling dust and shot out.
It swept past a weathered rocky mountain and split it cleanly in half without the slightest resistance.
"Desert Treasure Sword!"
Facing the incoming attack, Dragon of the Chen merely raised his hand.
Three enormous Ice Shields appeared once more, blocking the giant Sand Blade.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
But this time, the powerful Sand Blade successfully shattered two of the Ice Shields in succession. It was only when it struck the third that its momentum finally stopped.
At that moment, Dragon of the Chen's gaze turned toward the figure emerging from the smoke and dust.
Crocodile.
By now, the robe over his left abdomen had been completely shredded, revealing his solid muscles and a distinct bruised fist mark.
There were also extremely obvious traces of frostbite around the fist mark.
A trace of blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth, making him look extremely disheveled.
The arrogance and coldness that had previously filled his face had vanished completely. In their place was the ferocity of a beast that had been thoroughly enraged.
"Indeed, there was no Haki imbued in that attack. You actually knew?"
His eyes locked firmly onto Dragon of the Chen.
Both Dragon of the Chen and Crocodile naturally understood what he meant.
"Of course there was no Haki imbued in it."
Dragon of the Chen smiled.
Of course, he would not say, I haven't even learned Haki yet.
He merely raised his hand.
Droplets of water were continuously condensing in his palm.
"This thing is much more useful than Haki when dealing with you."
That was right.
Water—this was the weakness of Crocodile, or rather, the weakness of the Sand-Sand Fruit.
Once sand came into contact with water, it solidified. Thus, once Crocodile was struck by water, the affected part could no longer undergo Elementalization.
As far as countering Crocodile went, water was even more effective than Armament Haki.
And just now, Dragon of the Chen had attached water to his fist, allowing him to send Crocodile flying with a single punch.
"Pat!" "Pat!" "Pat!"
At the same time he spoke,
rain had already begun falling from the sky.
"So I told you—you can't defeat me."
He calmly repeated what he had said earlier.
But this time, Crocodile showed no disdain whatsoever.
He merely bit down on his cigar and looked toward the pouring rain falling from the sky, growing heavier by the second, while feeling the intense pain in his abdomen.
He was certainly not reluctant to admit one fact—he had underestimated Dragon of the Chen.
Or rather, the smooth sailing he had enjoyed in Alabasta for so long had indeed made him complacent.
He had always known that Dragon of the Chen was the "Rain Summoner," and that he possessed some kind of ability or technique capable of bringing rain.
But he had not been particularly wary of it.
He had always believed that no one knew his weakness. Even less had he expected Dragon of the Chen to use water against him right from the start.
This had directly placed him in a perilous situation. If he had not sensed that something was wrong in time and used Armament Haki hardening to block most of the frostbite, that punch might well have rendered him incapable of fighting.
Dragon of the Chen's abilities truly countered him.
Because of this, Crocodile felt a sense of crisis he had not experienced in a long time.
Yet even so, he did not feel the slightest panic. Instead, he became excited.
How many years had it been?
How long had it been since he had felt this way, ever since that crushing defeat against Whitebeard in the New World?
He disliked being schemed against. He disliked being at a disadvantage. He disliked being passive.
But he enjoyed danger.
"I'm Crocodile!"
"If you think that knowing water is my weakness means you can defeat me, then you're wrong."
At that moment, he bared his teeth and smiled ferociously.
"Yellow Sand Giant Curtain!"
As soon as his voice fell, the Yellow Sand on the ground that had not yet been soaked by the rain suddenly rose into the air.
It writhed and surged upward, eventually forming an enormous curtain that blocked out all the rain falling from the sky, along with the light of day.
Just as had been said earlier, Alabasta was a country of sand.
And in this country—he was the only king.
Even rain could not fall without his permission.
"Impressive."
Looking at the magnificent sight of the Yellow Sand stretching across the sky and blocking the curtain of rain,
Even Dragon of the Chen could not help praising him. "As expected of a Shichibukai."
His admiration was sincere.
Even though he knew the story, and even knew Crocodile's abilities and weakness, he had not expected Crocodile to possess such a technique for solving the problem of the rain.
His opponent had never used anything like this in the original story.
"Truly worthy of being a warlord who survived all the way to the final round."
"Unless he has the protagonist's halo, like Big Brother Nika, underestimating him is just asking to die."
He sighed inwardly.
At that moment, Crocodile naturally had no idea what Dragon of the Chen was thinking.
The Shichibukai merely looked at Dragon of the Chen. "Brat, I already understand your abilities—rainfall, freezing, and the droplets of water on your skin. I don't know what kind of Devil Fruit it is, but you can manipulate the moisture in the air, can't you?"
He raised the Golden Hook in his left hand and pointed it at Dragon of the Chen once more.
"But you've already missed your only chance to kill me."
"From now on, you won't have another chance to let water touch me."
But after hearing his words, Dragon of the Chen laughed.
"Really?"
He said, "I don't believe you."
Before you continue