Crocodile's Demise, Sand-Sand Fruit Acquired!

Feeling the minor tremors in Rain Dinners, Bane raised his fist with a look of dissatisfaction. "Still not refined enough. It lacks that sense of mastery. According to Dorry, this kind of power, when concentrated into a single point of impact, shouldn't affect the surroundings beyond the target."

It should be like Hakoku; one strike obliterates the target, but the collateral damage is minimal. It should leave nothing but a clean hole wherever it hits, unless something happens to be in the trajectory.

If that punch had been truly perfect, Rain Dinners wouldn't have even felt a thing.

At this moment, Crocodile's head was suspended over a deep crater. Indeed, that last strike had punched a hole dozens of meters deep into the ground. His face was a mask of blood, his features no longer recognizable.

After two or three breaths, Crocodile twitched, seemingly trying to lift his hand, but his hand remained pinned down by Bane.

Sensing the movement, Bane said with some surprise, "No way, you're that durable?"

In his memory, this guy was pathetic at this stage, easily finished off by a flurry of punches from Luffy.

His own punch just now had been quite potent! And he could still struggle?

Of course, Bane had no intention of giving Crocodile a chance. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he tightened his grip, preparing for another strike.

Just then, Crocodile's consciousness seemed to return. He struggled to speak, "Wait. Wait. We have no grudge, why are you..."

Hearing this, a cruel smile curled on Bane's lips. "You've been a pirate for so many years, yet you can still ask such a question. It truly makes me feel disappointed. Crocodile, when you were plundering others, did you ever stop to think if you had any grudge against them?"

As the words fell, Bane's fist descended. At this very moment, Crocodile felt a fatal crisis.

He was unwilling to accept this. He had plotted in Alabasta for so many years, and success was within his grasp!

He was furious. Despite his immense strength, throughout this entire struggle, he hadn't managed to land a single hit on this bastard Bane. He hadn't even had the chance to fight back!

And this, in fact, was the importance of intelligence. Bane knew him too well, while Crocodile had almost no knowledge of Bane, leading to him being pinned by the hand the moment they met. For a Devil Fruit user, this was nothing short of a disgrace.

He, the dignified King of the Desert, was being beaten like a dog in this vast Desert Kingdom!

"Don't kill me. I... I even treated you to a meal," Crocodile finally spat out.

However, Bane's iron fist did not stop this time. With a violent strike, he slammed it into Crocodile's head, instantly shattering the consciousness that was already hanging by a thread.

Retracting his blood-stained fist, Bane looked at Nico Robin behind him with a strange expression. "When did he ever treat me to a meal!?"

"The buffet?" Nico Robin instinctively replied.

Bane: ???

That counts as treating someone to a meal?

He didn't dwell on it, though. Seeing that Crocodile was about to breathe his last, Bane hurriedly called out, "Nami, the things I asked you to prepare."

"Coming!" Nami immediately rushed in from the hallway, clutching a pile of fresh fruit.

Nico Robin clearly didn't know what Bane was planning, and she looked at the fruit with a puzzled gaze.

What was he doing? Was he going to let Crocodile eat his fill before he died to repay that "meal"?

Before the thought could even settle, she saw a rich, dark energy erupt from Bane's hand, instantly enveloping Crocodile's entire body.

Then, Bane's expression turned serious. Only then did Robin notice that even during the fight with Crocodile, this man hadn't worn such a solemn look.

Perhaps in his eyes, this moment was even more important than killing Crocodile?

What on earth was he doing?

Bane had no energy to explain right now. Under the confused gazes of Robin and Nami, his dark power meticulously explored Crocodile's body.

At the same time, this dark energy began to drill into Crocodile's body through his eyes, nostrils, and ears, which caused Crocodile, who was already barely alive, to die on the spot.

The moment he died, Bane's Dark-Dark Fruit seemed to have discovered something delicious. It sensed a special power within Crocodile's body trying to break free and escape.

But at this moment, Crocodile was completely encased in darkness, leaving that power nowhere to run. The dark energy quickly captured it.

Just like the user, the moment this power touched the dark energy, it lost all ability to resist. It could only submit as Bane slowly exerted force, using the darkness to drag it out from within Crocodile's body.

At the same time, the darkness enveloping Crocodile's corpse faded, leaving only a black elemental sphere in Bane's hand.

"Is this the power of the Sand-Sand Fruit?" Bane observed it with a look of novelty.

"Sand-Sand Fruit?" Nico Robin asked, surprised. "What do you mean? You..."

At this moment, she connected the dots—Bane's suppression of Devil Fruit users, and that dark energy that made her feel helpless, as if facing a natural predator!

Then, under her shocked gaze, Bane didn't bother picking through the fruit; he directly injected the darkness into the fruit he had prepared.

Following Bane's action, the ordinary fruit quickly underwent a mutation, growing strange patterns.

As a Devil Fruit user herself, Nico Robin naturally knew that these were the hallmarks of a Devil Fruit!

Three or five breaths later, the ordinary apple had turned into a cactus covered in thorns!

Feeling that there were no remnants left in the dark energy in his hand, Bane withdrew his ability. He picked up the cactus, his eyes filled with appreciation. "The most evil ability in history. It truly lives up to its reputation—stealing an enemy's power and turning it into one's own. Tsk tsk."

"You created a Devil Fruit!?" Robin said in disbelief.

"That's right." Bane nodded, looking at Robin. "To be precise, I seized Crocodile's ability."

Mentioning Crocodile, Bane turned to glance at the corpse, smacked his lips, and said with a hint of boredom, "I thought this guy would be much harder to deal with. I expected a world-shaking battle here in the desert. Instead, has he been too comfortable for too many years, to the point where he's forgotten even the most basic vigilance? Knowing I had ill intentions, how could he be so careless?"

Honestly, Robin was also confused. In her memory, Crocodile was a very cautious and careful person. How could he have been so careless and amiable after meeting Bane?

Especially since she had genuinely warned Crocodile, telling him that Bane had ill intentions and was likely there to hunt him down.

How could he have acted as if he didn't understand?

If his fruit ability hadn't been dragged out, Robin would have suspected that this Crocodile was actually Bon Clay in disguise.

"I don't know either. He was indeed strange today. Too kind to you," Robin replied, puzzled.

"Forget it, that's the cruelty of the sea. One moment of carelessness, and even a great pirate like Crocodile, who roamed the New World for years, ends up meeting his end here. So we should thank him. Thank him for using his life to teach us another lesson. Sacrificing himself to illuminate others—he's a great man!" Bane remarked with emotion.

Sometimes, it's just like that: being too clever by half only leads to one's own demise. If Crocodile hadn't overthought things, perhaps he could have put up more of a fight.