Hee Hee Hee Hee Hee

Crocodile felt for the first time that he had been a little too hasty.

It was understandable.

Perhaps it was the first time he had found a clue about an Ancient Weapon, the first time he had seen a Poneglyph;

Or perhaps he had grown accustomed to calling him "Primitive Man" all day long;

It might even be that the other party's personality was too erratic and pure, which made Crocodile let down his guard;

In short, Crocodile overlooked one thing--

Aiven Lindsey was by no means an ordinary human, but some kind of "ancient unknown creature" that had awakened!

No one could predict what would happen if he rashly came into contact with a Poneglyph, which was also an ancient creation!

Could it be to decipher the Poneglyph?

Or perhaps...

Was Aiven Lindsey, this ancient creature, "planning" something himself?

What appeared before everyone's eyes was an indescribable "abnormality."

Aiven Lindsey's hand touched the giant Poneglyph, and then actually passed through it, sinking into it!

It wasn't "breaking" or "tearing," but a state akin to "superimposition."

Aiven Lindsey's right hand was actually superimposed with a part of the Poneglyph, becoming one!

"This, this!"

Looking at this scene, Igaram, a member of the Royal Guard, couldn't help but exclaim:

"It's just like an uncivilized child sticking his hand into cheap jelly!"

"..."

A rather strange analogy.

But he had to admit, it was quite fitting.

While marveling, Lindsey's entire forearm sank into it, and he took another big step forward, superimposing more than half of his body with the Poneglyph!

At this point, only half of his face, parts of his knees, shoulders, calves, and feet remained outside.

Lindsey was superimposed with the Poneglyph, but the hard Poneglyph showed no cracks or bulges. It felt as if several human organs had appeared out of nowhere on the Poneglyph!

"Hey, hey, hey, hey..."

Crocodile's gaze shifted upward, staring intently at Lindsey's eyes, and found that the only remaining pupil had lost its light, as if it were an inanimate object.

What in the world was going on?!

A few drops of cold sweat broke out on Crocodile's forehead.

He had never anticipated such an anomaly; this was no longer a scope that could be explained by "Poneglyphs" or "Devil Fruit abilities."

"Tsk, this primitive man really knows how to cause trouble!"

Muttering a curse, Crocodile stepped forward and grabbed one of Lindsey's exposed hands.

He exerted force with his entire body, trying to pull Lindsey out of the Poneglyph.

But the moment the force was transmitted, Crocodile suddenly had a feeling as if he wasn't pulling a "person," but an entire "stone tablet" the size of a mountain!

Superimposed?

Crocodile couldn't describe the feeling.

And just then, Jaka, not far away, sensed the abnormality and exclaimed in shock, "Hey, be careful!"

"Huh?"

Crocodile looked up and saw that Lindsey's pupils had actually begun to move, meeting his gaze!

The only pupil outside had now turned pure black, like the surface of the sea at night, so black it made one's heart tremble.

Screech!

A crisp tearing sound rang out, and ragged, dark "ribbons" spread out around, their ends connected to Aiven Lindsey's body.

Whoosh...

One of the "ribbons" brushed past Crocodile's cheek. He felt a sharp sting, and a few drops of blood fell.

?!

It's Haki...

An extremely large amount of externalized, unknown--

Armament Haki!

Crocodile shivered.

Cobra's shout was what snapped him out of that state.

"Vivi!"

In the face of crisis, Cobra instinctively shielded his daughter.

Before them, Igaram pulled out a cannon hidden in his hair, while Bepo and Jaka entered their half-animal forms, ready for battle.

And blocking the path of these five, further ahead, was [Sand Crocodile] Crocodile!

But this wasn't his intention; it was a calculated move based on profit and timing.

Just imagine, if those five behind him died here, the World Government would definitely pin the blame squarely on him!

At that point, let alone the Poneglyph, he'd likely lose his Shichibukai position!

Therefore, these five useless people absolutely could not die...

More importantly, Crocodile was genuinely curious about what had happened to Evan Lindsey.

If it was related to an Ancient Weapon, he had to get firsthand information!

"Hehehehe..."

With that thought, a sinister grin spread across Crocodile's face.

