He had to acknowledge his opponent's talent for developing the Chop-Chop Fruit to the awakened stage.
He probably would not be able to get past him anytime soon.
Suddenly, cries of alarm rang out straight ahead.
Bzzzz!
A dense chorus of faint buzzing suddenly arose. Countless pirates charging madly forward stopped dead, looking up in horror.
"Wait!"
"What's that?!"
"A sandstorm!!!"
Half the sky suddenly turned yellow.
Sand filled the air, blotting out everything ahead as it swept toward them.
In an instant, it swallowed the vanguard.
"You don't think breaking through the first defensive line..."
"...means you've won this war, do you?"
"Whitebeard!"
An icy voice rang out. Within the enormous sandstorm, countless grains of sand surged together to form a gigantic face.
"Crocodile!!"
"It's Crocodile!"
The pirates cried out in alarm.
When the sandstorm swept past and revealed what it had left behind, everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
Desiccated corpses stood motionless, every drop of moisture drained from them.
Whitebeard's expression turned cold, his eyes fixed on the man formed from sand atop the ruins.
"You really never learn, do you?!"
"Crocodile!"
Chapter 297: Xia Le made his move!!!
Atop the ruins, the sand condensed into a human figure, taking on Crocodile's appearance.
Wreathed in smoke, his expression looked terrifying and sinister to the pirates.
The mummified bodies ahead, drained of all moisture, stirred an even deeper fear within them.
"No one stays where they are!"
"You either move forward or fall behind, don't you?"
Crocodile spoke casually.
Whitebeard's gaze and expression hardened. The next second, he sprang upward, reaching high into the air in the blink of an eye.
Both hands gripped the shaft of his naginata. His silhouette shone dazzlingly in the sunlight, his massive body bending and tensing like a bow drawn taut, brimming