Crocodile's Fury

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

After all, in the first half of the Grand Line, people with such superb skills and razor-sharp methods of attack were exceedingly rare.

Yet Ener remained exceptionally calm in the face of his aggressive opponent, as though everything was under his control. His relaxed right hand suddenly clenched into a fist, which shot toward Mr. 1's face with lightning speed and unstoppable force.

"Heh heh..."

Rather than showing the slightest panic, Mr. 1 curled his lips into a savage, terrifying smile.

In his eyes, Ener's move was simply overestimating himself to a ridiculous degree.

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

Thus, when he saw Ener actually trying to fight him with a fist, 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, clenched his palm into the shape of a vicious tiger claw, and lunged at Ener's incoming fist.

In an instant, fist winds howled and claw shadows flickered 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, instantly coiling around and enveloping his entire fist.

Then came an earth-shaking explosion.

Bang! Two immense forces clashed head-on like violently colliding meteors, unleashing an incomparably savage shockwave.

Under the mountain-toppling force of that impact, Mr. 1 was blasted backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily onto the ground in the distance and sending dust flying.

"That's impossible!"

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

"Is that so?"

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

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

Sword intent then gathered behind Ener, forming a phantom image of a human purgatory. Ener himself seemed like a bloodthirsty demon king who had emerged from that hell on earth.

"Whoosh..."

Ener put forth his strength with his legs and entered a state of extreme speed. To onlookers, he seemed to vanish in that instant.

When he appeared again, he was already before Mr. 1, swinging his blade.

"Slash..."

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

"How is that possible? How is that possible?!"

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

That was right.

He had never been hurt, not even enough to break the skin.

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

Ener had wanted to recruit someone like Mr. 1 as well. But this man was fiercely loyal to Crocodile, so... he would not show mercy.

He then 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 whole crowd of trash had died on the spot.

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

Then came the frantic looting.

More than four hundred million had been found throughout Whiskey Peak and aboard the pirate ships of the various officers. Added to what they already had, the total came to seven hundred million.

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 two prison cells converted from rooms aboard the ship.

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

After resting on the island for a day, Ener and his people set sail once more.

On the Alabasta Kingdom side, Crocodile and Robin had learned that Mr. 1 and the others had been completely wiped out.

Their expressions were extremely grim.

"Damn it..."

In a fit of rage, Crocodile slammed the table before him into pieces.

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

The look she gave Crocodile changed somewhat, carrying both meaningful amusement and a hint of schadenfreude.

"Those three from the Holy Land seem to have played us, huh?~" Robin could barely suppress the upward curl of her lips.

Crocodile grew even angrier at the sight, but he did not speak.

Robin still had her uses.

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 the three people from the Holy Land had likely done this deliberately.

Their goal was to make him suffer a devastating setback.

That way, he would have no choice but to personally deal with that Marine Major. But this setback had been far too severe.

It had completely destroyed the Baroque Works he had painstakingly built.

The others could die; he could always 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 plans.

Nothing could happen to them.

Crocodile took a deep breath, then rose to his feet. "They dared to scheme against me... Unless those three stay in the Holy Land forever, I'll make sure they die horribly."

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

He then looked at Robin. "Find out everything about those lackeys under the three of them. I want their exact locations."

Robin's lips curled upward slightly at his words.

So he can't touch the main culprits and wants to vent his anger on a few lackeys? Still, those three have been thriving in the Holy Land, and their underlings have contributed quite a bit. If all of them are wiped out, those three will probably be heartbroken too. Still, neither side is any good. Let the dogs tear at each other...

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

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