Chapter 182

As for Crocodile's figure, he was still hiding inside the sand sphere, and it was impossible to touch him at all.

"Kids, this isn't ordinary sand; it's all the hardest grains of sand from the desert."

Crocodile, enveloped in a sand sphere, emitted a muffled sound and sneered, "You piece of trash think you can break through my defenses?"

"Die, all of you! Desert Thrust!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surface of the sand sphere changed, as if something terrifying was about to burst out from within.

"Get out of the way!"

Lafitte sensed something was wrong, and with an extremely urgent voice, he roared and flapped his snow-white wings.

With a whoosh, it flew into the air and dodged far away.

"Room —Shambles!"

Luo also noticed the anomaly. He quickly clenched his left hand, his fingers slightly spread, and a semi-transparent hemisphere surrounded him.

With a whoosh, his figure vanished from the spot and reappeared beside Hawkins, keeping a safe distance.

"Damn it, they all run faster than rabbits."

Of the three, Burgess was the slowest. He cursed loudly and, without hesitation, stomped his right foot hard on the sand.

He stepped into a circular crater, and the person flew backward quickly to avoid it.

"Damn it, you two got away."

Crocodile had already used Observation Haki to sense the situation outside, and seeing that Lafitte and Law were moving too fast, he chose to give up.

"They both escaped, so I'll kill you first!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a sand cone suddenly bulged out from the surface of the sand ball, and at the same time, pitch black appeared at the bottom, which quickly spread to the tip of the cone.

This is an Armament Haki awl, its tip gleaming with a sharp, cold light that makes one's eyes sting as if pricked by needles.

Its sharpness is evident!

"Go!"

With a whoosh, the sand spike detached from the sand ball, like a rocket booster, tearing through space, creating a gust of wind, and Inazuma thrusting towards Burgess.

"Get out of the way, Burgess..."

Seeing the dire situation, Lafitte and the others hurriedly spoke up, their faces showing anxiety.

Bartolomeo swung his arm and cursed angrily, "Damn it, they're too fast! There's no way to provide cover, damn it!"

"Damn Crocodile, he's trying to kill me!"

The Burgess were still flying backwards, watching the sand spike hurtling towards them, their hair standing on end.

It was too fast, and the attack was so fierce that there was no way to dodge it. It seemed that the only option was to fight back desperately.

Burgess roared, veins bulging on his forehead, his right fist turning pitch black in an instant.

He bent his right arm back, gathered his strength, and without the slightest hesitation, threw a powerful punch directly at the tip of the sand cone.

Sizzle...

The fist, imbued with Armament Haki, struck the tip of the Armament Haki cone, producing a crisp sound that echoed throughout the area.

It was so jarring that it gave me goosebumps all over.

At the same time, faint sparks flew between the fist and the sand spike, flickering and bouncing as they fell onto the desert.

At that moment, a tremendous force struck, causing Burgess to fly backward at an even faster speed.

Drip.

Drops of blood fell onto the desert as Burgess retreated, a sight that was both bloody and horrific.

"Stop right there!"

Burgess roared, stomping his feet hard on the sand, making a loud thud that sent dust billowing up and engulfing him, finally allowing him to regain his balance.

Looking at the billowing dust ahead, the women couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

Carina had sharp eyes. She frowned slightly, her pretty brows furrowing, and a look of worry appeared on her delicate face. She murmured something to herself.

"Burgess is injured. He was pierced by that cone tip. I'm afraid the wound on his right hand is quite serious!"

Perona nodded repeatedly, covering her face and saying fearfully, "Blood! I saw it too! He bled so much!"

Nami rubbed her smooth forehead and sighed, "That sharp awl was terrifying to look at; it still gives me the chills..."

"If someone were stabbed like that, they'd be dead already!"

Alvida held the large iron rod upright in front of her, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Faced with the attack from the three, we directly adopted sand defense."

"Then they attack with sand spikes, which are fast and powerful. Ordinary people simply cannot dodge them and can only take the hit."

"As expected, the strength of the Shichibukai is not to be underestimated at all. Even the weakest among them are far stronger than us."

Princess Vivi's stunningly beautiful face paled, her jade-like hands clenched tightly, and she spoke with deep worry.

"I hope Captain Burgess is safe and sound."

"I really don't want to see my captains get injured while trying to save my country."

Turning to the man beside him, he gently suggested, "Lord Chris, I'm afraid the captains are no match for Crocodile."

"I think you should take action. Otherwise, I'm afraid the captains might get into danger, and that wouldn't be good."

Reiju gently patted her shoulder, blinked her beautiful eyes, smiled, and said something.

"Vivi, don't worry, everything will be fine."

"If their lives were truly in danger, Chris would definitely step in; he wouldn't just stand by and watch."

"For example, just now, if Chris had wanted to, he could have easily stopped that sand spike directly."

"But if we do that, Burgess won't get any experience, and his strength will naturally improve very slowly."

"This is not the outcome Chris wanted, nor is it the outcome the Division Commanders wanted."

Robin smiled gently, her eyebrows arching slightly, and said with an air of wisdom and composure, "This is the choice of the Division Commanders; they were prepared to get injured."

"So we can rest assured and don't need to worry about them. We can just watch the battle attentively."

