Beat the Crap out of Crocodile

"Bastard! Go to hell!"

Finally unable to contain his killing intent, Crocodile gathered countless grains of sand in his hand, forged them into a blade of sand, and brought it down toward Robin's crown.

Badly wounded, Robin lacked the strength to dodge, so she could only watch helplessly as the sand blade fell.

When the despair of death shrouded her head, Robin unexpectedly felt a sense of relief from it.

Having hidden all her life, she had ultimately failed to find the "companions" Saul spoke of...

Robin gently closed her eyes, calmly awaiting the arrival of death.

Yet just as she finally compromised with fate, a loud crash once again yanked Robin back to reality.

The sharp sand blade was shattered into dust, and Crocodile was punched straight in the face, sent flying backwards.

Standing before her instead was a handsome fellow smoking a cigar, wearing cool, glowing, colorful sunglasses.

His coat fluttered behind him without any wind, snapping loudly, and his unsmiling face was filled with sternness.

Even the quiet sounds around them somehow automatically switched to the God of Gamblers' exclusive entry BGM.

Robin opened her eyes in astonishment to stare at him, while Crocodile sat slumped on the ground, glaring at the face that made him grind his teeth in hatred.

Only it was strange—why on earth was there music playing around them...

Speechless, Robin looked at Noil, who was making such a bizarre entrance, and said, "What are you mumbling about?"

Biting down on the system's prestigious, premium cigar and outputting the BGM verbally, Noil scratched his head with embarrassment and replied, "Saving a damsel in distress always requires setting a little mood..."

The two people present were left speechless.

Seeing Robin's bleeding wound, Noil quickly turned serious, lowered his body, and asked, "Are you alright?"

A trace of warmth flowed through Robin's heart, and she shook her head.

Noil nodded, stood back up, flashed a dangerous smile, and said, "Nico Nico Ni, step back, I'm going to play with this guy."

Robin just knew that the emotional stir she felt moments ago was definitely an illusion!

Crocodile wiped the blood streaming from his nose and asked arrogantly, "What? Are you going to avenge her?"

"Do you even know what kind of person this woman is?"

"She could betray me for her own purposes, and she can betray you just as easily!"

"Tsk..." Noil couldn't be bothered to entertain Crocodile's sow of discord, extending his fists and dropping into a guarded stance to face him.

Seeing that Noil was impervious to reason, Crocodile no longer intended to waste his breath on him either.

It was time to settle accounts!

Having been played with like a monkey by these two today, Crocodile had long since reached his limit!

"Get buried deep underground!!"

Crocodile channeled the power of the desert, sending rolling seas of sand surging forth to blot out the sky, scorching hot sand rushing over in an attempt to suck the moisture right out of Noil's body.

Unfazed, Noil charged straight toward the center of the sand sea, unleashing sand with his left hand and flames with his right simultaneously.

Clenching his hands into fists, Noil struggled to fuse the two different elements and hurl them out. Soon, a flaming sandstorm with far more deterrent power than the sand sea soared into the sky.

The dust storm mixed with flames trampled the sand sea, but taking advantage of the blurred vision, Crocodile charged over at extreme speed, his dangerous golden hook clawing at Noil.

Noil ducked down to dodge the golden hook, then drew his blade and slashed upward. A black sword aura flashed, leaving an extra bloody gash across Crocodile's face.

Damn Armament Haki!

Wary of the might of the Qingxing Blade, Crocodile hastily reached out toward Noil, attempting to suck him into a shriveled mummy.

Yet black flames suddenly ignited all over Noil's body. Reacting swiftly, Crocodile hurriedly pulled his hand back, and Noil seized the opportunity to cleave his body apart with a single slash.

Crocodile skillfully used his Devil Fruit ability to dodge the attacks, while Noil looked at him with a bit of a headache.

He hadn't been able to tell when sparring with Ace earlier.

Compared to Crocodile, who had become famous at a young age and cultivated the Sand-Sand Fruit early on, Noil's application of his fruits was rubbish by comparison.

Never mind that he possessed so many Devil Fruit abilities; it was precisely because he had a figurative harem of three thousand beauties.

It left Noil as busy as a sea king who couldn't keep up with them all, spreading his efforts equally across every ability so that none of them were strong enough.

Noil felt somewhat annoyed, while Crocodile was growing somewhat irritated.

This brat had far too many abilities, sticking out like a hedgehog!

Coupled with Haki, he simply couldn't touch the guy!

Just as the two fought to a stalemate, Crocodile's peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of Robin hiding in the distance.

Instantly hatching a scheme, Crocodile evaded Noil's offensive, pressed his hands against the ground, and roared, "Desert Sunflower!"

The sand dunes began to shift as the sand and soil across hundreds of meters instantly turned into soft quicksand, acting like a bizarre coffin as they sought to drag people down into the realm of death.

Possessing sand abilities of his own, Noil was entirely unfazed, but when he turned his head to look—

Robin, severely wounded and unable to move, now wore a panic-stricken expression as her body was being swallowed by the quicksand bit by bit!

Chapter 56: Beat the Crap out of Crocodile

Robin sank deeper and deeper into the quicksand, and in his anxiety, Noil had no choice but to abandon Crocodile and charge toward her.

Just as the greater part of her body was buried, Noil timely reached out and grabbed Robin.

"Hold on tight, I'll pull you up!" Noil shouted anxiously, grasping Robin firmly.

Crocodile sneered as he stared at the pair, lashing out with a shout, "Dream on!"

A massive sand dune slash struck down, forcing Noil to free up a hand to release flames.

His high-temperature blazing fists once again blasted open the torrent of sand, and taking advantage of this window, Noil scooped Robin up in his arms.

