"Gasp!"
A chorus of sharp intakes of breath rang out, and the space around Crocodile fell silent.
Shock, disbelief, and traces of fear spread quietly.
As they stared at the Marine heads floating on that sea of sand like fish on the surface of the water, everyone trembled.
"How could this happen?"
"Is that really Crocodile?"
"He created a desert on ice that Admiral Aokiji had already frozen, then took out hundreds of elite Marines in an instant-including two or three Vice Admirals!"
The Marines were stunned, their hearts heavy.
No one could have imagined that Crocodile, who had been defeated by Straw Hat Luffy and imprisoned in Impel Down, possessed such astonishing power.
Even Sengoku was alarmed. He turned toward the commotion, and when he saw the hundreds of heads on the desert and the blood-red plum blossoms scattered among them, his pupils contracted. Almost instantly, he roared in fury.
"Crocodile!"
Golden Buddha light blossomed, accompanied by solemn Buddhist chants reverberating through the air.
Buddha Sengoku had finally made his move!
"Oh?"
Hearing the commotion, Crocodile looked up. When he saw Fleet Admiral Sengoku, his pupils contracted as well.
But he showed little anxiety, slowly raising his right hand toward the sky instead.
Vmmm!
As Sengoku's enormous golden Buddha body descended, a terrifying, crushing pressure abruptly enveloped the area, making the air hum and ripple.
"Sand Shield!"
Crocodile calmly uttered those words, and his right hand jerked.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
In an instant, vast quantities of sand materialized and shot skyward at tremendous speed, forming a massive shield in front of Sengoku.
"Shockwave!"
At that very moment, Sengoku slammed his Buddha palm down.
Boom!
The enormous shockwave struck the Sand Shield, sending sand flying everywhere in the blink of an eye. With a crack, the shield-compressed countless times until