Defeating Sand Crocodile

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"Is this... the end of the world?!"

Amid the uproar, Lu Zhuo's expression didn't change in the slightest. His hunter's eyes stayed fixed on the scene before him.

The sand slowly gathered, once again taking the shape of Crocodile's body. A bloody gash ran right across his chest!

He lightly touched his chest. Blood had spilled from the wound!

"It's been a long time since I was injured, kid. You're the first!" Crocodile narrowed his eyes, gazing calmly at Lu Zhuo. It was the peace before the storm.

Lu Zhuo watched him warily, without letting his guard down for a moment. Even after unleashing an exceptionally powerful slash, he didn't think he could instantly kill an opponent with a Logia Devil Fruit!

Crocodile gave a light wave of his hand, his expression suddenly turning savage.

"Sandstorm!"

At the two words he barked out, the sky seemed to darken. Sand whipped through the air until nothing was visible. Lu Zhuo gently closed his eyes and sensed the world around him.

In fact, what Lu Zhuo was using now was already the rudimentary form of Observation Haki. But since he hadn't learned any formal techniques, his perception was still quite limited.

As countless grains of sand pelted his head and body, Lu Zhuo remained unmoved.

But the next instant, his senses picked up on countless grains of sand gathering in midair to form thousands upon thousands of weapons, which came crashing down on him!

What the hell! The original story is such a killer! The protagonist's halo is such a killer!

Lu Zhuo cursed inwardly, but didn't dare let his hands idle. He drew his sword, his expression grim.

Phantom Sword Dance!

This was the second sword technique he had created after grasping sword pressure and becoming a Swordmaster.

He unleashed a rapid series of explosive slashes, building up sword pressure until he released it all in one final strike, forming a slash every bit as powerful as Void-Breaking Draw Sword Strike!

At that moment, the sword pressure from his wildly moving hands blocked every sand weapon that came at him. Not even the yellow sand filling the sky could get within a foot of him.

After maintaining this frenzied flurry of sword swings for several seconds, Lu Zhuo's arms began to tire. He changed his mind, raised both hands high, and brought Kitetsu crashing down, releasing all the sword pressure he had built up in a single burst!

Boom!

Two enormous beams of sword light swept forward, looking like the sun rising in the dead of night!

"So powerful!" Robin stared at Lu Zhuo in shock. She was becoming even more interested in this man!

Nami, meanwhile, gazed at his figure in a daze. No matter what earth-shattering thing he did, she would never be surprised. He was her man, the all-powerful god in her heart!

As the sword light swept through the air, the sand weapons that had gathered there were completely demolished, leaving a trench dozens of meters long across the street!

"No, impossible! Is this guy a Great Swordsman? How can he wield such incredible power?" Crocodile was utterly shocked. That slash had completely destroyed his body once again.

Although he had instantly turned into sand, the sword light had still dealt him tremendous damage.

"Huff... huff!"

Watching the pile of sand slowly gather before him, Lu Zhuo felt sweat trickle down his forehead. He had used his two most powerful techniques, and they had taken a tremendous amount of stamina.

Even when he had been a first-rate swordsman, he had been able to use a clever trick to unleash the power of a Swordmaster.

Likewise, now that he had become a Swordmaster, he could use his own methods

to unleash power approaching that of a Great Swordsman!

Looking at the massive destruction he had wrought, Lu Zhuo felt no pride at all.

If it had been Hawk-Eye, the trench would have been at least a hundred meters long—or even a thousand-meter-deep abyss. Thinking this, Lu Zhuo wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Crocodile, whose body had barely re-formed and now bore two more sword gashes.

Crocodile stared at Lu Zhuo with a dark expression, then suddenly laughed.

"Kid, I don't know what method you used to make an attack on par with a Great Swordsman's while only at the Swordmaster level, but... it must take a lot out of you. So how are you going to fight me now?"

Hearing his words, Lu Zhuo panted, looking somewhat exhausted.

Robin watched from a distance, smiling.

My all-knowing little man, how are you going to deal with an unbeatably powerful Logia user? You look a far cry from the confident man who seemed to have the whole world in his grasp earlier.

Crocodile gave a vicious grin and swept one hand through the air. A spiral-shaped sand tornado appeared in his palm.

"My turn, then! Kid, you can die now! Sand Mound!"

In an instant, the tiny tornado transformed into a gale that blotted out the sky. With unstoppable force, it swept toward Lu Zhuo.

But Lu Zhuo suddenly stopped panting, his expression turning utterly calm.

"All right. I used you to test my new sword technique, and gained a much deeper understanding of my own strength. Now this fight can end!"

As he spoke, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He seemed to have everything under control, making Robin's heart shiver as she watched from afar.

Was he really just using Crocodile for practice? Was everything under his control?

The next moment, Lu Zhuo smiled as he drew his sword and lightly cut open a small leather pouch at his waist.

Inside... was seawater!

The water soaked Kitetsu through. Lu Zhuo slowly slid the sword back into its sheath, then looked at the sand tornado rushing toward him, about to sweep him up, and gave a devilish smile.

Ghost Shadow... Flash!

Lu Zhuo vanished in an instant. The next moment, he appeared behind Crocodile!

Without a sound, the enormous sand tornado—almost as if it were solid—was sliced in two and utterly destroyed!

Crocodile held an arm across his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

So his ability... really did have a weakness!

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly fell to the ground. His left arm had been severed at the wrist, and a huge, deep wound that exposed bone gaped across his body!

Was I the one who cut off his arm? Was that iron hook because of me? Watching the scene, Lu Zhuo felt a little puzzled. Only now did he notice the problem with Crocodile's arm.

In the original story, Crocodile had no left arm and used a Golden Hook.

But now he had a left arm—and Lu Zhuo had just cut it off! It was strange and hard to explain!

Well, forget it. If I can't figure it out, I won't think about it.

Lu Zhuo smiled and strode toward Nami and Robin.

The entire Alabasta Kingdom was in chaos. Since it was night, and Crocodile had stirred up a sandstorm, nobody knew what had happened.

All the guards and royal soldiers had rushed out, but there was no organization among them. They wandered through the streets in a panic.

By then, Lu Zhuo had already brought Nami and Robin to the Royal Funerary Temple in the kingdom and found the massive stone stele carved with the Poneglyph!