Baccarat smoothed her Deep Red hair, her smile elegant and noble, and agreed, "Indeed, we don't need to pay them any attention; let them be."

"These guys get stronger with each battle; they won't care about a few minor injuries."

"Besides, they're all overjoyed to be able to fight against such powerful figures as the Shichibukai; they wouldn't care about getting injured."

The others didn't say much, but nodded in unison, having all figured it out and no longer having any worries.

Then, they looked ahead and watched intently as this exciting battle unfolded...

(Gentlemen, the image above shows Crocodile's Absolute Defense. As for Gaara, you all probably already know, so I won't go into too much detail.)

Also, happy Lantern Festival everyone, and may you all become more and more handsome! My updates have been less frequent these past two days because of the Lantern Festival. Starting tomorrow, I'll resume normal updates, aiming for 10,000 words a day. Let's do our best! (￣￣).).

Chapter 182

Whew~~

A gentle breeze blew by, making a whistling sound, and dispersed all the dust and smoke, revealing what was inside.

The jet-black sand spikes had turned into pale golden sand, which fell one by one onto the sand surface, and soon the entire sand spike disappeared.

At the same time, drops of blood dripped from Burgess' right hand, staining the sand red and looking very bloody.

"Damn Crocodile, I'm not done with you yet!"

Burgess raised his right hand, revealing a blurry wound on the back of his hand. The wound was large and deep, gushing blood that wouldn't stop.

Seeing Burgess's appearance, the executives of the Baroque Works all smiled, their mood truly excellent.

"As expected, the club president is still the best, hahaha..."

Mikita, holding a small umbrella, let out an exaggerated laugh, which was very unrefined and quite rude.

Marianne covered her eyes, her pretty face showing fear, and murmured, "It's horrible, covered in blood, it's terrifying."

Sally tossed her light blue hair and said with a smile, "I've already injured one, now I'll take them down one by one, hehehe~~"

Gar-Dino, with a faint smile on his pale face, said something.

"The leader's Absolute Defense is far superior to the fortress I built with candles."

"As expected, the defensive power of Logia sand is stronger than that of Paramecia candles; this has now been proven."

Daz- Daz Bones, expressionless, coughed and said, "This is just the beginning. The boss hasn't even used his full strength yet."

"After all, the Shichibukai are top-tier Pirate; they certainly wouldn't be this weak."

Von Clay lay on the desert floor, grinning broadly, and said in a strange tone, "Good, excellent, kill them all, leave no one alive."

"How dare they bully me! These damned bastards should all go to hell!"

Mr. 11 coughed up blood, then laughed and said, "I knew it, the leader is the strongest, hahaha..."

The battle zone ahead.

Seeing the blood dripping from Burgess's right hand, Bartolomeo frowned and quickly said something.

"Judging from the situation, Burgess is seriously injured. This is a bit troublesome; we've lost one of our fighting forces!"

As always, Gin remained indifferent, saying nonchalantly, "Although he can't use his hands, he can still use the abilities of his Devil Fruit, so that won't affect him."

Luo Mai walked towards Burgess, still as aloof as ever, "It's just a minor scratch, nothing serious, it won't kill you."

Hawkins said listlessly, "Superb defense, coupled with a fierce offense, and their coordination is extremely close."

"As expected, those who become Shichibukai are not easy to deal with."

Looking at the blood at Burgess's feet, Doc Q said with a sinister smile, "This is the first time I've seen this guy so badly injured since I've known him."

"Now, this guy will definitely be determined to get revenge, and he'll be fighting tooth and nail, hehe..."

Cavendish gripped the legendary sword Durandal tightly, his face grave. "Everyone, be careful. Crocodile is significantly stronger than us."

"If I encountered such an attack, I would definitely be severely injured."

Kuro habitually adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "These Armament Haki sand spikes are indeed too powerful; we can't take them head-on, we can only dodge them."

"Since none of us possess Observation Haki, it will be difficult to dodge if we get too close."

"Therefore, in the upcoming battle, everyone must be fully alert and cannot be careless in the slightest, or people will really die."

Lafitte flew in the air, flapping her white wings, smiled slightly, and, as polite as ever, said something.

"Crocodile's sand defense is indeed terrifying; it's simply impossible to break through."

"After fighting this far, I've come to understand. This guy truly lives up to his reputation as one of the Shichibukai; we probably can't defeat him."

Just then, Crocodile spoke in a deep voice, scoffing, "You brats have no idea what the Shichibukai represent."

As they spoke, the sandbag made a rustling sound, and fine sand gradually slid down from the top, falling onto the desert.

Crocodile's head was the first to appear, still smoking Cigar, looking every bit the big boss, incredibly arrogant.

"You little brats, this is just the beginning. From now on, I'm going to get really serious and kill you all, one by one!"

"Hahaha, scream in agony, despair! This is what happens when you oppose me..."

Just then, Van Augur quietly emerged from beneath the desert, half of his body still inside.

He quickly released the pistol, pulled the trigger, and with a bang, fired a shot into Crocodile's head.

"What!!"

Hearing the gunshot behind him, Crocodile was startled, and his cool face instantly showed fear.

There was no time to think, because the bullet behind him whizzed past, almost hitting the back of his head.

At the critical moment, when the situation was extremely precarious, Crocodile quickly transformed into his elemental form.

Thud~~