Chapter 81 Player's Power Kid!
Accompanied by the howling wind like thousands of vengeful ghosts, what appeared before them was a towering, yellowish-gray wall hundreds of meters high, constantly writhing and expanding.
Crocodile stood at the forefront, his black coat draped over his shoulders fluttering in the wind, the hem billowing like two sharp knives slicing through the stagnant air.
He tilted his head slightly, and his hairstyle, which was originally styled with hair wax and had a cold, hard sheen, was now torn in several places by the strong wind. A few strands of black hair broke free from the hair wax's restraint, like venomous snakes disturbed in the forest, lashing against his strong brow bone and deep-set eyes.
Crocodile's eyelashes didn't even blink. He slowly raised his intact right hand, his well-defined knuckles opening towards the storm.
Feeling the force battling against him in the storm, Crocodile scoffed, "Ridiculous."
Having eaten the Sand Fruit, he is now the sole ruler of the desert!
Crocodile's raised hand seemed to be fighting against some invisible force in the air. The taut muscles on his arm stretched his skin, and the pale blue veins bulged and jutted out, winding from his wrist all the way to his forearm.
Snap, snap...
Violet looked down and noticed the pebbles and gravel bouncing at her feet, one after another, in response to a strange melody they couldn't hear, displaying an increasingly frenzied and wondrous dance.
This wasn't caused by the wind, but rather...
The tremors grew more intense and frequent, and everyone instinctively looked down at the yellow sand beneath their feet—something was rapidly approaching them!
Violet: "Everyone, get out of here!"
Bang!
A huge circular pit appeared on the yellow sand. Xiao Feng, who was standing closest to the edge of the pit, raised his hands in terror, stood on one foot on the edge, and swung his shaky arms vigorously.
Daz quickly reached out and grabbed Xiao Feng by the collar, pulling him back from the edge of the sinkhole.
Xiao Feng was so moved that tears streamed down his face: "Thank you so much, Daz, you saved my life!"
Peru activated his Devil Fruit power, transforming into a falcon. He grabbed one of the King's Guard members with each of his two claws and lifted them into the air.
Crocodile continued to fight against the power of the sandstorm. Even as the tremors and collapses rapidly approached him, he remained steadfast and showed no intention of fleeing.
Daz: "BOSS?!"
In order to save Bon Clay, Daz was too far away from Crocodile at this point, and there was simply no time to cover for him.
Clang, clang, clang clang clang...
A thick layer of ice, which should never have appeared in Alabasta at this time, spread rapidly outwards from Violet's center. The ice melted quickly upon contact with the scorching air, only to solidify again under the sustained low temperatures.
Xiao Feng jumped in terror as the ice was rapidly spreading towards her. Even though she landed in the standard dancer's pose, she was still caught off guard by the unfamiliar, smooth ice beneath her feet. She flew through the air in an arc and crashed heavily to the ground in a posture that had nothing to do with elegance.
The desert antlion's anger has not subsided, and the tremors underground continue, but the earthquakes and collapses it creates are contained by the thick ice layer.
Violet shook her arm, and the Frost Staff in her hand lost all its durability. She assumed a standard starting stance, then, with a determined look in her eyes, charged towards Crocodile as if retrieving an ugly ID photo taken by the school on the podium.
Bending over, leaning forward, hugging the thighs...
Before Crocodile could react to what was happening, his gaze suddenly rose to... less than half the height of his leg.
Crocodile's golden hook rested on Violet's shoulder, its sharp tip pressed against her throat.
Crocodile: "What are you doing..."
"Don't be afraid." Violet raised her hand and patted Crocodile's thigh. "As long as I'm alive, I won't let you fall!"
"Keep going, Crocodile! We need you to get us in!"
As she spoke, Violet tilted her head back, her wind-blown hair falling to reveal her unusual ears. Her black eyes were like the finest black pearls; Crocodile had once found one in the captain's cabin of a defeated pirate ship, and he had patiently and meticulously cared for it for a long time, but one day, in the dry winds of Alabasta, a crack finally appeared running through it.
These eyes are as beautiful as that pearl, but they will be even stronger.
The storm will not break her; it will only help her set sail.
Crocodile raised his hand and aimed it at the storm again. All sounds around him disappeared, except for the sound of the desert ant lion's sharp claws piercing the sand a hundred meters away.
He clenched his fist tightly, and the flying sand and gravel seemed to freeze in mid-air as if a pause button had been pressed. Then, as Crocodile pressed down, they fell to the ground, mixing with the dust and becoming indistinguishable.
Violet: "Wow, Crocodile, your skills are so cool!"
My daily question is: When will players finally get their own area-of-effect skills?!
Just then, Violet felt her arms go empty. Crocodile's waist turned into yellow sand that flowed down from Violet's hands, and then quickly reformed not far away.
That's a really cool crowd control immunity skill.
It was just a kid's admiring glance.
However, Crocodile was still quite pleased by the praise from a kid with a bounty of over 100 million.
"He does have some taste," Crocodile thought to himself as he took a new cigar from his cigar holder and was about to light it when he caught a glimpse of Violet circling around him curiously.
"Hello."
Crocodile called out to Violet, who looked up and released her hand, which was about to take out a shovel and try digging into Crocodile's waist.
Crocodile: ...
