Reiner knew Old Sand would not go down so easily. Even if he could not kill Crocodile, he at least had to protect Robin.
Reiner's prediction was correct. Before the test tube reached Crocodile, he had transformed into sand in advance, hollowing out his body to evade the water and dagger while turning one hand into a Crimson Yellow Sand Blade.
"You actually dared to betray me!"
The Sand Crocodile wore a savage expression. The crimson sand blade in his hand vibrated at high speed, clearly possessing tremendous cutting power. This was a move capable of slicing through rock with ease.
Yet at that moment, the test tube and dagger passing through Crocodile were caught by a pair of slender hands. With a hard squeeze, the test tube burst, splashing water directly over Crocodile.
Robin used her Devil Fruit Ability, directly growing a pair of hands behind the Sand Crocodile!
Soaked by the water, Crocodile was forced to cancel his Element Transformation. He staggered, then suddenly steadied himself and turned to look behind him.
A delicate hand gripped the dagger, its cold gleam stabbing directly toward the part of him that could not transform into an element!
"Useless tricks!"
Clang—!
Crocodile had long understood the Flower-Flower Fruit's abilities. The hook in his hand blocked the dagger, while he activated his power at the same time. Rapidly spinning sand continuously sliced at the arms growing behind him.
"Mm!"
Robin, who had not been attacked directly, suddenly groaned. Several bloody cuts instantly appeared across the arms crossed before her chest.
When the parts grown by the Flower-Flower Fruit were injured, the damage transferred to the user's actual body. This was the ability's fatal weakness.
"Die! Desert Spada!"
The Sand Crocodile roared, sending a thin stream of flying sand hurtling at Robin's shoulder rather than a fatal spot.
Even now, Crocodile had not given up on using her to obtain the Ancient Weapon.
Seeing the flying sand rush toward her, Robin's pupils widened. Knowing she could not evade it, a trace of unwillingness appeared on her face, but a tall figure suddenly entered her sight.
The Blue Ogre raised his round shield sideways. The instant the sand blade struck, he tilted it slightly to deflect the force, scattering the impact into grains of sand that flew aside.
At the same time, the Red Ogre had already finished charging the spear in his hand. With a powerful twist of his tightly clenched fingers, he launched the spear like a cannonball.
Without pausing, he drew the greatsword at his waist and charged after it.
The spear arrived as fast as lightning in the blink of an eye. Crocodile raised his hand and exerted force, intending to block it with his golden hook, but it was violently knocked aside in the next moment. The spear continued toward him without losing momentum.
The thrown spear was actually spinning at high speed!
Clang—!
In his urgency, the hand that had been attacking Robin swiftly pulled back. A Desert Spada slashed fiercely onto the spear, knocking it slightly off course.
Whoosh—!
The spear that grazed past him slammed into the rear with a deafening boom, snapping even three towering stone pillars.
Feeling the shriek of air beside his ear, Crocodile was secretly alarmed. Seeing the Red Ogre charging at him, he had no time to think and immediately turned into flying sand to retreat.
"What a nuisance!"
Crocodile frowned tightly as he stood atop a broken stone pillar, looking down at the people below.
There were actually two people capable of using Haki. Their speed and strength were probably both above his.
And judging from their earlier deflection technique and the spinning spear they had thrown, their combat skills were clearly exceptional as well.
Crocodile crouched and pressed one hand against the ground. In the next moment, the stone pillar and the surrounding ground shattered directly into sand.
"Erosion Cycle!"
Facing such formidable enemies, he had to forcibly create a desert environment where he could better display his strength. Besides, the enemy still had a captain who had yet to make a move.
The effect of his ability rapidly spread outward, continuously draining moisture from everything it touched. The surrounding buildings withered and turned to sand, assimilated along with the ground.
"Father!!"
Seeing Cobra about to be swallowed by the expanding wasteland, Vivi cried out anxiously.
The Blue Ogre and Red Ogre picked him up and leaped backward. Robin also dared not enter the Sand Crocodile's range and fled toward where Luffy was.
The enemy of her enemy was her friend, especially since they had just saved her.
At the very least, they could stand on the same side for now and work together to defeat Crocodile first.
"Luffy, water!"
Reiner tossed a small bucket of water to Luffy. He had prepared so much to deal with Crocodile; how could he possibly overlook this weakness? He had explained it to Luffy beforehand.
