While Blackbeard, Bullet, and the others were eager to make a move, it was Crocodile who struck first.
Having fought against Luo Wen and survived, he harbored doubts about whether Luo Wen was powerful enough to surpass the Four Emperors.
Just a few months ago, they were evenly matched, so how come he's now someone the other person looks up to?
A few months ago, he was clearly far below the level of Four Emperors when he fought against Luo Wen. How could he have improved so quickly in the past few months?
He hasn't been idle in Impel Down these past few months. Ever since his Devil Fruit Ability, which he had developed to its fullest potential, was defeated by Luo Wen, he has started practicing Haki and has achieved some success.
He really wanted to see if, in just a few months, the gap between him and Luo Wen was truly that big!
Crocodile, filled with doubt, unleashed his ultimate attack.
"Erosion Reincarnation!"
Crocodile roared, and his body turned into a cloud of yellow sand.
This desolate Yellow Sand Battlefield could barely be considered his half-home ground.
Yellow sand, imbued with the meaning of death, rose into the sky, completely obscuring the entire heavens.
A massive sandstorm formed instantly and swept towards Luo Wen.
Dust storms blinded us, and the wind howled like knives – a force akin to natural disasters.
The sandstorm devoured water and life along its path, instantly sucking away criminals in its wake, turning them into dried corpses, and then shredding them into dust by the wind blades.
Crocodile, hidden within the sandstorm, had his body, which was made of sand, constantly shifting, all to confuse Luo Wen and prevent him from attacking his true form.
"Heh, the same old tricks, they're outdated!"
Looking at the sandstorm before him, Luo Wen felt a pang of nostalgia.
A few months ago, Crocodile used the same move that left him completely bewildered and unable to pinpoint the location.
At that time, his Observation Haki and Armament Haki were only at the C-rank, and he could only defeat Crocodile using the power of [Nine Lives].
But now, with all Three Types of Haki at their peak, Crocodile's attacks are full of flaws in his eyes.
Luo Wen casually unleashed his Observation Haki.
Under his Haki that allows him to Future Sight, Crocodile's physical form, a sandstorm-swept figure, is exceptionally clear.
Not only Crocodile's current location, but also his next destination, were clearly visible in Luo Wen's line of sight.
"Clang!"
Luo Wen drew his sword, Shusui, and casually slashed out.
In an instant, a silvery-white streak appeared and slashed towards the sandstorm.
The strike was so sharp and menacing that it seemed to cleave the very air in two.
Wherever it passed, the wind stopped and the sand ceased, leaving only a white ribbon moving forward relentlessly.
"What terrifying swordsmanship! He's really gotten that much stronger!?"
Crocodile felt a chill run down his spine amidst the sandstorm, sensing a deadly crisis.
In his perception, the power contained in this strike was roughly the same as that of the [Nine Lives] strike a few months ago.
Because of its highly condensed power, this strike is far more destructive than the single-target attack [Nine Lives].
He absolutely could not block that slash.
Subconsciously, Crocodile began to shift his position within the sandstorm.
Up and down, left and right, even he himself didn't know where he would be in the next moment.
Then...
Crocodile crashed headfirst into the ribbon.
In an instant, most of the sand he had transformed into was annihilated, and then his consciousness dissipated.
Thump!
A half-crippled body lay on the ground.
Crocodile, dead.
"Heroic Spirit, transform."
Luo Wen silently recited a sentence.
While Crocodile's corpse was still warm, he immediately began to transform it into Heroic Spirit.
Although Crocodile looks weak, he is still considered one of the top 100 strongest fighters in the One Piece world, and is worth using.
Moments later, Crocodile, who had just died, came back to life.
Before he could even react, he was instantly transported by Luo Wen to the Hall of Heroes in the sky.
Under the control of the Command Spell, Crocodile was completely powerless to resist.
Everything happened in an instant.
In Blackbeard's and the others' eyes, Crocodile was simply slashed to death, a piece of his body fell off, and then the body disappeared.
Such terrifying power, such terrifying swordsmanship.
There's no mistake, based on these two things alone, Luo Wen is qualified to be among the Four Emperors.
Not to mention the various other methods.
For a moment, Blackbeard and his crew felt immense pressure, their hearts sinking even deeper.
"Let's go together, this is no time for sentimentality."
Blackbeard said in a deep voice.
Seeing Luo Wen's amazing performance, he knew that the loose alliance he had mentioned earlier would not work, and that closer cooperation was needed to have any chance of survival.
Upon hearing this, Bullet, Byrnndi World, and the others nodded slightly, and even Redfield, the Red the Aloof, had no objection.
The group exchanged glances, and in the next instant, they launched a fierce attack.
"Dark Hole!"
Blackbeard planted his hand in the ground, and a thick, deep darkness instantly spread across the earth.
Wherever there is darkness, a tremendous gravitational force is generated, pulling people into the darkness.
This darkness, of course, went straight toward Luo Wen.
"Flame Giant Fist!"
Byrnndi World clenched his fist.
A layer of jet-black Armament Haki covered his fist, and the force of his punch tore through the air as it Impact toward Luo Wen.
Then, at the moment when his punching speed reached its maximum, he used the power of the More-More Fruit.
100x speedup!
100 times the quality!
Speed is power, and mass is power.
Both increased a hundredfold, and their power increased exponentially. This is a power that mortals cannot attain, and it is the Root he is called the World Destroyer.
This punch produced a thunderous roar, so powerful it felt like it could shatter eardrums.
A fist, moving at incredible speed and force, scrapes against the air, sending blinding flames soaring into the sky.
Incidentally, the size of the flames was also magnified a hundredfold.
The power of this flame is comparable to that of the Flame-Flame Fruit.
Then, a Flame: Giant Fist the size of a sandbag Impact toward Luo Wen.
"Ultimate Cannon!"
Bullet used the power of the Fusion-Fusion Fruit to endlessly merge with the yellow sand.
The yellow sand was decomposed and reconstructed, merging with his body.
Bullet's body grew at an astonishing rate, quickly exceeding three hundred meters in length, and continued to grow.
His left arm received special attention and was almost as big as the rest of his body.
He raised his hundred-meter-long left arm, his massive Armament Haki covering it completely, and slammed it down towards where Luo Wen was.
The giant fist violently rubbed against the air, and the jet-black Armament Haki took on a high-temperature crimson hue.
Let alone the Ultimate Cannon, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's a meteorite hitting the Earth.
Just as Bullet's nickname 'Devil's Heir' suggests, he now looks like a demon king in a rage, utterly terrifying.
"The Fist of Destruction!"
Redfield took a deep breath, pushing his aging body to its limits.
Compared to others, he didn't have any fancy Devil Fruit Ability; all he could rely on was his solid martial arts skills.
He was a powerful figure who could rival Roger and Whitebeard in his youth; even if he was slightly inferior to them, it wouldn't be by much.
Redfield was so fast he was invisible, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of Luo Wen.
His fist was like a fully drawn bow, with all the power of his body poured into it.
This strike is enough to overturn the ocean!
In the blink of an eye, Luo Wen found himself in a situation where death seemed inevitable.
With Blackbeard's gravitational pull and the three powerful figures attacking from three sides, even Four Emperors would perish under this attack.