Defeating the Sand Crocodile

"Good heavens, what is happening?"

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

As the clamor rose, Lu Zhuo's expression remained unchanged, his hunter's eyes locked firmly ahead.

Sand slowly coalesced, reforming into the body of Crocodile. Across his chest, there was a bloodstain running deep!

He touched his chest lightly, feeling the blood flowing out!

"It has been a long time since I was injured. Kid, you are the first!" Crocodile narrowed his eyes, watching Lu Zhuo with a calm expression, like the stillness before a storm.

Lu Zhuo watched him vigilantly, not relaxing in the slightest. Even though he had unleashed an incredibly powerful strike earlier, he didn't believe he could one-shot an opponent with a Logia-type fruit so easily!

Crocodile waved his hand gently, his expression suddenly turning savage.

"Sandstorm!"

Following the two words he spat out, the world seemed to dim; dust and sand danced, obscuring all vision. Lu Zhuo closed his eyes slightly, sensing the aura of the outside world.

In truth, what Lu Zhuo was using at this moment was the embryonic form of Observation Haki, though because he lacked a formal training method, his sensitivity was still quite low.

Feeling the countless grains of sand from heaven and earth pelting his head and body, Lu Zhuo remained unmoved.

Yet the next moment, in his perception, countless sand grains coalesced into thousands of weapons in the air, crashing down upon him!

Damn it! The original story is a death trap, and protagonist plot armor is a death trap!

Lu Zhuo cursed inwardly. This move never appeared in the original work; if this guy had used this on Luffy, Luffy would have been finished long ago.

While complaining in his heart, he didn't dare let his hands idle. Lu Zhuo drew his sword, his expression incomparably grave.

Phantom Sword Dance!

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

Using explosive, rapid strikes to accumulate sword pressure, he would unleash it all in the final blow, forming a powerful strike no less than the Void-Breaking Draw Sword Strike!

At this moment, the sword pressure from his dancing hands blocked all the incoming sand weapons, and not even the swirling yellow sand could penetrate within a foot of him.

After maintaining this frenzied sword-dancing state for several seconds, Lu Zhuo's arms began to strain. With a thought, he raised his hands high, bringing the Kitetsu down with a fierce strike, unleashing all the accumulated sword pressure at once!

BOOM!

Two massive beams of sword light swept out, appearing like the rising sun in the dark night!

"To be this powerful!" Robin looked on, shocked. She was even more interested in this man now!

Nami, however, watched that figure with infatuation. In her eyes, even if he did something earth-shattering, she wouldn't be surprised. Because he was her man, the omnipotent god in her heart!

As the sword light swept across, the sand weapons coalesced in the air were destroyed like dry wood, and a trench dozens of meters long appeared across the entire street!

"No, impossible! Is this guy a Great Swordmaster? Such powerful strength!" Crocodile was incomparably shocked; this sword had once again completely destroyed his body.

Although he turned into his elemental form instantly, he still suffered massive damage within the sword light.

Huff, huff!

Watching the pile of sand slowly coalescing before him, sweat dripped from Lu Zhuo's forehead. He had unleashed his two strongest techniques, consuming a massive amount of stamina.

When he was a first-rate swordsman, he could use clever methods to emit the power of a Swordmaster.

Likewise, after becoming a Swordmaster, he could use his own methods to emit power approaching that of a Great Swordmaster!

Looking at the massive destruction he had caused, Lu Zhuo felt not a shred of pride.

If it were Hawk-Eye, it would at least be a trench of hundreds of meters, or perhaps even an abyss of thousands of meters. Thinking this, Lu Zhuo wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Crocodile, who was struggling to reform his body, two more sword marks appearing on him.

Crocodile looked at Lu Zhuo with a gloomy expression, then suddenly laughed.

"Kid, I don't know what method you used to unleash an attack comparable to a Great Swordmaster while at the level of a Swordmaster, but... it must be very taxing on your stamina. So, how will you fight me next?"

Hearing his words, Lu Zhuo panted, his expression somewhat weary.

Robin, hiding in the distance, watched this scene with a smile.

My omniscient little man, how will you face a Logia-type powerhouse who is difficult to defeat? You look very different now from the confidence you had before, as if you held the world in your hands.

Crocodile grinned hideously, waving one hand, and a spiral sand tornado appeared in his palm.

"My turn! Kid, you can go to hell! Sand Mound!"

In an instant, the small tornado transformed into a gale that blotted out the sky, sweeping toward Lu Zhuo with an unstoppable force.

Lu Zhuo, however, suddenly stopped panting, his expression becoming unusually calm.

"Alright, I used you to test my new sword technique and gained a deeper understanding of my power. Now, this battle can end."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. It was as if everything was under his control, making Robin, watching from afar, tremble.

Could it be that he was really just using Crocodile for practice? Was everything under his control?

The next moment, Lu Zhuo smiled, and after drawing his sword, he lightly sliced open a leather pouch at his waist.

Inside it... was seawater!

The water soaked the Kitetsu thoroughly. Lu Zhuo slowly returned the sword to its scabbard, watching the sand tornado that had reached him and was about to engulf him, revealing an evil, charming smile.

Ghost Shadow... Flash!

Lu Zhuo's figure vanished in an instant, and the next moment, he appeared directly behind Crocodile!

Without a sound, the massive sand tornado, as if it were a solid object, was sliced in two and completely destroyed!

Crocodile held his arm across his chest, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

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

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly collapsed to the ground, his left arm severed at the wrist, with a massive, bone-deep wound running across his body!

So, I was the one who severed his arm? And that iron hook was because of me? Watching this scene, Lu Zhuo felt slightly puzzled; only now did he notice the issue with Crocodile's arm.

In the original work, Crocodile did not have a left arm and instead had a golden hook.

Yet now, he possessed a left arm, and it was the very one Lu Zhuo had just severed! It was truly a strange and inexplicable turn of events!

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

Lu Zhuo smiled and took long strides, running toward the direction of Nami and Robin.

The entire kingdom of Alabasta was in chaos; because it was night, coupled with the sandstorm Crocodile had whipped up, no one knew what had transpired.

All the guards and royal soldiers had rushed out, but they were completely disorganized, patrolling the streets in a panic.

At this moment, Lu Zhuo had already brought Nami and Robin to the Royal Funerary Temple of the kingdom, where they found the massive stone tablet inscribed with the Poneglyph!