Three sand dunes shattered in succession, bursting into clouds of yellow sand. Jones lay in the crater he had made, his chest tight as he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
That hammer blow had been terrifyingly powerful. If it had struck him cleanly, Jones would have broken several bones. Fortunately, at the last moment, he had blocked the worst of the initial impact with his turtle shell. Only after its force had been blunted did the hammer hit him.
Taking that blow with his body would have ended much worse!
Even so, the impact had sent him flying, and he still hadn't caught his breath.
"Shit! I let my guard down again!"
Jones flushed with shame. He wanted to crawl into a hole.
Alabasta was his personal curse!
Earlier, he had gone after Sand Crocodile brimming with confidence, only to get careless and nearly have all the moisture sucked out of him!
And now, facing Tony, he had been just as confident. This time, the slap to his pride stung even worse!
He had known who Tony was from the moment he appeared.
After all, there were only a handful of people Loa would trust to protect Zephyr while he headed to Alubarna. The only one who fit was Tony Mill, who had stayed with Shanks in the New World.
But Jones hadn't thought someone who had entered the Elite Camp alongside Loa could be that strong, even after spending half a year at Red-Hair's side. He had treated the fight with Tony like a game from the start.
Even when Tony later showed enough skill to put him on guard, Jones had merely begun to see him as a senior watching a promising junior come into his own.
He hadn't expected Tony to be holding back!
That mistake