I don't know why I suddenly feel a bit cold. Could it be that I haven't been to a cold place in a long time and am not used to the current temperature?
The black leather shoes crushed the melting ice beneath his feet. Crocodile thought casually, while gesturing with his chin towards Violet.
Violet: ?
Little Feng appeared in front of Violet, twirling like a ballet dancer. Her heavily made-up eyes winked at her, and then she quietly pointed to the unlit cigar that Crocodile was biting between his teeth.
Vera: "Oh."
She nodded to indicate that she understood, and quickly walked up to Crocodile.
Crocodile looked at Violet, who was barely taller than his belt, and parted his thin lips to reveal a rather pirate-like, aggressive smile.
With a leap, Violet snatched the cigar from Crocodile's mouth and put it back in her backpack.
You have obtained a [Rare Cigar]
[Eating this item reduces HP by 20, satiety by 10, and sanity by 1]
[Description: Cherish life, stay away from cigarettes]
Crocodile: ?
Is this blatant robbery?
He looked at Violet, whose pirate-like behavior was even more pirate-like than his own, with a complicated expression.
The Baroque Works members' eyes popped out of their sockets, and Xiao Feng, who had initially given Violet the hint, even slammed his jaw to the ground.
Xiao Feng felt a chill run down his spine, a cold sensation traveling from his feet all the way to his hair. He looked up, tears welling in his eyes, and met Crocodile's cold, emotionless gaze.
Xiao Feng pulled Wei'er back and whispered in her ear, "What are you doing?!"
"You, how could you..." steal the boss's cigar?! My god, this guy is incredibly audacious!
Von Clay swallowed hard: "You just went up there and stole the boss's cigar?" He could already picture Vale being chopped up and fed to the crocodiles by the boss.
What else? If it's something you can't steal, the game will display a "[Stealing Prohibited]" message. Since there's no "[Stealing Prohibited]" message, doesn't that mean you can steal it?
Vera and Xiao Feng looked at each other, and after half a minute, Vera suddenly realized: "Oh..."
Xiao Feng shuddered at the familiar realization, a strong sense of foreboding washing over him.
But before he could stop her, Violet pointed at Crocodile in the air and said righteously, "Smoking is harmful to your health. This is a public place, so please be careful."
A cigar reduces health by 20 points, which is about the same as a normal attack from a weak mini-boss.
Crocodile was almost laughing in anger. Smoking is harmful to health, and you want him to control himself? Violet was the first person to dare to say that.
Crocodile took a new cigar from his cigar holder, lit it, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring toward Violet.
Crocodile: "I'll draw."
The rest of the group: ...
After saying that, Crocodile felt that he was being incredibly silly for arguing with such a little kid.
He brushed off non-existent dust from his shoulders, put one hand in his pocket, and asked, "Not going in?"
Peru asked cautiously, "Mr. Crocodile, how long can you control these storms?"
Perhaps due to smoking, Crocodile's voice was hoarser and deeper than before. Upon hearing Peru's question, he looked up at the dimly lit sky.
"Whenever you plan to come out, that's how long you can control the situation."
That was a very confident statement.
Law and Sabo, who hadn't used any abilities from beginning to end and had simply been observing the group's strength from behind, exchanged a glance.
Sabo made a gesture to Luo, indicating that they should be extra vigilant about Crocodile, who could manipulate sand.
Luo nodded in agreement.
Crocodile gave him a very dangerous feeling. No matter how much the people of Alabasta said he was a great hero with a cold exterior but a warm heart, Law would not let his guard down against Crocodile.
The reason is simple: the ability to manipulate sand is both incredibly useful and incredibly dangerous in this vast desert.
Crocodile can stop a storm, but it can also create a new storm to separate them.
Fortunately, at least for now, they are still teammates fighting side by side with Crocodile.
Peru: "I'll fly up into the sky and find the location of the desert antlion."
Despite the ongoing danger of attacks, Peru, as a rare Devil Fruit user capable of flight, has been diligently undergoing relevant training.
His eyesight is several times better than that of an average person, and his flight altitude and reaction speed have been trained to almost the limits of a falcon.
Vera: "No need."
Crocodile: "No need."
Violet and Crocodile spoke almost simultaneously to stop Peru's ascent.
“Stop fooling around, kid,” Crocodile said. “When it comes to sensing sand, no one can beat me. I can locate the desert antlion by the vibration of the sand.”
Crocodile glanced at Peru: "If the desert antlion is hiding in the sand, it's hard to spot it from the air. But by following the direction of the sand's vibrations and shrinking in a circle, you can find the target quickly."
"Yeah."
Vera took the broken universal pointer out of her pocket, along with a sewing kit.
Should a sewing kit be used to mend the "universal pointer"?
[[whether]
[The universal pointer has been fixed!]
The universal pointer is just broken, not used up. You have to understand that this time it hasn't even fully located what she's been longing for.
Violet gripped the repaired universal hands; the red arrow spun around the dial once before steadily pointing to a certain position.
Violet: "If it hides in a place without sand, then even Mr. Crocodile wouldn't be able to do anything about it."
Violet: "But the universal pointer always points to what I desire in my heart."
This is what you call a dimensional reduction attack!
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Author's Note: I... uh, seeing Dad's eyes light up with hearts when he looked at Xia Qi [melted][melted][melted]
Tell me this is all an illusion [crying emoji]
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