Killing Crocodile

More terrifying still, the enormous Mud Fist seemed to transform into a bottomless black hole, constantly devouring everything around it!

"Desert Greatsword!"

At this point, Crocodile no longer dared underestimate Moke in the slightest.

He turned his arm into a blade of sand and charged from the ground toward where the Mud Fist connected to the earth. Clearly, he intended to sever the entire Mud Fist.

That way, Moke would lose control of the Mud Fist, allowing him to escape.

Whoosh...

This move was undoubtedly one of Crocodile's strongest attacks. It was not only incredibly fast, but also tremendously powerful.

It succeeded directly, severing the Mud Fist from the ground.

Rumble...

But at that instant, the Mud Fist suddenly exploded. Mud splattered everywhere, and Crocodile, being the closest, naturally bore the brunt of it.

He was instantly engulfed by mud.

Now...

"One Sword Style—Ashura Slash!"

This was the moment Moke had been waiting for. The Ghost Aura around him and the Sandai Kitetsu in his hand erupted at once, forming an Asura behind him that held a ghostly blade.

Whoosh...

This slash!

Struck Crocodile directly in the abdomen, which was covered in mud.

Splurt...

Blood sprayed out from beneath the layer of mud.

"How is this possible?"

Crocodile cried out in shock.

At the same time, he shook off the mud covering his body. Only then did he discover the key—the areas where the mud had fallen away were soaked.

Crocodile's pupils abruptly contracted.

When he looked at Moke again, his expression changed once more. So this guy already knows my weakness. I absolutely can't let him live...

Crocodile's desire to kill Moke intensified.

Moke smiled. Wherever there were green plants on the ground, there was bound to be water underground. And wherever there was water, the soil would be moist.

He could create and control any soil he touched.

So, to deal with Crocodile, all he needed was moist soil from deep underground.

Of course, in order to make Crocodile fall for it, he had wrapped the moist soil in dry earth, causing Crocodile to lower his guard and step into the trap he had prepared.

Crocodile's arm, trapped inside the Mud Fist, could not undergo Elementalization because the water in the mud had soaked his body.

"Infinite Swamp!"

The moment Crocodile revealed his killing intent, Moke naturally would not miss such a good opportunity. He immediately unleashed his ultimate move.

Under the effect of his ability, the ground turned into a swamp, swallowing Crocodile's feet.

Crocodile's expression changed drastically again.

"Ground Secco!"

Crocodile did not dare be careless. He directly touched the swamp-like ground with his right hand. The water in the swamp was instantly drained away.

This was Crocodile's signature move, the technique he used to create deserts. It could crack the entire earth dry and drain the moisture from buildings and trees, turning everything into a barren desert.

But when Crocodile looked up, his face changed. Moke was no longer in front of him.

At the same time, the entire harbor began to shake violently. Then, he saw seawater rising from the ocean.

"Not good!"

Although Crocodile did not know what would happen next, he knew it could not possibly be anything good.

He decisively retreated.

Boom...

The facts proved that he was right. In the next second, more than ten incomparably huge mud hands emerged from the sea. Each one was a full twenty meters tall.

And every hand splashed a massive amount of seawater toward him...

The seawater carried by the dozen giant hands surged toward Crocodile like enormous waves.

Crocodile's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He had never seen a Devil Fruit user attack in such a way.

Moke, who had already fled to higher ground in the distance, let out a strange laugh.

Devil Fruit abilities were naturally hated by the sea, but as long as one's body was not covered by seawater over a large area, abilities could still be used.

Moreover, it did not matter if the abilities one unleashed came into contact with seawater. Big Mom could even use her power to create wave Homies.

So, it was not strange at all that Moke could do this.

Crocodile had no way out now. He could fly, but as a Logia user, he had to undergo Elementalization before he could do so.

Yet more than half of his body was wet, making Elementalization impossible. Naturally, he could not fly either...

Crocodile's face darkened. "Desert Sword!"

Crocodile transformed his arm into a huge extended sand blade. It was sharp enough to split the ground apart and could even cleave through a desert. This time, its target was the seawater rushing toward him.

At this moment, he had only one option: cut apart the seawater before him.

Only by making the water flow past both sides of him would he have even a sliver of hope.

Whoosh...

The sand blade shot out, heading directly for the wave.

At the same time, the dozen enormous mud hands seemed to lose control and crashed into the sea. Their huge mass caused even more seawater to surge up from the surface.

It formed another wave, which swept toward Crocodile.

Thus, although Crocodile successfully split apart the first wave with his sand blade, he now had to face the second.

Crocodile's expression turned extremely ugly, but he had no other choice. He could only use the sand blade again, attempting to cut apart the second wave as well.

However, the mud hands losing control also meant that Moke had switched abilities. He had transformed into the Glint-Glint Ability and flown high into the sky.

He pointed his index finger at Crocodile, who was wholly focused on dealing with the waves.

"Laser Beam..."

A beam of light shot forth.

Rumble...

The Laser Beam struck Crocodile directly and exploded violently. Immediately afterward, Crocodile was swallowed by the second wave that followed close behind.

When everything finally returned to calm, Crocodile was nowhere to be seen.

Moke descended from the sky and stood there for a long time, muttering, "Crocodile is dead? A mighty Shichibukai was taken down by me just like that?"

Even Moke himself found it hard to believe.

Daz Bones aboard the Going Merry could not help widening his eyes. In his heart, Crocodile had always been synonymous with strength.

That was precisely why he had agreed without hesitation when Crocodile personally came to recruit him.

But now...

"Damn it..."

Daz Bones cursed under his breath. Though he had been fighting Roronoa Zoro fiercely just moments ago, he had now lost all will to fight.

Because this battle had lost all meaning.

"How is this possible?"

At that moment, a woman in a cowboy hat stood in a distant corner, her eyes filled with shock.

She also could not believe that Crocodile, a Shichibukai, had died at the hands of a rookie.