"Navy Headquarters."
"Is Aokiji's real target for coming to Alabasta Kingdom this time really me?"
Crocodile quickly distanced himself from Kuzan, looked at the two little brats, Sabo and Ace, from a distance, and his expression became extremely solemn.
Ace and Sabo had only tried their hand at it, but Crocodile had already determined that the other party was a Devil Fruit user. Moreover, the Devil Fruit abilities possessed by these two kids were not ordinary ones, but the rarest natural Devil Fruit abilities.
For users of natural devil fruits, there is no way to judge the strength of an opponent based on age.
If you are misled by your opponent's age and underestimate him, you will probably suffer a great loss.
"call--"
The vortex of fire released by Ace gradually dissipated, revealing the figure of Daz Bonis, who was hit head-on by Ace's attack.
What surprised Ace was that Daz Bonis, who took his attack head-on, did not lose his combat effectiveness immediately. Although he had some burns on his body, this level of injury could not affect the opponent's actions.
Ace noticed that Daz Bonis's body was emitting a metallic luster under the sunlight, and the arms that Daz Bonis was blocking in front of him turned into sharp blades.
"Ability user?"
Ace murmured softly, reached behind him, and quickly grasped his father's relic - the famous sword "Ace" in his hand.
With the long sword in hand, Ace felt a little relieved.
On the other hand, MR2 Von Clay was not as lucky as Daz Bonis. Sabo used the ability of the Thunder Fruit to increase his kinetic energy when attacking, and at the same time, he was also attached with Armament Haki at the moment of hitting the opponent.
Although Sabo's Armament Haki has just been awakened, its strength is mediocre.
However, facing Feng Clay who did not have the domineering power, it was enough to crush him.
With just one strike, Feng Clay was stabbed into the sand and fell into a coma.
In the first encounter, one of the cadres on Crocodile's side completely lost his combat effectiveness. This sudden change also made the cautious Crocodile want to retreat.
The opponent's combat power has exceeded his estimation. At this time, Crocodile also remembered what the Five Elders said on the phone before.
He finally understood why the deal between him and the Five Elders was to save his own life.
Three natural-type devil fruit users could actually threaten his life.
The user of the Flame-Flame Fruit and the user of the Thunder Fruit.
Crocodile quickly connected the performance of Ace and Sabo with the two top natural devil fruits in the devil fruit encyclopedia and guessed the truth of the matter.
"sandstorm!"
Crocodile, who was thinking of retreating, opened his hand, and a small tornado about ten centimeters high appeared in his palm. Although the tornado was small in size, it was very powerful. The vortex generated by the small tornado rolled up the yellow sand on the ground.
As Crocodile threw the small tornado in his hand towards Kuzan and others, the whirlwind quickly expanded and formed a sandstorm in the blink of an eye.
The yellow sand carried by the strong wind roared towards Kuzan and others. Seeing this, Ace, who was about to continue chasing Daz Bonis, did not even wait for Kuzan to make a move. He rushed in front of everyone, sank his knees, and was surrounded by red flames.
"Hey, kid, don't push yourself!"
Seeing Ace trying to help everyone block the opponent's attack, Kuzan also warned with some concern. Although Ace and Crocodile were both natural devil fruit users, there was a huge gap between people with special abilities and those with special abilities.
Crocodile's attack was so powerful that Kuzan wasn't sure if the young Ace could withstand such an attack.
"Don't worry, Brother Kuzan."
"I'm not a child anymore. I'm a warrior who can follow Mr. Zephyr to the sea!"
Obviously, what the thin Ace said was not very convincing, but his actions made Kuzan change his mind.
Great Flame Ring!!!
Ace let out a loud roar, and the flames around him instantly rose from the ground like a volcanic eruption, and the incoming sandstorm instantly collided with the pillar of fire.
Boom!!!
A loud roar echoed through the sky, and amidst the explosion of flames, the sandstorm disappeared without a trace. Yellow sand fell from the sky like raindrops, and the breeze blew, and the battlefield was already shrouded in a "yellow fog".
Kuzan glanced at Ace in front of him with surprise, and finally a faint smile appeared on his face.
After all, he still underestimated the young people of today. Just as Ace said, he had grown into a warrior at such a young age.
With Ace's strength, there are only a few people who can threaten him in places like the first half of the Grand Line.
