Crocodile's Fury

It had to be admitted that the strength displayed by the formidable Mr. 1 was not to be underestimated.

After all, in the first half of the Grand Line, people with such superb skills and vicious offensive methods were exceedingly rare.

However, faced with this aggressively advancing opponent, Ener remained exceptionally calm, as if everything were under his control. His relaxed right hand suddenly clenched into a fist, then shot like lightning toward Mr. 1's face with overwhelming force.

"Hehe..."

Not only did Mr. 1 show no sign of panic, but the corners of his lips curled upward into a savage, terrifying smile.

In his eyes, Ener's actions were simply overestimating himself—utterly foolish.

After all, his entire body had long since transformed into incomparably sharp blades through his Devil Fruit ability. How could mere flesh and blood possibly contend against it?

Therefore, when he saw Ener actually intending to use his fist against him, Mr. 1 sneered inwardly, convinced that his opponent had made the stupidest possible decision.

He swiftly transformed the fingers of his left hand into sharp blades, curled his palm into the shape of a vicious tiger claw, and grabbed at Ener's incoming fist.

In an instant, the wind from the punch howled and claw shadows flashed as the distance between them rapidly closed.

Just as the fist and claw were about to collide, Ener gave a low shout at the critical moment. "Armament Hardening!"

With that shout, a mysterious and powerful force erupted from within him and instantly wrapped around his entire fist.

Then came an earth-shattering boom.

Bang! The two immense forces clashed head-on like two meteors colliding, unleashing an incomparably violent shockwave.

Under that mountain-toppling impact, Mr. 1 flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily onto the distant ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"That's impossible!"

Mr. 1 cried out, his face filled with disbelief. Then his expression hardened. "Even so, you still can't defeat me. My ability is the nemesis of all swordsmen and martial artists. Because no one can break through my defenses..."

"Is that so?"

Ener sneered. "Then try this—Oni Aura: Asura—Purgatory Oni Giri!"

The next second, green oni aura rose in Ener's eyes, while Armament Haki wrapped around Sandai Kitetsu.

Then sword intent gathered behind Ener, taking the phantom form of a human purgatory. Ener himself seemed like a bloodthirsty demon king who had walked out of that purgatory.

"Whoosh..."

With a burst of strength from his legs, Ener entered a state of extreme speed. To the onlookers, it was as though he had vanished in that instant.

When he appeared again, he was already in front of Mr. 1, slashing out with a single stroke.

"Pshht..."

Mr. 1's blade-like body was cut open, and a wound stretching across his entire chest appeared as blood sprayed wildly.

"How is this possible? How is this possible?!"

Mr. 1's eyes were full of shock and disbelief. Ever since obtaining this ability, he had never once been injured.

That was right.

He had never been injured, not even so much as a scratch.

Yet today, this Major before him had broken through his defenses, and the price was his life.

Ener had wanted to recruit someone like Mr. 1. But this man was fiercely loyal to Crocodile, so... he would show no mercy.

Then he turned to look at the others.

Mr. 2, Mr. 3, and Mr. 5 had also been defeated by Gin, Zoro, and Lina.

Mr. 1, Miss Doublefinger, Mr. 4, Miss Merry Christmas, and a group of trash had died on the spot.

Mr. 2, Mr. 3, Mr. 5, and Miss Valentine were severely wounded. Miss Goldenweek, Princess Vivi, and Igaram had been knocked unconscious.

Then came the frenzied looting.

More than four hundred million had been found across all of Whiskey Peak and the pirate ships belonging to the executives. Added to what they already had, it came to seven hundred million in total.

They were still short by 2.3 billion.

Ener was in an excellent mood. Looking at Mr. 2, Mr. 3, Mr. 5, Miss Valentine, and the others, he did not recruit them immediately.

Instead, he locked them in the two prison cells that had been modified aboard the ship.

Naturally, all Devil Fruit users were fitted with Seastone handcuffs.

After resting on the island for a day, Ener led his people out to sea once more.

Over in the Alabasta Kingdom, Crocodile and Robin had received word that Mr. 1 and the others had been completely wiped out.

Crocodile's expression was exceedingly grim.

"Damn it..."

In a fit of rage, Crocodile smashed the table in front of him to pieces.

Robin, however, stood to the side, deep in thought.

The look she gave Crocodile changed slightly, carrying a trace of deeper meaning and a hint of schadenfreude.

"Those three people from the Holy Land seem to have played us, haven't they?~" Robin could barely suppress the curve of her lips.

Crocodile grew even angrier at the sight, but he said nothing.

Robin was still of great use to him.

But if he did not vent this anger, it would be far too suffocating. He might as well stop calling himself Crocodile... and give up being a Shichibukai.

At the same time, he understood that those three people from the Holy Land had most likely done this deliberately.

Their goal was to make him suffer a massive setback.

That would force him to personally deal with that Marine Major. But this setback had been far too severe.

The Baroque Works he had painstakingly established had been utterly destroyed.

The others could die; at worst, he could recruit replacements.

But Mr. 1 and Mr. 2 were crucial!

One was the subordinate he valued most, his true confidant. The other possessed a special ability and was indispensable to carrying out his plan.

Nothing could happen to them.

Crocodile took a deep breath, then stood up. "They dared to plot against me... Unless those three never leave the Holy Land, I'll make sure they die horribly."

As he spoke, he could not help clenching his fists.

Then he looked at Robin. "Find out everything about the underlings serving those three. I want their exact locations."

Upon hearing that, the corners of Robin's lips lifted slightly.

So he can't touch the real culprits and is taking out his anger on some minor lackeys? Still, those three have been thriving in the Holy Land, and those lackeys have done quite a bit for them. If they all get wiped out, those three will probably be heartbroken too. But neither side is any good—dogs biting dogs...

She was more than happy to see it happen, so she nodded. "All right, I'll get on it right away. But..."

At that, she changed the subject. "What about that Marine Major?"