"Thanks, Reiner!"
Luffy caught the small bucket, lifted it overhead, and poured it over himself, soaking his entire body. With a fierce look in his eyes, he charged toward Crocodile.
The Blue Ogre and Red Ogre set Cobra down and followed close behind.
Soon, Erosion Cycle came to a stop. Nearly half the underground palace had been turned into desert by the Sand Crocodile. Thick layers of sand covered the ground, with only the short upper sections of a few stone pillars remaining exposed.
"Sables!"
Flying sand spun from Crocodile's right palm. The small whirlwind immediately became a sandstorm that swept toward Luffy.
The powerful wind pressure not only slowed them down, but continuously sliced at their bodies. The half-exposed stone pillars in its path shattered directly.
Since the sandstorm covered such a wide area and there were few places to hide within the underground palace, the three simply forced their way through with their powerful, resilient bodies.
However, what greeted them was an enormous pillar of sand nearly ten meters wide, crashing down with tremendous force.
Boom!!!
The three had just passed through the sandstorm when they were caught off guard and smashed more than ten meters away, back into it.
"Sand Python Feast!"
Before the three could react, Crocodile swept out a hand. Several more massive sand pillars erupted from the ground, like giant pythons pouncing on prey. Exuding terrifying might, they writhed wildly toward Luffy.
"Damn it!"
Luffy flipped to his feet, shielding his eyes with one hand. He bent his legs and launched himself toward Crocodile once more, while the fists he had left behind followed close after.
"Gomu Gomu no Storm!"
With Luffy's furious roar, his fists rained down like a torrential storm upon the countless python heads, continuously smashing them apart.
Yet the giant pythons emerging from the sand used the surrounding sand to endlessly replenish their damaged bodies.
Luffy's barrage only slowed them down.
Were Logia types really this overpowered?
Reiner could not help but feel alarmed as he watched the grand scene. The power of these moves was far more exaggerated than he had imagined.
Those sand pythons alone possessed weight no ordinary person could withstand.
It seemed those Logia users mocked as the shame of the Logia type were not being mocked without reason.
Boom!!
The Blue Ogre and Red Ogre gripped their round shields and launched themselves forward, slamming two shield strikes fiercely into the giant pythons charging at them.
After breaking through the foremost sand pythons, Luffy leaped out through the opening. The hands he had left behind opened into palms and suddenly contracted, smashing down toward Crocodile.
"Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"
"Five-Layer Sand Gate!"
The Sand Crocodile raised a hand, and five heavy sand walls rose from the ground. Each was several meters thick, with the sand on their surfaces flowing rapidly.
Bang!
Bang!
The thunderous Rocket blasted through three sand walls like bamboo, but its power gradually weakened and sank into the quicksand of the fourth wall.
With a thought from the Sand Crocodile, the remaining two sand walls directly transformed into crocodile heads. They opened their savage jaws and viciously bit down at Luffy.
Whoosh!
Whoosh! Two piercing whistles rang out almost simultaneously. At some point, the Red Ogre had another bone spear in hand, and he threw it with all his might alongside the Blue Ogre.
Boom!
The spears streaked through the air like meteors, plunging into the mouths of the two crocodile heads in a flash. With a bang, they blew them apart, then flew onward toward Crocodile.
"Desert Spada!"
The Sand Crocodile turned both hands into sand and raised two enormous sand blades, slashing at the spears and knocking them off course.
Then he pressed one hand to the ground and, with a thought, made dozens or even hundreds of human-sized crocodiles appear and charge forward.
Reiner frowned tightly. The enemy seemed far stronger than he had imagined. Even the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre had struggled to get close so far, and his own strength was even less worth mentioning.
At long range, both his marksmanship and Bone Chain Sword would have trouble hitting.
Baqi needed time to charge. If it failed once, the enemy would be on guard, making it difficult to use again.
"Usopp, find a good position and see if you can find an opening."
Reiner had long since handed one of the custom guns capable of firing Seastone Bullets to Usopp.
His sniping talent was not meant for shooting slingshots alone.
"Got it, Reiner."
Usopp nodded heavily with a resolute expression, then slipped into the shadows.
At this moment, Luffy and the other two were dealing with the endlessly surging crocodile horde. Looking at Crocodile continuously activating his ability in the distance, determination flashed through Luffy's eyes.
"If I don't use that move, I probably won't be able to get close to him."
Before you continue