After this exchange, Rebecca's Armament Haki dissipated once again, but Crocodile did not let his guard down and instead launched an even fiercer counterattack.
Rebecca had truly exhausted all her Armament Haki this time, not a single drop left. She was completely helpless against Crocodile, who was covered in Armament Haki, and could only try her best to defend and dodge.
Another half hour passed, and Crocodile's own Haki was almost gone. He finally concluded that Rebecca's Armament Haki was gone.
Because he deliberately left a few openings in the previous battle, if Rebecca still had Armament Haki, she definitely wouldn't have let them go.
Rebecca didn't let him off the hook, but Logia users wouldn't be injured by ordinary attacks, so Crocodile's attack became even more ferocious, unleashing all sorts of powerful Devil Fruit attacks on Rebecca.
Rebecca was also very stubborn. She could have used her Devil Fruit ability to fight to a standstill, and it would have been difficult for the two of them to win, but she didn't want to do that with the task Vic had given her.
She had heard from Vic that Logia-type Logia users, besides Armament Haki, could also exploit the weaknesses of their Devil Fruit abilities, and she was currently fighting while searching for Crocodile's weaknesses.
Vic hadn't told Rebecca about the Sand-Sand Fruit's weakness before, not Vic forgot, but because he wanted Rebecca to find it herself. Vic already knew that Rebecca would be the first to be defeated due to insufficient Armament Haki.
As the battle progressed, Crocodile found it increasingly easier, since Rebecca couldn't hurt him, while Rebecca struggled more and more, having exhausted too much stamina and lost too much speed and strength.
He could no longer completely dodge Crocodile's attacks, and was knocked back a great distance by several Desert Spada. His longsword was stuck in the ground, and his chest was heaving. He was clearly struggling.
Crocodile narrowed his eyes at the sight. He only knew that Dark Dragon wanted to see him, but he didn't know what it was or whether it was good or bad. So he wondered if he should kill the girl in front of him, flee the country, and return to find Pluton after things calmed down.
The girl in front of him had humiliated him terribly, and he was so angry he was practically grinding his teeth. He also had quite a few injuries on his body, and his nice, elegant coat was torn. He really couldn't stand it.
" Sables!"
Crocodile didn't miss his chance. Seeing that Rebecca was struggling, he threw a sandstorm at her. This time, Rebecca couldn't dodge and was directly swept into the sandstorm.
When Rebecca landed, she crashed directly onto the sand. Although there were no visible injuries, in Rebecca's eyes, this world was no longer the same. She was so dizzy from being spun around that she couldn't stand up and felt nauseous, but she managed to hold it in.
" Desert Spada!"
Seeing that Rebecca was unable to move, Crocodile made another move, slashing a sand blade made of sand grains at Rebecca from the sand, with sand grains flying everywhere it passed.
A sand knife, as the name suggests, is a special blade that generates powerful cutting force by countless grains of sand moving at high speed in one direction. Compared to a water jet cutter, a sand knife is sharper because the water used for a water jet cutter contains other solid substances.
So Crocodile is planning to kill Rebecca in one blow, and then set sail to live a life of captivity. After all, he's a pirate, born to be at odds with the Navy. Rather than entrusting his fate to others, he prefers to take control of his own destiny.
Just as Crocodile's Sand Blade was about to slash through Rebecca's body, a figure that wasn't particularly tall suddenly appeared in the path of the Sand Blade.
Without the person making any move, the rapidly slashing sand blade suddenly collapsed not far in front of him. After the scattered sand particles dissipated and fell, Crocodile was able to see the person clearly.
This startled him, and he had an urge to turn and run, but he dared not, because his Observation Haki was frantically warning him that if he dared to escape, he would be cut in two the next moment!
" Crocodile! You've got some nerve, daring to kill even one of my people? Do you think I won't hunt you down for her sake?"
Do you still think that since we're both Logia users, I can't do anything to you, and even if I can't win, I can escape?
I really don't know how you survived Whitebeard's clutches. Did Whitebeard spare you because he wanted to be your father?"
Vic stood in front of Rebecca, expressionless, his cloak of justice fluttering in the wind. His right hand hung naturally at his sides, while his left hand rested on the hilt of his Blood Wither sword, as if ready to launch an attack at any moment. He exuded a deadly and dangerous aura.
"Shut up!"
Crocodile reacted strongly to Vic's words, his serious expression turning into one of extreme anger, probably because Vic's words had touched a nerve.
At this point, he no longer cared whether Dark Dragon would kill him; that was where his dignity lay. For the sake of dignity, he was willing to give up his life. Crocodile still had that much guts; the fact that he refused to become Whitebeard's son even at the cost of death proves this point.
It's not that Whitebeard's sons lacked courage; their courage manifested in different ways. Most of them were captivated by Whitebeard's charisma, and their courage was to support Whitebeard as king. Anyone who dared to stand in their way would be sent flying, even if Whitebeard didn't think so in his heart. But that was their courage—daring to fight and risk their lives for Whitebeard and their comrades!
Vic wasn't affected by Crocodile's roar. He was already prepared to teach Crocodile a lesson, to let him know the price of trying to kill Rebecca. Even the Shichibukai test required a fight. Rebecca's intervention was enough, but it would be unreasonable not to teach him a lesson for his murderous intent.
Vic disappeared from the spot after Crocodile finished roaring. While Crocodile's roar was still violently reverberating in the air, Vic had already appeared in front of him, his fist, wrapped in Armament Haki, already striking Crocodile's chest.
Crocodile's mouth, which hadn't even closed yet, spewed out a mixture of blood and saliva, and he was sent flying hundreds of meters as if he had been hit by a mountain.
Crocodile's Observation Haki didn't react at all. This is the advantage of extreme speed. Even if you are Logia Fruit user, you can still get beaten up by Armament Haki if you can't react in time.
Vic's speed is specifically designed to counter Logia elemental transformations; even pseudo- Logia like Katakuri, who can Future Sight, would find it difficult to evade.
Crocodile flew a long way before landing on the ground, his eyes rolled back and he passed out. Although Vic hadn't gone all out, it was still more than Crocodile's body, which hadn't even been able to use Armament Haki Hardening, could withstand.