If we just compare the devil fruit abilities, even Crocodile would not be able to suppress Ace.
"rustle--"
Yellow sand was flowing on the ground. Kuzan, who was standing on the sand, suddenly felt his ankles tighten. He lowered his head slightly and looked down, only to find that his feet had sunk into the yellow sand without him knowing when. The sand at his feet was like a python, tightly wrapped around his calves, lifting Kuzan's whole body into the sand.
"ah--"
A cry of surprise came from behind him. Kuzan quickly turned his head and looked back, and found that half of Luffy's body had sunk into the yellow sand.
Ace and Sabo also noticed the abnormality on the ground one after another. Without any hesitation, they transformed into elements and left their original places, rushing towards Luffy.
Kuzan let his body sink into the sand, and his eyes carefully observed the surrounding environment. His observation Haki quickly extended out, searching for the enemy's figure in the sand rain.
Crocodile, who was not far away, was only a black outline in the sand and rain. Although his vision was blocked, Kuzan's observation Haki still accurately captured the opponent's breath.
At the same time, Kuzan also noticed that Daz Bonis, who was not far away, was also sinking rapidly into the sand. He was even sinking faster than Luffy, and during this process, Daz Bonis's body did not show any struggling movements.
Is this because Crocodile's attack chose to indiscriminately attack everyone on the sand?
This thought only flashed through his mind and was immediately rejected by Kuzan.
There is no point and no need.
And if Crocodile really attacked everyone indiscriminately and killed his own subordinates, there was no reason for Daz Bonis not to struggle.
"Want to leave?!"
Kuzan immediately understood Crocodile's intention and finally stopped holding back.
As Kuzan breathed out a thin cloud of ice mist from his mouth, he gently threw the ice sword in his hand, and the crystal blue sword body directly inserted into the sand. At the moment the ice sword landed on the ground, with the sword body as the center, the ice layer instantly swept around.
In just a blink of an eye, the ice surface extended to around Daz Bonis.
Daz Bonis didn't even have time to make any sound before his entire body, along with the ground, was covered by ice, turning into an ice sculpture.
"call out!!"
In the sand rain, Crocodile suddenly felt a chill coming towards him. Without thinking, he flew away from the spot. The next moment he left, the ice surface spread directly to his feet, completely freezing the sand.
Crocodile soared into the sky, lowered his head, glanced at the desert that had turned into an ice field, and his pupils shrank.
At this moment, a gust of cold wind swept in. Crocodile seemed to sense something and hurriedly turned his head to look back, only to see a cloud of ice mist appear behind him. At the same time he turned his head, Kuzan's figure quickly condensed and punched Crocodile in the face.
"Where are you going?"
"Mr. Sand Crocodile."
"I have a lot to ask you, so please cooperate with me."
"Otherwise, I won't hold back."
As he spoke, Crocodile's figure had already turned into a black shadow, falling rapidly from the air.
“Bang!!”
As Crocodile's body fell to the ice field, a muffled sound was heard on the battlefield. After being hit hard by Kuzan, Crocodile couldn't help but feel dazed and his head was dizzy. He was unable to get out of this state for a while.
According to legend, Crocodile once challenged Whitebeard and successfully survived from Whitebeard's hands.
This is indeed the case, but the process may not be what the public imagines.
A challenger of Crocodile's level was not worthy of Whitebeard using too much strength, and after realizing the huge gap between himself and the opponent, Crocodile took the initiative to choose to retreat.
His ability poses no threat to Whitebeard, but if used as a means of escape, users of natural devil fruit abilities do have a unique advantage.
Moreover, Whitebeard himself is not the kind of murderous person. He always turns a blind eye to the ignorant little kid. When Crocodile escaped, he had no intention of chasing him.
I'm afraid even Whitebeard himself didn't expect that his broad-mindedness would one day give those petty thieves the opportunity to brag about their strength and ability.
In the first half of the Grand Line, Crocodile was indeed a figure, but when compared with a navy admiral like Kuzan who had undergone rigorous training since childhood, the gap was quite large.
Even a character like Kizaru can only be described as "relying on the ability of the fruit" by Zephyr. Kuzan, who is also one of the three admirals and has spent a lot of time and energy on practicing domineering, was even able to withstand the attack of Yoriichi Tsugikuni at one point.
