Fierce Battle with Crocodile

Reiner knew that Old Sand wouldn't be easily defeated; even if he couldn't take down Crocodile, he had to at least protect Robin.

Reiner's prediction was correct. Before the test tube could touch Crocodile, he had already activated Element Transformation, turning his body into sand and opening two hollows to avoid the water and dagger. At the same time, one hand transformed into a Crimson Yellow Sand Blade.

"How dare you betray me!"

Sand Crocodile's face twisted in a vicious sneer. The crimson sand blade in his hand vibrated at high speed, clearly possessing immense cutting power—a move capable of easily slicing through rock.

However, just then, the test tube and dagger that had passed through Crocodile were caught by a pair of slender hands. With a forceful squeeze, the test tube burst open, and the water splashed directly onto Crocodile.

Robin used her Devil Fruit ability, making a pair of hands sprout directly from behind Sand Crocodile!

Having been drenched, Crocodile was forced to release his Element Transformation. After a stumble, he suddenly exerted force to steady himself and turned to look behind him.

A delicate hand was holding the dagger, and its cold gleam stabbed directly at the part of him that couldn't undergo Element Transformation!

"Useless trick!"

Clang—!

Crocodile had long since figured out the abilities of the Hana Hana no Mi. He used his hook to block the dagger, and at the same time, activated his ability, causing rapidly swirling sand to continuously cut at the arms that had sprouted behind him.

"Hm!"

Robin, who hadn't been attacked, suddenly let out a muffled grunt. Several bloodstains instantly appeared on her arms, which were crossed over her chest.

When parts grown by the Hana Hana no Mi are damaged, the damage transfers to the main body. This was the fatal flaw of the ability.

"Die! Desert Spada!"

Sand Crocodile roared, and a slender stream of flying sand shot towards Robin's shoulder at an extremely high speed, rather than a fatal spot.

Even until now, Crocodile had not given up on the idea of using her to obtain the Ancient Weapon.

Watching the incoming flying sand, Robin's pupils dilated. Knowing she couldn't dodge, a trace of unwillingness appeared on her face. However, a tall figure suddenly came into view.

Blue Ogre held his round shield horizontally. The moment the sand blade made contact, he tilted it slightly, deflecting the force, and the impacting sand blade disintegrated into sand particles flying to one side.

Meanwhile, the Red Ogre, who had been lagging behind, had already finished charging his spear. With a powerful twist of his tightly clenched fingers, he launched the spear.

Then, without any hesitation, he immediately drew the greatsword from his waist and followed up.

The spear was as fast as lightning, arriving in the blink of an eye. Crocodile raised his hand and exerted a sudden force, intending to block it with his golden hook. The next moment, however, he was directly violently knocked back, and the spear continued to stab towards him with undiminished momentum.

The thrown spear was spinning at high speed!

Zheng—!

In a moment of desperation, his hand, which had been attacking Robin, quickly retracted. He unleashed a powerful Desert Spada, striking the spear, causing it to deviate slightly.

Whoosh—!

The spear, having flown past him, slammed into the area behind, creating a tremendous roar that even broke three tall stone pillars.

Feeling the sound of rushing air by his ear, Crocodile was secretly alarmed. Looking at Red Ogre charging towards him, he didn't have time to think and immediately transformed into flying sand, retreating rapidly.

"This is truly troublesome!"

Crocodile frowned, standing on the broken stone pillar and looking down at the few people below.

There were actually two Haki users, and their speed and strength were probably superior to his.

And judging by the opponent's force-deflection technique and the spinning spear he threw, their combat skills were clearly extremely high.

Crocodile squatted down, supporting himself with one hand on the ground. The next moment, with the stone pillar as the center, it, along with the surrounding ground, directly shattered into sand.

"Erosion Cycle!"

Facing such powerful enemies, he intended to forcefully create a desert environment where he could better utilize his strength, especially since the opponent still had a captain who hadn't made a move.

The ability's influence rapidly spread outwards, continuously dehydrating any objects it touched. The surrounding buildings withered and turned into sand, assimilating with the ground.

"Father King!!"

Vivi couldn't help but cry out in alarm as she saw Cobra about to be swallowed by the spreading wasteland.

Blue Ogre and Red Ogre picked him up and leaped back. Robin also dared not enter Sand Crocodile's ability range and fled towards Luffy.

An enemy's enemy was a friend, and moreover, they had just saved her.

At least they could now stand on a united front and cooperate to defeat Crocodile first.

"Luffy, water!"

Reiner threw a small bucket of water to Luffy. He had prepared so much to deal with Crocodile; how could he miss this weakness of his opponent? He had already explained it to Luffy beforehand.

