The enormous flaming blade swept down toward Crocodile's head as though it would stain the entire sky red.
By then, however, Crocodile had reached the edge of the city. Feeling the surging heat behind him, he plunged toward the ground and frantically activated his ability, gathering as much of the surrounding sand behind him as he could to block Xie Wen and Klee Meow's combined attack.
Crocodile did indeed block "Ryūjin Jakka," but in doing so, he lost control of that mass of sand, for the heat had melted it into clumps of viscous, translucent liquid.
"A Logia!"
Crocodile gritted his teeth as he stared at the flaming cat head on Xie Wen's shoulder. He had never imagined that among those members of the "Cat Mink Tribe" he had overlooked, there was actually a Logia Devil Fruit user like himself-and one whose fire had far greater offensive power than sand.
"Heh..." Xie Wen also landed from midair, smugly showing off the flame-wreathed Long Moon in his hand and Klee Meow on his shoulder. "Well? My kitty's amazing, right? Quite a surprise, wasn't she?"
"Give yourself up, you big meanie, meow! Even if you're Shukaku's Jinchūriki like Gaara, you can't beat Klee and Big Brother Xie Wen together, meow!"
(=`Д=)
The flaming Little Plushie sprouted another pair of paws on Xie Wen's shoulder and waved them about as she spoke.
Crocodile ignored Klee Meow's utterly unintimidating threat. After a brief silence, he abruptly softened his tone. "Actually, we could work together. Once we find the Ancient Weapon, we can follow the example of the World Government's Five Elders and divide the world between us!"
"..."
Xie Wen had no idea how sincere Crocodile was, but even if he truly wanted to cooperate, Xie Wen had absolutely no interest. If he really