He'd heard the Poneglyphs were indestructible, and today he wanted to test if that was truly the case!

And there was one more thing—

He'd wanted to do this to Evan Lindsey for a long time...

His intact right hand lightly brushed against a regular stone pillar beside him.

One of the Sand-Sand Fruit's abilities was to drain the moisture from any living being or object it touched.

When this ability was expanded to its limit, it could even turn everything around into sand!

Corrosive Cycle!

Instantly, the Sand-Sand Fruit's power spread out.

Everything, including the stone pillar from top to bottom, turned into sand in the blink of an eye.

This sand didn't fall to the ground but, with Crocodile's palm as the eye of the storm, converged into a sandstorm of astonishing power.

"Hoo..."

Crocodile kicked the Poneglyph and, at the closest distance, swung his right hand towards the spot where Lindsey and the Poneglyph overlapped—

Weight-Type Sandstorm!

BOOM!

The sandstorm roared.

This was an enhanced version of a regular sandstorm, with far greater power, enough to destroy a small town!

At such close range, Crocodile was confident that even [Whitebeard] wouldn't dare to take a direct hit!

Crocodile's attack wasn't over yet.

The sandstorm struck the Poneglyph, scattering outwards, but under the Sand-Sand Fruit's control, it hovered around, then condensed into four sharp, heavy sand blades.

Crocodile gave the Poneglyph a forceful kick, creating distance, and clenched his five fingers.

Diamond Dust Blades!

SWISH!

The four sand blades simultaneously struck the Poneglyph and Lindsey, exploding!

Crackle, crackle, crackle...

Logia Type Devil Fruit users were indeed terrifying.

After a series of attacks, sand filled the air, and more than half of the secret room had turned to sand, threatening to collapse.

But the Poneglyph at the end of the secret room remained completely unharmed!

However, this was within Crocodile's expectations, as even the World Government had difficulty destroying Poneglyphs.

So, the real question was, what was Evan Lindsey's condition?

Looking up, Crocodile saw a scene that made his scalp tingle—

The surrounding Armament Haki had become even denser, and a slight misstep could result in a cut!

And Evan Lindsey, who had been silent for so long, finally made a move.

He grabbed a strand of the outward-extending Armament Haki, then twisted his wrist, wrapping it around his arm.

As this action concluded, more Armament Haki returned to the Poneglyph...

No.

It went to Evan Lindsey!

The peculiar Armament Haki wrapped around Lindsey's entire body. At the same time, Lindsey broke free from the Poneglyph.

Crocodile found it difficult to describe the current Ivan Lindsey.

Covered in Armament Haki?

It was similar.

But a normal full-body Armament Haki coverage looked like nothing more than an added layer of "black" with a metallic sheen.

However, the current Ivan Lindsey seemed to have his entire body wrapped in a pile of tattered black cloth.

Like scattered ink on a canvas, it drifted freely in mid-air.

"You..."

Crocodile paused. Just as he uttered a word, he was interrupted by a sharp laugh.

"Hee hee hee hee hee..."

The one laughing was Ivan Lindsey.

His face was also largely covered by the black "cloth," with only a sliver of his eyes and cheeks exposed.

"This is it!"

"Finally, I've finally obtained this power!"

!?

As soon as he said that, Crocodile felt as if he were facing a great enemy.

As expected.

He, who had schemed against countless people, had ultimately been tricked by an ancient Primitive Man!

Perhaps he had been using him from the very beginning, making him help find the Poneglyph!

"Tsk..."

The more Crocodile pondered, the more his scalp tingled.

He activated his Sand-Sand Fruit ability, his body largely turning to sand, preparing to exchange a few blows with that ancient [Demon].

Even if his plan was ruined, even if he had to flee today, he had to vent his anger!

The next moment--

Crocodile lunged forward, quickly closing in on Lindsey, about to swing his Grit Saber.

At the same time, Lindsey turned his head and softly spat out four words:

"Just kidding!"

Crocodile: "..."

Crocodile: "..."

Crocodile: "?"

The Grit Saber hung in mid-air.

Should he let it fall?

There was no reason to.

But to retract it...

That would be truly unpleasant!

Jie jie jie jie jie jie