"Thanks, Reiner!"

Luffy took the small bucket, directly lifted it, and poured it over his head, drenching himself. With a fierce look in his eyes, he charged towards Crocodile.

Blue Ogre and Red Ogre put Cobra down and followed closely behind.

Soon, the Erosion Cycle stopped. Nearly half of the underground palace had been turned into a wasteland by Sand Crocodile, with thick layers of sand piled on the ground, leaving only some stone pillars sticking out as short stumps.

"Sandstorm!"

Crocodile's right palm swirled with flying sand, and a small whirlwind immediately transformed into a sandstorm that swept towards Luffy.

The powerful wind pressure not only slowed them down but also continuously cut at their bodies. The half-shattered stone pillars in its path directly crumbled.

With the sandstorm covering such a large area, there weren't many places to hide in the underground palace, so the three of them simply relied on their strong and tough bodies to push through.

However, what greeted them was a massive pillar of sand, nearly ten meters in diameter, that descended with immense force.

BOOM!!!

Caught off guard, the three, who had just passed through the sandstorm, were thrown back over ten meters, landing right back in the storm.

"Sand Python Feast!"

Before the three could react, Crocodile waved his hand, and several more giant sand pillars shot up from the ground, resembling massive pythons lunging at their prey. They writhed menacingly, striking at Luffy with terrifying power.

"Damn it!"

Luffy flipped himself upright, shielding his eyes with one hand, then bent his knees and pushed off with a burst of power, rocketing towards his opponent again. His hands, still clenched into fists, followed close behind.

"Gomu Gomu no Storm!"

With a roar from Luffy, his fists rained down like a furious storm of pear blossoms, relentlessly pounding the heads of the countless giant pythons, continuously breaking them apart.

However, the giant pythons, born from the sand, continuously replenished their broken bodies by drawing more sand.

Luffy's barrage only managed to slow them down.

Logia types are really that powerful?

Reiner couldn't help but be startled by the grand spectacle. The power of these techniques was far more exaggerated than he had imagined.

Just considering these sand pythons, their sheer weight alone was far more than any ordinary person could contend with.

It seems there was some truth to those who were ridiculed as disgraces to the Logia type.

BOOM!!

Blue Ogre and Red Ogre clenched their round shields and burst forward. Two shield bashes slammed hard into the oncoming giant pythons.

After breaking through the first sand python, Luffy leaped out of the opening. His hands, which had been left behind, transformed into palms and rapidly contracted, slamming down towards Crocodile.

"Gomu Gomu no Rocket!"

"Five-Layer Sand Gate!"

Sand Crocodile raised his hand, and five thick sand walls rose from the ground. Each was several meters thick, with sand rapidly flowing across their surfaces.

BANG!

BANG!

The Gomu Gomu no Rocket, unstoppable as thunder, blasted through three sand walls before its power gradually weakened, getting stuck in the quicksand of the fourth wall.

With a thought, Sand Crocodile transformed the remaining two sand walls directly into crocodile heads. They opened their ferocious jaws and viciously snapped at Luffy.

SWISH!

SWISH! Two whooshing sounds rang out in quick succession. Red Ogre, at some point, had acquired a Bone Chain Sword, and together with Blue Ogre, he threw it with all his might.

CRASH!

The spear streaked across the sky like a meteor, piercing into the mouths of the two crocodile heads in a flash. With a BANG! it exploded them, then continued flying towards Crocodile.

"Desert Spada!"

Sand Crocodile transformed his hands into sand, raising two massive sand blades that struck the spear, deflecting it.

Then, supporting himself with one hand, he thought, and dozens, if not hundreds, of human-sized crocodiles materialized and charged forward.

Reiner frowned. His opponent's strength seemed far greater than he had imagined. Blue Ogre and Red Ogre were struggling to get close, let alone himself.

At long range, both his marksmanship and his Bone Chain Sword were difficult to land.

Haki Nation required charging up, and if it didn't work the first time, it would be difficult to use again if the opponent became wary.

"Usopp, find a good position and see if you can find an opening."

Reiner had already given Usopp one of the special guns that could fire Seastone bullets.

His sniping talent wasn't just for slingshots.

"I understand, Reiner."

Usopp's expression was resolute. He nodded heavily in response and then slipped into the shadows.

At this moment, Luffy and his two companions were dealing with the continuous surge of crocodiles. Looking at Crocodile, who kept activating his abilities from the rear, a flicker of determination appeared in Luffy's eyes.

If I don't use that move, I probably won't be able to get close to him.