Delivering Robin to a safe spot in the distance, Noil drew the Qingxing Blade and charged back in.

This time, however, he changed his tactics.

Using his Devil Fruit abilities as a supplement and his swordsmanship and Haki as the main focus, he pressed the attack, brandishing the sword in his hand.

Sure enough, Noil used his own strengths to attack Crocodile's weaknesses, and results quickly showed.

Lacking sufficient Haki and possessing a relatively inferior physique, Crocodile found his Devil Fruit ability constrained by multiple powers, and within just a few rounds of exchange, dozens of blade cuts appeared on his body.

Looking utterly battered, Crocodile fought while retreating, gritting his teeth as he angrily swung his arms.

Having transformed into a tall bear-mink, Noil wielded the Skillful Grade Blade Qingxing, reinforced by the Amaterasu Flame, with flames and sandstorms swirling around his entire body.

Wielding multiple abilities simultaneously, Noil was as unstoppable as a mystical god of war.

Robin, watching from the side, could only stare in a daze.

This defied theory, didn't it?

Why could a single person possess so many different Devil Fruit abilities at the same time?

Crocodile spat out a mouthful of blood, staring at Noil with apprehension.

This Copy-Copy Fruit's ability was truly too troublesome!

Crocodile cursed inwardly. Although none of the individual abilities were as strong as his own sand powers, when combined together...

Why had they become so terrifying?!

Crocodile's condition grew progressively worse, whereas Noil, by contrast, grew more energetic the longer they fought.

The low development degree of each Devil Fruit technique also meant a lower consumption of stamina.

Thus, even though Noil used multiple abilities simultaneously, his monster-like stamina hadn't been depleted by much.

After several exchanges without gaining the slightest advantage, Crocodile was kicked sprawling onto the ground by Noil.

His originally glamorous and striking attire was now tattered and torn, and his stylish slicked-back hair had several strands drooping down.

Crocodile's appearance instantly transformed from that of a successful corporate CEO into the dejected, bankrupt middle-aged image of a ruined company.

Caught up in the excitement of the fight, Noil brandished his knife and shouted, "Keep raging, why don't you?! Why aren't you fighting anymore?!"

With an ashen face, Crocodile was already scheming an escape route in his mind.

Since when did these rookies become so terrifying?

Not only were their Devil Fruits abnormal, but even their Haki cultivation was this dense.

Don't we Shichibukai have any pride to uphold?!

Just as Crocodile prepared to swallow his pride and slip away, shouts suddenly echoed from behind.

"Someone has infiltrated the royal palace!"

"Hurry! Over here, there's someone!"

"Are the Shichibukai lords here too?!"

"Who is that? How did they beat Lord Crocodile into such a sorry-ass state!"

Unable to help himself, Crocodile coughed up another mouthful of old blood.

Shut your trap if you don't know how to speak!

Frowning as he looked at the group of people running over, Noil quickly deduced that direction to be the royal palace.

Noil suddenly felt a weight sink onto his shoulder, and when he turned his head, he saw Robin leaning against his side with a pale complexion.

"That's the royal palace army... they must have discovered I infiltrated... don't tangle with them..."

Robin spoke in intermittent gasps, then buried her head into Noil's chest and passed out.

Taken aback, Noil looked down at Robin's wound, where the flowing blood had already stained a large patch of her clothes.

Glaring at Crocodile and then looking at the rapidly approaching royal pursuers, Noil hurriedly picked Robin up and bolted swiftly toward the distance.

By the time Noil had run completely out of sight, Alabasta's royal army finally arrived tardily.

At this time, Crocodile had not yet exposed his true motives, so the people of Alabasta were still relatively friendly toward the Shichibukai.

Even if they disliked this pirate, most people kept silent and showed no malice.

The royal palace troop was personally led by the adjutant of the guard force, none other than Chaka the "Jackal," one of Alabasta's two strongest warriors.

Sensory-wise, Chaka didn't really like the pirate Crocodile.

Yet the man was currently indeed a hero of the kingdom, so he couldn't very well say anything.

Walking up to Crocodile, Chaka asked with a puzzled expression, "Mr. Crocodile, just who were the enemies?"

Kneeling on one knee with somewhat disordered breathing, Crocodile said with a sharp gaze, "Just some thieves who invaded the kingdom."

"I've already chased them off, but unfortunately they ran too fast and I couldn't catch them..."

Crocodile blew his own horn without blinking an eye. Looking at his battered appearance, Chaka didn't know what to say either.

"Your injuries..." Chaka glanced hesitatingly at his body.

Running a hand back through his slicked-back hair, Crocodile said, "It's nothing, don't worry."

He raised his head to look in the direction Noil had departed, an evil smile blooming on his face.

Under the bright moonlight, the tip of the golden hook in his hand emitted a purple sheen, exuding a sense of danger...

Noil, you'd better run fast with her and not die on the road!

After exchanging pleasantries with Crocodile, Chaka led his soldiers to pursue Noil for a stretch of road, only to return empty-handed.

With no other choice, Chaka could only lead the troops back to the royal palace.

Just as the unit was settled and Chaka intended to leave the palace as well, a petite figure darted out.

"Chaka! What happened!"

This young girl had her smooth blue hair tied into a ponytail, staring curiously at Chaka with a pair of spirited eyes as she asked.

Chaka quickly dropped to one knee and said respectfully, "Princess Vivi, a band of thieves infiltrated the royal palace and have already escaped."

"Is that so?"

Vivi furrowed her pretty little brow, then asked again, "The matter I privately entrusted you to look into—did you find anything?"

Chaka nodded and said, "That Baroque Works is indeed a criminal organization, but there is no proof of whether it's connected to the bizarre incidents in our country."