Kuzan's level of dominance is already top-notch. In this world, apart from those guys who have mastered the power of dominance, not many people can surpass him.
With his terrifying natural abilities and diffused strength, he is a T1-level existence even among the many experts in the Marine Headquarters.
After all, the sky that Crocodile saw was too small. At this moment, he was far from being able to compare with a strong man of Kuzan's level.
“Crash—”
Crocodile supported himself on the ground with his hands, his face covered in blood as he struggled to stand up from the ice field. He raised his head slightly towards the sky, only to find that Kuzan's figure had already disappeared in mid-air.
“Tatta——”
Light footsteps were heard from the side. Crocodile tilted his head and looked to both sides, and found that the two little devils, Sabo and Ace, had sandwiched him firmly in the middle, forming a pincer attack.
"Just surrender."
"You can't get away."
A chill came from behind Crocodile, and Kuzan's tall figure had appeared behind him without him knowing.
Crocodile looked intently behind him, but his sight was attracted by an ice sculpture on the distant ice hill.
MR3 Gal Dino, who was secretly using the ability of the Wax-Wax Fruit outside the battlefield, had turned into an ice sculpture at some point, standing on the ice hill, reflecting crystal light under the sunlight.
In just a blink of an eye, several of Crocodile's men had completely lost their combat effectiveness.
He himself was also injured by Kuzan's attack.
When he stood up, his head was still dizzy and his body did not recover from Kuzan's heavy blow in a short time.
“.”
Blood flowed from Crocodile's forehead, through the corners of his eyes, and to his chin.
His vision was blurred by the blood. Crocodile, who realized it belatedly, listened to Kuzan's words of persuasion to surrender, touched the blood on his face, and a arrogant smile appeared on his face.
"Surrender?"
"What are you kidding me, you bastard?"
Crocodile let out a loud roar and was about to take action when he heard thunder in his ears. Sabo's figure suddenly appeared above his head and kicked him directly on the shoulder from top to bottom. The huge force directly pressed Crocodile's body to the ground.
Just as Crocodile was struggling to stand, Ace's figure turned into a flash of fire and appeared directly beside him, kicking him in the popliteal fossa.
Another heavy kick caused Crocodile's knees to soften and he fell heavily into the ice, half-kneeling in front of Kuzan.
Ace and Sabo controlled Crocodile's shoulders on the left and right. The huge force suppressed Crocodile for a while and made him unable to stand up. The strength of their Armament Haki was enough to suppress the young Crocodile.
From beginning to end, Kuzan kept his hands in his pockets, quietly watching the scene in front of him, with no sign of continuing to attack.
Seeing Crocodile being restrained, Kuzan lowered his head slightly and looked at the embarrassed Crocodile:
"Crocodile, you are under arrest."
Kuzan's shadow enveloped Crocodile. The proud sand crocodile raised his head and looked at Kuzan who was looking down at him, his eyes full of anger and hatred.
humiliation!
This is a true humiliation for him!
But it's a pity.
With his strength, there is no way he can fight against Kuzan and other navy.
“Huh?!”
"Caught Crocodile?"
"The Kingdom of Alabasta has been transformed into a military government?"
At Marinford, Yoshiichi Tsugakuni, who was busy with paperwork, suddenly received a call from Zephyr. After hearing Zephyr's various news about the Kingdom of Alabasta, Yoshiichi Tsugakuni's face showed a look of surprise.
"Crocodile is kind of useful!"
"Don't send him to the Marine Headquarters yet. I want to see with my own eyes what the Kingdom of Alabasta looks like now."
“And then make a decision.”
After saying that, Jiguo Yuanyi hung up the phone.
“Interesting.”
Crocodile's actions in the Kingdom of Alabasta have attracted the attention of Yoriichi Tsugikuni. This guy has the potential to be a white glove.
In Tsugumi Yuichiro's ideal world, there is no room or value for kings and nobles to exist.
However, from the navy's point of view, it is simply impossible to promote its own ideas. There are too many opposing voices, which will make it difficult for Tsugikuni Yoshiichi to do anything.
But if we can make good use of people like Crocodile, everything will become much easier. However, we have to put these people on a strong leash, otherwise, it will hurt both ourselves and others.
(End of this chapter)
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