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That was a beam powerful enough to wipe a country off the map in an instant."
There was no fear in his tone, only a measured assessment. "But before enough powerful fighters, it was still only a beam of light."
However powerful a weapon might be, it was ultimately a lifeless object.
"Suppose the one seated upon the Empty Throne was merely a puppet who relied on Uranus. What do you think would have happened to her today?"
Whether it was Uranus, soaring through the heavens,
or Pluton, rumored to be capable of tearing the sea apart,
or Poseidon, who could command the giant beasts of the deep,
in his current understanding, they all possessed an inherent fragility.
If he could not destroy the weapon itself, could he not deal with its operator? Once the life holding the key was ended, even the most glorious creation of legend was nothing more than a heap of silent scrap.
As for the mermaid princess known as Poseidon,
that was even simpler-a precise decapitation strike had always been the most efficient solution.
Even with mountain-sized Sea Kings surrounding her as guards, as long as she still needed to breathe and show herself, a truly top-tier fighter might need no more than the blink of an eye to take her life.
"Only strength rooted in yourself is a foundation that will never crumble."
He concluded with an almost cruel bluntness in his tone. "Let go of that empty Shichibukai title, Crocodile.
Start from the bottom and sharpen your claws and fangs again."
Those words lashed at the listener's pride like an invisible whip.
The muscles in Crocodile's face twitched slightly.
He could not refute it.
The cold facts lay before him: even against this opponent whose power was incomplete, he struggled to win.